The Generations: Destiny
by Shay
Chapter 1: Destiny
Elizabeth Guilford walked down the cobblestone street to her families cottage. It was the 5 of May 1342, and it was her fifteenth birthday. Her family wasn’t overly-wealthy, nor were they poor. She was expecting a gift or two, put nothing extravagant. Her father had once been a clergyman of the Catholic church, but her family had been excommunicated when it was found that her family practiced paganism, including her father. Since they had been such a well-known and pronounced member of the village, they had not been banished, but there was a dark stain on her families good name.
As Elizabeth walked home, the sun began to sink behind the crimson stained horizon. Also as she walked home, she contemplated her life thus far. Every year when she had her birthday she would go over the events in her life, and come up with things she would like to change before her next birthday.
Her life had been fairly mundane. She hadn’t been any farther than the nearest village, which was only a days trip away, and the wars of Europe had not affected her family as of yet. She had no regrets of how she had handled her life, only that she had hidden her faith for so long. Her father had been the one that suggest they try to fit into society’s roles for them. Her mother had been the perfect wife, and had held many social events at the cottage. Elizabeth had been the dutiful daughter, willing to do anything her father asked, without question, and working with her mother to become the next generation of housewife. Her elder brother, Charles, was the epitome of sons. He helped his father with the families trading business, and took the position of head of the household when his father was out of town.
Elizabeth’s family had been looked up to by many others. Until their excommunication. Elizabeth found it silly that people hated anything different than what had been force-fed them their whole lives. The Guilford family had roots reaching all the way back to the Goths, before the Roman take-over. After the Romans had defeated the Goths, her family had migrated to the area of Great Britain.
Elizabeth continued the long walk to her home as she thought on English society and custom. But her thoughts were cut short as a shadow disconnected from the wall of the alley she was walking down.
“Hello?” she asked quietly into the quickly setting shadows. She looked around, trying to find where the shadow had disappeared to. “Hello?” she asked again, taking a step forward. Her lungs were beginning to burn. Outside of the alleyways, the air was crisp and clean. But she was walking down an alley behind a row of taverns, bakeries, and butcher shops, and the smell of rotting food permeated the air.
As she slowed her breathing to keep from gagging, she saw the shadow again, this time sprinting back to its wall of origin.
Elizabeth took another step forward. She knew she should be scared, and her rapidly beating heart told her to run, but her curiosity had won her over. “Is anyone there?” she practically whispered into the now inky blackness.
“Elizabeth.” a voice said from the direction of the shadow. “How are you?” a man stepped away from the cover of shadow. The man was probably in his late teens, not much older than her, with long dark hair, and eerily green eyes. He approached her slowly, as though afraid to scare her off.
“Do I know you?” Elizabeth asked, only slightly startled. She somehow knew that the man meant her no harm.
“No. But I must speak with you. My name is Geoffrey Thatcher, and I am your Watcher.” the man stated simply, but with earnest.
“My what?” the confused girl asked, unsure of what to think about this strange man.
“I am your Watcher. You-” he paused a moment. “Are the Vampire Slayer.” his words had a sense of finality, and unavoidability that Elizabeth felt.
“I am the what?” still confused, Elizabeth took an unnoticed step back. She knew he meant her no ill-will, but he was spouting off insanities. Vampires? Even in her pagan beliefs there was no mention of vampires.
“You are the Slayer.” the man said again, with the same sense of finality in his voice. “And I am here to train you.” he paused a beat, before continuing. “Into each generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world to stop the vampires.” he gave her the shortened version of the ‘Slayer speech’, seeing as he never could remember the speech in its entirety.
“I do not understand. You are saying there are vampires in the world, and I am here to stop them?” Elizabeth asked, still confused, but now feeling a sense of destiny in her stomach.
“Yes. You are Elizabeth Guilford, Vampire Slayer.” the man smiled. He had been trying to suppress a laugh through his whole speech. This was his first Slayer, and though he had been expecting confusion, possibly even denial, he had not been prepared for the look on her face.
Geoffrey Thatcher was the youngest Watcher in the history of the Council. His father had been a Watcher, and had sent his son to the Watcher’s Academy at a very young age. Geoffrey had graduated quickly, three years before he was scheduled to. Geoffrey had always been a very funny person, and was very in tune with others emotions. He was a jester of sorts, always looking for the bright side of every situation, and striving to make others happy and laugh. Laughter was nearing extinction in his day, with all the wars and blights being thrown onto the British.
“So I-” Elizabeth coughed. “I slay vampires.” she emphasized the word slay, and shifted uncomfortably, as though she had just said something very silly.
“And demons.” he added, but this didn’t seem to confuse her as much. She had known that demons existed. The Catholic church preached it, and her pagan religion taught of demons.
“What do I have to do?” she asked, slowly coming to terms with what the man was saying. A spark inside her had been ignited when he told her who she was. It was like she had known her whole life that she was something more than perfect daughter.
“Nothing now.” Geoffrey smiled at her in compassion. “Go home and celebrate your birthday with your family. I will come to you again when it is time to start your training. Until then, goodnight Elizabeth Guilford.” he slipped back into the shadows, and down a side alley.
Elizabeth stood in silent contemplation for a moment, before taking Geoffrey’s advice, and going home.
***
During the festivities of the night, all Elizabeth could think about was her new situation. She had always been ‘just Elizabeth’ and was having trouble coming to terms with her destiny.
What was a Slayer? Elizabeth had never heard of such a title, and felt sure that it could not be a safe status to hold.
Her father tried to engage her in conversation, but Elizabeth’s heart just wasn’t in it. She had an overwhelming feeling of dread deep in her stomach, and caused her soul to ache.
She had the feeling that the lives of Slayers were short. If they were meant to kill demons and vampires, there must be much danger involved.
And what had the strange man meant by “one girl in all the world?”. Did he mean that only girls were called to be Slayers? Or had the word girl only been used because he was speaking to a girl.
He was a splendid orator, and still had Elizabeth’s rapt attention, even when he was gone.
He had been quite handsome and young. Elizabeth had another suspicion that most ‘Watchers’, as he had referred to himself, were much older.
Elizabeth had long ago separated herself from the others in the main room, and sat in the kitchen, thinking deeply on the events of the day. She was stirred from her thoughts as her mother came into the room.
“Elizabeth dear, where is your head at tonight?” Elizabeth’s mother sashayed across the room to envelope her daughter in a hug.
The cottage had been decorated with flowers, and her mother had cooked a special dinner for her daughter. The cottage smelled as it always had, strongly of spice and earth.
“I’m sorry mother.” Elizabeth apologized. “I’m not feeling completely myself.” she attempted an energetic smile at her mother.
“Poor dear.” her mother soothed her hair, and sat her down. “Do you need anything?” her mother asked, sitting down beside her. Elizabeth knew that her mother was referring to spells and mystical chants that her family used to cure illnesses.
Elizabeth only shook her head in response, smiling again at her mother, as she rose from the seat. Just as her mother was standing, Elizabeth heard a growl coming from the back of the cottage. She looked up, expecting her mother to have noticed, but it appeared she had not.
Elizabeth waited for her mother to walk back into the main room, and she quickly rushed to the back kitchen door.
When she reached the outside, her eyes took only moments to adjust to the change in lighting, and she saw the creature a few feet away. She assumed it was a vampire, but it could easily have been a demon. The face was grotesque, and deformed, with ridges all along the brow and nose.
The creature growled menacingly at her, showing elongated teeth. Elizabeth saw a small broken tree branch on the ground, with a sharp rigid end. For reasons unknown to her novice mind, the stick appealed to her as a weapon, and she rushed to pick it up.
The vampire saw her move to the stick, and jumped at her, moments before she had retrieved it.
She was caught off guard, but she somehow managed to not lose balance as she quickly recovered from the attack. She swung her hand around, balling it into a fist, and connected it with the creatures jaw. The vampire was shocked, and knocked off it’s feet. Elizabeth stood in awe for only a moment, before coming to her senses and grabbing the stick.
As the demon lunged at her a second time, she brought the stick to it’s chest, and used the demons momentum to impale it through the heart. The vampire dusted, looking at her in hatred as it’s face crumbled to ash. She was left with feelings of confusion and pride, overshadowed by curiosity. She hoped that Geoffrey would explain this event to her when she saw him next.
***
As Elizabeth went to bed that night, it was with a renewed feeling of worth. She had always dreamed that she would one day escape the confines of society, and now she had been given a chance to be someone. To leave her village, and not be hassled with the duties of a daughter, and eventually a wife and mother.
Protecting her family and village from the creature earlier, had caused her to swell with pride. She was still uncertain about what being a Slayer meant, and concerned about the responsibilities that came with the position, but she was also intrigued. Geoffrey had said that only one was born into each generation. That scared her the most. To be destined to protect the world was one matter, but to have the burden placed solely on one individual seemed unfair somehow.
Geoffrey, with a simple statement had changed her world forever. She had a destiny. She was the Slayer.
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