Until Dawn (1)

The room looked like the night sky. The bedding was a dark midnight blue with black. The furniture was painted gold. It was small and very plain other than the bed which took up most of the room. Other than the room contained a toy box, dresser and small closet. It was so small that one could call it cramped with the overly large bed taking up the middle of the room.

In a pile of pillows and blankets was a little girl sitting up, She was dressed in a blue nightgown which made her blend in with the bedding. If it hadn't been for her pale skin she would have blended in perfectly. Her pale skin matched her long braided white hair, that looked silver in the moonlight that shone from the open window. She sat up in the bed and listened to her nursemaid who was dressed in a plain black dress read a story. There was nothing significant about this nursemaid as she sat on the edge of the bed.

As the nursemaid continued to the climax of the story the little girl's red eyes widened and she gripped her nightgown tightly.

When the price slayed the dragon the little girl relaxed and fell back onto the pile of pillows snuggling into them. The noise of the little girl trying to snuggle into the pillows and tuck in underneath her blanket made the nursemaid look up.

"Rose" said the nursemaid harshly.

"I'm still listening to the story" complained the seven year old as she finally pulled up the blankets and tried to crawl into the small space. The nursemaid put down the book gave the little girl a hand with getting into bed.

"Why must we always do this every night?" she asked Rose.

"I don't feel sleepy until the end." complained the little girl. She fidgeted around until she got comfortable.

"Please finish" she begged of her nursemaid. With a sigh the nursemaid continued.

"And then they lived happily ever after." she said softly as she closed the book. She looked over at Rose to see the girl still looking back at her.

The nursemaid rolled her eyes and then repeated "Happily ever after" and shut the book softly. Rose's eyes were still open as she looked at her nursemaid.

"Isn't that a nice ending?" the nursemaid asked Rose in a voice that dripped of false happiness while still staying soft.

"It would have been." said Rose and shifted in her bed "If the Princess saved herself"

"But the Princess didn't know how to save herself." said the nursemaid still keeping that honey tone.

"She should have known, after all she is a princess" said Rose complaining slightly.

"She didn't know Rose. That's why they call it a story" said the nursemaid getting annoyed with the girl fast.

"But... I'm a princess. I know that if a dragon comes for me and he get's me. I'll need to duel him with swords" said Rose definitely her voice rising.

"Not all princesses are raised like you" said the nursemaid.

"You mean... not all princesses get stuck in their room all day." said Rose her voice rising again. Roe moved to get out of her bed but the nursemaid quickly shushed her.

"Rose, you know you have to stay here because of the vampires" said the nursemaid.

"But I can fight them, like the Prince fought the dragon" Rose said as if this could be possible if the girl had enough courage.

"One day, you'll be able to. It's just not going to be today" said the nursemaid.

"One day, I'm going to free myself from the walls of this castle. I'm going to slay vampires and I'm going to travel the world" said Rose her eyes seeking approval from the nursemaid.

"One day." she agreed with Rose and stood up. The little girl did not say another word which was a relief to the nursemaid. She walked to the door and opened it.

"One day. I'll make this world safe for everyone" said Rose. The nursemaid smiled at the girl before shutting the door. Once she was on the outside she locked the door with a little click.

"How is Rose doing?" asked a voice behind the nursemaid. The young lady turned around to face her father. He was a stern man with short brown hair and green eyes that gleamed every time he heard good news. He had a beard and wore plain chain mail armor.

"I don't know, Sir" said the nursemaid honestly.

"Has she developed any signs?" asked Rose's father.

"Not that I can see of" said the nursemaid.

"I still think that we shouldn't have brought her in. For all we know she could be one of them." He said more to himself than the nursemaid.

"But, she's only a child" said the nursemaid.

"A child maybe, but for all we know she could be a vampire." he replied softly.

"Are you going to another conference, sir?" asked the nursemaid curiously.

"Of course I am. They turned the Higgins into vampires just last week. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before they come for us." He said gravely.

"I hope that day shall never come." said the nursemaid and pulled a cross from under her dress. Then to herself the nursemaid said "May god be with us all" as Rose's father, the lord of the castle, walked down the long hallway.