For years I’ve been chasing Lilith, queen of the vampires. I’ve killed dozens of her spawns, and even a few full fledged vampires. She’s always been one step ahead of me, though, avoiding my capture. Today, though, I’ve finally got her!

Vampires have a critical flaw. They must avoid the sun. And with that in mind, I’ve set up a trap to capture Lilith. She had fled to an underground tunnel network, but though I’ve been pursuing her through the country side, my allies have been preparing this tunnel network. It seems like the perfect place to hide, a natural tunnel, but my allies have prepared it in such a way that when the sun goes up, it lights up the entire tunnel network, save for a single space. There, the vampire queen is waiting for me.

“Not bad,” she says. “Well, for a human, anyhow.”

“This human caught you,” I remind her.

She shrugs. “Yes, you did. But why not light up the entire tunnel network? You could have killed me. You left this spot on purpose.”

I look down at the vampire queen. I can’t believe that a little girl like her has outfoxed me for so long. Looks are deceiving, though. She’s actually several hundred years old, and more powerful than any human being. Still, she’s a vampire. She must avoid the sun. She’s also weak to garlic, crucifixes, and holy water. I’m well prepared to deal with her.

“I like to look my prey in the eye when I kill them,” I tell her. “You’re a vampire, yes, but you were human once upon a time. I like to think that you still are human. I want to give you the sort of decency that most vampire hunters wouldn’t bother with.”

“That is admirable, actually. I’m flattered that you would do that.”

“You’re rather honorable, vampiress. I know that you don’t just kill people, that you have a ritual that you perform to give the spirit rest. I admire that. But all the same, you kill people. So you must be put down.”

“But you also kill people. We may be vampires, but we are people.”

“Yes. And one day, one of your kind will put me down. I won’t complain.”

“Fair enough.”

“Today is not that day, though. Lilith, today is your day.”

She chuckles. “Oh, silly human.” She then steps forward into the light. “I’m no common vampire. I am their queen! Today is not my day, oh, no sir. It is yours.”

I raise my crossbow and shoot. I’m too slow. Rather, Lilith is too fast. Her hand strikes through my stomach. My vision goes dark.

“Rest well, hunter. May you find peace in the next life.”

…
…
…

I open my eyes. I’m sitting on a fancy bed, in a fancy room, with fancy decor. Velvet curtains, satin sheets, fancy candles burning.

I sit up. My head throbs with pain, and I scream out. As I do, I gasp in surprise. What is this voice? It’s so high?

I look down at my body. It’s small. I lift a delicate, pale arm. I can’t be more than 4’ tall, and am as skinny as a skeleton, practically. White curly hair comes down far past my chest. This is a far cry from my rugged, thick build that I’m used to. What is going on?

“I see that you’re awake, Siri,” a familiar voice says from seemingly afar. My ears ring, preventing me from telling just where the noise is coming from. I look around, and see Lilith, queen of the vampires, standing at the doorway to this room.

“What happened?” I ask her.

She smiles. “Why, I made you mine. You were so clever, so powerful, that I knew that I had to have you. I didn’t kill you, hunter. Instead, I made you something much worse.”

“A thrall?” I ask.

“No. Worse, even. You are my sister. My adorable little sister!”

“Cut the–!” I gasp. The pain shoots through my body, and I lean back in the bed and scream.

“Ah, yes, it will hurt for a few days as your soul gets used to your new body. But then you’ll feel better than you ever have before! There are some catches, though.”

“Like what?” I growl.

“Oh, my. You don’t sound happy. Well, for starters, you must obey me. Don’t worry, though, I’ll let you have free reign so long as you are a good little sister. But you must stay within the bounds of this property, and you must stay inside during the day. You will find yourself unable to break these rules. Moreover, you must consume blood. If you do not, you will wither away to a state even worse than what you are in now. You won’t die, you will suffer eternally.”

“Bastard!”

She smiles. “Oh, and I almost forgot! You must wear cute, frilly clothing! I thought that your clothes from before were quite boorish! These clothes fit an elegant noble lady of your standing!”

“I refuse!”

“Sadly, you don’t have an option there. But you can try to refuse drinking blood! We’ll see how long that lasts. I’ll see you again soon.”

She leaves. I squirm for hours, in so much pain I can’t even see straight. A maid comes in some time later with blood, but I refuse it.

The days go by in a predictive fashion. Lilith arrives in the morning, to check up on me and ask me to drink blood so that she may spend time with her adorable little sister. I refuse. I scream in agony for hours. A maid comes in to offer me blood. I refuse. I scream throughout the night.

Days. Weeks. Months. Years. It all blurs together. I don’t have any idea how long it’s really been. I’m in pain. I can’t even remember who I was before all of this. All that I remember is that I hate Lilith, and that I cannot drink blood, no matter what.

“Your granddaughter was born today,” Lilith informs me. I don’t know if she’s telling the truth. Sometimes she’ll come in to tell me things like this, of family births and deaths. But what does it mean to me? I cannot remember these people.

“I won’t drink blood,” I tell her.

“I won’t make you. Actually, I admire how long you’ve held out. All of your hunting friends are long dead, your family has forgotten you, and the country you once called home has been annexed by a larger nation.”

The sun rises and the sun sets. And it cycles like that for eternity. I refuse to drink blood. But why? It hurts so much. I’m being told of a war between two nations I’ve never heard of, of deaths and births of people I don’t know. Why do those things matter? I just want to be free. I don’t want this pain.

“There is a way to make this pain go away,” my sister Lilith tells me. “Drink blood, and all of your worries, all of your pains, will fade away.”

My sister tips a goblet to my lips. Eagerly, I breath the fragrant juice in. Red blood pours down my chin, dying the top of my white dress a deep crimson.

For once in my life, the pain goes away. My headache subsides. I’m just happy. My sister holds me tight in her arms. The pain is gone.

I’m free.

My days are happy now! I dance with my sister, I garden outside during the night, I try on dozens of beautiful dresses, more elegant than I can even describe! I help the maids with dinner, finding an interest in trying out different recipes. I chop up the veggies and fruits that I grew in my garden, and spend countless years perfecting my recipes.

Lilith is also immeasurably happy. She’s always been alone. But she finally found someone that she could love, and she helped nurse me back to health. I can feel the warmth radiating from her when she comes to see me in the mornings, when she hugs me tight and tells me that she loves me, when she eats the diner that I’ve so carefully prepared for her. She slumps down at the table, face falling into the plate. The maids scream.

I laugh, holding a bloody knife, hilt deep in my sister’s skull.

She grew too complacent. She started to see me as a sister, as someone that would never hurt her. Had she been careful, she may have stopped me in time. Her previous demands should have kept me from doing this, but as my memories slipped away, as did those commands. But one memory never slipped away. This one memory will stay with me forever

Lilith. I fucking hate you.