Rosaline Parks was living her usual, boring life, when one day, she sees her face in the newspaper. She was surprised, and events of the past few weeks ran through her head. She doesn’t remember doing anything very influential, much less something that would be mentioned in the newspaper. After reading the article closely, however, she realizes that it was not her in the picture, but her twin sister that she lost 13 years ago.

Rosaline would recognize Rosemary anywhere, even after all this time.  Rosaline, Rosemary, and their baby brother, Robin, had been the closest of friends, until that day. It was a terrible accident, when a sudden fire had burst to life, and had spread quickly throughout the house. The beautiful, old house was burnt to nothing within minutes, and Rosaline was the only survivor of the fire, out of the family of 5. At least, that’s what she thought. But now, she wasn’t sure.

As Rosaline kept reading, she learned that her sister had changed. A change in fashion styles, a change in personalities, and, well, a change in species. She had been seen drinking the blood of thousands of people across the world. Yet it doesn’t seem like she ever killed anyone. The victims would be seen “disappear into the depth of earth at a wave of her hand.” No one could prove that anyone had been murdered. Rosemary became the international headline and nightmare in a matter of days. As Rosaline finished the article, she lay flat on her bed, and stared up at the ceiling. She didn’t know whether to be horrified or joyful, because now, Rosemary was in Rosaline’s city.

Apparently, the countless investigators trying to figure out how Rosemary’s existence was scientifically possible had no clue about the origin of this new threat to the world. Rosaline rocked on her bed, lost in thoughts, when suddenly, she remembered. She remembered that awful night. The night she was cursed to forget. The night she and Rosemary turned 13.

She was choking on the smoke. The fire alarm had woken her up a minute ago, and now, she was in panic. Her parents, in their bedroom, which was locked as usual, didn’t seem to wake up, and Rosaline was becoming desperate. She raced to find her sister and Robin, but they were nowhere to be found. She was tempted to scream, but something told her not to. For reasons, she herself did not understand, she crept out of the house, and into the back garden. She looked around, still in panic, and was about to shout for her siblings. Then suddenly, “You will do as I say, or your sister and brother will be in the state your parents are in; Dead.” The voice stopped her in her tracks, and she held her breath. She turned around slowly, and there was Rosemary. With her, was a tall, dark shadow, almost blending into the night. Even from where she stood, Rosaline could sense how Rosemary was almost faint from fear. And she understood why. The shadow was threatening, and the shining red dots Rosaline assumed to be eyes didn’t help with the mood. With a jolt, Rosaline recognized who the figure was. But, that’s not possible, is it? Surely, a creature like Enokrad, the Dark One, belonged only in the fantasy books Rosaline always loved?

Rosaline was still frozen, too scared to even breathe, when suddenly, the shadow moved. At Rosemary’s gentle nod, it lifted her, and sank its gleaming teeth into her neck.  Rosaline’s scream pierced through the starry sky, and the shadow stiffened. Rosemary was dropped onto the ground, limp and frighteningly still. Shining eyes bored into Rosaline, and the ground rushed up quickly to meet her.

Rosaline jerked up from the bed, gasping. The memory had been buried deep in her brain, locked and unreachable. But now, 13 years after the incident, the memory came back to her, so vivid it seemed like it happened only yesterday. She picked up the newspaper again with shaky hands. According to the newspaper article, there had already been more than 40 disappearances in Rosaline’s city in Rosemary’s hands. Rosaline was grief-stricken, but set a goal for herself; to save the world, to save herself, and to save Rosemary.

The city was in chaos. Schools were closed down, as were other public places like malls, cinemas, etc. Brave police officers tried to keep the city safe. Yet every hour, there were new victims to Rosemary. Little did Rosaline know, on the other side of the city, eyes dark as night were staring right at her face. Rosemary held the fragile picture gingerly, and caressed Rosaline’s face, which was next to her own identical one. A single red tear slipped down the vampire’s face, and landed on the picture.

Rosaline was on her way home, when a cold wind swept her into a deserted alley. Yet the sun was shining brightly, and there were no clouds in the blue sky. Rosaline stumbled around a little, confused, dread drifting into her. Suddenly, she came face to face with a mirror, and froze. Rosaline leapt back, surprised. “No, not a mirror,” she corrected herself. “My sister.” And her instincts took over. She fled as fast as she could, panting as she did. She felt the coolness creeping closer, but she didn’t dare look back. There was an exasperated sigh behind her, and Rosaline felt a streak of black fly past, and Rosemary appeared before her.

Rosaline gasped, but as she calmed down enough to examine the motionless Rosemary before her, Rosaline realized something. Her sister didn’t seem to plan on attacking her. In fact, Rosemary seemed human (or as much human as possible, with her black eyes, black hair, black clothing, and pale skin). Her posture showed confidence, and her face had no expression at all. Yet her eyes, dark as they were, showed great emotion. As Rosemary’s eyes bored into her sister, Rosaline realized how desperate and trapped Rosemary felt as a vampire. And also, how difficult it was for her to control herself from attacking Rosaline. Rosaline didn’t quite dare to step forward for a hug, and settled for a reassuring smile. Rosemary didn’t move, and watched as Rosaline dashed away from her.

A few days after the encounter with Rosemary, Rosaline sets on a journey to save Rosemary. She was prepared for a long journey, since she herself wasn’t sure what she was looking for. For the next month or so, Rosaline lost contact with the rest of the world. She climbed over mountains, swam across waters, the urge to save her sister making her strong. One day, as Rosaline was resting from a long climb, a little black hut appeared out of nowhere. She blinked, and rubbed her eyes. Yup, the hut was real! Curiosity took over Rosaline, and she carefully stepped into the hut.

Immediately, a voice announced, “Rosaline Parks! Trading what for what!”

“Ummm, excuse me?” Rosaline was shocked at the mention of her own name.

“Rosaline Parks! Trading what for what!” The voice announced again.

Rosaline’s mind was blank. She couldn’t think of anything to respond, except that she needed to save Rosemary.

“Trading…ah…my bag for a cure for my sister?” Rosaline mumbled.

“Trade declined. Suggestion: Trading your youth for the cure for your sister!” The voice announced.

“Sure?” Rosaline was willing to do anything to save Rosemary, and she agreed to the trade. She was doubtful on her side of the trade, however, but ignored the growing feeling of dread. There was silence for a few moments, and then, Rosaline felt herself changing. She could feel magic tingling in her blood. She marveled at the cleverness of… the hut, as she realized that injecting the cure into her blood was, in fact, the easiest way to have Rosemary consume it. She was excited, and immediately started on her journey back to her city. What she didn’t notice, however, was the gradual whitening of her hair, the slow hunching of her back, and the growing difficulty to move.

Rosaline was back in the deserted alley, waiting nervously. She rubbed her bony hands together, not caring about her disappeared youth. Rosemary was getting closer. Rosaline could feel the air getting colder. It kept getting cooler, and she turned to face Rosemary. She looked the same as before, confident as ever, with no expression on her face. Her hunting side had already taken over, and her eyes were bright red. Rosaline smiled, still the sister that was willing to do anything for her long-lost twin, even if that meant sacrificing herself. At the sharp pain at her neck, everything went black.

Little did she know that the danger was not over. Somewhere in the world, far, far away, stood a tall, dark shadow, almost blending into the night sky. Its shining red eyes were focused on one point in the distance. On Robin Parks.