My Covenant - The Vicious Vampire Queen: Chapter 19

Gwen

“What is happening?” My eyes squinted as the heavy explosions sounded off all around me. The one named Shuka turned into a giant wolf and was wreaking havoc on all the knights. The one who bit me earlier, Selene, was taking on that evil woman who corrupted my father.

When I was young my father was very carrying and I loved him very much. My mother was out of the picture, leaving soon after giving birth to me. I wasn’t sure at the time where she went, but once she finally showed up, our household turned into pure hell.

The woman named Lyra, who I was told was my birth mother, acted as if her only joy in life was seeing me in despair. She would put me into situations where I would embarrass myself and then admonish me in front of my father.

This in turn gave my father a reason to hate and despise me. I don’t know what her purpose was for doing this to me, but the thing I always remembered was that evil smile. Lyra was the one who gave me the gash on my eye because I was unwilling to kill a maid.

She had forced me to have tea with her and one of the maids spilled a little on me. I was heavily encouraged to hit the maid repeatedly until she was unmoving. Looking at the pleading eyes of the maid, I just couldn’t do it.

Since I refused her order, she grabbed the metal object from my hand and smashed it into the side of my face. As I impacted the ground, grabbing my face with both hands, I watched on as my mother beat the maid to death until she was unrecognizable. The blood that was pooling below my body filled me with pure terror.

For my disobedience I was thrown into our dungeons for a month, barely surviving off the little amount of food I was offered. Rats and roaches continuously ran around in my cell as I tried hard to avoid them. I would spend days in the corner all balled up, covering my head, as it was the only way I could take myself out of my own personal hell.

After that month I was brought in front of both my parents. My mother snuggling into father with his loving gaze fixated on her. Just why is this happening to me?

I was forced to bow down before both of them and stay in that position until they felt I had finally learned to never disobey them. It was by far the most humiliating thing I’ve ever experienced in my life to see all the maids look at me in mockery at my current position.

My face was now scared beyond repair, and my value had sunk to nothing more than a burden. The only use for a female in their family is to be sold off to the highest bidder, who could help the most. I now hold no value on the marriage market and was ostracized within my own home.

Why would my own mother do this to me? That was what I seriously wanted to know. The idea of having a happy life was something I could never achieve no matter how hard I tried. I was given an ultimatum to become a good friend to the seventh princess, Calista Brightrose. Her brother was one of the top three candidates to become the crown prince.

The maids did everything in their power to cover up my hideous face with my bangs covering it up. Obviously, the second the marriage actually took place and we had our first night, I would be found out. But that didn’t matter to my parents because of the no-divorce policy within the Kingdom of Tilum.

That meant a husband could treat his wife however he saw fit, and she could do nothing about it. So, once I was found out, my life would turn into hell once again. I’m sure that’s what my mother was hoping for. She’s always smiling, watching others in pain; if it’s my pain, it’s even better.

Of course when I showed up, I just hid in a corner and tried to avoid eye contact. I knew what would happen if I got on anyone’s radar in this room. They all had beautiful appearances and would never accept a monster like me.

Once I was about to approach the seven princesses just so I could tell my parents I tried even though I knew the results once I got home. Two women who I’ve never seen in my life appeared and killed two guards in front of us as if they were nothing more than a meal.

Just who were these two, and why did they exude so much confidence? My adoration for them sunk as they started creating a bloody mess of these women with such high positions in society. It’s like they didn’t see status at all and only did what they wanted. Something I could only dream of in this world.

Watching the seventh princess get humiliated and thrown out the window was something I never thought I would witness. The one named Selene said she is the ninth princess. I had heard some rumors about her and how she had been taken to the Holy Kingdom. She was actually sold off by her father as a test subject. To think I was feeling sorry for myself, I wonder what kind of life she’s led.

Seeing the way she is now, I can only assume she holds a powerful grudge towards the royal family. What I wouldn’t give to be someone like that, but I’m too much of a coward. The second I see my father or mother, I can’t help but bow down before them. Even though they bring me nothing but pain, and all of my siblings stay away from me as if I were the plague.

After half the room was lying motionless in pools of blood, I couldn’t help but feel fear. These two were possibly even more dangerous than my own parents. That’s a really sad thought.

Convinced this was the way I was going to die, I decided to just let them do it.

“I volunteer.” It was either dying here or by my own parents. I personally preferred to be killed by someone I didn’t know than to go home and die by someone I once loved.

To my surprise, Selene didn’t kill me but gave me a purpose. Even though I was still a coward that was unwilling to kill people, I still felt this desire to protect her.

I thought I was used to pain, but the lightning that went through my body from that wolf really struck me hard. It’s true that I’m afraid, and I don’t know what to do. Even though I feel a certain way, my instincts are still telling me to guard myself.

Watching Selene and Shuka walk off out the door to confront an army of hundreds without fear was astonishing. I slowly followed them out the door because I was very curious what was about to happen. Even though I was afraid, there was also anticipation of what could happen.

That was until I saw that man. My father, the Duke of Doiphia, was standing in front of a huge military. The gaze he gave me was one of utter disgust, as if I was nothing more than a bug on his shoes. But that was nothing compared to seeing my mother jump down beside him.

I couldn’t help but cower in fear. The amount of pain that came because of her was mind-breaking. Is it too much to live a life of peace and happiness? After both vampires jumped off into the battle, I lifted my head to see my father still staring at me.

Chills ran throughout my body as cold sweat dripped from my forehead. Even though I was no longer human, he still felt like an insurmountable obstacle.

“Get your ass over here right now, Gwen!” My father roared with venom in his voice.

My body shrieked back at his words, afraid to even move an inch.

“Listen to my words right this instance: if you don’t leave right now, I will tell your mother about it.” Every part of my body shivered at those words. “You know how she gets when you disappoint her.”

Somebody please help me; I don’t want to go back. I’m sick of living in a place where I’m always in danger and pain. As if on cue, a voice entered my head.

‘Why do you allow your father to treat you that way?’ A soothing, mellow voice reverberated in my mind.

“What?” My head went side to side to look for who was speaking to me. But there was no one there.

‘I highly recommend you don’t disappoint my daughter because she’s someone who will bring this world to its knees in the future.’

“Daughter…” I couldn’t help but mumble out.

‘Yes, Selene is my daughter. Through her strength I was able to be brought back into this world.’

“Brought back…” I couldn’t help but be a parrot at the mysterious voice in my head.

‘That’s right; I died giving birth to Selene. My soul was kept within her necklace to be brought back into this world once she was strong enough.’

I could hear the slight smugness in her voice. She was proud of who her daughter had become even though she kills people without remorse. A sudden shock ran through my body as I thought of those words. Mother like daughter, I guess. I sighed to myself at the thought.

‘It’s time to see if you’re truly worthy to serve my daughter.’

A sudden force starts pushing me in the direction of my father. I saw his face smile as I struggled to break free of whatever was pushing me towards him.

“Wait, please…” My mind went blank at the impending confrontation with one of the people I hated and feared most in the world.

‘You must prove yourself worthy if I will allow you to use this place as a safe haven. Right now you’re an obvious liability. Gwen Barlow, what life do you wish to live going further?’

Moving ever closer to my demise, I thought about her words. It’s true that I’m nothing and only a burden to all those around me. Even though Selene did bring me pain through her partner, she also healed me. But, facing my father is too much!

Feeling the motion stop abruptly a few feet away from breaking through the barrier, I heave a sigh of relief.

‘Alright, Gwen, I will give you a choice. Consume your father and awaken as a true vampire through your first kill, or run away. I will open the barrier on the opposite side of the mansion and throw you out there. You can run to wherever you want, but remember this: you will forever be banned from ever showing yourself in front of my daughter. Make your choice.’

“But… but… how can I kill my father?” I felt my eyes start to tear up as an impossible situation lay before me. It’s true that a mother should look out for her daughter; Selene sure is a lucky girl. If only mine would show a little bit of this type of love towards me. Who am I even kidding, though?

‘This will be my last time speaking to you, Gwen. Remember, since you were turned into a vampire by my daughter, you have become much stronger. Either use it to run away or prove yourself to me right now. I will never allow anyone unworthy to be near my daughter, ever!’

Once again I felt my body start to push towards the barrier. What do I do! To kill my father is something I’ve dreamed of in the past because of what he’s done to me. But that was all just fantasy. I never thought I would be given an opportunity to actually act upon it.

“That’s right, daughter, get over here.” There was this twisted expression on his face as if he wasn’t truly my father anymore. It was something I saw in his eyes as he watched my mother terrorize me on multiple occasions in the past.

What do I do? Without even having a chance to make a decision, I was delivered right into my father’s arms. He quickly subdued me with restraints and threw me over his shoulder as he started to make his way away from the carnage.

“Just wait until we get home, you stupid, useless girl.” After his words, my eyes couldn’t help but fixate on a certain scent and how inviting his neck looked.