A Rose Behind Cages

Author: Aişe Serra Akyel (13 years old) Translator: Meldanur Bilir (18 years old)

I want so much to begin without introducing myself, but I know I can’t. If you don’t know me, the story can’t move forward.

My name is Rahp. I’ve just turned fifteen. I am the crown prince of the land of Pitha and I live in the Vektas Royal Castle. I’ve never known my father, my mother is none other than Empress Bala herself. I suppose that’s enough about me. I should say a little about my country.

Pitha is the oddest, strangest country you could imagine. First of all, its air is always closed off and sour no matter the season as if life itself has grown resentful. The sky seems to be in mourning and could shed its tears at any moment. A fierce northerly wind can blow at any time.

The second odd thing, and even more unsettling thing about Pitha is the Mistwood that lies near the royal castle. I have never entered that forest, but I have heard terrible rumors. At night, in that wood where even moonlight has trouble penetrating, ghosts wander, and  if you are horribly unlucky  you may be granted the “honor” of seeing oddly shaped beasts, witches… The forest itself is pitch-black and terrifying enough; what dwells inside makes it far worse.

Of course, I haven’t seen any of that myself. I think those who speak of it lie. In truth, I’ve never really seen the world beyond the castle. Why? Because I am ill.

My eyes, once the color of raw, uncut ruby, have faded with illness. There isn’t a trace of red left  they’re as gray as the clouds in the sky. My face is always pale and white, though perhaps that is because they keep me from the sun. They do not want my illness to worsen.

Also, no one hesitates to speak of secrets in my presence. Why? Because I cannot speak. No one expects me to tell anything to anyone.

Even so, I have secret friends: vampires. A group of the strange creatures that make our country unusual. Vampires generally dwell in the Mistwood and are considered a great threat to the royal city.

But the vampires who come to me are kind-hearted. In exchange for not trying to drink my blood, I tell them curious stories and offer them blood. Of course, that means I have to make a bit of a fuss. Finding drinkable blood and keeping it from clotting is not easy!

Whenever I manage to present the blood to them, they cry out, “Delicious! Delicious!” and kneel. I can’t figure out why, but I suppose it’s some sort of sign of respect.

I remember even when I was small they never actually drank my blood. They would only, while we played, nibble my fingers as a joke. Maybe they couldn’t bring themselves to feed on someone who wouldn’t resist.

My vampire friends know my father well and speak of him as a revered hero, an invincible warrior. I admit I am proud; they boast of me too, just as they boasted of my father.

But I grew tired of spending my years in the castle, sitting alone in bed. I wanted to see the world the vampires talked about. No one would let me get up; my mother picked the books I was to read, and whether or not they suited me, my room was always filled with incense whose scent made my head spin.

Lately I realized how much I longed to go outside. No matter how much water I drank, the thirst I felt for the outside did not go away. I suppose it was a thirst for freedom.

I had thought about it all day: what the outside was like, what might happen if I left the palace… At night, all my anxieties and fears would evaporate. When my vampire friends arrived, I stood tall and looked each of them in the eye and said, “I may come tonight.”

None of them objected; without a doubt, they were all sworn not to oppose me.

I rose slowly from my bed and opened my great, very great wardrobe and took out the black cloak I had been saving for such a day. It was a hooded, very long cloak, an heirloom from my father.

When the vampires saw my cloak they murmured among themselves. None of them said anything to me in particular. Together we slipped down from my room’s balcony on the rope they usually used.

What happened at the castle after that, whether they searched for me, I do not know. But I suppose my mother, Bala, already knew me better than I did.

“Savage attacks are increasing! Vampire assaults are growing day by day. Moreover, a new aura has been sensed. It is suspected that this young, powerful aura is commanding all the vampires. Could it be a coincidence that this new vampire bears an uncanny resemblance to the missing crown prince?”

Of course my mother knew I was a vampire. It could not have been otherwise  my sharp canine teeth show whenever I smile  and my father, her husband, had been the leader of the vampires in the royal city. Naturally I took after him,I carry vampire blood.

Thinking to hide this truth, my mother locked me in the castle, which I suppose didn’t do her any good. She no longer had an heir, no successor. And there was nothing she could do.

The people suffered more and more each day, but thanks to their sacrifices(!) I recovered. My eyes are like raw ruby once again. I no longer feel thirst. I can speak. For a vampire, not being able to drink is a great deprivation, it turns out!

The End.