NIGHTS OF HALLOW

The sun had already risen over the hills, its rays on everything it touched sharp and glistening.

The royal family members and the others going for the hunt sat on their horses in front of the castle’s building, surrounded by the sound of the horses whinnying.

Servants at the order of the king proceeded to bring their bows and arrows. Each one of them held the bow in one hand, and the other hand held tightly onto the reigns. Their quiver holding the arrows was securely hung across their shoulders.

”Hold this for me, darling,” Sthena spoke to Perdita who took hold of their bow.

”This is quite heavy,” She noted, a surprised expression crossing her features at the weight of the bow which she had expected it to be so. She heard Sthena address the others behind her,

”In honor of the invitation by our dear Princess to indulge in this hunt, I hereby declare that the one with the biggest hunt will get a prize from me.”

The king’s declaration was received by the neighing of the horses and the determination on everyone’s faces to get the prize from the king.

Sthena went on to speak, his eyes regarding everyone. ”You know the rules. Do not hunt outside the food bracket. Animals that are not hunted for food will be discounted. No one shall use his or her ability as a pureblooded vampire. No one goes off the territory for this hunt. Stick to the East forest of the kingdom.”

”The winter season is going to be the biggest disadvantage to this hunt, but the weather has decided to give us the sun, and most animals will be out to hunt for food. It is your turn to use to your advantage.”

”Lastly, give yourselves a fair chance to hunt and win. No cheating and tricks. Today, we ride for the thrill of the hunt and also to acknowledge our primitive nature of being predators.” Sthena asserted, his red eyes gleamed with an undeniable expectation of the hunt with a smirk playing at the corner of his lip.

With a gentle tug on the horse’s reign, the horse trotted out of the castle gates before increasing pace as it galloped out of sight at the speed at which the king controlled it.

Lady Eleanor without wasting time quickly followed behind Sthena, not wanting to lose sight of him and also ride beside him, however, she was in no way as fast as the pureblooded vampire king.

”I shall win the prize for you, My Princess!” Mr. Hans asserted beside Princess Sarah who merely stopped an eye roll as she replied,

”We all look forward to the prize. Let’s focus on that and see who gets it. This is no time to play Knight in shining armor. I am the Princess, a pureblooded vampire trained since birth.” With that, Princess Sarah galloped off on her horse following behind Prince Regan who had been unusually quiet.

Right behind the Prince and Princess was Daemon whose subtle scoff on his face widened as he briefly glanced at Mr. Hans who was bright red in sheer embarrassment from the Princess’s words.

Soon afterwards, Mr. Hans and Lady Rosamonda, followed suit as they all headed in the direction of the East forest of the kingdom.

Perdita could feel the breeze and cold whip on her face, making her braids loosen. Some strands flew backwards in the air touching Sthena’s face who leaned close to her, their body pressed against each other.

Every gallop of the horse vibrated in her body, her body light as though the breeze would carry her away. Sthena’s horse had quite the agility more than other horses she had had the opportunity to witness. She ran as though she wasn’t afraid of anything that could be ahead of her.

Several minutes passed in their ride until Sthena maneuvered the horse to enter the path into the forest. Going further into the deepest part of the forest, Sthena skillfully made the horse halt and before Perdita could catch her breath from the exhilarating ride, she felt herself being lifted and turned to face Sthena.

”What are you doing?” Perdita whispered, feeling out of breath as her lips parted in rapid heaves of breath. Her eyes green had specks of tears in them as the air had hit every part of her leaving her flushed.

”You look ravishing with your little flushed nose and cheeks,” Sthena murmured, his eyes raking and taking in every expression that crossed her face. He leaned in, without waiting for Perdita to voice what she had in mind and kissed her lips.

His hands went around her waist to snuggle her closer to himself as his tongue explored the warm sweetness of her mouth. He sucked on her lips and Perdita opened up to him like the sweetest nectar as he slipped his tongue into her mouth tasting her once more.

He had kissed her the night before, but this time it felt different. As though she became sweeter and he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted everything in her, mind, body, and soul. But he wanted to take his time to savour each moment of baring her emotions in front of him. Slowly, he would make her intoxicated by him, even though he didn’t know who would burn faster between them, but the wait was worth it. He was only preparing her until the day he would finally take her and become his in every way possible.

Perdita moaned against the fervorous moment of Sthena’s lips on hers. If earlier she was out of breath, now she wanted to burst into flames. Her hands gripped the cloak of Sthena, heat surging within her.

”The others might come any time,” Perdita whispered, her ears trying to pick up any movement that might come from the others.

”Forget the others, I want you to think only about me,” He replied, his mouth capturing her lips again, ravishing them until they were red and tender. ”You look so delectable, My sweet girl,”

With a smile so warm and his eyes admiringly staring at her, Perdita felt the surge of butterflies flapping their tiny wings rapidly in her stomach, her heart shuddering in sync. ”I love you,” She said, kissing his lips as a seal to her confession.

”I do too, more than you can think of,” The smile on his face broadened. ”What do you think about bonds, My love?”

”Bonds?” Perdita repeated, her heart skipping a beat at the question. Bonds were similar to marriage in human culture. But for creatures of the night, they united themselves with a bond that not only marks them as each other’s husband and wife in human terms but also connects their souls on more deeper and sacred level. And nothing could ever sever it unless one person died and most times, the other followed suit because of the bond. This is one of the vampire’s great heritage, the most sacred one known.

”I’ve heard about it. It’s a form of marriage for the vampires,” Perdita replied waiting to hear why Sthena had suddenly asked her about bonds. Did he want to create a bond with her?

From the corner of her eyes, she saw something move followed by the light smooching steps on the snow-covered ground. ”There’s a deer, Sthena.”

”Our lucky first hunt,” Sthena remarked, his eyes calculative on how to get the animal. ”Have you ever used the bow and arrows?”

”No,” Perdita shook her head at the question to see Sthena lift her once more, her back now facing him.

”Hold the bow,” He instructed as he pulled out an arrow from the quiver. ”During hunting, your focus should always be at an eye level with the position of your hand and your target.” As Sthena spoke, he held Perdita’s hands, showing her how it was done.

He continued, ”Mark the spot you want to hit on your target while keeping a good posture. Shoulders square, back straight, hands straight and firm on the bow, then draw your arrow backwards with a tight flexible grip, and then you release it,”

The arrow sliced through the air with a whooshing sound and without missing hit the leg of the deer and it fell to the ground, its high-pitched wail ringing out.

Perdita’s hands holding the bow dropped to her side, her gaze on the fallen deer that tried to stand and possibly run.

”Do we have to hunt them all for the fun of it?” She asked, her voice low.

Sthena jumped down from the horse, aiding Perdita too as they walked towards their prey. ”Fun or no fun, My Fair Lady, they are bound to be hunted for food. Everyone is. It is the hierarchy that puts them at a disadvantage to us.”

”It’s a doe,” Perdita noted. ”Can we leave this one? I don’t think I can accept the price over her death.”

”Even if you save it, another person will hunt it down.”

”At least, it gets a chance to live another day,” Perdita argued. She squatted beside the animal, where it huffed in pain from its leg. She held the leg steady with one hand and the other went to hold the arrow in a firm grip and quickly pulled it out.

Another screeching wail echoed from the deer, whose breath had become shallow with its blood smeared on the ground.

Perdita stared at the deep wound and gently placed her palm over it, careful not to cause more pain to the deer.

”Don’t even think about it, Perdita,” Sthena’s chiding voice came to her while she concentrated on what she was doing. ”Your healer ability will drain your soul each time you use it. Leave the animal,”

”Just this one,” Perdita pleaded, her concentration wavering for a moment. A faint glow of white light appeared on the palm she had placed on the deer’s injury and it didn’t take long before the wound sealed itself.

The deer jumped immediately feeling the undeniable relief from its leg. It turned to look at Perdita briefly, its head inclining as though it was bowing in appreciation before it took off and ran deeper into the forest.

”It makes me wonder if I should put in punishment whenever you don’t listen to what I say and pay heed to your well-being,” Sthena remarked, his red eyes squinted in annoyance.