Chapter 19: Answers Lead to More Questions...

One night while working on a new novel, Tanya began to feel quite strange. Something just wasn't right. First her vision started to blur, then came the excruciating pain. What in the hell was going on?!? Why did everything hurt so much? It felt as if every bone in her body was snapping, grinding against each other. Tanya felt her blood began to boil, scalding her from the inside out. She tried to cry out for help, but the sounds just wouldn't come.

Her vision began to have a red haze as blood filled her eyes. She tried to breathe but felt as though her lungs were on fire. Her gums felt as if someone had taken razor blades to them, she reached up to her mouth and felt the blood trickle down her hand. Fear and confusion filled her thoughts. Was she dying? What would happen to her children if she weren't there to care for them? Then just as sudden as it came about, the pain subsided.

Tanya was horrified when she realized what had happened to her! Why had she changed into this creature? How had this happened? Then she noticed her eyes...They were the same glowing color as the girls' and their father's. Did the triplets' father do this? Was he the one responsible for turning her into a monster? She was full of questions and Tanya knew she had to find him if she hoped to get those answers.

Tanya asked around the nightclub where he had been tending bar and eventually learned of the area he lived in. She spent many long hours wandering the neighborhood trying to find him. One night it payed off, she ran into him as he was taking an evening stroll. She demanded to know what the hell was going on, and why he had condemned her to an eternity of thirst. He calmed her down and brought her to his house to explain everything...
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"28 years ago, when you were just 2 years old, destiny set us all on a path to meet again one day. You were the last in a long line of vampire royalty. Your parents were killed in a battle over the vampire kingdom. We were quickly becoming an extinct species, your parents forbade any of us from turning humans. The only way to increase our numbers was to procreate among ourselves. Cross species relationships were also banned."

"Eventually, after all the fighting, there were only four of us vampires left. You, my father Thomas, Fria Morte, and myself. We were on the verge of extinction and had little hope of reviving our kind. I had just turned 18 and inherited my vampire powers when your future was decided. I had no choice in the matter. Fria, who had long envied your mother, took you in with plans to raise you as her own."

"Fria wasn't evil, but she definitely had her own agenda in taking you in. She hoped that by extension she would become the new leader of the vampires, at least until you were old enough to take over. My father and Fria met daily for weeks trying to decide the best course of action. As an ancient vampire, Fria had the gift of premonition. She and my father kept waiting for her to have a vision to direct them on what to do."

"While we waited for Fria to have her visions we did the best we could to make sure you were protected and cared for. We stayed at Fria's mansion in Sunset Valley. The mansion was quite large and had plenty of places we could hide should the need arise, though it wasn't very child friendly. The only toy you had was a stuffed teddy bear that you clung to as we left your parent's house. It quickly became your best friend. You would play with it for hours as we all talked by the fire in the den."

"The first vision Fria had was of three raven haired girls. The girls were sisters and would one day be the council members of the new order of vampires. They each had a unique aspect to their personalities, which made them perfect to rule our species, but only if they worked together. The first was cold and calculating, the second was kind and nurturing, the third sister was a great mediator who could sort things between the two others."

"The next vision was of us together as adults.  Soon Fria realized that the three girls were ours, and that this was the only way to revive our species. What confused Fria was that in her vision, you were no longer one of our kind, but a human. You also didn't seem to have any knowledge of what I was in her vision, which led her to believe you had not been around vampires in your upbringing. Fria was adamant that this was the key to our survival though. We had to figure out a way to make this vision come true."

"Fria did research for weeks and found that your parents had discovered a potion that could turn a vampire into a human. There was only one potion known to exist and it was still in your parents home. Fria came up with a plan to give you to potion and place you into the care of a human family. We were going to keep tabs on you from afar until your 30th birthday. We quickly said our goodbyes and then you were gone."

"Tanya, I know this is a lot to take in all at once. There is so much more to tell, but before we go any further, I think it would be best if you take a bit of time to digest everything. We can pick back up where we stopped tomorrow if you'd like. The sun is about to come up and you really need to take shelter from it's rays. To avoid the bloodlust that comes from being freshly turned, make sure to always have a few plasma juices on hand. Someone raised in a human environment should never feed off other humans until they learn to control the thirst. They could go mad with guilt if they drink too much and kill the person by accident." And with that, in a blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving Tanya staring where he had once stood. Tanya wasn't sure yet if she was more confused than when she started out this evening. So many more questions haunted her as she walked back home.