White sand creaked underneath her heels, leaving behind a trail of small footsteps. The weather was mild, pleasantly warm throughout the day and calm at night. Such benign climate was considerably common in the south of Fiore and the Sorceress expected nothing less of Hargeon Town. As perhaps one of the oldest places in the country, the port city was a never fading, aging beauty.

Seira Navillera was out on a midnight stroll; the young woman marched across the beach with remarkable enthusiasm, but eventually slowed herself down as time passed and her loneliness became ever so evident. There was no one here but the girl herself and while there was nothing she feared or potentially had to be concerned about, it felt strange not being surrounded by strangers after spending so much time in Magnolia—which was perhaps one of the most crowded places on the continent. Seira’s hair got caught up in a breeze and she suddenly decided to remove the pair of boots she was wearing and walk around with bare feet instead.

The sky was cloudy, the night beautiful.

Her naked toes sunk into the wet sand and she—after making sure that no one else was watching—started running up and down the beachside, thoroughly enjoying the ocean and everything surrounding it while she still had it to herself. The girl even collected a few sea shells here and there, but didn’t dare to go any deeper into the water. Seira rarely did these type of things and often avoided crowded places during daytime. Loud noises bothered her—but at night, when everyone else was asleep and she had the entire town to herself she could do whatever she wanted to. After playing around for awhile in an almost childish way, she eventually found a comfortable spot to sit down at and rest. Her eyes were fixated on the endless waters and the moonlight illuminated the area around her, making it relatively easy to see far across the ocean.  

There was an eerie silence.

Bianca ended up where her feet took her that evening. The satisfaction from her previous meal was short-lived and she felt the need to relax her troubled mind. Not many people visited the beach as it was less popular compared to the port, not to mention it was way past ‘safe’ time to be near the waterfront. As the frothy waves lapped a pair of pale feet, the sound of a distant howling broke the silence of night. Bianca stood with her bare soles forming its shape in the soft, wet sand. Only the moon was there to accompany her, she thought.

Footfalls on sand were hard to catch, but from the corner of her eye, Bianca caught the silhouette of a petite, feminine figure about a hundred meters away. Her instincts drove her to hide inside the water, which was what she did. With the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, it would be difficult to hear anything over that, so the sorceress presumed she would be safely concealed from the approaching female’s sight, assuming she had completely human abilities unlike herself. A quiet grumble from the pit of her stomach reminded her that she was in need of food. Bianca held her breath carefully, roaming near the shore although the waves subtly pulled her away from it.

After a minute had elapsed, Bianca rose from the seabed to break the calm surface - facing the beach - with a bit of a distance from herself and the shoreline. She would find then, that a small girl with white hair like hers sat on the sand directly in front of her. The vampyress swam to the shore and shook her head so that her wet hair didn’t stick to her face, although the cotton dress she was dressed in clung to her porcelain skin, revealing crimson-colored undergarments. Wearing a small smile to show she meant no threat, Bianca situated herself next to the elfin stranger. “Do you enjoy the beach more in the evening, too?”

Drenched in saltwater and grains of sand, the Sorceress dug her toes deeper into the earth and towards the incoming waves of the sea. The ocean had slowly caught up to her, but wet clothes hardly bothered the young woman. She ran her fingertips across her skin, watched with curious eyes as foam clung to the dress she wore and smiled when it let go and meekly retreated into the waters. Seira thought she was safe amidst this fairytale-like scenery and while there was no other soul present besides her own (or so she thought) she felt as if she had missed something. After all those years of living on her own she should have known better than to let her guard down, but Seira wasn’t perfect—and neither were the decisions she made.

The girl barely even flinched when she saw a slender figure emerging from the blue, and watched in awe—mesmerized by her beauty—as a woman, tall and fair, surfaced from the deep. She was scantily clad, fiercely attractive and absolutely intimidating in more than one way.

The clock ticked, minutes passed and Seira suddenly gasped for air.

She had gotten lost in thoughts, some more appropriate than others, and now helplessly searched for something, anything, that could be considered a clever response to the words the stranger had said to her—but the poor girl found none. Instead, she continued to stare for another moment or two before she finally regained her ability to speak. Embarrassed, and obviously very charmed by the pale lady, Seira interlaced the tips of her hair with her fingers and looked away, not wanting to gawk at her any longer.

“Yes, I do,” she smiled sheepishly, shifting in her position, “fewer people means fewer distractions. Allows you to appreciate the beauty of nature more.” The innocent female tilted her head to the side. “I did not expect to meet anyone here, even less a swimmer. Are you not freezing?”

Or scared of monstrous fish eating you alive?

Seira’s sass returned, albeit only for a short time, before she fell back into the delightful spell of the mysterious woman.

The smile on the vampyress’s face curved into a subtle smirk as she kept her gaze on the girl, the sparkle in her lilac orbs too captivating to take one’s eyes off of them. Bianca caught her adorable reaction as she tried to find words in response to hers. “Less distractions indeed,” replied the calm, silver-haired woman. Her voice was deep yet lilting, an air of mystery about her. “Oh I’m not freezing at all. I prefer cold to heat.” The sound of crashing waves filled the silence afterwards, unless the girl spoke again, as Bianca would gaze upwards at the little lights that adorned the indigo sky. What a beautiful sight to behold.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” Bianca asked, surprising herself with how different she sounded, inviting someone. Ancient vampyre mythology said that it was necessary for a vampyre to be invited into a home that was not theirs as permission for them to enter, although that was no longer true. Before her new friend could reply, she would rise to her feet, patting away sand grains on her bottom. Taking in a deep breath of fresh salty air, the vampyress began to walk in the direction of the woods nearby, gesturing for her companion to follow. It was one of those moments that would have been perfect if she had a cigarette with her.

There was only one thing that occupied her mind at this moment other than cigs, was the reminder of her growing hunger. Turning around, she gave her food a sweet smile before continuing at a regular pace. Unlike most of her victims, this one was unique. She  could observe the sass and quick-wittedness, as well as the grace in her movements. It almost reminded her of herself, although she was slightly different, but nonetheless made her want to know more about her.

“My name is Bianca. Do you mind sharing yours?”

Seira smiled sweetly at the stranger and silently observed the woman. Bianca’s voice was deep, clear and beautiful—she, regardless of her youthful appearance, radiated immortality. Perhaps the Sorceress should have known better than to follow a drifter into the night, but when she was asked to, everything seemed to make sense and before she knew it, the girl had put her shoes back on and rose to her feet. The ocean’s waves rumbled in the background, but Seira barely noticed any of that. “I think I do too,” were the few words she could make out before a frown crossed her pretty face and she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, wondering whether or not it mattered what temperature she prefered.

Of course it didn’t, but she was too distracted to notice anything so minor.

Seira was invited to walk with her and, of course, she followed immediately and without a doubt. The night was still beautiful and she wanted to savour every moment of it. “I would love to.” Unbeknownst to her, the other female had different plans, but Seira’s intuition had forsaken her and she chose what she thought to be the most interesting path for her. Although she was not wrong the girl would only realize that this was, perhaps, not what she would have wanted for herself if she had been given a choice.

Perhaps.

“Bianca,” she spoke softly, “I have never met anyone with a name like that. I am Seira,” before she knew it, the two of them had disappeared into the dark woods. “I have read that people who wander around at night are either lonely, guilty or in love. It’s their thoughts that keep them awake. Which one is it for you?”

A twisted smile appeared upon the pale lady’s lips, and vanished the next second as the two silver-haired maidens entered the woods next to the beach. It was a surprise to her that such a youthful girl would agree to a midnight walk with a female as mysterious as the dark side of the moon. Then again, they were both women and if women weren’t at each others’ throats, they trusted each other more than anything. As it had been drizzling here and there the past few days, the floor of the woods wasn’t completely dry. In fact, it was annoyingly wet, especially since Bianca was barefoot, but with enough control and care she was able to traverse the slippery forest. Slowing down a bit to allow her companion to catch up, she said, “Seira is a lovely name. What a coincidence. Both our first names end with an A,” with a slight chuckle. It was indeed a surprising coincidence and the more she talked to this girl, the more she felt like knowing her.

Halting in her tracks at a moonlit clearing in the woods that seemed drier than the other parts, Bianca turned around so that she stood facing Seira at the moment she had asked her question. She made a face that looked like she was deep in thought with a slight tilt of her head. Lonely? Guilty? In love? Bianca was neither lonely nor in love, but guilty of a million things. However, she wasn’t going to tell Seira about this, of course. She couldn’t confirm if she was trustworthy, yet.

“You have a lot of questions, my dear,” said the vampyress, reaching for either of Seira’s little hands with her left, and holding it from her wrist. “I don’t feel lonely. In fact, I prefer being alone most of the time.” She felt the soft palm of Seira’s hand with her right hand, and moved it down towards the wrist where she could sense her pulse. “I don’t feel guilty either, there’s no reason for me to be.” Bianca was a great liar, it was almost one of the necessary traits for a wizard working under an illegal organization, after all, although she was a liar before she needed to be one.

The moon shone through the sparse branches above, giving the two ladies perfect vision of each other and the area nearby. While the night was silent, Bianca’s ears rang with the sound of Seira’s heartbeat. Hoping that her victim didn’t start panicking at how strangely she was acting, the vampyress licked a spot on the small wrist, clearly exposing the Phantom Lord insignia on her tongue. “Lastly, I am not in love. I don’t think I am capable of such humanly feelings,” she spoke huskily, although her eyes were fixated on the vein that showed through Seira’s porcelain skin. As she finished her sentence, Bianca brought Seira’s wrist towards her mouth and sunk her fangs into it. She was prepared to catch her in case she fell unconscious from the loss of energy as Bianca noticed she was drawing blood faster than with her previous victims.

Once the dark woods had swallowed the women up whole, Seira began to feel a certain intensity of nervousness. The girl’s gaze wandered around but there was barely anything there, safe for the trees and Bianca of course, and although she had never felt scared about being out alone in the middle of the night (or with a stranger in this case), her senses were tingling—but Seira could not figure out the meaning of said sensation. She decided to ignore it, not wanting to ruin the mood and the lady who had chosen to keep her company seemed to be completely at ease and relaxed.

“Is that so?” she responded and started playing with the tips of her hair again, “..and yet you chose to keep me company tonight. I feel flattered,” playful snickering could be heard and Seira hid her mouth behind her hand before following the other woman with quick steps. They finally entered a forest clearing and Seira couldn’t help but think that Bianca had meant to bring her here and while her intentions were unknown, she still felt safe. “It’s beautiful here,” she said with a smile, ”and, well, I suppose if it’s neither of those things for you, you probably simply enjoy night time. I’m like that t-,” her voice fell silent the moment Bianca took her hand.

Am I going to get kissed now? Shouldn’t she look me in the face for that?

The other woman seemed more fixated on her wrist than anything else, however, and before she knew what was happening, the female vampire dug her fangs into her thin skin and began feeding on her. Seira was caught off-guard—naturally this was the last thing she expected to happen—but the Sorceress did not scream, nor pull away. Instead, she just stared, watched intensely as Bianca slowly drained her small body off its blood.

A vampire? Impossible. Those didn’t exist.

Fascination was written across Seira’s pale face and somehow it never even occurred to her that she was the victim here, that she was being attacked and had every reason to fight back or at least run—but she chose not to. She couldn’t keep her eyes of the mysterious creature and for the first time in many years she witnessed something she didn’t even knew existed. “W-what are y-” before she could finish her question her body lost its strength and she collapsed into the predator’s arms.

As Bianca drew blood from the clueless victim, she noticed that Seira was anything but frightened of her. She seemed to be...excited? No, more like fascinated, if the vampyress assumed correctly. How unique, Bianca thought as she held the petite girl firmly in her other arm as soon as she fell, since she was strong enough and Seira had a small frame.

Once the feeding was over, a pair of bloody fangs were detached from a pale wrist that fell to the side of its owner. Licking her teeth clean, Bianca picked the girl up bridal style, carrying her still yet light body back to the opening of the woods that they came through. She then placed her gently onto the dry ground, watching for a while to see if anything would happen. Normally she would have left her prey to die once she was done with them, but Bianca made sure that Seira was alive, feeling for her pulse and her breathing. When nothing out of the ordinary happened after a while, she rose to her feet to take her leave.

“I’ll see you again,” she mumbled softly, then left the beach to return to her inn for a long night of contemplation.

When Seira woke up from a deep, dreamless slumber the mysterious stranger was already gone. Dawn was breaking and she still felt weakened and confused—but she remembered exactly what had happened. Bianca, if that was truly her name, had taken her out on a midnight stroll, far away from the beaches where they could risk running into someone else before she lured her into the forest at night and attacked her, drank her blood and revealed her inhuman nature to the young girl. There had been something off about her from the very start, but Seira couldn’t help but be fascinated by it rather than afraid and now she had paid the price. The vampire (a weird thing to say, she wasn’t even aware of their existence in first place and still, she could hardly believe it now) had fed on her, drained her off her blood and chosen to let her live for unknown reasons before disappearing. Furthermore she had revealed her alliance to one of the few known and infamous dark guilds of the country, Phantom Lord.

All those memories were slowly unraveling inside her mind, but the Sorceress knew she needed more rest to make sense out of the things she had seen and witnessed with her own eyes, so she returned to the hotel she had been staying at, wrote down a few words to remember before falling asleep once again.