Shedding some light

Standing in an open field was a fair maiden.

Her eyes shone like a stone sapphire.

The moon was full.

And she was not alone.

All the eyes of the beings that surrounded her shone too in different colors.

They were all admiring her.

All of them wanted her.

The night embraces her.

Screams and cries of hunger surrounded her.

They are all hungry, hungry for her attention.

She's too powerful, too beautiful.

The maiden's eyes sparked, her deep blue eyes, with pleasure.

She then smiled, fangs glittering in the moonlight.

"Blood. Tonight, blood will be spilled," she uttered, making the beasts around her howl in rejoice.

"Tonight, we shall conquer."

With a thunderbolt piercing through her body, Szeina opened her eyes, gasping for breath.

She looked at her surroundings, frantic that the woman in her dreams might be staring at her, fangs glinting in the dim light of the room she was in.

Realizing that it was nothing but a dream, she calmed her heart.

It was only then that she took in her environment.

A four-poster bed with a see-through curtain was where she was laid. Two lamps with an antique floral design sat on top of the bedside table.

On the wall facing her, an enormous portrait of a painted rose, the color of which matching her ocean eyes, hangs on the wall.

Below it, an elongated drawer had a vase of flowers in the middle and an assortment of plants flanked it on both sides on top of it.

On her right, a big crystal window had the curtains flapping, a soft wind coming through.

Where was she?

As if to answer her question, the door situated on her left side burst open. Lights came on and had her to briefly close her eyes. The sudden array of brightness assaulted her vision.

"Szeina!" Neyandro came rushing to her side. However, before he can crush her in a hug, Granola grabbed him by the arm and halted him.

"No hugging, she's still fragile." Granola warned, her eyes locking on Szeina.

"Sorry." Neyandro uttered, slowing his approach.

Queedor followed idly behind them and with him, a man whom Szeina couldn't recognize came.

He shut the door and looked at Szeina. The color of his eyes perfectly matching her oceanic ones.

"Who is he?" she voiced out, watching the three people whom she thought she'd never see.

The stranger offered Szeina a brief smile, stepping forward and stopped by the edge of the four-poster bed.

He placed his hands behind him. The formal wear he was in caught her attention.

His blonde hair was pushed back on top of his head. He rather looked quite handsome.

"My name is Xeruz. It is my honor to meet you, Szeina. You don't know how long I have anticipated for this to happen. However, it is unfortunate that we met under such circumstances. For that, I am sorry."

"I… what's going on?" Szeina replied. The uncertainty in her expression was inevitable.

"I told you, Xeruz, she's not ready." Granola spoke, her eyes staring daggers behind the man called Xeruz. Queedor held her back, halting her from coming close to him.

Briefly turning to her, Xeruz addressed Granola, his voice shifting on a sharp tone.

"And who was to blame for that? You should know better Granola. You should have prepared her."

"Hey, I'm right here. And for your information, Gran did her best to keep me and Neyandro safe. If that's what you're fussing about. She protected me the best way she can."

Xeruz smiled kindly at Szeina.

"I understand. But, she could have done a better job if she told you the truth."

"What are talking about?"

"What you encountered, those beings, they are part of what we are and of who we are."

"We?"

"Yes, Szeina. You and I have more in common than you can imagine."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Xeruz glanced at the three people standing behind him. He was waiting for any of them to react or try to stop him.

When neither of them tried anything, he caught Szeina's gaze.

"You, Szeina, is my only living granddaughter."

--

Eight-year-old Yvann tossed and turned in his bed.

The rain pelted heavily against his window outside, lightning streaking across and flashed in his bedroom.

But that was not the reason why he couldn't sleep.

Thinking of monsters hiding under his bed, he jumped out and dash towards his door. He walked towards his parent's bedroom, finding the door slightly ajar.

His father was away on a business trip. Yet, the voices inside his parent's bedroom made him think that he might have come back.

"Mommy?" Yvann called out, pushing the door open.

"Yvann… run!" His mother struggled to scream. A man was strangling her against the wall near their bed, her feet dangling in the air.

She was choking under the tight grip of the man clad in black. His back was the only visible part from Yvann's standpoint.

Frozen to the spot, young Yvann didn't know what to do. The scene in front of him was not one he had expected to see upon barging into his parent's bedroom.

"Mom… wh-who is that?" The instance those words left his mouth, the man's hold on her mother's throat slackened, his attention falling on Yvann.

Blazing red eyes had the little boy taking a tentative step back, falling on the ground out of fear.

"Tell him, Ysabel, tell him who I am."

"Don't touch him, you monster! Leave him alone!" His mother screamed, lunging for the man who started approaching Yvann.

The young boy watched the man whisking his mother away like she was nothing but a rag doll, his mother flying across the room.

Scrambling to his feet, Yvann tried to run. However, it was too late. The man got to him first, pinning him to the floor.

"You are such an angel to come and offer yourself without needing to be compelled. For that, I shall be merciful."

"No!" Yvann heard his mother scream at the same time that an excruciating pain erupted from his neck, his vision getting hazy in an instant.

Before his consciousness had left him, Yvann saw his mother plunging a sharp object on the monster's back, the tip of it cutting through his chest.

When he woke up the next day, his mother was declared dead and from that day forth, he knew something inside him broke.