Night Killer chapter 1.

The sun was just beginning to sink behind the hills. The sky was painted beautifully with rich pinks and reds. However they were fading fast bringing a close to the happiest day in the Kingdom of Heath. The final part of the ceremony, the bestowing was to begin. 1

The castle doors had rumbled to a close; it was a vain attempt to keep her out. Every lock was placed upon it, guards stood at every entrance possible to the castle. It had not once been more heavily guarded in all its years. They were to begin at exactly midnight, no sooner, no later; when the full moon was highest in the sky.2

Inside a castle fit for god himself, there was an enormous throne room. Facing the north were the two thrones, glittering in the candle light of the chandeliers hanging gracefully from the ceiling. Each candle holder embodied with beautiful sapphires, and sitting harmlessly below the largest most elegant one was a delicate crib. It was carved from the willow tree. Sapphires the same as the chandeliers were spelling out a name; Aurora Rose. 3

“When did they say we could begin?” Queen Emila asked for the hundredth time in what seemed like a very small space of time. She began to tap her fingers on the arm rests and fiddle with her crown; it was sitting in the center of her head digging into her skull quite painfully. The king choose not to answer her, for he was thinking not of what time the blessings were to commence but about the only fairy from the Woods of Light that was not invited to the joyous celebration of life. His mind strode to the gift she would give her if she had been invited.4

Oh, there were many legends and stories of her curses, the witch that never died, and in turn living to spurn others and to put them through unimagined hardships. The luckiest of her victims had merely fallen into sleep for a century while waiting for her true loves first kiss to come. Merlin knows she would not be that kind to little baby Aurora Rose. She would know a curse worse than that of eternal sleep. She would know the true definition of torture every day of her life had she been invited. But not to invite her ran the risk of pure death, and the queen would not be able to conceive again. To keep her alive they chose to curse her and hope the Fairy Witch would be kind.5

The blowing of the trumpets startled the King; he leapt from his chair with fright. He was not expecting midnight to creep upon them so soon and in fact he did a double take towards the window to his left, the outside was coated in a black velvet sheet, it looked almost like liquid dripping from the heavens with small spaces left out for the stars to seep through and the moon to come out of. The first fairy glided from the line, her dress a fine golden yellow silk; it was hanging loosely from around her body. Her saunter was graceful as she approached her face made in the image of an angel surely. It was gorgeous with hair brighter then the sun and lips redder then the rose. Her smile attracted the attention of many. Her cheeks had little dimples where her smile ended.6

“Dear Aurora Rose, for you I bless the gift of combat. Never shall you be taken advantage of. I bless you my dear with the gift of independence that comes with being able to defend yourself. She lifted her finger and tapped the girl’s soft forehead; a dot where the pressure from her finger turned white and then back to the baby pink skin. The small little veins accepted her magic eagerly and then the oddest thing happened each one glowed under her skin. The magic had now become a part of her blood. The gift was given by the fairy Athena guardian and goddess of protection. 7

She stepped back just as gracefully as she had come to the crib and made a deep bow to the Royal court, then the King and Queen. The next fairy in the long line stepped up, her dress like the one before only this time colored for the sky, a beautiful uncompromised blue.8

“Dearest Child, I give you a gift from the King of the Sky. You will be beautiful. You’re beauty unmeasured by the realm of mortals, but instead equivalent to that of the gods. You’re hair shall be the color of fire, you’re eyes the color of the sky, your lips the color of peach and your cheeks rosy, rosy red.” She touched the same spot on the child’s forehead; Aurora Rose’s veins turned a bright blue color accepting her magic into her blood. She squirmed under her touch and giggled.9

The third in the line stepped forward. Her dress the color of fire, redder then anything you could ever imagine. She was unlike the others barefoot. Her eyes a chocolate brown her grace lay in her hands and with the way she moved them as she walked swiftly over to the child. Unlike the others she did not smile at her, she did not look upon it with love. She just stood there for a moment perhaps thinking of what the perfect gift to give would be.10

“Child, I bring a gift from the Flame Keeper. I bless you with the ability to control flame. That it may never burn you. I give you the gift to burn and to warm and to heal. Never shall your body be broken.” She lightly touched the spot on her forehead and the girls veins glowed alight with fire. 11

More fairies came forward to bless her with their own gifts, the ability to think quickly to be bright, the ability to do spells and cast magic, the ability to sing just as the blue jay. To survive, to be graceful, the child was beginning to tire of all the magic flowing through her veins. Until the final fairy stepped forward from the line, her dress was blacker then the night; she carried a single black rose and put it into her crib the thorns still on it. The baby girl began to cry realizing danger, (it was a gift). The Royal guard closed in upon her, their weapons raised. Swords drawn and only the most skilled Archers raised their bow to shoot at her.12

“Fear not. I’ll only give what thou have taken.” Her voice was hard slipping from her tongue like ice. Her dress was intricate she was disguised in the body of another fairy. Arrows flew but with a flick of her wrist they were dispelled. A ring of green flame curled itself around her and the crib. The Fairy of Flames tried to change its path but it wouldn’t bend to her will. 13

“KILL HER I SAY! DAMMNIT KILL HER MEN!” The king shouted but his voice was lost.14

“SILENCE!” She shouted and the hall grew quiet in an unnatural way, not even the girl was crying anymore. She was lifted out of her crib, the witch had her hands under her armpits. 15

“Aurora Rose,” She began the girl’s name sounding like a curse rolling slickly from the mouth of Satan herself. “You shall be cursed from this moment forward, cursed with death, upon your sixteenth year. Until that day you shall be a creature of the night. The sunlight shall burn your perfect skin; you will suck the blood of every Prince who tries to rid you of this curse. Now Aurora Rose, you are cursed.” The silence lifted from the hall as the flame left the circle and the all at once tumults broke out. People tried to flee from the arrows that flew every which way and tried desperately to escape. However the evil Witch had vanished from the body of the Fairy Mary. 16

“Please, I is not who you hunt; she is gone, back to the castle upon the mountain!” She shouted shrinking to the floor, she was only a child of ten years. 17

“What was your gift?” The King asked sinking into the chair waving the guard off with his left hand as he pinched the bridge of his nose with the right. When she didn’t answer the usually docile man grew impatient. “WELL?” He shouted startling the entire court.18

“Of v-virtue s-s-sir.” She stuttered breathlessly holding tears back from her eyes the color of violet.19

“Can you undo this?” He asked her thinking quickly.20

“N-n-no. I c-c-can’t, I help t-though.” She said.21

“Very well.”22

The little girl stood up from the ground her wings bent and broken. 23

“Dear child,” She sniffed thinking hard on what to do. “Upon your sixteenth year instead of death you shall be given the life you so long for, if you are given true loves first kiss before sundown of your birthday. If however you should fail, you will fall to sleep, a deep sleep by which none will wake you from. The only undoing that shall be found is the death of the Witch.” She touched her forehead and it was now word.24

“That’s hardly undoing it.” The Queen muttered. The girl looked up from the Aurora Rose and vanished distinctly with a sniff.25

So it was decreed from that day forth that the beautiful Princess Aurora Rose was to drink blood. That she was to be a creature of the night. Her mother in complete hatred of what had happened issued the completion of a castle deep in the Moon’s woods and it was to be locked down. She was to live out her sixteen years alone until a Prince would save her or kill the witch.26

There she had Four servants to look after her, she had learned of course growing up with them that drinking blood was her curse, she had been told over and over again why she was living in this castle, now at the tender age of Fifteen she was ready. She was ready for her true love. She however was not like the women she had come to know. She was not content to sit and wait for the man to come riding up on his trusty steed when he could be bothered. She had one year left and it was her turn to do what the others dare not.27

She would kill the witch.28

For the first time in any history book (and she should know having read them all) a woman would come to her own rescue.29