Prologue: Escape

I’ve always had a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even before my birth, I’ve always been places I shouldn’t have been. When my mother was pregnant with me, she did something that sealed my fate forever.

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“MOVE!” Aurelia screamed. The man, suddenly angered, stopped dead in his tracks.

“Are you deaf? MOVE!” The man refused to budge, and Aurelia became increasingly angry. Even her baby’s kicks against her stomach could not diminish her anger. Her hormones were preventing her from thinking clearly. The man glared at her.

“I would not anger me. I am quite powerful,” the man said in a low tone of voice. He was itching for a fight, and was anxious to do something to this ignorant woman.

“Powerful my ass. Now why don’t you be a good little dearie and MOVE!” The man had had it.

“May this be the last time you anger a powerful vampire.” The man started mumbling malicious words under his breath. The woman shoved past him, knocking him out of her way, but not stopping his speech. As the woman stormed off, he smiled maliciously.

“I can’t wait to see your baby, Ms. Aurelia” With that, he walked off in the other direction, calculating the days till he would see the child for the second part of the curse.

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I remember my first birthday, simply because the day was so extraordinarily crazy. Then again, I’ve always had a sharp memory. I was toddling around our small mansion, when my mother scooped me up in to her arms. Her eyes were closed as she talked quietly.

“You’re so big! Already you’re walking. But the queen said today was the day to check your eye color, since it should stay the same. No matter your hair, since it’s not in yet. Now we’re going to look on the count of three, okay? One…Two…Three!”

My mother almost dropped me. Setting me down at the last moment, she walked around ranting and raving.

“YELLOW EYES!” she screamed. “That’s not possible! Tybalt had blue eyes, and I have green. They were greenish yesterday. The only way this could have happened would have been…” Her voice dropped so low I could barely hear it… “A curse.” Again, she fumed.

“I’ve made enemies of no one! The queen respects me, as well as taking my magic, so surely no one would harm me then. No one bears me ill will, save for…” Again she trailed off. “The Vampire.”

After that day, my mother distanced herself from me. She still took care of me, but the hugs were few and far between. Soon, my father Tybalt came home from his business trip. He scooped me up and hugged me, but when he saw my eyes and had the same reaction as my mother. After ‘setting’ me down on the floor, he argued quietly with her. I heard only scads of the conversation.

“The eyes….cursed….” my mother explained.”How could you…….our future….what will the queen think…..” my father mumbled. They both looked up. I looked in to their eyes, mother’s filed with fear, and father’s filed with anger. I crawled away, anxious to avoid there gaze.

After that, I was ignored completely. Even Daddy seemed to avoid me. It was made even easier for them when my mother had my little brother, Tybalt Jr. We both grew hair in at the same time, despite the two and half year difference. His was golden honey blond. Mine was a deep emerald.

This horrified my mother to no end, leading to more mumbling about ‘magic’, ‘power’, and ‘curse’. At three, I was already dreaming of getting away. Still, life went on and I had my fifth birthday before I knew it. My hair was a curly mess, cut as short as my mother could stand (she has a thing about short hair… don’t ask). I had a small room now, with a desk for school, as well as a chess table. While I liked chess, there was one thing I desired greatly. While mother considered it a ‘servant’s toy’, she finally gave in to shut me up.

“Fine!” she screamed one day. “Have your stupid oven! But I better see top notch grades out of you!” I nodded hurriedly, and ran to my room before she could change her mind.

It arrived the next day. I spent the whole day playing with it, relishing the smell of the small pies, or how moist the baby blue berries were. Looking back, this is when I fell in love with cooking. I gave most of them to the kitchen, and the servants even served some of them at dessert some nights, and mother didn’t even notice.

On my fourteenth birthday, I disappeared from society. It was slowly at first. I would have breakfast in my room. Then, dinner. Lessons started being taught by mother, instead of my tutor. At last, I never left. Only mother even came in. Once a month I might see Daddy or Ty. I didn’t even realize I had been isolated until one of Ty’s visits.

He slipped in quietly, a grim look on his face until he saw mine. He then seemed relived, and smiled.

“Oh Saffron! You won’t believe what mother did!”

He explained how he been sworn to secrecy, and how he was supposed to be in ‘mourning’ by coming to my room. I didn’t understand. Apparently, Mother had faked my death. She had said I had burnt while assisting the servants in the kitchen. She had even had fake ashes. That’s why I never saw anyone anymore. They thought I was dead. I thanked Tybalt, hugged him, and he left.

I sat for hours that day thinking about why mother would do such a thing. She hadn’t been exactly fond my emerald hair and yellow eyes, but my faking my death? It seemed desperate. What was she trying to hide? It was after this, I threw myself in to my studies. I needed to be ready, if I wanted to escape as soon as possible.

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I woke up on my twenty-first birthday a three in the morning, sweating. I’d had the dream again, where a man with violet eyes had come in and bitten my wrist. Every night, I had the pleasure of watching my dream self slumber on as the violet-eyed man bit me, and I woke screaming in terror. The man’s eyes would glow, and then he would be gone.

Ever since that night, I’d noticed a small scratch on my neck. I must have just scraped myself, as I’m prone to do. Also, the dream man bit me on the wrist, so it had to be just that. A dream. I closed my eyes, and waited for the dream to arrive again.

When I awoke at 8 that morning, breakfast was already on the tray by my window. French Toast was my favorite, though I never told anyone. I was glad. Today was the last day I would ever be here, in this dreaded house. Tybalt slipped quietly in.

“Hey Sis,” he said softly. “Happy Birthday.” I hugged him, relishing that it might be the last one. He had to present a manly front, and couldn’t stay long. It had been so long since I’d seen him, given he was preparing to take over the family name. I was surprised he was here today.

“I love you,” I said while I held him close.

“I love you too,” he managed to say eventually, though he probably thought it cost him some pride. “I have to go, but I wanted to see you. Happy Birthday.” I released him from the embrace, and he slipped out my door and out of my life.

I spent the day pacing around my room, anxious for something to do. I couldn’t pack. All I could take was the clothes on my back. I couldn’t say good-bye to my family, my door was locked. All I could do was sit around and wait, pensive and frustrated. Thrice I considered leaving in broad day light, but I knew I couldn’t make it. Finally I lied back down to sleep to soothe my nerves.

When I woke up, the moon had fallen. I felt oddly powerful, but something was missing, like I was lacking a piece of the puzzle. My hand flew up the scratch on my neck. It stung, and for a moment, I was lost. Where was I? What was I doing? I puzzled for a few moments before it returned to me.

Donning my favorite dress, I slipped quietly out the window, grateful it was on the first floor. I walked quietly along the grass, before sprinting away, thanking the stars for great boots. I was going away from the place where I was supposed to be dead. I was going to a place where I could be somebody.