• I was born on the island of Alura on a thundery night. My mother was a vampire since the night I was conceived, which meant I was a damphir. My mother spent many, painful hours in labor and was exhausted by the time I was delivered. She was Queen of Alura and the island kept us safe, but everything must end sometime.

    My older sister, Sophie, took care of me for five years. Everyday she had a different adventure for us to do. My favorites were the horseback riding and the adventures in the woods, but soon mother decided it was time for me to become educated in the realm we were from. That's when SHE arrived. The queen of all the vampires came riding into town on her white, war horse. I watched from my window-seat, patiently while my sister braided my raven black hair. She smacked the back of my head with the brush as I leaned dangerously close to the open window.

    "She's here," I told her, rubbing the sore spot she created,"the queen is here."

    "Settle down, sister," she said finishing the braid,"you and I have no business with her." How wrong my sister was. Soon my mother came into the room, coming straight to me.

    "You cannot take her." She said over her shoulder as she hugged me and the queen entered my bedroom.

    "Young Neska, please come with me." She said ignoring my crying mother. I had to obey her, but first I hugged my mother trying to calm her as tears slicked down my cheeks to make a wet spot on her shoulder. My sister was next to hug me, she too was weeping. I then followed the beautiful woman out of the room.

    "Where are we going?" I asked cocking my head to the side in curiosity.

    "We are going to my home." She replied as we walked through the corridors, our dresses swishing on the floor. When we reached the front door a footman opened the door and I saw the most beautiful carriage I had seen yet. It was all black except for the banner of my house down the back and the gold accent along the doors. The queen's horse had been hitched to the front along with four other white horses. Their harnesses had gold stars on the leather and the front of their bridles, directly between their eyes, dangled a silver crescent moon, the size of the queen's fist across.

    The footman, assigned to the carriage, opened it's door and helped us in. I sat in the left, back corner on the red velvet seats. The queen sat gracefully next to me, her head held high as she told the driver "Home." That's when the carriage jumped to life.

    "You may call me Morena." She said as the carriage sped away from my home.

    The next time we stopped, I heard yelling and before Morena could stop me, I looked out the window. There were bandits everywhere. Before I could calm myself or Morena could stop me I jumped from the window and ran, as fast as I could, into the woods. The next thing I knew all I could hear was the thundering of my heart in my ears as I tripped on the edge of my white, lacy dress. After I quit spitting leaves and dirt from my mouth I saw the feet of a man in front of me. My first thought was that it was one of those damnable bandits so naturally I skittered away, my heartbeat quickening again. That's when he spoke.

    "Don't be afraid child," He said as his black wings unfurled,"I will not harm you, young priestess." He smiled a breathtaking smile and peace calmed my racing heart and my scared and frazzled mind. Even with the peace that surrounded me, I still cowered into a tree as he stepped forward. When he reached me he held out his hand. "My name is Chevall. What's Yours?" He asked waiting for me to willingly take his hand. I slowly smiled at him.

    "My name is Neska." I replied taking his hand.

    "What a surprise, princess. I never thought I'd see you here." He said lifting me to my feet.

    "I'm here with Queen Morena." I said feeling very important.

    "Well, I guess we should get you back to her, huh?" He said, smiling again, as he pulled me into his arms. He held me tight to his bare chest as he took to the air. I clung to him as the treetops passed under us. As we spotted the carriage on the road, I pointed it out, he landed.

    The bandits had been subdued and Morena ran to us when she spotted me. "Neska, where have you been?" She asked hugging me to her. "Thank you for finding her, Chevall." She said to the dark winged angel.

    "Of-course, priestess." He replied bowing to her respectfully. As he vanished into the sky, I looked at her questioningly.

    "Later, my child, I will explain everything in time." She said as we got into the carriage. The last time we stopped we were in front of another castle that looked so much like home, I almost thought we had turned back, until I saw the banners. They were royal blue with a lion embroidered in gold in the center and a silver crescent beneath it. When Morena stepped out, she looked up and smiled. "Home."

    As we walked in a servant approached us, bowed, and told us that my room was ready and that everything had arrived. Another approached as before and said dinner was ready and waiting. I looked to the queen then. She snapped her fingers and was instantly responded to by three servants. One took her cloak while another took mine and the other lingered until she told them to show me to my room.

    "I will see you in an hour in the dining hall." She told me as I was bustled off. The room was extravagant. It was decorated with red velvet. Even the bed had red velvet blankets. The wardrobe was, I smelled, cedar with gold and silver inlay. Now that I looked closely at all the wood in the room, it was all inlaid with gold stars and a silver moon. In the wardrobe I found my red velvet dress and went to the bathtub. I laid my dress on a chair, checked the water temperature and got in. I bathed and dressed before I walked out into the hall. I started walking down the hall when I felt it, the peace that surrounded him. It had to be Chevall.

    "Chevall...are you there?" I asked into the shadowy hall. No answer, just silence. I kept walking and finally found the dining hall, just in time. As I closed the door I took one last peek around. Nothing. I turned around to see Morena's stunning smile.

    "Come, Neska, sit next to me." She said gesturing to the chair to the left of her. She was sitting at the head of the table, a glass of red liquid in front of her. "You must be starving, my child, come eat." She said as I crossed the room to sit next to her. We ate quietly and when we finished she said," We'll start your training in the morning so get plenty of sleep." I went to my room, changed, and watched the sun set.