chapter two

From the age of eight or so, just when i wad about able to tell my left from my right. Cassius made sure i witnessed vampires,humans, common men and “business associates” get “offed” before me. All while my mother had been locked away. The things I witnessed and experienced were horrible and I would cry. His methods far surpassed using mere guns. He was cruel and merciless.

Heck! He was the one who first put a gun in my hand and thought me how to “off” debtors who didn’t pay up what they owed. Imagine the last face you’d see when you’re about to meet your maker, would be the face of a snot nosed Burnet kid. *hah*

"If you're going to survive in this world, you most be tough..." Was the only piece of advice he'd ever given me. But I was a child, I didn't ask to be the way I was, I didn't need to be strong, I needed to be protected.

Now, I’m no child psychologist, but being exposed to the life of the underworld at such a young age would definitely have some psychological side effect on them as they grew older. Drugs, Guns, Murders, straight up assassinations, illegal trading across the country, turf wars between rival gangs and ours, high stake robberies, you name it. So, yeah, I’m pretty sure by now you’ve gotten a not so pretty idea of the kind of life i’d lived so far.   A pretty pathetic childhood.

After pleading with cassius for a final time, he finally let go of my arm, and my mother sighed. But i could still feel the burning sensation on my forearm as he squeezed it. But My body had grown numb to the pain. I was certain it would have bruised by the morning.

There was not a single tear in my eye to be shed as i stared into his, But the way he held my gaze with such steely coldness always sent shivers down my spine. Warning me not to step out of line again, because my mother might not be there to rescue me next time. I hated him so much, yet I feared he would keep me away from her again.

His grip loosened When he gave the guard a knowing look, and the buffed vampire male let her go and she came running to me. Grabbing me by the hand, less harsher than he had done, my mother tugged me along with her and we left in a hurry, thinking cassius might change his mind again.

That night, I was forced to skip yet another meal. But mother was there to rescue me, she had my dinner brought into the room without Cassius knowing about it. It was a simple meal of mashed potatoes, some meat and a few vegetables. I sighed as I looked at the plate. I wasn't really hunger, but I still ate. For her.

She wasn’t like the others, my mother, she was a kind woman who loved me dearly. And even if she was a vampire herself, she adored every fibre of my being. Maybe it was just because she was my mother. Whatever the case, she was the only one in this damned world to accept me. Cassandra Aloysius, the “blushing” bride of Cassius oberon.

Perhaps the most beautiful woman i had ever known. Elegant, poised, a lean figure, with Curly brown hair that flowed down her back,and vibrant red eyes.

But despite she being a vampire, she never for once drank blood in my presence, especially human blood. She truly deserved more than what life gave . And Sometimes i wondered what kind of life she would have had if only she hadn’t married cassius, because despite having all the riches, i could tell she was unhappy.

Even when she tried to hide it with a smile, i just knew she wanted the same thing that i did, to be free.

What’s my name? Right, i haven't told you yet. My name it’s, Oya,Oya Oberon,Oya meaning storm. They all just called me little storm.

“eat up darling..” my mother said to me with a kind smile as she brought me dinner. Her voice was reassuring and soft, just like she was. She made me feel all manner of things. She made me feel loved, she made me feel safe. My mother was tender and loving. She never rose her voice, even when she was angry. Carrying herself with an elegant grace that whenever she walked into the room people had no choice but to turn and stare, asking who she was.

In my eyes, she was like a breath of fresh air there, even when she wasn't near me, I thought of nothing but her.

The complete opposite Whenever i was in the presence of cassius. I often found myself putting up this cold front to act though before him, to show him that i was not just some weak human and was worthy of his acknowledgement, but there was only just so much a child could take all at once, especially from their own father.

“why does he hate me so much,mother?” i asked her, genuinely wondering what my sins were. Even as a child, i had asked that same question over and over again. Was it because i was no longer a vampire like the other children and was instead human? Or was it because of the circumstances that revolved around his marriage to my mother? Or was there a third reason that no one told me of? Was i not his blood as well? So many questions i wanted to ask, but could never find the answers.

“shhh little storm…you don’t need to worry yourself about that right now…just eat, regain your strength.” Cooed my mother with a solemn smile, as she pushed back a loose strand of hair behind her ear, revealing the beautiful pearl earrings she had on. They seemed to sparkle in the glowing lights of the room. she was a good woman, and i knew she wanted to best for me.

“i’ll get you out of here, i swear it…” there was determination and a hint of surpassed anger in her tone as her striking red eyes held my gaze for a moment. I said nothing.

She sounded so sure, it almost gave me hope, but i had come to understand a long time ago, that hope was a dismal and wasted thing to hold on to when it came to the oberon family. But if my mother said we’d get out of this, then i would trust her. My mother was perhaps the only person I ever trusted.  

That night I went to bed, with hopes of a better future with just my mother and i.

By the next day, 5am on the dot and before the morning sun could break through the horizon, i was already out of my room, headed for the gym which was located at the lower level of the villa.

Another day,another session to get my ass handed to me by an old man. You would think that they would get a human trainer for me, but on the contrary, my, or rather, our, trainer was a rather old veteran vampire instructor skilled in all forms of vampiric combat. I wouldn’t say that i completely flopped in it, but training with vampires as a human was strenuous. I might not have been as strong as a vampire, but i was definitely stronger, faster and more agile than an ordinary human was. And what i lacked in vampiric combat skills, i made up for in knowledge of guns. I tell ya, there was just something so poetic about a gun in my hand that just made sense to me.

“miss oya,you must learn to let go of all thoughts when you are up against an enemy!” mister Damon,the trainer barked his orders in my face and i groaned silently. _could he be any louder?_

A tall and slender man, Standing at nearly five foot and seven inches tall with a bed of salt and pepper hair on his head, the old vampire was a pain, but he was good at what he did, i’d give him that.

The familiar face of the dark stoned ceiling glared down on me as i counted the dents and grooves in it as i laid down flat on my back after getting knocked off my feet for the umpteenth time that morning by him.

Somehow, i always thought it was a bit unfair for a vampire who was maybe over a hundred years old kicking a fifteen year old’s ass. Okay,he probably wasn’t as old as that, but for a vampire, he was pretty old.

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