The Brighter

Niamh had woken up to a beautiful morning, the sun shone brightly through her white curtains and a cool breeze washed over her as she uncovered herself. She looked outside the windows and saw the glistening sea with its waves sending sounds that calmed her to the bones. Her mother was probably preparing breakfast and she knew she would need help. Brianna quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth... Something deep down was telling her that today would not be all rainbows and sunshine.

When she got to the kitchen, the sweet smell of her mother's delectable oyster soup wafted into her nostrils and her mouth began to water. "good morning mother" she said with a bright smile, her mother however was not smiling, this made her own smile to dim down. "good morning dear, how did you sleep?" her mmother said in a tired voice as she turned the boiling pot. "I slept wonderfully" Niamh said "you don't seem very lively today" she added as she started washing the dishes "did something happen?" " I have a lot to tell you" Ursula told her daughter wwith a sigh. " like what mother?" Niamh asked dropping the carefully dropping plate she held in her hand to turn towards Ursula. " while you were asleep last night we had some visitors" her mother looked utterly stressed and Niamh started feeling stressed as well as she waited for her mother to continue. "what did they come for?" She finally asked. "they were slave traders" her mother said and Niamh let out a loud gasp as she covered her mouth with her palm in shock. " mother, what would slave traders possibly want from us?" "they came for you" Niamh blinked once, then twice, as her fear started building up. " but the slave readers wouldn't come to a persons house without an invitation " Niamh said staring deeply into her mother's eyes searching for answers. "I invited them Niamh, time has come for you to leave this poor village and start the life you were destined for" Her mother said with strong eyes. " life I was destined for? What are you talking about? " Niamh said as she sat on the floor " why would you even think of selling me?" Her tears threathend to pour. She felt weaker than she had ever felt in her life. " Nia, you are a brighter, I've told you this many times before, you are not like other humans, you are special" her mother said as she sat beside her. " when you were born the universe shook and the stars moved from their place" Ursula said in a soft voice. " and I've told you before that the universal vibration that occurred 18 years ago had nothing to do with my birth, I don't even understand why you would trade me for something so stupid" Niamh got up and started pacing in an attempt to show her frustration. "you need to understand me, dear" "there is absolutely nothing to understand, there is nothing you can tell me right now that will be enough reason to sell me off to those blood sucking demons" Niamh said in a raised voice. "they are not all as bad as you've been told-" Ursula was saying. "not all bad?" Niamh asked narrowing her eyes at her mother. " you mean the people who murdered my father, your husband in cold blood, without any trial, for no reason?" she shook her head in disbelief, she saw the pain flash past her mother's eyes but she didn't care. " that is why I want you to listen to me for just a minute " "okay mother, go ahead and explain, I'll listen" she said giving her mother her full attention trying desperately to calm her anger. "you're a brighter, and just like your grandmother predicted, you've come of age, and it is time to meet your Nineveh," "I've come of age?" " yes the signs your grandmother talked about are finally being revealed" she saw her daughters questioning eyes and decided to explain further. "have you been having any strange dreams lately?" Ursula asked and Niamhs eyes widened in embarrassment. For the past few weeks she had been having recurrent dreams of a man that had an incredibly strong aura that fascinated her, he activated a feeling deep in her that she had never experienced before in her life like they had an otherworldly connection and all she wanted was to meet him and know who he was. In her dreams she never saw his face but his body was completely in her view and they would lie on a bed surrounded with pure white sheets and white curtains and he would do unthinkable things to her, the things he did only ignited a fire within her, and she felt like the fire could never be stopped, only by him. She would wake up from every dream feeling very lost and longing for an emotion that felt so far away from her. The first time Ursula heard moans coming from her daughters room she assumed it was only her teenage hormones doing their job, but when he had heard them 3 nights in a row she decided to have a look only for her to realize her daughter was moaning in deep sleep. She realized her daughter had come of age and things were happening exactly according to her mother's prophecy. She decided to make a deal with some slave traders, she begged them to send her daughter to the palace as a palace slave, to do the kings bidding, she assured them of her daughters purity and her beauty and they finally agreed to take Niamh to the castle. "how do you know about my dreams?" " I hear all the strange noises you make while you're asleep" she said and watched her daughters face turn red with embarrassment. "listen Nia, in our world, there are many creatures, but the strongest are the vampires, among these vampires are even stronger creatures called Nineveh, there is one for each kingdom, the Nineveh are usually the rulers of their kingdom because of the immense power they hold, but despite all the power they have, they can never unleash their true potential without their brighters. Once the Nineveh unleash their true potential they quite literally become gods on earth" Ursula explained and Niamh tried to absorb all she was hearing as it was too much for her to take in all at once. "it is said that the Nineveh and brighter of our kingdom are the strongest of the 4 kingdoms and once our Nineveh reaches his full potential it will be a threat for the other 3 kingdoms combined, that is why I have decided to sell you, nothing on the face of the earth can stop a brighter from meeting their Nineveh, I know you will get there safely and you'll make me proud" Ursula said looking at her daughter with teary eyes. " why does it have to be me?" Niamh asked "I don't want this" she said with teary eyes. "I know how much you hate the vampires, but this is your destiny, and you have to fulfil it because eventually the Nineveh will start actively searching for you to retain his sanity, we do not need a mad king as the king is mad enough already, he might even kill me if I'm in the way" Ursula exhaled. "once a brighter comes of age, she will have feelings that are inexplicable and she will long for something which she doesn't know or understand until she finally goes insane, the same thing happens to her Nineveh but the feeling is even worse because vampires have stronger emotions. " so I'm destined to marry a blood sucking demon, that is what this means and I have no choice but to do it" Niamh said, sadness evident in her voice. Her father loved her, he always gave her everything she asked for, always made her laugh and she was never sad or unhappy when he was around. Her father had paid for language lessons for her, because he saw reading and writing as a necessity for every child, noble blood or not. On the day her father died, some high level vampires had come to scout the village for some reason and she was told to be careful as she went for her language lessons, after the lesson she was scared to go back because the vampires seemed to be everywhere, she decided to wait for the vampires to finish their scouting business before she started her short journey back home, it was already dark, she walked quickly as it was not safe for a nine year old to walk around alone at night. When she finally got home the door was slightly ajar and she didn't think much of it, although she wondered why the house was so dark, she quickly found matchsticks and lit up the only lantern she could find and the sight before her was absolutely traumatizing, her father laid lifeless on the floor, his eyes wide open indicating the agony he went through, two jagged fang marks were present on his neck, indicating that it was indeed a vampire that murdered her father. She screamed and immediately ran to his side and begged him to wake up, she called for her mother but she got no response, she got up from her fathers pool of blood and began to search for her mother, she found her mother in the kitchen floor, bleeding from her neck as well, but she could see her mother was still holding on to life. She immediately ran out to get the help of the neighbors and that is how her mother survived. She had grown an unbelievable hatred for vampires after that day and she made a silent promise to herself to find and kill all the vampires that were involved with her fathers death. When her mother met with the minister, asking him to investigate the death of her husband, the minister who was a vampire himself halfheartedly called for an investigation, after many months of their so called investigation they came to the conclusion that the killer had left the kingdom as they could not find them. Niamh had never felt such hatred and anger in her life. She cried for weeks but she never really got over her grief. "the slave traders will be here first thing tomorrow morning, there will be no need to pack any bags, everything will be provided for you when you get to the castle" Ursula said, hoping the idea of saying in the castle would cheer her daughter up, but the idea of being in a castle filled with vampires disgusted her. She would kill them all herself. "are you hungry dear?" Ursula asked and Niamh nodded while taking a seat at the table. Ursula dished some soup for her daughter and Niamh ate it gratefully, she was always happy with any food she could get her hands on because she still remembered the days her and her mother starved because her mother could not find any work to do since the death of her father. When Niamh was done eating, she decided to pick some flowers for her mother to make some perfume scents from, that is how they acquired their daily income. When night finally arrived, Ursula gave Niamh a necklace. "this will guide you when you are lost, and it will give you comfort when you are lonely and it will protect you when the time arises. " she said placing the necklace on her daughters neck, it was a beautiful blue crystal tied to a brown rope. " my mother gave it to me, she said it's powers will only manifest in the hands of the chosen one, apparently it wasn't me because it has honestly done nothing for me, but I know it was made for you" Ursula said. Niamh would protect the necklace with her life as it would remind her of her last minutes with her mother, she didn't know what adventures awaited her after that very night. She went to sleep with a weary mind and yet another dream followed.