1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

i wasn't planning to post this, but redrachxo seemed so interested in it i had to. so here you go. :) i hope you enjoy it!disclaimer: if it was mine, it wouldn't be on this site would it?

the legend had been told to every young vampire, and each half-fang that was sired eventually came to hear the story of the great vampire king of old, who had

ought the vampire race into a time of glory and dominion over the

eathers. it was said that the king wished for peace, and when he saw how the vampires under his leadership had enslaved and abused the

eathers, his cold heart was saddened.

and so the king found a way to ensure that one day, he would be reborn as a vampire child, in a time when vampirekind was ready to be

ought into harmony with the

eathers. he spoke openly of his dreams, and his advisors did their best to dissuade him, but he was adamant.

his closest advisor, it was said, argued with him until the king became so enraged that he turned the unfortunate fellow to stone. some whispered that the advisor had not argued at all – that he had attempted to seduce the king, presumably to blackmail him into changing his tune, and the king, disgusted, had made him a statue, a warning to all.

whatever had happened, the fact remained that there was a statue of a kneeling vampire locked away in the depths of a crypt somewhere, and no vampire could approach without searing pain coursing through them. even children who looked in that direction complained of headaches, and often nightmares caused by the figure's wide, unseeing eyes.

the great king continued to speak out about his plan to unite vampires and humans in peace, and his court grew uneasy. as was customary in such circumstances, assassination plans were made and the king was soon nothing but dust blowing in the

eeze. his court formed the original vampire council and later appointed the first grand high vampire, but from the moment the vampire king was slain, his subjects' fortunes began to suffer.

over the centuries, vampires were forced into hiding as their food source rose up against them and slayers became more prolific and ever more efficient. it was said that the vampire king could have kept them prosperous, by peaceful means or war, and that if he so chose, he could fix anything that ailed the vampires – he, and only he, would even be able to cure the stone vampire and make him flesh again. that king was dead, however, and the

eathers continued to fight back against the predators that stalked them by night. by the end of the 20th century, the situation was dire.

it was into this world that vladimir dracula iv was born.

"i bet i can.""no you can't. no-one can."vlad rolled his eyes as valentin and costel continued to bicker."i can! what do you think, vlad?"he sighed. "only one way to find out, but i don't think you'll be able to, val. ingrid snuck in here once, and you know what she's like – but even she came out after about three seconds complaining of a migraine.""see? nobody can stare at the stone vampire for ten whole minutes.""shut up, cos. vlad, your sister's pretty scary, but she's still a girl. i can do it."

after another half hour's argument, vlad could definitely see why vampire twins were so rare. it was easy to imagine the inevitable vampire family feuds being a thousand times worse if there were two equal heirs. luckily for clan serban, valentin and costel had seven older

others, two of whom now had sons of their own, and three older sisters. there was no danger of either of the twins inheriting any great title unless many centuries of misfortune hit their family.

the young dracula heir sighed again and stepped into the castle, leaving them to it. long abandoned, even an adult vampire wouldn't need an invitation to get in here, but at nine years old, vlad was safe either way. he wandered aimlessly through the castle, taking any turning he liked the look of, and found himself heading steadily downwards. he was glad he'd thought to

ing a torch.

it wasn't long before he was standing in the doorway of a dark dungeon, peering into the gloom. he could make out random pieces of statuary – a woman with no arms, in the greek style, an interesting depiction of a vampire descending on a

eather, and, just visible in the darkness over the head of a curly-haired statue, a family crest of some sort.

vlad spent some time trying to make out the details of the crest, hoping to work out who had once lived here, but his gaze kept sliding back down to the statue that was blocking his torchlight. the figure had been depicted kneeling on the floor, for some reason, and vlad pondered it for several minutes. why would anyone want a statue of them kneeling? usually anyone who could afford to have themselves carved into stone would choose a more regal pose. yet somehow, the kneeling figure radiated a kind of quiet dignity.

he felt compelled to have a closer look, and maybe get behind the statue to look at the big stone crest, but before he could take a step into the room his friends appeared behind him."vlad, there you- argh!" costel reeled backwards, dragging vlad with him, and valentin was hot on their heels as they all ran back up the corridor."why were we running?" vlad panted – he didn't want to be a vampire, but he had to admit that not needing to

eathe sounded pretty good as they emerged back into the overcast courtyard. the twins looked at him as if he was mad."vlad, you had your torch pointed straight at the thing! that was one heck of a migraine. how do you think it does that?" sure enough, the serbans were both rubbing frantically at their temples, faces scrunched up in pain. comprehension dawned."that was the statue?"