The Palace Beast

Not minding their differences, they all rushed outside the throne hall to know where the screams were coming from. Ramsey didn't waste any time in drawing out his sword. Pointing his sword towards the chapel, he said, "The screams are coming from here."

They were no guards around. The hallway looks deserted with a blood trail on the floor. It's as if a body was dragged and the trail leads to the doorstep of the chapel.

Seeing this, the King became more terrified; he pulled out his dagger and held it in his sweating palm. "King, this is not your fight, stay back," said Ramsey as he slowly approaches the wooden door of the chapel.

The screams have seized and all they could hear was the dangling of Ramsey's chain mail as he moved.

"We need to go now," said John. He held Bonnie's hand.

"Whatever that is inside there is after me, I can feel it."

"It's not your concern now. Let them face it themselves and..."

John's words were pushed back when the door of the chapel was slammed open from the inside. Ramsey was knocked down by the slammed wooden door.

The King was shivering in fear as he quickly started drawing back. Not quite long he caught a glimpse of a tall-looking man dressed in a red robe with a red cape. The man's mouth was stained with blood. He has red glowing eyes. He smiled displaying his fangs as the mirrors by the wall couldn't reflect him.

Noticing they were an absence of his reflection in the mirrors, the King realized another vampire has found his way into her castle. "Guards!" he cried out. "Where are these guards? I swear I will have their heads for deserting their post." John and Bonnie were standing some paces away from the chapel. Bonnie couldn't dismiss the incident as she quickly removed John's hand from hers and made her way towards the tall man on a red robe.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed on having a clear view of the vampire.

She recognizes him. The vampire's name is Gallo, one of the high-ranking vampires in Ambrogio's clan.

Seeing Bonnie stare at him, he fixed his attention on her. "You are such a hard person to find."

"What do you want with me, Gallo?"

"Where have you hidden Ambrogio, release him to me or I will burn your late father's castle to the ground, starting by killing your brother."

On hearing this, the King swallowed a lump and then spoke in a quivering tone. "I have nothing to do with this. Take this outside my castle."

"She is your kin, isn't she?" Gallo asked as he makes his way towards the King. Reaching out his hand to grab him, Ramsey fired a crossbow at him. The crossbow pierced through his hand causing agonizing pains.

It was a wooden arrow. Though he was one of the first vampires also known as the original vampires, he could still feel pain from a wooden stake or a wooden arrow.

John couldn't dismiss the incident either. He doesn't want to see Bonnie get hurt. As Gallo started pulling out the wooden arrow, Ramsey fired another shot as John quickly came for the aid of Bonnie, "We need to go. Now!" he said. "No, this is my fight and I'm not backing down from it."

At this time, some guards were already approaching with crossbows. Seeing what was happening, they surround Gallo with their crossbow pointed at him. They were about four guards in number. As they were about to pull the trigger, the King ordered them to stand down. "He's an original vampire, crossbow will only afflict pains but not kill him," he said.

"Release him to me and I will handle him myself," said Bonnie as she makes her way towards her brother. If Gallo is after her, she has to be the one to put him out of his eternal mystery. She doesn't know how to kill an original vampire, if not she would have killed Ambrogio rather than pinning him with a stake into a coffin in an old graveyard. But with John by her side now, she believed she possessed a great advantage in killing any original vampire that comes after her. The King didn't like her request. He approaches her and then whispered into her ear, "Why will I do that? Besides, he's one of you and I can't trust you with such a creature."

"And why haven't you told our people all these years about your own kin being a vampire?"

"That will bring shame to our royal family. For your good and the good of our family legacy, you have to take your companion and leave. Don't come back again."

Bonnie brought her face closer to her brother's, "The next time you send people after me, I will turn you into your worst nightmare."

After Bonnie has said this to her brother, she turned and started walking away while John followed her cue. Although Ramsey wasn't happy seeing her go, he has no option but to stand down and obey the decree of his King. "Where are we going now?" asked John as he mounts on his horse.

"I made a promise to you that I will help you get home. It's time I keep that promise."

On the King' order, Gallo was pinned with a stake into a wooden coffin and was locked up in a highly secured dungeon. Ramsey wants answers and couldn't stand down anymore but to approach the King with boldness.

He took a bow before the King and then opened his mouth to speak, "I expected you to be happy seeing your sister. I never expected you to send her away after all these years."

"There are certain Bonnies you shouldn't know Ramsey. Your concern now is to find a way of killing that original vampire. I am not comfortable having him inside my dungeon." ...Inside the Woods...

John was riding behind Bonnie. They were riding inside the woods looking for where to rest as the night was already closing in on them. Reaching a rocky path, they were a huge ox cart standing by their way with no one inside it. "This doesn't look good," said John.

"It's a trap!"

"Yeah, I've seen such before," John slowly climbs down from his horse.

As he slowly approaches the ox cart, Bonnie lets out a scream from behind. She was still seated on her horseback when suddenly something that moves faster than the eye could see knocked her off from the horseback and dragged her into the thick bush by the east side of the woods.

John swirled, "Bonnie!" he called out in a loud voice as he quickly ran toward the direction of the bush.