It was a bright morning as gentle rays of sunlight caressed Lilith’s cheeks. Soon enough she woke up with a yawn as her sleepy eyes threatened to close ones more and drag her back into dreamland. She wasn’t a morning person but throughout her short life, she had gotten used to waking up early. Her mother wasn’t that strict but she would get lectured if she were to oversleep, despite the fact, her mother was no better than her in this aspect.

Maybe it was because she was still sleepy or she was in denial of what had happened before, whatever the case maybe she began talking with a calm and groggy voice she spoke up.

“Mommy, is the bath ready?”

She looked around finally becoming aware of her surroundings. She wasn’t in her bed that despite being a bit hard and rough brought extreme comfort to her heart. She wasn’t inside her room, her safe space where she could play and make a mess. She wasn’t in her house, where her mother and father would chuckle at her antics while showering her with love and care. Instead, she found herself in an unknown forest over a pile of dead leaves.

For a moment she was confused not knowing why was she here. She had an awful dream last night that she could not quite remember. She wanted to talk to her mother and be comforted by her. Her father would say he would protected her of any dangers and she would feel calm. However, now she was alone in an unknown place.

Panic slowly settled in her heart as she felt dread over her current predicament. Her eyes started to become beady with tears. It was to be expected, no child could keep calm after being thrown into an unknown place without the safety of those they love. Her father had told her many stories before about monsters and heroes. It was obvious to her not all of them were true, she is a smart child after all. Nonetheless, not all of them were false either.

“Mom! Dad! where are you! Mom! Dad!”

She began crying while screaming for her parents. However, the more she did the tighter the pain she felt in her chest grew. The memories of that awful dream became vivid in her mind as her fear only rose. Soon enough the memory of what was only meant to be a dream became a reality, one that she refused to believe in. How could her father who was so strong be killed like that? How could her loving mother fight all those men? It couldn’t be true!

“Mom! Dad! Please, I am scared! I am scared! Please I will be good, I promise! I won’t make a mess any more! I will help clean the house! I will listen to anything you say! Please don’t leave me!”

She continued screaming and begging for her parents to come. She wanted to believe this was a cruel prank from her parents. Or that they were doing this to teach her a lesson for being naughty. But it was all in vain, that feeling of loss she tried to bury deep inside of her kept on clawing itself back up. She knew that the dream was actually real, that all of those awful things had happened.

Her heart was in denial, her mind a mess and her pure soul was slowly crumbling into desperation. Her cries only grew louder as her throat began to hurt from the screaming. In any other circumstance, she would have stayed quiet as a mouse. After all, her father and mother had told her many times about the dangers of the world. About the beasts and monsters that roamed the land. However, a shattered heart cared little about any of that, especially that of a young and pure child.

Soon enough her cries were heard by the denizens of the forest. Most of them quickly fled the area, not due to the child’s cries but instead, due to the thing they had attracted. From the bushes, a beast the size of a mini-van walked forth. Its shape was like that of a tiger but instead of orange fur with black stripes, it was pitch black. Only its eyes had any colour as they glowed with a sinister and grim neon green light.

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Looking at the beast the poor child could do nothing more than freeze in place. Her tiny heart beating like a drum on her ears and her breathing fast and uneven. It was obvious to anyone that she was having a panic attack and who wouldn’t have one in such a situation. The beast on the other hand simply looked at her as a snack, not even a full meal. It slowly walked forward almost as if it held no interest in the child.

Suddenly the child moved, her survival instincts finally won over her panic as she sprinted in a random direction. The beast feeling joyous followed after her. It was planing on eating her whole, however, since she had run it would now play and torture her for its amusement. As the kid ran a clawed paw hit her on her tiny arm, effectively riping a chunk of flesh off. Her balance was broken as she fell to the ground in pain. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made the pain bearable enough for her to stand up and run again. She didn’t dare to look at her right arm that now hanged limply and unresponsive beside her.

Not long after she began running again another paw hit her on the left leg this time. It was more than obvious that the beast was planning on crushing her limbs before devouring her. The child couldn’t do anything else than scream in pain. Her thigh had been gauged open and blood flowed like a river. However, she stood up once more with the aid of a stick. Her drive for survival only growing. She had to survive! For her mother, she had to! For her father, she had to! But above all else, she didn’t want to die!

She limped away as fast as she could which was merely a third of her previous speed. The beast was steadily losing interest in this game, it was too easy. It decided to finish her off with the next attack. The beast launched itself at the kids back, fangs bare for all to see. It landed its attack bitting Lilith in the back, its jaw easily holding her entire torso while applying force. Her bones creaked as they cracked and the pain became unbearable. The beast was satisfied tasting the blood of its prey and once again decided to play with her. It threw her with a motion of the head.

Her tattered and bloodied body slammed against a tree pulverising the few bones that were still intact. She felt cold due to blood loss and her body screamed in pain yet her will to live never faltered. She commanded her body with everything she had yet it didn’t respond. The beast approached with a leisure pace. One could even see its awful grin or it might have just been her imagination.

Suddenly the ground shook, as a blood-curdling scream could be heard from afar. It sounded human but at the same time not. Like the scream of a human and the roar of a beast superimposed over each other. The beast panicked as its instincts told it to run. In the next instant, the ground began to move. That tremor had caused the soil to start sliding downhill. Soon enough the kid and beast got caught in a massive mudslide.

Trees got uprooted as the soil continued its unstoppable fall. The beast unable to get a proper footing got swallowed by the unstoppable tide. The kid miraculously got her by the roots of the tree she had slammed against. It worked as some kind of boat keeping her afloat amidst this madness. The roars of the beast could be heard from time to time before they got swallowed again by the roars of the sliding ground.

It was only a minute but it felt like an eternity for anyone involved. The beast lied on the floor, breathing weakly as its bloodied and impaled body refused to move. It might have been the king of this jungle but no one can win against mother nature. Its abdomen had been pierced by countless branches, its limbs, broken thanks to the soil. Not too far, a child was in worse condition. Her ribs had pierced her lungs her spine had broken and her right arm and left leg had huge chunks of flesh missing. despite all this she was breathing, her life stubbornly refusing to extinguish.

The smell of rotten leaves and upturned soil permeated the place. However, another sent was present. It was the alluring scent of blood. Lilith’s heart began to beat faster and faster. This has happened before too. Once her mother cut her finger while cooking and she had felt his like she felt now. Her eyes refused to leave the sight of the dripping blood of her mother. Her heartbeat like a thunderstorm in her ears and her thirst grew.

Back then it had only been a few drops, and the wound had been quickly treated. She ignored the event, believing it had been just her instincts of being worried for her mother. She was wrong, oh so wrong. Now that pools of blood had been formed beneath her and the beast her heart grew unsettled as it thunderous beating could be heard. Her tattered body began moving, not by her command but instead by something far more primal.

Slowly but surely her half-dead body crawled its way towards the whimpering beast. An awful thirst grew in her throat as if a desert had been summoned in there. Her mind barely responded to anything else but the sent as her blood lose should have long killed any normal living being. Soon enough she reached the pool of blood that had formed beside the beast. She began licking the ground like a maniac, drinking the muddied blood with crazed delight.

Her once sky blue eyes turned a deep crimson red. Her once dark purplish hair losing all its colours becoming a platinum white. The beautiful caramel coloured skin drained of its life turning a porcelain white. Above all, her childish and cute factions became more refind gifting her a bewitching beauty that not even the elves had.

This was the moment the first vampire woke her true nature. The first time she tasted the sweet nectar of life that ran through the bodies of the living. And the beginning of her tale.