“Curse it all.” Rosa whispered to herself, listening for any signs of the knights. ‘After almost getting caught earlier, I thought I should play it safer after. Now look what’s happened!’ She angrily thought to herself. The trees towered over her and blocked out most of the light, but that wasn’t the main problem. Although Rosa had studied the maps of the area and even travelled out of the village with her family, those trips were few and far between. She wasn’t near the river, nor could she see any other landmarks like the hills and castle.
Repressing a gulp, she quickened her pace, hoping that, whenever she stumbled over roots or slapped at a mosquito, the sounds of the forest would cover for her.
“DARI!” A shout not far from Rosa rang out, causing the birds and critters to stir around her. She hurried as best as she could to the source of the sound. When she came upon the scene, she saw Sir Proulx lying face down on blood-stained grass and Sir Varano leaning on a tree and clutching his side.
“Dammit all!” He cursed through heavy, ragged breaths.
“Sir Varano!” Rosa rushed over to his side.
“Your Highness!?”
“Please, be silent.” She commanded and helped him take off his armour. He was bleeding just above the hip. The wound wasn’t serious, but it needed to be treated in case of blood loss or infection. Ripping up her brown cape, she quickly wrapped the wound just like she read in her medical books.
“Sir Proulx sacrificed himself for us, but…” He sighed. “Thank you, your highness, but you must make haste. The vampress ambushed us and captured Da- I mean, Prince Dari. Get help.” But no sooner had he mentioned Dari that Rosa was off.
~
Now, Prince Dari was not as intelligent as his sister, but he was smart enough to leave clues. Rosa smiled to herself as she followed the drops of blood and further on the strands of hair he left behind. From what she could tell, it was late afternoon when she approached one of the steep hills surrounding the kingdom and village.
Behind a tall oak tree there was an opening to a cave. The tree’s roots stuck out of the ground and formed stairs to the entrance, as though they were molded by magic.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way up the steps and into the cave. A small fire gave some light, but it still took Rosa a few minutes to adjust to the dark. The place was tidier than she pictured, there were no human remains, but a wooden table, chairs, and a shelf of boxes, books, and knickknacks. However, a stench caused the princess to wrinkle her nose in disgust, a smell that was coming from the small, black cauldron hanging above the fire.
“No…” She whispered to herself as she recognized the smell of cooked corpse.
“I was expecting knights.” A silky but confused voice caused Rosa to jump and turn behind her, twin daggers pulled out and gripped tight in each hand.
“Did you kill and cook my brother, already?” Rosa demanded, trying to keep the tears from shedding.
“Are you inquiring about the white-haired man I captured? No.” The creature answered, jade-green eyes on the princess. “Not yet.”
“I will not let you.” The princess declared, swallowing hard. She kept her eyes on the silhouette and slitted orbs, trying to keep her nerves under control.
The creature stepped closer to the fire, revealing more of her appearance. She was taller than Rosa, with sickly pale skin, darkened rings around her eyes, and long, wavy black hair cut into layers. She was wearing what looked to be a handmade blue dress, with a blue and purple scarf that had the Dressler seahorse symbol embroidered pattern around her neck.
She was… certainly not what Rosa had expected.
“And how do you plan on doing that?” The vampire looked her up and down with a frown.
“I challenge you to a game. Any game you choose.” Rosa knew that in a physical fight, she would surely get killed, but games and strategy would be her weapons in this fight. A spark of interest flickered in the creature's eyes.
“Very well.” The vampire said. “Take a seat.” She pointed to the table and walked over to the shelf as Rosa sheathed her daggers and sat down. The smell of cooked human still stabbed at her nose, but she repeated to herself that she would rescue Dari.
The vampire came back with a game of checkers. Rosa quickly set the board while her opponent went to the cauldron.
“We will have three rounds, Vampress. If I lose even one, you can take me.” The vampire eyed the princess with a raised brow.
“… Okay…” She agreed, confusion and hesitance in her voice, which made Rosa feel more confident. “My name is Marria. Here.” The vampire, Marria, placed two bowls of steaming meat – which certainly smelled nothing like the seasoned chicken or pork at the castle – on the table, with intricately decorated spoons sticking out.
“What is this?”
“It is only courtesy that a host introduces herself and offers food… Is that not correct?”
“It is, actually. I am Princess Rosa.” She moved her left red piece to the right, starting the game.
“Really? I am most honoured to meet you, your highness.” The princess held back a snort at the vampire’s words and focused on playing the game.
Marria was not an avid game player, but put up enough of a challenge on the first game. She was able to make a king and take most of Rosa’s pieces before the two red kings triumphed. In the second game, Rosa was feeling more at ease and was even able to pull off a bluff by baiting a piece and getting into Marria’s defences, earning another win. In the third game, the vampire fell for more bluffs, but Rosa took a couple of risks and was now left with half of her pieces.
“You are better than I expected.” Rosa admitted as Marria double jumped with her black piece, taking two more reds, a smile gracing her lips.
“Thank you, your highness. I have learned a few tricks throughout the last couple of centuries.” She returned the smile, showing a pair of fangs. Rosa couldn’t help but stare in fascination. It was a different experience than what the illustrations in books offered.
“Interesting.” She tore her gaze away, reminding herself of Dari and put her attention back to the game. Her smile grew as she saw her strategy had been successfully executed. “I will move this piece here…” She took a red piece by the wall and jumped over one black piece. “… Here…” She jumped another. “And here.” She jumped one more, ending at the vampire’s end of the board. “King me.”
“Oh, my.” Marria’s gasped, eyes wide and mouth gaping. “That was extraordinary.”
“Thank you.”
“But did you give up several of your pieces for that?”
“Sacrifices must be made.”
“I see…” Marria hummed in contemplation, her quiet tone making the princess uneasy for reasons she couldn’t fathom. It didn’t matter in the end, for Rosa once again won the game.
“My brother?”
“Yes, I will fetch him. Please stay here, as you cannot see in the dark.” Marria disappeared deeper into the cave. Since Rosa couldn’t argue against the vampire’s point, she stayed by the fire, with the warm bowls of human flesh for company.
ns 15.158.61.5da2
