Chapter V

The Play

I see them all; four actors in this play.

There’s the antagonist of course. He’s the star; the tortured hero turned villain; the vampyre; as elusive as ever; one step ahead of the heroes; always outmanoeuvring them at the last minute. That’s at least what I think will happen.

There’s the girl as well: Ivy. She’s- well she’s new. I’ve seen this all transpire many times and this is the first time the fates have cast a girl in the role. The heroine. The one everyone’s counting on. She gets all the support her allies can give her, but she knows that it’s all going to come down to her. She knows that she’ll have to face it all alone eventually - actually I get the feeling she doesn’t know anything at all.

I feel bad, though. She's too young to be here; too young to be involved. She looks no older than twelve years old - her damn hair's even in bunches and it's hard to tell whether her heights closer to the boy's or the bear's. So far she's come across as an irritating loudmouth. It amazes me that someone with such a tiny mouth can make such a noise. But then again, empty vessels make the most noise and, from here, her narrow blue eyes certainly look vacant.

The next character is almost the antithesis of the girl. Oflor: The teddy bear. He's hard to read for a start. He's quiet and thoughtful. His fixed expression hides all emotion and the only facial movement is a rumble under the cloth of his mouth as he spouts his thoughts in rhyming couplets. I've been aware of the bears movements for some time, but even having heard of him, I'm shocked to see him. To see what looks like an old beat-up teddy bear walking and talking is a miracle even to a being like me.

I know his role as well; he’s the guide… with a strange past and a stranger future. He’ll guide the girl to her doom and as the story unfolds and the walls close in, our hero’s will find out that not everything is as it seems in the world of battles, prophesies, good, and most importantly evil.

So we have our cast…Oris the vampyre, Ivy the protagonist, Oflor the guide and in a subtle change to the script, a new role. Jem.

Who is this kid? He’s new, that’s for sure. I’ve seen this story unfold a five times, now and his character has never appeared. Sure there’s been a couple of people who’ve helped the hero out along the way, but they’ve went their merry way before the plot could draw them in.

This Jem… he’s got a pre-existing relationship with the vampyre, for a start. I don’t know whether to be worried or not. As I watch the three people recount recent events my eyes are drawn to the boy. He's quiet as well - from what I can see. But if body-language counts for anything, he's the loudest one down there. He seems uncomfortable and at the same time, determined and thoughtful and so many things all at once. He might be the key to it all. I can’t help but be hopeful… With this drastic a change to the script… maybe we can win… Maybe we can have the happy ending I’ve been fighting for… after this much time… I think I deserve it.

But I’m still watching. I’m watching as they analyse the mystery of the events so far in the dim light of the bear’s headquarters. I should introduce myself… What would this play be without me? I’m the final character: The guardian angel - the mystery man - friend or foe?

But I just keep watching… I can’t bear to have this fall into my hands yet. I listen intently as they talk. The boy’s too quiet, the girl’s too loud… and the bear… well…

“I must explain before you speak:
Please let me emphasize;
We have very little time and
by now you’ll know time flies.”

“Can you cut that out?”, the girl says in an insolent tone that I’m sure would only develop with age.

“Please let me finish, if I may.
My warnings you must heed.
The fate of all mankind rests
on whether we succeed.”

“Succeed in what!? I failed! I trained for months! How could I fail? I’m practically the best whipper in the world! How could I fail? And that fairytale said I would win!” the girl near-enough screeches.

“I hate to break the truth to you,
but desperate times have called
for desperate measures and I fear
that now you must be told:

You think you were supposed to win,
but that was just a lie.
The fairytale foretold that
in the forest you would die.”

“What!? What do you mean? It didn’t! That’s what the vampyre said! He’s wrong and you’re wrong. Brother Rael said I would win.” As she says this her hand is drawn up to a chain around her neck and the large ring hanging from it. “The fairytale said I’d go into the forest, meet the vampyre and kill it. That’s what it said!”

The girl says it with so much conviction I almost believe her. But I know as well as the bear that she has either been mislead… or lied to. I feel a pang of guilt. So much death has been caused already… for what?

The boy who has remained silent up until now stands.

“So… what’s going on? She was… she was gonna kill Oris?”

“Your shock and outrage are allowed:
I understand the need.
Perhaps if we all take a seat,
I’ll bring us up to speed.”

Jem obligingly stakes a seat and the bear turns to him.

“Your friend was no impostor,
but he had a secret life.
He had an illness - one might say -
which must have caused him strife.

At least three-hundred years ago
and far before your time,
the Oris you know was the,
victim of a fatal crime.

The people thought that he was gone,
though they were surely wrong.
The curse of vampyre had been laid.
A monster had been spawned.”

“Oris wasn’t a monster.. He was my friend. He’ll have a good reason… we just have to find him.” The boy speaks as wilfully as the girl, but I admire his purity. While the girl speaks accusingly, the boy states his beliefs with a tender eloquence. Now is not the time to observe these proceedings, though. I should be down there… on the stage… providing more information… slowly unravelling the plot. Although I know the ending to this play I do not know the specifics. I do not know what exactly is in store for our unlikely band of heroes.

“You keep on talking about how little time we have. If its sooooo important why don’t you speak properly? The poems are annoying,” Ivy says with what I assume is her usual venom.

“Please ask no more questions
as we’re running out of time.
For the moment just accept
that I must speak in rhyme.”

The boy raises his head again as if to speak.

“And before you suggest it
and I don‘t wish to insult;
writing down the words I think
would yield the same result.”

Jem’s head drops again and he examines the floor. I can only imagine what he’s thinking… I would like to think he is contemplating what lies ahead, but more than likely he’s thinking about his lost friend. Once again I feel a pang of guilt. Part of my curse - I suppose - is that I feel responsible for almost everyone’s sufferings. Jem once again raises his head, allowing his confused expression to melt into one of focus.

“So what do we do now? I won’t let you kill him.”

“What d’you mean ‘you won’t let us’? I’d like to see you try and take on the world’s best whipper.” - As I hear her shrill voice, I know we are not going to be friends. The boy doesn’t even look at her…instead he stares at the bear.

Perhaps I should now show myself… but although my kind does not feel all human emotions, we are still capable of shame. Showing myself, now will present too many questions and too many memories. But as the animate toy has already said; time is fleeting.

They begin speaking again and I take it as a sign from higher powers that I should postpone my appearance.

“Ca… can I ask what your names are?”, Jem asks; he is either scared, nervous or both.

“I’m Ivy and my bear over there is called ‘Oflor’.” The girl scowls at the bear.

“My name’s Jem… Now… I don’t want to be rude, but your toy seems to know a lot more about what’s going on than you do… so even if it’s just for a couple of minutes… can you let it - I mean ‘him’… or – is it ‘her’? – um, can you just let them explain what’s going on.”

A silence melts through the room. I’m impressed, the girl is affronted and the bear is a little taken aback.

“Thank you kindly Master Jem.
You are fair and just.
I do not wish to kill your friend,
but I fear needs must.

No longer is Oris your friend.
He is but a shell.
The creature living in him now
belongs below in hell.

Please don’t argue for I will
give you, but, a try
to turn him from his evil path
and if you fail he’ll die.

Ivy jumps to her feet in rage. “What!? This is my gig. I’m going to kill the vampyre. Why should he try and talk it down?” She looks at Jem with an accusing stare “He’s evil. Do you even know what a vampyre is?”

“No… I don’t know what a vampyre is… okay? I thought they were just stories… really old stories. But I do know that Oris is good. He’s a good person… a… a lot better than me. He wouldn’t do anything unless he had to…”

“You need a wake-up call, Jem.”

“Oflor… isn’t there another way?” the boy practically pleads.

“There is no other option.
The vampyre must be halted.
Although his death will bring you grief -
the world must be exalted.

Please value my position and
that Oris now is not your friend.
If the shell that was him wins
then all mankind will end.”

It’s time. It’s strange how, even now, the world speaks to me. I know that I should intervene, explain further and then take them to their doom. Perhaps, though, it is my curiosity that drives me. Only just now have I realised that this boy, Jem, could be useful. With his pre-existing knowledge of the vampyre, perhaps we can succeed where I’ve already failed. Perhaps my enemy is failing.

I let the bears final words hang a little longer before I make my presence known.

“Perhaps I can make things a little clearer,” I say, keeping to the rafters and the shadows.

“Who’s there?” the girl says and draws her whip.

The boy picks up the bear and holds him at his chest. Oflor looks immediately upwards.

“Put that whip down, girl,” I say, purposely instilling anger in her. Naturally she rises to my challenge.

“Oh, yeah, why don’t you come down and face us like a man?”

“Would a man face a little girl?” I can feel the rage bubble through her… it must be strong in her for me to be receptive to it. “I cannot face you like a mere man, for I am something much greater.”

I could leave them guessing, but I feel anything more and they’ll grow hostile. I enjoy this part of the play, though I play it with decreasing enthusiasm with every passing matinee.

I sweep downwards, allowing my wings to spread as far out as the narrow walls will allow them. The surprise and fear I feel from all three onlookers takes me by surprise and I lose my rhythm for a moment, sharply falling a few inches, this only adds to the impression I want to create: That of power.

“You’re an angel?”, Ivy says, wide-eyed.

“Well done.”, I reply, as sarcastically as I can.

Oflor jumps from the boy’s arms onto the table, surveying me with his shiny, black beads.

“What?”, I ask.

“Angels never leave The City,
or so I have been told,
You must then understand
you are a hard sight to behold.”

“Maybe you’d be better listening to a real angel about what angels do and don’t do. The legends tend to be inaccurate what with all our lack of human contact.”

“So… you are an angel?”, the boy asks.

I survey my wings and look back at him. “As far as I know.”

“Why are you here?”, he asks.

“Well, I’m here to help and explain things a little better than the singing bear, here has.”, I motion to the bear.

Ivy is obviously having problems, not being the centre of attention and begins another outburst. “Listen to me,” she says. “We’ll go find the vampyre. All I need is a second chance. It was raining last time… and dark. I’ll kill him this time.”

“No you will not.”, Jem almost shouts.

As much as I hope he’s the key to success, a part of me wishes Jem wasn’t here. His presence is only turning what used to be a simple discussion into a full-blown argument. Yet I need him. Ivy isn’t enough. I can’t understand why she’s even here. From the outside, Jem looks like the spare character, but he must be integral to it somehow. Ivy, on the other hand… she had her shot. She tried to kill the vampyre and look what happened. She failed - I’m surprised that the vampyre even let her live. That in itself is strange, but as much as it might lend credibility to Jem’s claims that he’s not as evil as legend would tend to imply, I feel he may have had much darker motives than killing the child.

“Can everyone be quiet?” There’s no response. “Please?” I say, trying to establish order. Amazingly, they all turn to me. The girl looks impatient, the boy looks sorrowful and the bear looks attentive in an inanimate sort of way.

“Things would probably be a lot easier if we knew what that fairytale actually said.”, I say.

Ivy abruptly speaks in almost a sing-song voice.”A warrior was needed to kill the last vampyre. One was chosen and she was named Ivy and she was trained well. She trained through many months for the village knew that one month before her next birthday, her challenger, the last vampyre would come. She entered the forest without fear for she knew she would succeed. She looked in the eye of the vampyre and through her strength and skill she destroyed it.” - As she finishes her face relaxes into a satisfied smile.

The boy looks at me.

“What?”, I ask.

“Well is that the prophecy or fairytale or whatever?”, he asks.

“Well it can’t be, I reply succinctly. As far as I know whatever a prophecy says will definitely happen. She definitely didn’t do any destroying so she was lied to.”

“Was not!”, she screams. Every impulse in my body urges me to hit her. I don’t

“Also,” I say in an even louder voice. “Fairytales never” I glare at her, “that’s never - mention a person by name, ever. So this child was definitely lied to.”

It feels weird, telling the girl that fairytales always come true when my only aim is to foil one myself. Perhaps it’s a child-like part of me that thinks the world can be saved. Maybe I should be more realistic with myself.

“Look at this mister!” she says brandishing the ring which is chained to her neck. “Brother Rael gave this to me because he believed in me! He said I could trust him and I know he wouldn’t lie to me! So I hate to break it to you, but your wrong. The Fairytale said I would kill the vampyre. End of story!”

“Look, just shut-up for a minute!” Her eyes widen as though she has been injured. I dismiss her by averting my gaze. Now I realise just why the fates hadn’t cast girls up until now; they’re far too annoying. I speak to Jem and Oflor. “I have to leave. Can you… people wait a moment, maybe a while?”

“Would you desert us now
as the time trickles away,
If you know something useful, then
why can’t you just say?

We can’t afford to lose you
and I hate to cause a row,
but we need to fix this problem
and we need to fix it now.”

“I understand how important time is. But we need this. I won’t be any longer than twenty minutes. I need to find the actual fairytale before we can make a plan.”

“There’s no need to depart us,
no need to disappear.
If you want to know the real thing
then I have a copy here.”

“You what?”, I ask.

Rather than allow the bear the indignity of repeating his words Jem intervenes. “I think what he means is that he has the real version of the prophecy.”

“You do?”

The bear nods and produces from a seam in his paw a tattered scrap of very familiar paper. It’s pure white, even the folds shine brightly so that it looks like it exudes light itself. I snatch it from the bear in desperation and glare at it. It shimmers black pinpricks every now and then as though something’s moving just beyond the surface of the paper. This is no copy. It’s the original Prophecy. Straight from the publishers, as it were.

“Well?” The girl asks.

“This is the original prophecy.”, I say failing to mask the contempt in my voice.

“The Original?”, Jem asks

“Fairytales are prophecies. They’re made by faeries that use the prophecies to steer the course of history.”

“You’ve got to be joking… you mean faeries… tiny little girls with wings are the reason Ivy wants to whip my best friend to death?”

I sigh and then look him the eye… “Yes.” Jem grabs the Prophecy from me and reads it aloud.

“A girl was chosen by the village; she was trained well. She trained through many months for the village knew that one month before her next birthday, her challenger, the last vampyre, would come. The girl entered the forest without fear for she was determined to succeed. She looked in the eye of the vampyre and though her strength and skill was unparalleled, the vampyre broke through her well-placed defences and the terrible tragedy unfolded.”

The silence endures while the girls face melts from anger to confusion to pain. I feel a wave of these emotions wash over me but feel no pity for her. My guilt once again plays up at the back of my mind, only the boys interruption brings everyone back into focus.

“So… it’s still wrong… I thought that prophecies came true.”

“What do you mean?”, I ask.

“The boy, himself, does have a point.
I have trouble believing.
It says she was supposed to die,
but she is clearly breathing.”

Aha, so they’re smarter than they look. “You have to look at the whole picture. Sure the person who read this probably assumed that it meant Ivy would die, but I think-", I pause for a moment... Are they ready to know what I really think? No, it would cause too many problems, right now. "I think this ‘terrible tragedy’ is what we’re all trying to stop.”

“What exactly are we trying to stop?”, Jem asks. “What is Oris doing?”

“His goal is simple, he wants to raise the vampyre.”

“What? How?”, Jem asks.

“Vampyre multiply by turning humans. They turn humans into vampyre. This Oris is smart, as far as I can see. He can’t do this on his own and he knows it. He also knows that he’s the last vampyre. If he dies, so does the entire vampyre race. A vampyre can only turn one person every seven days… so he’ll want to pick the strongest person he can.”

“Seven days?”, Jem asks

“It’s complicated, and we don’t have time. Rest assured, that he’ll want as strong a person as possible.”

“So who would that be?”

“I hate to interrupt you
as these issues must be met,
Although it seems that Ivy
is very much upset.”

I thought things seemed a bit quiet. We turn to face her and I’m dismayed to find that she is curled in a foetal position crying silently.

“What the hell’s wrong with her?” I ask.

Jem scowls disapprovingly and the bear leaps from his perch on the table and rests his short furry arm on her hair.

“Take it easy, Madame Ivy.
This is a lot to take.
I know that you feel lied to
and most likely betrayed.

I’m sure they had their reasons -
your parents always cared.
Be calm and you’ll get answers.
Perhaps they weren’t aware.”

“Yeah right. That thing didn‘t even say it had to be me… It just says they picked someone. Someone to die… and they picked me? Why did they pick me? Why did my Mum and Dad let them? And you knew too! Your acting like it‘s all okay! You had that! You knew I would die and you were gonna let me!”

The bear steps back… and bows his head in shame. At that rather inopportune moment I wonder how he can keep his balance with such a large head. The girl returns to the ground and shivers more tears into her pale arms. I would offer consolation, but I still cannot find pity for her. She was supposed to die, yet she lived. Why is she sad? I know why she is sad, but I don’t understand.

“Ivy…” the boy offers, but changes his mind and focuses on the floor with the bear.

Is it my turn to say something? I don’t have time. “Look… Ivy”, I say her name awkwardly, “We don’t have time for this. So we’re leaving. We need to kill-”, Jem raises his head, “-or at least stop Oris from doing whatever it is he’s trying to do.”

Ivy looks up. “I’m doing it.”

The floor suddenly loses its appeal and Jem and Oflor stare at her.

“Not to rain on the reverse psychology, but do we even know where we’re going?”, Jem says.

“I don’t know, but staying here isn’t helping.”, I say, irritated by his negativity.

“I think that I can be of help.
This method cannot fail.
I can sense where he has been
so we can catch his trail.”

“You what? You can ‘sense’ him?”… and here I thought all he was good for was the poetry.

“My curse has many side-effects.
I’m sure they were not meant.
So I can sense the path of,
our target’s cruel intent.”

Jem speaks up. “He doesn’t want to hurt anybody, there’s a reason for all this…I know it.”, he says. I feel sorry for him.

I address him abruptly. “You don’t understand. Listen, Jem… like Oflor said, we can give you your shot. If you can talk him out of whatever he’s got planned, then that’s fine. But if he refuses, then we have to kill him. If Oris were as nice a guy as you say he is, then he’d want you to stop him. He wouldn’t want all this, would he?”

Jem looks pensive, but eventually lowers his head, which I take as a grudging acceptance. Ivy is already on her feet, testing her whip. I sincerely hope that under a years training is enough, because I know I will be of little use in a physical conflict. To be honest I’m hoping the boy will be able to talk him down, because after all, he’s a vampyre and from what I’ve seen, there’s no real way we can hope to beat him otherwise.

Then again I’ve got a secret weapon hidden away. If these people die I can always fall back on Blaze. This time I’ve got two shots at stopping this disaster. After all, I’ve had hundreds of years to prepare for it.

“So… where are we headed?”, Jem asks. I get the feeling he’s concentrating on where we’re going so that he doesn’t have to think about why we’re going there.

“We’ll firstly need to venture
to the place he was known last.
I can lead us from that point,
but we need to get there fast.”

I swing the door open and allow my newfound allies to look at the road ahead. The rain pelts down from the sky, pounding the saturated ground. Everyone looks depressed, even Oflor’s one fixed expression has a hint of gloom about it.

Jem is the first to leave. He picks up Oflor who I’m sure would have a hard time keeping up, especially in the rain, and holds him once again at his chest. They pass the threshold leaving Ivy standing in the wooden room alone.

“When the time comes… I want to be the one that kills him.” She says defiantly and, at that, stomps angrily out the door.

The characters are in place, the intrigue is set, there’s nothing else to do but play my part. Maybe this time I’ll get my happy ending… but I doubt it, although act one has me feeling hopeful, I already know what awaits us in act two… and I can’t bear to think about that.