Furiously Loving The Thirteenth Progenitor

Chapter Two

"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars."

-Og Mandino

Sybil sat quietly under the shelter of the many ancient trees which surrounded her, the sounds of the night flooding her senses. She had done as instructed, ridden away and not looked back, though she had no idea where she was going, she avoided the main travelling routes.

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew well that she was lost, her studies had only helped her so much and in the shelter of the trees it was impossible to use the stars to determine her position.

She turned her attention back to the flames of her small fire she had made, embers floating up into the cool night air, as she pondered the idea of where she would go to next.

Another thought had struck her, the many occasions she had run to her room, wanting to flee the palace, eyed her belongings and stripped herself down, the many times she had grabbed what she could and tried to flee, barely making it out of the palace. The guards who had caught her had kept thier word, not breathing a word of her attempts to escape to her father and mother. Yet as she sat, she couldnt snuff out the excitement of having finally escaped, even though her brothers had assisted her.

A thought however had occurred to her, that maybe, just maybe her brothers had helped her in the hopes that something would happen to her, that she would be killed and she assumed that they had planned to abandon her on the outride knowing she would end up horribly lost, therefore leaving the throne open for the taking.

A seemingly innocent way to cover up a darker intention.

She nibbled on some strips of salted meat, pulling a slight face at how salty it actually was when eaten dry and without any accompaniments, before taking a few sips of water. She had managed to set up her tiny camp near a small stream for which she was also greatful for.

After feeding and watering her horse, she stripped down, washing off the dust and sweat before she dried off by the fire, dressing herself, before she finally made a place for herself to sleep for the night.

×××

Sybil was woken the following morning by the tell tale signs of a storm, low rumbles coming from the distance. Sitting up and stretching out she winced as her spine popped, her muscles ached and protested as she moved around, filling her skins with water and packing up before she saddled up her horse once more.

Humming softly to herself she eyed her surroundings warily as she made her way to one of the smaller towns she saw in the distance. Her heart pounded in her chest as she thought of all the potential things that could go wrong entering such a small town on her own, and eventually decided against it.

She knew well that she had enough rations to tide her over for the next few days, and in so she decided it best to bypass the small town all together.

The longer she stayed in the wilderness the better her chance at not been found out.

Little did she know the horrors she would face the closer she got to the town. As she trekked nearer, Sybil could do nothing to shake the impending sense of dread that had settled in her gut. The weather had soured drastically and left her in a tight spot, forcing her to take shelter for the evening.

Drenched to the bone, she swallowed as she neared the town, only to be met with the stench of smoke which hung in the damp air, casting an eerie haze. The nearer she rode the thicker the smoke as she approached the gate to the town.

She frowned when she noticed there were no people around. Climbing off her horse she froze at the sickening squelch made when her boots hit the ground, glancing down only to bite her tongue to prevent a scream from tearing from her lips.

Blood and entrails. The stench of iron hung in the air like a bad omen. Blinking back the tears that threatened to spill she walked along avoiding the corpses that littered the streets, until she caught a flickering light in the window of what seemed to be an inn.

Breaking into a sprint, her horse following her, she ran through the gore and horror of the massacre surrounding her towards the light, finding herself on the edge of the small town.

She knocked carefully on the door before watching as it was opened, frantic eyes looking in all directions before the door was fully opened to her, revealing a chubby bar wench who eyed her suspiciously.

"And what do we 'ave here?" she sneered slightly, wiping her hands on her apron.

"I'm looking for a room to spend the night in." Sybil spoke softly. "Please."

She watched as the woman motioned to a young man, no older than Sybil. "Take the horse and stable it, make sure it gets hay and water." the woman ordered before the young man simply nodded and walked out to tend to her horse.

Sybil sighed out before she followed the woman further into the building, before she asked the question that had been tugging at the back of her mind. "If I may ask, what exactly happened out there?"

She pulled the hood of her cloak down watching as the womans eyes widened in shock. "Your Majesty." she instantly bowed down.

"I'll have none of that, now please, rise and answer my question madam." She spoke promptly allowing the woman to assist her. "Its best if no attention is drawn to me and if you help me and keep your word that you will treat me as you treat your other patrons I will pay you extra."

"Yes, madam you 'ave my word." the woman nodded showing her to a seat near a large fire place. "The massacre was horrible, no one dares to leave thier houses, specially at night." She watched as the woman flitted over bringing her a plate of stew with crusty bread and some tea. "It was a group of men, all of them were rather peculiar you see."

"How so?" Sybil asked. "Thank you for the meal and the tea."

"They were pale as snow and all of them had eyes the color of blood madam. Thier ears where even strange." She wrung out the cloth in her hands as she wiped down the tables.

"Pale skin, eyes the color of blood? Do you mean they were vampires?" Sybil spoke the words slowly.

"Yes madam." the woman nodded. "Walked in the daylight they did. The men of the village tried by all means to fight them off but even though our men outnumbered them, they were to skilled and ripped through them like they were nothing more than old rags. The survivors, were ones wise enough to run and hide until they passed through, they were heading towards the palace, they wanted to over throw your family madam."

Sybil did nothing to ignore the shudder than ran down her spine as she listened to what the older woman said. "What happened to the other survivors?"

"They were taken as live stock madam." She spoke slowly.

"Live stock?" Sybil repeated having trouble comprehending the meaning of what she was been told.

"Yes madam, just so, live stock for the vampires to feed from." she uttered.

Sybil frowned eyeing the woman when she noticed her gaze fixed on something behind her, yet before she could turn around she was struck against the head, blacking out.

"Well now this should ensure our freedom son." she spoke out as she glanced at the unconcious princess. "We promised them virgin girls, yet in stumbles a royal virgin." she grinned maliciously. "Take her down to the cages where the other girls are." She instructed. "The vampires will be here in a two days time."