"Frozen Windows" by Meghan Engele (Apocalypse)

"Darkness, which is always what I see here, in my dream. It is the abyss of the unknown, where few mortals would tread. Everyone in a dream is immortal, so I always walked through it, with the sense that I could find something, or someone, but at the same time, nothing.

Despite the unbroken abyss, I could see myself dress in a blood red velvet gown. It was so soft; I could almost feel it on me. Black patterns were woven at the sides, and in labyrinths of complete accuracy at the bottom. I loved that dress, but I didn't exactly know why I did. I always looked down to see it, but what stuck out the most, was a shimmering black stone rimmed with an intricate pattern of lace embedded in the silver. On the inside, there was a glow, a soft hue of yellow barely breaking the exterior pf the stone.

Then, the light would pulse, and break the darkness in a shattering way. My eyes were shut, always, to hide from the glare. As quickly as the beam had started, it had ended, and on the horizon was a grand fortress, one that would shame Conwy. It was grand and guarded further by a menacing iron fence and the cliff behind it.

I couldn't see the cliff, but somehow I knew it had to be there. Then the castle would distort, become stretched, and in a second the great iron doors leading inside were before me. On them, were carved horrific battles and people being slain by demons.

Then, I would blink, and find myself again in the abyss. Only this time, was scared. The atmosphere was painfully tense, and I didn't, couldn't move.

Two torches lit, one after another so fast that it nearly burnt my eyes out, and sent me running. This time though, I was ready, I knew what happened next…

Dirtied and scarred hands groped out from the walls, which morphed into cells as seen in a dungeon. They grabbed the air, hoping to find something. I never came close to them; I sensed their evil and knew they were only trouble. So, I ignored them as I always did.

A resounding thud echoed through the dungeons from behind me. They were coming; they had found me again. This time, I didn't run though, I wanted to see them, and know what they were. By the time, the footsteps came more clearly though, I always turned tail and ran.

This time was no different, and the ending wouldn't be either.

Darkness came again…"

Aillen's Journal Entry.

'I have had that dreamed that for as long as I can remember, and it still catches me off my guard regularly. The dream confuses me, but seems to make a certain amount of sense, judging from what I know of myself…I am a half vampire, half human, living with rich guardians that make me study too much.

This would seem strange to any other mortal, but my guardians invite vampires to their Balls. That is how I discovered my heritage. At the first Ball I attended, there was a vampire in a dark corner watching me, unblinking. Then I heard him say something, except his lips didn't move, and the voice was inside my head. He told me what I was, and told me to read in the dark when I didn't believe him. I could, and then I buried myself in books about vampires, and tried myself on everything I could find.

I believe him now, mostly because I don't sleep, eat occasionally only, and haven't changed weight in three years. Incase you were wondering, I am 17, and I have pure black and straight hair that ends just past my buttocks. Among other reasons, my hair never splits, hasn't grown in the last three years and it doesn't even move when I do. It's as if my hair is wire, or something. In addition, I have a tendency to do most of my work in darkness, or at night, walk around in utter silence, and excel at anything sport or strength related. The only reason I would have doubted his word, is that I could go outside in the middle of the day, without burning myself. Therefore, after making those assessments, I just believed him, and kept an eye on the vampires, silently searching for him again. He never came, or, I never saw him.

You know that dream though. It makes me think that I am searching, probably for answers about myself. Perhaps also, that I will be frightened, or have to chase the answers or be chased by them. I can't tell, and it's beginning to irritate me. Yes, and today, my guardians are hosting another Ball. Now, I know that there are parties, and that there are Balls. There is a difference here though. One, parties are held in a smaller hall, fat men stand in groups and talk about politics while their wives sit appearing to listen, and, vampires aren't invited. Parties are a chance for my guardians to invite humans over and keep their social status among the other multi-billionaires. Balls, are held in a massive hall, and both vampire and humans are invited. Here, they dance and compliment, drink and catch up on each other's lives. The vampires seem to just be there to keep an eye on me, although I can't be sure. In addition, at a Ball, I am expected to come down in a dress brand new from the tailors, at 9pm sharp. Any earlier or later was irresponsible in my guardians' vocabulary.

I must finish now, I hear the maid bringing me my gown.'

Aillen set her black gel pen to the side, along with her journal, and sprawled out on her bed. Her hand carved, wooden clock struck two, and sound from all through the castle could be heard bouncing off the walls. However, only Aillen described it that way, her guardians didn't hear stuff the way she did, as far as she knew anyway.

The iron door handle clicked, and Aillen was at her desk dressed in a velvet black dress, beaded in light patterns. It looked like she had been working for hours, but really she hadn't been up for more then 10 minutes. It was rare that she slept, but before the Balls, she made sure she at least rested.

"Miss Aillen," Greeted the elderly maid, as she walked to Aillen's bed. "I see you've woken up, and that your bed hasn't changed in the very least since I made it three weeks ago. You should sleep a little more often." She stated, knowing Aillen wouldn't exactly listen.

"You always say that Ms. Cady. Do you like what they've done though, with the canopy? They finished it yesterday in red." Aillen asked admiring her room.

The walls hadn't changed since she was very little. They were still deep sepia brown that gleamed in candlelight. Her furniture was hand crafted everything from the bed to the wall trimmings, and all a dark wood.

Aillen's bed now had the canopy, red velvet, with embroidered patterns. The material was draped over the wood, and was held to the four posts by a silver tassel.

Under her desk, there was a deep burgundy red with hidden faces, and pictures uniquely fitted into it. The rug was only short though, and not a long soft material, just flat, almost made by sewing looped pieces of yarn together in the form of a square.

Ms. Cady nodded her head in agreement, and showed Aillen the dress. When she saw it though, she almost had to strain herself from fainting. It, was the dress from her dream, exactly, and without the gem necklace.

Aillen's face didn't change, but her eyes grew wide for a spilt second, not enough to raise Ms. Cady's curiosity though.

"Come down in four hours Aillen, they want you down at seven tonight."

The old woman's calm effortless exterior made her sick sometimes. She was a carefree woman, full of, love. That is probably what made her blind. Come down at seven, identical dress to the one she had seen in her every dream, and the Ball. Aillen felt very apprehensive, she knew something was to happen. This type of déjà vu didn't just happen, not without meaning.

Mrs. Cady placed the dress neatly on Aillen's bed, and left, her feet falling like a whisper on the hardwood floors. The dress; Aillen could only look at it from her chair across the room. It was a sign; something was coming.

Time passed, and little else was altered in Aillen's bedchamber. The dress still lay still on the bed, blending perfectly with the rest of the red in the room. Aillen was still staring at it, wondering, hoping that it would take to the hills and burn under the chance of lightning. At the same time though, she wanted it to stay, to wear it, and feel the warm fabric on her chilled skin.

The clocks had sounded twice since Mrs. Cady had arrived with the blood-red dress of her dream, and they were about to sound again. Lightning bolted from outside her window, followed by the clap of resonating thunder, and the chimes of 100 clocks.

"So, has it come to this?" Aillen asked herself. "An hour until I am to leave this room, or so it would seem. It is a far stretch from the norm for my guardians to be certain. They are never an inch off the lines marking the limit of normal."

With a sour face, Aillen rose from her chair, and set it out from her desk. That dress meant that he was back, it had too be so.

It was getting dark out and the candles Aillen had set out before were burning dim.. In the fall, it always became darker sooner. Tonight though, there was a thunderstorm, and with the lightning, it made her room look eerie, even more so with the dimming candles.

"Why else would you be here, if he was not? That is yet to be revealed, and I have yet to prepare." Aillen reminded herself, reaching cautiously for her dress, also adding that vampire into her thoughts.

Aillen could do a very unique thing with her thoughts, which usually took years of mental training to achieve. She could file them, and focus on a few at a time, or all of them. The thoughts she didn't want, she could ban from her mind for those moments of thought.

"You always do that to yourself?" Came a chill voice from Aillen's window.

Aillen stopped; it was he. "So, you are here then. I was beginning to doubt you would come."

The darkened figure lightly fell onto the wooden floors, and closed the window. No wind had blown in, despite the fact that autumn had already arrived and it was storming outside as if it hadn't been in centuries.

He was wearing a loose leather vest, and jacket which was dripping in wet. In addition, he wore tight leather pants and big boots. His eyes were stone, and his posture was well trained; it reminded her of nobility.

"Did it ever occur to you, Aillen, that I had never even left?" He asked, pushing his hair back behind his head to reveal his pale grins, and face.

"Do you have a point to this conversation or should I just leave?" Aillen spat irritably to the vampire, getting tired very quickly with the conversation.

He smiled nonchalantly and walked towards the dress, shaking his head. The bit of long hair had come down beside his cheek again.

"There is, one point to my, early arrival." He was stalling; this couldn't be a good sign. The vampire clearly wasn't to be here. "You don't know what this is. Do you?" He asked holding up on side of the dress suggestively.

"Not in a form of technicality, no." Aillen answered immediately. The vampire seemed taken aback. "However, I have seen it before, an old gown the tailor was restoring, but no more."

The vampire let out a wholesome laugh. "You think that I believe you Aillen. This dress belonged to…"

A loud rapping knock echoed in Aillen's head. When she looked up, he was gone.

"Must you make noise on the door as if it were a war drum? Come In!" Aillen hollered, infuriated by her recently induced headache. Mrs. Cady knew her ears were sensitive. Sensitive? Aillen hadn't heard Mrs. Cady come up the stairs, much less approach her door.

"Aillen, I heard something in your room. Are you okay?" She asked hurriedly.

Strange though, Mrs. Cady could never hear anything from in her room. The door was a foot thick of oak wood from across the ocean. Mrs. Cady didn't have such good hearing, nor were there any ways to hear anything inside her room from the outside. The walls were also very thick, and designed to keep out the sound.

"I am fine Mrs. Cady. I must get ready."

"Aillen, why are there footsteps on your floor? The wood will eventually need to be polished again of course, but making them wet will only speed the process." Mrs. Cady sighed heavily and went to a cabinet by Aillen's computer for a towel.

Aillen scanned the room. The window was still shut. As she recalled, it never opened. The vampire was still in here then, that couldn't be an overly good thing.

"Oh goodness, I forgot that I locked this thing." Mrs. Cady muttered, as she went through her pockets searching for the right key.

Aillen then spied him. He was hidden perfectly in the one top dark corner of the room. She smiled; he was almost invisible. Quickly, she snapped open the locks for the window and opened it. The vampire was outside and down the wall before Mrs. Cady even had the cabinet open.

"Aillen," Mrs. Cady's voice was crisp, and toned for urgency. "Who was in here?" It sounded like a command, and the woman was before her in a matter of seconds.

"I must prepare." Aillen's voice sounded as if she were in a trance. In reality though, she just wanted to avoid the question. There was no need to get her maid into a big hullabaloo about a vampire in her room.

With a sharp suspicious glare, Mrs. Cady watched Aillen pick up the dress, and slip off into her bathroom. Once Aillen was gone, Mrs. Cady quickly, almost too quickly, put the towel back where it was and scuttled downstairs.

*

When she was done preparing, Aillen looked almost like the undead, only far less pale. Her eyes, she had made so that a solid think line of black bordered them, with a pale red eye shadow spread right to beneath her brows. She painted her lips a deep red, to correspond with her dress. And she put her hair up in a high tight ponytail with an elastic with black and silver hair on it four or five inches in length, and finally put a claw at the back which held her hair firmly behind her head in a fan of black hair, with small strands of silver. Aillen saw no reason to make her face look pale; the dress almost did that for her. The dress was so soft.

Then the vampire came into her thoughts. He was going to tell her something about the dress that it belonged to someone, or something. "It was probably a vampire." Aillen muttered to herself, as she walked barefoot into her bedroom.

The wet footprints were slightly dried. Mrs. Cady obviously didn't clear them, or didn't care. Her maid had been acting, strangely.

Aillen disregarded her thoughts. Mrs. Cady probably went to report to her guardians about her thoughts.

Then she realized a draft at her feet, her window was wide open. The vampire wasn't in her room though; the few electric lights were on so she could be sure she was alone before going to shut it.

When she reached the window, Aillen looked out. Perhaps she wanted to see the vampire, but more so, if anyone was arriving at this absurd time. Aillen checked her clock, 6:46pm.

"Not much time is it." She questioned herself sarcastically, knowing well the she could be downstairs, through the halls and into the ballroom in less then a minute in her dress.

Now, though, her concerns were elsewhere. Only a single care had arrived, a pure black car three stories below. Aillen squinted slightly to bring the license plate into focus. There were no figures on the plate; it was blank and white. The only thing defining about the car was the hood figure of a small dagger. Aillen poked her head as far out her window she dared without getting her head wet, to see the dagger clearly. The hilt of the dagger was a girl, wearing the black stone necklace. More to the point though, the girl was in a dress, the one she was wearing was carved into the blade accurate to every detail.

"This couldn't possibly be pure coincidence." Aillen tore her eyes from the window as another streak of lightning lit through the sky followed by a resounding crash of thunder.

Aillen was out of the room before the rain began streaming down from the sky. It trickled down off the roof of the house, and fell down onto the grounds. The one thing Aillen faltered to realize was that the man in the car hadn't left the vehicle. He watched her, with his cold eyes, as she noticed the dagger.

It would be a dark night. The lightning, the thunder, and the rain fell over the mansion, silently speaking of what is to come, and what never should have came to be. The storm seemed as though it would never pass, ever.

*

It had been told that a time would come, when all normality would be disregarded, and a unique being would walk the earth. Before the present age, and many times before, this time had passed. The being, was of the natures, human, and of the undead, vampire.

Of the humans in the world, only very few know of this archaic prophecy. Many of them didn't even believe that such a thing could exist, but the few that did, aided the vampires in keeping it under guard.

Before in the eras, it had been said that in the time, a being could be taught to be a full vampire, or human for that matter. Vampires, for ages have been searching for them, and then waiting for the age of maturity. Such an age differed between each being, so their wait sometimes lengthened depending on the individual, so they could be turned.

The advantage of having a vampire that could waltz around in pure daylight for the clans would mean an assassin that wasn't barred by anything. They themselves were experienced killers, and knew how the world worked better then any, but they couldn't ever use their innate abilities in any other time then at night. One of them in the daylight would be a great advantage over any other clan. The only problem was that, anyone that had turned, could vanish from their possession, or put their abilities to use in a different clan. If they discovered their hidden uses for them, the result could be, fatal.

Once the ruling clan had found one being, and had turned her to the vampire half of her heritage. Her name was Amber, and she was the perfect tool for their uses, but they used her carelessly, despite their efforts to control her.

A rebel clan had found out about Amber, and sought to overthrow the ruling clan. Their efforts failed, because she refused to help either of them, and left in the daylight. Amber was never seen again. If Amber was seen though, no one knew it was she.

It had been three centuries since the last being had disappeared, and a new one hadn't come either. That meant Amber still lived, as the usual length in between each wait was about 150 years, give or take a month. The clans still kept their watch, every night watching the ones who showed promise. Until, they found it, a girl.

The father had been of a rich heritage in Europe, his parents were multi-billionaires. They had amassed a great fortune in entertainment. The mother though, was said to have died in birth, yet their was no evidence to prove that statement. Some theorists in the clans believe that it could have been Amber, but that was only an assumption since the father had been a vampire. His parents were also friends of the ruling clan.

The ruling clan, after finding the being, killed the father after questioning him about the mother. He wouldn't tell them anything, he had always been stubborn.

Thus, the ruling clan laced the child into the custody of the grandparents, and replaced all their staff with their human allies. There would be no mistakes this time. For now, they didn't exactly know who the child was. For all they knew, Amber could have been the mother, because they also didn't know how a being was created.

*

Aillen swept through the halls, she was silent, but still swifter then she had ever been before. In no time at all, she arrived at the doors to the ballroom. They were large, hand carved mahogany with clumsy iron handles with a gripping texture that looks like scales. She hated those handles, but disregarded them as she checked the clock set into the wall.

6:59? That couldn't be right though, she had just left her room and arrived here in less time then usual. All the clocks in the house were in full synch. This wasn't a possibility. One clock was never off, even by a second.

Inside the ballroom, were two elderly people, Aillen's guardians, and two others dress all in black suits. There were no other people. The great hall had marble floors, and a dark wood for the walls. Every several meters there was a fern in an elegant stone potholders.

In the center of the hall, were the only four in the room. Aillen's guardians were both seated in cushioned wicker chairs sipping tea. They weren't at all dressed for a Ball, but they were wearing practical outfits for a gathering. One of the men in black was seated also; the other looked rather grim and was standing behind the other who was sitting. He looked like a statue, but a dangerous one. Black sunglasses hid both their eyes, despite the rather dim lighting of the hall.

Clocks sounded the arrival of seven o'clock. The doors behind Aillen's guardians opened, and Aillen walked in. Two servants closed the door behind her, leaving the way she had come. They also locked it. They never locked the door behind her. Aillen gathered her thoughts; no one was here except those four. Her guardians stood, smiling, hiding something. The other two were vampires, but neither was the one she had seen earlier.

"So there was someone here?" The seated vampire asked, as soon as Aillen had gotten close enough.

Aillen scowled at the vampire, and her guardians. They only smiled and went back to there tea.

"Try something." Aillen replied sourly, she hated the fact that he could tell what she was thinking. Aillen sat down in one of the chairs. "What's going on then?" She didn't let her eyes leave the vampires.

"We have come to give you a choice. The first is to pursue your human dreams, and become human. The second," There was an odd pause; everyone was looking at her. "The second is to come with me, and ally with the ruling vampire clan."

Aillen's thoughts disappeared; she knew they weren't safe right now. So she created a mental barrier, one that no one could penetrate, sometimes one that she couldn't. Regardless, she knew she was a half-vampire, but now a real vampire wanted her to be on his side. Possibilities welled in her mind. She could be human, or a vampire, so why not both? The vampire wanted, probably to use her. Aillen could only imagine the advantage this 'ruling clan' would have over the others with her. She was like a day walking female vampire!

The chair shot back from behind her as she rose. Her eyes flared, and she didn't know why. They wanted to use her, she was certain. The dagger on his car, this dress, it meant something and she didn't know what!

"Aillen calm…" Her grandmother began.

"Never tell me to calm down. Never tell me anything!" She was enraged, and her reply seemed to even slightly surprise the vampire.

The door she entered through had been locked. She should have known that this was going to happen. Aillen glared at the vampire and then headed to the main entrance door. She didn't want to stay here, not a second longer.

Hesitantly, the vampire behind the one who had addressed her came swiftly to block her way. "Move!" The vampire shot back towards the doors with such force that the doors blasted open before he even hit them. He landed on the other side of the car, unconscious. Aillen didn't notice.

She stormed out of the manor into the rain. Eyes were upon her, but she didn't care. Thoughts of the vampires filled her head. Questions with no answers spoke in her mind like nails sliding down a chalkboard. It was too much to handle right now. Aillen fell onto the grass her hands clasped her ears, and she screamed. Lightning broke the darkness, thunder crashed, and the rain came down harder then ever. Aillen still screamed, even in the thunder, the thoughts wouldn't go away.

The vampires wouldn't leave her mind. The thoughts of them using her for their own purposes, and training her to kill. That didn't concern her anymore now though, her head pounded so much that there was no room for thoughts other then pain. Until that one vampire came back into her mind, the one she had first spoken to, the one who told her what she was.

Inside the manor, the vampire was still sitting comfortably, but obviously lost in pools of thought. This had never happened before, usually the beings were quite agreeable. Something else was going through this one's mind though. She had to have already known what she was for him to have gathered such an outburst. That or the age had already passed in which she could be turned. His attention drifted towards the girls' guardians. They would have to be dealt with, reassured until the clan decided how to dispose of them.

"We will take her for now, and see if we can't get her to cooperate, and come to her conclusion." He rose from his chair. "As we have agreed earlier, I will have others come to see to this other vampire you and the girls' private maid believe was here."

He then turned to leave. This other vampire bothered him somewhat. If he knew what the girl was then he would have a large problem on his hands, mostly because this vampire shouldn't even exist if his suspicions were accurate. He would be a splinter in the ruling clans' plans for Aillen, ones that should go exactly as planned, lest the same mistakes repeat themselves as they did in the past.