The Vampire Princess

by P. Mattern

  I hopped into the old fashioned wooden chair and, picking up an eating utensil that looked exactly like a metal ‘spork’ I dug in. The food was delicious.

  To the side I saw a glass pitcher full of a strawberry colored liquid. I poured myself a glass and took a tentative sip. It taste wonderful, like orange juice mixed with strawberries, acai and watermelon. I found that I was very thirsty and was on halfway through my third glass when the door to the chamber opened and Eutropia entered, followed by a tall girl with long brown hair. Eutropia was wearing a black lace gown with a full skirt. If I’d had to categorize it I would have pegged her personal style as ‘Cinderella Goth’.

  Instinctively I stopped eating and sat up straighter, wondering if I should stand because it was obvious Eutropia considered herself royalty.

  To ME she seemed like a ‘royal’ pain in the ass. Obviously crazy and delusional…not to mention power mad.

  “I have someone I want you to meet,” she said. I could see her eyes drift downward to my nearly cleaned plate and I saw her shudder slightly.

  “The air here must agree with you,” she said ”I see you are eating like a longshoreman. That’s good. You will need your strength later.”

  I opened my mouth to speak and suddenly belched instead.

  “Oh excuse me I’m so sorry,” I said, pressing my napkin to my mouth, “I didn’t mean to do that!”

  Eutropia smiled her trademark frigid smile.

  “I am very sure you do many things you don’t “mean” to Tristina,” she said with an air of boredom.”Along with making a great many mistakes. We will have to lay that aside for now. I wanted to give you an opportunity to meet Theda. She will be your opponent tonight, and she asked to speak with you.”

  My curiosity and surprise must have shown on my face, but before I could find any words, Eutropia turned and left Theda standing there. Theda was wearing the same sort of robe I was wearing, white linen and floor length, with a single braided leather tie at the waist.

  “I wanted to talk to you before the battle tonight,” she told me, ”I want you to win. But we have to be clever about this so that no one suspects.”

  “Suspects what?” I asked, not getting it.

  Theda sighed. It suddenly occurred to me that everyone I’d ever known had a special sigh that they seemingly reserved for me. My mom-make that stepmom-Desi had sighed over me on a daily basis. My friend Brenda had sighed a lot too-she was always trying to get me to hook up with this or that random guy that she knew and when I gave my standard reply that I was too busy she also sighed. I remember my Dad sighing a lot when he was teaching me to drive. Teachers, gym coaches, pastors…the list was endless.

  “That I’m planning on throwing the fight, Tristina. Oh, I’ll make it look good, even cut you up a little…”

  “Cut me UP?” my voice ended on a high squeaky note. Inwardly I was panicking.”Cut me up with what?”

  Theda’s lips formed a tight line.

  “With whatever the Prince decides are the weapons,” Theda told me, shaking her head.”Haven’t you been trying to find out ANYTHING about this place? What are you? The poster girl for Stockholm Syndrome? You were kidnapped and you don’t know where you ARE even and THAT’S JUST OKAY WITH YOU?”

  I felt inclined to argue with her.

  “Well before you climb up on your high horse, I was DRUGGED before they brought me here, okay? This is the first day I’ve been here that I wasn’t in a fog! Sorry if my powers of perception aren’t up to your standards!”

  To my surprise Theda looked immediately apologetic.

  “Oh …I didn’t know. I thought that you were duped like me.”

  “How did they dupe you?” I asked her. She didn’t look like the kind of girl that was easily duped

  “A call for models,” she answered, “I model for the local high end department store.”The call was for a possible magazine cover, so I was excited and I answered the ad. There was a young Goth guy and a woman there. They took a few pictures and then Seth came up behind me and put a ball gag in my mouth and a hood over my head.”

  I thought about that for a minute, and then asked, “So you don’t know where wee are either?”

  “Not…precisely,” she told me. “But I have a clue I think .I heard some of the servants speaking a tongue that I know .I am, I mean WAS studying Linguistics at the local University extension and I recognized it immediately as Norwegian.”

  “I’m in NORWAY?” I asked rhetorically, incredulity in my voice .I was having trouble believing it. First off there was the distance. Even on a private plane it should have taken a lot longer to travel from the American Midwest to Norway.

  “I know that you’re thinking you must have been brought here by plane, but I assure you it was nothing of the sort. They have portals here from quite a few towns in the American Midwest. Almost like an underground railroad—only instead of freeing people they are imprisoning them.

  Anyway,” Theda continued, “It’s not going to go well for me here. I’m not throwing the fight because I want to save you or anything—as a matter of face I am certain I could beat you. I’m taller and stronger, I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and I played varsity volleyball and lacrosse. I don’t even know you. But I DO know this…

  Whoever wins this fight will be given to the Prince as a prize. And I am determined that it will NOT be me. He is a full on vampire, not a half vampire like you and I are now. I didn’t think that I was that religious before I got here, but I know that I do not want to become one of the ‘damned for eternity and beyond crowd’. There is no way I am going that route. You can HAVE him Tristina! And another thing—“

  She looked at me, down at my left hand, and then back up to my eyes.

  “I have to ask you…if you were to lose either your hand or your eye, which would you choose?”

  “Neither,” I said, “But if you insist…maybe a hand. Eyes are more important.”

  Theda looked as though she were considering my answer.

  “Okay, very good. But MY choice is the eye…remember that!”

  I could see by looking in her golden brown imploring eyes that she was being earnest. I decided to be as candid as she’d been.

  “I don’t care if I am in Timbuktu,” I announced emphatically, ”I WILL find my way home. I have parents I care about, and a best friend, and they are probably all worried sick about me. I just want to go home. If you want to throw our fight tonight, fine. But I am not staying to be subjected to any more of this weirdness. Even if everything you say is true these weirdos are guilty of human trafficking and should be punished. Theda don’t you just want to LEAVE? You should leave with me!”

  Theda looked at me fondly.

  “I’m glad for you. Glad that you have something out there in the so called ‘normal’ world –like that even exists-to return to. But I don’t Tristina. I don’t have a loving family and aside from my teammates I don’t have many friends. And I don’t think you understand what you are now. We have both been bitten, venom injected into our systems. We will never be able to fit into human culture again. We drink BLOOD - we’re the natural enemies of humans now.”

  I shook my head vehemently.

  “I will NEVER drink blood,” I stated.”I don’t care WHAT they do to me!”

  Theda looked at me sadly and knowingly.

  “You already did, Tristina. They gave you a pitcher full of human blood mixed with orange juice with your breakfast this morning. Looks like you drank almost the entire pitcher!”

  I could feel gorge rising in my throat and glance over with horror at the nearly empty pitcher on the small table. How could I drink human blood and not even taste it?

  It seemed as though Theda had read my mind.

  “After you, or anybody, is bitten, blood doesn’t taste like blood any more. It tastes like non-alcoholic wine. Kind of sweet and fruity. Really delicious. In fact,” she finished, reaching over to pour the last of the “blood mimosa’ into my empty glass and down it in
three noisy gulps. “Aaaaah that was great! But see what I mean? We will always need blood now. Like addicts crave crack cocaine. How are you going to have a normal life with that going on?’

  “Maybe I’ll have my steaks rare rather than medium well…I don’t have to have human blood do I?”

  “Maybe not, I’m not sure. But you will crave it. For the rest of your life. How does that concept fit in with your former goals in life? It’s quite a game changer isn’t it? Being around humans and wanting to “taste” them? Drink their blood? “

  I was quiet as I pondered what she’d said. Finally I raised my face to hers.

  “That ghoul that gave me the tattoo, Cosmo…he said something about flesh-eaters eating the loser of the fight. If you throw the fight like you’re planning won’t you be eaten?”

  Theda laughed shortly.

  “That was only wistful thinking on his part. If you KILL me that’s what would happen to my dead body. But I plan to be injured and yield. In that case the same rules don’t apply. So don’t worry about it. I will have to cut you though, so don’t be shocked. I will aim for the shoulder and it will hurt—a LOT. You have to be more strategic. Aim for the solar plexus or the hip.”

  “What sort of weapons are we fighting with?” I asked, bewildered.

  “Swords of course. And shields. I plan to let you knock mine away. But you had best be quick because I am pretty skilled at this. You will end up with a number of cuts but since you are a half vampire they should heal rather quickly.”

  The door swung open abruptly and Eutropia looked us both up and down with an air of appraisal.

  “So may the best candidate win,” she said, smiling her trademark chilling smile.”Now come Theda. You need to prepare and so does Tristina. The Challenge begins in exactly two hours.”

  “Please!” I said, trying to get Eutropia’s attention before she left .”I noticed that it seems always to be night here. Can you tell me why?”

  Eutropia looked at me strangely. For a moment I thought that she would leave without answering my question, her sweeping skirt brushing the floor.

  “We like it here in the arctic circle precisely because of that fact. We enjoy many months of darkness, followed by months of continuous daylight.”

  “Oh,” I said, my heart sinking to my feet. I wanted so badly to escape, and the news that I was being held captive in such a remote place made hope of escape seem impossible. How would I survive the temperatures out of doors? And even if I did, how could I transverse the waters surrounding this place to even reach another destination, even if I waited until the season of continuous daylight?

  Eutropia turned and left with Theda, and two servant girls came in to dress me in battle gear. I stood woodenly as they dressed me in a one piece garment that seemed like a union suit. I had enough wits about me to excuse myself to use the crude hole in the floor with planks on either side that serves as a toilet. I really didn’t want to have to pee after they had fully dressed me in the protective gear.

  I was not impressed that there was no toilet paper.

  Before I knew it, it was time for the so called battle. I was dressed in leather from head to toe, with thigh high studded boots and even a “skirt” over the boots that consisted of 3inch wide strips of leather hanging down from my waist. A million thoughts were going through my head as I walked up the tunnel like hallway toward the noise of crowds. The kind of din you’d expect at a High School football tournament. When the tunnel gave way to a lighted opening that was wider than I expected I was temporarily blinded by the bright lights lighting up the huge place.

  It was an underground arena. I felt intimidated as I looked around me. There seemed to be hundreds, maybe thousands of people in the stands. I use the term ‘people’ loosely because some of them didn’t quite look human. Many wore masks, not the Halloween kind but the kind that the nobility in bygone centuries used to wear to masked balls. It was a strange collection and the air was electric with anticipation.

  As I stepped out into the artificially bright lights I could see Theda emerging from the opposite side. Her outfit was nearly a replica of mine, though she was wearing a leather head covering with a shin strap that had two ‘ears’ on the top, making her look like a leather clad predatory animal. On my head they had placed a helmet with a sort of crown attached also fastened by a thick leather chin strap. The entire thing was metal and felt heavy on my neck.

  ‘At least both of our ears are covered,’ I remember thinking, ‘No danger of us cutting them off’.

  I felt a push from behind in the small of my back and one of the attendants shoved the hilt of a sword into my hand. It wasn’t nearly as heavy as it looked, and I was grateful for that. I moved forward at the same time as Theda had, and we eventually met in midfield.

  Looking at her I was shocked at her beauty. Even with her braided hair concealed beneath her headgear, her skin was flawless, her beautiful copper colored eyes bright and her lips dark pink and full. She was wearing subtle and expertly applied makeup that enhanced her features. I wondered if I looked anywhere near as breathtaking as she did.

  I realize that I wasn’t paying proper attention to the announcement over the loudspeaker. My attendant (there was only one at my side now and I wondered where the other ones had gone) turned me to the left. Theda was also facing the same direction.

  Afterwards I would remember that day as the first time I saw the Prince.

  He was wearing a severe looking black and gold leather mask that ended in the suggestion of a bird beak. It covered two-thirds of his face, so that one could only guess at his features. His mouth looked generous in a lateral way, his jaw line was well defined and there was the hint of a cleft in his chin.

  His hair was not quite blonde but darker, a bronze color, the curls of it barely resting on the tops of his broad shoulders. As soon as Theda and I turned to face him, he rose out of his high backed seat and stood as we approached. I instinctively knew to lower both my head and my gaze, and stood stupidly staring at the ground as he stared at both of us.

  “You-come forward,” he announced, gesturing to me. His voice was deep and masculine, with the ring of authority and a hint of velvety seductiveness. I stepped woodenly forward, completely overwhelmed by the circumstances. My heart was beating so loudly that my increased heartbeats were echoing in my ears, drowning out the noise of the crowd gathered there.

  “Take off your helmet,” he instructed in the same voice that seemed to have the strange effect of vibrating in all my secret places, ”I want to have a good look at you, Candidate!”

  Was it my imagination or did I see the faint suggestion of a smile playing at the corners of his lips? Dutifully I removed the heavy headgear, and my long wavy reddish gold hair tumbled down around my shoulders. Part of it was still in long ringlets. The crowd seemed to quiet down, waiting to see what the Prince would do next.

  “What is your name, girl?” he asked, adding, “And left your chin so that I can see your face!”

  Automatically I raised my chin, feeling at the same time afraid and defiant. I didn’t care what he thought of me. All I knew was that the cultural mores in this misbegotten and obscure place had single handedly sent the cause of women’s rights back to the Stone Age. I had the impression that witnessing a female being dragged by her hair by one of these Neanderthals might be a common occurrence.

  “Tristina,” I said, glad that my voice sounded sure and strong.

  His own dark eyes, darker than I might expect given his unusually fair coloring, seemed to peer into my soul. Crazily, I thought I heard him speaking to me without having uttered a word.

  “Don’t be afraid,” I thought the same voice, his strong voice with the distinctive velvet undercurrent that it had said to me.”I think that you can take her. Just do your best and play fair.

  Love your hair by the way,” he finished. I thought that I saw the almost imperceptible suggestion of a wink as his gaze steadily held mine. I found myself blushing, my cheeks turning
to flame in an instant.

  Next he had Theda come forward. He asked her name also. He told her that she looked as though she was descended from Goths, and that he expected her to fight in a way that would honor her ancestors.

  Theada had just nodded in response. I could feel fear emanating from her as she stood at my side. I couldn’t help but notice that she was at least a head taller than me. And I began to panic a little.

  What if she only told me of her plan to ‘throw’ the fight to catch me off guard so that I would let my guard down and be an easier mark for her to conquer? How was I supposed to trust this stranger that I had just met with my life? I had a history of choosing the wrong friends, confiding in the wrong people, and pissing off popular girls by merely daring to EXIST in the same school space. I wondered what my bff Brenda was doing just now. Probably joining the search for my body. Apparently Eutropia had all the bases covered. They would find the decoy and assume it was me.

  Trumpet music from either side of the podium startled me out of my thoughts.

  The attendant turned me around and directed me toward the center ring in the arena.

  The crowd noise became distracting and unbearable and my stomach did an elevator flip flop as Thea and I were each handed swords. I had absolutely no experience with weapons of any kind, but the sword fit well in my hand and with the helmet, a shield, and a tunic of light chainmail I felt protected at least.

  There was more trumpeting and then a shout from the Prince to signal the beginning of our fight. Somehow I could bring myself to strike the first blow, but Theda didn’t hesitate. She went right for the left side of my chest-a blow that I managed to deflect with my shield She quickly followed that up with a slice to my upper arm. Even though I instinctively jumped backwards the tip of her sword caught my shoulder and I felt the tip pierce the skin on my shoulder blade.

  “Pay attention!” she yelled over the din of the crowd. I couldn’t tell from anything she had done so far whether she was trying to spare me or kill me.

  After an interval of 3 or 4 seconds I launched forward again, trying to turn my lack of height from a disadvantage to an advantage. To my surprise I scored a strike, an even bigger one than Theda had landed on my shoulder. Though she had knocked my sword from its trajectory somehow I had wounded her. I tried not to be distracted by the blood seeping across her tunic from the area of her navel.