The Vampire Lord

Chapter 4. Intruders

"Olivia...Olivia wake up please."

Olivia groaned as she awakened, feeling her aunt shaking her arms vigorously. She noticed her wrinkles were more prominent and that a puddle of sweat had accumulated around her forehead.

"Aunt Caroline, what's wrong?" Olivia yawned as she rubbed her eyes, oblivious to the grave danger they were in.

"Olivia listen to me now." She rasped. "I need you to escape through the window."

She grabbed her niece's arm, forcefully dragging her towards the one window she had in her room. With her other hand, she pushed the window open, inviting the cold air to wander inside. Olivia shivered, feeling the wind brush against her bare shoulders. What on earth was her aunt on about?

"What why?" Olivia furrowed her brows, trying to pull away from her grasp.

Startling the both of them, the knob of her bedroom door began shaking vigorously.

"Open the door" A male voice growled from the other side of the door.

The girl's eyes opened widely, any feeling of sleepiness she had was now gone and now replaced with a sense of dread at the pit of her stomach.

"I don't know who they are, but they have broken into our house and now they are going to kill us." Her frail voice trembled, unable to hide how absolutely frightened she was at the moment.

"Please. Escape. Now."

"I'll go get a guard" Olivia cried. "I'll get a guard and they'll rescue us." She raced to the window prepared to jump out. She looked down, it wasn't a tall drop as her bedroom was only on the second floor.

"No Olivia, run." Her aunt demanded, flaring her nostrils. "Run to the castle, you'll be safe with your brother."

"What about you?" Olivia frowned, tears had started to form at the corner of her eyes.

"Once you jump out of the window run as fast as you can. Whatever you do don't stop until you reach the castle." Her aunt trembled, ignoring her question as she held her shoulders tightly.

The banging from the door now became louder.

"We just want the girl." A different male voice yelled.

There were more of them.

"Go!" Her aunt yelled, straining her voice. Olivia had never seen her aunt so terrified.

She sat on the window ledge, contemplating as she looked down. It didn't take long until she eventually let go and jumped, thanks to the adrenaline that pumped through her veins giving her an extra boost. Olivia landed on her feet, but then fell onto her knees, scraping them. She let out a quiet sob from the pain of her skin grazing against the hard ground.

The girl heard her aunt shut the window, the hostile voices coming from her house now muffled.

Listening to her orders, Olivia began running. She had somewhat an idea of where the castle was from her carriage ride on the night of the masquerade ball. Her bedroom window lead to a discreet part behind her house so she was sure she could escape without anyone noticing.

As she sprinted, she heard another male voice yell behind her. Her clothes and hair became slick, uncomfortably sticking to her skin as her lungs felt like they could burst any second. She could feel fresh cuts on her uncovered feet form as she ran on the uneven pavement.

Her head bobbed side to side, letting out grunts through her raspy throat. Soon after her legs started to burn, she wanted to stop for a break but she wasn't sure if the man was still following her. She didn't dare to look back, even if their voices faded away.