Every Last Drop

Part Two

It had been many years since that terrible night. I had blocked from my memories much of what had taken place in the hours after I had awakened. All I can remember is that I left my home and ran far from my place of birth, and spent several years wandering the Earth before I dared go back and discover what had truly taken place that night.
I learned that nearly everyone who had been in the house that night had been viciously killed. The few that escaped claimed to not have gotten a good look at the murderer, but that it appeared to be a young woman, and when the bodies were examined that almost all had their throats torn out and were drained of blood. The only party guest who was not accounted for, nor in corpse or in survivor, was young Annabelle Ashby, the hosts' daughter.
I fled town that night, before anyone could see me, but I was followed by a young man who claimed to have all the answers I was looking for. I had scoffed and turned away to leave him behind me, before he called out, "I know who are, Miss Ashby."
I stopped and turned to face him once more.
"I believe you have the wrong person," I told him.
He smiled a grin that sent chills down my back. "That's where you're wrong. I know who you are and what truly happened that night."
"And what is that?" I asked, putting on an exasperated tone, though inside I was shaking from fear.
"You killed all those people. After you were attacked yourself you turned and you attacked others. In your bloodlust you killed your parents, your friends, your servants, anyone you could get your hands on. Not only did you kill them, you drained them of their blood. You drank it."
"Who are you?" I asked angrily.
That wicked grin stayed on his face as he said, "Only someone who wishes to help. To answer your questions. After all, every vampire needs their sire."
I understood very little of what he said, but two words resonated in my head. Vampire and sire.
Vampires were what the monsters that roamed the night were called. It explained so much. My sensitivity to sunlight, my insatiable hunger, my newfound speed and agility.
"Wait, sire? You did this to me?" I shouted, outraged.
"I greatly apologize, I was newly turned myself that night and once the bloodlust passed and I regained my senses I took up residence here, in case you ever came back and needed my help."
"I want nothing to do with you," I said. "You ruined my life."
"Then I will leave you to discover this life on your own, but a word of advice before you go," he added. "Stay out of sunlight, if you ever need help go to the closest town and be in the graveyard at midnight on the new moon, and never let a human die with your blood in their system."
And just like that he was gone into the night.
After that I slowly began to learn about my new body. There had been holes in my memory where I'd wake up covered in blood and my hunger was gone but not knowing what I was I hadn't been able to connect those experiences with my new life. The stories that had always been told said that vampires drank the blood of humans, so one day, sick of trying to avoid what I so obviously was, I lured a young man into an alley and bit his neck. The rush of his blood in my mouth sent me into a frenzy and I gulped it down until there was no more to have and the man was dead. But this time I remembered the kill and I knew without a doubt that this would be my life.
Eventually I learned to control the frenzy and was able to stop before I killed my victim. That's when I learned of my powers of compulsion. It happened without even trying the first few times. I told them to forget and they did. But very quickly I discovered how to use it at any time for whatever I wanted.
It was quite a charmed life, for what I was. I traveled across Europe, seeing all the places I'd always wanted to see. The world was mine for the taking. True there were those still looking for me, but the more time passed, the harder it would be to find me as now they were looking for a hag if not a corpse, as it had been so long.
Then came the day I heard that the Vampire Prince was looking for his bride. I'd never really gotten used to having to fend for myself even after a century. Anything that I could give I would to be back in the lap of luxury.
I applied and was selected to attend the Academy, a training school for all the potential brides. It was one of the most exciting days of my life. But I never would've imagined that my life would change so much. At least, not the way it did.