"Lucinda, it will be alright. Maybe she won't be picked," Amaryllis' father Joseph said to her mother. He was trying to comfort Amaryllis' mother who, along with the rest of the family, just discovered that the King would be visiting their town.

Amaryllis herself didn't display a dramatic outward show of expression like her mother who was desperately crying in the kitchen. Instead, she sat on the living room couch staring at a picture on the wall of their family that was taken before the vampires took over.

The photo was taken ten years ago whenever Amaryllis was eight, just days before the take-over. The family was at a picnic with friends, unknowingly enjoying their last few days with each other. Soon after this picture was taken, the vampires emerged from the darkness and took over the world.

Before, vampires were just fictional characters in storybooks but were also real beings that lived in the shadows. No human had ever seen one before because that was the way the vampires wanted it. They did not want pesky humans in their business. However, ten years ago they had a change of heart. They decided humans were an inferior species that needed put in their place.

Within days, all of the humans were round up and divided into small towns in order for the vampires to keep better control of them. They also forced the humans to abide by their laws and if they did not, they would be killed.

No one was allowed to leave their assigned town. Families hadn't seen their loved ones in a decade. Amaryllis hadn't seen her grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousin in ten years. She missed spending holidays like Christmas with her whole family. Another law enforced by vampires, human holidays were no longer allowed to be celebrated.

There was one school per town that taught basic education. If a child wanted to take honors classes, their parents would have to teach them because the vampires didn't want to exhaust their efforts on teaching the puny, inferior humans. However, there were also classes dedicated to vampire culture and customs, history, and the way the Royal monarchy worked.

Amaryllis was a very smart young girl. She taught herself everything she knew that wasn't taught in school. She excelled in school but wished there were more challenging courses available to her. She had dreams of growing up to be a doctor, specifically an endocrinologist. She wanted to be able to help people with hormonal problems or other issues in their bodies that may prevent them from living their healthiest life. Now that vampires had taken over and there were limited jobs for humans, she would probably only ever be a clerk at the one and only grocery store the town had.

Amaryllis' twenty-year-old brother, Luca, was sitting on the couch right beside her; his hand was wrapped around her own. "It's going to be okay," he told her but didn't look her in the eyes. Amaryllis tried to believe him, but she still felt sick to her stomach. She may be picked, or her few friends may be picked. They may never see each other ever again.

Amaryllis didn't think she was pretty, knew if for a fact actually, so there was no possible way the King would choose her. Ever since the takeover, girls at school had been cruel to her. She only had two friends, but they were way more popular than her. Kids at school bullied her and picked on her, teased her for how she looked, and for the clothes she wore. Amaryllis didn't know why. While she knew she wasn't pretty, she did not think she was exactly ugly either. Amaryllis was sure the King would not choose her, for why would such a powerful man pick such a simple looking girl.

Amaryllis had strawberry blonde hair that reached her hips, green eyes, and fair skin. Freckles also littered her face. She stood at about 5'6, not too short or too tall. She was also not skinny or obese. She had a curvy body and extra pudge, something kids bullied her for her whole life. Amaryllis knew she didn't have the most attractive body, but she did not think her shape was horrible either.

Soon enough, the family was pulled away from their sorrows when screaming was heard throughout the town. Amaryllis opened up the curtain on the window and picked out. Just a few feet away from her tiny front yard, a vampire was sucking the blood from a woman's body. A few inches away from her, her husband was being beaten by a few vampire guards. Two kids were being held back by another guard. They would either be killed or taken to the castle and forced to work. Another guard held a teenage girl by the arm who was desperately trying to escape, tears streaming down her face as she screamed for her family.

Amaryllis let out a gasp of both terror and sympathy. She knew those people personally, they lived just two houses down from her own. When they heard the news of the King's visit to the town that was just broadcasted on every TV in the country, they must have tried to escape. Unfortunately, the vampire guards caught them, as they always do when humans try to escape.

Their daughter just turned sixteen two days ago, meaning she was ripe for the picking. Danielle, their teenaged daughter's name, would be forced to attend the Harvest. If the King did not pick her, she would be executed for her betrayal of the law. The Harvest was what people called the day when the King came to pick the girls.

As Amaryllis continued peeking through the curtains, she noticed more vampires strolling around than usual. That meant the King would be coming very soon. "I'm scared, Luca," she told her brother when she sat back down. "More vampires are here than normal, that must mean the King is almost here," she said in a quiet and defeated voice.

More screams were heard, so Amaryllis peeked out the window one more time. She saw guards kicking down doors to houses, searching the houses, and taking out any girl ages sixteen to twenty-four. When every human child was born, their fingerprints would be scanned in order for vampires to identify them. They also forcefully took all already alive humans' fingerprints when the they assumed power. When they barged into the houses, they scanned the girl's fingerprints and the scan would tell them how old the girl was. If the girl was too young or old, they would be left in the house. If they were of proper age, they would be taken out of their home and forced to line up in the village square for the King to observe.

Her mother and father burst into the living room and hugged Amaryllis. Her mother had tears pouring down her face as she rocked Amaryllis back and forth. Her father's eyes glistened with unshed tears, and Amaryllis was happy that he was not crying. She needed her father to be strong for her mother, for her family, and for her.

Soon, their own door was busted down and soldiers came stomping through the house, searching for hideaways. Amaryllis' finger was scanned and she was dragged out of her house by her arm. The guard held her arm in a severely tight grip the whole ten-minute walk to the town square. When they finally got there and he shoved her into the still-forming line, she looked down and noticed a bruise forming in the shape of a hand.

She looked around the town square, noticing girls from her school and some slightly older women that she recognized from around the town. Guards, who were much taller and muscular than humans, were positioned around the town square, preventing anyone from escaping.

Some of the girls in the line were crying, others were fixing their hair, trying to look good for the King. The girls who were trying to look good were the girls who were known for sleeping around and leading guys on. A tap on her shoulder caused Amaryllis to turn around. Behind her was one of her best friends, Sophie.

"Sophie!" Amaryllis exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl.

"Amaryllis, I'm so scared. What if I get picked? What if we get picked?" She asked, close to hysterics. Amaryllis put her hands on Sophie's shoulders. "We are going to be okay. Hopefully, we don't get picked, but if we do, we will stick together and be strong."

That seemed to calm Sophie down slightly as her breathing started to return to normal and her eyes weren't looking around in such a frantic way. Amaryllis looked up and noticed some worried parents standing outside of the border that the guards made. She heard some parents screaming their daughters' names, while other parents stood around crying.

"Do you know where Nicole is?" Sophie asked. "No," Amaryllis shook her head. "I haven't seen her."

"I'm worried. What if her family tried to escape?" Sophie said worriedly.

"Hopefully she gets picked then. I doubt they tried to escape though, Sophie. Her family isn't that stupid." Amaryllis said and gave Sophie a small smile, trying to calm her nerves. Out of the three friends, she was the mom of the group who always gave the best advice.

"Sophie! Amaryllis!" The shrill voice of their other best friend, Nicole yelled. She tried to run up to them from her spot in the line that was about twenty people away from Amaryllis, but a vampire caught her. "Stay in your place!" He spat out at and roughly pushed her back into the line. "Keep your heads forward and shut up!" He yelled to Sophie and Amaryllis, as well as to everyone else. "The King is arriving so you better be on your best behaviors. If you act out, I will drain the blood from your worthless bodies." The guard said with a sinister smile on his face that caused Amaryllis' hair to stand up.

All of the girls in the line immediately quit talking and turned their heads forward. Many continued crying, and sniffles were heard all around. The vampire guards stood around, just waiting for a human to step out of line, both figuratively and literally, so they could rip them apart.

Chanting was heard from the vampires as a sleek black limo pulled into the square. A mountain of a man, larger than any of the guards, stepped out of the car. He was taller and more muscular than any of the surrounding vampires, and even though Amaryllis could not see his front yet, she could tell he oozed power.

When the man stepped around the car and silenced the guards, Amaryllis was taken aback. She felt overcome with tingles and an amazing sensation that she could not describe, and that she had never felt before. The man was so handsome. He had tanned skin which contrasted from the pale skin vampires were said to have in the storybooks. He had neatly styled light brown hair. The pupils and iris of his eyes were pitch black, but the black of his irises had silver rings around them. His pupils had many colors like blue and purple swirling in them.

Amaryllis and anyone else around could tell that the man was not only a Royal but the King. Not only did he exert the power of a Royal, but all Royals had pitch black irises with silver rings around them. One could tell when a vampire was just a regular vampire because they did not exert the same amount of power as a Royal, and they had normal eyes like humans but had a red ring around the iris.

One could also differentiate a vampire of the King's bloodline from a second command, or third command, etc Royal. A vampire of the King's bloodline would have an assortment of colors swirling in the pupil, and a regular Royal did not. One could also tell by the power the Royal exerted. Vampires of the King's bloodline exerted the most amount of power, but the King himself held the most.

The King walked towards the line of young girls, oozing absolute power and dominance. His presence demanded respect and obedience. As he walked closer, Amaryllis felt the tingles grow stronger. She didn't know what the feeling was or why it was happening, but she knew it was because of the King. She didn't exactly want it to stop either.