Of Light and Darkness

by Shayne Leighton

  “Charlotte, I will not lose you again.” He spoke more softly, but instead of leaving, he stepped closer to her, closing the door behind him.

  She scurried away, tripping over herself to the bed, afraid. But Aiden’s long legs were quickly moving in on her again, grabbing her by the back of her dress, spinning her around to face him. He cupped her face in his hands and violently pressed his mouth to hers. She tried to pull away, crying out in protest.

  “You’ve always defied me, Charlotte.” He pushed her down on the bed with his body. “The whole time I watched you grow up, you were impossible to control.”

  Hot tears streamed down her face as a distantly familiar pair of blue eyes flashed in her mind. They belonged to those hands. That was who she really loved. Realization slammed into her. A Vampire, she thought. That was what bothered her so badly this morning. She was sure of it. Memories began flooding back to her instantly as she grasped her necklace again.

  Aiden removed his jacket, throwing it to the floor. He was over her again, forcing his lips against hers. She tried to pull her face away, but his large hands kept it there. He started to undo the front of her dress.

  Just then, the door to the chamber swung open, causing Aiden to immediately pull away from Charlotte, who remained like stone on the bed.

  In the doorway, a petite woman appeared. She was dressed in the garnet-colored uniform of the palace, and in her hands was a silver tray.

  “Lunch!” the melodic little voice rang out. Curls poked out from all sides of the handkerchief across her head.

  Charlotte, upon recognizing that voice, sat straight up in her bed. She knew who this face belonged to. She opened her mouth to yell her name, but the Witch brought a single finger to her lips to quiet her.

  Distracted, Aiden ran a hand across his bangs. “Y-yes,” he began nervously.

  “Good.” She turned back to Charlotte. “Well, Charlotte, I trust you will obey me from now on. I will see you tomorrow.” He turned on his heel and left the room.

  As soon as the door closed, Sarah dropped the empty tray, sprinted over to Charlotte and wrapped her in her small, delicate arms, and Charlotte did so in return. Sarah could not say anything, but merely began to sob.

  “Sarah…” Charlotte started, running her hand up and down her back, astounded she actually remembered this person’s name. “Sarah, I’m here. It’s okay.”

  Sarah looked into Charlotte’s cleaned face, wiping at her eyes. “It’s not okay, Charlotte! They have captured us! They’ll kill us tomorrow morning unless we find a way to get out of here.”

  Charlotte reached for her whistle again. “You gave me this,” she said.

  “No. Valek gave it to you. But I gave it back before you were taken. It protects against Elven magic,” she explained through sobs. “It causes it to wear off.”

  Charlotte reached around her neck and unclasped the thing in her hand. There was that name again. “Who is Valek?”

  Sarah looked mystified at her. “Valek. The one you are fated to.” She grabbed Charlotte’s hand and turned it over, pointing out the lines there. “Remember? Your father. Your lover.”

  It slowly came back to Charlotte in small pieces. She continued to stare at the whistle.

  “They put you under a spell, Charlotte, so you would forget. But it’ll all come back to you, I promise.”

  “Here. You need this more than I do now. I was able to remember you because of this. You need to give this to the Vampire. Perhaps now it can protect him.”

  Sarah smiled faintly before clasping the necklace around her own neck. She lowered her eyes. “I was so afraid we would not see you again,” she whispered, and took Charlotte’s hand in hers, turning it over again. “But I forgot what fate told me.”

  Charlotte looked down at the lines in her palm once more. One of them began to shrivel and disappear, until only one of them was left. She looked, eyes wide, at Sarah, who was now smiling.

  “The whistle protected you against Meredith Price’s spells. That fate line must have been placed there a long time ago by magic. It is fake.” Hope filled the place where fear had been living.

  “And where is…?” Charlotte struggled to remember the name. “The one that I love?”

  “Valek,” Sarah reminded. “The guards have placed the coven down in the dungeons until sunrise.”

  “But I am getting married at sunrise,” Charlotte whispered.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Equinox

  A full moon lifted high over the horizon, casting a diamond glow about the frost starting to cover the autumn leaves. It was the signal for the Autumnal Equinox—the beginning of the time of darkness. But the Regime would not let the dark take its rightful place on the throne now. Light would always rule over the world.

  Aiden was still awake in his lonely bedchamber. He paced the stone floors, nervously glancing toward his empty bed every so often. In just a few hours he would be prime ruler of not only the secret, magic Occults, but the human race as well. The pressure weighed like a brick of lead on each shoulder, and he spread his arms out wide on the face of his desk. He looked at his reflection in the mirror on the far wall. He aged more and more each day. He looked back at the messy bedclothes from his sleepless night.

  ***

  Charlotte was also still awake, dressing in one of the intricate dresses made for her by Meredith and the other wives of the high Wizards. The one she chose was one of the simpler ones—black. Sarah, who’d remained disguised in the palace keeper’s uniform, hurried her from the doorway. “Come on! Valek will be awake now.”

  Sarah grabbed Charlotte by the wrist as the crept quietly down the pitch hallway, listening carefully for guard footsteps. The two made their way, ducking out from the torchlights that hung on the walls by dim tapestries.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” Charlotte whispered.

  “Stop!” a gruff voice shouted after them.

  The two lurched and froze, turning to see an approaching guard. Charlotte’s heart leapt into her throat.

  “Oh!” The guard straightened up, startled. “Pardon me, miss. I had not realized it was you.”

  Charlotte and Sarah looked at each other. “Uh…yes,” Charlotte stammered. “Um…carry on. As you were.”

  The guard nodded at her once before walking in the opposite direction.

  They began again through the palace, down the stairways, through different corridors. They rounded one corner when their gaze met with a tall, cloaked figure slightly hunched, a metal claw protruding from one sleeve. He had his back to them and was speaking with Aiden’s father.

  Sarah gasped. “That’s….”

  Charlotte hushed her quickly as she strained to hear what the two were saying.

  “That despicable little rat is clouding the mind of my heir, Danek,” Vladislov grumbled tiredly. “I want her dead not far after the wedding.”

  “Understood, my liege. But if Aiden finds out, you may have another war on your hands.”

  Charlotte covered her mouth to suppress any sort of noise.

  “Aiden shall not find out. The girl will die by ‘natural causes’,” the High Wizard said. “As we agreed, Danek. The empire may have a new face, but I will see that my original law of keeping our existence a secret will live on forever.”

  Sarah yanked Charlotte by the shoulder down a different hallway. “No one is dying that I care about.” She huffed as she held out her enchanted needle to the floor. “To the dark!” she ordered as a large, gaping hole in the floor appeared, swallowing the two of them. They plummeted until Sarah waved her needle again, slowing them just before they hit a stony bottom. She pulled open a large, wooden door, and they ran down more steps, until they finally found themselves at the beginning of the dungeon.

  The rank smell hit Charlotte’s nose and made her stomach turn. She wrapped her arms around herself as they slowly began walking. Memories of her past continued to come back to her in waves. Meredith’s potion had been very strong, and Cha
rlotte fought to remember Valek’s face. All she could see in her mind, though, were his blue eyes.

  Sarah turned to her, holding a finger to her lips again as they passed several cells filled with Vampires and other creatures of the dark. “Do not look anyone we don’t know in the face,” Sarah whispered.

  Charlotte nodded as she saw several dark figures reach out toward her from the corner of her eyes.

  “Blood,” they moaned at her. A few of them hissed. “Please.”

  Charlotte shuddered but she did not look until she heard her name called out to her.

  “Charlotte,” Mr. Třínožka weakly groaned from behind the mucky bars.

  Charlotte ran over, stretching her hand to him. “Pane Třínožka! Are you all right?” He was too weak to answer. She saw that his goggles had been cracked, and Edwin was lifeless again, hanging limply from his vest pocket. “It’s okay, Mr. Třínožka. We are going to get you out of here.”

  “Charlotte!” Sarah called to her from down the hall. She turned to see the Witch beckon for her. She left the cell of the Phaser and ran to see Sarah standing before the cell of the most beautiful man Charlotte had ever seen. A face she instantly remembered belonging to the hands in her dream. Her heart thudded against her chest as everything finally flooded back to her. “Valek!” she cried.

  He lifted his head to her. “Lottie….” He groaned quietly. She could see the battle he had been through painted on his face and clothes. The sides of his face and shoulders were blackened by his grappling with the flames, and his once beautiful lips were scarred beyond recognition.

  Charlotte fell to her knees, her arm extended all the way toward him between the bars. “Valek….” Tears rolled down her face again. “Come on! You have to fight this. He will have me marry him tomorrow,” she cried. “They will kill you. We can’t give up yet. You promised me.”

  “I love you, Lottie.” The words barely came out.

  “Valek, you have to get up,” she begged him. “I can’t do this without you!”

  “Charlotte,” he murmured. “You cannot marry him.”

  “I know!” she cried. “Please. You have to get up.”

  Sarah reached behind her head, unclasped the necklace, and tossed it between the bars to Valek. It clamored on the stone just inches in front of him. “Wear that, Valek,” she instructed. “The sun will be up soon. They will kill you. You have to put that on.” She helped Charlotte to stand. “We have to get you back to your room, Charlotte. If anyone discovers we are down here, we will be in more trouble than we are now.”

  The two of them hurried back through the long dungeon hallway. Charlotte could not control her sobs as Sarah tried to hush her.

  “Y-you don’t understand.” Charlotte ferociously wiped at her face. “He will die and I-I won’t even get to say goodbye.”

  Sarah frowned as well as more tears swelled in her own eyes. She quietly opened the door before looking one last time down the dark corridor in Valek’s direction. She willed his consciousness to return, begged him to rise from the ashes just one more time, and closed the door behind her.

  Once they found themselves back in Charlotte’s bedroom, the girl was inconsolable. She buried her face deep within her pillow, lost, her arms wrapped around her middle in an effort to hold herself together. Sarah sat on the edge of the bed, running her hand along Charlotte’s spine.

  “Charlotte, you have to calm down,” Sarah said. “Valek will find a way to come through. He always does.”

  “How can he?” Charlotte turned her face to one side. “They’ll kill him. And I will be getting married to that ugly coward.” She continued in broken sobs.

  “Oh, Charlotte.” She sighed. “Where is your God?”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The End

  Charlotte, who had finally cried herself into a deep sleep, jumped at the sound of a hard rapping at the door. This woke Sarah as well. The two of them sat up, staring eagerly at the door.

  “Charlotte,” Sarah whispered. “Whatever happens, we are with you.”

  Charlotte swallowed as the door swung open to reveal Meredith Price and the other wives of the Regime Order. They were positively beaming with excitement.

  Meredith clasped her hands in front of her face. “Oh good! You are already awake.” The lot of them stepped farther into the room. Meredith regarded Sarah on the bed. “Thank you, wench. You may leave.”

  Sarah and Charlotte looked at each other in absolute horror.

  “Now!” Meredith screeched.

  Sarah got up from the bed, and with one last look to Charlotte, slowly and silently, made her way out of the room.

  Meredith turned to Charlotte. “Good. Now then, my dear, sunrise is only a little while away. Let’s get you into your wedding dress!”

  ***

  Several stories below, the onslaught of the coming morning was beginning to plague the enslaved coven and the rest of the Regime prisoners. Valek, since last night, had gotten some of his strength back after reaching for the small, enchanted whistle. He was now lingering against the cell bars, waiting. He bit down on his lower lip, tasting the cold, previously ingested blood. Despite the massive overbearing noise of moaning and hissing, he heard Francis and Lusian stir in the cell next to his.

  Francis, are you with me?

  Yes, we are here—barely.

  And what of the others?

  The rest of the coven mentally answered him back in faint mental sentences.

  And the lot of you down the hall, Valek’s thought was a holler to those Vampires he had not yet met. They also responded, some largely stronger than others.

  As the guards in the palace above began to rally together to begin their dissention into the dungeon, Valek mentally laid out a simple, but potentially effective plan. They probably would not survive with the coming of the day, but if they fought right, Francis would be able to take out Vladislov, distracting the Regime guards while Valek disappeared in an effort to find Aiden and destroy him before his wedding. They would all surely perish, but Charlotte would be safe with Sarah, and the Regime would finally be overthrown. It was the last and only way Valek could save her. All of the Vampires in the rotting jail fervently agreed.

  ***

  Upstairs, Aiden sat on the edge of his bed, turning the small, gold wedding band over and over in his fingers. He had not gone to bed that night. Instead, he contemplated if what he had done was entirely wrong. Charlotte’s teary, fearful face flashed in the dim glint of the gold ring.

  Aiden had never wanted to turn into this—into Vladislov. He believed if he ruled over the mortal world with a mortal wife, there would be freedom. It would be what the empire had wanted for decades. But instead, he fell victim to his lust and his greed for her. The thoughts of having her next to him for his entire reign ruled over every other form of rationalization. He gripped the ring tight in his fist and leaned his forehead against it.

  Even with his mother’s spells, Charlotte did not love him. He’d made the mistake of letting who he truly was show itself to her. It was absolutely uncontrollable. He recalled the last careless day they had spent together before everything had fallen to hell. The natural sun shone so brightly over the pond water, and she’d looked so happy and beautiful as he watched her float there. There was no care in the world that day. But then the clouds rolled in.

  He opened his eyes and looked around his empty bedchamber once more, at his traditional wedding suit hanging on the bedpost. He would make it up to Charlotte. He would be the best partner to her he could possibly be. He had made up his mind and stood from the bed to go and wash up.

  ***

  Meredith and the others had scrubbed Charlotte down so her skin glowed just as brightly as theirs did. But Charlotte knew, even though she was miserable, she could not let on that Meredith’s spell had worn off. She must pretend she remembered nothing still as she sat in the parlor chair, letting the Elven women curl her hair and shine her up.

  Meredith beamed. “You will loo
k beautiful, my dear. We are all so happy for you! Glinda, get the perfume!”

  “I know I will be,” Charlotte responded, without much color at all. She could not shake the image of Valek from her mind. “How much longer until the wedding?”

  Meredith chuckled to her counterparts. “Look how excited my new daughter is to wed.” She turned to Charlotte. “Very, very soon, darling. Don’t you worry.”

  ***

  The guards began down the stairs in two-by-two formation. Their grim complexions highlighted only by the small flames at the end of their fingertips as they marched through the doors into the dismal dungeon crypt.

  “All right, leeches. It’s time to die,” the head officer grumbled.

  The patrol attacked the cell doors, tearing them open to capture their prey. But when they expected to be met with the defeated pre-corpses of the doomed, the various Vampires and others slammed into them in pure riot. Balls of flames were flying as fast as fangs were.

  Valek leapt out, slamming one of the guard’s faces deep into the bricks, flattening the skull. “Remember!” he called out. “Don’t be afraid to drain them! You are to die, anyway! Their magic can’t hurt you now!” He ran past the various battles about the dungeon. Francis and Lusian were close next to him as the three began to climb the stairs to the upper parts of the palace.

  “Francis, you must find the main quarters now, before Vlaidslov leaves to attend the wedding,” Valek said grimly as they ran.

  Palace guards that stood on the upper floors began to chase after them, hurling whatever elements they could in an effort to stop them. Electricity, wind, ice, but the three were determined and successful at dodging each of the attacks.

  “I know. I can smell the vile stench of him from her,” Francis said. “Valek, before I leave,” he started, as his turn was coming. “I want you to know how much I truly care about you. As a friend and as a creator. You are amazing to me, and if there is no afterlife for me to see you again, I hope wherever you end up, you are happy.”