Beginnings
The story of Mai-Ling
Februari 2nd 2003
It’s almost time. Just another day and then I’ll turn sixteen and I will be wed to the lord of the land, lord Asagi. My parents don’t want to, but they don’t have any other choice. When they and the other families settled here some 20 years ago they struck a bargain with the ruling lord of the region. They could live here peacefully, but only if they wed their first daughter to him when she turns sixteen. Glad to finally find a place to live, where war hasn’t torn it’s families and friends apart, every family struck the bargain. Little did they know, they made a deal with the devil himself. I’m only glad I won’t be the only girl marrying him tomorrow. My best friend, Ying-Ying, shares the same birthday. So we won’t be thrown into the deep end alone, like the other girls that have gone before me.
Februari 3rd 2003
It’s time now, the moon shines brightly and I have been prepared for the ceremony and now they call me to meet my future husband. A husband I have never seen before and have to share with other women, some of them I call friends, other I call enemies and others I have never seen before. What does he need with so many wives? I ask myself. But then my mother comes out and she guides me to the altar. I see that Ying-Ying is already there, she is kneeling next to him. So strange I think, for someone who has been ruling the region for more than thirty years, he doesn’t seem a day over 40. I have heard talk of the elders, something about him practicing the forbidden arts. Arts that my people also practiced, but wilfully banished, because they were too powerful.
When I walk over to kneel next to him, I see his face and his eyes. His skin is as pale as the everlasting snow on the mountains and his eyes are as yellow as the eyes of a snake. Glancing at me, I can feel his lust, raw almost animal-like. Looking up and down my body and slowly licking his lips. I am afraid I will be initiated into womanhood very roughly this night. I see Ying-Ying looking at me and I can read her mind.
February 12th 2003
To my surprise I haven’t seen lord Asagi anymore after the wedding ceremony. When the ceremony was finished, Ying-Ying and I were led to the main house and shown our chambers. Since that night I haven’t seen lord Asagi anymore nor have I seen his other wives. He’s got to have at least forty wives, but I haven’t seen them. Could it be that they are housed somewhere else, in a different part of the region?
I kneel next to my bed and try to look at pictures of my family but it’s difficult without any daylight shining in. Seems that lord Asagi has the rare condition, where he has to avoid direct sunlight or else the rays will blister his skin. Everywhere in the main house, the windows are draped with dark, velvet curtains.
Ying-Ying walks into the room. Unlike me she has been wandering through the house. She tells me she heard servants telling stories about Lord Asagi, stories too horrifying to believe they are true. I ask her what kind of stories but then a servant walks in, he says Lord Asagi has summoned Ying-Ying to accompany him in his chambers this night. Ying-Ying complies and follows the servant as he walks out of the room. She turns to me right before she leaves the room and I see a look in her eyes. A look of terror.
February 7th 2003
It was terrible when they brought Ying-Ying back. She was full of cuts and bruises and bites, but oddly enough her clothes weren’t drenched in blood. I asked her what he did to her, but she didn’t answer. Sobbing I took her in my arms and rocked her gently.
February 28th 2003
Ying-Ying has been summoned many times to Lord Asagi’s chambers since that night. Strangely enough he hasn’t summoned me yet. I have tried asking Ying-Ying what happens each night she is with him, but her face turns gray and her eyes look at me with so much grief that I keep my mouth shut. She gets weaker by the day, it’s like the life is drained from her.
When she has her good days we sit and talk about our old lives. How we used to sit in the grass picking flours and making a crown of them. Picking the luscious fruit from the trees growing in our gardens, but most of all feeling the sun shine on our skin.
March 15th 2003
It has been quiet lately. Ying-Ying hasn’t been summoned for almost seven days. Maybe he has married new wives and he is feasting on their bodies now, I hope. The thought scares me, how could I find comfort in the thought that I will never experience that pain, just because someone else has taken my place? It is not the only thing that is keeping me occupied these days, or should I say nights? I have been having the same dreams. Dreams about me being chased by something I can’t see. Each time it feels like I’m not myself, like I’m somebody else. Each night I am a different girl. But there are always some things that stay the same. Each dream has a dark lit night. Growling I hear behind me, sharp claws, pain and then darkness.
May 15th 2003
Ying-Ying and I have been talking about running away. We don’t know if we can make it, but we have to try. The dreams I’ve had haven’t stopped, they are even getting more intense and real. I am afraid it’s an omen of bad things to come. I am afraid I will soon be summoned by lord Asagi to accompany him for the night.
May 19th 2003
Tomorrow will be the day we run. We have been collecting some stuff we could use for our escape. Useful and practical things like food and things we could sell to begin a new life somewhere else. I am feeling very nervous. The last couple of days we have been walking the grounds of the main house, looking for possible ways to escape. There is a small spot in the hedge on the north side of the house. It hardly has any leaves or branches, so getting through it won’t be difficult. I pray to my ancestors that we will make it through another night in this damned house.
May 20th 2003
My worst fear has come true. Just when we try to get out of the house, a servant walks in. he says Lord Asagi wants the both of us in his chambers immediately. I am afraid he knows we are trying to escape. When we walk into the hallway I see an open door. My mind tells me to get to the door, run and never look back. But would Ying-Ying make it? She is still so weak. I can’t leave her alone. Afraid I might still run, I take my hand and put it into hers and together we walk into lord Asagi’s chambers, then darkness…
When I wake up, my head immediately aches. With my hands I try to rub over it, but they are tied. I see lord Asagi standing over something. A little heap of something. When my eyes adjust to the darkness my heart skips a beat and then it breaks. The little heap is nothing but my dear friend Ying-Ying. Twisted and contorted her lifeless body lies at lord Asagi’s feet. I see the smirk on his face. I read contentment in his eyes. Then he turns to me and I see his eyes glistening. In my mind I know what’s been hunting me in my dreams. It wasn’t some kind of animal, it was lord Asagi or at least something like him.
When he walks over, I try to break free, but the ropes are too strong and I am only a girl with the strength of one. With his sharp nails he cuts me. Small cuts all over my body and then he sucks. It is so painful that I can’t suppress the scream I feel coming up. Then he gets his tools, sharp little knives and now I know why Ying-Ying never wanted to talk about it.
I beg him to stop but he just laughs and says I have to be a good wife and a good wife always pleases her husband. The laughing hits me right in the heart. Fear makes way for anger. When I feel like I’m almost exploding, I let loose. With unimaginable strength I tear the ropes apart. I lunge at him and see the surprise on his face. My legs move with a swiftness they never had before, arms stronger than ever. I easily evade his moves as he tries to knock me down. I don’t know what has happened, but it feels like something has awakened in me. Memories and skills that are not mine. Then it hits me. All those girls in my dreams, I am them and they are me. I know what we are, slayer.
Astounded by that revelation I don’t see lord Asagi coming at me. When I look up, his face is all wrinkly and I see large fangs protruding from his mouth. The first word that comes to mind is Chiang-Shih, vampire. Stories about these creatures have been passed down by my people for centuries. A long time ago the elders who practiced the forbidden arts told about a girl, one in all the world, who has the strength and abilities to fight these creatures. One day she would be born into our people and they should cherish her like a gift from heaven.
In my moment of deep thought I get surprised by lord Asagi. It’s seems like he is much quicker and stronger in this animal like state. He quickly knocks me down and keeps me there. I knew there was something in you’re blood, it tasted better than anything else, slayer. He growls at me. When I see his fangs coming closer, I know that I have only one chance left. With all my strength I throw my head against his and he stumbles backward. With a quick flip I’m on my feet again and deliver a powerful roundhouse. When I see my opening I grab one of the knives lord Asagi used one me and with one quick blow his head is off. Instinctively I step backwards and then his body turns to dust. For Ying-Ying and all the others who have died by your hand, I think.
Then I hear footsteps coming towards me. The servants and guards must have heard all the noise. I do not know if they are vampires too, but now I am ready. Automatically I slip into a battle stance and prepare myself for what’s to come…
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