Chapter Text
Alison was a rare case. Not only was she a vampire, but she was also a princess. This was because her sire, who was now also her adoptive father, was the vampire king himself: King Dorian. Despite such an impressive genesis, however, Alison took no pride in being related to King Dorian. If anything, their bond only confused the younger vampire. This was because she still wasn't quite sure why he'd chosen her to be his child.
And more than that, why had he wanted a child at all? It wasn't like he was going to need an heir, and he certainly wasn't the kind of guy to just surrender the throne for fun. He wasn't even very fatherly or kind, so it wasn't like he'd turned Alison just to have a companion! He didn't even like her! And vice versa! So to Alison, it made no sense that Dorian had turned her.
But she supposed that it did not really matter anymore. What was done was done. She was a vampire princess now, her undead status just as irreversible as her status as Dorian's daughter. Regardless of her new father's motives, Alison was, and would forever be, a vampire, and nothing could ever fix that. But to be quite honest, the life she was leaving behind hadn't been too much different than the "life" she was leading now.
In life, Alison had still been a member of a royal family (although she had not been as high-ranking as a princess). But back in life, she'd lived in a large and fancy castle with an army of servants to answer her every beck and call. And her parents had been very regal and refined. Those parents loved her, but they were often too busy with royal duties to pay her much heed. It had been a lonely existence, and the night Dorian had come to her, breaking into her room and insisting that she would become his most perfect and beautiful daughter, had not been entirely terrible.
Of course it had been painful and frightening at the time, to be attacked in her own room in the middle of the night, but after Dorian had swept her away and brought her into her new "life", not much really changed for the young noblewoman. Honestly, the biggest changes for her were in terms of the food she ate and the company she kept.
The change in diet was obvious, but the change in company was far more interesting. In life, her only companions had been other noble mortals. In death, however, she met an array of creatures that she otherwise would've never even known existed, let alone gotten to know well enough in order to befriend. Ghosts, ghouls, witches, were-creatures, fairies, harpies, deities, aliens, spider-women and all manner of other mythological creatures would flock from around the world in order to attend her father's magnificent parties and, because she was required to attend every single one of these parties, she got to meet every single one of these many mythological monsters.
Her most common companions, however, were vampires. Other members of Dorian's court. But even though Alison was a vampire herself, she never grew very close to anyone else in Dorian's court. There was always a distance between her and them and she never bothered to bridge that gap. Even if she was forced to coexist with these other vampires, she spent most of her time alone, so she never had to see them very much. And the distaste was mutual. The others would never dare disrespect her to her face, but it was quite clear that they weren't very fond of her, just because she came off as incredibly cold and distant. She was also a bit of a black sheep, which made it even harder to connect with them.
Three prime examples came in the forms of Morgan, Calvin and Vera. Morgan was Dorian's personal bodyguard. He was very stern and emotionless. It would've been easier to have a conversation with a statue than with him. Calvin was another vampire soldier, though he was the exact opposite of Morgan. While Morgan was cold and hard, Calvin was a hotheaded bully who loved to assert his dominance whenever he could. He was loud and proud, incredibly rude and boastful, but luckily, it was never too hard to shut him up. For all of his talk, he was still a fairly young vampire, and his lack of training was painfully obvious. He was all bark and no bite. Never once had he bested her in combat.
And then lastly was Vera. She was another court lady who should've been the closest to Alison, but Alison found her so unbearably snobby, rude, sexual (Alison herself was a very sexual being, but where she and Vera differed was that Vera didn't care at all about consent and that was something Alison just could not forgive) and aggressive that the two never ever got along. In Alison's mind, she was basically a female Calvin. And just like Calvin, for all her flare and violence, it wasn't too hard to physically subdue her. Alison considered this a blessing. And all the rest of the vampire court was similar. Was it ever any question, then, why Alison chose to avoid them most of the time?
But the same could've been said for any of the creatures that Alison met during her time in Dorian's court. Man, machine or monster, no matter how friendly the creature was, Alison just never really clicked with anyone. Sure, she enjoyed the company of some of them, but no true or deep bonds ever formed between her and anyone else. And because Alison seldom went out of her way to befriend people, that made it all the harder for her to find someone she truly liked. It was just as lonely as her human life had been. Lots of acquaintances, but no real friends.
So, despite living a very luxurious life, Alison was still very much alone in life and it left her feeling very empty inside. It wasn't quite sorrow or anger, but it was hollowness and longing. She was bored, and craved something more. Even though she was surrounded by all sorts of creatures from all over the world, her life just felt so meaningless, like if something were to happen to her, no one would even notice, let alone care. Was it ever any wonder, then, why Alison was so emotionally distant and broody?
And tonight was no different. Like always, Dorian was holding another ball to celebrate himself, and Alison was in attendance. It was just another dance. Just another party. Just more creatures flocking around Dorian and indulging him and all his vainglory. Typical stuff. Perhaps the party was aesthetically amazing, but the underlying current of how it cyclical and superficial it was bored Alison terribly and she almost wished that someone would start a fight just so she had an excuse to take her pent up bitterness out on something!
There wasn't even anyone worth talking to tonight! Because Dorian held so many parties, not every guest attended every single one. Tonight seemed especially unlucky because Alison couldn't find a single face in the giant crowd that she even wanted to talk to. Although she did not have any close friends, there were still a few creatures that Alison tolerated. Usually, they were the gentler, softer creatures like fairies, sprites or spirits. Or maybe a nice witch or something that wasn't an aggressive were-creature or blood-lusty vampire. Sure, Alison had a warrish side too, but she found it tiring and annoying when creatures seemed capable of talking only about blood and battle and nothing else. It got old after a while.
The only exception to this rule were a pair of Jorogumos, named Kira and Haruko. They were a violent race, but they were not overtly aggressive. They were man-eaters, but they liked to seduce their prey, so there was never much screaming or bloodshed. Because of that, Alison found them enjoyable enough. Usually, when they came to these parties, Alison would play cards with them. Sadly, however, they had skipped out on tonight's celebration. But Alison couldn't blame them for their decision. The Jorogumos hailed from Japan, which was very far away from where Dorian lived (in England). But that meant that there was one less source of escape for Alison when it came time to attend these droll events.
But this was why Alison was especially dour tonight. Not only had the monotony and mundanity of her life been bothering more and more of late, but now the only two people who ever really helped take her mind off of her worries weren't even there. It was just her, standing alone on the fringes of Dorian's ballroom, watching everyone else dance and make merry while her own head swirled with morose and bitter thoughts.
ooo
At one point, while sulking alone in her corner, Alison looked over to her father's throne. He was reclining in it, surrounded by several creatures of various races. Although she could not hear a word he said, she could see it in his fanged smile that he was having the time of his life. She even saw him laugh at one point, tossing his head back with his mouth opened wide.
Alison rolled her eyes. Perhaps the worst thing about these parties was Dorian himself. It just annoyed her to think that the only reason any of these balls ever happened was because he wanted to show off. Of course, Alison understood how and why being a royal might get to someone's head and make them vain and flashy, but Dorian was a cut above the rest. Even for a king, he was incredibly egotistical. And watching him lounge on his throne while he had his guests lavish him with praise made Alison want to puke. She still didn't understand why he forced her to attend all of these stupid parties. He had the other guests to lick his shoes. Why did she have to be there?
But it was Dorian's command and, as her creator, he had a sort of control over her that she could never deny. There was more to Alison's obedience to Dorian than simple loyalty. It went deeper than superficial emotions. It was an invisible, but very real and very strong, bond that tied her to him. Maybe there was no love between them, but vampires were fiercely loyal creatures, especially to whomever they bonded with. Some speculated that these bonds existed to help breed loyalty among vampires and lower the incidents of group-infighting. In the case of Alison and Dorian, this bond was the one between creator and creation, one of the strongest bonds of all.
Because of that, despite their mutual animosity, Alison always felt unable to disobey Dorian. He hadn't just marked her with his fangs, but with his very soul. Now, that wasn't to say she was incapable of defiance. It just meant that she found it incredibly hard to disobey him. Her heart would always compel her to obey him, no matter how much she disagreed with his commands. So, no matter how Alison truly felt about Dorian or his parties, she always felt innately compelled to attend every single one. It was that cursed vampire loyalty. Even if she could skip a party or two, it just wouldn't sit right with her. So here she was now.
And speak of the Devil! Alison hadn't realized that she had been staring at Dorian until he finally caught her eye. He raised an eyebrow before beckoning for her to come over to him. Unable to disobey, Alison walked over to her father's throne. Seeing her come, the others at Dorian's feet respectfully got out of the way and returned to the main part of the party to leave the father and daughter alone with their privacy. Even if none of them cared for Alison on a personal level, they were still going to give the vampire princess their utmost respect.
So while they went back out to the main part of the ballroom, Alison drew ever closer to her arrogant and moody father. But tonight must have been going exceptionally well for him because, for once, he was smiling. And instead of demanding to know why she'd been staring at him, he only invited her to sit at his side and chat for a while. In response, Alison gave him a halfhearted smile as she leaned against his throne to chat.
"Ah! Alison! My darling! My child!" he began languidly, reclining even further back into his throne. "Does it get any better than this?" he waved one hand over the glittering assembly, the other clutching at a golden goblet filled to the brim with warm, fresh blood.
"No, it does not, father," Alison replied robotically. Dorian heard this hollow tone and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What? Are you not enjoying this magnificent event?" he sounded disappointed, but not angry. Not yet at least.
"Not so very much tonight, father," the princess replied, not even bothering to dress up her response or lie. She simply lacked the energy. In response, Dorian finally began to frown a little.
"Bah! You take this all for granted, do you not?" he demanded crossly, sitting up a bit straighter in his irritation. Already, his good mood was fading, and it was all that wretched Alison's fault!
Dorian's eyes flashed as he frowned at Alison. Why did the wretched child always have to be so stubborn? Why could she not be content with her lot for once? After all, had she not received the high blessing of all: becoming his daughter? Had he not chosen her specifically for this very esteemed role? So why, then, was she always so distant and bitter and moody? Would it kill the girl to smile and be grateful, just for once?!
"That I do not, father," Alison replied at last, but her formal tone made it all too clear that she was still not grateful or happy. Before Dorian could offer a counter, however, she continued to speak. "I just do not feel in good spirits tonight. Exquisite and clever as this party is, it brings me no joy or happiness."
"Nothing ever does," the vampire king growled in response. He could hear the true boredom behind her formal tone and it drove him mad. Why was she so hard to please? Had he not given her everything he had to offer? She was so impolite, arrogant, rude, sulky and argumentative! But for all his effort, she seemed adamant in remaining in her self-pitying state. Not a day went by where Dorian did not wonder what went wrong with her. It seemed like a cruel act of fate that the one girl Dorian had considered suitable for the role of his child would turn out to be the worst of all.
But Dorian gave himself too much credit. As much as he had given Alison, the real reason behind why he had turned her was for the publicity and political power that adding a new member to the royal family would bring. It was not for love or companionship, it was purely strategic. All Alison had ever been was a pawn. Maybe Dorian had indeed lavished her with every gift she could've ever wanted, but the simple fact that he had only ever seen her as a tool to further his own agenda was what prevented them from ever truly having a loving father-daughter relationship. But Dorian was too arrogant and self-centered to realize this.
While Dorian continued to sulk over these bitter and regretful thoughts, Alison turned away, looking back to the rest of the party. Her eyes swept sadly and pensively around the room. It was all so glorious but it still rung so hollow for her. It meant nothing to her, and this realization was always accompanied by a sudden wave of sadness and longing. Even though she knew she could've been at least a little more grateful and social, she simply did not have the energy to even pretend to be.
At last, the young woman left her father's side, not even bothering to ask permission first because she already knew it was please him most if she were out of his sight. So, without a single sound, she left his side. And sure enough, as soon as she was gone, Dorian sighed, already feeling a little bit lighter now that she had departed. He took a sip from his golden goblet and felt his spirits return to him at once. Alison was not going to ruin this party for him! Let her skulk and sulk all she wanted! This was his party, not hers! So while Alison left the area, Dorian got back into the swing of things and, soon enough, a small crowd had gathered at his feet once again. Ahhh, this was the life!
But while Dorian went further into the party, Alison went further out of it, leaving the castle entirely to take a walk through the courtyard. But she did not remain in the courtyard. Instead, she finally left the grounds altogether, heading into the forest that surrounded castle. Finally, the sounds of the party were no longer audible and she felt able to breathe a sigh of relief for the first time since that morning. She may not have needed air anymore, but sometimes a lungful of the cool, crisp wind made her feel alive again...
But Alison's little moment of privacy was ruined when she heard something step on a branch right behind her. Without a single second of hesitation, the vampire princess whipped around and entered a battle stance, hissing violently into the night as she bared her fangs.
"Who goes there?!" she demanded boldly, and even though she couldn't see anyone, she was suddenly aware that she could smell them. It smelled one part human, one part something else, and all parts threatening. It seemed like Alison was going to get that fight after all...