it was many octobers ago when it happened. dark magic never gives any warnings, but i sure wish it did. i had always been a peculiar child- i could look at the clouds for an hour or so without getting bored, and see the tiniest details. thinking back, it was only a matter of time before something happened.

it was the day before my thirteenth birthday: october the 30th and i was taking a long walk through the dajurie woods. i knew i was getting dangerously close to the heart of the forest, but i didn’t care. i had to do something to take my troubles off. my mother thinks it my fault that my 11 year old sister was foolish enough to wander off and get lost. my darn fault! how is that my fault, may i ask? now, where was i? ah, yes, strolling through dajurie woods. to this day, i still don’t know how i ever fell asleep in the middle of walking, but i must’ve done so, for all i remember was breathing in the pine-scented air, enjoying my stroll, and then suddenly falling into a deep black void of darkness.

when i woke up, (or got out of the darkness, if i wasn’t truly sleeping) i was standing in an elegant stony hallway. it seemed to stretch on forever. the hall was only slightly illuminated by torches, glowing (of all things) green. i started tiptoeing down the hall, for how long, i do not know. i only remember the sense of terror, which kept growing with each and every step i take. at last, i reached a dilapidated wooden door with an iron handle. i could smell an enchantment in the air. something was there. something ancient and evil. i could tell… … you know how some people say they have butterflies in their stomachs when they’re scared? well, i had killer bees.

i just stared at the door knob for a while, then, at last, got up all my courage, peeked inside, and immediately screamed so loud that i feared i’d never speak again. for inside, lay the corpse of my sister. the most startling thing was that her eyes were midnight black, instead of their regular grey-green. what in the world happened???

i was shaking all over. my hair nearly stood strait up. suddenly, a voice rasped in my ear “yesss, you shall do quite nicsssely… …”, and before i knew it, i was pinned to the ground. for the first time, i noticed my new surroundings. i was in a gorgeous flower garden, yet it looked different from something you see in an average garden. it looked…, well, it looked more beautiful. more beautiful and deadly. i would’ve probably even enjoyed my stay if i wasn’t pinned down and trying to breath, with my sister already dead.

i looked up at my captor, and immediately wished i hadn’t. i knew, at that moment, that for as long as i live, (which might be really short, depending on what the captor was trying to do) i’ll never forget my captor’s face- for there wasn’t one. yes, there were eyes, a crooked nose, and a mouth, yet somehow they weren’t… … flesh. they were fragrant of fears, shadows, and nightmares. i did not know how that was even possible, but i knew it was true, somehow. its body wasn’t there at all, only an eerie invisible force, pushing me to the ground.

perhaps i should’ve struggled, should’ve screamed for help, but i found that i couldn’t- i was completely paralysed. finally i managed to croak -“what?” the monster smiled with its shadowy mouth, showing blood covered fangs.

“you ssshall fall into the sssame fate asss your sssister,” he rasped in the same snake-like voice, “you mortalsss are ssso foolissssh, never realizing the truth! why do you think thessse woods are named ‘dajurie’? they were elvish for me, the mighty dracula! for centuriesss i have waited for mortalsss with magic in their blood to ssstumble acrosss my trap. you ssshall die a famous death, my dear, the death that bringsss me to a true form. then, i ssshall be able to feassst on whoever i pleassse!”

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with that, he started to lower his fangs into my flesh. time slowed down. i knew it wasn’t just about me anymore. if dracula managed to rise to power, my world was doomed. i had to think. what has defeated beings of the night in stories?

just then, dracula’s fangs touched my skin. suddenly, i knew what to do. i shouted at the top of my lungs “i’m not afraid of you! you’re never going to hurt my world. you’re just a shadow!!” i was surprised to feel my confidence soaring back to me. i was somehow, somehow stronger.

dracula jerked away as if all his energy was gone. slowly his terrifying face cracked and crumbled into nothingness. i fell again, into the same darkness that brought me to the vampire’s garden. except this time i was grateful to be whisked away. after a while, i felt someone shaking me. i opened my eyes- it was my mother.

“just what happened to you???” she asked, looking like she was on the verge of tears, but hey, i guess i looked that way too. suddenly, her hand flew to her mouth. “y- your e- eyes,” she stammered, “t-they’re, they’re black!”

i just shook my head, “trust me, you wouldn’t believe me if i told you.”