The Palace Beast
Chapter 81 – Where am I?

*** A WEEK LATER ***

The King's countenance didn't look bright as it used to. Many thoughts were troubling and to make it worse, his council was advising him to send his only sister to a far away land or the kingdom would burn. "She's still my sister!" the king flared up in anger with a mighty roar of ire. "I will do no such thing to her!" The more he glared the harder his face turned.

"No my king," said a noble as he bowed in reverence and respect. "She's no longer your sister but now one of the monsters that hunt us and our..."

"Silence!" King Afa roared, locking his gaze on the noble. "One word from you and I will have your head on a platter." He didn't see this much opposition coming. If he didn't act fast, his throne might be in contention.

"Lord King," another noble said in a soothing calm voice. He tried as much as he could not to incurred the wrath of his king. "I understand how you feel but we can't have those infected with vampirism to live within the walls of Maxis or all of us will wake up one day and found ourselves to be what we despise."

On his words, the king sighed with relief and slump to his throne. "I understand," he muttered under his breath. "None of us saw this coming and but we must not turn a blind eye that Princess Bonnie is a royal blood and should be treated as one and not just like every other person in Maxis."

The king's voice was incoherent. He can't imagine putting his sister away because she was bitten and turned by a vampire. She's the only family he has. A week ago, when a pitch howl was heard in the palace, the howl was later replaced with ferocious barking before a multiple snarling and hissing followed suit.

Adrian and Gerald were the first to swift into action only to be devoured by vicious beastly creatures. Their hearts ripped off their chest and their heads separated from their necks. Werewolves and vampires are attacking the palace in their number.

Princess Bonnie was burning with curiosity to know where screams were coming from. When she dashed out from Prince Edwin's guest's quarters, she was intercepted by a fangy odd looking man. Before she could open her mouth to scream, the pointy fangs of the man punctured into her neck.

"My king, many has lost their lives," said the second noble. "We need to be protected from..."

"I have heard you," the king sharply cuts in, interrupting the noble. He raised his head slightly and his brow goes with it. "I will send her away."

This isn't the decision he's proud of but he's out of choice as the will of the council seemed to have subdued his failing will. There's nothing the healer of Maxis could do to save Princess Bonnie. She has transited into a vampire. *** YEARS LATER ***

John couldn't make any sense of what he has just seen. He quickly jump to his feet and started looking around. It's now clear that the lost adventurer is inside a log cabin. A small house built of logs notched at the ends and laid one upon another with the spaces filled with plaster, moss, mortar, mud, or dried manure. He flashed back in the early days of his life and pondered to himself. 'Log cabins are found especially in wooded areas, where the construction material is easily at hand.'

"I'm still in the wooded area," he mumbled.

He can see some candles affixed to the log wall of the cabin. He remembered floating away from Cerberus and then hitting his face on a tree. How he got inside the log cabin was still a mystery to him. He started making his way around the cabin. "Is anyone here?"

As he continued making his way around the cabin, there was another movement behind him. Swiftly he turned filled with fear as he let out a loud plea. "Please don't harm me. I don't know how I got into this cabin. I will leave if you want!" "The weather isn't friendly and I wouldn't advise you to leave," said a feminine voice.

John turned in the direction that the voice came from but could not see anyone. "Will you be kind enough to show yourself?"

"I don't like meeting with people."

"What do you mean you don't like meeting with people?" John inquired as he kept turning around to see the person speaking with him. The voice was clear and sounded like that of a woman. He thought to himself, 'what can a woman do to me?' He wanted to see the outcome of what's happening and to see who it was that has been speaking to him yet was hidden. His persuasion couldn't be ignored anymore.

It was indeed a lady that has spoken with him. She moved towards John one and half times faster than the theoretical maximum for a human speed. She moved faster than the eye can see.

"Oh shit!" John fell to the spandrel. He never sees that coming. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. What type of creature are you?"

He was startled by the movement of the lady who spoke with him. She moved faster than the eye can see.

"I'm a vampire."

On hearing she was a vampire, John let out a loud cry of plea, "Spare me please!" He glances at her and then hid his face as he continued, "Perhaps I must have been foolish to ask a vampire to reveal herself to me."

In her appearance, she looks nothing close to a vampire but her movement states otherwise. Although John has never met with a vampire before, her movement is faster than the eye could see and could easily sense she isn't lying. "Why will I hurt you after I saved you from that hellish creature known as Cerberus?"

She had a sculpted figure which was twine-thin. Her waist was tapered and she had a burnished complexion. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. Her delicate ears framed a button nose. A set of dazzling, angel- white teeth gleamed as she blew gently on her carmine-red fingernails. It was a pleasure to see her flowing, moon shadow-black hair. Her enticing, constellation-blue eyes gazed at John over her puffy, heart-shaped lips. She had a bouncy personality and a sugary voice, which anyone who sees her will adore. Not content to be just another drone, she wore vibrant clothes.

"You saved me... How, if I may ask?"

"I watched you float away from the creature but suddenly you fell after hitting your face to a tree. The creature pounced at you but I couldn't stand to watch a poor human be devoured by a hellish creature. I had to do something." Unlike many other vampires John have heard about, the one standing before him is quite different and not looking anything close to the vampires he has heard people described. They wear darker clothing and makeup to make them look goth. John really doesn't have any knowledge of vampires except what he has heard.

Vampires can either have any different skin color, different eye color, or different fangs such as sharp incisors.

"Vampires have fangs and I can't see any in you only angel-white teeth that gleamed."

John has been observing the lady and he has concluded in his heart that she isn't a vampire. But perhaps might have special skills that can make her move faster than the eye can see. He never wanted to believe the identity of the lady as a vampire.

She could tell that John is having a hard time believing her identity. She has to do something for him to believe. It wasn't necessary to prove herself to him but she just wanted to show John who she really is in case he has other motives against her.

As John was still standing close to the spandrel, she moved towards him faster than his eyes could see and then lifted him above the ground and fangs out. Her eyes turned red. She showed off her bloody canines that would prove weirdly influential. "Do you believe me now or do you want me to take a bite before you believe?"

"Please don't take a bite," John cried out squirming.

"Very well then." She releases John from her grip and lets him slump to the ground. She then stretches her hand towards John for a handshake and then said in a soothing voice, "You can call me Bonnie."

Grabbing her hand for a shake, John replied, "I'm John." "You must be a long way from home John, aren't you?" "You are damn right. Can you help me get back home?"

Helping John to his feet, she brought her face close to him and then whispered to him, "What you ask is impossible but I can help you get comfortable this place." She leaned back, flashing a flirtatious smile.