Arelia POV

My small body jetted through the branches and leaves.

I passed streets and byways along side Darius.
     My protector and in some way a brother.

His ashen hair blew through the wind as we kept each others hands tight.

We were children.

Technically teenagers but still...we were children who knew nothing more of the world than we thought we did.

Just children passing by to survive the night...maybe we'd make it to sunrise.

We didn't know.
     It was hard to tell from how the night seemed to be ending...the same night a vampire stole what little I had left in the world away from me.

My father and brother by blood.

My little brother was only five and my father barely able to hold a sword let alone a broom.
      He was dying a slow and sure death, succumbing to an illness that could not be contained or concealed by mortal medicine.

But being with my little brother...gave him joy to see another day still. Gave him an unwavering strength that couldn't be described.

That was until a vampire appeared from hiding and slaughtered my brother and father.

When I had arrived back with Darius from the shops just outside our village, when my very hand pressed on the unhinged wooden door to enter inside our home...

I remember feeling a terrible knot sinking to the furthermost part of my stomach as my eyes beheld the vampire as it stood there with glowing golden eyes and my brother's blood dripping from it's mouth.

All I could do was run as fast as my legs could carry me after seeing that.

Once the vampire charged at me, reaching out for me Darius had leapt in front.
     Receiving an injure in my stead.

We had both bolted with Darius having claw marks all throughout his forearm.

That night, something snapped within me and from that day I despised and swore to avenge my family.

So then Darius, my childhood friend took up training with me.
     And from then on we became vampire hunters.

Then destiny took me for a twisted turn.

—————

We had started to travel to space to widen our range in collecting bounties from killing vampires.

Our ship was running fine for ten years until one day a vicious meteoroid hit our ship while visiting a planet unknown to us.

"Help someone! Anyone! Can anyone read! Damn it!" I tried taking control of our ship but it was as if the controls were stuck in place.

"-&)&;&:'dn—is anyone there?we're-$;&:$:&:@"

Anyone.

But to no avail our spaceship crashed in the land...in the world of vampires.
     Specifically the city of the Moon.

Watched over by the vampire queen herself.

I read and heard about this city, it was practically the heart of the vampire world.
     And my very bloodlines enemy, being that I was human myself.

And now I was to escape the very bars of this place.
     This wretched dark place.

I stumbled from where I had fell to. My head feeling fuzzy and light.

I was pretty banged up, having my side bruised and tender as well as a sprained ankle.

"Darius? Where are you? Da-" Before I could call his name once more I witnessed his bloody arm detach from his body with a hard thud....
     His blood oozing out from him, too fast to stop as it splatter the very stone floor I had stood on.

My eyes widened at the horror as I gazed upon his paled out eyes that were once a dazzling blue.

And in a moment I remembered his smile and the way he always use to look at me.

"Hey Lea. We're traveling the world today. I feel like I can do anything by your side. I hope you know that."

I knew how he felt about me and yet I played dumb.

"I know."

I touched his cold cheek with my own tears running down his face.

"I'm sorry." For not giving a chance to love me like you wished to.

I'm sorry for not allowing 'us' to happen.

I'm sorry...even if my heart was never truly going to love him...I still never gave us a chance.

How could I? When I was so hell bent on getting revenge.

"For everything."