Turn of Darkness: Book One: Diaries of Nicole Johnson

Chapter Three

"Sylvia, it was awesome! I learned about how the vampire capital was populated, and the roles of each person, from the farmers to the bastard soldiers...poor soldiers, I don't like that word, but it was a big deal back then I guess. And they had witches! Instead of burning them, they actually utilized them as spiritual and medical doctors!"

"That's nice," Sylvia muttered. I looked across the dorm room to her side, with her pink and gold comforter, vanity mirror, piles of makeup, and magazines of celebrities... human celebrities. I always thought Sylvia as too... girly... to be so interested in vampires that she'd want to get a degree about them. I inwardly shrugged. Not everyone had to be gothic or alternative, I guessed. But most of the students at MSU were.

"What's up? Aren't you even a little bit excited about learning about the kingdom of Vampiria, lost to time?"

Sylvia shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I understand your excitement. It's mysterious, no one knows about it, it's a city specifically for vampires. But if you really think about it, rationally, not emotionally or with bias, don't you think it's most likely similar to any other large community in that time period? What is there really to learn about it? And what will learning about it accomplish? It's gone."

"It's history. And besides, Demetri wants to rebuild it and step up to his crown."

Sylvia finally looked up at me with wide eyes. "Why? After all these years, he hasn't shown the slightest interest in being king or ever going back to Vampiria. Why now? Doesn't that seem a little... suspicious?"

"Well, I don't know why now of all times, but maybe he's just home sick? And there's nothing really suspicious about it. Why do you say that?"

Sylvia shakes her head. "Nothing," she murmurs, but she still looks disturbed. "Nicole, we don't know much about Demetri besides the fact that he slaughtered thousands of people. Do you really want someone like that as a king?"

I laughed, "He's not the king of the world," I said. "Just of vampires."

"But Nicole, we as a society are working towards vampire integration. One day there might be a vampire president. If vampires were controlled by a king, but still integrated into society, that could be disastrous for humans. Especially with someone that even vampires feared. And not even that, but the mystery surrounding him. He must be hiding something."

"Sylvia, I think you read too much gossip magazines. I don't think he's purposefully hiding anything. If there was something big, don't you think we would know about it? Besides, he said his life is boring. That's probably why we don't know anything about him. There probably isn't really anything to know.

"And I think you're naïve," Sylvia glared. I flinched in surprise. Sylvia was my best friend, despite the differences between us. She didn't seem like a candidate for a vampire school, and as for me, my whole life centered on vampires. As if wanting to escape the conversation, Sylvia gets up and walks out the door of our dorm room. I sigh and flop on my bed, ready to take a nap.

· * * * * * * * * * * * *

I wake up to soft light filtering through the room. I peek my eyes open to see that it's morning. How long have I been asleep? I dress in my school uniform and prepare for breakfast and my first class. I grab my notebook, leather bound journal, and textbooks. Breakfast goes uneventful with breakfast tea, a muffin, and a fresh fruit parfait.

My first class is Turning History, in which we talk about how Turnings were mostly uneventful with the exception of a few violent soldiers. A vampires Turn was basically their puberty, when their fangs developed and they stopped eating regular food and grew a hunger for blood. Lots of men experimented by going to whorehouses, where they "broke their fangs in" and experimented with other body parts as well. Their sexuality developed; Vampiria's culture was driven by blood and sex, as vampires are known for their sexual appetites. Young men frequented whore houses and women were married off to their betrothed.