As the man came closer, Olivia was able to recognize him. Her heart began beating rapidly.

"What's our little Miss Olivia doing here all alone?" the young man said, evil intent filling his eyes.

Olivia stepped back. "R-Richard... what do you want?"

Richard's eyes followed the movement of Olivia's shaking hands. Olivia had just realized he was aiming for the pouch of coins in her hand.

Before she could hide the pouch, Richard snatched it and held it up in the air.

"You're not getting this today," he sneered, his voice filled with rage.

Olivia jumped to reach it, but Richard was fast. She cried, "Please, give it back! There're five coins only!"

Richard smirked. "Only five coins. Five coins matter to you that much?"

The girl was finally able to get a hold of the pouch. She tried to pull it from his hand, but it went in vain.

Richard gave a remorseless laugh. "I could do anything for revenge, you know. This is nothing."

Olivia struggled to take the pouch, but it was torn instead. Each five of the coins fell and rolled on the ground. The girl knelt on the ground, trying to collect the coins. But it was too late; they were all gone.

She sobbed. I've lost all of them. Now, what will I say to mother? Everyone is going to starve tomorrow.

Richard stood there, silent. Olivia could feel his burning gaze on her.

Suddenly, an intricate shadow fell upon her. Olivia lifted her head up to see Richard had turned pal, panicking with widened eyes. "Wh-who are you?" he said in a trembling voice.

The shadow grew larger and Richard's eyes shook. With no hesitation, he ran to save his life.

Olivia stared at the running man with an open mouth. The shadow was gone, and all she could hear was the wind. Her tears had dried up.

The girl stood up, with nothing to take back home, and looked around. There was nothing, no one. She blinked several times in disbelief. What had just happened?

With the fear of something worse happening, Olivia rushed back home.

Soon, she reached her little home where everybody was asleep.

Olivia went to her room where she found a teenage girl sleeping on her bed. She thought, Poor Alice... She must have fallen asleep while waiting for me.

She felt sad for her sister. I'm so sorry.

The girl placed her basket on a small table, changed into her nightgown and headed towards the bed. Suddenly, the temperature dropped. Olivia felt an eerie presence behind her as she was about to lie down. Before she could turn around; two cold, white hands seized her from behind. One covered her mouth tight, the other held a shining sword by her neck.

Even in the painful grip, Olivia felt familiarity.

The coldness of the blade gave her a shiver. Olivia tried to scream, but a masculine voice whispered to her ear, "If you make a sound, I will slit your neck with this. It will not be a very pretty sight for this girl right here."

Everything about him was unknown to her, yet she felt like she had known him for years.

Olivia's heart raced as she felt his hair on the side of her face. There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, and Olivia found it alarming.

Two pairs of fangs ripped through her skin without warning. Pain had pulled her into its dark abyss. Something stingy was being injected into her neck. The world became blurry with her tears and soon, it turned black.

***

A cold place.

Ropes tied her wrists and ankles, making her unable to move. A piece of cloth covered her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

Her eyes opened, but she felt like she was blind. Everywhere she looked it was pitch black. She struggled to move, but it went in vain. Olivia fell to her side and lost all the hope to free herself.

In the utter darkness, Olivia heard the faint sound of footsteps. Little by little, it became louder; it stopped at last. Olivia felt the same eerie presence as before.

A cold hand held her by the neck and lifted her up, making her sit. The man pulled the cloth down from her mouth and Olivia could finally breathe. Olivia coughed a little and said in a hoarse voice, "What is happening? Who are you?"

Two bright red orbs stared at her coldly. The man took his sword out and held it against her neck.

"Keep silent until dawn. You will know everything you need."

He came closer to her and whispered to her ear, "Abide by my orders only. If you ever step out of the line, this world will become hell for you."

Letting go of her neck, he strode out of the room. Olivia fell to the ground and the door slammed shut.

***

A faint light reached Olivia's eyes. She lifted the heavy eyelids up, only to find herself lying on a thin mattress. She could feel the coldness of the concrete floor underneath. Ropes still tied her wrists and ankles like before, leaving bruises. Being unable to move, Olivia thought, Why did he bring me here? What does he want from me?

She tried to look around. It was a small room with only one window. Dust particles danced in the faint light coming from the window. The walls looked empty, lacking warmth. There was a greasy oval mirror on one of the walls. Olivia was lying facing a door, one of the two entrances to the room. After taking a glance at her surroundings, Olivia blankly stared at the door.

She jerked when the door creaked open, and he came in. Olivia's heartbeat became faster at the sight of him. She remembered everything that happened the previous night. Although it seemed impossible to her, she was bound to believe in the existence of his kind.

The man's hands were full; he was carrying a scarlet red cloth and a pair of boots. His footsteps echoed sinisterly as he walked toward her. Approaching her, he crouched down and put the things on the ground.

He reached for her hands first, intending to untie the ropes. Without making eye contact, he began to untie the ropes, and said, "You're awake already."

Olivia flinched back, hearing his voice. She stuttered, "Who are you? Why did you bring me here?"

The man started to untie the ropes of her ankles and said, "My name is Leon Johannessen. I brought you here because you are in danger. Perhaps you don't know; you are the last daylight vampire alive, Ophelia Silverton."

Olivia stuttered, "I-I think you've mistaken... I'm not the one you're looking for."

"I know you have a lot of questions. Don't worry; I'll answer them when the right time comes."

He stood up when he had finished and beckoned Olivia to wear what he had brought for her. Olivia unfolded the heavy red cloth and discovered it was a hooded cloak. She stood up, put it on, wore the boots and stood up.

Olivia looked at herself in the mirror and froze.

She walked closer to the mirror and looked carefully. Everything looked fine, except her eyes. They were the colour of amethyst instead of black.

Just then, a murmuring sound came from beyond one of the doors. The man beside her held her hand tight and strode to the other door.

"Hurry up and come with me," he whispered.

Olivia followed him as he went out of the house. He ran and Olivia did the same.

As they went far enough from the house, they stopped. Olivia looked around. Everything was different.

There were trees she had never seen in her life. There was no sign of greenery. All the trees had red and orange leaves. Olivia looked at those in awe.

"There's something you need to see." Leon broke her attention.

He took her hand and pulled the sleeve up, showing her wrist. A small sign of the sun with eight rays was drawn on it, like a tattoo. "Look at this."

Olivia looked surprised. "What is this? It was never there!" She continuously rubbed it, hoping she could wipe it away.

"It's a sign that you are a daylight vampire. Look at mine."

He exposed his wrist and showed a similar sign. His one was only a crescent moon and was a lot darker too.

"Now that you're in the vampire realm, a lot of signs will appear."

She shook her head in disbelief and Leon said, "I know it's hard to believe, but you are the last of your kind. A wizard named Nathaniel Foreman wants to kill you for this. That's why I brought you here."

The girl looked down and sighed. "I don't understand any of this. How can I believe that I'm a vampire? I don't bite people and-" She paused for a second and said, "Wait... what did you do to me last night?"

Leon stopped her midway saying, "You'll get to know about it later. And you don't have to believe me now. Just come with me and don't talk to anyone without my permission... Ophelia." He held her hand and started walking fast. Olivia said, "I still don't want to be called Ophelia. And- where are we going?"

"As far from that house as possible. We're hiding from the King as well."