1 An Unlucky Lottery

Vanessa’s face was as pale as a sheet. The ringing in her ears only grew louder and louder, an unceasing nuisance that she couldn’t shake off. Her knees felt weak, and the world around her seemed to spin. Her name had been called. She was selected as the sacrifice in this year’s lottery.

Her dark blonde hair seemed to have become drenched in a cold sweat, and she resisted the urge to pinch herself and wake up from this nightmare. But she could see this was not a nightmare.

Her father, the mayor, stood still with a similarly dark expression, unable to believe that his daughter’s name had just been picked.

Edward Conray tried his best to control his feelings even as beads of sweat broke out on his forehead as his mind raced with what he would have to do to prevent his daughter from going over to Transmere. He would send her away if he must. Either way, he would lose his daughter, he knew. But if she went to Transmere, there would never be any hope of meeting her again.

Soon, the people gathered around Vanessa, relieved that their daughters had been spared and also sad for the poor mayor’s plight. A few of the older ones patted her arm and spoke in hushed tones, “Vanessa, dear, you have to be strong and endure. Even if the vampires are like monsters, be careful to obey them. At least that way you will live. It is better than dying!”

Another woman scoffed at this and continued, “Do you think that by obeying them, she will live? If your chicken listens to you, will you not kill it and eat it? Of course, they are going to kill her.”

Another woman nodded at this and continued, “My nephew has the blood disease so he is able to go to the Vampire towns. He has rarely seen any slave more than twice. Do you know that the Royal Family is the most dangerous of all the vampires? Vanessa, pray to the Lord that you are not sent there… Prince Kaine is known for his cruelty. Oh, and not to mention his brother, the youngest prince…”

Vanessa tuned out what the old ladies were saying as the fear inside her seemed to magnify with every step they took towards the ‘cursed boat’ which would take her to the land of vampires.

Before she was almost pushed onto the boat, she heard the old woman say, “…Prince Klyde.” And turned to look at the woman. But she had already finished whatever she was saying.

Soon, the boat was pushed away from the shore and Vanessa hugged her knees as the name Prince Klyde echoed in her mind. The old aunt had been warning her about dangers in the vampire land so this Prince must be the most menacing.

Within a few minutes, she could see a few men standing on the opposite side. Her throat tightened, and she placed her hand over her neck as if trying to loosen a noose around her neck.

She had never seen vampires, only heard of them. As she took in their features, she realized that they looked like normal humans. In fact, if she did not know who they were, she would mistake them as a fellow human. But as the boat sailed closer and closer, she realized that there were small differences.

Their skin was a lot paler than normal humans, while their irises were lined with a red outline. It made them look sinister and evil.

Vanessa clutched the small saddle bag that she had brought to her chest and slowly stepped onto the land. Once she was on the land, the guards ordered, “Follow along.”

Vanessa followed hurriedly but looked around curiously. It was in the middle of the night, and yet, no one would say that it was. Usually, the villagers would be getting out of bed at this hour, preparing to begin the day, but here, it seemed that the day had yet to end here.

Was it because the rumors that she had heard were true? Those vampires could not go out in sunlight? She looked at the brightly lit streets in awe, almost losing sight of the guards.

As she tried to keep up, her gaze fell across something that petrified her so that she froze, unable to move. Her eyes moved around slowly, looking at the large name in front of the door of this eating house.

‘The Feast.’

Trembling, her hand moved to cover her mouth as her body reacted impulsively. She tried to control the urge to retch and thanked the fates that she’d missed dinner.

The inside was lit with torches, and the glass windows showed the horrific scene inside.

The chairs were arranged in an odd manner, facing the walls instead of each other, which was odd by itself. For people went to eateries so that they could chat with each other! But the walls answered this oddity. There were people shackled to the walls. Slumped over and tied next to each other, they looked half dead. They were shackled like cattle. No, even worse than that…

She could even see the marks of branding and wounds over their naked bodies. Vanessa felt her knees buckle, and a whimper escaped her as she prayed, “Dear Lord…”

A vampire seemed to be holding a woman with his hand around her neck. She could even see his teeth buried inside the flesh of her neck! But, that woman was dead already now, her eyes vacant and rolled back. And yet, the vampire continued to drink her blood until he could suck her dry. Soon after, the vampire simply threw her dead body against the wall.

Vanessa’s hand flew to her mouth as an involuntary scream escaped her lips. The scream caught the attention of the guards who had already marched forward, and they turned back impatiently.

With an impatient huff, the man placed his hand under her arms and pulled her up, almost dragging her forward as she walked unsteadily. For the first time, since knowing that she was to be a slave to the vampires, Vanessa tried to resist. She tried to firm her footing and questioned unsteadily, “Wh… Where are you taking me?

Vanessa knew that if she were to be taken to a place such as ‘The Feast’, she would not be able to live! It would be much better to die at the hands of the bandits and monsters instead of being tortured like this. Their ancestors who had come up with that ‘treaty’ must have been out of their minds.

Death would have been better than such a degrading life.

Finally taking pity on her, the other guard spoke abruptly, “We are going to the capital. You will be serving Prince. Forget what you saw.”