LOGINShare
The Clan of The Blood Moon
Last Updated:
2021-06-26 12:00:22The crowd was hushed and the silence lingered, it was so quiet to a deafening point. The music faded in the background, not even murmurs and whispers were dared to be done by the crowd. Everyone’s eyes were glued on the flock of the Far Northerners. I could see the muscles in William’s arms and the veins on his hand as he gripped tightly around the handle of his sword. His eyes locked towards them with his body ready to swing his sword if they made the wrong move. The woman with blonde hair and striking eyes smirked at him, almost amused with William’s readied defense.
“I see you got a really warm welcome waiting for us here,” Lord Zakariah stated in a delighted voice as he took a glance at William and the rest of the knights with their hands on their swords. My father gave William a look and waved off the other knights to which they responded by bringing down their defenses.
“King Regan Coventry of Fardojar, The Northwestern Kingdom,” my father introduced himself as he gazed upon them one by one.
“Oh, we know who you are,” the woman who looked like Lord Zakariah with long pitched black hair stated. The man in a long black coat gave off a small laugh in which he quickly cleared his throat and proceeded to whistle.
“Damian.” Lord Zakariah sharply glanced at him which caused him to drop his whistling and stared away from the King. I glanced at the young man and his eyes were fixed on me. I felt the way his greyish-light blue eyes pierced through me like darts of icicles that plunged through my chest.
“Happiest birthday, Princess,” Lord Zakariah talked to me which I quickly responded with a faint thank you. He smiled and went back into a conversation with my father. The eyes of the youngest in the Far Northerners were still glued on me which caused the icicles to turn into a blizzard.
“Very well,” Lord Zakariah said in a voice loud enough to echo throughout the room, “I guess we should drop the formalities and proceed to the real reason why we are here.”
“Of course.” My father then led them towards the stairs. As the group proceeded to follow the King, Lord Zakariah waved his hand at them and they stopped in their tracks.
“I am in no need of your presence…I prefer to be left alone with Regan and his men,” he said as he continued to walk up the stairs behind my father and William. The group hesitated for a moment but then decided to follow his orders.
“Might as well keep them company, my child,” the King said to me which made William looked at me with concern. I stared back at him and smiled to reassure him that everything was okay. “I hope you will accommodate our valuable guests,” he added.
“As you wish, father.” They proceeded to walk and faded into the halls of the left-wing of the castle.
The group of the Far Northerners seemed to be not interested to be with me as they all went about with their business. As the music and the royal guests went back to life, they dispersed to join the crowd and immersed themselves in the celebration. They all left except for the youngest one with piercing cold eyes. He sauntered his way towards me in such a manner that spoke of regal and nobility. He reached his hand in front of me and introduced himself.
“Lord Victor, your Highness,” his deep voice stated in a thick and heavy accent, one that I have not heard before, “Lord Victor Luciano Dashkovari, youngest in the Clan of The Blood Moon.”
“It is my pleasure to be in your presence.” I took his hand and gave him an awkward handshake. He bowed his head and I could see the rest of his group stared at me with the same piercing cold eyes.
“I have not heard of your kingdom before, my Lord,” I decided to start a conversation to get rid of the awkwardness. It was my duty to accommodate my guests, even if it was just one of them who seemed to be interested in my company.
“We prefer to not meddle in the affairs of the Lowland kingdoms,” he replied as we both paced the room. Two knights followed behind us, kept an eye on both of us. I waved them off and they both went back to their places.
“I find it absurd that you would find interest in us when you seemed to enjoy your own world up there in the Dark Mountains…let alone have the possibility to wage a war against us,” I told him as I smiled towards the other guests.
“It would take me the whole night to discuss to you the affairs that are in between our kingdoms,” Lord Victor answered and the center of the room started to be filled up by men and women dancing to the music.
“I have all night to listen to you,” I said as I halted in my steps and faced him. He smiled at me in a way that his ice-cold eyes were thawed and revealed warmth.
“Sadly, I don’t have time.” He pulled me towards the people that danced and placed his hands on my waist.
“Shall we dance, Princess?” he said in a playful tone that contrasted his cold demeanor.
“I think it is too late for that.” He gave off a small laugh at my response as our bodies swayed and our feet moved to the music.
He started to talk about my dress and asked about the royal seamstress. Every time I tried to ask him regarding their intention he would dodge it and cut me off to ask about another thing. He had been escaping my questions in a way that he thought I would not notice, but I did.
“It seems like you are deeply enjoying yourself, Lord Victor,” I told him as I stopped from following his footsteps as he led me on, “Unfortunately, I am not interested in these mind games that you seem to play.” I detached myself from his hands and headed towards the side of the room. He quickly followed me.
I stood at the table where the servants were serving dishes and goblets of wine and mead. He stood in front of me back to his cold demeanor. The servants approached to serve me a goblet of wine which I politely turned down.
“You seemed to be persistent with your questions, your Highness,” He told me as he accepted a goblet of wine from the servants. I remained calm and gave off silence as a response.
“To put it plainly…our kingdoms go way back,” he said as he slowly lifted his goblet to his lips, “and your father owes us a deal that he had broken.”
“What do you m—“ His eyes grew wide as the goblet was only inches away from his lips. I saw the anger burned within his eyes to the point that it melted away its icy appearance— it turned fiery red. Lord Victor held the chalice tightly and it broke in his hand, pieces fell down the marble floors. The liquid sizzled in his touch.
“Vervain,” he hissed.
He looked back and I followed his gaze towards the rest of the Clan. Loud gasps went out of the crowd as they stopped dancing and they stared at a handful of soldiers of the Far Northerners on the floor. They writhed and convulsed, they gasped for air— they were dying. A scream broke out as the rest of the Clan started to attack everyone.
The knights were nothing against them as they are thrown to the walls, their necks slashed, and effortlessly murdered. The blonde woman from the Clan stared at me and licked the blood off of her hands from someone she had killed. I took a step back only to have the table pressed behind me. The woman walked towards me.
“What’s happening?” I screamed with my voice drenched in shock and fear, “Victor, what’s hap—“
“Run,” he yelled as he faced me and I saw his burning eyes and sharp fangs. I stumbled backward as I moved away from him.
“Now,” he shouted as he lunged towards the blonde woman.
I ran.
Related chapters
captive The Second Prince
I bolted my door shut and rested my back behind it. My mind seemed to be in shambles as it tried to wrap around the things that had happened. I sat down on the floor of my room and tucked my knees in front of me. Screams and cries echoed throughout the castle and in response, I placed my hands over my ears to try and silence them. The things William said to me were not merely scary stories that mothers told their children— they are real. This is the reason my father is scared of them. They are not like us— they are the blood drinkers. I stood up as I thought of my father as I have known that one of these creatures is with him. I need to find him and be with him. The more I stay here, the higher the chance one of them will stumble upon me. My head went back to the way Lord Victor reacted to his drink and how it had killed some of their soldiers. I ran to the windows of my room and gazed upon the garden of my mother. My eyes scanned the place as they fell upon differen
Last Updated : 2021-06-27captive The Vanquisher’s Sword
I took the flight of stairs to the hall. The screams still echoed throughout the castle and the sound of swords and armors hitting the floor was enough for me to tell that we lost the war. I took a left turn but the soldiers of the clan were there, they feasted on a knight that writhed on the floor. They left the moment the knight took his last breath and decided to terrorize somewhere else. I grabbed the chance and ran down the hall towards the combat room where William and I went yesterday. I turned left towards the chamber but quickly went back in the shadows and backed myself against the wall. A soldier of the Northerners outside the door that had cornered a young woman in an emerald dress— a young woman from the Eastern Sea Kingdom. She begged and cried, she asked him to spare her life. But the vampire did not heed her and proceeded to pin her against the wall and bite her neck. She screamed and clawed his back, tears streamed down her face. She tried to push hi
Last Updated : 2021-06-28captive The Heir to the Throne
I hurriedly took the King down the stairs and we soon reached a small chamber. I closed the door behind us and laid him down on the small bench. He tried to catch his breath as he winced in pain because of his wide wound. I ripped the curtain from the wall and tied it around his side to stop his bleeding. “Father, we need to go,” I said to him as his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, “I need to take you to the mausoleum…we are safe there.” I wiped the blood that had caked on his cheek. He did not respond. “Father…please, we need to go,” I reiterated. He shook his head from side to side. He took my hand in his palm and held it tight. “Where’s your crown?” He asked and I quickly reached for my crown and it wasn’t there, it must have fallen on my way to rescue him. He took his crown and placed it on my head, he secured it in place. “No…” I told him as tears streamed down my face, “I can’t let you do this,” I argued. He smiled at me and wipe
Last Updated : 2021-06-29captive The Man on Bendes Knees
The rest of the Clan and the soldiers chased me as I made my way through the halls of the castle. I took the stairs towards the garden and went inside my mother’s mausoleum. I watched the Clan and the soldier stopped at the entrance of the garden. They looked at the vervain that covered the whole structure and I could see how their eyes burned in rage. I quickly locked the door and ran to the tomb of my mother. I kneeled beside her tomb and cried as the crown and sword fell to the ground. The sound of metal as it hit the floor echoed throughout the chamber. I cried loudly and called out to my mother. I laid on the floor and folded in a fetal position as I hugged my knees in fear. My mother died and now my father and possibly William. Sooner or later, they will find a way to get me. I need to get out of here. I tried to open the tomb of my mother. I struggled as I tried to push the heavy marble covers to pry it open. My palms pressed sharply against the marble and it
Last Updated : 2021-06-30captive The Visitation I
The sky was a burst of blue.The clouds and sun seemed like a dismantled sunny-side-up egg that swam in the ocean up above. I laid on the meadow with my head placed on my mother’s lap as she combed through my hair. My mother was a queen who knew how to straighten a crowd when she was in the room yet she sang the softest lullaby to her child. She was fierce yet gentle; in command but understanding. It was a perfect day. My mother’s song dropped and her hand stopped from combing through my hair. I looked at her and I saw how frantic she looked with her eyes that darted throughout the meadow. A strong wind gusted and I could see how the branches of the trees waved to it as if they were giving off a dance before a turmoil. There was silence after it— the calm before the storm. The horses on the carriage neighed loudly and started to stomp against the soil. Their cries were like calls to remind us to leave— there is danger. “Let’s go, Victoria,” my mother hurri
Last Updated : 2021-07-01captive The Northernmost Territory I
I woke up to a pail of water thrown on me which soaked my gown. I jolted up and scampered backward in shock, only to be backed against a wooden wall. My hands were shackled and I felt the cold tight embrace of the iron as it bit my skin. My eyes squinted as they recovered from the sleep, it slowly made out eyes and faces that were glued on me. “Where am I?” I asked them and they all blankly stared at me. A cold wind brushed my face and my eyes widened to see tall trees that twisted and curled in wicked ways; moss has covered the land and climbed up the blackened bark of the barren trees; the sun failed to permeate their thick foliage which caused a permanent night under its shades— we are in a large prison wagon in the midst of the Dark Woods. I scanned my eyes on the pile of people pressed against each other on the other side of the wagon. There are a couple of men but most of them are girls, all huddled together. They all dared not to get close to me. “Your
Last Updated : 2021-07-02captive The Northernmost Territory II
My body was nothing but a mere pulp that was pushed against a tree. I felt the searing pain on my legs from the scratches of the hard soil. My head throbbed from the pain of being beaten repeatedly. My left eye was almost shut closed from the inflammation that it had gotten from the direct punch the dark brown-haired man gave to me. His hand wrapped around my throat which restricted my breaths. I clawed on his arm and tried to kick at him, I resisted his restraints but my actions felt like nothing but a weak effort to set myself free. I stared at the foliage of the trees up above us and tried to reach out to the dim glimmer of sunlight with my losing eyes. I thought of the trees around the castle and the way I would lay beneath them with my mother when I was still a child. I thought of the green leaves that are similar to the shade of my mother’s eyes and how it reminded me of spring. If I was asked years before if I have envisioned myself to be in this position, I would say
Last Updated : 2021-07-02captive The Northernmost Territory III
Ezekiel started to wrap my wounds by the use of his remaining bandages. He cut up several of them to make sure that he has enough left for emergencies. I gritted my teeth as soon as the mixture of herbs he had formulated touched my lacerations. My body pressed against the cold bars of the prison wagon as I flinched from the pain by the time he dressed my injuries. I breathed deeply as I tried to regain strength from the beating I had endured from Matthias. “You are lucky you haven’t broken any bones, Princess,” he said as he tucked the medicines inside his bag. My rib was not broken but it sure does felt like it. “How do you know my mother?” I asked him as I stared at the trees that moved swiftly with the movement of the wagon, “aside from her being the Queen.” I have never encountered anyone who had a connection with my mother aside from the royal courts and the royal constituents of the kingdom. The people of my kingdom only knew her as the Queen of Fardoja
Last Updated : 2021-07-03
Latest chapter
captive The Escape
It was a sudden turn of events. Something that we may have thought but never really expected to happen. It was something that we have doubted could happen but we never expected that she would do it. She betrayed us. Sophie made us believe that she was with us and we could trust her again but she decided in the end that she will be the one to hinder us from our escape. I couldn’t even feel my legs when we decided to stop for a bit. My thighs shook from running so fast and far too long. Petra was heaving so hard as well as Ezekiel, they ran to keep up with us whilst carrying the children. I pressed my back against the trunk of the tree as I tried to catch my breath. I am mad and hurt by the betrayal and the way Sophie jeopardized our silent escape. The least that she could do if she treated us as friends were to let us leave but she didn’t. She sabotaged it and now the small time that we have was getting smaller and smaller as the blood drinkers were coming after us as fast as
captive The Last Hours
I wasn’t able to fall asleep after Petra read my palms. Her words echoed inside my head for hours, they were relentless and pervasive. They were drilled inside my head and no matter how much I tried to silence them they just become louder and louder. The light of the sun started to fade and the sky puked its bright oranges and yellows all over the horizon. Nighttime is coming, our escape is at hand’s reach. Petra and her children were fast asleep, huddled together beside Sebastien. I felt bad for Celeste, she was apologetic and got scared at how I got mad at what happened. She kept glancing at me during the first few minutes after the palm reading and I could see the shame in her eyes. She would immediately look away every time our eyes meet until she fell asleep beside her grandmother. Ezekiel was still silent as well as Sebastien. There seemed to be an awkward atmosphere and an air of tension that sat in the middle of our group. Everyone seemed too fragile th
captive The Divination
Ezekiel had stopped crying. He was just silent beside me as the water covered us from the chest down. The children were busy playing near us as they splashed water against each other. Their innocence made them see the fun in such cruel conditions. Petra would gently scold them whenever they would make too much noise, wary of how the blood drinkers might react. I couldn’t see any trace of Sebastien, he might have waded far from us. Sophie was in a group of women far from us but I could still see the way they talked to each other. She might have told them about our plans to escape tonight, I wish she wouldn’t. I hope she would understand us before it’s too late and change her mind. I still don’t want to leave her behind. I have thought about talking to Sebastien in trying to wait for one or two days before leaving. Make some time to try to persuade and convince Sophie to join our escape. But with what happened a while ago, with the plans of Rufus towards Ezekiel that loomed li
captive The Pursuit for Forgiveness
I woke up drenched in my sweat. It was as if I took a bath on a river, my clothes were soaked. My heart thumped against my chest, it felt like it wanted to break free from the cages of my ribs. I felt the dryness of my throat as I heaved for air, tried to calm myself down from the dream I just had. I slumped my back against the tree stump near me and caressed my chest as it painfully ached for my mother and the thought of drowning. The sun still wasn’t up and I could see the sliver of the dawning sky through the branches of the trees that crisscrossed above us. The wood fire became nothing but blocks of charcoal and cinder, it was a bit cold without its warmth. A lot of the captives were still fast asleep on the ground. Some of them were huddled together to stay warm and some preferred to sleep alone just like Sophie who laid alone near one of the trees. My eyes scanned the surroundings as my breathing finally went back to its normal state. My throat yearned
captive The Visitation III
The sky was grey and cloudless and I could see how the branches of the dead trees reached out to the heavens as if they were trying to touch it, begged for a drop of life. I could hear the gentle sound of water as it gushed down and the distant calls of the birds in the far distance. With every step that I took, the woods grew thicker and thicker and the trail that I have been following seemed to get lost on the large roots of trees that entangled themselves together. “Victoria,” a voice whispered right behind me. I looked back, startled. There was no one. I looked around hoping to catch a sight of anyone, anything. But there’s nothing, only the barren trees that thirsted for life. I walked faster, forward towards an unknown direction. It was as if I was here before but I couldn’t remember. Only my feet to lead the way towards somewhere I hope I know. I dragged on my long dress that constantly gets stuck on the roots of the trees and the prickly bushes that had adorn
captive The Witch
The night stretched longer as things became heavier around us. It was filled with tension from the consecutive conflicts that rose around us. The air felt constricted as if everything was started to fall apart. The bonds we had started to severe and were barely holding together. Sophie left us and joined the rest of the captives that were huddled together. She had made her decision, the same way that we had made ours. “I hope she tells no one about our plan,” Sebastien said as she stared at Sophie from our place. “I think she won’t…I trust her.” I looked at her tiny body slumped against the tall tree. She had her back turned away from us. I wonder if she was crying, maybe she is. But maybe not because of us leaving but because of our selfish decision. “Do you think that is still important right now?” He turned to me with a concerned look, “whether you trust her or not?” I stayed quiet because I know it doesn’t change a thing. “You trust her bu
captive The Captive’s Clandestine II
Sebastien further discussed the escape plan with us. He had expounded on how futile it is that we keep track of time and not waste any of it. Just like what he said, every second counts. We rely on it. We cling to the hope that we are midway to Fardojar when Matthias comes back with a dozen or more blood-drinkers tagged behind him. Sophie seemed to still be hesitant as she continued to go over and over each question. Meanwhile, Petra already placed the children on their makeshift bed, making sure that there weren’t any bugs to wake them from their slumber. “What about the others?” Sophie asked as she turned her gaze towards the other captives that were already asleep. I bit the insides of my cheek knowing that there’s only one way to escape, it is to leave them behind. Bringing them along would lessen our chance for survival, the blood drinkers could easily track us down. With these many captives to tag along, we surely cant hide. It hurts me to leave them, to abando
captive The Captive’s Clandestine
It was as if the puzzle pieces finally linked up and I could see their pieces slowly organizing together, making silhouettes out of a hazy picture. Ezekiel’s eyes just stared at me, the same way I stared at him— shocked but has a sense of clarity. His mother was the witch and whatever the thing that she had made under those 12 full moons, it is linked to my mother. I opened my mouth to talk to Ezekiel but before I could, Sebastien already started talking over us. “We have to escape,” he said his voice barely a whisper. I could see his eyes scan the surrounding, careful for watchful eyes and heedful ears. “We need to go.” Ezekiel shook his head from left to right and mouthed later as we both went back to face the rest of us in the circle. “We’ll be dead if they find out,” Sophie interjected. “We’ll be dead once we arrived at The Yonder,” Sebastien bit back, “It’s either we die trying to escape or just wait for our deaths.” “Besides...” Sebastie
captive The Old Wife’s Tale II
The moon beamed against the starless sky, it had illuminated everyone in the clearing. The rest of the captives were fast asleep but there was us on the farther part of the clearing, huddled in a circle, eager to hear what Petra was going to tell us. The children were giddy to hear their grandma’s story, something that would tuck them in a makeshift bed out of things they had foraged. “Grandma,” Celeste impatiently said, beckoning her grandmother to start telling the story. Petra smiled at the little girl and looked around to see if we were already in our places. “Sit down first, Celeste, so we can start.” She took the child’s hand as she guided her to sit down beside her. Celeste carefully placed her head on the lap of his grandmother while Desmond huddled closely on Petra’s side. “I have lived a life long enough to know things that you children didn’t know,” Petra said calmly with a voice of a storyteller. “This wasn’t their first,” she added.
