The Darkness Within: The War of Myths

After my father calmed down we ate. Swine’s blood warmed on a stove is not as good as it sounds, but it was better than not eating at all. After dinner, he didn’t speak to me. My father just glanced at me a few times before he went into his room. I couldn’t imagine what was really going through his mind, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to talk to the Council.

I cleaned the dishes, and made sure everything was in its proper place and then I went to my own room. I found my good clothes tucked away neatly in my closet, and I set them out for ironing later. I looked into the mirror and I saw every ounce of my father’s nervousness in my own eyes, but there was also my determination covering that nervousness so that I appeared more confident than anxious.

“My name is Vincent Vaara,” I stated proudly into the mirror. “And I am a vampire,” I said with a little less enthusiasm. I shook my head as I thought of the blood-lusting vampires like my mother. I took a deep breath and I stared into my gray-green eyes.

“My name is Vincent Vaara, and I will not stand for such injustices such as the one that I witnessed,” I stated proudly and a bit angrily. I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. I was ready to face the High Council.

I undressed and redressed in my sleeping attire. I didn’t realize how tired I was, until I closed my bedroom curtain and lay upon my bed. Sleep took over to allow my body to rest, but something would not let my mind be at ease.

Troublesome dreams floated in and out of my unconscious slumber. Dreams of dreadful hunters hunting down the creatures rather than the humans fluttered about my eyelids. That poor little girl’s face—the little girl whose back was sliced open for something that she did not posse—filled my brain. I awoke in a cold sweat in a fitful manner. Thrashing about the bed while yelling, “No, please let her go!” I looked about the room childishly for a long moment, before I realized my father was sitting on the bed before me.

“Vincent?” He asked slowly.

“Yes, father,” I answered breathlessly.

“You must do what you believe is right. If you do not follow your heart, it will destroy you; mind, soul, and body. Do you understand?” He asked. His words were loaded with meaning.

“Are you giving me your blessing for this trial, sir,” I asked cautiously.

He simply nodded as he answered, “Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

My father left the dark room, and I laid there wondering if I was doing more harm than good by my fellow creatures by stopping these hunters. I stared at the ceiling for a long while before a restless slumber over took my body.

~~~

I often wondered if the reason for my long sleep was the restlessness of my slumber or if it was simply my thoughts bounding me to sleep. Either way, I did not awaken until almost 10p.m. which by creature standards was round 10a.m. I usually woke up around dusk which was around the same time as sun rise for the humans.

My father had taken the night off from the forge, and he was up busying himself with cooking what appeared to be a heart of some sort. I couldn’t be sure, but he welcomed me into the kitchen with a cheerful, “Good morning, son.”

I looked at him and glanced out of the darkened window as I answered, “Good evening, father.”

He looked wary as if he had missed something for a moment before his mouth formed the ‘ah’ shape as he followed my gaze out of the window. I smiled as I turned my attention back to the oven. He put his creation of a heart recipe into the oven on a low broil. I simply sat in a slight daze.

“Did you sleep well after our conversation last night, Vincent?”

“No, it was a rather fitful sleep.”

“What an imposition, you have to be at trial in two hours.”

“I think I’m just a little nervous.”

“It’s quite alright to be a little nervous, Vincent. You are going before the High Council. You are supposed to be nervous. However, you will have to present your case with confidence. You must make your observers realize that you will not take no for an answer. Do you understand,” my father instructed.

“What has happened to you this morning? Yesterday you were ready for me to give in and watch the evil that was and will be imposed upon the innocents.” I questioned his new found authority.

“I thought about it as I was trying to go to sleep, and I really thought about it after your nightmare, you have to fight for what you believe. I think that this is a good battle for you to fight, Vincent. Mind you, I believe it is a very dangerous battle, but I do believe that it is a good decision.”

“Thank you, Father.”

And with that the conversation was over. I left the room to go get washed up. I scrubbed my skin and my hair of the dirt that it had accumulated over the days in between my last cleaning before going into my room and half dressing for the occasion to come.

We ate the heart for breakfast as a celebration and for good luck. Father explained that it was good luck to eat the heart of an animal that showed bravery before going into ‘war’. He somehow managed to get ahold of a bear’s heart, and that it was I found him baking when I awoke.

After our breakfast of ‘champions’, I finished getting dressed, and I cleaned my face once again. I couldn’t think of anyone who had ever been as nervous as I was at that moment, but I was prepared as my father instructed me. I would not take no for an answer, even though I did not know the correct wording for the question quite yet.