Chapter 7
~Morgan Vales~
In the middle of this conversation, someone rushed in and told King Vales and me that, "General, we have received an urgent message from your home. Your attention is needed." I looked at King Vales, and without wasting a moment, we quickly dressed up and left the camp, heading home. Before we reached the palace, the sun was already rising.
King Vales and I walked inside to see my wife, who happened to be King Vales's daughter, Sarah. She was holding a baby wrapped in clothes. We had left her pregnant before going to the battlefield. Sarah looked unhappy, and her attention was solely on the baby. The maid standing in front of Sarah informed King Vales that the baby had come out prematurely, and Sarah had been like this for half a month. The King quickly looked at Sarah, who was playing with the lifeless child, seemingly oblivious to our presence. King Vales stepped forward to her and gently collected the child from her. I stood there speechless and heartbroken.
Immediately after King Vales took the child from Sarah, she started saying, "No! Give it back! That is my baby!" She raised her head, locking eyes with me. Sarah's fury intensified, and she accused, "It is your fault! My baby did not cry because of your curse!" I was so heartbroken that I didn't know what to say. King Vales paused, looking back at Sarah, and then told the maid, "She's not to leave her room."
The maid bowed her head and said, "Yes, my lord."
Sarah, with curled lips, looked at her father and cried, "Father!" King Vales turned to leave, and Sarah, desperate, stood up, pleading, "Give back my baby, Father!" I watched her shouting, "My baby! Father!" The maid quickly closed the door, muffling Sarah's screams and cries.
King Vales looked at me and said, "I apologize for my daughter." I turned to him, a heavy silence lingering between us. As he began to walk away, I stopped him, my voice barely above a whisper, "Let me..."
My wife, Sarah, still cried and shouted inside. King Vales glanced back at me, and I said, "Let me take the baby." King Vales handed over the lifeless child, and I headed towards the mountain of flowers, a solemn place where we had buried loved ones before. Gently arranging stones around the small grave, tears streamed down my face, blending with the earth below.
Beside me, my first son, Louis, who was blind, approached with the help of his maid. The maid left him to walk closer to me, and Louis softly said, "Father, the baby... the baby is dead, right? I did not hear the baby cry." His words weighed on my already burdened heart, and a stone slipped from my grasp. I picked it up, trying to maintain composure.
Louis called me "father" again and expressed, "Let me touch the baby before you bury her. Let me say goodbye to my sister." I raised my head to see my son slowly walking towards me. As he knelt, I hesitated, torn between assisting him and letting him be. Louis stretched his hand towards me, and I reciprocated, reaching out to touch his hand.
I was about to grasp his hand when a sudden realization hit me. The shaman's words echoed in my mind: "Anyone who stayed by his side will throw up blood, and dirt will get in their eyes." Mixed with Sarah's accusation that our baby didn't cry because of my curse, a wave of panic surged within me. I stumbled backward, and the stone slipped from my hand again.
Louis, unaware of my inner turmoil, continued to call, "Father, father," but I couldn't bring myself to answer him. The weight of the Imoogi vampire curse, the fear that harm would befall those close to me, paralyzed me.
My mouth trembled as I muttered, "The curse of Imoogi vampire."
I turned and started walking, the echoes of Louis's cries fading behind me. The shaman's ominous words reverberated in my mind, warning that once the Imoogi vampire held a grudge, it would chase the soul relentlessly. The weight of the curse felt like an invisible shackle, tightening with each step.
Arriving home, I pushed open the door, only to be met with a sudden attack. A sword swung at me, and with swift reflexes, I dodged it. The aggressor was none other than my wife, Sarah. Fury consumed her, and she swung the sword around, attempting to strike me. I reached out, using my hand to grab the sword blade and pull her close, embracing her in an attempt to quell the turmoil within.
"What are you doing? You'll only hurt yourself. You're not well; this is dangerous," I implored. But anger burned in her eyes as she accused, "I am saving my children from your curse! My children are ill because of you, and you killed one at birth!" Speechless, I stood there, grappling with the reality that my actions, or perhaps the curse, had caused such pain.
Sarah continued, her voice laden with resentment, "Had it not been for my father, I would not have married a man cursed by the Imoogi vampire." Her words struck a chord, cutting through the air like a sharp blade. I pressed my hand against the sword blade, cutting my palm, blood dripping as a physical manifestation of the deep-seated pain.
Concerned, Sarah noticed the bleeding and questioned, "What are you doing?" I replied somberly, "The curse of Imoogi Vampire. I've heard it all my life—it was the first thing I learned to say. I heard it when I was abandoned, when the villagers showed hatred. I wish I had never been born; I always wanted to die."
A dark expression clouded Sarah's face as she shot back, "Then you should have. Why did you drag my children into your curse? Why did you marry me? You don't even have any feelings! Was it because my father made you?" The accusation hung heavily in my heart, and I exhaled, collecting my thoughts.
"Because you and I are the same," I murmured. The words lingered, heavy with unspoken truths and shared burdens. Sarah's anger seemed to waver, replaced by a mixture of confusion and sorrow.
My wife narrowed her face as I labeled us both as monsters. "A monster?" she whispered. I nodded solemnly, acknowledging the reality we couldn't escape. "You know it too," I added, my voice carrying the weight of bitter truth. "Everyone in the capital, even the servants in our home, considers you different and fears you."
She attempted to wrest the sword from my hand, but my grip remained resolute. She released the weapon, and it clattered to the floor with a shattered noise. Ignoring the broken echoes, I slowly entwined her fingers into mine. She resisted, questioning, "What are you doing?" Her struggle intensified, but I held firm.
"You see things others cannot see, and things you should not see," I explained calmly. "All right, what do you see now?" Pressing my hand harder into hers, she closed her eyes, shaking. She fell to her knees, experiencing a vision of my past. The icy waters, the mysterious woman who pulled me from the freezing sea – it all unfolded before her.
As her eyes opened, I awaited her revelation. "I saw the woman who saved you, the woman you keep remembering," she said. I stood there, struck silent by her words. She pushed me away, demanding freedom. Refusing to release her, I affirmed, "We are both cursed. However, I will break my own curse. I will go after the Imoogi vampire, and I will end this curse."
She scoffed, "You will die before that happens." Attempting to stand, she declared, "Do as you wish." Holding her tight, I shared my plan. "I will take Louis with me. Only then can I break the curse of the Imoogi Vampire." Shocked, my wife looked at me. "Never!" she exclaimed. "Do you want our son to die too?"
I assured her, "He will not die. I will protect him because Louis carries my curse. I will free him from it, no matter what." Unconvinced, my wife insisted, "You better protect him," and then added, "I will be coming too." Storming out, she left me with the weight of our decisions.
Exiting the house, I approached the soldiers under King Vales' command. "Prepare for war," I announced. "We are going to hunt the Imoogi vampire." The soldiers, loyal to the King, immediately began readying themselves for the impending journey.