After unloading Aubrey’s baggage in her ‘chambers’, she and Axel made their way to the kitchen by way of a servant’s passageway.

            “I never really got the point of these. Why don’t they just have a more direct, larger way to the kitchen?” This came from Axel, who had admitted that he had a slight fear of enclosed spaces. Aubrey ran her hand over the cool stone wall.

            “The aristocrats preferred their servants to be unseen and unheard. These passageways allowed the servants to come and go without ‘cluttering up’ the hallways.”

            “Huh, sounds like these aristos were pretty big snobs.”

            “Yeah, but they got their just desserts. The passageways were also an excellent tool for assassins.” As she said the word her body went rigid and her vision went black. She could feel herself falling, but her mind had already been transported to a darker, terror-filled time.

            She watched herself as a child of eight running up the passageway stairs. She was gasping loudly, but another’s gasps drowned out hers. She wanted to scream, but knew that if she did, she’d have no more breath to keep running. She had to keep running. As she reached the top, where the tapestry to the tower hung, she chanced a look backwards. The creature stood there, its eyes glowing red in the dark. It smiled at her, its lips moving to show off two freakishly pointed canines. It reached out to her, and she watched in horror as her own hand betrayed her and reached back. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a silver dagger in its other hand.

            “Come to me, child. Give me your sweet life blood and I will give you new life. You shall be queen of the darkness. You shall rule over the night. Together, we will rule!” His touch broke through her trance-like state and she screamed. The creature screeched as well. It reached out and slapped her. “Silence! Cease these siren cries at once!” She kept screaming. The creature roared and threw her down the stairs. After that…all was darkness and pain.

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Aubrey woke up to the sound of someone singing ‘Leave Out All the Rest’ by Linkin Park. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up to find Axel watching her in concern. He blushed when he saw that she was awake and stopped singing.

            “Sorry. I sing when I’m…when bad things happen. Are you okay?”

            “I’m fine.”

            “You sure?”

            “Yeah. I was—it must have been all the traveling. Jet lag, ya know?”

            “Yeah…right. It’s a good thing I was leading the way; otherwise you would have taken a nasty spill.” Aubrey gasped as she remembered the horrifying waking nightmare; how she had fallen down those same steps ten years ago. She shook her head. No, it was just her imagination. After all, she had never been here before.

            Axel watched her carefully as he helped her to a sitting position on her bed.

            “Thanks. I guess we should head down to the—“

            “No. Your aunt sent our dinners up to us since you weren’t feeling well.” He reached behind him and held out a platinum tray set for two. “Do you like your steak medium or rare?”

            “Medium.”

            “Then this one’s for you.” He lifted the top off of one of the dishes to reveal a      6 oz. steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. “And this one’s mine.” He rubbed his hands together in excitement before laying aside the top on his dish. Aubrey wrinkled her nose at the sight of his rare steak.

            “You’re actually going to eat that?”

            “Sure. Why not?”

            “Because it’s practically dripping blood!”

            “Hey don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

            “Whatevs.” They laughed and dug in to their food. Aubrey shook her head and chuckled. “Come ‘ere.” Confused, Axel leaned towards her. She took his napkin off of his lap and wiped the bloody steak juice off of his cheek. He blushed and mumbled a barely audible ‘thank you’. “No prob. Now—“ She grinned. “How about that story you promised me?”

            “Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Hold on.” He took their now empty dishes and set them aside before reaching into the nightstand by the bed and retrieving a flashlight. Aubrey switched off the lights and sat with legs criss-crossed, eager for the story to begin.

++++++

            Axel smiled at Aubrey in the dark. He hadn’t yet turned the flashlight on, but he could still see her perfectly.

            “Come on already! I wanna hear the story, Axel!” She reached out in the dark for the light, but he held it away from her.

            “Fine.” As Aubrey sat back, he flicked the flashlight on and held it against his face. “It all started centuries ago in Egypt during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut. She was an oddity but accepted nonetheless. She was devout in her beliefs and her gods, praying to Isis and Ra…to bless her daughter Nefurura. For you see, Hatshepsut was grooming her daughter to continue the line of female pharaohs. And that…is where normality ends.”

            “What? That’s it? I already knew that!”

            “The story’s not over. The normal part is. Now listen.” He leaned closer. “The truth is, Hatshepsut couldn’t care less about the female line. What she really wanted…was to keep a werewolf on the throne. She had waited centuries for her kind to get a chance at the throne. She had paid in blood and tears to gain her queenship and she’d pay more to place her daughter on the throne. Everything was going smoothly until Thutmosis III caught wind of her plan.”

                “Thutmosis was supposed to gain the throne. He was supposed to become the next pharaoh!”

                “Yes. But Hatshepsut would die before letting another vamp take control. Hatshepsut and Thutmosis were not related by blood, as you probably know. If they were—“ He chuckled. “The rest of my story wouldn’t make sense. Thutmosis had his personal guards attack Hatshepsut. They bled her dry. He even went as far as to switch her body with her maid-servants so that her kind wouldn’t figure out what happened. Thutmosis made sure everything was taken care of. He planted evidence in the sacred boxes that would point to her dying from the poison of an abscessed tooth. Finally, he took care of the only thing left that stood in the way of him becoming ruler of all Egypt.”

                “Nefurura.” Aubrey whispered, caught up in the tale Axel had spun in her mind.

                “She was only sixteen when Thutmosis sealed her inside what was meant to be her tomb. He left her to die high up on a cliff, leaving her with only the terrifying memory of her mother being drained before her very eyes. What he didn’t count on…was a traitor amongst his guards. One named Marcain had restrained Nefurura while her mother was being killed. His cold, un-beating heart was touched by her cries of pain and sorrow. He’d fallen in love with the little princess. So, after all were gathered for the Blood Feast, celebrating a long and prosperous reign for Thutmosis…the traitorous vamp flew to Nefurura’s crypt and freed her. He gave her an amulet to protect her from harm as a token of his love. He expected her to love him, but she could find no love or kindness left in her heart for anyone with an undead heart. She cursed him and fled into the night, never to return again.”

                “And Cain? What happened to him?”

                “Nefurura broke his heart. He became bitter and hunted after her for the rest of his life.”

                “Did he find her?”

                “No. He never did, nor did he completely get over the princess. His heart yearned for her, and he would not stop searching for her…even when he received news of her death centuries later. He kept searching.” Axel clicked the light off and let the silence complete his story.

                “Wow…that was amazing! You’re an excellent story-teller, Axel.”

                “Why, thank you, Aubrey.” He chuckled and slid off of the side of the bed, drawing back the curtains to reveal the full moon. His breath caught in his throat, and he backed away quickly.

                “Axel? You okay?” She got up and staggered towards him. He shook his head an stumbled backwards.

                “I, uh, I’ve gotta go. It’s getting late and I—“

                “Cut the crap, Axel. She has to remember sometime or other. Why not give her a little push, eh?” Both teens jumped at the sound of Sonya’s voice. Axel shook his head again and tried to push past the older woman. She gave him a shove that looked gentle, but sent him tumbling backwards. Aubrey knelt beside him, her brow creased in concern as sweat broke out on his forehead.

                “Axel…what’s wrong? You don’t look too good.”

                “Dang it, Axel! Stop holding back! You’re going to hurt yourself! Why are you—“ Sonya broke off and chuckled. “Typical. You can’t base any relationship off of lies, sweetie. It’s better to get the truth out in the open. besides, once she remembers, it won’t matter.”

                “But—“ His body started to convulse. Aubrey cried out at Sonya to call an ambulance and leaned over her friend, wiping his forehead with her sleeve. He pushed her away weakly as his body started to contort in odd ways.

                “Axel…” She whispered hoarsely. She watched with a mixture of horror and fascination. Rich brown fur suddenly appeared and his canines seemed to sharpen. In the blink of an eye, a large brown wolf stood where Axel had only moments ago. “…Axel?” The wolf’s ears drooped as it stepped closer to her. She held out a hand and smiled hesitantly when the wolf gave the top of it a big sloppy doggy kiss. “Axel.” Aubrey threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his fur.

                “See? I told you there was nothing to worry about.” Sonya murmured.

                “That story you told me…it was true? And you…you were that wolf that stole my suitcase. I mean, vampires and werewolves really exist?” Axel/wolf nodded and groaned as Aubrey scratched behind his left ear. His tail thumped wildly on the ground, making her giggle. “So…when do I get to meet a vampire?”

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