• Night fell in through the Italian Country, its grace and elegance only to be matched by the sunrise to come in the morning. The full moon shined brightly over the countryside, giving beautiful radiance to the lake on which my house was beside, my name is Duke, and I am a vampire. I awoke peacefully, to greet the moon and see the night. I have lived here, in this empty house for as long as my memory has served me. Many people have come to my home, and half of them have never left, but I live alone. My presence upsets the beauty that surrounds me with the plague of death in my every move. I know not how to entwine my happiness in the idle things as mortals do. It is strange, I find myself in Italy, but I am not Italian, I have lived here for a longer time than you can know, yet I have never entered the town. I sit up in the tomb I have slept the daylight hours away in. It’s soft, vibrant red velvet, on which the cushions are made, is quite comfortable. I slide my hand over the pure white lace of the inner lining of my tomb, awing its soft touch. I get out of my tomb and stride over to my window, my feet scarcely making a noise. I look out the window, at the beautiful lake, untouched by mortals, and pure to my sights. The moonlight reflecting upon its surface is a sight that brings a tear to even my eyes. Along side the lake is a string of blue roses that seem to soak in the moonlight. Their soft blue coloration takes in the moon’s reflected rays delightedly. This is my world, my home, my lake, and my roses. I will not have it any other way. I walk through my cold, dark home, I know it yearns for the enlightenment of voices, the interaction of a family, and it aches for life. But I cannot provide such things to my home, and it knows this. I am the plague, the death, the messenger of fate, a vampire meant to steal the life presented before it in mortals. This is my plan that has been sent as punishment from Heaven above, for idling myself with the rituals of Hell down below. The Gods reject me, and the Devils rejoice at the sight of my presence. That’s the way it has been written for those of my species, and that’s the way it shall happen. I’m not to smile in pure joy, not to laugh with the essence of giddiness, and never to kiss with the intention of pure love.
    I stand now at the entrance of my home; its grand door is engraved with symbols of love, life, and lost. It is meant for a warning to those that come, but most consider it just for decoration. I walk out of my home and down the stairs to the statues that are at the entrance. The two statues, at each side of the staircase are elegant stone sculptures of night griffons, their sleek and perfect structure captured in stone in such a realistic way, I often wonder if these were made by a vampire before me. A sound draws my attention from these wonders, it’s a sound of a horse, no…two horses, and wheels. Heaven forbid, a carriage is coming this way. I can see it now, coming up the ancient road in front of my home, and my mind immediately conjures up thoughts. Why would such a carriage be out riding at night, and why would it be coming towards me? Are the passengers aware of the danger they face with discovering me? The carriage comes to a stop in front of my home, the horses are still uneasy, as the passengers leave the safety of the carriage. I place my hand on the head of the stone griffon nearest to me and watch them idly. Three humans exit the carriage and walk towards me. The humans are intriguing, one is tall, fairly tan with light, golden brown hair, it must be a sight in the daylight, but in the moon it shines faintly. One is slightly shorter than the first, with the reddest hair I have ever seen, very vibrant in color, and his skin is also tan, but not as much as the first. The last is the shortest, but not too short to be a child. His skin is pale, healthy-looking and definitely human, but pale as if to match the moon’s beauty, and his hair is pure white, the moon seems to be reflecting its brilliance, instead of the other way around. I sigh and smile to these humans, my teeth are not sharp, at least not at this moment, “Well, good evening.” I say in a pleasant tone to them. “Well, hello there, sir.” The tallest says, “My name is Christian, this is Michael and Gabriel.” he said, introducing himself and his companions. Michael and Gabriel both bowed their heads politely to me. I nodded in acknowledgment to them, “My name is Duke. What is your business at my home?” I ask them, my curiosity getting the better of me in this situation. “Well, we’ve heard tale in the town that a vampire lives in this part of the country, and it’s been killing off good people that ride through here, you wouldn’t believe this, would you?” Michael asked me, and I wasn’t unnerved. “Vampire you say? I haven’t heard any such rumor, and I highly doubt its accuracy, no one has rode through here for years,” I said honestly, no one really had been down this rode in so long, I’ve been having to get my drink from a nearby herd of wild horses. What was slowly nagging at me was the way Gabriel was looking at me, it wasn’t making me nervous, but it was piquing my interests. “Excuse me, Gabriel was it? May I ask why you’re staring?” I asked him in a gentle tone, to not startle him.
    Gabriel took a moment before he answered, “You’re accent. It isn’t Italian.” He observed. I smiled, “Neither is yours.” I responded without hesitation or thought. Christian laughed a little and patted Gabriel on the back, “Don’t mind him, he’s new to the group!” he exclaimed. I looked at the man, questioning him, I wanted to ask ‘what group’, but a different question came from my mouth. “Surely common folklore is not enough to get you to come down here, is there anything else I can help you with?” I asked, hiding my suspicion by covering it with polite curiosity. This time, Michael addressed me, and this time, I noticed his accent was Greek, “True, folklore didn’t get us, but what we do is what brought us here.” He explained, not giving me any insight with it. “And what is it you do?” I ask lightly. Christian gave me the strangest grin I’ve ever seen, and I wish I could read it as easily as I read the many tablets of prayer I have. “We,” he told me, “Exorcise vampires.” No shock came over me, no fear, or adrenaline ran through my veins. I simply gave an unreadable smile in response, and turned my back to them, and slowly walked up the stairs to my home, “Well then, make yourselves at home here.” I say to them, and they follow me into my aching home.