(Northern Region- Outskirts Of New Atlantic City)
(Castle Eden)
"It's good to see you too sister."
Mary's words echoed through the destroyed corridor and Lily could do nothing but stare at the young woman standing before her.
"No!" Lily violently shouted as she pushed Mary away.
"You… you're dead! This is a trick… some kind of illusion!"
Lily kneeled down on the ground and started to hyperventilate.
She could barely breathe as the overwhelming amount of shock filling her mind made it hard to even think.
Mary slowly lowered her body in front of her sister and wrapped her arms gently around her trembling figure.
She used her right hand to rub small circles into Lily's back.
This was the method that the original Mary always used to calm down her sister when she began to panic.
Lily visibly started to relax as Mary continued to calmly rub.
Her hand may be covered by metal armour, but Lily could swear that she felt a warmth coming from the cold steel.
Finally, Lily raised up her head and looked directly into Mary's eyes with an expression that was equal parts wonderment and hope.
"How? The hunters… they told me that the vampire killed you…" Lily softly whispered with a hint of disbelief in her voice.
"They did?" Mary replied with a confused look on her face.
"No… I mean… after they rescued you… they didn't chase after the vampire and try to save me as well."
"Maybe they assumed that I would die."
Mary's words sent a chill down Lily's spine as she felt as though her world was crashing down all at once.
Her sister was alive.
The hunters… they had lied to her.
What was going on? Was her entire purpose a lie?
"Breathe… breathe…" Mary softly whispered as she could hear Lily's heartbeat rapidly increase and her breathing became laboured.
The sisters remained in place for a few minutes as Mary calmed down her sister and whispered that everything was going to be okay.
"Now… can you tell me what you are doing here?" Mary asked gently.
Lily opened her mouth and immediately told her sister about their mission to kill the evil vampire queen lurking inside this castle.
There was no hesitation in her voice since her sister was the one person that she trusted the most in this world.
Even though they had spent over two years apart… the closeness that Lily felt could not be matched by any other person.
Mary was the only relative that she had left.
"We were given a mission to take down an evil vampire who has committed several atrocities over the years," Lily confessed truthfully.
"I'm not sure of all the details but I was told that a strike team of vampires would lure Camilla to the throne room of her castle and then a barrier would be constructed."
"This barrier would trap her inside of the throne room."
"Camilla would be weakened by the sunlight, so our part of the mission was to enter the throne room and kill her in her injured state."
"I see…" Mary thoughtfully hummed as she got up from the ground and extended her hand for Lily to grab on to.
"Well… to be honest with you sister… I… I serve that vampire queen as her bodyguard."
"What? Why? Is she threatening you?" Lily blurted out in astonishment.
She couldn't understand how a Sun-born hunter as strong as her sister could possibly feel threatened by a vampire.
"Not… exactly," Mary hesitantly replied.
She didn't know if she should tell her sister that she was in a romantic relationship with the female vampire.
Obviously, she was going to tell her eventually but… it might be too much to take in all at once since she just found out that her sister was still alive.
"But what I can tell you is that for the past few years… Camilla has not taken one step out of these castle walls," Mary spoke in a serious tone.
"Those deeds that you mentioned about her kidnapping humans for murder, torture and experiments are all lies."
"I have been here the entire time and the only people that she has killed are humans and vampires in self-defence."
Lily nodded her head at her sister's words but inwardly felt a bit skeptical. She believed her sister but…
Vampires could not be trusted.
It was still hard for Lily to let go of the prejudices in her heart even as she found out that the Hunters Association had lied to her.
The fact remained that the majority of vampires were bloodthirsty fiends that saw humans as nothing more than livestock.
There were no 'good' vampires.
"Urghh…" a loud groan of pain came from behind a pile of rubble in the corner of the hall.
Both girls looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ian coughing violently with a thick puddle of blood beneath his body.
Finley was still knocked out cold but his dhampir nature meant that his wounds were already beginning to heal.
"Sorry about that," Mary sheepishly apologised.
"It's okay… they'll survive," Lily replied with a shrug of her shoulders. It may sound a bit cold of her to say that, but her companions were a constant annoyance.
"Do you need any help? I'm going to the throne room to save Camilla and…" Mary's voice trailed off as she saw Lily staring at her with those piercing golden eyes.
"I still don't understand why you want to save a vampire but…" Lily's voice paused as she gathered her thoughts.
"You are my sister and I trust you."
Mary smiled warmly and Lily's lips slowly curved upwards. The two girls lingered in silence for a brief moment and then Mary turned around and ran up a nearby flight of stairs.
Lily watched as her figure got further and further away in the distance and turned her attention towards her two injured companions.
Fortunately, they had been incapacitated so neither of them knew the true identity of the 'vampire' knight.
Still, she needed to get them out of here so that she could return to the castle in the future and have a long talk with her sister.
The golden markings on Lily's arms glowed slightly and she could feel extra strength flowing through her body.
She walked over to the unconscious boys and roughly pulled them up on her shoulders. She then dragged them out through the hall and towards the castle's exit.
As Lily walked through the corridors, she could not help but steal a few glances backwards as if hoping to see her sister one more time.
But… the castle was silent.
.
.
.
.
(Throne Room)
Mary dashed forward with her sword firmly held in her right hand. She could feel an overwhelming amount of joy in her heart mixed with a tad bit of nervousness.
These weren't the right emotions for battle.
Mary focused on her breathing and silently counted to ten in her mind to calm down her restless thoughts.
Right now, there was only one thing she should be focusing on.
Rescuing her lover.
Every cell in her body throbbed with energy as the midday sun reached its zenith.
The golden glow in Mary's eyes only seemed to intensify as her body moved even faster than before.
She soon found herself standing in front of a large pair of wooden doors that led to the throne room.
Mary cocked back her fist and slammed it against the doors with all the force that she could muster.
A loud banging noise echoed through the hallway and the wooden doors trembled under the force of Mary's blow.
Suddenly Mary sensed a subtle shift of magic happening around her body and the barrier surrounding the wooden doors trembled.
A large person- sized hole opened up inside the barrier which meant that the caster was expecting her arrival.
Mary furrowed her brows as she stretched her left-hand outwards to yank open the doors. It was time to save her girlfriend.
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