The Roses of the Night

Chapter One

The darkness of dusk spread over the land, and fell over onto the small, forgotten town of Transylvania. The moon was full, which only meant one thing; the vampires were going out to gather their monthly victims.

In a dark gothic castle on the outskirts of the town, two vampires held a frail human body. They pulled him down the halls, and into a large throne room, where on the throne, sat the strongest and most feared vampire ever known.

On his throne, he wore a long black tunic, with golden embroidering and a red rose pinned to it. His golden hair hung over his face, hiding one of his eyes, and revealing the other; a piercing white. He smiled, seeing the fresh mortal his servants had brought to him. They threw the pale body in front of him. He was dressed in rags, and they’d blindfolded him and tied his hands. The young boy had white hair, with a streak or two of black in the front.

“Did you bring me the one with the purest blood?” The count’s voice caused the young boy to look up, because of the chilling tone.

“Yes, master. We are certain it was him.” One vampire behind the boy said.

“When we attacked, he was trying to protect the others, and hide them in a church.” Another said, as he remembered the moment:

Everyone screamed, and rushed through the doors of the church, pushing against eachother to get ahead. The vampires, flying through the air to get to the humans, hissed at eachother. They broke through the doors and found the humans hurrying into a back room. As they approached, the crowd screamed and cried. Suddenly, a young boy emerged at the front of the group.

“Wh-What do you want!?” he cried, shielding the others. One of the vampires gave a step forward, and a threatening look. The boy took a step back in fear, and the vampire smirked. He repeated again, “What are you here for?”

“The one with the purest blood.”

“..What?”

“You.” Suddenly, they grabbed the boy, and just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished.

The Count’s voice silenced their memories. “That’s all. You may go.” They replied with a ‘Yes, Master’ and left, as they were ordered.

The young boy they had brought in knelt on the ground, frantic from hearing these strange voices, and the unsettling feeling of being temporarily blinded. Then he felt a hold hand touch his chin, tilting it upwards.

The dark vampire stared down at him, with a smirk at how frightened he was. “What’s your name, boy?” he asked. His voice gave the boy he referred to chills. “I said, speak.” He commanded, when there was no reply.

“T-Teru…” he whispered.

“Ah…And, Teru…do you know why you’re here?” He asked in an amused voice. Teru knew very well why they’d brought him there, but hadn’t thought about it.

“Y-You want to drink my blood!” he stuttered, and tried to back away, but fell, unable to catch himself.

Suddenly, his voice was right by Teru’s ear, and a pair of strong hands helped him sit up. “Are you afraid?” He asked, even though Teru’s racing heart spoke for itself.

“…N-No…” Teru lied.

“Oh really? Then you won’t mind seeing the face of your captor, would you?” He held Teru’s chin, and slipped off the blindfold. When his eyes focused, he saw the piercing eyes of the vampire in front of him, and his radiant being. ‘How beautiful…’ he thought, until he smiled and revealed a set of sparkling white fangs.

“You’re…”

“Count Dracula. At your service.” He bowed with a smirk. “But you can call me Kamijo.”

Teru looked down, and tried to move, or sit, but the bonds on his hands restricted his movement. Then, Kamijo approached him from behind, breathing down his neck so that it gave him chills.

“I’m going to untie you…Promise me you won’t run?” he whispered, holding the rope tying Teru’s wrists together. When he said nothing, he pressed himself closer. “Promise?”

“Y-Yes, yes, I promise.” Teru cried. Kamijo laughed, and cut the rope with one of his nails. The moment he was untied, Teru stood up and quickly stepped away from the vampire, not running, just getting far enough away to feel safer.

“Hmph… you said you weren’t afraid.” He said, and appeared behind Teru, grabbing him by his shoulders. “Did you lie to me, Teru? …I don’t like liars…”

“I…I didn’t lie…”

“Oh?” Then why is your heart beating so fast? You must either be petrified, or lying….” He ran his hand over Teru’s chest, feeling his heart beat faster and faster. “…Or both.”

Teru quickly stepped away again, brushing himself off, as if to get the feeling of Kamijo’s cold hands off of him. “P-Please…don’t—”

“Touch you?” He was behind him again, holding him by the shoulders, hands slowly traveling across Teru’s small body. “Why not? Do you not like me, Teru-chan?” He teased.

Feeling like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, he broke into a run. He sprinted down the closets hallway, and didn’t look back. He had no idea where he was going, but all he knew was how desperately he wanted to get away from that man. When he came to a dead end, he opened a random door, and to his horror, Kamijo was standing behind it as it opened.

“Didn’t I tell you not to run?”

Teru ran again, the other way and down an intersecting hall, when he turned a corner, Kamijo had appeared there again.

“Now you’re making me angry, Teru-chan. Why don’t you stop running, and come here.” He held out his arms, as if inviting Teru into an embrace. He shook his head, panting heavily from running, and tried to back away, but only into a wall. Kamijo approached him, and blocked his only exit. “Oh, Teru… I was really starting to like you. Why’d you run, Teru? I told you not to, so why did you run?” Kamijo started to sound like a madman, taking slow steps closer.

Scanning his surroundings for an exit, he saw swords that were hanging on display. He grabbed one, and held it at Kamijo, and in the most threatening voice he could manage, he yelled, “S-Stay back! Don’t come near me!”

Kamijo backed away, seemingly frightened, but then he spoke. “You can’t kill me, Teru.” Then, he did the most horrifying thing Teru had ever seen. He walked straight forward into the sword, letting it pierce him through his chest, but remained completely oblivious. He kept stepping closer and closer, without even acknowledging the blade that was impaling him, and then he continued. “I’m already dead.

He grabbed Teru by the shoulder, and pulled his body to him forcefully, sinking his fangs into the boy’s pale neck, and drinking up his warm, sweet blood, all the while, pulling the sword out of his chest, and throwing it to the ground.