Chapter 20: The Vampire Ball

Everyone from the noble family: the barons, earls, duchies, and the members of aristocrats have gathered to a special event. The very first vampire ball was hosted by Van Helsing to celebrate the 118th birthday of the first-born princess.

One hundred and eighteen, that is, using the numbers of human life expectancy.

No one dared to miss it. It was indeed something to look forward to. The Van Helsings rarely host royal gatherings like this and now, it has finally come true.

Calcifer, walking by the king's side as a knight, stopped by as they saw a familiar face along the hallway.

"Velkan, my friend!" King Alucard walked and hugged King Van Helsing.

"Serafino! I'm glad you came."

"I won't miss this event, it was your daughter's debut, as well as the announcement of her engagement with my son." King Alucard proudly said.

"Yes, yes. I've been waiting for this day as well." King Van Helsing nodded.

"Which reminds me, aren't you going to consider our... duel, my friend?"

King Helsing paused from walking.

"Oh, that's right. Calcifer," he glanced at the knight beside him, "Can you look for Ash? It's about time."

Calcifer, knowing the true intention of the other, dared to insist, "But my king--"

"Don't worry about me. You go ahead and do what I requested." He smiled and he can't refuse his order.

"As you wish, my king." The knight bowed his head and left.

Calcifer knows that "duel" King Alucard is referring to. It's the battle between two powerful families to decide which is the strongest. To decide, who is the rightful Dracula, the one true king of the whole vampire clan.

And he also knew King Alucard wanted that seat for so long. And to do that, he must defeat the one he calls 'his dear friend'. That's why as much as Calcifer wanted to stay by the king's side, he was asked to do an errand: to pick up the princess's said to be fiancé.

And there he is, standing charismatically with his gray suit, talking confidently with the other vampires and his younger brother.

"Prince Ashford," he called, "It's time." He said and the prince already knew what he meant.

Ashford nodded and walked straight to the center of the hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, dear fellow vampires!" The host began to announce, "May I present to you, the star of tonight's celebration, the firstborn princess of the Van Helsing family: Princess Astrid Renfield Van Helsing!"

The doors were opened. The king entered with the princess clinging to his arm. She's wearing an exquisite red gown with golden linings as her pure silver-white hair curled with some braids swayed as she walked the aisle.

All necks craned and were amazed by her beauty.

"Woah! Is that Princess Astrid?"

"She looks like an angel!"

"No, she looks like a goddess!"

Everyone murmured as they watched her being taken by the prince.

"Our dear beloved guests, tonight is indeed full of surprises." The host added, "As a symbol of their strong friendship, King Alucard and King Van Helsing gathered everyone to bear witness for this event. I proudly announce the engagement of our debutante to Prince Ashford Van Helsing Alucard!"

"Oh my! Look at that!"

"They're like characters from a fairy tale!"

"They looked good together!"

Everyone whispered as they watched the prince took the princess's hand. Then, the music began to play and they started dancing. It was so graceful and magical.

"Ash, listen..." The princess whispered and the prince glanced at her, "I want to break off this engagement."

It was indeed unexpected to hear at the beginning of their dance. Anyone in his place would be surprised. But being with her for so long, it's nothing new to him. She usually does things out of ordinary. But what made this prince falter is something else.

The words that first came out of her mouth cut like a knife in his heart. It feels like he's been stabbed just by hearing them. But despite feeling this pain, he brushed it off and looked straight into her eyes.

"What are you saying?" He scoffed.

"I don't believe this is the only way for our families to stay close. I don't want this. I'm not just some sort of marriage material. I am more than that. I want to fight for my clan but not this way."

The prince chuckled, "That's so likely you."

"Besides..." The princess suddenly looked down, "I don't want to hinder you in finding someone you truly love."

'But you're the only one I love!' That is what he wanted to tell her but words won't come out of his mouth.

Instead, he swallowed it all and asked, "And... what are you planning to do?"

The princess grinned mischievously, "I'll run away!"

***

After rushing to the bathroom and was able to calm herself down, Yana realized something.

"I'm... lost..." She mumbled as she was walking in the hallway.

She can't help but feel uneasy whenever she came across some vampires.

"I'm not even used in human gatherings, let alone the ones for vampires." She sighed and stopped by the balcony.

'Should I call Rae from here? Will he be able to hear me?' She thought and looked above.

There, she saw the red moon. If she didn't know it's the vampire's night, she might enjoy the view of the moon's crimson red.

'It's really pretty.' She thought.

Good thing she has the ring on her to hide the fact that she's human.

'Wait! The ring!' She suddenly remembered and looked at her finger but it's not there.

"Oh no!" She was about to go back to the bathroom when two vampires suddenly blocked her way.

"Hello miss, where do you think you're going?" One of them said with an evil grin.

'This isn't good!' She gulped.

"I'm... I just... forgot something..." She mumbled and took few steps backward.

"Oh? Do you want us to help you look for it?" Said the other as they walked closer and closer.

"N-no thanks! I-I can handle it!" She tried to smile and hide the fear she's feeling.

"Oh c'mon, don't be shy!" One of them tried to touch her but she instinctively slapped his hand away.

"Why, you--!" That made the vampire mad.

Yana turned and run away but what's ahead of her is nothing but the terrace.

The two vampires laughed, "There's nothing to escape to, human!"

The lass looked down. It was too high! They're four stories above the ground.

She gulped, 'This is way better than getting bitten by vampires!'

"You won't get away!" The vampires charged towards her.

She climbed the balcony and jumped just in time they're about to reach her!

She closed her eyes as she falls, 'Rae, save me!'

Suddenly, she felt a cool breeze of wind gushing on her skin. And then, something warm was wrapped around her as she heard a voice.

"If you're planning to die, at least keep your eyes open."

When she fluttered her eyes open, she's in the arms of a stranger. Surely, it wasn't Rae's voice she just heard earlier. It was colder and more unfriendly.

Slowly, she looked up and saw a male vampire with jet black hair and amber golden eyes gazing at her.

'W-what a handsome vampire!' She said to herself and felt the breeze of wind once again.

That's when she realized they're floating in midair.

"H-how--!?" She can't believe her eyes, she thought vampires can't fly as Rae told her.

She was about to ask this handsome vampire when suddenly, they heard an explosion from the main hall.

***

Being pulled by Damien, Rae can't do anything but decide to find Yana later. They went to the center where a tall white man is waiting for them.

"Rae, this is Edward Dominic Tepes III, the head of the Tepes family." Damien introduced.

"What an honor to meet the Vampire Queen's son." The blonde vampire called Edward offered his hand.

The lad stretched his arm and shook this gentleman's hand, "The pleasure is mine, sir." He smiled.

"Well then, let's start the celebration," Edward said and called everyone's attention, "A pleasure evening to my fellow vampires." He said in a loud voice.

"Tonight is a very special night. Aside from the celebration of the Red Moon, we are gladly celebrating the presence of someone exceptional."

Edward took a glass of blood wine. Damien took some and gave one glass to Rae which is much to his surprise.

He wasn't mentally prepared for this! Though, this is something to be expected. He has to drink this blood. It would be rude not to do so.

"Let's have a toast as we warmly welcome the child of legend, the Vampire Queen's son: Prince Rain Anderson Elliot Renfield Van Helsing!" Edward raised his glass of blood wine. All the vampires did the same and started drinking.

As for Rae, he was hesitant. He was staring at the glass with a worried expression.

"What's wrong, Rae?" Damien asked noticing that he's not drinking.

"Ah, i-it's nothing..." He smiled awkwardly.

'You can do this, Rae! Just one sip will do!' He said to himself.

He took a deep breath and was about to drink when he felt a dark presence behind him.

"Are you having fun, Your majesty?" A dreadful voice whispered in his ear.

All of a sudden, blades came out from his shadow. Luckily, Rae was fast enough to dodge it but not all of it. He got scratches but they quickly healed.

When he turned around, he saw a man wearing a black suit with his familiar grayish skin.

"Remember me?"

"You're that shadow vampire." Rae glared at him.

"Shade, what are you doing here?!" Damien said and was about to stop his brother when Edward stretched his arm to block him.

"Why don't we just enjoy the show? After all, I'm very curious how powerful is this bastard that you're so proud of."

Damien glared at his brother.

'So this is a set-up, huh... I should've known! Edward, you're planning to kill him after all!' He thought, clenching his fists in anger.

He wasn't informed of any of this. What he hated the most is when his brother does something terrible without him knowing about it. It makes him want to hate him all the way more.

Rae glanced all around.

It seems like no one plans to stop Shade at all. The vampires are just staring intently at him as if they're testing his strength and credibility as the son of the well-known Vampire Queen.

'So that's how it is, huh?' He thought.

This must be one of the reasons why Calcifer doesn't want him to go. After all, he had been in many royal parties and had witnessed several schemes behind it. And now, he's experiencing one of those.

"No one's going to help you here!" Shade jumped and started attacking him using his shadow blades.

His hair became shorter than before but he can still use his power and turned it into a weapon.

If that's the case then, all he has to do is to turn off the lights just like what he did before.

"If you're thinking that you can defeat me like the last time, then you're wrong!" Shade said as if he can read his mind. He kept attacking him with his shadow blades.

Rae on the other hand kept on dodging his attacks but still ended up getting wounded.

"I've become stronger and faster!" Shade grinned and all of a sudden, he multiplied himself and attacked Rae all at once.

He fell to the ground and panted. His wounds started to heal slowly.

"And now, I can finally kill you with my own hands!"

"Not gonna happen!" Rae said and clenched his fist.

Suddenly, the blood left on Shade's shadow blades exploded.

Rae flew from the impact and landed outside the mansion's garden.

He focused and started to transform into his vampire form. But when he opened his eyes, he's still standing in the same spot like nothing happened.

"Why I'm not--!?"

He noticed his nails grew longer and sharper. The same goes for his hair which turned bloody red. He can feel his fangs growing. But his consciousness as a human doesn't change at all.

It feels like he's still the same, his personality doesn't change.

'Does it have something to do with the Red Moon?' He thought and looked above.

"Where do you think you're looking?" Shade suddenly appeared before him and stabbed him from behind using his shadow blade.

The lad groaned in pain. And then, Shade kicked him as hard as he could and stepped on his face to the ground.

The shadow vampire laughed victoriously, "Where's your power now!? You should show me new tricks now that the moon is red! Or else... I'll kill you!"

"Rae!"

The lad heard Yana's voice from afar.

Coming from above, the wind brought the lass back to the ground together with an unfamiliar vampire. Yana quickly ran but she paused when she saw the shadow vampire.

'Why is he not fighting back?' She thought.

"Rae! Get up!" She shouted.

The vampire who saved Yana earlier saw Rae's bloody red hair, "So he's the infamous son of the Vampire Queen." He mumbled and decided to watch for a while.

'I can't be like this!' Rae said to himself.

He can't bear for Yana to see how pathetic he is right now.

"Get... off me!" He said and his blood suddenly turned into red crystals that almost stabbed Shade.

"What the--!?" He jumped away from the lad.

Everyone was surprised to see what happened to his blood. It was the first time they've seen such power like that.

When the crystals returned to his body, the wound on his back was gone. And then, he turned the blood from his face into a crystal spear.

Suddenly, he charged towards Shade and attacked him this time.

'What the--!? How did he become faster?!' Just the thought of Rae getting ahead of him makes him angrier.

"Don't get too high of yourself!" Shade exclaimed and multiplied himself again. Then they attacked altogether.

Rae wounded himself with the spear and turned them into crystal arrows. At his command, the arrows flew and struck the clones on their chest. He clenched his fist and they all exploded.

From the smoke, Rae jumped high and attacked Shade. In such panic, he didn't get to dodge his attacks. He managed to cut all his shadow tentacles.

'Why does Rae seems so different today? He's fighting like how he used to but... why is he wearing that painful expression?' Yana thought as she kept on watching them.

The lad stretched his leg and tripped Shade. When he fell to the ground, he pointed his crystal spear at his neck.

Shade gasped and raised his hands as if surrendering.

"W-what are you waiting for? Kill me!" He mumbled.

Rae shook his head, "No. This is as far as you can go." He said and the spear turned back to blood and returned from his body.

He turned around and walked away.

The vampires around seem disappointed. They wanted to see how he'll end up Shade's life.

"That would be... the biggest mistake of your life!" Shade said and his shadow moved to grab Rae's shadow.

Now he's paralyzed from where he's standing. He has fallen into his shadow trap.

"This is the end, you fool!" At his command, Rae raised his hands and held his neck. Like a puppet, Shade was controlling him to choke himself to death.

"Rae!" Yana was about to rush towards them when she felt a gushing wind passed by.

And in a blink of an eye, Shade's head fell as if the wind cut it.

Rae gasped for air when he was set free from the control.

"What a disappointment..." Said the vampire in front of him.

He's holding Shade's head which is slowly turning into ashes.

Rae panted as he slowly looked at the vampire who saved his life.

"Just as I thought you're as powerful as the rumors say, but how come... you can't kill a single enemy?" He said with those cold eyes gazing at him.

The vampires started to murmur.

"Hey, isn't he one of them?"

"Yeah, I thought so too!"

"If I remember correctly, he's an Alucard."

"What's his name again?"

Edward stepped forward, "Oh dear, how nice of you to drop by, Prince Orpheus Zoren Alucard."

'Alucard? So he's one of... Rae's enemies?' Yana thought and glanced at the vampire who saved her earlier.

"Are you going to fight me because I killed your brother?" Orpheus asked.

Edward scoffed, "Oh please, I don't have such intentions. Besides, he deserves it anyway. What a troublemaker he is." He sighed.

'He deserves it?' Rae echoed in his mind, 'But he's your brother! How could you not care for him!' His blood boiled at the thought.

Damien rushed to Rae's side and helped him get up.

"Rae, let's go." He said as they turned around.

"Son of the Vampire Queen..." Orpheus called.

Rae paused and glanced at him.

"If you stay weak like that, it will be easier for me to take your head. So, don't disappoint me again next time." He coldly said with his glowing amber eyes gazing at him.

Then, the wind suddenly blew strongly. And when they opened their eyes, Orpheus already vanished.

Yana rushed towards Rae and took him to the car.

"Leaving already? But the night is still young." Edward said, trying to stop them.

"No. This party is over. We're leaving." Damien seriously said and closed the car door before he drove away.

When they arrived, Calcifer rushed towards them and brought Rae to the bedroom. Damien told them what happened while they're staying in the living room.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect this to happen..." He sighed.

"Didn't expect?! You almost put the Young master's life into danger! Just as I thought! You can't be trusted!" Calcifer rose from his seat and was about to burn Damien when the triplets stopped him.

"Calm down, Cal!" Ren held his waist.

"He didn't mean it!" Rin clings to his arm while Ran clings on the other.

Yana stood, "Please stop!" Tears welled up from her eyes because of what happened. She's partly blaming herself for it, she should be by his side all along. Yet she can't do a single thing to help him back there.

Seeing her tears, Calcifer and the triplets froze. They didn't expect to see her cry.

"Good grief!" Said the familiar voice from the stairs.

A boy with black hair came down and looked at them with his glowing red eyes.

"You shouldn't make a girl cry, Cal. How shameful." The boy teased.

'Wait! I know that voice!' Yana thought.

"Who the hell are you?" Ren asked.

"I haven't seen you around here." Rin blinked.

"Why can't you recognize him?" Asked Ran.

Yana sniffed, "Primo?"

Their eyes widened at what they heard.

"THAT'S PRIMO?!"