EDITED

   Darkness; a bottomless pit that is devoid of colour, life, and happiness. I could not remember how I ended up in this place; how things turned out like this. I could not even see my own hand or body. As if the darkness had swallowed me up and I'm nothing more than a name. Wait, what's my name?

    I couldn't even remember my name. My whole existence has been snatched away. Stay in this place long enough, and you will go mad. There was no sense of smell, touch, hearing or taste. I wanted to cry but I had no tears. I had nothing. A vague memory of my death came to me and flew away as soon as it arrived. There was simply nothing to hold on to.

    Out of nowhere, there was a brilliant light shining down on me, almost blinding. I instantly knew that the light came for me, to bring me to another place, somewhere better than here. My invisible hand reached out and it absorbed me. Instinctively, I closed my eyes shut from the overpowering pillar of light.

    "Shit!" I groaned and rubbed my temples, in an attempt to lessen my headache. My eyes shot open and a realization came to me. I was out from that place. After double checking myself, I permitted a smile spread across my face.

   I am alive, I thought to myself.

    My eyes scanned the room briefly as I stood up from the four poster bed, completed with a canopy. The bedroom looked grand. There's a fireplace on the left and a red velvet sofa in the gaze of the flames. To my right, several paintings of amazing landscapes hung on the wall, demanding more attention and care. A wooden wardrobe caught my eye. It was large and splintered, but due to its careful workmanship had endured the test of time. Many years of wear had nevertheless taken their toll on its once delicate frame. The painstakingly engraved features still stood out in places and had faded in others, but its commanding presence in the room could not be missed. Not to mention there were two stained glass windows and several ancient looking books piled up on a black desk.

    It was only then that I realized what I'm wearing. My hands - once grubby from the dirt became polished and dainty - felt the fabric of the nightgown. The sleeveless nightgown reached up to my knees and became frilly at the hem of the dress. Quite lovely, indeed, An inner voice commented. I tucked a strand of my dirty blond hair behind my ear and curled my toes at the soft, furry animal skin laid on the floor. I walked to the sofa and sat on the surprisingly comfortable seat and gazed at the flickering fire.

         "It seems like you woke up," A disembodied voice murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. Shocked, my head turned around and saw a woman in her thirties or even fourties behind the sofa, smiling at me. The laugh lines on her face seemed to deepen as she flashed a heartwarming smile to me that lowered my guard a little.

    "Who... who are you?" I asked, hesitant. "Where am I?"

    With a sigh, she sat next to me and she too gazed at the burning flames, and for a second, I thought I saw a longing in her emerald eyes. It was as if she experienced strangers waking up in this place all too often and she might have taken a liking to one of them. Well, just my guess, I said inwardly. 

"You don't have to know who I am..." she trailed off. "For the next question, you're in Master's mansion."

   I furrowed my eyebrows at her words and considered them carefully before saying, "I want to go home." 

   She dropped her gaze and focused on me. The woman plastered another smile on her wrinkled face, but it didn't quite reach her eyes this time. "You have no home now, my young lady."

    I crossed my arms in front of my chest and was about to protest when she piped in. "Do you remember your name, lady?"

   My eyes widened at her question. I searched my mind for the answer and found none. It was strange, considering that just now I had dreamt - or did it really happen? - of the place devoid of anything. I shook my head softly, unsure of what was coming next.

   "Ah," she murmured and clasped her hands on mine. "You need a new name then."

   I retracted my hands back and retorted, "I don't need a new one! I just need to remember my old name!" 

   Her mouth opened to speak but was interrupted by the door opening. I stood up and faced the person. The tall figure came to view and it turned out to be a man in his forties. He sported a moustache and his hair was gelled with expertise. The moment he settled his stern gaze on me, I could feel my rebellious streak retreating slowly into its own corner. 

         My eyes drifted on his strange outfit that looked like it came right from the 1880's. Power and authority vibrated off from his masculine body. The woman that talked to me earlier quickly curtsied and greeted him formally. I was quite sure he's the master of this mansion; every single thing about him screamed of "Authority". Now, I also happened to be a firm believer in my own instincts so nothing could change my mind regarding this matter.

   "Now, lady... You can't simply remember your old name," he chuckled. "No one can ever remember their past lives." That just confirmed my suspicions.

   I was officially dead.

   "Am I in heaven?" I blurted, curiosity got the better of me.

   He stroked his moustache briefly before answering my question. "No, you're still on Earth." 

   Well, that's a good thing. I made a mental note to self that I should visit my parents later and if I remember their names soon. Once all this crap is out of my way, of course. 

   "You can't visit your parents, young woman," he whispered, his eyes were filled with understanding and care.

   My jaw dropped as I stammered, "H-How the hell did you read my mind!?"

         "Mind your manners, young woman," he warned. "You're still under my roof." I clamped my mouth shut and gave a curt nod. He sighed melodramatically. "You're quite talkative aren't you..." he said, barely audible, with a hint of regret and wistfulness. I frowned at his words.

         "Well?" I pressed on, not giving up.

        "You see, I'm the mind reader sort of vampire," he explained. "One of my... many gifts, I dare to say."

   Vampires? They exist? I knew plenty of books that write about them. Heck, I wrote about them too! It was either this man went crazy or I was the one that was going crazy. But, the thought of me rebelling him didn't seem appealing.

   "So... I'm a vampire too?" I squeaked, picturing Bella and Edward from the Twilight saga series. "Do you... sparkle?" 

         His deep rich laughter boomed in the room. "No, no. They're nothing but fiction," he assured me, wiping a tear from his golden eyes. "Vampires don't sparkle under the sun. They die." I grunted in response and tried to keep my expression remain unfazed but inside, I'm laughing like there's no tomorrow. The image of this man shining under the sun remained stuck in my head, replaying an embarrassing scene over and over again.

    "You're not really a vampire..." he eventually admitted.

   "Not really...?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow. What does that mean? He heaved a sigh and quickly changed to another subject.

   "That's another matter for discussion in the future. How rude of me to not introduce myself earlier. My name is Lord Marcus," he introduced himself, deep in thought. "I should give you a name soon..."

   This time, I kept silent and stared at him and wondered what kind of name he will give. As long as it's not too awful, I contemplated. There was this odd feeling that I could not quite place my finger on when he decided to take me under his wing. Familiarity? Nostalgia? But why would I feel like that? I wondered. After all, we just met minutes ago...

   "How about Artemis? Artemis Columbine." he smiled fondly, patting my head. 

   Well, I had to admit that it was not a bad name after all. In fact, I think it turned out to be better than my old one. If I ever remember it. But I had a sense my old name is quite terrible. A sigh left his lips when he looked at me and smiled. It was a sad smile and I couldn't help but wonder what made him this way. 

   "My granddaughter died last summer," he drawled, his voice full of sadness and despair. "You remind me of her. Talkative." 

   I would take that as a compliment.

   "Can you be my granddaughter?" he asked, his eyes pleading for a yes. I searched his face for any signs of evil means and found none. Instead, I found sincerity. My head bobbed up and down without my consent. He gave me a dazzling smile and pulled me in for a hug. I gasped at the sudden surprise and patted his back awkwardly.

         "Can I visit my parents first?"

   Eventually, he broke the hug and pursed his lips at my request. "I'm afraid you can't, Artemis," he reasoned. "You'll kill them even if you didn't mean it." 

   If you care for them, you won't visit them, His voice said mentally in my head. I raised an eyebrow to ask if this is one of his ability. He nodded and winked at me. I opened my mouth to ask another question when he raised a finger and placed it on my lips.

   "That's enough for now," he declared then rose from the sofa. I searched the room for the woman but I guess she left us. Huh. "Now, Artemis. You need to dress up and meet me downstairs," he ordered, pointing a finger at the cupboard. "I'll teach you how to hunt and feed."

~~~

A/P

Alot of people got confused with Fennel August and Artemis Columbine. They're actually the same person! Fennel lost her memory and name in Oblivion so the old man gave her a new name, Artemis Columbine! I'm sorry that there's no action and all is just talking... But these are important and necessary for the story! The first comment in any chapters will receive a dedication from me, unless I requested a person  to critique my story. That doesn't count.  P.S: Vote and comment if you thoroughly love it! Talk to you again in the next chapter :3  x Ciao  ~Jen

[NEW NOTE]

Guys, allow me to clear up about the usage of "young lady" and "young woman". The mysterious lady is Lord Marcus' servant. They live in a mansion and they are vampires - of course they are formal. Besides, they just met Artemis. Why start being casual?

Next thing is Artemis' "obedient" behavior. A lot of you criticized it because she is, in fact, a rebellious teenager. BUT! She just had amnesia - she can't remember her name or anything. What makes you think she would be scared of vampires? Artemis did ask if she was a vampire or not and Lord Marcus said, "not really." So why would she be scared of her sorta own kind? She is confused and have no one else to rely on. It's only natural she follows the flow. 

P.S: I'm kinda upset I had to explain all this because that just means I'm not a good writer but I promise I'll have a major editing once I'm done with this series.