1 Trapped

Rama blew out the candle on her bedside table, leaving her in pure darkness before crawling into her princess-sized bed, she pulled the silk curtains hanging on the side of the bedpost together as she lay on her bed.

She stole a short glance at the glass roof hanging above the bed before she would shut her eyes to sleep. She enjoyed the opulence of being born as a princess but she didn't feel that way, along with the opulence came a heavy responsibility she had to carry one day on her shoulders.

She closed her eyes to sleep, but before she would surrender into the hands of slumber, she would imagine the tyrant vampire King's bloody head on a stake.

In all her nineteen years of living, she had heard of the night creatures living among them, striding on the face of the earth, she had never seen them with her eyes but hearing the hideous but valid rumors about them made her filled with nothing but contempt and disgust for the night creatures.

The ruthless vampire king had forcefully and unfairly forced human rulers to give up their Empires and failure to yield with his wants resulted in a bloody massacre.

The humans couldn't stand up to them since they were more powerful creatures so yes, they cowered in fear of their lives, but whether they complied or not, the vampire king of Voltaire's Empire killed them anyway, he loathed humans as much as they loathed him.

He forcefully took over powerful Empires possessed by the humans, adding it to his many fortunes, every stud of jewel on his crown embedded with the lives he had snuffed out.

His hands were drenched with the blood of the innocent, he had wiped out some of the neighboring empires in which her father was an acquaintance with some of the rulers, she had heard of how he reigned massacre on them, taking only the humans he deemed useful for slavery and feeding.

To say she hated him was an understatement, she felt utterly disgusted and repulsed by him, her hatred for him had only grown worse after his recent massacre on the mah'n Empire, she was close friends with the princess but after the vampire king's attack on them, she never heard from her again, she was either dead or worse, used as a blood bag for those disgusting blood-sucking creatures and the thought of it made her stomach churn.

To Rama, he was the embodiment of darkness that needed to be wiped out from the face of the earth, vampires were cursed dark creatures whose existence was a fatal blunder.

The humans and vampires feared him, the name of the vampire king uttered made spines chill, he was rumored to be an original, one of the pure-blooded vampires that came into existence, an immortal many said. He was vicious to the core, his heart as shallow as an endless abyss and his mind as devious as the devil.

Rama wondered why a creature as dark as the nocturnal creatures existed, the world would have been a much better place without them, she thought inwardly before succumbing to sleep, but not after she saw herself mentally decapitating the vampire king.

She was already in a slumber when she heard the frantic running motions along the hall just outside her bedroom, she had been trained physically and mentally every day for the past nineteen years since she was an only child, the apparent heir to the throne.

She arose from her bed in alarm, pushing the covers away from her body before crawling off the bed and picking up her robe on the chair beside her putting it on quickly, she secured the robe tightly on her body before wearing a shawl over her hair, lighting up a candle and scurrying out of the door.

She saw two, maybe three maids scampering back and forth the hall with items in their hold and panic written all over their faces.

Her shawl slipped away from her head revealing her black hair but she didn't care to secure it back to position when she saw the panicking maids running around as if their lives depended on it.

She placed the candle she was holding carefully on a small table in the corridor as the torches on the wall were already lit up.

"Layla! What's wrong?" She called out quickly before the rushed maid could flee from her sight. The maid turned to meet her princess's jade blue eyes staring at her questioningly for answers and she pressed her lips in a thin line before answering her frantically with lowered head.

"Th...The Sultan is sick..it's very critical, the physician doesn't think he can survive the night.." The maid replied with a shaky voice, hands trembling along with the bowl she held. Rama's jade eyes widened slightly, mouth parted in disbelief as her breath quivered.

She grabbed a handful of her robe in shock and uneasiness, her father can't die now, not now! She screamed inwardly but her expression was still organized as she said,

"Take me to Baba." She commanded, her shocked expression immediately turned into a blank one as the maid led her to the king's chambers.

As the princess and apparent heir of the throne, she had been mentally and physically prepared and molded from birth to take on the position of the Queen.

She was taught to have a fierce and strong mind and was equally trained physically, regardless of her being a girl, she was trained as a man would but she took it all, proving to everyone that doubted her rulership that she was just as good as a male heir or better.

Fortunately, the princess was naturally stubborn and strong-headed, for her young age she was incredibly smart and wise about the world, she was also a fast learner in physical training, and in no time, she became a skilled fighter both in hand combat and swordsmanship.

She didn't wait for the maid to open the doors for her before she walked through herself, composing her slightly hurried movements and expressions as she walked closer to her Father's sick bed.

She loved her Father, she adored him in every way and she had wanted to become a great Queen just to make him proud, she had learned everything she needed to learn with consistency and hard drive, only thinking of making her Father proud.

She had wanted him to watch her become Queen and rule their people in prosperity but now at that moment, it felt as though all her hard work was in vain because she could see the life fading from his green eyes as she neared the bed.

She stared at her mother who sat at his side, weeping silently, while the physician stood over the bed, doing things she didn't care to know.

Her Father craned his neck at the side as if he felt her presence, she could see the weak state he was in and her fist coiled itself in a tight ball subconsciously.

"Rama..." Her Father croaked, his deep baritone voice was now hoarse and choked like a parched man dying from thirst, his eyes had sunk into his flesh and it seemed like he had grown not only weaker but smaller overnight as he was a bulky man but seeing him now under the covers, he looked small.

"You don't have to say anything Father, save your strength," Rama said hurriedly as she took his hands in her and gave it a gentle squeeze, tears threatening to fall any moment from her jade blue eyes, she knew it was a hassle for him to speak and she didn't want him to go through such stress, she wanted him to lay peacefully as his minutes were numbered.

She so badly wanted to deny the fact that he'd be leaving her soon but she couldn't, she knew he didn't have much time left and hearing her mother's sob become heavier made the tears at the brim of her eyes threaten to spill but she closed it shut and took a deep breath, not allowing it to fall freely, she didn't want to look weak, she was the future queen and she needed to be strong, for her mother and for her people.

She opened her eyes only to see her father had grown stiff on the bed, he lay unmoving with green lifeless eyes still open and she swallowed hard the tears that were threatening to break free.

Her chest tightened painfully as if her heart was being stabbed and with shaky hands, she stretched her hand to hover above her father's face before closing his eyes.

"Rest well Father." She said those words like a faint whisper that barely escaped her lips, her voice would have been choked up if it was any louder, so she made it silent, she wouldn't let anyone see her as weak, the first rule her Father gave her.

Her mother's sobs became heavier as she hugged her Father's corpse, the physician tried to comfort the Queen but it was futile. Rama stood up mechanically and exited the chamber, she was feeling suffocated and drained, everything was occurring too quickly.

She was anxious about taking the throne, this was now the beginning of heavy obligations weighing on her slender shoulders and she felt trapped.