Blood bonds

Chapter 180: The sister of Silver Wrath

Hello everyone. Here we are again with yet another flashback. We promise this is the last one before the final battle but we kind of needed to recollect our thoughts and get back into the story. So we had some fun further exploring the past of our two favorite ancient vampires. Mainly focussing on Nara and her sister Malia. This kind of explains how she came to be who she is now. Don't worry though, the battle is coming!

We worked really hard on this so we would love some feedback after you read this. Thank you for waiting for us.

Much love, Nyle and Cristina ♥

TW: Fighting, some not too explicit disturbing scenes

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Xena had always considered herself cursed. She was a powerful priestess even though she still wasn't well known in the Phantom clan. That wasn't bothering her though... she thought about herself as a puppeteer and right now she was just connecting her strings to the different puppets in the clan.

Many powerful people already knew her and many more already asked about her for a lot of jobs that no one else wanted to do. She knew it was only a matter of time... she would be known and she would be powerful.

The reason why she considered herself cursed though, were her daughters. The firstborn didn't have any powers whatsoever and the second one was barely able to use her useless one. She had already thrown the first daughter out of the house and she was about to do the same with the second one.

She entered her house after a long day spent outside and she wasn't surprised to find the child asleep on the couch. She was so weak that using her powers drained her.

"You didn't do even half of what I asked you" she said, grabbing Malia's arm and pulling her up to wake her up.

"I'm s-sorry" the sleepy kid apologized, startled and scared because she was rudely awakened. Once she saw who was pulling her up she calmed down a little but not too much. "M-my body just-"

"Your apologies won't bring money" her mother cut her off. "If you want to eat and to have something to wear, you better finish your task right now"

"I already h-have clothes... You don't need to get me new ones" Malia tried to argue. Maybe if she didn't ask for new clothes then she would need to work less.

The older woman bent down to get closer to Malia and she used her nails to cut the back of the shirt the girl was using.

"Now you need more clothes" she simply stated, walking to the kitchen and pouring some blood in a cup for herself. "Work"

"M-mom" Malia whined, putting her hands on her shoulders so at least the front of the shirt would stay on. "I'm t-tired... I can't"

"You barely created anything today!" Xena raised her voice, grabbing a few of the items Malia created using her powers, causing one of them to break. "And low quality ones. Why isn't this regenerating itself, Malia?" She growled, looking at the broken item.

"I- I told you... I'm only a kid and I'm not supposed to make a lot of t-this stuff" Malia whispered.

"I'm your mother and I decide what you're supposed to do" Xena hissed, throwing the broken item on the ground. "Do your job or you won't eat tonight as well"

"Why are you doing this?" the kid asked, looking down. "Do you think that your punishments will help me? Why do you do this?"

Xena crouched down, grabbing Malia's face with her hand and locking eyes with her.

"I don't care about what helps you and I don't care about what you feel. The only thing I care about is that you do your damn job" she hissed. "You better get used to it since you're a priestess. No one will care about you. They will either try to kill you or use you"

"Is someone doing that to you too?" the little girl asked with concern in her face. "Is someone threatening you, mom?"

"No one would dare to threaten me, you stupid kid" her mother scoffed. "You know why? Because I'm powerful. Because I could take their soul away and with that, their lives. But you? You won't survive out there"

"Why are you working for them then?" Malia asked, just like a curious kid would.

"I'm not working for them, I'm making sure they know how powerful I am" Xena said, pushing Malia back a little. "I kill people when they ask me too and I give them what you create for free. Everyone will fear me and no one will dare to mess with me"

"But-... I don't want to kill people" her daughter whispered in a tiny voice. What did she expect? That her mother was having her make weapons for fun? Of course not.

"What have I done to deserve you as a daughter?" Xena scoffed, locking eyes with her. "At least your sister was a good fighter, even though she had no powers" she said, mentioning Nara for the first time in years. So many years that Malia didn't even know she had a sister.

"My sister..." Malia whispered, trying to remember if she ever had one. "I have a sister?"

"You do. Or you did... I doubt she's still alive" Xena stated, standing back up and drinking a sip of blood from the cup. "Useless just like you"

"Where did she go?" the kid asked, trying to keep herself from crying. She really didn't like that her mother wasn't showing her any love at all.

"I gave her to a relative but I'm pretty sure he realized she wasn't worth it and made her leave" Xena explained. "So either she starved or joined the army to get some blood to drink. In both cases she probably died"

Malia nodded her head. Maybe if she didn't work at all her mother would also send her to that relative. And then she could try to find her sister. Anything would be better than this.

"These are unacceptable" the black haired woman said, crushing another item. "Your power should keep them together. It should prevent them from breaking!"

"Mom... Just let me rest, take care of me and I promise I can make you a good one..." the kid pleaded.

"I take care of you more than I should! I feed you if you do what I ask, you have a roof on your head and you have clothes" Xena stated, picking the kid up by her arm and dragging her towards the door.

Malia stayed silent, not responding to what her mother said even if none of it was true. She didn't have any of these except for the roof at this moment.

Xena opened the front door and threw the kid outside.

"You'll sleep in the cold. Use your power to create something to warm yourself with. You'll see that when you really want to do something, you'll find the power" she stated. "And if you don't, I guess you'll learn to enjoy the freezing cold" she added, closing the door in Malia's face.

"M-mom! Please!" the girl yelled, bonking on the door. She didn't want to stay outside. Not because she was scared of the cold but because of the other people that lived in this village.

"Do your job and I'll consider letting you in" her mother said from inside, not bothering to open the door.

"The people here are scary!"

"Then you'll learn to protect yourself. If you don't, you'll learn to handle the pain" Xena said, walking to the couch and laying down.

Malia gave up, sitting down on a bench that was outside, rubbing still keeping her cut shirt in place. Her back was already freezing but she wanted to keep the rest of her body warm.

She stayed like that for almost an hour and she was so weak and cold that she felt like she was slowly falling asleep.

"Don't sleep, kid... or you won't wake up" a voice said as someone threw something to cover herself with. "Go home" the woman said, turning around to go back to her own house.

"I c-can't" Malia whispered, covering herself with the cloth the woman threw at her. "I'm not allowed to"

The woman turned back to her, looking at the kid. She knew who she was and she knew her mother was one of the village priestesses.

"I can't give you shelter. I care about my soul" she said in a firm tone. "You should run"

"Y-yeah" the kid agreed, slowly standing up. Her whole body was freezing and she was starving but she needed to go. So she slumped away from her house, knowing she would have to pass through some streets.

The woman felt really bad for the kid because she knew what life she was living, but she also knew there weren't many people who would help her because they feared her mother.

"Go to the East" she whispered to the kid, shivering a little because of the cold. "Look for Nara"

"N-nara... got it" Malia nodded her head as she continued walking. She quietly thanked the woman and parted ways with her. But the night was cold and harsh. To make things even worse it even started snowing and before the kid could get out of the village, she collapsed.

It was a sad way to die, she thought. She was young and she had never been loved, not even by her mother. She thought it was over, when she felt two warm arms picking her up from the ground and a few seconds later she was wrapped in something really warm as she was being carried away.

She wanted to ask who was helping her but she didn't have the energy for that. If anything she was just glad that maybe she wouldn't have to die yet.

It wasn't like the cold would kill a vampire, but a defenseless frozen child could be an easy snack for a vampire craving for blood. Whoever had picked her up, walked into a house and gently put her down on a couch, making sure to cover her with a blanket.

Malia relaxed, hugging the warm blanket a little closer and closing her eyes. She was hungry, tired, cold and she just wanted to feel better again.

In her condition, it didn't take long for her to drift off to sleep. She slept for many hours, waking up when it was late morning already.

As her eyes slowly opened she looked around the room that was lit up by the sunlight shining from outside. It didn't look like a typical house that was in the village where she lived so she knew she must be outside of it.

As she was trying to figure out where she was, a man entered the room, looking at her.

"You're awake" he stated, not sounding really friendly.

"I-I am" Malia whispered, not too sure what to think of him so far. He looked strong and his face was a little bit roughed up which usually didn't mean too many good things.

"Good, because you need to leave" the man explained, putting a few things on the table. "It's nothing personal, kid, but I have a wife and two children. I don't want anything to happen to their souls"

"A-are we still in the village?" the little kid asked because it didn't look like she was. "A-and my tummy hurts"

"We're outside of the village, to the east" the man explained, putting the things he prepared into a bag. "There is a blanket and a bit of blood... make sure it lasts long enough" he said, walking to her and signaling her to lay back down.

"S-Someone told me to... find Nara" Malia whispered, laying down so the pain was a little better. "Who is she?"

"Nara? She's a young girl who lives a few houses away from here" he explained. "You'll know it when you find her, she's the only one around with silver hair"

"I-is there something I can do for you? Y-you saved my life"

"You're a child, I couldn't let you be someone's snack out there" the man sighed, picking up the bag. "But you really have to go now... I can't endanger my kids"

"C-could you bring me to N-nara?" Malia whispered, rubbing her belly a little. "Please?"

"She's probably training right now. That one, she'll be a warrior" the man said, nodding his head. "Let's go, I'll show you where she trains"

"Thank yo-" the girl wanted to say when she clutched her belly again because of a cramp. "T-thank you"

The man really wanted to help the kid but he knew he couldn't. He already risked too much and he didn't want anything happening to his children because he helped her. He walked to the door and opened it.

"I'll carry the bag for you until we find her"

Malia did her best to get up from the couch and followed the man outside. She was really grateful that he actually decided to help her out. Especially since there were definitely some people who wouldn't.

They walked in the street at a really slow pace because Malia was visibly in pain, but they eventually reached the place where they needed to be.

"This is the house. Just turn the corner and Nara will be there" he said, handing the bag to her. "Since it's late morning, she's probably on a break"

"O-okay... T-thank you" the little girl nodded her head. "C-can I ask what your profession is"

"I'm a blacksmith" he said, a bit confused about the question.

"C-come back here in a few days and I'll have a hammer for you" Malia smiled, slightly bowing her head.

"I already have hamme-..." He was saying, but he didn't want to disappoint the kid. "Okay, I'll come back in a few days" he smiled, walking away.

"T-thank you, sir! Be safe" the girl called out to him before looking at the house he dropped her off at. It was a pretty big one and it looked cozy. She took a deep breath and stepped closer to it, shyly knocking on the door.

She waited for a while, but no one came to open the door. She held her stomach in pain as she decided to walk past the house to get to the field behind it since they were probably training there.

Of course she didn't really know what to expect so when she got to the back she looked around, spotting 2 people in the distance. And since one of them had silver hair she assumed that it must've been Nara.

As she walked towards them, she saw the man walking away while the young girl with silver hair grabbed a cup and eagerly drank all the blood inside of it, looking really tired.

"H-hello?! Are you Nara?" Malia decided to call out to her with all of her courage.

"I am" the older girl replied, turning towards her and putting the cup down. As she locked eyes with her, she felt a bit weird, as if she was supposed to know who the girl was. "Who are you?"

"I'm M-Malia... I ran away from home because my mother was not really nice to me"

"I'm sorry to hear that" Nara replied, walking a bit closer. "How do you know my name?"

"A woman in the village told me... I was freezing and she gave me a warm cloth" the girl answered with a little smile.

"You're from the village?" Nara asked, locking eyes with the kid. "Why did she give you my name?"

"I don't know... B-but do you have anything for my belly? It hurts" Malia asked, wanting to get rid of the pain first.

Nara told her to sit down on the ground and as soon as she did, the silver haired girl crouched down and pulled her shirt up a little. There was nothing wrong from the outside so she didn't know what was hurting her.

"Did you have blood today?"

"N-no... Mom just kicked me out last night without anything" the black haired girl shook her head.

"It's just hunger, then" the older girl reassured her. She looked to the side, realizing she had finished all the blood and her uncle wouldn't give her more than that. "You can bite me, if your teeth are out already" she said with a little smile, placing her arm in front of Malia's lips.

"I- I have blood in the bag a man gave me" the smaller vampire shook her head. "I'll d-drink that first"

"First rule to survive out of your house... don't accept blood from strangers, you don't know what's in there" Nara said, shaking her head. "But you can drink from them, because you are sure that's pure blood"

"But he saved me" Malia protested. "I passed out in the village, in the snow"

The silver haired girl sighed, grabbing Malia's bag and picking up the bottle of blood. She opened it and shook her head.

"From the smell, it's animal's blood. That won't help the hunger... it won't satiate it" she explained.

"Alright... I c-can bite your arm I guess" the girl whispered, finding it a little weird to do with a stranger.

Nara smiled at her and sat down beside the kid, still holding her arm out.

"Go ahead. Just don't pull with your fangs because that's painful, okay?"

Malia nodded and slowly pierced Nara's skin to sip some blood. She only wanted to take a little.

The older girl let her drink, wanting her to take the amount she needed. As Malia moved closer, Nara smelled a familiar scent. One she hadn't smelled in a really long time. Her brain worked fast, trying to remember and in the end, she did. She remembered a little kid's hand wrapped around her own finger.

She didn't know how to ask Malia if she was right, so she started humming something she used to sing to her, while they were scared and trying to fall asleep.

The little girl kept drinking but when she heard the song she stopped and looked up, looking deep in Nara's eyes as if she was searching for something.

"Y-You remember it?" Nara whispered, holding Malia's gaze.

"It's a song that... I heard when I was younger" the latter shyly nodded her head.

"I remember I used to sing it to my little sister to make her fall asleep. Well, to make both of us fall asleep, since I was really young as well" the silver haired girl whispered.

"You have a little sister?" Malia asked with an excited voice. Maybe there was someone here that was the same age as her.

"Malia" Nara whispered, pulling her a bit closer. "I-... I remember your scent"

"My sce-... Are you-" the little girl whispered, realizing what Nara was trying to say.

"I think I am" the silver haired girl whispered, nodding her head and giving Malia a little smile. "I had a terrible mother as well, a younger sister that should be your age now, I lived in the village... and I hummed that song to her every night"

"I forgot I had a bigger sister... Mom never talked about her... Or you if you are her" the younger vampire whispered, daring to give Nara a hug.

The silver haired girl smiled in the hug, realizing how much Malia needed it... and if she was her sister, she could understand it. Her mother never hugged her and barely talked to her.

"We'll tell our uncle who you are and he'll let you stay" she whispered, hugging her back. "We'll have to share our portion of blood but we will be fine"

"Uncle? Mom has a brother?" Malia asked. "Why is she so mean to everyone..."

"I call him uncle but he's not a close relative. He's just the only one who agreed to let me stay" Nara whispered, standing up and helping Malia up as well. "And I don't know... I don't even remember her face"

"She was forcing me to make stu-..." The younger girl was saying when she stopped herself. She knew it was dangerous to talk about that. "Anyway, she kicked me out"

"She was forcing you to do what, Malia?" The silver haired girl asked in a whisper, combing her hair.

"She was forcing me to make stuff... Like... Create"

"Create?" Nara asked, sounding confused. "She made you work? What did you have to create?"

"Weapons" Malia whispered, looking down. "But I don't know why..."

"Weapons? How? You're young! You shouldn't handle fire and dangerous tools" Nara gasped.

"I don't need those... I just need my hands, Nara"

"But how-..." the older woman was asking, when she realized what Malia meant. "You have powers as well"

The black haired vampire nodded her head, hoping that wouldn't make her apparent sister mad at her. It was something she was born with and had no control over.

"She... she punished me a lot because I was born without powers. She said I was a disgrace" Nara whispered, looking down.

"She starved me and put me without clothes because I couldn't create enough stuff. Nor high quality stuff" Malia told her side of the experience. "She's just... mean"

"Do you want to show me your power?" Nara asked with a little smile. "I don't want you to waste your energy... something small is fine"

"O-of course" the little girl nodded her head, sitting down and holding her hands out in front of her. "Suggest something"

"Uhm... something to tie my hair with" Nara said, sounding excited.

Malia closed her eyes and put all of her body's focus on her hands. Slowly but surely little particles started appearing there so she carefully moved her hands to try and give them a shape.

The silver haired girl looked at how Malia was creating the object and she couldn't deny she felt a little envious because she couldn't do anything like that.

The particles over time started shaping into a little hairpin for Nara. Since it was such a small object it didn't require too much energy and it would hopefully be of good quality.

As soon as Malia was done creating it, Nara clapped her hands, looking at the hairpin.

"Can I see it? Is it fragile or can I touch it?"

"I think you should be able to touch it" Malia whispered, carefully making the hairpin stop floating and handing it to her.

Nara happily but carefully took the hairpin in her hands and looked at it with a smile.

"Forget what she said. What you create is beautiful, Malia!" she cheered, nodding her head.

"T-thank you" the smaller vampire shyly smiled, watching how Nara put the pin in her hair without it breaking.

"See? It works! It holds my hair and it didn't brea-" Nara was saying, when the hairpin dropped on the ground, broken.

Malia looked at the broken hairpin and sighed, sounding defeated. Why was it that she couldn't create anything nice anymore?

"I'm sorry"

"N-No, it's not your fault, it was me! I dropped it!" Nara lied, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, it was beautiful..."

"I've not been able to make anything good lately... I just need more rest and I'll be fine... I hope" the little vampire sighed, sounding really disappointed in herself.

"Of course you will. You need rest and blood" Nara said, nodding her head and taking Malia's hand. "And you know what else you need?"

"What?" the younger girl pouted, looking up at Nara with sad eyes.

"Someone who believes in you!" The silver haired girl said, leaning closer to whisper in Malia's ear. "That's the secret to be the best priestess"

"Really?" Malia asked, a bit hesitant to believe that or not.

"Of course, a great priestess told me that. She made me promise to keep the secret but... I decided to tell you anyway" Nara lied with a smile.

"Okay!" Malia cheered, happy that she now knew what could make her even stronger. But then her smile disappeared again. "I need to find someone like that"

"You already did" Nara said, squeezing her hand. "I believe in you! You can be the best priestess"

"R-really?" the younger vampire asked, looking at Nara and when she saw that the older girl was being serious she hugged her. "I will make you everything you need! As long as it is out of metals"

"I don't want you to waste energy to create things for me" Nara whispered, shaking her head. "But we will train together, okay? We'll become stronger"

Malia nodded her head. She was getting even more sure that Nara was her real sister with every passing second. And the thought of training with her cool older sister and her uncle was exciting.

"Let's go inside... you need to lay down a bit" Nara said, guiding the girl into the house by holding her hand. "My room is upstairs... we don't have another one except uncle's one so you'll stay with me, okay?"

"Can I meet uncle? Or is he busy?" The black haired girl wondered since Nara didn't really talk about him yet.

"He always leaves after our training. He has work to do" Nara cut short. "He doesn't really spend time with me except to train. He wants me to get stronger so I can help him if he needs me to..."

"Do you not like him? Is he mean too?"

"He is not mean... but he doesn't care" Nara explained. "He keeps me here so I can help him, but that's it. No loving family for us" she added with a weak smile.

"Maybe he will love me. And after I warm his heart he will love you as well" the little vampire smiled. "Believe in that"

"I-... I believe in you but he's not-" Nara mumbled, locking eyes with her and not wanting to disappoint her. "Okay, we'll try that... but right now you need to rest"

"Okay... I am indeed feeling sleepy" the girl whispered, now noticing that her body felt heavier after making that simple hairpin.

"Come with me" Nara smiled, walking the girl upstairs and entering her bedroom. "That's my bed. You can sleep there!"

"I need to sleep alone?" Malia asked, looking up at Nara and shaking her head.

"I have some chores to do before uncle comes back... but I'll be downstairs. You're not alone in the house" Nara explained to encourage her.

The younger girl shook her head and refused to go further into the room.

"I'll help you with the chores"

"But you're tired and you said you were feeling sleepy" Nara mumbled, trying to pull Malia towards the bed.

"I don't want to sleep alone" the girl shook her head. "I don't even have my plushies"

"Okay... I'll hug you until you fall asleep" the older girl whispered, locking eyes with her. "Is that okay?"

Again the black haired vampire thought about it for a bit until she reluctantly nodded her head. As soon as she fell asleep she wouldn't notice there was no one there with her right? But maybe falling asleep would be a lot harder since it was only noon.

Nara noticed Malia didn't look really convinced so she chuckled as she signaled her on which side of the bed she had to lay down.

"I won't leave. I'll do the chores later" she smiled, laying down on the bed and waiting for Malia to do the same to pull the covers on them. "I'll stay with you until you wake up"

"I sleep long, so you will be here for a long time then" Malia smirked, nuzzling a little closer. "Good night... sis"

Nara wrapped her arms around Malia and pulled her closer, smiling.

"Good night, little sis" she whispered, happy she managed to meet her sister again.

The kids slept for a few hours and when they woke up they stayed in Nara's room just enjoying each other's company and the warmth of the house.

They talked a lot and they tried to get to know each other because even though they were sisters, they never actually talked to each other.

Unfortunately the fun had to end when they heard the front door open and Nara widened her eyes all of the sudden.

"I didn't do the chores!" She gasped, quickly standing up.

"I'll help you out, that way they'll be done faster" Malia responded, not wanting the older vampire to worry about it. And it was a way to pay her back for letting her sleep here.

"But he's here already! He'll scold me" Nara whispered, looking down.

"We can explain that you helped me out. We are family" the little kid smiled, actually pretty excited to meet her uncle.

"You don't understand, he will get so mad and-" Nara was saying when she heard her name being called from downstairs. "L-Let's go..." she mumbled, taking Malia's hand and opening the door of the room.

The girls walked downstairs and Nara tried her best to remain calm. Her uncle was known for scolding her harshly on some occasions and being nice on others.

"Nara! Why haven't you-... Who's that?" he asked, looking at the little girl at her side.

"S-she's my sister" Nara whispered, squeezing Malia's hand. "She arrived this morning... she was starving and tired"

"Your sister?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since when do you have a sister?"

"I always have..." the silver haired girl whispered. "But she was still with our mother"

Their uncle sighed and thought for a bit before stepping closer.

"Nara, do your chores. You kid, outside"

"N-No... you can't throw her out" the older girl stated, pulling Malia behind her. "You won't have to do anything. I'll take care of her and we will share the same amount of blood you gave me"

"What did I tell you about talking back? Warriors just do their duty" the man stated, locking eyes with Nara and pointing his head towards the kitchen.

"Promise me you won't throw her out if I walk away" Nara whispered, locking eyes with him.

"Don't make me repeat myself Nara"

Nara clenched her fist and turned around to face Malia.

"If he sends you away, wait for me at the corner... I'll come with you, okay?" She whispered, locking eyes with her sister.

Malia shyly nodded her head and started walking towards the door where her uncle was, not wanting to disobey him.

Nara disappeared in the kitchen, hoping their uncle wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Y-Yes, uncle?" Malia whispered when she arrived closer to him.

"Go to that bench, I'll be right there" the man said, not looking at her and closing the door to go inside and get something.

The kid walked to the bench and sat down on it, shivering a little because of the cold. She hoped her uncle wouldn't kick her away because she had no other place to go.

After about a minute went by, the older vampire returned with a cloak, walking to Malia.

"Put this on. It's from an animal your sister hunted"

"T-Thank you, uncle" Malia whispered, sounding surprised. She gave him a big smile and wrapped the cloak around herself.

"Put your hood on and take this as well" he added, handing her some kind of wolf plushie he made. "That's something extra"

"I l-like wolves" Malia smiled, caressing the plushie. "I just told Nara that mom didn't let me take my plushies before sending me away"

"That's not nice of your mother" Their uncle said, smiling at her. "I'm Singho"

"I'm Malia" the girl smiled, holding her hand out in front of him. "I'm happy that both you and my sister are nice. Not like my mother"

"Let's go for a walk" her uncle smiled after shaking her hand. "And don't worry, I'm not kicking you out"

"You're not?" Malia asked, standing up from the bench and hugging herself a little to warm up.

"I'm not. I could actually use a little help in the household" the man reassured her. "Anyway, where do you want to go? The waterfall or the cliff?"

"The waterfall!" Malia cheered, nodding her head. The man took her hand as they slowly started walking along the path that led into the forest, making sure that the girl was feeling warm in her new cloak.

"Tell me a little about yourself. Why did you get kicked out as well?"

'Mom wanted me to help her so I did... but it was difficult. I kept messing up so she threw me out" Malia whispered, looking down. "I really wanted to help her... I was just tired"

"She wanted you to help her? You're a child"

"I'm... a s-special child" the kid whispered, turning around and stopping. She closed her eyes and moved her hands a bit, creating something. "F-For you" she said, turning towards her uncle after a minute and handing him a little wolf made out of metal.

"Oh wow..." the uncle whispered, looking at it. It was perfectly shaped like a wolf and it looked pretty sturdy. "You can create metal things?"

"I can... but she said they're low quality because they break easily" the kid whispered.

The man carefully took the wolf in his hands and tried to bend one of its paws, noticing that it was indeed pretty easy. But he didn't know if it was supposed to be like that.

"Is that how it's supposed to be?"

"N-No..." Malia admitted, looking down. "It was supposed to stay in place" she sighed.

"Do you know why it's like that?" her uncle asked with a little smile, showing interest in her power.

"Maybe I'm not strong enough..." the kid whispered. "Or maybe it was because I didn't have anyone who believed in me. But now I do, so I will improve!" She cheered, thinking about what Nara told her.

Singho looked at his apparent niece and nodded his head. If this girl really was family he was obliged to take her in and maybe he could help her out as well.

"If you want... I could train you as well?"

"Y-You would?" the girl asked, widening her eyes and nodding her head. "B-But you won't be as mean as mom, r-right?"

"I broke contact with your mother a long time ago, kid. So don't worry, I will not be anything like her"

"Thank you, uncle!" Malia cheered, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

"You're welcome, Malia" Singho replied, hugging her back. "But you will have to train really well, okay?"

"I will do my best, uncle" the girl said, sounding confident and nodding her head. "I won't let you and Nara down"

"In return you will be allowed to sleep in the room with your sister and you'll get enough blood" the man explained, ruffling her hair. "And I knew you would be good. You look strong"

"I do? Mom said that my sister is a fighter but that I'm not good at that either" Malia whispered, shaking her head.

"Nara is a warrior. You are not a warrior but you are still strong in you own way, kiddo"

"I want to be even stronger then" Malia said, nodding her head. "I'll train hard, uncle"

The man smiled and lightly squeezed the girl's hand so they could continue walking for a little longer. So far he really liked the vibe he was getting from his niece. After a few minutes more passed where they walked along the forest path, they arrived at a little clearing with a beautiful waterfall in the middle of it.

"This place looks magical!" Malia cheered, running towards the water. "I've never been here before. Well... I've never really left the village"

"You've missed a lot of beautiful places" her uncle explained, sitting down on some rocks. "And this place doesn't only look magical, it is actually magical"

"Really? Tell me, uncle" Malia said, sitting down beside him and curiously looking at the waterfall.

"They say that a great fairy lives here and that she comes out at night" the man explained, pulling her into his side. "She's known for enhancing people's powers"

"A fairy?" the kid asked, widening her eyes. "Is it true? Have you seen her, uncle?"

"I have only seen her once. She's a majestic lady with bright pink wings"

"Wings?" Malia gasped, looking at the waterfall again. "Do you think she's here now? Why doesn't she let us see her?"

"The fairy is a little bit shy of vampires. And she wouldn't want anyone to talk about her existence" the older vampire explained, lightly combing Malia's hair. He had actually planned something with Nara before they went on their little trip.

"Does that mean I can't tell Nara about the fairy?" Malia pouted, looking at him.

"Maybe you can tell Nara, but no one else..." Singho smiled. "She told me of a way to talk to her"

"Really? Can we do that now?" Malia asked excitedly, taking her uncle's hand and squeezing it.

"We can... You just have to hold your head under the water for about a minute. Do you think you can do that?"

"A minute is really long..." the kid whispered, scratching her head and standing up to walk towards the water. "Will she talk to me while I'm underwater?"

"No. She will talk to you when you come back up. She needs to see that you can do it" Her uncle explained with a little smile, hoping that Nara was already in place.

"I'll do it!" Malia whispered, really wanting to meet the fairy. She jumped on a rock that was in the water and she kneeled down, taking a deep breath and putting her head underwater.

Singho was a bit surprised that the girl was willing to go for it straight off the bat. He had expected her to be a little more skeptical and hesitant like Nara was but that didn't seem to be the case. The two sisters were opposites on that aspect.

The kid tried her best to resist for a minute, but she had to get out of the water after 40 seconds because she felt like she couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't-... a minute is too m-" she was saying when she was cut off by a voice coming from the waterfall.

"Who is asking for me this early in the day?" the voice asked, startling the kid a little.

"I-... H-hello? Where are you?" the girl asked, looking around after she had calmed down a little.

"I'm inside the waterfall, where my house is" Nara said, pretending to be the fairy.

"C-can you come out? I want to see your wings, miss fairy"

"I can't let everyone see me" the 'fairy' replied. "You're lucky enough to hear my voice, Malia" she added, wanting to impress the younger girl by saying her name.

"She knows my name!" The little girl whisper-yelled to her uncle, sounding excited. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I've kept an eye on you, young priestess" Nara replied, trying her best not to laugh. "Can you see the little water wall on the side?"

Malia was surprised at how well the fairy could hear and how much she knew about her. It was really confusing.

"Water wall?"

"Yes, Malia. On the left of the big waterfall there is another one, smaller" the voice replied. There was indeed a smaller waterfall, but what Malia didn't know was that once you walked past it, there was a little cave and it was exactly where Nara was hiding.

"This one?" The girl asked, pointing her finger at the smaller one. "Yes, I can!"

"Walk to it and put your hand in the waterfall" Nara instructed.

The little girl was a little scared to do what the fairy said so she looked back to Singho to check if it was safe.

Her uncle nodded his head and smiled at her to reassure her as he pointed at the tiny waterfall.

The black haired vampire took a deep breath and hesitantly put her hand in the waterfall, noticing the water didn't hurt her.

After a few more moments Nara grabbed Malia's hand and squeezed it, knowing that her younger sister couldn't see her but she could feel her.

"You're holding hands with a fairy, Malia" the voice said, wanting the girl to feel important.

"Oh my god! I can feel the fairy, uncle! She's holding my hand!" The girl cheered.

"Is she? That means she likes you a lot! She didn't hold my hand when I met her" her uncle chuckled, looking at the scene.

"She is! She has really soft hands" Malia answered with the biggest smile on her face. If only her mother could see this. Then she would know how wrong she was.

"Malia" Nara called, caressing her hand. "Never doubt how strong you are. Be confident and brave... and I will always stand by your side"

"Really?" the girl asked, sounding a little bit emotional. She couldn't believe that a great magical fairy wanted to be her friend.

Nara stayed silent for a little bit, thinking about what was happening. Her uncle never did anything like this for her... he barely talked with her in years.

"I promise" she whispered, meaning what she was saying. Now that she had found her sister, she would do anything to protect her. She was the only one who made Nara feel loved even if just for a few hours.

"Can you come out? I'm sure that you will recognize my uncle. You trust him right?"

"I trust only you. I can feel your soul is pure" Nara replied, holding Malia's hand with both hers. "I can't let you see me though"

The little girl was a little confused by the response. Didn't Singho say he saw the great fairy first?

"Why do you not trust uncle? Is he... like mom?" she asked in a whisper.

"He's not" the voice reassured her. He seemed to like Malia and that meant that probably Nara was the problem. "But he saw me by mistake... I can't allow it to happen again"

"Was he not nice to you the last time then?" Malia curiously asked, wanting to know what happened.

"He... he wasn't" Nara whispered, thinking about her relationship with her uncle. She felt angry because he was nice to Malia from the start... while he barely considered her.

"Oh... I know" the girl suddenly gasped, chuckling right after. "You love him and you're shy!"

"W-What? No!" The girl replied in a really surprised tone. "I don't love him. I will never love anyone, I'm a fairy"

"Hmm... okay" the girl smirked, quickly looking back towards her uncle. "So... Do you know why my power is not working, great fairy?"

"You have to get to know your power. You have to use it because you want to and not because you have to" Nara said, still caressing Malia's hand.

"But I know what my power is... And I tried to make something for my sister earlier because I wanted to and it broke anyway"

"Did you make it with your whole heart?" Nara asked, smiling at hearing Malia calling her 'sister'.

"I think I did?" the girl asked, not really knowing how she could check if she did.

"I want you to try again then" Nara said. "When you go back home, make something for your sister but do it with your whole heart. I'm sure it will work out"

"Okay... Thank you, miss fairy" Malia smiled, nodding her head. "C-could I maybe know your name?"

"My name?" Nara mumbled, quickly trying to think about something. "It's... uhm... you can call me Onda"

"Onda? That's a really cool name! Next time I will bring my sister here so she can meet you"

"You can't" Nara whispered, squeezing Malia's hand. "She can't talk to me"

"Why not?"

"She-... She's not special like you, Malia" Nara said with a weak smile. It was the truth after all. Malia was a priestess and their uncle seemed to like her a lot. While Nara was just a simple vampire good at fighting.

"That's not nice of you! Nara is really nice" the black haired vampire pouted. "Come on, please?"

"She wouldn't be able to hear me, Malia" Nara said, wanting her to give up about this. "Only you and a few others can"

"Oh... Okay" the girl whispered, slowly pulling her hand back. "Thank you for your advice, great fairy. I will do what you asked as soon as I come home!"

"Malia" the voice called as Nara looked down to the ground. "Stick with your sister. She needs you a lot" she admitted, feeling a little bit selfish.

"I will. On the way here uncle told me that she is really precious and that he wants me to protect her like she will protect me" the younger vampire revealed. "I promised I would"

"He... he did?" Nara asked, widening her eyes. "He should... s-show that to her as well"

"I'll tell him" Malia nodded her head with a little chuckle. "Thank you for talking to me"

"You're welcome, Malia" the voice replied, standing silent after that.

The black haired vampire walked back to her uncle, careful not to fall in the water. She was pretty satisfied with this trip out especially since she had never talked to a fairy before.

"Uncle!" She called, running to him as soon as she was out of the water. "The fairy was so nice to me! She held my hand and she said I'm special"

"Did she now?" Singho smiled, seeing how glad the kid was after the talk. "What else did she say?"

"She said that you have to show Nara that she's precious" Malia said, crossing her arms. "Nara also said that you don't talk to her earlier"

"Did she say that..." the man whispered, looking down. "I will do my best, kiddo. Just know that I don't dislike her or anything"

"Then why aren't you talking with her?" Malia curiously asked as she grabbed his hand and started walking towards their place. "She's a bit scared of you"

"I'm not talking to her because I want her to be prepared for the cold reality of this world... People don't talk" the older vampire explained. "But that is a conversation we will have when you're older"

"Is it because she's a warrior?" Malia asked, sounding interested. "But she's just a bit older than me and our mother hated her as well. Maybe she needs love"

"I'm a warrior as well" Singho said, looking down at Malia. "And that's the difference between you and me. There are two types of people in this world. The ones with power, authority and the ones who follow those with power"

"But isn't that unfair? If you don't have power then you can't do anything... How do you get power?" the little girl asked, trying to understand.

"There are two ways to receive authority in this world, Malia. Either you're born with it, or you become part of the lives of people that have it"

"What about me and Nara? Are we powerful or do we need to join someone?" Malia asked, trying to understand.

"You will have authority because of the power you were born with. Nara and I we need to join people"

"Can't you join me then?" Malia asked, scratching her head.

"in the future, yes" Singho nodded his head. "Right now you're a little too young"

"I will become powerful so I can help you two then" Malia said, clenching her fist as they arrived back home. "So you won't have to join anyone else"

"I'm sure you will" the man chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You can go inside and search for your sister. I need to go continue my work in the shed"

Malia nodded her head, happily walking inside the house and calling for her sister. Nara had arrived home just a few seconds earlier so she quickly grabbed a towel and massaged her hair with it, walking downstairs.

"You're back" she said with a smile, looking at her sister. "I did my chores and I washed myself"

"I'm back! Me and uncle went on a little walk to the waterfall!" the girl smiled.

"That sounds nice" Nara smiled, stopping in front of her sister. "Did something cool happen?"

"Yes! I'm not supposed to talk about it but I met a fairy! She had a really soft voice and soft hands but she couldn't reveal herself to me"

"A fairy?" Nara asked, pretending to be surprised. "What did she tell you?"

"She told me that I have a super cool power and that I needed to make something for you with my whole heart" Malia excitedly explained, leaning a little closer to her sister. "And I think she likes uncle"

"That's-... it could be" Nara chuckled, shaking her head. "What will you do for me?" She curiously asked.

"Uhm... I could try a hairpin for you again?" the younger vampire asked, tilting her head. She had a newfound confidence now after talking to the fairy.

"Uhm... what about a hair tie?" Nara asked, having an idea.

"A hair tie? But it wouldn't be flexible" the smaller girl chuckled.

"Right... wait" Nara mumbled, running upstairs and grabbing a hair tie. "Can you make a metal decoration for this? Maybe a little bow?"

The girl nodded, sitting down on the ground and holding her arms out in front of her, hand palms facing each other. She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes as little particles started forming again.

Nara sat down beside Malia and just looked at her without talking, not wanting to pressure or distract her.

The particles slowly floated together to the empty space between Malia hands and created the shape of the item the girl was creating. After they had all come together it took about a minute before the object was solid.

"Good job!" Nara cheered as Malia handed her the little bow. The older girl carefully fixed it on her hair tie and she stood up, walking behind Malia. She started combing her sister's hair to then pull it up in a high ponytail.

"I-it's for me?" Malia whispered, keeping her head still because she didn't want to mess anything up. No one had ever done her hair before.

"It is. You have a very pretty face, Malia. You will look even more beautiful with your hair up" Nara said, fixing the ponytail with the hair tie. "Here you go! There is a mirror there, if you want to see how you look"

The youngest of the sisters quickly ran to the mirror to check out her new hairstyle, gasping when she saw it. It was indeed beautiful. She then carefully brought her hand up to the metal bow on the hair tie and poked it a few times, noticing it was sturdy.

"The fairy was right! You made it with your whole heart and it's not breaking" Nara cheered, hugging her sister from behind and looking at their reflection in the mirror.

"My power works" Malia whispered, a bit surprised that the advice had worked. She then looked at the two of them in the mirror, really liking the sight. "Your face looks like mine"

"It does... but we have really different hair colors" Nara whispered, resting her chin on Malia's shoulder. "We probably have different fathers"

"How do you know that? Do you know where dad is?" the younger vampire asked, looking at Nara through the reflection.

"No, mom never mentioned anyone. And I don't know that for sure but apart from our faces we're pretty different. Our bodies, our hair..." the older girl explained. "But don't worry, you are still my sister"

"But I want to meet dad... Maybe he's not so bad as mom" Malia smiled, looking up. "Maybe uncle knows"

"No, Malia... he would be as bad as mom" the older girl whispered, shaking her head. "He left both of us..."

The black haired vampire sighed, nodding her head. All she wanted was to just have a normal family with a mother and a father. But apparently that was too much to ask.

"Hey... don't be sad" Nara whispered, holding her tighter. "We are lucky. We have each other"

"Yeah... We do" Malia whispered, nodding her head. "I'm glad fate brought me here"

"It wasn't fate, it was you. You were brave enough to come here" the older sister smiled, pecking Malia's cheek. "I promise I will always protect you"

"And I will always protect you" the girl stated, sounding confident as well since that was what she promised her uncle.

Nara nodded her head, hugging her tightly as she looked at the two of them in the mirror. She really disliked her mother, but it seemed like she had done something good as well... she gave her a sister. A nice and caring one.

-=-

Over the next few years Nara, Malia and Singho actually grew a lot closer, forming a little family of their own. Both girls cared for him like a father and he repaid them with knowledge and training. Their life was finally peaceful after a rough few years with their mother. But like all stories, good things had to come to an end.

On a morning about 5 years later, Nara was sleeping in her own room when she was suddenly woken up by someone shaking her shoulder. When she opened her eyes she could see the blurry figure of her uncle, rubbing her eyes to make the image more clear.

"Get up. I'm kicking you out"

"W-What?" Nara asked, trying to realize what was happening. "Kicking m-me out? Why?"

"Get up, get your most important stuff and disappear. Take Malia with you" the man clarified, trying to keep a stern and cold voice.

"Why?" Nara asked again, locking eyes with him. "U-Uncle..." she whispered as she felt herself being dragged out of bed.

"Did you not hear what I said, Nara?" he repeated again, raising his voice a little.

"I did, but I d-don't understand" the silver haired girl whispered, stumbling towards him. "Is t-this one of your exams? When do we have t-to come back?"

"You do not come back. You stay as far away as possible. Now get up and do what I said"

Nara tried to understand what was happening, but she couldn't. She grabbed her backpack and put everything useful she could find in it.

"You don't need us anymore?" She asked, locking eyes with her uncle as she closed her backpack.

"I don't. Now go get your sister and disappear" the man said, his voice already a little bit less stern. He knew that it was probably really confusing for the girl but this was the best way.

Nara gritted her teeth and she stood up, throwing the backpack on her shoulder.

"She loves you, you know... like a father" she whispered, not wanting to admit that it was the same for her.

"Don't you think I know that?! And do you not think I don't love you two as if you were my own daughters?" Singho suddenly raised his voice again, startling Nara. "You just... n-need to go"

The silver haired girl held his gaze, noticing he was tearing up... only then she realized what was happening. She nodded her head and quietly walked towards her sister's bed, but before she could reach it she turned around and hugged her uncle tightly.

"M-make sure she's safe okay? And make sure you stay safe as well" the man whispered, hugging Nara back. "And don't ever stray from your path. Don't forget what you learnt"

"I won't, uncle" Nara whispered, tearing up as well. "I will protect her and I'll do what you taught me" she said, pulling back from the hug and walking to her sister, carefully picking her up from the bed.

"I'm sorry if I scared you" Singho whispered, starting to go downstairs again. "I thought this would be the quickest and safest way..."

"You didn't scare me, it was just really confusing" Nara whispered, holding her sister tightly. "Uncle... be safe as well"

The man only nodded his head without verbally responding as he reached the downstairs area to prepare himself. In the meantime Malia was slowly waking up, realizing she was in her sister's arms.

"Am I not a bit old to be carried, sis?" she chuckled.

"Malia" Nara whispered, putting her down on the ground and holding her shoulders. "We need to leave the house, now"

"What? Why? Is uncle taking us on a trip again?" the girl cheered, rubbing her eyes and stretching her back.

"No, we're in danger. I need you to grab your backpack and put everything you need in it" Nara said, quickly taking a few things out of the closet. "We need to leave now"

"D-danger?" the girl whispered, doing what her older sister told her to. "What's happening?"

"I don't know, but uncle said we have to leave and never come back... so that's what we will do" Nara explained, holding back her tears.

"Uncle is not coming with us?" the younger girl asked, sounding sad and a little panicked. "I don't want to leave"

"This is not about what we want to do... it's about what we have to do. He is protecting us, Malia... and it's our duty to listen to him" the older sister explained, helping her sister to close the backpack. "We'll go down from the window"

"He needs to come with us! Why can't he escape as well?" the younger girl asked, feeling herself tear up as she finished packing her backpack.

"He... He will stay behind to protect us" Nara whispered, taking her sister's hand and pulling her towards the window. "I want him to come with us as well... but he is a warrior... he knows what to do"

"You're a warrior as well!" Malia stated, a little bit angry now. "We can fight!"

"No, we can't... he doesn't want us to" Nara said, shaking her head. "We're not strong enough yet"

"I don't want to leave" Malia cried, hugging her sister. She had really started to love this place and the warmth she felt here. There was no way she could just leave that behind again.

"I know" Nara whispered, hugging her sister back. "But we have to... and we still have each other"

"C-can we come back later? To let uncle know where we are?"

"He said we can't... b-but we'll see how things go, okay?" Nara said, wanting to give her hope. "We have to go now" she added, opening the window as a tear escaped her eye.

Malia just clung to her sister, not saying anything else. Realization dawned on her and the fact that they were leaving this place behind was heavy for the girl. It took away her ability to speak, replacing it with sobs.

Nara picked her sister up and jumped down from the window, silently landing on the ground. She knew this was harder on Malia than it was on her, so she knew she had to be the one who stayed strong.

She looked around her, thinking that everything was quite calm. There was literally no noise. And that's one of the things she learnt from Singho. If there was no noise, you had to be the most alert.

"Warn me if you hear something" Nara whispered as she started running towards the forest. "And if we need to fight, I want you to stay back, okay?"

Malia didn't respond at all. She was just silently crying against her sister's chest. There was nothing she could focus on except for the thoughts running through her mind.

Nara ran for a few minutes, entering the forest as she tried to listen to everything that was happening around them. She was starting to think they got away fast enough to avoid a fight when someone bumped hard against them, making them fly back and roll on the ground.

"M-Malia!" Nara called, quickly trying to get back on her feet and looking at her sister who was laying a few meters away from her.

Before her sister got a chance to reply she was picked up by a stranger, making her flail around in panic.

"Let her go!" Nara hissed, looking at the scene and trying not to panic.

"Stay out of it. Your mother wants her back" the vampire hissed, fangs on full display.

Nara closed her eyes for a second, focusing on her breathing and on the surroundings. She thought about what her uncle had taught her and about what her real power was.

"I said: let her go!" she yelled, letting go of her rage as her uncle taught her, but always thinking straight.

"I gave you an easy way out" the woman sighed, throwing Malia aside so she could block the attack.

The silver haired girl quickly jumped to the side to put herself in front of Malia and she lunged at the woman again, letting her fangs out and kicking her side.

The woman flew back a little bit, managing to stay on her feet.

"That old fool taught you well... But his days of sheltering you are over" the stranger smirked, launching an attack herself.

"It doesn't matter, he taught me everything he could. I don't need him anymore" Nara hissed, blocking the attack and jumping a little bit back. She knew the woman was trying to distract her with painful memories so she didn't have to show she cared.

"Good. He will be burnt to a crisp in a bit anyway" the woman laughed and as if on cue several screams and shouts could be heard from the direction of the house.

Nara clenched her fist, knowing there wasn't anything she could do to help her uncle. She had to think about what was happening right now. Her priority was to protect her sister.

The woman was way older and more experienced than her, but that was something she could use. She was a young vampire and the woman would probably underestimate her and her ability to lead a battle.

"Looks like your plan didn't work that well" she said with a smirk as she looked over the woman's shoulder.

"Don't you smirk at me, kid" the latter warned her, quickly checking what was behind her.

As soon as the woman turned her head towards their house, Nara sprinted forward and tackled her down on the ground.

Her uncle always said that her speed and her ability to lie were her biggest point of strength, so she had to learn how to use them.

"Get off of me!" The woman struggled against her, deciding to alarm the rest. "The girl is here!"

Nara punched the woman, wanting her to shut up so she couldn't ask for help. After a few punches she realized she could have already killed her, but she was hesitating. She had never killed anyone before and she was scared about the impact that would have on her and on her sister's opinion.

"N-Nara" Malia whispered, pointing at the house which was now on fire. But the thing she was pointing at were vampires searching the forest.

The silver haired girl put a hand on the woman's mouth to prevent her from yelling, but she knew that wasn't enough. She had no way to shut her up for long.

"Look away, Malia" she ordered as she grabbed the vampire's head and snapped her neck.

The little girl had turned her back to them but she flinched at the cracking sound, really not wanting to see what it was.

"I'm h-here... let's go" Nara whispered, walking beside Malia and grabbing her hand. "They can't see us... there's too many"

"O-okay" Malia whispered, deciding to just follow Nara without question. In the back of her head she hoped their uncle was okay but she understood they couldn't go help him.

They walked for a while, careful not to be heard, when someone dropped in front of them all of the sudden.

Thankfully Nara had heard his steps on the branch and she was waiting for him to jump down, so as soon as he did she jumped past him and stabbed his neck with a dagger, letting him fall down at Malia's feet.

The little girl looked down, this time having seen the man die. But weirdly enough she didn't feel the need to cry. She was disgusted and scared but that man was out to hurt them.

Nara carefully checked on her sister, not knowing if he managed to hurt her somehow when he landed.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, cupping her sister's cheek.

"I-I am" the little girl whispered, looking down and finding a splatter of blood on her clothes. "He's bad"

"He was bad..." Nara whispered, cupping her sister's face. "Malia, if you ever find yourself in danger and I'm not there to protect you, don't feel pity for them. If they want to kill you, you have to kill them first, okay?"

"I will do my best" Malia nodded her head, not giving a definitive answer. She couldn't say yes or no to that.

"Okay, we need to le-" Nara was saying when a really fast vampire appeared beside her and kicked her strongly, making her fly for a few meters.

"Nara!" Malia yelled, looking at her sister and then at the vampire which was in front of her. When she saw that she attacked, the little girl held her hands in front of her, unconsciously creating some metal spikes which the woman ran into.

The oldest vampire screamed in pain as she tried to free herself from the spikes. Nara slowly stumbled towards her, locking her in place by wrapping her arm around her neck.

"E-End her, Malia"

"N-no... you do it"

"You have to do it..." Nara shook her head. She knew her sister had to be able to kill enemies or she wouldn't be able to protect herself. "If she frees herself, she'll kill me"

"N-no" Malia whispered again, shaking her head. Even if she wanted to, she could feel that she couldn't use her power again.

"Malia, just grab one of the spikes and stab her nec-" the older girl was saying when the woman elbowed her stomach twice, causing her to lose grip on her neck. The silver haired girl dodged the other attack, but the woman managed to tackle her down on the ground, grabbing her neck and squeezing it.

Nara was clearly struggling to hold the other woman off. Or so it seemed. In reality she could easily get her off of her but she wanted to show Malia what would happen if she wasn't brave enough.

"M-Malia" she called, hoping her sister would find the courage to do what she had to.

The little girl clenched her fist, grabbing one of the little spikes and turning her brain off. She plunged it in the woman's neck and kept pushing.

The woman widened her eyes and after a couple of seconds she dropped on Nara's body, motionless. The silver haired girl pushed the dead body to the side and stood up, walking to Malia and hugging her tightly.

"You did good" she whispered, combing her hair. "You saved me"

"I w-want to go" Malia whispered, looking down at her hands and trying to get the blood off.

"Malia... I want you to understand this" Nara whispered, locking eyes with her. "This is about killing or getting killed. We do what we have to do to survive"

"I-... Yes" the younger vampire nodded her head. "Let's go. We... we need to run"

Nara nodded her head, taking Malia's hand as they started running again. They ran for hours but the forest was way too big and the way out was nowhere to be seen.

"We n-need to rest..." the silver haired girl whispered, noticing how tired Malia was. "We'll stop here"

"We need to... check on uncle" Malia whispered, leaning against her sister because her legs were hurting.

"We can't... we're too far from home anyway" Nara shook her head. "And he told me we can't go back"

Malia shook her head, leaning more against Nara so she could dry her tears. She didn't want to start over yet again.

"I'm sorry" the older sister whispered, hugging Malia tightly. "Uncle gave us a way out and he asked me to promise him we will survive... So we need to do our best to keep that promise, okay?"

"But what will we do? We have nothing!"

"I'll join the army" Nara said, sitting down against a tree. "That will allow me to earn money and power... and most important thing, I will be allowed to keep you with me if I'm a warrior. I've heard the army gives every warrior a room for them and their family if they start at a good rank"

"B-but what do I need to do? I want to help you" Malia whispered. "I don't want you to leave for months"

"I will take you with me, somehow..." Nara whispered, patting the spot next to her. "I'll find someone I can trust and who will take care of you when I need to go on the battlefield"

"Do you promise that you will not leave me behind?" Malia whispered, drying her tears again. Her mother had kicked her out, now she needed to leave her uncle without the chance of saying goodbye... she couldn't lose Nara as well.

"I promise" the older sister whispered, locking eyes with her and nodding her head. "The only thing that could make me leave you, is death"

"Then you will not leave me ever" the younger vampire said with a little smile, hugging Nara close.

"Malia... listen to me" Nara whispered, combing her hair. "There is something really important I have to talk to you about"

The girl nodded her head, relaxing against her sister's side. She was too tired mentally to have a full conversation right now.

"Do you want to talk about it tomorrow?" the older sister whispered, pecking her forehead. "We can just eat and rest now... you're really tired"

"Y-yes please... I just... want to wake up from this nightmare"

"Okay... drink" Nara said, pulling her sleeve up and placing her arm in front of her sister. "You can sleep after it"

"I didn't even get to say bye" Malia whispered to herself, completely wrapped up in her thoughts. She then leaned forward and started drinking from her sister's arm, not really reacting in any way.

Nara fixed her eyes on the tree in front of them as she pulled Malia closer with her free arm. She knew her sister wasn't mentally strong enough for this, but there wasn't anything Nara could do to protect her from the pain.

"We'll find our place in this world, Malia..." she whispered to reassure her, pecking her head.

-

-=-

Many years later, everything was going exactly like Nara predicted. She joined the army and she quickly became a general in it, meaning that she had many privileges. One of them being the fact that she could take Malia with her everywhere. She was able to feed her sister and to make sure she was safe.

Malia though, didn't like the fact that Nara was fighting in so many battles because they kept becoming more difficult and the now 26 years old kept coming back with more injuries every time.

Two days ago they had a really big fight because Malia didn't want Nara to leave, knowing this battle was way too difficult, but the older girl knew she had to. She couldn't lose her rank and her power in the army, so she left anyway.

Malia didn't bother to say goodbye to her and she barely looked at her as she left the house, two days ago. And now here she was, with all the other warrior's relatives, waiting for the army to come back at the gates of the clan.

Even if they parted with a fight, the two would always reconcile. Over these few years their bond had kept growing and they quickly became inseparable. Malia was even training herself to join the army so she could be with her sister. After Nara forbade her from using her powers there was nothing else she could really do.

As the warriors started to enter the clan ground, Malia watched as people started running towards the warriors, each one of them hugging their loved ones. She nervously looked around, trying to find Nara in the crowd, but she couldn't see her anywhere.

She waited for a bit, wanting the crowd to thin out a little. She was still pretty small compared to other vampires so it wasn't too easy to spot anyone. But her sister had silver hair so she was supposed to stand out.

She started to feel lost, when she realized that after five more minutes of walking around she still couldn't see her sister. She quickly walked towards the gates when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She turned around with a smile, thinking it was Nara, but it quickly died on her lips when she locked eyes with another warrior.

"Are you Malia?"

"Yes, that's me. Have you seen my sister?" The girl asked, clearly distressed.

The man squeezed her shoulder and unwrapped something he was holding in his hands.

"This is her dagger" he whispered, showing Malia the two broken halves of it. "We found this when the battle was finished... but she was nowhere to be found"

"No... no no no" Malia whispered, shaking her head. She hit the dagger out of the man's hand and pushed past him, running outside of the village.

"Malia" the man called, chasing after her and quickly catching up. "You can't go out there. Some of the enemies could still be alive... go back inside"

"That would mean you didn't do your job" the black haired vampire hissed, pulling herself free. "I'm gonna search for her"

"We all did our job, but the enemy army was strong" the man sighed, picking Malia up since she was small compared to him. "I knew your sister and I know you were the only one she really cared about, so I'm not letting you kill yourself after she died for you" he stated, not realizing those words escaped his lips.

"She's not dead!" Malia yelled, punching his face so she could be free. "She's not dead! She can't be!"

"Look, kid" the man said, putting the girl down and harshly grabbing her shoulders. "Someone in the enemy lines knew what you are. Nara knew she had to take them out to protect you or you would never be safe... so she chased after them and she didn't come back. Her dagger was broken and if she followed them till their side of the battlefield, she can't be alive"

"My sister doesn't need a weapon to fight. I'm almost part of the army anyway so I'm going out and saving her. She's my general!"

"You can't g-" the man was raising his voice, losing his patience when someone grabbed his shoulder and lightly squeezed it.

"I'll take over from here" the woman smiled, nodding at him and turning towards Malia. "Let's go look for Nara together" she said, locking eyes with the younger girl.

"I'm going alone" the younger vampire shook her head. Her sister and uncle had always thought her to be wary of strangers.

"We'll both go alone then" the woman replied, following Malia. "I don't care if you don't want me around. Nara is my friend so I'll search for her"

"I've never seen you! Don't lie to me!" Malia raised her voice a little.

"I thought you were calmer and sweeter than her... but Nara always said you're actually hot-headed" the woman scoffed, shaking her head. "Malia, right?"

"How do you know my name?" The younger vampire asked, keeping enough distance.

"Nara talks about you... constantly" the taller woman explained, walking a bit closer. "Look, I know you don't believe me when I say Nara is my friend, but it's the truth. She might not consider me her friend, because she doesn't allow herself to have any... but I do feel like she's one of the closest I have"

Malia carefully inspected the woman's body language, not seeing anything weird. She learnt that from her uncle. What words hid the body usually couldn't. But that wasn't the case now.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Serim. Jo Serim" the woman smiled, catching up with Malia and walking beside her as they approached the battlefield. "But you can call me Onda"

"I don't kno-... Onda?!" Malia gasped, stopping in her tracks and staring at the woman. "Are you... the fairy?"

"I'm unfortunately just a simple vampire" the blonde woman admitted with a smile. "But Nara told me that you would trust me if I told you you could call me Onda"

"You're just saying that because you can't reveal you're the fairy" Malia shook her heaf with a little relaxed smile. "If you're here than Nara isn't dead"

"I'm here because Nara could be dead" Serim said, wanting to be honest. "I'm no fairy, Malia. Your sister didn't want you to be alone if something happened to her and she asked me to look after you if she didn't make it"

"I don't believe it" the younger vampire smiled, walking further into the battlefield and calling out her sister's name.

Serim sighed and ran to Malia, quickly covering her mouth to shut her up.

"You can't just yell here" she scolded her, shaking her head. "We'll look for her in silence... but please, don't raise your hopes" she whispered.

"How else are you planning on finding her?! This place is huge! Stop telling me what to do! I need to find her" Malia protested, her voice filled with fear and sadness.

"I know you want to find her, but we can't get killed as we try" Serim sighed, locking eyes with her. "Use your senses. Try to listen to heartbeats, movements, breaths" she said, knowing that trying to smell Nara's scent would be impossible on the battlefield. There was too much blood.

"Nara is not dumb. If she was alive she would be as quiet as possible" Malia shook her head, heading farther on the battlefield, looking around.

"She would, but she still has to breathe and her heart has to beat" Serim sighed, walking in the middle of the battlefield and sitting down on the ground. She closed her eyes and rested her hands on her knees, isolating every single noise she could hear.

"What are you doing?" The younger vampire curiously asked. "Now is not the time to meditate"

"I'm not meditating" the older woman scoffed, opening one eye. "I'm looking for Nara. Hearing... is kind of my thing. I can track your sister's heartbeat... I know exactly how it sounds" she whispered, trying to hide a little smile.

"Hear faster. You're wasting time" Malia challenged, not really liking what the woman said.

"Can you stop being so rude?" Serim asked, opening her other eye. "Shut up and let me search for Nara. You're not the only one who needs her"

"Stupid fairy" the younger vampire mumbled, leaving Serim like she asked. She walked away on her own, desperate to find her sister herself.

"I heard that" the older vampire scoffed, deciding to just ignore her after that. She closed her eyes again and she focused, erasing every useless sound she could hear.

After more than half an hour she was able to track a sound that could belong to Nara.

"Go to the left, walk until I tell you to stop" she ordered Malia.

Of course she expected a response after her instructions or at least some footsteps but none of the two came. It was just quiet.

"Malia" Serim called, opening her eyes and desperately trying not to lose the sound she was isolating.

When she looked around and couldn't find the girl anywhere she cursed mentally. Why couldn't she just listen?

"Malia!" she called louder, desperately looking around to try and find her. "Come here"

There was no way that she would unfocus the sound she had discovered in the distance to go find the girl. But at the same time if she went to Nara without Malia she would get scolded.

She debated on what to do and in the end, she decided to look for Malia. She knew the girl was the most important thing to Nara so she had to find her.

She walked to a tall tree and she quickly climbed on it, looking around to find the younger girl.

She looked over the big field that was full of corpses and blood, trying to see some movement. She scanned every area thoroughly until she spotted something moving in a dip in the field.

She quickly jumped down from the tree and ran towards the dip, stopping on the edge of it.

"Malia!" she called once again.

"Shush! I hear something" the girl replied from the dip.

The older woman sighed, walking towards Malia and trying to hear something as well.

"Two vampires alive" she announced, quickly catching up with Malia and taking her sword out.

"Nara! I'm here!" Malia whispered, really hoping it was her sister.

The blonde woman closed her eyes, blindly following one of the sounds she was hearing. When she arrived at the source of it, she just slammed her sword on the body with her eyes still closed.

"Are you crazy?! Open your eyes at least! What if that was Nara you moron!" Malia panicked.

Serim clenched her hand on the handle of the sword and turned around, swinging her sword in the air and stopping it an inch before Malia's throat. Always with her eyes closed.

"Don't doubt what I say, kid" she said through gritted teeth. "I'm a respected warrior so I know what I'm doing. I told you I can recognize your sister's heartbeat"

"Get that away from me" Malia whispered, taking a step back. "Fine. Find her"

"I think I already did... but you don't listen to me" the older woman said, opening her eyes and locking them with the younger girl. "You don't trust me and I get that... but please, let's cooperate for Nara. We both love her"

"I love her more. And she only loves me" Malia shook her head. "But yes... let's cooperate"

"I know" Serim whispered as she started walking to the left of the battlefield.

The black haired vampire followed her without saying anything. It was clear that Serim truly had a talent and she didn't want to disturb her.

They walked for a few more minutes and the sound kept becoming stronger.

"She's badly hurt" Serim whispered, hearing how faint Nara's heartbeat was.

"Where" Malia simply asked, just wanting to find her already.

Serim closed her eyes again, walking for a few more steps.

"I don't understand, she should be-..." She was saying when she suddenly opened her eyes and looked up. Nara was laying down on a branch and a man was silently approaching her. So silently that Serim couldn't hear him until she was right under them. She quickly jumped on the branch and pushed the man against the tree's trunk, letting her fangs out and hissing.

"She's mine" the man growled back, trying to get himself free.

"I don't think so" Serim hissed, taking her sword out and making a big cut on his leg. She kept her eyes on his expression, wanting to see his fear and his pain. She always felt like that when Nara was close to her.

"W-what are you doing?" Malia asked in a scared tone since she had jumped on the branch as well. "J-just kill him"

"That would be the easy way out" Serim hissed, scratching his neck. "He was about to kill Nara. He has to suffer"

"Stop it!" the younger girl raised her voice, stepping closer and trying to take away her sword.

"Stay out of it" the blonde woman raised her voice, locking her now darker eyes with Malia as she kept squeezing the man's throat.

"Stop!" Malia yelled, managing to steal her sword and stabbing the man through his heart to just kill him.

"You-..." Serim hissed, picking Malia up by the collar. "Do you think he would have spared Nara some pain?"

"Can we f-focus... on healing her?"

Serim locked eyes with Malia, feeling her anger fade away a little bit. She nodded her head and carefully let go of the younger girl as she walked to Nara and picked her up, jumping down from the branch.

"H-hey, wait for me! I meant with me" Malia called after her. "I'm her sister"

"I know... I just wanted to take her off of that tree" the blonde woman whispered, laying Nara down on the ground. The wounds were really bad and she wasn't healing so it meant she was lacking blood. She quickly moved the hair away from Nara's neck and she saw many bites on it. "I'll kill them all" she hissed, sliding her own finger on her sword so that it would bleed and hopefully cause Nara to let her fangs out.

"What? What's wrong" Malia asked, seeing how Serim's eyes widened when looking at her neck.

"They bit her... many of them" the blonde woman whispered as she trailed her finger on Nara's lips, causing her to let her fangs out. "They used her to drink because she's strong. That's why they kept her alive"

"W-what? Who? When?" The younger vampire asked, clenching her fist.

Serim just uncovered Nara's neck to show Malia what she meant. She pulled the silver haired woman closer and she thought about the easiest way to make her drink. She couldn't keep her laid down so she pulled her closer a little and she let Nara rest her head on her shoulder, carefully making a little cut on her own neck.

"Bite, Nara" she whispered, making sure her lips were close to the cut.

"As if she will bite you" Malia interrupted, holding her arm in front of her sister. "My blood is better for her"

"She needs too much blood... it would drain y-you" Serim said, flinching a little when she felt Nara's fangs pierce her skin. "She wouldn't risk to lose control while biting you"

Even though the younger vampire knew it was probably for the best, she still felt hurt. So she huffed and crossed her arms, sitting down next to them. And just in case Serim went crazy again, she took her sword and put it behind her.

"You don't understand, do you?" the blonde woman asked in a soft tone, holding back a whimper because of how fast Nara was drinking. "She's protecting you. T-This hurts, Malia"

"I know" the latter admitted with a little pout, thinking this was the perfect moment to ask a question. "What happened? Up there, with the man?"

"It's... it's your sister's power" Serim explained, combing Nara's hair. "I talked about it with her and we came to a conclusion. She has a power as well... but it's a passive one. One she can't control"

"But I never noticed" Malia whispered, smiling a little because Nara looked a little better already.

"You're probably immune... or she found a way not to use it on you" Serim explained. "She brings the darkness out of people when they're close to her. It gets worse when t-they fall for her. Last time someone got killed" she sighed.

"My sister's not evil! W-what happened?" The black haired girl asked. There had to be another explanation.

"Two guys fell for her... she didn't want any of them and she told them" Serim whispered, looking at Nara's peaceful expression. "They weren't letting her breathe, they went completely mad. They started fighting with each other and one of them killed the other. And when the one who survived tried to get to her again in the wrong way, I killed him"

"None of that is my sister's fault" Malia shook her head. "Maybe those guys were just crazy in the first place"

"It's not Nara's fault... it's her power" the blonde woman explained, locking eyes with Malia. "I'm learning to resist it by standing with her. Earlier I was just scared because of the situation'

The smaller girl had no idea what all of that meant but right now she didn't need to. Nara slowly starting to look alive was all she needed to be happy.

The silver haired woman drank for a few more minutes and her hand clenched itself on Serim's shirt.

"M-Mal-..." she tried to say, slowly opening her eyes.

"I'm here" her sister whispered, quickly crawling closer. "You're safe"

Nara let go of Serim's shirt and she slowly moved her hand towards Malia, detaching herself from the older woman's neck.

"Why did your men leave you?" The younger vampire asked, smiling at how Nara wanted to be close to her.

Nara was way too weak to explain the whole situation so she just squeezed Malia's hand, smiling. She was so happy to hold her again.

"She chased three fast enemies because they knew your secret. Me and four guys tried to follow but they were too fast and enemies got in the way" Serim explained. "A-And some people in our army are scared of her... after what happened"

"So you abandoned her?" Malia asked, locking eyes with Serim. "Instead of trying you went home?"

"I tried to follow, I fought to reach her. But when I heard there were enemies going towards our gate, I stopped the chase and went back" the blonde woman said, holding Malia's gaze. "Nara told me you were our priority... if there were enemies at our gate I had to protect you first"

"You're stupid" the young girl hissed at Serim, reaching for her sister and pulling her closer. "You're safe now. You'll feel better at home"

"I'm not-" the blonde woman tried to say, but she was stopped by Nara's hand on her knee. She sighed, looking at the silver haired woman and she reached her hand, squeezing it and smiling.

"Can you carry her home for me? She needs to rest. In our bed" Malia asked, not sparing the blonde a glance. "You can leave after"

The blonde woman stood up and picked Nara up, pulling her closer and pecking her head, just to piss off Malia.

"Yeah, I'm strong enough to do that"

Malia huffed, not liking how the woman was so infatuated with Nara. But the blonde did do the effort to help her find her so she couldn't be too ungrateful.

They walked to the village and they decided to enter from the forest, not wanting the villagers to be all over Nara when they realized she was back.

"We're almost there" Serim reassured the silver haired woman who was whimpering every now and then. She heard Malia huff again so she turned around, looking at her. "What is it that you don't like about me?" She decided to ask.

"You're weird. And you seem to be jealous of me" Malia simply replied, not looking at her. "I was worried to find my sister and all you could do was be impatient and mean"

"I'm not jealous of you. I know Nara will never love anyone like she loves you" Serim reassured her. "We've talked and what we have is just physical, nothing more than that. And I'm okay with it"

"Just physical?" The younger vampire asked, not really knowing what that meant. But a bond was a bond and she couldn't like that. Because it meant that Nara could leave her.

"Yeah, you know... just biting each other and uhm-..." Serim mumbled, feeling a bit uncomfortable to talk about it with Nara's sister. "You know, just sex in general"

"You need to stop that" Malia shook her head, making a gagging sound.

"Oh come on, you're not that much younger than us!" Serim laughed, deciding to wrap an arm around Malia's shoulder and pulling her closer while keeping Nara up with her other arm.

"I don't want you to bond... Nara can't leave me. Not ever again" the young girl whispered, revealing her true feelings.

"Leave you?" Serim asked, unable not to laugh at that. "That's what you're scared of?"

"Yes... Mom kicked me out. Uncle protected me with his life... Nara can't go as well"

"She will never leave you, Malia. She loves you to pieces" the blonde woman reassured her, already knowing part of Nara's past. "If you're scared that us having a physical relationship could break your bond... you're so wrong"

"Am I?" The girl asked, locking eyes with her. "Do you want to stay in the army forever?"

"No, of course not. But what does that have to do with me and Nara?"

"Because me and Nara will stay in it forever" Malia said with a sigh. "So you will convince her to leave"

"Malia... Nara doesn't love me. She wouldn't follow me anywhere... she made things very clear" Serim said, shaking her head. "And since I know how much she loves you, I would never try to break you two apart anyway"

Malia tried to read the older vampire's body language and again there was nothing wrong with it. So she was probably speaking the truth.

"Okay... t-then I guess you can stay... And sis will never get hurt again. I'll be right back"

"Malia, don't go far away!" The blonde woman called, trying to keep an eye on her. "She's really jealous of you just like you told me" she chuckled, looking at Nara.

"I'm going to my room, idiot" the younger girl called, shutting her door.

"Hey! Language!" The older woman raised her voice, walking in the living room and looking around a bit before bringing Nara to her bedroom. She put the silver haired woman down on her bed and she closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to stop her head from spinning. "You... really needed a lot of blood" she whispered, having to sit down as well.

"I'm... fine" Nara managed to say, relaxing a little now that she was on her soft bed. "Unlucky"

"Unlucky?" Serim asked, reaching for Nara's hand. "What do you mean?"

"Unlucky... they found me... And my dagger"

"They didn't find you. You chased them all the way to their base... you need to think more before you take the leap" Serim sighed, squeezing Nara's hand.

"Malia... was in danger" the silver haired girl responded. "That's... enough"

"You still have to think before you do something stupid like that. If you die, she's on her own" the blonde woman said with a sigh.

"It's not stupid" Nara shook her head, looking a bit angry. "Don't... call it stu-" she tried to add, coughing.

"Shhh, don't force yourself to talk too much" Serim whispered. "Drink some more" she added, laying down beside Nara.

"No... I'm good" the general stated. "Thanks"

"Nara, put away your pride" Serim sighed, locking eyes with her. "Your sister was scared as hell. The more you drink, the faster you'll feel better and look better. Come on, drink"

"Why? Why did you risk... her life? I told you-... Not to search"

"I was going to search on my own... but she was already fighting with someone to go and look for you. She's hardheaded" the blonde woman defended herself. "And I didn't risk her life... I was with her the whole time. I protected her"

"She's loyal, not hardheaded" Nara shook her head. "And I told you... to keep her in the village, Serim"

"You asked to keep her safe. She's safer with me on a battlefield than in the village on her own" Serim stated, feeling a bit offended. "And I am loyal as well..."

"You didn't need to be on the battlefield at all!" Nara raised her voice a little, coughing right after. "You c-can't... take risks"

"She was safe!" Serim repeated. "And I needed to be on the battlefield because your body wasn't found. You had to be somewhere... alive. And I had to find you" she whispered.

"I'm not happy with your decision... But I need to say thanks anyway... I don't know what would've happened if-..."

Serim shook her head, not wanting to think about what could have happened. She wrapped her arms around Nara and pulled her closer. It was something she never dared to do because she knew Nara wasn't a fan of physical contact. She never even tried to snuggle closer after sex.

Nara relaxed a little bit, allowing the hug this time. She was actually happy that she had found someone like Serim. Someone who genuinely cared without her passive power affecting them too much.

"Malia will always be my number one priority... But you can be my number two"

Serim widened her eyes, definitely not expecting to hear that.

"R-Really?" She asked, resting her head on the pillow beside Nara's, facing her.

"I mean... I don't have anyone else" Nara whispered with a little smirk.

"You're so mean" Serim chuckled as well, looking deep in Nara's eyes. "You and Malia will both be my number one priority"

"That would be wonderful... that girl needs all the protection she can get"

"She hates me though" Serim admitted, leaning closer to Nara's lips. "I kind of told her we're having sex"

"Why would you do that? She can't shut her mouth" Nara sighed, shaking her head.

"And? Everyone will know about it. I don't mind" Serim chuckled, smiling at Nara.

"I'm the general of the army. I can't be known like that"

"Generals have lovers too" the blonde woman said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in public" Nara countered, lightly punching Serim's arm. "Go home, rest"

"Only after you drink a bit more. I know you need it" she whispered, pointing at Nara's neck. "They d-didn't leave you much blood..."

"I felt like a cow. In some sense" Nara sighed. "Did... something else happen to me as well?"

"You have many wounds and bites but... t-that's it, I hope" Serim whispered, pulling Nara closer.

"I need to know for sure, Serim"

"H-How-..." the blonde woman whispered, locking eyes with her.

"I don't know... I just... need to know" the older vampire responded. "It's a common thing... in war. I don't want a warbaby"

"I d-don't think they would bother to dress you back" Serim whispered, letting her hand trail down on Nara's body until she reached the button of her pants.

"R-right... that's a relief" Nara nodded her head.

"I would have gone mad if something like that happened to you" the blonde woman whispered, caressing Nara's belly.

"I'm prepared for it. I just don't want to carry the consequences" the latter admitted. She was always prepared for the worst. It was a part of war sadly enough.

"You don't have to be prepared for anything. That won't happen" Serim stated, sounding firm. "Don't let anyone touch you. With or without consequences"

"Not willingly of course" Nara chuckled. "Now go home... my sister probably wants to talk to me"

"Alright... but I'm coming back tonight so you can drink a bit more" the older woman whispered, slowly standing up from the bed.

"Hey" the older vampire called out to her, patting her own lips.

Serim was completely caught off guard because Nara never asked for a kiss herself. Either she kissed Serim or Serim kissed her... but Nara never asked for one.

The blonde woman crawled back down on the bed and hovered over Nara, leaning in for a kiss.

The silver haired woman smiled a little as they locked lips for a bit. And then she pushed her away.

"See you tonight"

"S-See you tonight" Serim smiled, nodding her head and standing back up. She walked to the door and waved her hand one last time before walking away.

About a minute later the door from Malia's door slowly opened as the girl carefully walked out.

"Is she gone?"

"She is" Nara said, loving to hear her sister's voice.

"Good" the girl smiled, walking closer and sitting down on the bed. "Are you still hurt?"

"A bit... but I'll be okay" Nara reassured her with a little smile.

"I thought I lost you..." Malia admitted in a little voice.

"You didn't" Nara whispered, pulling Malia down beside her to hug her. "But if you did, you were in good hands anyway. Serim would have kept you safe"

"No. If you died I would die"

"Then I won't die" Nara whispered, caressing her sister's back.

"I don't like her... she's mean. And way too clingy" the younger of the sisters said.

"She's not mean, Malia... she's one of the sweetest people we will ever find" Nara scolded her, shaking her head. "But she's a bit clingy, I'll give you that" she chuckled.

"You saying she is the sweetest we will meet says more about this world than her" Malia scoffed. "I don't need her. I only need you"

"Me and her... we protect each other on the battlefield" Nara explained, locking eyes with her sister. "She saved my life many times just like I did with her. Without her... maybe you wouldn't have found me today"

"I would have" the younger woman scoffed again. "But you're right. Maybe she is good to keep around... but she can't expand our family with you"

"What do you mean?" Nara asked, raising her eyebrow. "Because she's a woman?"

"Yes! I don't know how this 'sex' thing works but I can't become an aunt now"

"That's... that can't happen, Malia" Nara said, shaking her head. "Tomorrow, when I feel better... me and you will have 'the talk' since you're clearly old enough. But for now... two women don't make babies"

"That's exactly what I said! And I want you to have one" the younger sister smiled, hugging Nara. "So I can take care of you"

"What if I'm... n-not into men, Malia?" The older sister asked, wanting to know her opinion. "Would that be okay?"

"It would... but you need a baby. We need a powerful family"

"We'll have a powerful family" Nara whispered, nodding her head. "But for now... this is our family. Me and you"

Malia smiled, snuggling a little closer when she remembered something.

"Right! I have a gift for you!"

"A gift?" The silver haired woman asked, sounding a bit surprised.

The girl nodded her head, getting something from behind her back. She then unwrapped the cloths and revealed a dagger with a pitch black blade.

"I uhm... bought this for you. Since black is your favorite color" she lied.

Nara slowly sat up on the bed, resting her back on the headboard and taking the dagger in her hands.

"It's beautiful, Malia" she whispered, looking at the black blade.

"I'm glad you like it! And unlike your previous daggers this one is sturdy. Because as long as you love me, the blade will never break" the younger sister explained.

"How do you know that? And where did you find the money to buy something this expens-..." Nara was saying when she locked eyes with her sister. "Malia..."

"What? I saved up for it... And I don't know that. It was a joke" Malia chuckled, trying to play it off.

"What did I say about us lying to each other?" The silver haired woman asked, forcing Malia to look at her. "Did you make this?"

"I wouldn't dare lie to you!" The younger vampire shook her head. Her sister had forbid her from using her powers. So she was scared that if she admitted it Nara wouldn't use the dagger.

"Malia... just tell me the truth" the older sister said in a firm tone.

"Fine. If you don't want it I'll bring it back to the shop" Malia huffed, grabbing the dagger and standing up, pretending to leave.

"I didn't say I don't want it. I just want my sister to be honest with me" Nara sighed, holding her side and flinching a bit.

"I am being honest" Malia stated, pushing her sister down. "And you should be too. About your pain"

Nara pulled her sister down with her and hugged her tightly from behind.

"You want to destroy our bond like this? By lying to me?"

"I'm not"

"I guess I was wrong about you" Nara sighed, letting go of her sister and slowly turning to the other side. "I thought you were always honest with me... but it's okay. Let's start lying to each other"

"Sure" Malia nodded her head with a sigh. "If you don't believe me..."

"I don't" Nara stated, not turning back towards Malia.

"And what do I need to do to make you believe me?"

"I can feel it, Malia" Nara simply stated, holding the dagger in her hand. "I can feel you... in it"

"Alright, fine. I made it... It's been years since I used my power though. I swear" the younger sister eventually gave in. It was no use trying to lie.

Nara sighed, looking at the dagger. She didn't want Malia to use her powers, but at the same time she was grateful for the gift.

"I think this is the best thing you created, Malia" she admitted, looking at how beautiful it was.

"I-... I like it too" the younger sister smiled. "But now it's your turn to be honest"

"I'm always honest. And if I'm not... it's because I'm protecting you from something" the older woman said, turning back towards Malia and locking eyes with her.

"Serim told me... about some darkness"

"We don't know what it is" Nara sighed, looking away. "But when people stay close to me for too long... they change"

"She said it killed people, Nara" Malia whispered. "What about me? Or uncle?"

"I don't know, Malia... maybe family members are immune?" Nara mumbled, trying to figure this out. "Or maybe good people are less affected? I don't know"

"Okay... Well we should rest now" Malia suggested. "Especially you"

"I don't want to rest" the older woman whispered, pulling Malia closer. "I need to keep an eye on you"

"We're safe here, sis. So close your eyes and sleep"

The silver haired woman pulled Malia even closer, making sure she was safe in her arms.

"Don't go anywhere until I wake up, okay?" she said, resting her head against her sister's one.

"I won't... I'll stay right here. Safe" the younger vampire whispered. She was just glad that her sister was alive.

"I love you, Malia" Nara whispered, closing her eyes and trying to relax a bit. She felt really tired and she needed to rest even though she didn't want to.

"I love you too, big sis. I always will" the black haired girl responded, closing her eyes as well. She hoped that after today Nara won't ever be in danger again. Because she would finally join the army herself soon.

-=-

A few months later Nara was still a general in the army and Malia had joined as well. The younger vampire was only in training still and she didn't have her first mission yet. Mostly because Nara deemed every available mission so far too dangerous for a starter.

Around the fall of the evening, there was a knock on the door of Nara's house. The silver haired girl went to open the door, finding her advisor there.

"General, I'm sorry to disturb you. I have a message from a nearby village"

"What is it about?" she asked, walking out of the house and closing the door behind her.

"Some thieves were spotted there. Serim already went to scout them, ma'am"

"It's not just thieves if you're warning me" Nara said, locking eyes with him. "Do they have a base close to our village?"

"They do. They are the last stragglers from the clan you wiped out a couple of weeks ago" the man nodded his head. "They are weak, but they can't be allowed to rebuild"

Nara nodded her head, thinking about it for a few moments.

"I want 6 warriors ready to leave in 10 minutes" she said, opening the door. "I'll lead the mission and I'll bring my sister along"

"Alright. I'll see you at the gates" the man nodded his head with a smile. "We should find Serim as our first goal. She's scouting"

"Serim is strong, she probably won't even need our help" the general explained. "But we'll try to find her before attacking them, so she'll give us the details about the base"

"Yes, ma'am" the advisor bowed before he left to gather some warriors.

Nara walked back inside the house and closed the door behind her. She walked upstairs and knocked on Malia's door.

"Yes! I'm ready for my first mission!" The younger vampire came bursting out, accidentally smacking the door against Nara in doing so. "Sorry! I-... I listened in"

"Ouch..." Nara mumbled, locking eyes with her sister. "What did I tell you about listening in? You're not allowed to do this with this kind of conversation"

"I will soon! I'm going to climb all the ranks until I'm your personal guard in the army!"

"I'm a general... I don't need a personal guard" Nara chuckled, shaking her head. "And you can't be this excited before your first mission. Calm down, keep your feet on the ground and don't push away the fear. That's what keeps you alive, alright?"

"I know, I know" Malia nodded her head. "But I finally get to work with you! And they are just some pesky thieves"

"Never underestimate the enemy" Nara scolded her, ruffling her hair. "Will you wear the fighting outfit I bought you?"

"I will! Give me... 5 seconds!" The woman cheered, disappearing in her room.

Nara smiled, feeling proud of her younger sister. She trained hard and she managed to join the army in a pretty short time. Of course all the knowledge they received from their uncle helped hone their skills a lot. If only they could repay him.

"Here I am!" Malia smiled, running out with the outfit on. "It's the second time I'm wea-" she wanted to say when she put a hand over her mouth. As far as Nara knew it was only the first time.

"Malia..." Nara sighed, locking eyes with her. "Second time? Did Serim take you out for a pre-mission again?"

"N-no... It's uhm... nothing fight related"

"Why would you wear a fighting outfit for something that is not fight related?" the older sister mumbled, tilting her head. "Come on, spill"

"I-... Jae, from the army, remember him? He saw it when he visited and... He wanted to see it on me" The younger vampire admitted.

"Jae? That Jae?" Nara asked, raising an eyebrow. "The one my age who got in a fight with someone last week?"

"Y-yes... that one" Malia shyly nodded her head.

"Did the fight have something to do with you?" the older sister pushed, locking eyes with Malia. "I've heard it was about a girl..."

"U-uhm... Yes? Maybe? No? Yes?"

"Did something happen between the two of you already?" Nara asked, crossing her arms.

"What do you mean?" Malia asked, tilting her head.

"I mean... are you together? Did you kiss, have sex?" the silver haired woman pushed.

"Well... remember those 5 times I had to uhm... train longer? Well..."

Nara widened her eyes, not really expecting that.

"Does... does he treat you right?" she asked, trying to let her sister's words sink in.

"Y-yeah... he does" Malia nodded her head.

"That's good" Nara whispered, cupping Malia's cheek. "You're so sweet, caring and beautiful... it had to happen sooner or later" she added, knowing it would be really easy to fall in love with her.

"You're not mad?" The younger vampire asked, a little surprised. She had kept it hidden because she was scared of her reaction.

"If you like him, he likes you and he treats you right... I have no reason to be mad" Nara whispered, pulling her into a hug. "You're an adult and you have the right to be with someone"

"Thanks, mom" Malia joked, lightly punching her arm. "Anyway... we have a mission!"

"We do... but just so you know, I want to meet this Jae" Nara stated, pointing her finger at Malia. "I've met him a few times in the army but I never properly talked with him"

"Tomorrow. After these stinky thieves are gone" the black haired vampire chuckled. "Come on, slowpoke"

"Are you calling me slow?" Nara scoffed as she ran in her bedroom and dressed herself in just a couple of seconds.

"I am" Malia responded, now already standing in the doorframe. She winked at her sister and slammed the door shut, running to the meeting place.

Nara sighed and quickly followed her, finding a few of the selected warriors already there. She gave them a few instructions and she made sure that everyone understood the plan before they left.

The walk to the nearby village wasn't long so they arrived in about ten minutes. From the hill overlooking the place they saw a few vampires roaming around.

"Where's Serim?" Malia whispered, poking her sister's side.

"I can't see her" Nara whispered, looking at all the vampires she could see, not finding her. "She's our priority though. We find her and then we attack"

"She was supposed to scout right? Not infiltrate?" The black haired vampire asked. "She should be around here"

"Yeah" Nara agreed, turning towards the other warriors. "Go closer to their base, scout the area and don't attack. Me and Malia will look for Serim"

The men quickly followed orders and headed in the direction of the base to fulfill their duty. In the meantime the sisters stayed on the hill, seeing if they could spot something.

"Seems like the thieves set up shop" Malia whispered, pointing at a tent. "They're feeding there" she explained because people left the tent with blood on their mouths.

"The tent is far enough from the base... we'll kill them first" Nara said, feeling a weight on her chest. Something about this place was creeping her out.

"Do you think Serim went to the hill above the tent?"

"When she knows more warriors are coming, she always stays close to our side" Nara explained, still looking around. "But she's not here..."

"These are just thieves, sis. You said yourself Serim could take them on" Malia chuckled. "Should we go look on the hill?"

"L-Let's go to the tent first" Nara said, shaking her head. "We'll kill them fast so they won't give the alam"

"Okay" Malia agreed, readying her sword. "You lead"

Nara carefully started running towards the tent, deciding to go through the woods so they wouldn't be seen. The task was really easy because there was none of the enemies' scouts so they made it to the tent without having to fight.

"I'll take the two guards on the left... you go for the one on the right" Nara whispered, taking her dagger out.

"Okay" Malia responded. "There seems to be a feast in the tent though" she smiled. She was always happy to crash a party.

"We'll think about that later. Focus" Nara stated as she gave her sister a little nod and ran to the two vampires she had to take out.

Malia snuck up on her assigned target as well. She covered his mouth from behind and then stabbed the sword through his back, piercing his heart.

Nara easily killed the first vampire by sneaking up on him, snapping his neck. When he fell on the ground with a loud noise, the second vampire turned around, ready to fight, but Nara quickly ducked down and slid closer, stabbing his heart.

Malia gave her sister a thumbs up and silently walked closer to her to hear what they should do next.

"There are 5 people in the tent... I guess one is the prey because the heartbeat is almost gone" Nara whispered. "I'll go in first and I'll make the call on the spot"

"Shouldn't we listen in first? Or try to see what's going on?" Malia asked, still a little inexperienced. So she was just suggesting what she learnt.

"That's-... yeah, tell me what you hear" Nara whispered, crawling closer to the tent. She knew there were certain rules on how to act in the army... but she never really followed the protocol. She just acted on instinct the whole time.

"Okay... there are two women and two men" Malia whispered, focussing on the noises. "They're laughing... eating. And... someone's asking for meat?" She asked, a bit surprised. "Are these vampires?"

"Meat? There is only one clan who-..." Nara was saying when she realized what was happening. These weren't just thieves... someone joined them. "We're leaving, now!" she said, quickly grabbing Malia's wrist and wanting to leave, when two of the vampires walked out of the tent and looked at them.

"Hey, what're you doing? Did you not get your portion already?" One of them asked with a stern look.

"W-We didn't" Nara improvised, shaking her head. "But we can't stay... we have work to do"

"Tonight no one is working. Get over here you" the other vampire chuckled, beckoning them closer.

Nara quickly thought about the options they had and they could just run away now or they would give the alarm. They had to get inside the tent and try to kill them fast.

"Alright... l-let's have some rest" she said, pulling Malia closer and following the man inside the tent.

"You there, get these ladies some food" one of the two vampires chuckled, pointing at a female vampire.

"We'll have just blood" Nara said in a firm tone. "We decided we don't deserve meat until we don't win this war. That's motivating us" she lied, knowing it was a good excuse.

"Oh come on, look at the price we got" the man scoffed, pointing at the wall. "The boss caught her. She served us well"

The silver haired woman raised her eyes to look at the wall and the blood froze in her veins when she realized Serim was pinned on it. Nara clenched her fist on the handle of the dagger and gritted her teeth.

"Y-You didn't even kill her" she hissed, knowing she was about to lose it.

"Of course not" the vampire responded as the two other vampires grabbed their weapons at Nara's tone. "The meat tastes better like this"

The silver haired woman locked eyes with the man, clenching her hand even faster on the dagger as she lunged at him.

"You don't deserve... to live" she hissed, grabbing his neck with one hand and piercing his neck with the dagger, never breaking eye contact.

As Nara initiated the fight, Malia was frozen to the ground. She had been ever since she had noticed Serim on the wall. They had been eating her. That thought made her feel sick in her stomach.

Nara knew she had to be fast because she couldn't afford them to give the alarm and Malia wasn't going to help. How could she? She herself felt her legs going weak under her, at that vision... how could Malia react to that?

As soon as she had killed the man she sprinted to the other two guards, making quick work of them with precise slashes. She then looked at the ground, breathing heavily to try and remain cool.

After a few more seconds she took a deep breath and she walked to the wall, untying the ropes that were keeping the blonde woman in place. She pushed everything down of the table and gently placed her on it.

"S-Serim..." she whispered, holding her face.

The blonde barely responded to her, but once their eyes locked she seemed to be conscious.

"N-Nara?"

"I'm here" the silver haired woman whispered, caressing her cheek with her thumb.

"W-what-... My body... h-hurts"

Nara nodded her head, not wanting to look at Serim's body. She knew Serim wouldn't make it... she couldn't. Her heartbeat was fading away, she was really pale because she had no more blood in her and they had been eating her.

"I'll... I'll make it s-stop hurting" she whispered, locking eyes with Serim. "Okay?"

"Why don't you take a bite first?" A rather deep female voice suggested from behind her.

Nara widened her eyes, clenching her hand on the dagger, quickly turning around to face who was there.

"You can call me the Beast. Leader of these chumps" the tall and buff woman who was now before her introduced herself. What made Nara panic though was the fact that she was holding Malia with one of her hands.

"L-Let go of her!" Nara hissed, tightening the grip on her dagger, but not knowing what to do. She couldn't attack her and risk Malia's life.

"Five of my people for two of yours... doesn't sound to bad right?" The Beast asked, closing her hand around Malia's neck like Nara was gripping onto her dagger.

"N-No! Stop!" Nara screamed, feeling powerless for the first time in her life. "I'll... I'll do what you want. Just please... let her go"

"I-... Love you" Malia managed to say. She could feel the iron grip of the woman's hand and she just knew it wasn't loosening soon.

"Please... let go of her" Nara said, feeling the tears running down her cheeks. "Take me... I'm a general of the army. I'm worth more" she pleaded, dropping on her knees and letting go of the dagger.

"You didn't give my men a choice" the taller woman stated, pressing down harder until a crack reverberated through the room. "Take her away, men" she then added, throwing the body behind her.

Nara's world stopped at that exact moment. The moment she realized Malia was gone forever. She had one purpose in life and it was to protect the only person she really loved... and she failed. She was alone. There wouldn't be a Malia to wait for her at home when she was done with her training, there wouldn't be a Malia that asked to be held in her sleep during the night.

What happened after that, was totally out of her control. She felt the rage rising inside of her and her body acted on its own as she grabbed her dagger and ran towards the woman, screaming.

The woman easily blocked her attack with her spiked glove and shoved her backwards a bit.

"Remember this day. It's a warning. You're weak" the beast stated before turning around and walking away, replaced by other warriors from her clan.

"Come back! You coward!" Nara screamed, killing the vampires in front of her one by one. "I'll kill you!"

"Maybe in a hundred years from now!" The leader of the other clan could be heard laughing in the distance as Nara kept slashing through the warriors with her dagger. Blood stained the weapon and her clothes but she couldn't stop.

She tried to kill them as fast as she could, but they were too many and she received a few wounds as well. She could see the woman running away in the distance, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"I will erase all of you from existence" she hissed, leaving many bodies behind her with every step.

This was the day where Nara lost her last faith in everything. She had done everything right, showed mercy when she needed to and all of it didn't help one bit. She had lost the last and only reason to not give in to the darkness that had been calling her for so long. Malia was gone and so was the old Nara.

As many warriors kept coming, she kept killing them... until all of them were dead. Her limbs felt sore, she was completely out of breath but she kept slashing her dagger in the air a few more times, letting herself fall on the ground after it.

She just stayed there, not realising how much time was passing... all she could think of was Malia's expression. She felt herself being pulled up on someone's shoulder, but she didn't react to that. She didn't care if she was going to die. At least she would be with Malia again.

"I've been looking at you from the distance as we got here..." the man carrying her told her as he started walking. "You looked like a silver wrath"

Nara clenched her fists, feeling her sadness mix with rage which resulted in some dark thoughts.

"I will-... I will burn the world for her" she breathed heavily.

The man nodded his head, fixing Nara on his shoulder.

"Now all you have to do is rest" he said. "Many people saw what you did here today. You will be a legend after today"

"One more... fucking word and I'll slit your throat" the silver haired woman hissed. From now on she would just abandon all morals. Do what's needed to reach her goals.

The man sighed, deciding not to answer to that. He dropped her down beside the other injured to let her rest until they would go back to their village.

Nara turned her head to the side, noticing a body covered with a white sheet and by looking at the hand that could be seen out of it, she knew it was Serim. She could recognize her ring.

Not only had she lost her number one priority today, she had also lost her second. Thus this day marked the death of Nara the caring sister and it marked the birth of Silver Wrath. A powerful vampire on a quest for power and revenge.

Thank you so much for reading. Please do us a favor and let us know your thought in the comments.
See you (hopefully) soon ♥