Opening my eyes felt like a hard work, just as keeping them open. The eyelids felt as heavy, as if they've been cast in iron.

  My body felt weird, muscles were weak and jelly like, hands were shaking. And then it dawned on me.

  It was no sleep. It was a damn torpor!

  When that thought crossed my mind, I immediately threw myself off the bed, falling on the hard wood like a sack of sand. One of my hands were sandwiched between my body and the ground, and ripping it out was a struggle that shouldn't have taken almost a minute. My teeth clenched, I've pushed myself slightly up, forcing my knee closer to my stomach, scraping it heavily against the planks. The shock therapy was the only method I had in my mind, in how I could've kept myself awake. I didn't even notice how tiring it was, until I've noticed a sweat droplet sneaking it's way down my nose, forcing my vision on it.

  Another push up, a foot planted weakly on the ground. Getting up should've been effortless, yet I was groaning, as if an imaginable weight was placed on my shoulders. But I managed to get high enough to straighten the other leg. I was up on my feet.

  "Fuck... How..." My managed to muster the words, feeling as my throat was dry as paper. I tried to reach my mind to what could've put my body in state where I was forced to sleep. The torpor was a reaction to lack of blood.

  'Was it my supply?' - I've thought, not even bothering to vocalize my thoughts this time. It had to be the old blood, meaning my body was rejecting it. I had no idea how long have I slept, but an attempt to check it out could be dangerous. My room had no window, meaning that I'd need to go out through the lobby, potentially full of people. Could I keep my hunger in check long enough to find a pray away from prying eyes?

  I had no answer to those questions, so I've forced my legs into moving. Step by step, I've closed the distance to the doors and before I've hit them, I extended my arms and braced them against the wood, slowly getting closer, until my ear have met the wood. It was mostly quiet, but there were sounds. What really informed me that there were people, was actually the vibrations. Someone was walking in or out of their room, stomping heavily and causing everything to vibrate slightly, but in my state it was like an earthquake erupted in my head.

  The pain in my head was so strong, my limited vision in the dark turned pitch black, and by the time it returned, I felt my hands stuck on something. I've slowly moved my head away from the door, blinking rapidly to try and adjust my eyes to the darkness once more. My nails have extended like claws. Might've been no more than an inch, but they were stuck in the wood. The physical manifestation of hunger - turning into beast. I had to quickly get out and find a blood source, before I go berserk in a tavern full of people.

  Walking slowly and heavily, I've approached the bed, next to which my things were. My boots next to the bed, bag hanging off of the corner, sword braced against the wall. I simply grabbed the sheathed weapon and walked to the door. The bag was useless as it could get in the way and I was not in state where I could really allow myself a mistake during combat. Boots had a simpler reason for abandonment. If I bent over or crouched to put them on, I'd fall on my face or ass, without a chance of getting back up.

  The door handle felt like a letter seal. Once broken, there's no turning back. I've pressed on it and left the room.

  The light that assaulted me eyes, nearly were a good enough deterrent to stay inside and go back to sleep. A single candle on a wall, giving the bare minimum light was strong enough to blind me. A doubt crept up my spine, making me reconsider this journey out. Even if I've found pray, was I still strong enough to sink my teeth into it? A medium sized dog would be strong enough to rip itself from my clutches in this state.

  I needed help and fast. My mind was still pulsing, vision blurry and forced to even work, but I still tried scanning the short corridor. Two pairs of doors on the left, balcony down to the lobby on the right. Maybe someone was in the first room next to me?

  Then it dawned on me - this was Abigails room. I've completely forgot about the redhead that I've traveled for a whole day with. I resumed my heavy steps over to her door, lifting my hand slowly - much slower than I thought I even could. I knocked once, twice, and my hand refused to lift itself. My wrist tried to pull the entire length by itself but was unable to. But then I heard steps.

  When the doors opened, the redhead looked at me with a smile, until she realized how I looked. Must've been a terrible sight, because she immediately climbed her way under my arm, wrapping it around her shoulders and basically dragging me all on her own into her room. She smelled nice, like a basket of cherries. My sniffing didn't take long thought, in few seconds I found myself on the bed, not even noticing when we crossed the entire room.

  "Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Her voicec came out worried and terrified. She looked me over, her eyes going down my face and onto my hand. I could feel her trying to pull my fingers apart from the sheathed weapon, until she gasped.

  Must've noticed the claws. Was she trustworthy enough to tell her what's going on? I wanted to simply ask her for help, but I couldn't make myself.

  "D-do you need something? A doctor maybe?" I could see her eyes, locked on my face. I could feel how she spoke from further away, but it took me a moment to notice she stepped back. It was time to act, before a bad idea would come across her mind, or it was too late to ask.

  "Abi... Can I trust you?" My voice came out rough and weak. I wasn't nowhere near dying, but I could be mistaken for being one leg in the coffin already, just by the sound of my voice.

  "I think so..." She looked over my entire body quickly, shook her head and suddenly looked more determined. "Yes, you can trust me. What do you need?"

  "Would you be able to bring..." I had to take a short break, feeling my jaw tightening, refusing to move. "... bring me a freshly killed animal?"

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The silence that proceeded was long. Or so I thought, my perception was so messed up, that I didn't really know if things moved faster or slower anymore. But I kept observing the redhead. She looked behind herself, as if to see if someone was in the room with them, then back at me. She opened her mouth to speak, but immediately closed it, unable to find an answer.

  "Are you a... you know." She moved closer, whispering in my direction. "Are you a vampire?"

  There was no time to even wonder about it. I simply nodded as much as I could in my state. Her reaction was weird, because she tensed up physically, but at the same time she stepped closer, as if more confident. Another look over me, that was painfully long. I could see as she was thinking what to do, wondering what to do and how to do it.

  Suddenly her fingers moved up to her collar, which she begun untying. Her blue tunic slowly slid off her shoulder as she knelt next to me. This girl was either completely stupid, or an actual saint in human skin. But I didn't need to ravage her neck, so I moved my hand up. It was difficult to navigate it, but when I mustered all my strength, I felt how my fingers soared through the air, before clenching on her wrist. A strong pull later, and I felt my fangs sink into her forearm.

  The amount of blood that I was able to suck out at once was small. My fangs easily pierced her skin and muscle, but shallowly. I've drunk impossibly long, feeling how a faint, warm line formed from my mouth, towards my throat, before it spread across my body. My senses were waking up so slowly, few minutes could've passed since I've bitten into her arm. I looked up, seeing a girl who was breathing heavily, eyes locked on me, observing every single move. Her hand was on my sword's handle. I didn't even feel when she pulled it out.

  The blade shone in the light from the candle, but it was not raised in attack. Simply held in case I was too greedy for HER good. Soon enough another sensation filled my mind - Abigail's heartbeat. It was heavy, fast, connected. I could feel how her heart slowly pumped blood, that I then drank.

  The whole feast was around five to ten minutes. We both sat on the side of the bed in awkward silence. Abi was now the one feeling tired, resting her head on my shoulder, while I was working a bandage over her forearm, hiding the bite marks, which were farm more gruesome than I've wanted. It appears that when trying to bite her, my jaw locked in equally hard, marking her arm as if a dog bite.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Will I be fine?" Her voice was trembling, as if she worried I might turn her into an undead. In truth, there were many stories about vampires and the unhappy end each of their victims faced.

  "Yes. You're weak because I've drank a bit, maybe a mug from you. A good dinner, a lot of liquid and you'll be back to normal.

  "And after that? I won't turn into a slave or a thrall?"

  "You will not. For now, I'll tell you that you have nothing to worry about yourself. If you want, I can tell you more later. Even a private room is not private enough for this kind of talk."

  I looked to Abi, her eyes locked on her forearm. When I finished bandaging her thought, her eyes followed my hand, making me realize what she really have been looking at - my claws. I've completely forgot about them, as I looked over my palm, turning it up and down, stretching my fingers.

  "They should disappear soon. Don't know why they appear, but I have my theories. Can you tell me what time is it?"

  "It should've been evening now."

  "Alright then. I'll go and grab something to for you, so just rest. When you feel good enough to walk, we'll get out and I'll explain everything."

  She responded with a nod, before looking back at her forearm. She clenched her fist few times, feeling how it works and smiled. Her hand was working as it should've, she was alive and potentially saved a 'friend'. I just hoped I've been worthy of being called a friend.

  We both were walking out of the town, walking down the road, fully equipped. I had my ruined shirt, weapon and bag. Abi had a cup of warm tea that she got before walking out of the tavern, warming her hands on the liquid and sipping from time to time.

  A few dozen more steps out of town, I've looked around - silence. Perfect.

  I've turned towards Abigail and tried to speak. I've felt my throat tightening, as I struggled to form the words.

  "So, what do you wanna know?" It came out far more awkward than I've wanted, but nonetheless I've started the conversation. It was silent for a bit, before the redhead spoke, not looking my way.

  "When we've been returning back with Kastan, I noticed your eyes, fangs... and I guess the hair. You look like an actual vampire. I mean, from the stories, not that I call you a monster!"

  She immediately panicked, as if she insulted me in some way, but I only chuckled in response.

  "No worries, I'm not hurt by that. I do look like a vampire, but one thing makes me safe. I can walk in the sunlight."

  "How though? Aren't vampire's meant to turn to ash in the sunlight?"

  "Oh they are. I'm simply different." I've used it again - my go to response to avoid further explanation. I quickly shook my head, deciding this time I had to expand on the answer. "To be frank, I don't have many answers, but even more questions than you. All I know, I was born a vampire. Circumstances unknown, parents? Long ago buried with stakes through their hearts. My adoptive dad admitted that he wished to tell me whole truth, but he had no idea what was going on."

  A longer moment of silence as we walked, broken up by Abi sipping on her tea a bit louder than was necessary, maybe to fill in the blank space. She looked over at me, still without saying a word, but my guess was that she tried to formulate a sentence.

  "Maybe because you have been born? Aren't vampires called the creatures of the night? I mean, as in the undead."

  "Maybe. Maybe it's exactly that. Maybe not. I've thought about many options, some more reasonable, some less. I guess it doesn't matter that much. It could fill in my curiosity, but beside that, no greater change in my life would happen."

  "Sooo...." Abi budged in, stopping me from monologuing away. "What exactly happened? In the morning you've seemed fine."

  "Oh that. I used a vial of blood before sleep, must've been too old. My guess is that I have to drink blood for the vitality of it, and I've drank one that was too old and went into torpor."

  I could hear boots scraping against the gravel and when I looked over her she stood in place, staring at me. "Vitality? Torpor?" She asked and I immediately sighed, realizing that I've spoke the terms I've learned from books about vampires.

  "Vitality is the life essence that runs in blood. Alchemists call it a forbidden fuel for philosopher's stone, necromancers call it the matter that binds bones together, but a priest could say it is a gift of the heavens that awakened life in twigs and minerals of earth. Whatever it is, I need it from outside sources. Luckily I can be liberal, if it's a person, an animal or a monster. The biggest reason I've become a mercenary, was being able to take jobs for bandits that are to be killed on sight, drink them dry and not worry about causing problems for humans."

  She nodded along as I spoke, memorizing my words. "And that topor?"

  "Torpor." I quickly corrected her. "It's a state that animals and monsters go into before winter. I've read a bestiary that explains that vampires are one of the beings that need to go into torpor when in hunger, to avoid perishing from it. Or something like that."

  "So you almost fell into hibernation like a bear, because you've been hungry?"

  "Basically? Yes."

  She stared at me for a moment, before she laughed softly, probably imagining me as a bear or other hibernating animal. But her cheerfulness was contagious and I've felt the corners of my mouth to lift.