Queen?’
I instantly regretted asking, because whatever it was, it had stirred some deep, forgotten emotion in him. He sank back into the chair and his blue eyes flashed to black, and then to grey, where they remained. They were pitiful, lost of all the life they usually contained. If colour could drain from his face, it would.
‘I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,’ I stammered. His eyes glazed over and he didn’t move. ‘Fabian?’
His head snapped up and the greyness in his eyes seemed to melt away, returning to their usual sky blue. His stiff body loosened and he ran a hand down the back of his head.
‘I’m sorry, but when you know someone that long … you …’ he trailed off. ‘I will tell you on the condition that you never speak a word of it to anyone but me.’
I didn’t hesitate. ‘I won’t say a thing.’
‘I will start from the very beginning. It’s a long story.’
I shifted a little, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible, never taking my eyes off his saddened face.
‘Vampires have been around for millions of years. We lived alongside nature without any conflict and drank the blood of any animal we could lay hands on. If the theory of evolution is indeed correct, then when humans appeared, the vampires first met their match. But we treated them like we did any other – we continued to hunt them and quickly developed a taste for their blood.’
‘How can you know this if it was so long ago?’ I asked.
‘I’ve already told you, the oldest vampire is, well,
old
,’ he answered. ‘As I was saying, the early humans eventually learned to fight back, and the vampires realized their mistake. The most powerful vampire family, the Varns, ordered all vampires to go into hiding. They were to try not to kill humans when they fed, and to hunt at night wherever possible. It was a drastic attempt to prevent the destruction of both species.’
I nodded. ‘But I don’t get what this has to do with the Queen?’
‘It will all make sense in a moment. Humanity was growing, and fast. Forced by the humans’ relentless fighting, the Varns and a few hundred others fled to Romania. They took advantage of the unsuspecting people of Eastern Europe, unaware of the threat living in their lands. Around the same time, it was discovered that humans could be turned and the Varns’ ancestors ordered a mass turning. Thousands became vampires in just one night. Stronger, more confident, they branched out.’
He paused for a breathy sigh, which I realized he hadn’t been taking.
‘But the old rules still stood and, unseen, the vampires were gradually forgotten, and stories told by fathers to sons turned into myths and legends. But there were always those who never forgot. These are the humans that became the hunters and the slayers, and they vowed to protect humanity. They succeeded somewhat, by driving the Varns from Transylvania about three hundred years ago.’
‘King Vladimir, the current king, has ruled for millennia now. But when he was just a Prince, he met a vampire who lived in what is now Spain. She was called Carmen Eztli. Over time, they fell in love and married a century later. The match was perfect and together they ruled for almost ten thousand years and had six children.’
He rested his chin in his hands. ‘She was the perfect antidote to the King’s pessimism and temper and, in turn, he tamed her sharp tongue. You don’t find love like that every day.’
I couldn’t help but notice that he kept using ‘was’, but it seemed as though he was about to explain that.
‘Just over three years ago, a new human government came to power. Outwardly, they seemed more sympathetic to our cause, so the Queen, seeing an opportunity, quickly sought the passing of a new treaty to update what had already been signed. The government agreed on the condition that their slayer allies, the Pierre clan, would also sign it.’
He didn’t seem to notice me slipping onto the coffee table
I instantly regretted asking, because whatever it was, it had stirred some deep, forgotten emotion in him. He sank back into the chair and his blue eyes flashed to black, and then to grey, where they remained. They were pitiful, lost of all the life they usually contained. If colour could drain from his face, it would.
‘I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,’ I stammered. His eyes glazed over and he didn’t move. ‘Fabian?’
His head snapped up and the greyness in his eyes seemed to melt away, returning to their usual sky blue. His stiff body loosened and he ran a hand down the back of his head.
‘I’m sorry, but when you know someone that long … you …’ he trailed off. ‘I will tell you on the condition that you never speak a word of it to anyone but me.’
I didn’t hesitate. ‘I won’t say a thing.’
‘I will start from the very beginning. It’s a long story.’
I shifted a little, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible, never taking my eyes off his saddened face.
‘Vampires have been around for millions of years. We lived alongside nature without any conflict and drank the blood of any animal we could lay hands on. If the theory of evolution is indeed correct, then when humans appeared, the vampires first met their match. But we treated them like we did any other – we continued to hunt them and quickly developed a taste for their blood.’
‘How can you know this if it was so long ago?’ I asked.
‘I’ve already told you, the oldest vampire is, well,
old
,’ he answered. ‘As I was saying, the early humans eventually learned to fight back, and the vampires realized their mistake. The most powerful vampire family, the Varns, ordered all vampires to go into hiding. They were to try not to kill humans when they fed, and to hunt at night wherever possible. It was a drastic attempt to prevent the destruction of both species.’
I nodded. ‘But I don’t get what this has to do with the Queen?’
‘It will all make sense in a moment. Humanity was growing, and fast. Forced by the humans’ relentless fighting, the Varns and a few hundred others fled to Romania. They took advantage of the unsuspecting people of Eastern Europe, unaware of the threat living in their lands. Around the same time, it was discovered that humans could be turned and the Varns’ ancestors ordered a mass turning. Thousands became vampires in just one night. Stronger, more confident, they branched out.’
He paused for a breathy sigh, which I realized he hadn’t been taking.
‘But the old rules still stood and, unseen, the vampires were gradually forgotten, and stories told by fathers to sons turned into myths and legends. But there were always those who never forgot. These are the humans that became the hunters and the slayers, and they vowed to protect humanity. They succeeded somewhat, by driving the Varns from Transylvania about three hundred years ago.’
‘King Vladimir, the current king, has ruled for millennia now. But when he was just a Prince, he met a vampire who lived in what is now Spain. She was called Carmen Eztli. Over time, they fell in love and married a century later. The match was perfect and together they ruled for almost ten thousand years and had six children.’
He rested his chin in his hands. ‘She was the perfect antidote to the King’s pessimism and temper and, in turn, he tamed her sharp tongue. You don’t find love like that every day.’
I couldn’t help but notice that he kept using ‘was’, but it seemed as though he was about to explain that.
‘Just over three years ago, a new human government came to power. Outwardly, they seemed more sympathetic to our cause, so the Queen, seeing an opportunity, quickly sought the passing of a new treaty to update what had already been signed. The government agreed on the condition that their slayer allies, the Pierre clan, would also sign it.’
He didn’t seem to notice me slipping onto the coffee table
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