The next morning Chiyo woke up to her wrist burning. She looked at the scar and it was red. She carefully maneuvered around Amira and went to get dress. She made sure to choose a long sleeved dress to cover the scar. When she came back to her room, Amira was gone and her bed was made. She looked around the house and could find no one…It was weird.
Chiyo closed her eyes. Ikuto…He seemed so familiar to her…But that was impossible…wasn’t it? Chiyo could feel a memory trying to force it’s way to the front of her brain…But it would not come… Besides...even if she....if she what? Loved him? That was silly...They JUST met...besides she was supposed to marry someone her father chose. She shook her head and kept looking for her family.
“Ellie? Amiraaaa…..Dad? Wendi?” Chiyo called.
She poked her head in the barn in the back yard and-
“SURPRISE!” her family cheered.
Chiyo smiled brightly.
“Thank you.”
Her sisters surrounded her and hugged her tightly.
“Happy birthday!” Ellie said.
“Happy birthday, Cher!” Amira said.
The two of them led Chiyo over to the party. Some of Chiyo’s friends and people she did not know were there. Wendi and her father were by a large plate of cookies. Chiyo loved cookies more than cake, thus they made her cookies.
“Thank you guys so much!” she said hugging Wendi and then her dad.
“Chiyo, there is someone I want you to meet…”
Keisuke led his daughter over to a young man, who Chiyo found very handsome. He was very tall with blonde short hair and blue eyes. He was very muscular and had a gentle smile.
“This is Erik Von. He is your fiancé.”
Chiyo froze. Her father had done it…He had given her away without consent…
“It’s a pleasure,” Erik said kissing her hand.
Chiyo blushed and nodded.
“Same to you…”
Chiyo pulled away and hurried off to join her sisters.
Erik watched Chiyo as she ran off.
“So…what do you think?” Keisuke asked.
“It was definitely a vampire bite…But it was so old…” Erik said, “It must be a marking device…”
“When you marry her…will you keep her safe?”
Erik nodded.
“With my life. It is the duty of the Von Hellsing family to get rid of those monsters and protect innocents like her…”
Besides…Chiyo was very attractive.
“Thank you…” Keisuke said.
Wendi placed a hand on Keisuke’s shoulder.
“It’ll be ok. Ellie and I placed a ton of vampire wards around the house…” she said.
“She’s right. I’ve never seen such a well-protected house. Only an extremely powerful and old vampire could break through….” Erik said.
“That is what I am worried about…” Keisuke muttered.
The three of them watched Chiyo talk to her friends, Mei, Jenny and Hina. She tugged at the sleeve that covered the scar.
Chiyo laughed at something Hina said, when suddenly she started to feel dizzy.
“Are you ok?” Jenny asked her.
Chiyo shook her head.
“I’m fine…” Chiyo said
“Chiyo…You don’t look so good…” she said.
Chiyo fell over and passed out. Luckily Mei caught her.
“Somebody help!” Hina called.
Chiyo was semi-conscious. She felt someone strong carrying her. They were warm as well.
Erik carried Chiyo up to her room with her father and Wendi following. Amira and Ellie hurried after as well. They worried for their sister.
Wendi set a cold compress on Chiyo’s head.
“We sent everyone home…” Ellie said.
“Thank you, girls…” Keisuke said.
“Dad…What are you not telling us?” Amira asked.
Keisuke sighed.
“It happened before Clara died…” he said closing his eyes,” There was a boy who was about Chiyo’s age…they were best friends. Clara and I thought it was completely innocent…”
“Iku-kun!” Chiyo called running over to her best friend in the whole world.
She smiled at him. A young dark hair boy with onyx eyes looked up at her and smiled.
“Cherry!” he greeted.
They hugged each other tightly.
“Ready to play?” she asked.
He nodded.
The two were completely inseparable. But sadly the boy was going to move….and that it what caused the problem.
Chiyo started crying.
“But Iku-kun! I don’t want you to go,” she sobbed.
The boy held her close, to sooth her.
“It’ll be ok…” he said.
“No it won’t! Dumb… parents trying to separate us.”
It was then the boy got an idea.
“Let’s make a promise with each other…” he said.
Chiyo looked up at him, bright eyed. She nodded.
“But to make it official it’s gotta be a blood promise…” he said.
Chiyo tilted her head.
“Watch!” he said.
The boy bit his wrist and showed Chiyo. Chiyo watched in awe.
“And then you do it too and we put out wrist together!” he explained.
Chiyo nodded. She bit her wrist, but it did not bleed. Chiyo pouted and the boy chuckled.
“Let me help.”
The boy gently took her wrist and bit down. He pulled it away and the pair pressed their wrists together.
“Promise me we will always be together forever…”he said.
Chiyo nodded and smiled.
“I promised.”
The pair then locked pinkies and shook on it.
Of course the boy’s parents came looking for him not long after and freaked out when they saw the marks on Chiyo’s wrist. They brought the two children to Clara and I.
“We’re very sorry for our son’s actions…” the mother said.
“It was just childishness…” the father said.
“It was not childishness!” the boy cried, “Cherry and I made a promise.”
Chiyo nodded.
“So that we will meet again!” she said.
Clara hugged Chiyo tightly.
“As we said…We’re very sorry and it will never happen again…” the mother said.
And with that they left. We thought for sure that we would never see them again…Until one night…
Clara and I woke up to Chiyo’s scream. We ran to her room and saw a large man holding her. His eyes glowed red and his presence was of pure evil.
“Let our daughter go!” I shouted.
Clara left to go check on Amira in a hurry.
The man smirked.
“This child is needed to tip the scale in my favor.”
I did not understand that.
“What are you talking about?!”
“Today your daughter was bitten by a young vampire.” He said.
“WHAT?!”
“I only dropped by to give you a warning and to wipe her memories…But…that promise she made will be true. When she turns 18 she will be wed to that boy. And I will come to collect her for that purpose. That scar will serve as a reminder and will lead me to her. You cannot hide her…you cannot protect her.”
He covered Chiyo’s eyes with his hand and his red eyes flashed. He then dropped her on her bed and disappeared.
I ran over to Chiyo. She was alright, but any memory of that boy was gone.
Keisuke closed his eyes.
“After Clara died…I went looking for a witch to help me protect her…and I met Wendi…and fell in love…”
Amira looked at Wendi and then Ellie.
“….So you two are witches?!”
They nodded.
“I wanted to tell you….”Ellie said rolling her eyes.
“But we wanted to keep yours and Chiyo’s lives as normal as possible…” Wendi said.
“Even Erik was all a part of keeping Chiyo safe…” Keisuke said.
“How?” Ellie asked, “Is he a wizard?”
“Better…He’s a vampire slayer,” Wendi said.
Chiyo stirred.
“We should leave her be for a while…” Wendi said.
Soon…night fell. Amira lay awake in her bed staring at the full moon. Sousuke could not meet that night, so she stayed in. She shivered when she heard a howl, so she pulled her blankets tighter around herself. Ellie could not sleep either. She muttered protection spells, hoping to keep her sister safe. Chiyo was having a dream. It was a dream about making a promise…A promised to her best friend…but who was he? She did not know his name.
Glass shattered. A dark man approached Chiyo’s sleeping figure.
“Did they really think those charms could stop me?” he asked no one.
He looked down at Chiyo and smiled slowly. She had grown up to be quite beautiful. He bent over to scoop her up in his arms when the door burst open.
“How did you get in?!” Keisuke cried.
The man gave a slow smirk.
“You think measly ward such as these could stop me?!” he cried.
Wendi ran in and started to mutter a spell.
The man waved his hand, sending the witch flying back.
“Wendi!” Keisuke cried.
“Foolish witch! You’re spells are not strong enough to stop me.”
The man scooped Chiyo up in his arms and stood in the window frame.
“Leave her alone!” Keisuke cried.
He ran over to the window with a stake in his hand. The man’s eyes flashed with anger. The man waved his hand and sent some of the broken glass flying at Keisuke. Keisuke cover his face with his arms.
The man jumped out of the window and was gone. Amira and Ellie ran into the room two seconds later.
“MOM!” Ellie cried, running over to her.
“Dad! Dad! Are you ok?” Amira asked checking him over.
“It’s only a few scratches…” he said.
He waved Amira away and covered his face in his hand. He was shaking. Amira hugged him.
“I failed…I couldn’t protect her…”
“It’ll be ok. We will talk to Erik and he can save her…”Amira said.
And she would talk to Sousuke. Sousuke seemed very in tune with what was going on in town. She knew it was late…but she HAD to find him now.
After she and Ellie put the adults to bed…Well Ellie gave them a sleeping potion…because…well they needed rest and Amira did not want them to worry… Anyways…She and Ellie went together to find Sousuke.
“So…This Sousuke guy…Is he like…your boyfriend?” Ellie asked.
Amira blushed.
“N-NO!”
“Uncle…I’m home…” Ikuto said, closing the door behind him.
Ikuto looked around the mansion for his uncle, but he was not there. Sousuke of course was not there. He was never home on a night like tonight. He sighed and sat down on the couch. He grabbed a book off the table and started to read. That girl…Chiyo? She was her…The girl he had made a promise with so long ago. She was his best friend when they were children. He was upset when his parents made them move. But they promised each other. He closed the book and looked at his wrist. He had a scar that matched hers. It was weird….Normally he didn’t scar, but that time he did.
Ikuto closed his eyes. So much had changed since they had last met. Ikuto’s parents were dead and that whole issue with Sousuke…That, he found out later was the whole reason why they had to move was in part due to Sousuke’s original condition…His later condition forced them to move in with their Uncle after their parents died.
Ikuto’s uncle, Atsushi walked into the room. He had a weird look about him. As if he was very pleased.
“Ah! There you are Ikuto…I have something for you. Consider it your belated birthday present.”
Ikuto raised an eyebrow. His uncle was not one for giving gifts to anyone. But he followed Atsushi anyways.
Atsushi led Ikuto up to a locked door. He took the key from around his neck and unlocked it. Ikuto pushed open the door. His eyes went wide. There was Chiyo, sleeping peacefully. She looked pale. Ikuto wondered what was wrong, but most of all he wondered…
“What the hell is she doing here?!” he hissed.
“Happy Birthday, Ikuto. I brought you a wife. You should be happy,” Atsushi said.
“Why would I be happy?”
Atsushi shook his head.
“You’re a vampire Ikuto! She is a human; you should stop being such a coward and embrace the fact that humans are food. Or turn her into a vampire if that is what you choose.”
“You kidnapped her. Let her go,” Ikuto said
“But if I do that, then she will die.”
Ikuto’s eyes flashed.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“When you bit her as a child you did something that is called a blood promise. They remain dormant until the hosts are both past 18 years of age. If left untreated then your blood inside of her will attack her blood cells until she dies,” Atsushi explained.
Ikuto closed his eyes, his face pale.
“How…do I save her?” he asked.
“You must marry her and turn her into a vampire,” Atsushi said with a smirk.
And with that he ushered Ikuto out of the room and locked the door.
Of course…Atsushi was lying. Chiyo would be in pain, but she would not die. But she will soon develop the desire to be bitten, to alleviate the pain…And that would only help Atsushi’s cause. This girl was special and was the key to endless power. He would have taken the brat for himself, but since she was marked by Ikuto…he could do nothing. But very soon the smell of the girl’s blood would lure Ikuto to her…He may have given up human blood, but he was still a vampire and the temptation of human blood would soon be too much.
