In 1775 in New York Mirella was a wealthy merchant's daughter. She spent her days at their mansion and nights courting the upper class at parties seeking a fortune bearing husband among the rich Englishmen who visited.
She, like her father and most of the colonists, considered herself a Briton living in a British Colony, not an American. She spent many a night speaking ill of the radicals who were making trouble for the King and Parliament. On one such evening her life changed forever.
In the summer of 1775 Mirella was being courted by a young English merchant who did considerable business with her father. She spent evenings at his side joining the conversations about politics in America. They denigrated the rebels and assured each other that compromise and continued British rule would be the ultimate end. There could be no other outcome, they told each other.
"How would the rebels repel the British Army were it to be called in to enforce Parliament's decisions?" They would ask. "No rag tag rebel army could match the Imperial forces" was their repeated answer.
Mirella excused herself to the outdoors to get some fresh air and wandered into the courtyard of the estate. As she walked she happened upon a young man she had not seen before. He was handsome and appeared wealthy by his clothing. She smiled and intended to pass by but he stopped her with a single word. "Beautiful."
"Pardon me?" she inquired.
"Your name should be beautiful" he replied. At this she blushed. He saw that she was flush and he stepped closer.
"Would you care to stroll with me in the courtyard? It is such a lovely night."
"Only if you tell me your name." she replied coyly.
"Arturo" he smiled.
"Very well, Arturo, my name is Mirella. Now that we have been properly introduced, we can stroll in the courtyard together."
They began to walk and talk and Mirella led him away from the windows of the mansion, behind the considerable hedges so she would not be seen with him, as it may appear improper. As they strolled Arturo told her that he had heard her speak in favor of Britain and was an officer in the English army here on a secret mission to find loyalists to enlist their help in securing New York should war break out.
"Well you can count me among the loyal." she exclaimed. "I am a British citizen and I serve the Crown. However, the idea of an actual war seems far fetched."
"I am so glad to hear that," he said " I would hate to have to report you as a rebel."
"These troublemakers will surely be put down without a war." Mirella said flatly.
"I wish I could believe that but I fear an all out war may be on the immediate horizon. The rebels are electing officials in other colonies and establishing governments outside of the Empire to govern themselves and they have much support, especially in the north."
As they walked Mirella noticed she was no longer leading him away from the windows as much as he was leading her away from the mansion itself. As she was thinking she may want to start to lead him back he made his move. She thought he meant to kiss her and she began to push him away but he went for her neck, not her lips, and he was astonishingly strong.
He bit her neck and drank deeply of her blood. She felt herself grow weak and then, darkness. She awoke in terrible pain. She was unaware how much time had passed but she felt such pain in her abdomen she scarcely had time to think it but saw that Arturo sat there watching her writhe in pain. She passed out again.
This time when she awoke she felt no pain but an incredible thirst. She looked around and saw only Arturo, sitting on the grass near her. They were near the edge of the sprawling land her father owned and certainly out of earshot of the party, if anyone remained. She didn't know how much time had passed. She considered screaming for help but thought better of it. Instead she steeled herself.
"How much time has passed?" she asked Arturo.
"A considerable amount." he replied. "I'm certain the party is over. And, from tonight on, your life is changed forever."
"What have you done to me?"
"Do you feel thirsty?" Arturo asked
"Yes. Parched."
"But it is not water or wine you crave, is it?"
"No"
"You have the thirst for blood. I have made you a vampire and am here to recruit you, and more like you, to the loyalist cause. Most vampires in America are of rebellious allegiances and us loyalists need to swell our numbers."
"A vampire? Such things are only in books. They are stories."
"Do you believe so? Or do you not thirst for blood even as we speak?" he asked.
Mirella finally stood up. Her head was spinning. She felt starved but felt that she did only thirst for blood. She could smell blood in the air. She could hear faint heartbeats from the direction of the stables. She felt weak and stunned.
"I can hear the heartbeats of the livestock in the stables. I can smell the blood in the air." she told him trying to keep her balance.
"You will find that you have many new abilities now, and also some hindrances. You will be very strong, and very fast. You will be able to leap long distances, and, in time, seemingly to fly by using the air as resistance to leap further. However, you must say good bye to the sun.
It will scorch your flesh if you let it touch you. You are now remanded to the night."
"What is this curse you have laid upon me? To never see the light of day again? How dare you do such a thing without my permission! How will I survive in the night alone?"
"You will adjust to your new life. For now, cover your weakness by volunteering for bringing supplies in the night to the Governor's ship for your father. We all know that he supplies him."
"Will it not raise suspicion? I have never participated in my father's business. And what of my friends and family? Will I see them only in their sleep?"
"Your participation in your father's affairs will seem queer but not unusual. And you will see your friends and family in the evenings, after the sun sets. Right now you must feed. Can you not feel the call to blood?"
"Yes. I must feed, the thirst is strong."
"Then to the stables we go. I will teach you the rules."
`
Mirella told her father that she wished to bring supplies to the Governor's ship in the night. He agreed and thought little of it, except that he was proud that she would volunteer in the effort.
She began that very night, carrying bread and meats in a carriage to the port and watching as the men loaded the ship. Then, as Arturo instructed, she approached the Governor.
"Governor Tryon," she began "I come at the behest of a man named Arturo. He says that you will have papers for me to carry."
Governor Tryon studied her for a long time silently. "How have you come to know Arturo, miss?" he asked raising one eyebrow.
"He approached me at a gathering for the Officer's at my father's house. He tested my allegiance to The Crown and asked me to volunteer for this important duty."
The Governor studied her for a while longer without moving. She stood strong, trying not to appear as nervous as she was. She knew that the rebels were allowing supplies to be brought to the Governor but if they caught her with messages who knows what they might do.
After a long silence the Governor slipped into his quarters without a word but just a hand gesture for her to stay put. He returned after a few moments with an envelope sealed with wax and handed it to her. "Hide it well from the Rebel guards." he commanded. "If they find you with this your death will be the least of our problems but just as certain."
Mirella swallowed hard and then proceeded to stuff the envelope up under her dress into her underwear without humility in front of him. She wanted him to see that she was serious.
She excused herself with a curtsy that seemed ridiculous in its formality considering the act that had preceded it and was off of the ship in moments to carry her now empty carriage back home to her father's stables.
The Rebel guard stopped her before she was off of the dock. They searched the wagon. They were careful.
They looked underneath and checked the yoke on the horses. They asked her to dismount. They were courteous but stern. They searched her person. Mirella was certain they would find the envelope but they fell short of checking her private parts. She was allowed to continue on her way.
When she returned to the stables she slipped over to the livestock and took a pig. She drank deeply. She had not yet been able to identify anyone she could take under the rules as Arturo had laid them out. She thought it silly that the Rebels not be fair game but Arturo said that, despite the rebellion, they were still good men.
After reporting to her father she retired to her bedroom where she wept. She longed for her old carefree life and now she was mixed up in the suddenly seemingly imminent war that seemed impossible to her just a few nights prior. If she had been caught by the rebels they would have surely hung her from the Liberty Pole as an example to other loyalists.
After a time weeping she gained her composure and set upon her task. She snuck out the side door that the servants used and went off to meet with Arturo. Careful to avoid being seen by anyone, she found her new speed was incredible. She stole away across the empty field in but a moment when it would have been several minutes at a hard run before her ... change.
She crept into the clutch of trees alongside the fork in the road as Arturo instructed and soon heard his bird call that all was clear. He revealed himself as if by magic.
"You were not followed?"
"Nobody could have followed me at the speed that I covered the field." She giggled.
"Don't be so cocky. Most of the vampires in the Colony are with the rebellion. They have spies everywhere and their powers are stronger than yours."
"I was careful." she replied wryly. Then she turned away for humility's sake and retrieved the envelope that the Governor had trusted her with. She gave it to Arturo and he opened and read it by the light of his lantern.
"What does it say?" she inquired.
"The less you know the better. These are dangerous times. For now be satisfied that you are helping your country immensely. In two days time I will have an envelope for you to carry back to the Governor. I will seek you out. Go about your nightly tasks in the meantime and arouse no suspicion.
In my travels I will find you a human to feed on but you must sustain your thirst with livestock until I find someone for you. You will find human blood much tastier and substantial. It is far superior to the blood of animals in taste and nutrition."
`
Three days passed without word from Arturo. Mirella continued her nightly deliveries to the Governor's ship. She missed the sun and longed for her old life. She saw her friends and family only briefly in the evening before they retired and she went about her new duty. She slept all day and awoke at sunset. She would glimpse the last light of the sun on the horizon careful to avoid its sting. A sting she felt when she tested what Arturo had told her. The direct sunlight she let fall upon her hand scorched her fiercely but healed in moments when she retreated into the darkness her heavy drapes provided. Her new powers amazed her and she wondered what human blood would taste like.
She was sitting alone in her room reading when she heard his voice behind her. Startled, she jumped from her seat and her book hit the floor.
"Are you ready to perform your duty for your country?" he asked.
"My goodness you frightened me! Don't sneak up on me like that. Yes I am, what do you require of me?"
Arturo produced a sealed envelope from his jacket pocket. "Conceal this. Give it only to the Governor himself, nobody else. He will not have a reply ready this time but rest assured there will be more correspondence. Hide it well. The rebels must not find it."
"What does it say?" she asked.
"The less that you know the better." And he was gone, as quickly and quietly as he appeared. With her puzzled gaze following him.
~ ~ ~
Mirella concealed the envelope as before and readied herself for the nightly supply trip to the Governor's ship with a lump in her throat. These are indeed dangerous times she thought as she passed the checkpoint at the docks. Everywhere she looked armed rebels patrolled the streets.
Many messages were passed as Mirella became used to her new life. With each passage to the Governor's ship the easier she sat at her seat. She became more and more confident that they would not find her concealed messages. She began feeding on humans, first those found by Arturo for her but soon she was finding them herself.
It wasn't until the next summer that things would change.
`
On June 20th of 1776 she was carrying another envelope from the Governor past the checkpoint again. The guards checked the wagon as they always did: Looking in, around, and under it. Then they asked her to dismount, as usual, and she did. She remained confident as they searched her. Then everything changed. The guard searching her inexplicably felt her privates. She recoiled instinctively.
"How dare you, sir" she yelled.
"She has something in her britches." the guard yelled. "I felt it!"
The other guards seized her by the arms. She knew she had the strength to escape but did as she was told.
The guard reached into her underthings, much to her protest, and retrieved the envelope.
"We will have to see what was so secret that you had to hide this, young lady. And you will hang if it is what we think it may be."
The rebel guards took her, feigning struggle, to the jail and put her in a cell. She was alone for a very long time. She was in a windowless room staring at rock walls and steel bars. She wondered if she could use her strength to escape and tried the bars. Even her strength wasn't enough to break them. She would have to wait.
After a long time alone and afraid she heard the huge oak door open and close from around the corner, and the boot steps came toward her. The most attractive man she had ever seen came around the corner and instantly she knew he was an old vampire. She could sense it coming from him, almost an odor. He was dressed as an officer of the Continental Army.
He was dragging a chair behind him and now set it in front of her cell. Taking a seat he studied her in silence for a long time. Just as she was about to speak he broke the silence himself.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked her.
"No, but I know what you are." she replied.
"Good. Your senses do not betray you. Do you know what you were carrying from the Governor?"
"Only that it was a message that you should not know about."
"That's what I thought." he said. He sat there staring at her for a long time.
"You are lucky that you are what you are." he said finally. "Were you simply a human Tory you would have been strung up by now. Because you are a vampire you will be judged by our tribunal rather than the Continental Army. I have come here to bring you before us."
With that he stood, moved his chair back to its place around the corner, and returned with keys in hand. He unlocked the cell but before he swung the door open he spoke.
"If you truly know your senses then you know that you could not possibly over power me so please do not try. I don't want to kill you but I will if you resist."
She nodded. She was very afraid of this vampire. She could sense his strength and knew he was not lying. He took her by the arm and led her outside. There, in front of the jail was a prisoner transport wagon. It was a jail cell built upon a wagon.
Mirella sensed that the driver was also an old vampire. Not as old as the officer but still considerably older than she. She did not struggle as Lanius held her arm and she stepped up into the cell on the wagon. What shall be my fate under judgement of vampires? she thought as Lanius commanded the driver to go.
`
Mirella endured a long, uncomfortable ride. She had no idea how long they had been traveling but she feared the sunrise may come soon. Will they simply leave me here to die scorched by the sun? she thought, suddenly panicked.
Just as the first light was appearing on the horizon they pulled down a long, bumpy side road. She soon found herself in front of a stone building which was hidden from the road. Another old vampire on horseback approached the carriage. He was lithe with dark black hair and a groomed mustache and beard.
He dismounted, his boots sinking in the mud. He was also dressed as an officer of the Continental Army. He opened the cell door and took her by the arm. He helped her down the step and led her into the building, depositing her into another cell in another windowless, stone room.
At least I'm safe from the sun she thought, relieved but still frightened as to what fate may befall her.
There was a canvas army cot in her cell and she slept. She was starving. The thirst was upon her and suddenly she thought that they may starve her to death. That thought was assuaged as a man came in with a pig and pushed it into her cell. "Feed" was all that he said and he left.
She devoured the blood of the animal, craving more. Her only company here was silence. She sat, alone, on the cot. Hours passed and she had no idea how long she had been in there. She slept again. And again the private came in with a pig and pushed it into her cell. This time without a word to her, he left.
Just as the day before he returned a short while later to remove the corpse of the animal and still he did not speak to her.
This cycle repeated several times and Mirella could only grasp a sense of time by the regularity that they let her feed. She guessed that it was but once per evening but could not tell just how long she had been alone in that cell.
What has become of my family? she asked herself over and over. Are they dead? Have they been hanged as Tory conspirators because of my actions?
She cried many times over the course of those days not knowing the fate of her father and sisters.
After what Mirella had guessed had been just over a fortnight a vampire came in shortly after the private had removed the pig's corpse from her cell. He was huge with bulbous facial features and unkempt hair and beard.
He opened the cell door and made an impatient gesture for her to come. He said not a word but grasped her arm roughly and led her out where she found the carriage with the cell built on it waiting for her.
"What has happened to my family?" she asked, but was frustrated by silence from the several vampires standing there, and the man driving the carriage. She was silently loaded into the cage and transported again down a dark, bumpy road.
After some time they approached a checkpoint of soldiers who allowed the carriage to pass after a brief inspection.
The carriage stopped in front of a large, stone building and the driver stepped down. He opened the cell door and took her out himself, again holding her by the arm, and escorted her inside. There, a different private took her arm and led her down a dark, musty hallway to a set of double doors.
The doors opened into a large room and she saw that it was a courtroom. Seated, elevated above her, were three very old vampires including the one that she saw in the first prison. She could not escape her attraction to him.
The soldier put shackles on her wrists and ankles and left her standing before the three, then stood aside the elevated platform the tribunal sat upon at full attention.
"Mirella." Lanius spoke. "You were found carrying a loyalist message which outlined a plan against the Continental Army. Do you deny this?"
"No." she said trying to appear strong and proud.
"Did you know the details of that plot?" Lanius asked.
"I told you before. All I knew is that it should not fall into rebel hands. In that, I failed."
There was a long silence. "What has become of my family?" Mirella demanded.
Lanius, seated in the center of the tribunal then whispered into the ears of each of those seated next to him, and they, in turn, whispered back.
"You will never know their fate." he spat back finally. "Mirella, because of your crime against the American cause you have been found guilty of treason. Because we believe that you were but a carrier of messages and not an active member of the plot we will spare your life. You will be exiled to the newly founded Mexican town of San Francisco far in the west where you will not be trouble to the Cause.
There you may feed on humans but be aware, you will still need to adhere to the rules. I assume you know the rules?" he asked.
"Yes, but please tell me the fate of my father and sisters? Whatever it may be I must know." she pleaded.
"You will never know." Lanius said. "You will be transported by night in a prisoner transport until you reach the town of San Francisco where you will be set free. You will live within those limits and within our rules but you can never live anywhere but there, nor leave for holiday. You will be monitored so please do not try to violate the rules. Do you understand your sentence?"
"Yes but please tell me of my family?!?" she was begging now, on her knees. "I must know what trouble I have brought to my father's house!"
"That is the ruling of this tribunal. Private, please escort the prisoner for transport."
And just like that, Mirella was led back to the cell on a wagon and loaded silently.