Arc 1 - Chapter 1 - 1697 - The Emerald Princess

“She’s so tiny!”, Tiana exclaimed as she looked at her new born sister. “That’s how I felt when you were born”, Hara added. “She’s beautiful”, Skylar remarked, “Much like her oldest sister”. “All my daughters are equally beautiful”, Queen Mina said, as she stared into the eyes of her baby girl that was cradled in her arms; Litha. The princess’ shimmering emerald eyes signified her element; Earth. The queen never cared what elements her daughters represented, but now that Litha was born; she appreciated the fact that each of her girls had received a part of her.

Hundreds of years ago, the vampire race was created by witches who possessed the gifts of all the elements of the world; which they had passed on to creations. The witches had not realized, at the time, that their vampires would soon lead to their own demise. Once vampires decided that the witches were a threat to their existence; they began wiping them out, clan by clan. With no witches to control them and keep them in line, there was havoc in the vampire world, which eventually spread to the human world, resulting in a darkened and plagued earth. 

Every vampire that was created, had the ability to manipulate one of the elements; air, fire, water and earth. No vampire had more than one of these elements until an exception was born, an all-powerful vampire; who could wield all four of the elements. This vampire was Mina. Unwilling to join the chaos around her, she decided to be the one to stop to it. Even though she had been younger than most, no vampire dared to stand against her, because they knew her powers were unrivaled. Soon enough, she had restored order to the vampire world, which in turn restored peace in the human world, until vampires had become forgotten to the newer generations after the older ones had passed on.

A kingdom was built, far away from all human lands, which welcomed all vampires. One in which they could live in peace. One in which they could practice their magic. One in which Mina ruled over… as queen. Queen Mina was more of a leader than a ruler. People respected her and obeyed all royal decrees, until she had met the love of her eternal vampire life. He was a vacuus; a vampire, with who did not possess any magic. They were looked down upon and treated differently from the elemental vampires. Much of the kingdom did not believe that the heir to the throne should come from such a tainted bloodline. After all, their queen was special and deserved someone of equal greatness. When the queen had announced that she was to wed; many vampires left the kingdom and returned to the human parts of the earth. They refused to have a king they considered to be beneath them.

Years passed and the king and queen had their first daughter; Princess Skylar. Her eyes were a sparkling platinum, which signified the air element. When Skylar was born, the vampires had realized that they had misjudged the king; for no man of tainted blood could create such beauty. Skylar’s birth had ended the doubts many felt for the king and the kingdom was restored to its original harmony. Many of the vampires had returned, though some preferred to remain with the humans. The first born princess grew up loved by all around her; especially her parents. She would often ask her mother to recite the story of how she had brought peace to the kingdom; over and over again. She felt proud of the fact that her birth had changed the world, even if it was just the vampire world. More than anything, she loved the fact that she was going to be queen someday. 

Many years later, a second daughter was born; Princess Hara, whose golden eyes signified the fire element. Much like her element, she had a blazing personality. Hara was the most mischievous and rebellious of the sisters. She loved them dearly, but their personalities never allowed Hara to have the kind of relationship with them that she wanted. What she wished for, was an accomplice in her schemes; someone who would enjoy her mischief and not brush it aside as childishness like Skylar often did. 

“When are you going to feed her?”, Princess Tiana, who was born with piercing icy blue eyes, that signified the water element, was now basically a 4 year old in appearance. “Soon”, the queen responded, “Would you like to help me?”. She nodded enthusiastically, fascinated by everything related to the baby. For a long time, she had been the baby of the castle, so she was excited to have someone more little than she was. “It’s fascinating how someone who has lived for less than 100 minutes is going to feed in the same way as someone who has lived for 100 years”, Hara said. “Or someone who has lived for 150 years”, Skylar chimed in, sarcastically. “Why are you in such a hurry to grow up?”, Mina asked. “Yeah, why would you want to feed from someone’s neck”, Hara was repulsed by the thought.

When vampires reached the age of 180, their fangs become fully developed, allowing them to pierce the vein of another. Before this age, they feed on blood in the same way a baby would drink milk from a bottle or a human would drink water from a bottle. When the kingdom was formed, each vampire had taken up a different role or responsibility. The most important role of all was blood donors. Because there were no humans in the vampire realm, they had to feed on the blood of their own kind. Most of the vampires in the kingdom had partners, spouses or loved ones from which they drank directly from the vein, while all who were not yet considered adults drank the blood of the donors. 

The queen had developed romantic feelings for the first vampire partner she had. Feeding was intimate, which was why vampires didn't just feed off anyone, but chose their partners wisely. Sadly, he had fallen in love with someone from outside the kingdom and moved away to be with her. In the midst of her heartbreak, she had met the king. Being a vacuus, the king’s blood was considered unwanted and unworthy of being consumed. Or at least that’s how he was treated until he found the queen. The king never cared about her royal status and she never cared about his social status. 170 years later and their love had only grown deeper. Skylar’s words had invoked a slight worry for the queen though. Soon enough, all her daughters will be of age. Would they also be drawn to their first bite or would they find love elsewhere? Regardless of which vampires entered her daughters’ hearts, the queen hoped those hearts would never get broken. Mina loved being a vampire, not because of her gifts, but because it meant that she got to spend the rest of eternity with her family…