Aya's POV

( The Present, and The Past. )

"My parents were killed off while trying to protect me thousands of years ago. They had fought against a powerful vampire that drained them both dry.

Their was blood splattered all over the trees, rocks, and dirt as they had fought with their inherited six-inch-long nails and their long fangs.

These nails we grow are sharper than any straight razor and rarely if ever, break. From where I hid among the rocks, their flesh was beginning to look like chopped meat. Bringing them both down to their knees, they were drained one at a time.

Why didn't I jump in? Because both my mother and father asked me not to. Even though the vampire would have killed me... I always tried to be an obedient daughter back then... It is, to this day, in my eyes my greatest shame.

Since then, I had lived in isolation up in the mountains. The only two beings to show me how to socialize had been my parents. In short, I was ancient yet also as a blank slate. Living by my instincts as a predator, and very little else.

This is where my story shall begin...

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The Dark Ages

Aya's POV

I stopped aging when I became about twenty-two. It was around this year that I saw my reflection for the first time. It was in a small isolated spot among all the close standing trees, where a small pond of sparkling water had formed in a deep oval of peat moss. Heart-shaped face, small nose, generous pink lips, and black eyes with long black wavy hair to the backs of my knees.

It didn't matter so much as the centuries passed. Trees were cleared back to make room for more humans. I wanted to walk among them so badly, but it's strange to remain the same as you watch the young grow old and die.

Carefully I had gone down a hillside close to my home, by sliding my feet, so that I could bathe in the hot springs below.

As I bathed,  I caught the scent of a human nearby. The steam that rose from the bubbling water at least hid my nakedness from his eyes. He was about five foot ten inches with black hair and brown eyes. The presence within me stirred as he came closer to the water. "So how's the water?" he asked as his toes flipped some of the water toward his left side.

I held out my arms to him in a welcoming gesture without saying a word,  and he jumped at the invitation, stripping. Slowly I moved forward until the water level was at my upper thigh. The presence in the back of my mind surged forward and took over for the impending hunt, pushing me to the back, to watch.

I stood before him naked and waiting, the cool breeze feeling good on my hot skin. His hands touched my skin gently as his arms wrapped around my waist. "You are so beautiful... Why would you want me?"

Taking his cheeks into my small hands I kissed him hungrily,  pulling his body close to mine. He returned the kiss taking it deeper until we broke gasping for air.

Sliding my arms around him,  I licked at his lips, my black eyes turning a crimson red. His tongue reached out for mine and I denied him. Instead, I rained little kisses down along his throat until his body shuddered with pleasure. Without warning,  I pulled back my head allowing my two-inch fangs to elongate. Before he could do anything,  I used the downward momentum to plunge my fangs into his throat, my arms tightening around him.

As I drew his blood from his artery hard,  he struggled for his life, kicking, hitting,  and punching. To one as old as I am, his struggles were a joke. But to the vicious side of me, that was in control, it was disrespectful. He should have just given in. So using my fangs, I tore out his throat completely. He tried to scream but couldn't. The muscles,  tendons, and ligaments were completely exposed. Leaning back a bit,  I laughed as blood dripped over my chin and onto my breasts.

He looked at me in disbelief, almost dumbstruck, as I balled up my fist and punched straight through his breast bone. My fingers wrapped around his heart and yanked it out hard. Holding the heart in my blood dripping hand, I let his body fall away into the shallow water. Just another dead human... My first in over 500 years... My fangs pierced the thick muscle and I emptied the blood from its chambers. Tossing the heart aside about twenty feet, I stepped back into the hot spring to wash off the blood that covered me from head to waist. Clouds of pink surrounded me.

As my body and mind relaxed at the rustling sound of the leaves on the trees,  the presence receded to the back of my mind. I was in control again.

While the meal was good, it was like dry sand in my mouth. I couldn't help but wonder if this happened to all ancients? Shaking my head I started getting dressed. Setting myself back on the path home, I decided to go the long way, which ran a bit close to a village at the base of my mountain, where the old stone steps lay. 

One hour later...

A young woman saw me and determinedly followed me high up into the forests as I climbed the stone steps away from the path and village.

Black hair piled high, in a red silk kimono with white flying cranes embroidered on it, she ran in her bare feet.

"Stop! Please! I only want to speak with you for a moment!" Her chest heaved as she slowed a bit. Bending over to grasp her knees before she fell.

Turning around completely, I stepped down on the stones I knew so well from my travels. Getting a good look at her, I stopped about ten feet away. The wind had picked up a bit. My peasant weave long dress in blue, brushing against my legs. "What do you want?"

She gave a small smile as she straightened and brushed a few fallen strands of hair from her face. "So, are you first-generation, or second?"

I was stood rooted to the ground. As she took three steps toward me I could feel her aura and knew it was safe to speak. "I am of the first. Who are you??"

Laughing, the young woman closed the distance between us, though I stepped back a bit. "My name is Diamon Draconis. I was starting to think I was the only one of "us" out here."

She was as small as I was and full of energy. Diamon was a great little actress. At the time, I felt very unsure as I gazed at her perfect hair and kimono. I knew I looked a fright. "I am Aya. You're the first of my kind that I have spoken to, other than my deceased parents. This is nice." I was so young in many ways and felt so foolish.

Diamon smiled and placed her small hand in mine, laughing softly. "We need to get you out into society more often. You're missing out on a lot!" She may have laughed, though I found out much later, she was laughing at the situation I was in. Since she had gone through it too.

As we walked on the stones leading downward, I looked at the forestry around me and sighed in awe of its majesty. Somehow I knew it would be a long time before I would see it again. The sweet scent of the earth filled me and I closed my eyes to remember the scent more clearly for the future days.

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Author's Note:

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