Chapter 1
Calypso’s head pounded and her entire body ached. She could feel the leaves under her crunch as she slowly sat up. She was surrounded by trees; their branches gently swaying in the cold wind. She stood on wobbly legs and waited for him to make himself known. There was no way to know what direction he would appear from and the anticipation made her body tense.
She closed her eyes allowing her focus to be put on her hearing. Not long after, she heard the faint snap of a twig behind her. With no hesitation, she immediately darted forward away from the noise. She knew how this would go because she had been in many similar situations before. She would have exactly one minute to flee before he would follow. Vampires loved a chase and this lesson was meant to simulate a real life situation she could potentially face.
Calypso’s heart raced as she darted between trees in an attempt to escape her pursuer. Her foot slipped on a patch of mud but she knew better than to let that slow her down. She had plenty of scars to remind her of why she could not let herself fail; especially when her eighteenth birthday was only days away.
Her lungs burned as she weaved her way through the forest. Her dress kept catching on the vegetation causing it to rip and tear leaving pieces of fabric behind. She had tried to bunch it together but there was too much fabric to hold. Her father had wanted this simulation to be as accurate as possible which meant a big extravagant dress fit for a queen. The tracker had found her trail easily due to this.
She knew she could not go on for much longer and her pace had involuntarily began to slow. She did not want to think about what would happen if the tracker caught up to her. She heard running water a while back and decided to use it to her advantage. Considering she had been unconscious when her father’s servants dropped her off here, she had no clue where she was at or if she was even still in her kingdom.
A river appeared through the tree line and Calypso’s heart did an excited flip. The tracker caught on to her line of thinking and was quickly gaining on her. She pushed herself to go even faster as she neared the edge of the small cliff.
She leaped off the ground right as the tracker caught her sleeve in his fist ripping it from her dress; together they tumbled down into the turbulent waters. Barely having time to take a breath, she was dragged under and tossed around until she no longer knew which way was up. Using the knowledge she was taught in a similar situation, she allowed herself to relax as much as possible so her body could float upwards. This became increasingly difficult when she was slammed into a jagged rock. Finally breaking the surface, she checked the waters for anything she could grab onto. Spotting a turned over tree that partially overlapped the water, she used the current to guide herself in that direction.
She pulled herself towards the shore while trying to ignore the heavy dress that tangled around her legs. Once again on the shore, she searched the waters for her tattoo faced tormentor who had chased her through the woods.
She could see his blonde head bobbing through the water before he was swept under. She knew better than to try and help him. She had done so before and was gifted a knife wound on her upper thigh. That was one of few rules her father had placed on these lessons. Her “teachers”, if you could even call them that, could punish her as they saw fit as long it was something she could easily hide. This led to a number of scars littering her thighs, lower back and stomach. There was one on the inside of her bicep that she had gotten when one of her teachers had lost control with her. After her father had spotted it, she never did see that teacher again.
Having no time to catch her breath, Calypso followed the red glow of her kingdom’s symbol shinning through the trees. That would lead her to safety and she could not risk the chance of the tracker following her. If he did, she would have to kill him. While that was what she was raised to do, she wanted to put a limit on the lives she was forced to take.
Luckily Calypso was able to reach the horses without being pursued.
“Well done,” her father said calmly while taking in her dripping gown.
She bowed at the sight of him before replying,” Thank you, father.”
King Archer barely spared his daughter another glanced as he climbed into the carriage. Calypso was used to his coldness, after all she was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb to him. In fact, this was true for all of her family. She was never allowed near her sisters or her mother, she did not even know their names. Her father claimed it was because he did not want anyone to influence her in a way that could affect her mission. Despite his excuse, Calypso knew it was because he did not want his loved ones to become attached to her. After all, it’s not like Calypso had much of a future. Once she killed the Vampire King, whose name she along with her entire kingdom has no knowledge of, she would surely be executed.
“Am I done with lessons today, father?”
The king watched her fidget from the corner of his eye before replying,” You have two lessons left. You may retire as soon as you successfully complete both.”
Calypso turned towards the tiny window in the carriage allowing her thoughts to drift as they headed to the castle.
In just a few short weeks she would be on her way to the ball the Vampire King was throwing for their wedding. Her anxiety began to build with each day that passed. In any normal circumstance, a daughter would feel relieved that her father would be attending her wedding with her and she would not walk the isle alone; however, Calypso took no comfort in the thought of her father’s presence. She knew that if her soon-to-be husband decided to kill her the minute she stepped foot into the castle her father would feel nothing other than mild disappointment.
Calypso was fine with this fact though. She would deal with her upcoming future the same way she dealt with everything else she endured in life; utterly alone.
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Unedited
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