Kings of Awakening Vampires and Purebloods

by Arantes

  The guards took their horses and Sonia got off gracefully as her feet touched the snowy ground. “It was pleasant, thank you for your hospitality.”

  Angelione nodded in agreement.

  “Shall we go?”

  As they got closer to the throne, they could see King Henry sitting there with his crown on his head. Beautiful women surrounded him and to one side of him stood a man named Philip. It is said that Philip is Henry’s most loyal advisor and servant. King Henry was close to six feet tall with smooth dark hair and handsome chiseled facial features. If Sonia were into evil men he would have been her type. His throne room was filled with statues of himself.

  “All hail King Henry!” shouted Philip.

  All of them bowed to the king, all except Sonia. Everyone had their eyes intensely fixed on her in disbelief, wondering if she wanted a death sentence.

  “Sonia, bow down, it’s rude not too,” said Angelione softly and quickly.

  Philip was not happy about the fact that she chose not to bow down to his King. “How dare you outsider?! You come to our Kingdom and disrespect our King!” said Philip with his vein ready to burst from his forehead. “Guards, seize her now, we will not tolerate disobedience!”

  Sonia quickly checked her back pocket for her daggers and her chain, but she forgot she had left them back at the inn while switching her outfit. Would she dare use her abilities against a High King?

  Unexpectedly the king started applauding and laughing as he stood up. “Stand down men. I’m not her King, so what she chooses not to bow to me.”

  Henry was one of the most vicious Kings in Nacune. Many warriors had made the mistake of disrespecting Him; all were hung to set an example of his wicked ways.

  He approached Sonia, took her hand and kissed it. He had nice soft hands. He looked as if he hadn’t seen battle in a while. “It’s nice to meet someone as beautiful and elegant as you. I have thousands of women, but none measure up to your exquisiteness.”

  The other girls did not like the way Henry favored her, but knew if they said a word, he would have their heads. She came to his Kingdom and showed him no respect at all. As far as they were concerned, she didn’t deserve his respect.

  Angelione had a surprised, slightly puzzled look on his face. He looked to his left to see the angry look on Samuel’s face. It’s as if Samuel was going to tell the king he saw her first.

  “You must be Angelione. Welcome to Odeon. I hope the two of you enjoy your stay,” said King Henry with less a welcoming tone to Angelione.

  “It’s an honor meeting you, King Henry,” responded Angelione.

  “I have given you two my blessing in the pursuit for Aleister, with the help of William and some of his finest men that is.” The King had a faded smile on his face. The others in the room kept silent, talking while he’s talking will surely get you killed.

  Sonia started to talk, which of course was not surprising; she had disrespected him once and she would do it again. “We are honored for you allowing us to help. Aleister is someone dangerous to our world, a national menace to both kingdoms.”

  The king replied, “So tell me, do you believe that he’s one of them?”

  Angelione and Sonia looked at each other. “As powerful as Aleister is, there are those in the shadows who are just as strong. And besides, the only person who ever faced Aleister and lived to tell about it was Dragan, my master.” said Angelione, who wondered himself how powerful Aleister truly was.

  The King had a different look this time. “Oh, yes…Dragan. The last time I seen him we nearly killed each other. But of course that was the goal back then, when your kingdom and mine were at war. Now we can put all that behind us and move onward to a better future, am I right?”

  Angelione quickly responded, “Yes I agree. The world is moving to a path where peace will prosper and war will be a thing of the past.”

  The King started to laugh. “It pleases me to see Atnius and Odeon working together for a common goal.”

  There was something about his tone that Sonia hated; she hated everything about this man. She hated how he looked, walked, and talked. Even the way he moved his hands. She hated it all.

  William came forward to the King and said, “Forgive me my lord but we must go now while the sun is still young.” It had taken much courage for him to say what he said.

  The King gave him an angry look and said, “Then let the search begin!”

  With permission from the King their search had begun. Sonia, Angelione, William, Samuel, and a couple of their men were now on the hunt for Aleister. They rode to the other side of the city known as the poor district. As they rode throughout the poor district, the atmosphere shifted fast. The smell of sewer was a bit overwhelming. The houses were old and fragile. The people looked as if they had been starving for years. Sonia wondered if the blood-rain was what had been keeping them alive. There was trash on the street that made the road look awful.

  William’s men started hollering at the people to make way as they stared at the guards. There was no silence in this street. The wind started blowing the sickly smell of rotted garbage from the trash. Now Sonia was cold and it smelled awful. The streetlights looked as if they hadn’t been replaced in years.

  I’m surprised the king allows electricity here, thought Sonia.

  There isn’t a market here anymore, too many thieves lurking around. The doorways of the houses are all locked and barred.

  “Why is there so much poverty on this side?” asked Sonia.

  “In this land, if you want to live comfortably, you must serve in King Henry’s army. He believes war will set his people free, so in doing so, he doesn’t help his people with food or give them handout,” said Samuel. “Join his army and he will make you rich.”

  What a cruel thing to do, thinking Sonia. No wonder king Henry wanted the war to keep going, he had an endless supply of servants. King Victor would never dare do such a thing. She saw a young child watching her with hollow eyes. He looked as if he hadn’t been bathed or fed in days. He sat on the corner of the street, begging people who were begging for gold themselves. Sonia guided her horse toward him and she got off.

  Sonia handed the little boy what little gold she had with her. The boy looked as if he had never seen this much amount before. Sonia’s smile brought happiness into his eyes. It was a good thing she at least had packed her gold.

  Angelione and the others watched.

  “So where are we starting? Do you have a lead or anything we can use?” asked Angelione.

  “There’s an old woman who claimed she saw a man who looked like Aleister,” said William.

  “We’re not sure for a fact, but if it’s true then this could be useful for us,” said Samuel.

  Angelione approached Sonia and told her it was time to go. Sonia looked back at him with sorrow in her eyes and got on her horse. It broke her heart to see children living like this.

  They made their way deeper in the poor district, which only made it tougher for Sonia.

  “Over there, that’s where she lives,” said one of the guards.

  The house was old and it smelled of rotten trash, this whole city smelled of rotten trash. They entered to find her sitting on her chair. She was an old frail woman with wrinkles around her face, gray hair and black eyes.

  “There she is,” said Samuel.

  The woman was mumbling something, Sonia could not quite understand.

  “She’s been repeating the same thing for days, ‘white flames,’”

  “White flames.” The word white flames sounded familiar, Sonia had remembered Albedo mumbling the same word. She turned towards Samuel in realization, “white flames.” It’s just a coincidence.

  Sonia and Angelione approached her. She seemed apprehensive. “Don’t worry, we are here to help, we can catch him if you can give us more details.”

  The woman stared at Sonia, noticing how beautiful she was, and slowly she started to calm down. She put her hand on Sonia’s cheek and said, “You’
re beautiful.”

  Sonia smiled, “Thank you. Can you tell us where you saw Aleister?”

  She stared into Sonia’s red eyes.

  “We have been trying to make her talk for almost three days and here you come,” said one of the guards. He was a bit surprised. Sonia had a big effect on anyone that she met.

  “I can do better my dear. I can show you,” said the old lady. “I have the ability to exchange memories with anyone I’ve touched.”

  “So you’re a Pureblood,” said Angelione.

  The old lady put one hand on her head and the other on Sonia’s head. Her hand felt cold. Sonia started to see her memories, and she began to see Sonia’s also. While witnessing her memories, Sonia saw a young man that fit the description of Aleister. It was snowing that night; the man stood on top of a house a couple doors down from the old lady’s house, staring at the red moon. Sonia felt a force and a feeling telling her to go back and stop the memory exchange, but it was too late. At the same time, the old lady was witnessing Albedo from Sonia’s memories. She saw the memories of Sonia training him. She could also see how she was falling for him. Then she saw something else, something terrifying. She saw Albedo and Aleister side by side. Albedo sat on a throne with Aleister sitting on a throne next to him.

  Just as Sonia witnessed Aleister on the roof, Aleister looked back and stared at her, as if he could see her, as if this was really happening. It felt more authentic than a dream. He said something she couldn’t hear clearly, but it sounded like, “Shat----” Sonia felt the shiver running down her spine. His presence felt too real, his red and blue eye staring back at her brought fear to her.

  The old woman and Sonia started to scream simultaneously.

  “What’s the matter Sonia?! What’s happening?” asked Angelione.

  The old woman quickly removed her hand from Sonia’s face, “You’re… you’re in love with one of the…” Before she could finish her sentence, she grabbed a knife and went to kill Sonia.

  Samuel quickly grabbed her and delivered a blow that would end her life. Blood splattered on the floor. Angelione quickly grabbed Sonia and tried to calm her down.

  “Sonia, it’s not real, just breathe!” Angelione wondered what she had seen; he had never seen her so scared before. What was it about Aleister that was so scary? Was it his appearance or his reputation for killing thousands with his cohorts? What did she see?

  “Sonia, what did you see?” asked William. “Did you see anything we could use?”

  You would think the guy would let her catch her breath before instantaneously asking her questions.

  Angelione put his arm around her; any question was going to have to wait.

  “White flames,” Sonia started mumbling and shaking in Angelione’s arms. Her skin was pale; the blood had left her face from fear.

  Angelione saw the terror on her face. “Let’s continue this another time, she’s not feeling well right now,” said Angelione.

  William understood and told him to take her back to the inn. I wonder what she saw.

  “It’s a shame she had to die, but I guess it could not be helped,” said Samuel not even feeling a of bit remorse for taking the old woman’s life. “I did what I had to do, she was going to kill her,” he said calmly.

  William approached him, “Don’t worry about it Samuel, no one will blame you, it had to be done. Why don’t you go home and get some rest yourself, I can handle the rest.”

  So far this hunt has gotten to a bad start. His men quickly covered her body; two others started cleaning the bloodstain from the walls. Samuel left to get himself together. The town’s people knew not to say a word. The King’s men had killed one of their own, but they were used to it.

  ***

  “Get some rest, you need it after what just happened,” said Angelione as they approached the inn.

  “I saw him Angelione. I saw him. His eyes were cold. I … never thought I would ever be this scared, but I am.” It was as if she was actually inside of my mind.

  Angelione got her some water and made her go to bed, “You need to sleep, so sleep,” said Angelione.

  It was a good thing she didn’t argue with him, she just wanted to get her mind back to one piece. Angelione left the room and turned the light switch off to let her calm down.

  As Sonia fell into a deep sleep, she began to dream of her and Albedo, both cheerfully smiling while lying in the grass. She started running and Albedo ran after her. The sky started crying as the rain poured down with no warning. Sonia felt as if a sinister presence was approaching her, she looked back to see Albedo laying on the floor and a man standing in front of him.

  Sonia looked at the man in his unique eyes. His long white hair reached his back. She

  began to scream, unable to move in fear.

  The man extended his right hand and said, “He belongs to us!”

  Sonia woke up to find Angelione’s two hands on her shoulders trying to wake her up. She was screaming as if she had lost her mind.

  “You’re having a nightmare,” said Angelione in perplexity, he had never seen her like this before.

  Sonia moved her eyes and looked around the room; slowly she started to gain her senses.

  It took her a couple minutes for her to accept that it was all a dream. Aleister’s presences felt so real, as if he was actually inside of her mind. She felt as if reality had been twisted in her dream, her mind had felt as if it was being eaten by his wickedness.

  Angelione brought her something sweet to eat and some tea. A couple minutes went by and she started to feel like herself again.

  Angelione stood by the window and watched the snow fall outside. It fell slowly as it hit the ground, quietly like dead flies. He saw Sonia’s reflection on the window while she was drinking her tea and eating her sweets. He thought nothing of her nightmare, or even what happened earlier with the old lady. Angelione had come to the conclusion that if she was too scared to talk about it now then so be it. He wasn’t the kind of man to push an answer out of someone. Even though what she knows might be crucial for their search, he had confidence that they would find another way.

  Sonia drank her tea and started wondering, “Something is not right. When we met King Henry he seemed unworried. Why would one of the High Kings be so calm when he knows one of the five Kings of Awakening is in his Kingdom?” She had made a conclusion that Aleister was one of them. Only they could bring this much fear to a person.

  “I know what you’re thinking Sonia. Don’t,” said Angelione. He looked back at her to see that she was feeling like her old self. Good, that’s what he needed, his partner back. Sonia was useless to him looking like this; hunting down Aleister was no child’s game. Now Sonia looked less hesitant, he wondered what she had seen that was so terrifying.

  Sonia responded back to Angelione, “And why not?”

  “You’re thinking that somehow Henry is connected to Aleister. We’re in foreign land, you must be careful.”

  They had worked with each other for so long they could just about read each other’s thoughts. But of course he knew Sonia wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t going to go around and spread rumors or anything like that.

  He took a deep breath. “Then again, you’re always right.”

  Working with Angelione always made her feel safe; they had formed a powerful bond of friendship. A bond of unspoken-friendship, the man hardly talked. Sonia practically had to force a word out of his mouth, but she knew when she needed him he always delivered. The two of them were like brother and sister. They would do anything to protect one-another.

  He came closer to her and she wiped the sweat off her face with a wet towel.

  “Did you also want to know about what happened earlier or about my nightmare?” asked Sonia.

  Angelione shook his head, knowing she wasn’t feeling well enough to talk about it.

  “I …I hope Albedo and the other’s are doing ok. If I know them they’re probably training. Except for Dante he can be a bit lazy sometimes
when it comes to training. But Albedo is determined to get stronger, even without me.”

  Angelione noticed that she always smiled when she mentioned his name and thought was she in love? The way her eyes sparkled, her cheeks turned red and a special smile appeared on her face, but only for Albedo.

  Angelione tried to make her go back to sleep. “The tea that you drank will keep bad dreams away.”

  Sonia gave him a look of laughter, “I’m not a child you know,” she said in a playing voice. She promised him she would try but instead stood by the window as soon as Angelione left the room.

  ***

  Angelione sat in the kitchen with his book and continued reading where he had left off. All of the sudden there was a knock at the door. The knocking could not be any more aggravating. It was the sound of a man being arrested and a warrant being issued for him. Angelione quickly closed the book and got his sword ready. He had a habit of standing to the side of the door before he answered. This was foreign land and he wanted to take no chances.

  “Who is it?” he asked with a free voice.

  Sonia quickly and quietly joined him in the small kitchen. Their eyes locked in understanding.

  “Lord William wishes you two to join us, its urgent! “

  Angelione and Sonia exchanged a glare. He opened the door and the guard explained it was better if they come along. Sonia made sure she brought her weapons with her. She hated this white robe they had given her, but it did keep her warmer.

  ***

  Samuel and William stood in a corridor between a soup shop and a sword weapons shop bewildered. William covered his mouth in disgust. It smelled as if a dozen of eggs had been left out to rot for days. Now lying in front of them were rotting corpses, filled with bugs and maggots that were eating away at their dead flesh. The owner of the stores had decided to close up real early today. I mean it’s not every day a store owner wakes up and there’s a pile of bodies so close to his store. The guards were doing all they could do to keep the crowds behind William from getting closer to the corpses. They wanted to see what was going on. A woman cried in terror, who would do such a thing? The town’s people were fed up with the killing. Night after night people had been dying.