*Venous

A choice.

People believe they are human, but they are mammals cultivating humanity.

A person spends their life becoming human. Some succeed, and others like me fail because deep within, we know we were never of the species in the first place.

It's odd how one event can change how you see the world. I feel as though I spent my whole life waiting. While some doubt they're special, I've always known I had something more than the next being. I was born to serve a higher purpose. Only one person has ever given me the impression of being out of this world.

Inna.

There's something about her ordinariness that's compelling. She sees the good in people. And for some crazy reason, she sees a residue of holiness in me.

It's not what I spy when I look at my reflection. I see her, and if until this moment, I didn't know her name since all I think of is her.

Dame Ophelia, the bloody Queen, wasn't popular, but for Magnus, the Queen represented the best of their species and an example to follow. The world would be on its knees if the Queen reigned once more.

I, the Queen.

The thought is what has brought me back to the Colosseum.

"Back already," Magnus asks, barely hiding his contentment.

"You knew it, didn't you, that I'd come back," I say and look behind me. It's incredible to think this place was ruined forty-eight hours ago. Humans ignore so many things about the other world, which isn't parallel but a layer of their world.

"I know her. The Queen is not one to hesitate. She is incisive, unlike my muffler of a brother. He almost resembled a king with her by his side."

"You admire her."

Magnus nods, "Yes, never has someone who transgressed life embraced our immortal universe as she did. We could restore Strigoi glory, my lady."

"I'm not doing this for the vampire diaries of Strigoi archives."

Magnus smiles and kisses my hand, "I know."

I wonder what Magnus notices when he looks at me. Is it her or me he sees?

Though I'm one with Ophelia, I can't help but wonder what will remain of Aurora. I am her, yet I detest her so.

Magnus grins. He is different from that frightful night; it's absurd how a tuxedo makes a man. Here, in his slim jeans and black turtle neck, I find it challenging to believe he's a prince of vampires. The three brothers have nothing in common; only Jesus resembles the traditional image one makes of a vampire. At the same time, Jesus is a rock star. Most naturally look or cultivate the darkness of creatures in obscurity. Magnus' blonde hair and blue eyes remove that mysterious and frightening aspect of what I am preparing to do. I feel as though Prince Charming is accompanying me on the reaper's boat.

I mean, I am about to let the guy kill me.

When I think of it, Magnus' looks are hoaxes that bring young and naive women into his trap. He gives off that knight in shining armor vibe when he can suck one blood dry.

Magnus coughs, "Have no fear. You will soon be liberated from these ridiculous Humanus ponderings. Walk this way, my lady."

Magnus leads me to the middle of the room, and two women in black suits approach.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Relax, they're assessors from the council," Magnus explains.

"Assessors?"

"You, my lady, are a treasure. My brother, your husband, has established strict laws. The assessors are here to say if you are not under a spell and are in full possession of your free will before the ritual."

"My husband?" I repeat. It's all I retain of his explanation. I know now Soren was born a prince and ascended to the immortal throne after his father's death. Though the youngest of the legit children, a coup d'etat allowed him to govern.

It's the method Soren used that Magnus deplores. He could have accepted anything, but the fact Soren colluded with their arch-enemies makes my tattoo artist husband a traitor to Strigoi's cause.

Magnus approaches, and we stand face to face.

My stare wanders across the room. Apart from the assessors, there are multiple other beings, "do we have to do this in public?"

"I would have offered you more intimacy, but you remain my brother's spouse no matter how many cycles you live. I'm already risking my neck and a scattering, if I may say, by doing this."

"I see."

Magnus leans and pushes back my hair.

"Lord Magnus, you can not fang by intravenous. It would be a breach of protocol," one of the assessors says. It's only then that I remark the assessors are identical twins.

Magnus's face shows An uncanny smile, and he lifts the sleeve of his turtle neck, "Please forgive me, my lady, but you will have to get down on your knees."

The image of me down on Magnus, even to drink off his wrists, repels me, and I seek another solution, "I beg your pardon. Can't I drink from a cup?"

Magnus turns to look at the assessors, and they say in unison, "request granted."

"Gosh, it would have been so much easier. Do you want a straw, my lady? I can't tell you how it tastes," Magnus says with all the irony one can muster as he uses his nail to slit his wrist and pours the blood into a glass. "Some say it is bitter, others that my blood tastes like a Tokaji Aszu."

His calmness is baffling.

Magnus smiles, "My lady, I've been creating immortality for centuries. You are not my first, and you shall not be my last. May I?" He cuts into my palm with his nails. What kind of nail capsules is he wearing? The nail slices better than a blade. Damn, it hurts.

"Please, my lady, do not turn this sacred ritual into a joke."

I quickly forget he can read my mind. I really can't wait to have this power. How pleasing it must be to know what everyone is thinking.

"Trust me; it's not as pleasant as it seems. All sounds rush into your mind without wanting one can't rest," Magnus replies as he reads into me again.

"You sleep?"

"We Firsts are similar to humans, except our cycle forces us to move less during the day. Talking and walking under the sun demands a lot of energy. Shall we," he says.

We stand with a glass of each other's blood.

"If I can advise you, please drink it in one go," Magnus says.

I nod and gulp down my glass. Magnus is wrong; his blood tastes like cider. Heat invades my body before dramatically dropping as my pulse slows down. My eyes close, and I stand in a dark room when I open them.

There's one object in the room. It's a mirror. The me in the mirror does not mimic my movements. I stare at my still self. When my reflection moves, the head passes the glass. I do not know if I'm too close, but we kiss. I kiss myself and wake up sitting saddle-legged on Magnus while murmuring, "Blood," and bite his neck.

More, more I want more. It's just so good, so tasty, I can't stop drinking, and I feel a euphoria more electrifying than an orgasm. Magnus' existence plays in a fast-forward before me, and I see myself naked, drenched in blood from head to toe, walking amid the bodies floating in a pool of blood. How beautiful. Never have I felt as empowered as now, but my pleasure doesn't last.

Something tugs on my hair and clothes. A deafening sound fills the air as a dark mist cloaks, forcing me to release Magnus.

Bats, hundreds, swamp, and hysterically attack me. They yank, pull, and bite my limbs and scalp.

Magnus approaches. He holds his neck while the blood gushes out from under his finger.

"Aw, my lady, thy thirst can not be quenched by me. I should find you, maidens. Succulent unpolluted virgins reap in age, but for now, sleep and let the Queen take the lead."

The drowsiness is immediate. Inna was right, I think, as I fall into my slumber. There was something good in me, and it was the girl named Aurora.

A sweet smell of blood wakes me, and I sit up. The scent comes from the glass on the nightstand, but I grab the duck beside it and gulp it down.

"Regina, you are awake," is all Magnus manages to say before dodging the flying duck I throw.

He smiles

"I'm thirsty."

"Your thirst shall be quenched, my Queen," Magnus replies and bows.

"I want fourteen to sixteen years old," I begin before stopping, and Magnus picks up.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but children are forbidden fruit in this era."

I sigh and fall back on the pillow without taking notice of my surroundings.

This era indeed evolved with rigid laws. Do humans wait to slaughter weaners? Humans are my piglets. Why should we be held back when they have killed animals of all sorts without answering to laws of age or consent for centuries?

Have they not heard how swine cry?

This mind I share with this mortal shows me their repugnance. I shall reserve the same fate for these humans who forbid me to drink to my liking.

Squeaking sounds make me look above.

"What are they doing here?"

Magnus moves to stand beside the bed, "they're protecting me. You took me by surprise with your attack a week ago."

"A week. What? I've been asleep a week."

"It surprised us as well. We needed to have Doctor Magoo intervene. There were jammers we had to extract. Matters surrounding reincarnation are never effortless. I myself am a novice and have to admit I didn't expect such resistance from your vassal."

"Is she gone? No, I still feel her presence."

"Doctor Magoo says you're indissociable," Magnus explains and sits beside me. He stretches a hand, and I slap it away from my hair.

"What are you doing?" Magnus asks as he sees me get up.

"I'm going home."

"What for? My Queen? You no longer need to return."

My lips twitch with a smile as I reply, "I have a rival to kill."