Chapter 4; Philly Takes Control

I came around about an hour later, in my quarters.  Upon waking, I was informed that Cristoph was dead; the broken handle of a gardener’s ho had pierced his heart as he fell to the ground. The plants surrounding place of his impact had swollen around him, covering him, hiding the corpse from its rescuers. This knowledge troubled me. Had something inside of me really wanted him dead? Sure I despised the man, but was I capable of killing someone without even thinking about it?1

A short time later, Marisole explained to me that strong emotions can cause great waves in power. “Anytime an untrained vampire feels one emotion to an extreme degree, their powers may flair up, causing unexpected and often unwanted results. Your power is so incredibly strong, so complex for a nine year old, none of us expected you to be able to accomplish a feat of such over-whelming proportions.  Philly, what you did was absolutely amazing, partly because you hadn’t meant to, think of what you could accomplish after being taught control!” 2

“Amazing or not, I killed Cristoph with out even thinking about it. I hated that man with a passion, but I didn’t want him dead. To end someone’s life is just such a large, final, thing that if it is to happen it should at the very least be planned. Mari, as Queen, as a living being, as a figure among my people, I can not just go about killing who ever makes me angry! Teaching me to control my emotions shall become your priority in my lessons, understood?” I stood and turned away from Marisole, looking out my window to the distant horizon. The sun would begin to rise soon and I hadn’t yet eaten dinner, but I wasn’t hungry anyway.3

“Yes Princess, but…” He stopped mid-sentence, staring at the floor. The attempt at contradiction angered me, I was royalty, and how dare he forget that.4

“But what?” I sneered, turning to him with a bitter grin, “but that’s not traditional, but that’s not how it has always been done, but you know better than I do? Is that it? Is that the gist of what you were going to say?”5

“No, Ophelia!” He almost shouted over my rant, but I ignored him, carrying on.6

“I am the ruler now; I am the one who makes the decisions. When I say that you are going to prioritize one subject rather then another, you had best listen or perhaps you will end up just like Cristoph!” I stopped and stared at my older friend. It was an empty threat and he knew it. I adored Marisole. 7

“I am sorry, your highness.” He stressed the title with a touch of playful sarcasm, “All I meant was that, controlling your emotions is often the hardest part of your teachings. It would be a lot easier and take much less time, if we were to follow the original path. That is why it was set down the way it was. I didn’t mean to question your authority, dearest.” He smiled softly and begrudgingly, I returned the favor.8

“I’m sorry, Marisole. I didn’t mean to threaten you, I didn’t mean to yell.” I rubbed at my tired eyes, sitting down on the edge of my bed.9

“I know Young One, I know.” He sighed, looking down at me with an almost paternal love, upon his face. “Would you like to have dinner? The cooks have it ready; we were just waiting for you to wake. There isn’t much time left before dawn though.”10

“No, I’m not very hungry, just tired.” I replied with a yawn, emphasizing my point. 11

“Alright, I’ll tell everyone we can go ahead and eat. I’ll see you this evening; have a good rest, Philly.” He gave me a quick hug and departed. 12

I didn’t sleep well at all that day; things had become so messed up in so little time. My mother had died just over two nights ago, and already she seemed to be from such a distant past; today it was discovered that apparently I have powers beyond any known, and with those very powers I killed a very prominent and important member of the royal court; and to top it all off, in two weeks time I would be crowned queen of essentially the entire world. My young mind seemed completely incapable of comprehending it all. 13

Through out the entire time the sun was in the sky, I had perhaps an hour of sleep and even that was restless. I couldn’t get comfortable in m bed; perhaps because of the emotional stress I was carrying, or maybe because on some subconscious level, I was punishing myself. Either way, I was still exhausted when the moon rose that night.14

I was wide awake and starring at the ceiling when Elisa came to awake me. The young vampire sat down beside me, her face clearly an expression of worry. Her short, rusty-brown hair, perfectly groomed and lovely; clearly showing she’d been up for a while. 15

“You didn’t sleep well, Philly?”  She asked, lovingly stroking my jet black curls. She offered a sympathetic smile, so like all the smiles I’d been receiving recently, it hurt. I was trying to handle it all, didn’t they see that? Why did they feel bad for me? Why? I didn’t understand and I didn’t want them concerning themselves so deeply, but I was their “savior” I was supposed to be the keep them safe. I guessed that was why, but like I said, I didn’t understand it.16

“No, not really, too much in my head to sleep well.” I sat up and stretched. “Help me prepare for the day, won’t you?” I asked more pleasantly then I felt. I forced a smile, but feared it looked just as false as it truly was.17

“Certainly,” She sighed, obviously aware I was just “putting on a happy face.” She grabbed my brush and began to work at my hair. “You know none of this is your fault, don’t you?” She asked after awhile, concern prominent in her voice. “You can’t be held responsible.” 18

“I killed Cristoph that is my fault. Mama’s death isn’t.” Behind me, she sighed again, sitting down the brush.19

“It isn’t your fault; you are untrained. I know Marisole told you the same thing.” She stood and walked to my wardrobe, selecting a gown for me to wear.20

“Yes, he did, but I refuse to believe it.”21

“Suit yourself, Philly.” She shook her head, green eyes rolling in a way that suited her teenage body. She stared at me, calculatingly, sighing again. “You look just like her, you know. Well, you wouldn’t know, our kind doesn’t have reflections, but it’s almost an eerie identicalness.”22

“Don’t ever say that again,” My eyes began to burn, nonexistent tears sting to an unbelievable extent.  “Don’t talk about my mother. You mustn’t.” I hated being compared to her, even when she was alive, but it was so much worse now that she was gone.23

“I’m sorry, Philly.” She looked away from me as she helped me change clothes. “C’mon darling, some breakfast and then back to lessons.”24

Breakfast that evening consisted of waffles, eggs and fruit, but I didn’t eat much. I did, however, drink several classes of vampire’s chosen beverage. Henry, Marisole and James kept throwing me that same damned look of concern, but I ignored it. Through out the entire meal, one thing bothered me to no end. Finally, I vocalized my thought.25

“What happened with William yesterday? The last thing I remember, he seemed completely horrified.” I didn’t want him going back to his designated territory and tell everyone I was a homicidal fiend, that wouldn’t be good for the reputation on a new queen, not at all.26

“Venison was indeed horrified for a second, but after he got over the shock, he was quite impressed. As I’ve said; your abilities are greater then any of us are accustomed to.”  Mari replied, cleaning off his mouth with a napkin.27

“Yes Philly, I believe they may even rival the ancestor I taught you about yesterday.” Henry added. “Only difference is; you have a brain about you. She was pure animal instinct; feed and breed; take care of offspring. That’s all that drove her. If you’re finished your meal we can commence with today’s lesson.” He gave a friendly smile and I nodded that I was done. We stood, said good-bye to everyone, and departed for the Collection tower.28

“Eventually the animal-child grew independent; she no longer needed Kelly to take care of her, and thus made her her first victim. The girl, about ten years old at that point, savagely destroyed her mother and dined on her blood. She walked for weeks, lead only by her hunger, until she found herself in a small city. The people there were the first to be turned from human to vampire, the first to become subjects of what would one day be a global empire. 29

‘A few years went by and instinct told her it was time to breed. History is unclear whether or not she seduced or raped the father of her child, but she did find herself pregnant. Now, of course…” 30

Henry droned on for hours; what had had me mesmerized just a night before, was now boring the life from me. So much can change in twenty-four hours.31

“The matriarch’s daughter, who became known as…”32

I cut him off, tired of hearing what he had to say. “Henry,” I snapped, more harshly than intended, “if you hadn’t noticed, I don’t care. I will not be coming back to your lessons, they’re pointless and irritating. From now on, I will be taught what I want, when I want. Neither you nor anyone else, will tell me otherwise, is that clearly understood?”33

“B-but, your highness, tradition calls-”34

“I DO NOT CARE WHAT TRADITION CALLS FOR!” I bellowed at poor Henry. He was so taken back by my sudden change of character, that he completely lost his exterior appearance of strength and calm. His startled face, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, brought a sinister smile to my face. He use to be such an idol of mine, be he didn’t understand, no one did, no one could. In those past couple of days I had grown up, not physically, but definitely mentally and emotionally. I was not the nine year old they had come to know, and they all failed to see it. “I will have my lessons with Mari; they are the only thing left that holds any importance.”35

I stood to leave, but found Henry’s hand wrapped gently around my wrist. His eyes pleaded with me, please Philly, listen to what I have to say, listen to this old man, please, with a small sigh, I hesitated and allowed him to speak.36

“The history of this kingdom, your kingdom, the knowledge of it; it is essential to any ruler. Mistakes have been made Ophelia; mistakes that I fear you are doomed to repeat if you don’t learn how to avoid them. I beg you, for your sake and that of all your subjects; DO NOT ABANDON THESE LESSONS! I can not stress to you how important this is.”37

For a second my eyes met his in a reproachful glare, and then I pulled my arm from his grasp and turned to leave. With a sarcastic smirk, my back turned to him, I let him know exactly how I felt about his lessons. “Bite me, Henry. They’re my mistakes to make and I’ll make them if I please.” I exited the room at the top of the tower rolling my eyes and shaking my head.38

At lunch that night, I informed Marisole that his lessons would now be the only ones I would be attending. He was quite unhappy, but was not stupid enough to argue.39

“Will we be meeting tonight then, Philly?” He asked between bites of lasagna, raising his glass to his lips.40

“No, of course not, I’ve been through quite enough in the past few nights. James and I are going to go for a walk; I think we need to relax a bit.” I was careful to avoid his eyes; of all the people in the world, Mari was one of the few whose opinion still mattered to me. I knew he’d be scowling at his plate, decidedly unhappy that I was not cooperating. And unfortunate though it was, I was not the same Ophelia and I was merely doing what felt right to me at the time.41

James and I found ourselves walking far past the castle’s walls of protection, into less protected land. I had never before left the castle grounds; Mama said it was unsafe, but I had been paying no attention to our surroundings and ignored the guard’s warnings as my friend and I talked. 42

Soon we arrived at a small stream. Tall oak trees and vibrant flowers surrounded the spot, giving it a sense of peace and tranquility. The burbling sounds of the stream and the chirps of nighttime insects added to the serene feeling, and we decided to sit and cool our feet, now tired from walking, in the water.43

“Was Henry really mad when you told him you weren’t going to see him any more?” James asked as he skipped a pebble across the water’s surface.44

“Actually, not really, he was more upset…scared almost.” I picked a handful of flowers, all different colors, and began to weave them into a circlet for my hair.45

“Why would it scare him? It’s just a history lesson after all.”46

“I’m not really sure; he said something about me being doomed to make the same mistakes my ancestors did though.” I sighed; the flowers weren’t cooperating.47

“What did you say when he said that?” His brown eyes turning to look at me, a slight grin forming on his dark face.48

“I said ‘they’re my mistakes to make and I’ll make them if I please’… oh, and I told him to bite me.” I smiled at him; the whole event seemed a lot funnier now. 49

“I bet he loved that.” said James, as he absent-mindedly continued to skip rocks. 50

“To be honest, I didn’t stick around long enough to find out whether he did or not.” We laughed together, but I stopped abruptly. Laughter still felt wrong. 51

Silence crept upon us, and we avoided each other’s gaze while continuing to occupy ourselves. I found myself playing with a small lizard while James waded into the stream. Minutes turned to hours and finally, I broke the silence.52

“Should we walk on?” I stood, brushing the grass from my gown and looked at him. I couldn’t help but smile; he was up to his knees in water, though his entire body was wet. He’d fallen many times, trying to catch the tadpoles circling his feet.53

“Wait a second…” He said, deep in concentration. He lunged for the tadpoles again, falling face-first into the water. He came back up swearing loudly. “Now, what did you say?”54

“Do you want to keep walking?” 55

“Well, maybe we should head back; we’ve been gone for a while.” He looked up at the stars, calculating the moon’s position and how long it would be until sunrise. “Well we have a few more hours…” 56

“Let’s keep walking, see how far we can get.” 57

So we walked on, talking occasionally, but mostly in silence until I asked the question that had been burning inside me since breakfast. “James?”58

“Hmm?”59

“Do you think of me as a mere child? A nine year old like all other nine year olds?” 60

“Philly, I haven’t known you very long, but it’s obvious that you aren’t a normal nine year old. You have never been normal. You were born to be special, exceptional. You’re smarter and more mature than so-called normal children.”61

“Than how come the court men treat me like a child, if I’m so exceptional?” I pouted slightly, kicking a rock as we moved through a dense patch of woodland.62

“Well, I think, I think it’s kind of hard for them, because you look like a child and they have the adult mentality that children are naiveté and don’t understand the world round them.”63

“What about you?” I asked. “You’re only seven years old.”64

He sighed, careful not to meet my eyes as he responded. “It’s not that simple. When you are a human and are turned to a Vampire…” he paused, as if grasping to find the exact words needed to express his meaning, “something happens. It’s like…a wealth of knowledge, pouring into you, changing who you are, what you are and everything you’ve ever known. Even if I had been a toddler when I was brought over, I would still have the wisdom and knowledge of an adult, or at least that of every other vampire in the kingdom. I think, that is why they treat the young-bodied vamps better than they treat you. It’s not that they don’t respect you, Philly, it’s just that, to them you are a child and children are not supposed to be as intelligent as you. They don’t know how to deal with it.”65

“That’s absurd.” I muttered as we moved forward through a large thicket of dead and dying plants.  As we kept moving, eventually the sky began to pale and the familiar sent of dawn began to tickle my senses. “The sun will be up soon.” I acknowledged aloud, forcing panic from my voice. There was not enough time to return to the palace and neither of us knew how far the nearest village was.  For a second we stopped walking and met each other’s eyes, then, without hesitation, took of running.66