Arlo’s POV

Mother was overjoyed to see me. She was my constant in this world, one person who had always supported me and made me stronger. I made the mistake of hiding the fact that I was bullied, she was furious when she found out later and fought with the school authorities.

But our family was always shunned and no matter how much we tried to be part of their society we remained outcasts. At least we had each other and I was forever indebted to Dria.

"Here," she handed me a glass of blood as I settled down in a chair near the fireplace.

"Thank you," I murmured taking the glass from her as she settled down in the chair beside me.

"Father is at work? Any attacks so far?" I inquired while taking a sip.

"Yes, your father left early. And no it has been relatively peaceful so far. How is the situation at your Institute? What happened exactly?" She had a worried look on her face. I filled her in with little details I knew and she gasped.

"Is Serene going to be alright?" She asked clasping my hand in hers and squeezing it gently. She was one person with whom I could talk about Serene, freely. She knew how I felt about her and what my heart held. There were no secrets between her and me. She was my constant.

"She was in a bad shape and I hated seeing her like that. She was so broken and vulnerable as she told me what she went through. And there was nothing I could do for her. Not a single thing." I clutched the glass tightly, a little more force and it would have broken.

"Sometimes we have to walk our paths alone, Arlo. You won’t always be able to protect her. Do your best but don’t let yourself engulf in guilt." She patted my hand which she held in hers.

"You know how I feel about her and I can’t see her get hurt. It pains my existence." I lifted my gaze to look at my mother who held tantalizing emotions.

"I know my dear, I know. We have ventured into a time where we have to stay strong. If you will be courageous it will lift her too." Her words soothed me, she always knew to say the right thing.

"I will try," I reassured her and continued: "Sometimes I am so selfish and I want to whisk her away and own her as my own."

"I trust you my son and I know you will never do wrong. You will respect her wishes. If she belongs to you, a day will come when she will come to you of her own accord."

"But do I deserve her? I am just a bloodsucker, someone who can even hurt her if I lost control." I spat out the words, feeling disgusted with myself. I hated my existence as a vampire and wished to have been born as some other species. Even a Folkel without powers, anything to escape the curse of drinking blood.

"Arlo, never judge your existence. Always make the better of it. Show through your actions that vampires can be so much better than just blood-sucking creatures. And you already are my son, I can’t even begin to tell, how proud I am of you." She leaned forward and hugged me and I could feel all the fake facade I mounted for others, dissolving. Tears flowed freely and fused in my mother’s shoulder. I held her tightly and cried softly, unburdening myself.

She held me and let me ease the pain, stroking my hair. We sat there for a while talking and discussing what needed to be done for the future.

I decided to barricade all the windows with metal rods so no monsters could enter through them.

I bought the rods and metal mesh from a blacksmith and got to work. By the nighttime, I was all done. Not only I had barricaded the windows but covered the front door with metal mesh as well so it wouldn’t breach easily.

Father returned at night and was glad to see me. He was a man of few words and unlike my mother, he couldn’t express his emotions properly. I inherited that trait from him and struggled with emotions, that being the reason I mostly masked them and kept a stony face.

My father worked as the security detail of Queen Vilarja, he informed us about different creatures they had fought today, which had crept out of the darkest corners of the Dark Realm. I filled him in with details of what I knew. We discussed everything at length till late in the night.

The next day father was gone before I woke up. I patrolled the area making sure no creature was lurking nearby. Surprisingly, our realm seemed peaceful and quiet. Mother had lit up the fireplace, keeping our little house, warm. My mind wandered to Serene and I thought about how she must have been doing. I decided to write her a letter in a few days.

The night had fallen but father didn’t return. Mother was a little antsy so I decided to go check on him. I told my mother to keep the doors locked until I returned.

The night was freezing cold today, so I decided to run. The closer I got to the castle the more ominous I felt. The royal guards were spread out and stationed at different places but they all seemed dazed somehow. My father handled the security outside the castle, mostly to maintain peace in the city.

But I couldn’t find him anywhere. I approached one of the guards and inquired about my father:

"Have you seen my father, Armandine?"

"Yes, he is inside having an audience with the Queen. Come I will take you." He offered in a bizarre voice.

"Lead the way," I replied before following him through the main gates of the castle. They were colossal and stood at least 25 feet in height with charcoal black paint on them. The emblem of our realm which was represented by fangs was embedded in the two doors, blood dripping from them.

We entered and crossed the corridors which were lit with torches hanging from the walls on both sides and chandeliers which hung from the roof at intervals. Huge black candles adorned and lit up the chandeliers.

We crossed the main corridor and reached the throne room where the high seat of the Queen was located. Guard opened the red door and we entered the dimly lit room with a gigantic chandelier hanging from the top. The high platform was on the other side of the room where the Queen’s royal seat had been built.

But I wasn’t ready for the sight which met my eyes. It was not Queen Vilarja who was seated on the royal chair but a grotesque figure sat there and there was an ugly werewolf-like creature that stood beside her. Queen Vilarja was standing beside her with an evil smile plastered on her face, while clad in her royal red attire.

I didn’t understand what was happening when two guards tried to grab me. My hands went to my pendant and I activated my shield in an instant, my blackness engulfed the guard room. I felt something creep up my backbone and tried to invade my brain, I pushed back with my shield but the force was strong and I was forced onto my knees. A whelp escaped my mouth as one of the guards hit me with a spear that pierced my leg and held me there, a pool of blood began to form and I heard the grotesque figure making a hissing sound.

My darkness dissipated and I could feel my energy draining fast. Beads of sweat flowed down my neck despite such rigidly cold weather. Groaning I

fought with every bit of strength I had against the mind control but it was extremely strong. I wanted to scream due to the agony I felt but no voice escaped me. Is this how Serene felt?

Everyday?

I wondered.

The guard tried to stab me again with another spear but the grotesque figure held up her hand forbidding him from doing that. "Don’t hurt him. He is my progeny." She spoke in a raspy voice, her slit-like eyes focused on me and her smile revealed a set of rotten teeth.

"Come here boy," she ushered me and I didn’t want to move but my body moved of its own accord. I staggered towards her as my heartbeat rose in my chest, feeling revulsion from her and yet my body kept moving and stopping right in front of her.

She extended her hand which was more bones and less flesh and grazed my face. Making me want to flinch away from her touch and caressed my cheek before seductively whispering:

"So you are Arlo, I am so glad to finally meet you. What a handsome boy you are! Together we are going to conquer this world."