Twice in Doubt

Her mind had been in a fog. Her eyes opened as she awoke, hazy for the moment before anything began to clear up. A groan escaped her lips as her hand reached and pressed against her forehead. “W-what happened…”

Her head snapped up and quickly looked around at her surroundings. It was a fine yet darkened castle room with a wide open space. She was kneeling upon a circle of blood, entirely naked. She could see her skin was pale, and her long nails sharpened to easily cut.

Yet… she had no idea who she was and how she got there.

At the opposite end of the room, a man was standing facing away from her in front of a table. A young girl, no older than twelve, stood at his side. “W-who are you?” She asked.

The imposing man looked down over the woman who had just been summoned. The last remnants of a ritual having been finished faded from the air as the man seemed to pause when the question came. Unclear eyes looking at her before an ancient voice responded to the woman. “Is that truly the question that you want to ask?” It asked her.

The girl reminded motionless by the mans side. Cold, uncaring eyes watched as the woman seemed to be struggling. Not a single sign of sympathy was in either of their eyes.

The woman paused, if only even briefly. “Yes. Who are you?” She asked again, vaguely staggering forward. Her legs felt like jelly as she tried, almost as if she hadn’t used them in years, if even at all.

She winced as she placed her hand on her head again, feeling a tinge of unfamiliar memories. “Who am I…? How did I get here?” She uttered.

“Woah, woah, woah. Okay, hold on there.” He told her as he held up his hand as if he was about to help her walk. “You only get one question, so figure out what it is you want to ask.” He told her.

The woman looked dumbfounded. What were these arbitrary rules that she had to follow? Combined with the sharp pain of waxing and waning memories, this was all getting frustrating. Groaning, she haphazardly reached for the creature, staggeringly getting to her feet. She stood shakily for a moment as she stared at the man, trying to understand what the hell was going on.

“Who. Are. You?” She now demanded. She was naked and alone in an unfamiliar area with no recollection of anything. The only thing she knew is that this figure had something to do with it.

Aldon pulled back and opened his cloak. Holding his arms out as he took a deep breath. “A question that’s been asked for all eternity. Who am I? I go by many names, known by all religions in the land as either a god, or a devil. Sometimes I go by Steve, but that’s not the name that’s most common known, what is-“

The man's dramatic speech was abruptly ended by the girl chiming in. “His name is Aldon, he is king of the vampires.” She said.

Aldon paused and gave the girl a salty look. The girl just returned the look and spoke up. “Everyone gets one, those are the rules.”

The woman again paused at the information given. Aldon, King of the Vampires. It… sounded familiar yet foreign at the same time. She looked down for the moment, looking at her hands. Strands of her hair came down in the process; Blood red wavy locks.

“Aldon. How did I get here and what is the meaning of this?” She asked once more, unaware that she was already overstepping the rules.

Aldon held up his hand, and then suddenly turned forward a deck of cards. “Magic. Go ahead a pick a card.” He told her as he came forward and offered the deck.

The woman gave another dumbfounded stare, but surprisingly followed along this time. Reaching out, she picked the card at the top of the deck. Flipping it over, it only had the image of double sided sword on it.

“Magic? But that doesn’t…” She paused. Make sense? Answer her question? All of this seemed out of the blue. “Why did you bring me here? Who am I?”

Once more, she overstepped her ‘one question only’ rule.

“Oh no, no… you were supposed to actually. Hmm, no, no it’s okay.” He mumbled as he took the card back and shuffled it again. Aldon took a step backwards at this. Mindlessly shuffling the cards now. None of this making any sense.

“What do you mean by that?” She asked more sharply. This Aldon figure was once again being more and more vague by the moment. “What does the king of vampires want with me?”

Idly, her gaze turned to the girl as well, analyzing for only a moment before turning back to Aldon. “Who am I, for that matter?”

The girl just blankly stared back at the woman. Letting her do her thing as Aldon pointed towards the girl. “You only get one question. You’ve already had your one question answered. Those are the rules.” The girl explained.

“One question…” She uttered to herself before the anger began to well up inside her. Her hand turned into a fist. Vain-like reddish white lights began to appear along her skin as her eyes shimmered that same color. “Don’t give me that bullshit! What the hell is going on!?”

She bared her teeth, the elongated fangs of a vampire shimmering brightly now. “Answer me!” She sharply demanded.

Aldon paused and looked up to the woman with a frown when she began shouting. He shook his head slowly. “Shush!” He quieted her. “There are people reading in here, and it’s rude to raise your voice.”

“DON’T FUCK WITH ME!” She shouted again as she launched her fist straight towards Aldon’s cheek. She had enough.

Aldon just held up a finger and the woman’s fist would pause with it, in addition to her entire body. Suspended in air for a moment as he continued to shake his head. “No running in the halls.” He told her as she would slowly fall down to the floor and regain control of her body.

In a single instant, her body had been paralyzed entirely. She gritted her teeth in anger, but trembled in shock and fear as she realized just what she was up against.

She paused now, trying to calm herself but still glaring daggers at Aldon. “Fine, get on with whatever damn thing you want to get on with.”

Aldon blinked and looked at the woman confused. “Why did I summon you again? Actually what are you doing here, and why are you naked? Those are much better questions we should be asking.”

“Me? I don’t think that sounds like a very me thing to do, does it?” He turned and looked towards the girl like he was shocked.

The girl simply nodded her head at this. “It does.” She affirmed Red's view.

Aldon looked up from the cards. “First left, down the stairs, second right, first left. Another set of stairs and you’re at the main gate. Out that way is your new life. Oh, and Red.” He grinned at her. “Enjoy it.