The vampire kingdom is a dark, damp, and cold place as Willow expected. She scrunched her nose as her foot landed on another muddy puddle, slowly ruining her sneakers.
The vampire kingdom is located between the werewolf and Fae kingdom. Hence, it is colder than Fae and damper than the werewolf one where cold is a constant companion.
"I hate this place," Willow muttered under her breath. Fae likes sunshine and autumn. The dewy, fresh smell of the leaves, the scents that a flower emits while blooming, the warm sun rays on the skin, everything is wonderful. Which is not the case with this kingdom.
The only advantage it has is- trees. Lots of long, tall trees to block the sun rays. Vampires are allergic to sunshine hence they need it. The other thing that is common in this kingdom is castles. The bigger the position of the vampire, the bigger their castle. Vampires love old places that tell stories of their own.
Makes sense, as they are old and had lived on earth longer than the rest of them. Even before the Supernaturals came out in the world to announce their existence. Especially Fae, who came from another realm called Faeland.
As predicted, the "coming out" didn't go well with humans and they announced the war on all Supernaturals. Unfortunately, they underestimated the power of Supernaturals. Within months, more than 3/4th of the human population has been wiped out. To preserve endangered species aka humans, the Supernaturals decided to divide the world into kingdoms, equally sharing the leftover humans among them, who are nothing but a handful.
Hence, the kingdoms are created. Borders are drawn and interaction among different Supernaturals is kept to a minimum. No one wants another war on their hands which might be close to world damnation because this time they will be fighting among them, not an outsider. That was many centuries ago.
Willow jogged on the streets of the capital city as she scanned for any suspicious activity. She wore a hoodie and black pants with dirt-stained sneakers. There is an eerie feel to the dark streets. All kinds of Supernaturals dwell in the kingdoms. But the maximum ratio is always the ones who rule the kingdom. The others venture due to trade or for 'adventure'.
It's been a week since she entered the vampire kingdom. It was easier than she thought to sneak into the kingdom. Basically, each kingdom keeps to itself, not mingling with other Supernaturals unless for trade. So, it came as a surprise when she saw no one stopping her to question her purpose of visit.
Willow scoffed as she remembered the careless way the border patrol behaved as if other Supernaturals entering their kingdom is the new norm. She tucked that knowledge to analyze it later. Perhaps it's a clue for the rogue problem.
The Guild head's words flashed in her mind- the vampire king is unconcerned about the increasing rogue issue which leads us to believe he might have a hand in this.
But what purpose would there be for other Supernaturals here? What secrets does the vampire kingdom hide?
Willow put her hand on the nearest tree and felt for its inner core. She searched through the memories of the tree. Each tree carries a tale. This is a part of her gift. She can read and communicate with trees.
She dropped her hand in frustration. The tree has nothing useful to say or she is not looking in the right direction. Dammit! Normally, each leaf has a story to tell, they just need a listening ear. Though it's not complete sentences and is often chopped words or images that can be misinterpreted, Willow has learned to decipher them... well almost.
All this tree is showing is a mix of vampires and werewolves walking around. That is even weirder. Vampires and werewolves walking together. Unless it's a guild team, which she doubts, it's not possible. Their superior nature makes them clash. This is getting weirder.
Willow kept on with this process while she passed a few blocks. She ducked her head as a group of newborn vampires walked past her. She made herself small and insignificant, not making a sound to draw any attention.
Though it's against her nature, she kept Low, not drawing attention to her presence because vampires don't tolerate the outsiders. They look upon them as snacks to munch on. She can easily take them down but she doesn't want any hustle at her hands, not yet.
From their eager way and boisterous speech, she deduced they must be newly made.
Vampires can be made or born. Though giving birth to vampires is rare, it is possible if both the parents are vampires. However, changing other Supernaturals into vampires has become illegal. But it didn't deter the master vampires. There are ways it can be done. Every law has a loophole.
In this case, a debt of any supernatural can be repaid by changing them into a vampire or submitting a willing one in that person's place. It's just a game of words. And vampires are notorious for playing games.
Each territory is handled by a master vampire under whom newly born vampires serve. And these master vampires work under the Elite vampires. These are the vampires who have powers. Elite vampires are older and are always born as they inherit the power of either of their parents. However, there are exceptions like in all cases, when a made-vampire has greater power.
Like in all kingdoms, a selected few of these elite vampires are made a vampire council. Above these councils is the king. The king has the power to make or break a council.
Unbeknownst to her, her feet took a turn, leading to an alley.
Willow, still thinking about vampires, didn't realize the steps of someone following behind her.
A vampire can gain powers as they age. The older the vampire is, the more powerful he becomes.
Just as she was musing over this information, a rogue vampire materialized before her.
"Shit!" Willow swore as she scanned the abandoned alley.
"What have we here?" The rogue cocked his head unnaturally as it scanned Willow from top to bottom.
Two other rogues joined this one. The shuffling of boots behind her let her know there are three more behind her.
This is not her day. She thought of laying low. "To hell with it!" Willow thought as she marked their position. She turned sideways, keeping all of them in her line of vision.
"I call dibs on the Fae," said the first one as he licked his fangs in anticipation.
"What do you think she was doing putting hands on the trees?" Questioned another to no one in particular.
"Who knows? She is Fae. They are strange," said the third one
Willow didn't waste her breath talking to them. For her, they are just a step away from dying. Why bother talking to a dying stranger?
"We followed her for one block. She is ours," said the newcomers who were on her right side.
Shit! She didn't even realize. She clenched her fist. If only she has her bow and arrows with her. But not to draw suspicion from the patrollers, she didn't carry it with her.
She cracked her knuckles and with a single thought, let the poisonous vines grow from the ground where the rogue vampires stood.
No one comprehended what was happening. When they realized the vines that are wrapping their bodies, it was too late. Their scream is cut short by another vine around their mouth.
This... this is her true power. It is effective, deadly, and always works. Willow can grow trees or plants of all kinds anywhere, at any time.
In short, the earth is her playground. She doesn't need to touch the ground with her hands and concentrate. Her feet already touch the ground. She just has to think about it and it will happen. She can make any kind of tree to grow; Poisonous vines, ash-wood trees (the stakes from these trees are deadly for vampires), thorny bushes, anything.
Which is why she keeps her gift a secret. She doesn't want this knowledge to get in the wrong hands. Mages or witches who are power-hungry can steal other supernatural powers with chants and runes.
Within seconds, the vines have done the job, completely immobilizing the vampires. Without wasting any more time, she quickly decapitated their heads, a sure way of killing a vampire with the sharp dagger tucked behind her back.
An assassin never goes unarmed anywhere. Once she made sure they were dead, she scanned the alley for any passers-by. After making sure no one is looking at this side, she made the vines wrap around the dead rogues and dragged them along with the vines into the ground, easily wiping the evidence.
Nothing is left once it is done. Not a single drop of blood. Grass grew where the blood was. This much exertion doesn't usually drain her powers, but after the mindless wandering and using her powers constantly on every tree she came across, all Willow wanted to do was sleep.
With tired steps, she turned ready to head to her temporary 'home'.
But before she can go further than a few blocks, she encountered another scene that made her curious and questioned everything she heard.