Chapter 15: Chapter 15
As soon as Ingrid sat down, she crossed her arms and threw one leg over the other, bluntly remarking to Colette, “Just so you know, I’m suspicious of you, so I hope you have a story that’ll convince me otherwise.” She then looked off to the side with a prideful, sour pout on her face.
Colette giggled a bit behind her hand and acknowledged her doubts. “Your qualms are dully noted, Miss Vampire Queen.”
Ingrid scowled. “For the duration of this conversation, you better not call me that anymore.”
Rohit scratched his temple and quickly got back on topic. “So what is it you have to share with us then?”
She smiled seductively his way, as she scanned his physique while saying, “Well that depends on what you’d like to know.”
“Let’s start with who you are and what your intentions are,” the vampire heiress bluntly replied.
This sudden outburst hushed the room, as a lingering silence befell the three of them briefly before Colette acknowledged the request. “Very well, I guess I should start from the beginning.”
The store clerk began narrating her story, while Ingrid and Rohit paid attention to the details. “It all started off in what humans define as the ‘Old World’, up in the northern region of Erob, on a large island known as Éire Tuath.”
“Oh yeah, the Emerald Isle, right?” Rohit contributed, recalling his geography.
She smiled. “That’s right. But please save questions until after my story, okay, cutie?”
“Right! Sorry…”
Colette giggled and continued. “My mother was part of a small community of vampires, who managed to sneak aboard a ship bound for the ‘New World’. There was a group known as the Inquisition in southwest Erob, where the vampire hunters strictly enforced the hunt and execution of her species.”
Ingrid gulped, remembering stories her parents told her when she was younger that the vampire hunters from the Carnation Dominion were appointed by the reigning monarchs of the time to rid their country of heresy.
Fortunately, such practices never made it to the Valkyrjan Parliament, or other parts of Erobean continent in excess, but it did serve as a warning for the paranormal inhabitants to stay in their own realms.
“With that said,” Colette continued, clearing her hair behind her ear, “upon arriving, she settled in a colony up north where she managed to live on her own from the prying eyes of society.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, the Inquisition’s influence made it overseas as well, and the colonists initiated something called the ‘witch hunts’—which was an umbrella term for anything deemed heretic. Nonetheless it placed my mother in danger yet again.” Colette shook her head. “I won’t go into details, but she was eventually caught by one of the groups and sentenced to death.”
Rohit had learned about the witch trials and the colonization of the Independent Union, but never did he ever hear about how vampires were a primary target in all of this. In fact, everything vampire-related he thought he knew prior to meeting Ingrid was just the tip of the iceberg to the actual account that some went through.
It was pitiful, especially with the way they were marginalized.
“And that’s where my father came into the picture,” Colette narrated. “He was a clergyman who immigrated from the Monarchie des Fleur, and was responsible for giving the captives one last chance to repent and atone for their alleged crimes.” She shook her head like she was disgusted at the audacity placed onto the victims in their last moments. “However, my father wasn’t an ordinary cleric.”
Ingrid and Rohit raised their eyebrows, interested as to what came next.
“The organization instructed him to perform this specific task, but my father sought for a way to help the captives instead, even if it meant his death.” Colette smiled, fondly remembering her first hero. “To him, he believed that everyone should be given a chance at life, and he knew that the trials of the majority of victims imprisoned were done in such haste and with such bias, that they didn’t get a chance to explain themselves—including my mother.” The young woman smiled at the ground, as her cheeks blushed. “I won’t go into detail, but he managed to free them, primarily because my mother was amongst them and managed to use her vampire powers to secretly lead everyone to safety. And with my parents on the run and the witch trials dwindling down because of the growing tensions between the colonies and the ruling Lion Monarchy at the time, they finally settled down in this state and had me.”
“That’s quite the story,” Rohit acknowledged, stroking his beard. “I’m sure you’ve got plenty more to share.”
Just as Colette was about to answer, Ingrid abruptly stood up and accosted her. “So you’re a dhamphir after all,” she stated.
Colette’s smile faded, as she quietly nodded. “And what of it?” She glared at the vampire heiress.
‘Dhamphir…’ Rohit thought, recalling the familiar phrase from the same graphic novel he read in the past.
“So that’s why your aura was undetectable…” Ingrid calmly replied, placing a hand by her chin. “But, you still have vampire blood in you, so that still raises flags as to where your loyalty lies.”
The room fell quiet again, as Colette’s straight expression continued to lock with Ingrid’s. She then replied, “Rest assured, I want nothing to do with the vampires,” and looked off to the side, muttering, “Not after what they did…” and then shifted her attention back to the young woman. “But I can’t help the urges that comes with being half vampire.” Her eyes looked over to the fridge and she sighed. “That’s just something I can’t change no matter what I do…”
Ingrid’s expression eased up, as she realized that the two of them had a rare and mutual understanding: she detested her vampire heritage as well. Just as she was about to ask why, the vampire heiress’s vision went blurry and she suddenly felt faint. She stumbled into her chair before collapsing onto the ground, weakened and exhausted.
Rohit dashed to her side, propping her up, while Colette immediately stood up, as her eyes widened in shock. “Ingrid? Ingrid! Hey!” the young man called out to her motionless corpse before turning to the dhamphir. “Can you help me? What do we do?” he pleaded.
Colette knelt beside the vampire heiress and could sense the root of her problem right away, so she hurried over to the fridge and retrieved a bag of blood. ‘So that’s why she was holding back,’ she thought, recalling their fight and opening the bag. ‘She hasn’t had any real food in… days I’m guessing.’
“Hang in there, Ingrid,” Rohit said, as he held her body in place while Colette carefully poured some blood into her mouth.