Chapter 16: Isabella

A loud thud was heard soon as the girl falls to the ground. She groaned in pain and gazed upon the perpetrators of the incident. Their eyes are looking at her with contempt and mockery. And for sure, none of them would dare to help her at this state.

"B-brother, why did you push me?" She mustered the courage to ask.

The vampire snickered, "You're seriously asking me that?"

The other one patted his brother's shoulder, "She's a little stupid, Dan. Why don't we clearly tell her the reason?" A vampire with a calm composure said.

"Fine then," Dan grabbed her hair, "You don't belong here, witch! You're nothing but low mixed blood. You're no true Alucard!"

Then, he threw her forcefully that she got scratches from the bushes.

"You shouldn't show your face to us ever again."

"Yeah, you make us feel sick!"

The vampire princes walked away, leaving her behind just like that. Good thing, she has managed to protect the flower crown she's been making earlier.

"I've got to hurry and give this to mother."

Brushing off the mean words she just heard a while ago, she quickly ran towards the hallway while carrying the crown.

Along the way, she greets every maid she'll come across with her bright smile.

"She's a strong girl," Rae mumbled as he was watching her.

When she was heading towards him, the girl suddenly tripped. The lad was about to catch her but his body just passed through her, making her small body fall hardly on the floor.

That indeed hurt.

"Oh my, princess! You should be careful." The maids came to her side.

But strangely, no one would ever offer a hand to help her nor even care to bend over. Their gazes are the same as those boys earlier. It was as if they're even delighted that she got hurt by those little things.

"Come on, princess. You should be able to stand on your own."

"It's not like we're here to help you forever."

They said with a tone of mockery. And knowing this, Rae just flicked his tongue as he clenched his fist.

But the girl stood up and brushed the dust off her dress, "I'm alright. Thank you, everyone!" She beamed a smile before she left the hallway.

Rae watched her leave, looking at her with those sad eyes.

"I already told you, you can't change anything here," Bel said, walking towards him.

The lad held his head up to look at the vampire before him.

"All the things they said, all the things they do... They're all normal for her, so you don't have to worry. She can take all of it." Bel said referring to the princess earlier.

"No matter what she does, it's always been the same. The things she wished to have, the knowledge she wished to acquire... In this household, no one would ever give it to her. Not because they can't. But because they don't want to."

"Is that because she's a hybrid?"

Bel smiled sadly, "Yes."

Suddenly, Rae noticed the surroundings swiftly changed from a hallway to a certain room. It was luxurious, yet the atmosphere feels empty and lonely.

When he looked around, he saw a woman sitting by the window, with her long fuchsia pink hair swaying by the night wind. She was humming a sweet melody. But no matter how sweet it sounds, the feelings it wished to convey remain the same.

Loneliness.

The woman stopped humming when the princess came inside her room.

"Mother, mother!"

"Isabella, my dear daughter. What brings you here?"

"There's something I'd like to give to you. But first, close your eyes."

And the woman did so. She felt something was placed at the top of her head.

"You can open your eyes now, mother."

The woman glanced at the mirror and saw the flower crown around her head. It was a bit messy and clumsily made. But she knows her daughter did her best in making this.

"Thank you, my dear Isabella. You're indeed my light in this dark world." She smiled gently while caressing the princess's cheek.

Then, she happened to glance at her dress which was filled with stains of mud and dirt. There are also traces of scratches she received earlier when her brothers pushed her on the bush. Since she's a very young vampire, her healing skills are a bit slower compared to the mature ones.

Despite knowing these things, the woman just bit her lower lip and suddenly pulled her daughter for a hug.

"My dear Isabella, I'll protect you no matter what. I promise." She whispered to her ear.

The princess didn't seem to get it at first and just rest in her mother's tight embrace.

"I don't like where this is going," Rae mumbled, having a troubled expression.

Bel scoffed, "You came to my memory to know something, you should at least watch until the end."

He scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry."

"Don't be. Besides, you are correct. Things will get worse from here onwards."

Then, the time changes from night to dawn. Rae saw the princess walking all alone in the hallway. She looks a bit gloomy.

"I can't sleep..." She mumbled, "I hope mother is still awake. I want to hear her sing again."

The princess paused when she saw the lights are still on from her mother's room. The door is slightly open so she silently came forward to take a peek.

"You told me that my daughter will be protected if I agree with your wishes!" Her mother raised her voice, "But how come she's still harmed inside this household!"

"She's a vampire, you don't need to worry about such trivial things." A deep voice said and it was King Alucard, her father.

"She is, indeed! But everyone in this household treated her like she's something else. They didn't even respect her as a princess!"

"My promise is her protection, not my approval that she belongs to the royal family!"

"Then make sure you're fulfilling that promise because from what I'm seeing, you're nothing but empty words!"

"Don't you dare order me around, woman! Know your place!" The king slapped her cheek that she fell on the bed.

"You're the one who should be fulfilling your duty as my slave. Use your power to give me a worthy heir!" Alucard pinned her down as he laid on top of her.

"Let me go, you bastard! Release me!" The woman struggled but failed to escape the king's grasp.

As for the princess, she covered her ears.

Listening to her mother's screams is too much for her to handle. She can't do anything but run away from such a traumatic scene before her.

At some point, she has something in common with the lad standing in that place, witnessing all these things that can't even stop. Watching how the king forced himself on that poor woman, all he can do is clenched his fist while biting his lip, controlling the sadness and anger he's been feeling inside.

"At that time..." Bel started, "I finally understand why mother always looks so sad. She's been a prisoner in this rotten palace. She doesn't belong here. She's been captured for the sole purpose of giving birth to a monster, to fulfill his selfish desire."

Tears slowly welled up her eyes, "Every day must've been hell for her. And I didn't even realize that... I'm one of those monsters who's making her suffer."

Rae was about to say something when Bel wiped her tears away.

"And now, there's two of us... Two demons who made her life even miserable." She smiled bitterly.

"My dear Isabella, I have a request..."

Rae heard the woman's voice and realized the time and place changed. When he turned around, he saw the woman, carrying a child with candy pink hair.

"Anything for you, mother." The young princess smiled brightly.

Even she saw a traumatic scene nine months ago, she managed to put up a facade that she's alright.

"Your mother will be away for a while. But don't worry, I promise I'll return. In the meantime, could you take care of your little sister for me?"

Isabella gazed at the baby's small face, sleeping soundly and peacefully.

"Her name's Ciella, please take care of her in my stead."

She bit her lip to suppress the sadness she's been feeling. Instead, she put on a smile in front of her mother.

"I will, mother! I'll protect her, I promise!"

"A year has passed but mother didn't return. I was expecting she already escaped from this hellish place." Bel narrated while looking at the two girls playing in the garden.

"I hid my sister away from prying eyes. Because I know, she was supposed to die after knowing she's not a male vampire. But as our time together was just getting started, things didn't turn out pretty well..."

Rae saw some princes who spotted the sisters. They tried to hurt the young Ciella, but of course, Isabella did her best to protect her even if it caused her to bleed.

Seeing this violence happening before her eyes, young Ciella screamed and the plants around them suddenly withered. Her candy pink hair turned jet black as her purple eyes turned bright red. The servants saw this and it didn't take long before the news reached the king's ears.

"After finding out about Ciella's potential power, she was forcefully taken away from me." Bel frowned, watching the scene happening before them.

"Give her back! Don't take Ciella away from me!" The young princess pleaded with the butler.

"Don't worry, my lady. Princess Ciella will just undergo special training. You'll be able to see her once again after ten years."

"T-ten years?" Isabella echoed.

"For the meantime, you should work hard as well, my lady. You should become stronger to gain the king's favor, don't you think?" The butler snickered.

"After that, another nightmare came..."

The place around them shifted into an arena stage, where vampires sit around the audience seat and the ones fighting in the middle were children - the young princes to be exact.

"W-what is happening here?" He can't believe his eyes.

The princes were fighting against each other. Some awakened their powers and some don't. They ended up losing their heads or even torn into pieces. As for the young princess, she was surrounded by her half brothers, grinning and aiming at her like how a predator gazes its prey. They're too many, they all agreed to kill her once and for all like she's the enemy. That's how much they hated her existence.

But she can't give up either. She has to fight. She's been told that if she failed this trial, she won't be able to see her mother and sister once again.

'I-I don't want to die...' She said to herself, 'I'm... going to survive!'

The princes rushed towards her altogether, like an enemy they have to take down. And these events happened in a slow-motion phase. It was like each footstep, each heartbeat, and each gasp and pants are echoing in her ears. They're too focused on the fact of taking down a single and defenseless girl.

They didn't notice, she didn't as well at first, the young princess is already releasing a pinkish mist out of her body. It was hard to notice at first glance, but soon, the mist goes thicker and thicker that it became impossible for them to see her.

"What's happening?!"

"I can't see anything!"

"Why is there a thick mist in here?"

They all started to panic. Before they even noticed, they're already fighting and killing each other until no one was left except for the princess. When the mist was gone, everyone was surprised by the result. The young princess stood still in a sea of blood before her.

"This is madness! How could they have watched their own kind kill each other? To think, they're still children!" Rae clutched his chest.

"If it's the king's order, no one can disobey it." Isabella said, then, she scoffed, "You must've had a good childhood, Vampire King. You didn't know such madness exists in our world. Humans, vampires... Everyone is a monster, and has a monster within." She gazed at him with such empty eyes, filled with hopelessness and helplessness.

"Is this... the reason why you wanted to kill me? Is this why... you're broken?" He asked.

Isabella looked down and flashed a sad smile, "Broken? This?" She scoffed, "This isn't enough to break me. But this..." She pointed at the forest before them. That's when the lad realized the place shifted again.

The young princess was running into the woods at such a late hour. She was heading towards the tower when two guards suddenly blocked her way.

"Stop right there, little girl!"

"Where do you think you're going?"

Isabella panted, "To that tower... to visit my mom..."

"Your mom?" One of them echoed.

"Y'mean the witch?" Then they laughed mockingly.

"You're not going anywhere, little girl."

"We have the king's orders to not let anyone enter this tower. So, go home now!"

"B-but I... They promised me that I'll be able to see mom if I survived the trial!" Isabella insisted.

"We don't f*cking care. Move!"

They tried to push her away but she didn't go.

"I am... an Alucard too! I am the 17th princess!"

They scoffed, "We don't recognize any female in the house of Alucard! Leave or I'll make you!"

They pushed her away but her will doesn't stop there. Her desire to see her mother made her decide to come back at dawn.

Though it's risky, she sneaked out silently and carefully. She hid from the trees and caught the guards sleeping soundly, it will be morning soon after all. She grabbed this opportunity to enter the tower, but before she could, she noticed something at the top of it. When she held her head up, she saw her mother standing, looking blankly at the skies above. Then, she spreads her arms in the air like a bird as she held her head up with a smile.

The next thing that happened surprised the lad. The woman threw herself and died when her body reached the ground. It all happened right before the princess's eyes.

The corpse that fell before her and got smashed like a chunk of meat. She even heard the sound of how each bone was broken from the fall, how her blood-splattered and spreads on the ground.

'I've been dying to see you...'

Rae heard the girl's voice.

'I've fought my life in the line just to see you again! And yet... why? Why did you leave me, mother?'

***

Rae gasped when he shot his eyes open. He realized how he fell asleep beside the bed where Isabella was laid.

"Was it fun?" He heard a voice. When he gazed at his right side, Isabella was awake.

"Was it fun peering into my pathetic memories?"

The lad noticed how he was firmly gripping on her wrist, preventing her from escaping once she wakes up. But he didn't realize, he used his memory reading ability as well.

"They're not pathetic. Those memories made you for who you are."

"What? A monster?" She scoffed.

Rae glanced at her with sad eyes, "I'm sorry for your loss..." He mumbled.

"Why are you apologizing?"

The lad looked down, "I'm sorry..."

"STOP IT!" Isabella grabbed his collar, "I don't need your freaking apology! It wouldn't bring her back to life!" She raised her voice as her eyes turned bright red.

"Now if you're truly sorry for us, then kill yourself and end our misery!"

She gasped for air after ranting everything she wanted to say. Her eyes turned back to golden amber color.

Rae gently held her hand as he looked into her eyes, "I'll do it..." He said, "But, I have many things I need to accomplish, so I cannot kill myself. But I will do it, I will both end your miseries. I promise!"

Slowly, Isabella loosened her grip on his collar and laughed, "Really? Do you promise? How can I trust my enemy's words? Promises are meant to be broken, just how naive can you be?"

"It's up to you whether you'll believe me or not. But I'm going to do what I said. I'm going to take King Alucard down."

She scoffed, "You can never beat him. He has become stronger over five years. No one from us has ever matched his strength -- even Orpheus."

"That's true, I may not be able to beat him..." Rae gazed at her and smirked, "But he's not the only one who grew stronger over five years."

The passion burning like fire in his eyes, she can clearly see it and can't explain where does his confidence comes from. She has obviously warned him, but it seems like he doesn't care at all.

'Will he really be able to defeat him? Should I put my bet on him?' She thought, 'I haven't seen his full potential but... Can I really trust him? Will he be able to set us free?'

Clearly, she can't easily trust someone who came from her family's enemy and whom she just tried to kill moments ago.

But there's something inside her, like a small voice, telling her to place her cards to him. It's a gamble that she bets her life on the line.

Just like before.

But this time, will she gain something and lose nothing? There's only one way to find out.

***

Somewhere far from the city lies an abandoned place where some creatures lurk and gather. One of those is the organization called "The Red Skull". They've been called to welcome the awakening of their comrade who has been reborn for such a long time. And now he's here, they're more confident that they can bring anything down that blocks their path.

And in a certain room, there was a big cocoon standing on the floor, slowly making some cracking sounds. As the walls slowly crumbled, someone is emerging from within. Breaking free from the suffocating cocoon as he finally stepped out of his cage. His whole body is filled with a thick and slimy gel that he got from the cocoon. It's part of the process anyway.

Then, someone opened the door and came with a familiar face.

"Griselda, is that you? You've grown so much since the last time I saw you." He was about to hug her when she threw a towel on his face.

"Stay away from me, weirdo! At least put some pants on first!" She flushed and threw some clothes as well.

"How cold of you! We just meet each other after those years and you didn't even give me a hug." He pouted.

"Stop whining and put the clothes on. Master Vulpine is now waiting for you downstairs." Griselda crossed her arms to her chest.

He chuckled, "As cute as ever. Fine, I'll be ready now."

After that, they stepped out of the room and went downstairs. The whole members are waiting for him including the very vampire he respected the most.

"I bet you you have a good sleep. Welcome back, Linnaeus." Vulpine greeted with a smirk on his lips.

"Yes, it's really good to be back." He chuckled, "Now that I've regained my true form, I can't wait to pay a revisit to the so-called Vampire King." He grinned as his eyes glowed in bright red.