A Vampire

The door opened slowly.

There was an unnatural silence as the door slid open, there was no familiar creak, no squeal of the hinges; not even the sound of the soft breeze that caused her candle to flicker. The shadows danced to the movement of the flame, creating a dark silhouette of Lavia against the door, shading it from its light. All Olivia could hear was the beating of her own heart as if she had her ear to it, the rapid pumping gave her the strength to stand up. A weary rise, grabbing onto the fabric that covered the dravian's body as a support to her weak frame.

She positioned herself behind the dravian, she wasn't brave enough. She hadn't the courage to stand to the dravian's side to face the being completely fueled by dark magic, it felt like how daemons were described. It was terrifying and the more the door opened, the more she regretted letting it reach her. Olivia quivered, clenching her eyes as if it would protect her. She has only seen fourteen summers, she wasn't ready to meet something that felt like walking death.

She heard the door hit the wall, it was fully open now. Olivia braced herself for whatever was to come.

"It smells like shit in here." A man's voice said it sounded soft, human and in pain.

"The only thing it could be is you, you look like shit, leech," Lavia said in a condescending tone, she didn't move from where she stood, pressing her back against Olivia. It made her feel safer.

"Bastard was hard to kill, I should have let you take him" The man spit before stepping into the room, the sounds of his steps were followed by a thick tap of something hard.

"You're the one who ran off like a dog fetching," Lavia growled.

Olivia felt confused. The feeling the man gave off wasn't gone, but somehow with the way Lavia was speaking to him, it felt less threatening. The dravian spoke with no fear of consequence as if its wrath didn't exist. She spoke with less compassion than she had used with Olivia, the very mage that trapped her and created this hell hole.

"So; where's the witch?" The man asked.

"Well, about that" Lavia slowly stepped out from in front of the girl, revealing her to the man.

Olivia flinched, but the silence remained. She waited for something to happen but it never did, slowly she opened her eyes. To face the thing that gave her fear, the man Lavia exposed her to. Violet hues stared up at the man.

He was handsome, he looked young. He was giving her a pitiful smile with blood-stained lips as he leaned against a black spear. The man had golden eyes that glowed even in her shadow, there wasn't malice beneath them. There seemed to be a light of understanding. Light brown skin, long honey brown hair, like Lavia he seemed alluring to the eye. His clothes covered in cuts, stained with blood, he must have won against Zelim. Since he stood in front of her. She could feel the fear disappear, replaced by something else. Something that still made her heart beat rapidly, suddenly she felt more aware of herself.

She felt the stains of piss, blood, and shit on her legs; she had been too weak to relieve herself properly. Olivia felt embarrassed at her scent, the dirt of her clothes, the mess of her hair, the sickly appearance. She just wanted to bathe, to get clean before speaking to him.

"You were scaring her, you know?" Lavia said to the man, his name was Gawain right? The leech.

His gold eyes finally moved from her to the dravian, it felt like a tension had been undone. A weight off her shoulders.

"How did I do that?" Gawain sounded irritated.

"She could feel you, she's the sorceress. Apparently, you reak of dark magic, can't imagine why." Lavia sounded sarcastic, but in Gawain's eyes, it seemed like he had come to a realization. The man turned to her.

"You could feel me? What do I feel like?" He said softly.

Olivia could only nod, his gaze making her avert her eyes.

"What do I feel like?" He asked.

"Death," She said in a soft whisper, her voice felt stolen from her.

"Ah, figures. Do you know why?" Gawain said crouching down, his joints cracking as he did. A wince of pain escaping his lips.

She shook her head. "You feel like Zelim, but different." She took a wobbly step away from her.

"You're almost right. Of all the monsters, he's the closest to my kind." He said simply.

He was eye-level at her, Olivia had to completely turn her head away from him. Her thoughts were racing, flowing through stories of princes, heroes, monsters. What was a ghoul-like? What was this handsome man that could relate to those horrid creatures? Suddenly she knew, she shook at the thought, was she going to be food?

"A vampire." She said shivering, her legs couldn't support her any longer. Knees buckled and she fell, her gaze returning to him.

"Aye, I am. Been so for a year. I've seen nineteen winters, I'm from Greyjoy. A ways from here." He said sadly.

"Are you going to kill me?" She said fearfully. Vampires were creatures that enslaved, creatures of deception, creatures of beauty. Lavia must be under his control, Olivia's eyes shifted to the dravian. She'd been tricked.

Gawain raised a brow at her "I'd prefer not to, I just want your spell gone. Lavia and I have somewhere to be."

"You're not going to drink my blood?" She said quizzically. She couldn't keep them trapped, they could easily kill her if she refused. Her body was too weak to activate any powerful spells, not that she knew any that would kill them.

"No, the only benefit from that would be healing faster. I don't need it to live, and I'm healing just fine." He said with a shrug.

"Where do you have to go?" The girl was filled with nothing but questions.

"To fight for my country," Lavia spoke suddenly.

Olivia turned to look at her.

"Aye, I promised her to help her against Kyros. So we're going to Ishgard to fight." Gawain shook his head at her.

"Why are you helping her?" Olivia couldn't believe what was she was hearing. A vampire that didn't need to drink blood, helping a dravian fight against the country from which he originated. What fantasy! He's only been a vampire for a year, only four years older than her when he stopped aging.

"It's complicated, I, however, wish to fight and I owe her in a way. Will you drop the spell?" He said simply.

Olivia stared at him, it was either believe these falsehoods or die by their hands. Even if she chose to believe him, there was still a duty she had to complete. The monsters she created, the cannibals from her town.

"I can't, the man-eaters here. I can't let them leave, it's my fault, I have to wait for them to die. Then I'll release the spell. " She said sternly. "They aren't people anymore, they don't deserve freedom from my mistake."

Gawain stared at her for a moment, his grip on his spear tightening. He used it to prop himself onto his feet.

"Come with us, we'll feed you. Then I'll shorten your wait." He said simply, coldly.

"Food?" The thought of something to eat caught her off guard, she suspected of being left for dead. These two could live much longer than any of them, a waiting game should be nothing. Yet they offer food and a quick solution. "What will you do?"

Lavia stepped closer to the girl, picking her up like one would a damsel. It must have been so easy, the hammer at her hip was probably heavier. Olivia couldn't find the strength to resist.

"I'm going to kill them." He said in a sad tone as he walked out into the hall.

Lavia followed him.

Olivia remained silent, thinking on deaths of all those who had been here during her birth, all those she helped heal. The ones who took care of her kept her safe. The ones that had planned to turn her into the church, to be subjected to the torture and cruelty the Templars of Belona were known to do. The ones who turned to eat each other instead of fading away with their humanity.