three's a crowd

hide and seek

A/N: Apparently, vampires like to play hide and seek?

Before I fully realize what's going on, we're all gathered in a random large room. Felix carried me here, since they were all so excited they didn't want to wait for me, and he'd given me a plate full of sandwiches with cheese and vegetables to eat before we started, then left me sitting on a random table. The room looked like it was used for meetings, with various chairs and tables scattered throughout it, a few paintings hung on the walls for decoration. Demetri suddenly reappears, and he sits down next to me, the table creaking dangerously for a moment.

"Hey" He says with a grin, then grabs a sandwich to take a bite.

"You eat food?" I ask him, confused, but then he pulls a grimace.

"Nowp, still tastes like dirt. I just wanted to test." He says, making me laugh.

"Where is everyone?" I ask him, quite happy with my food.

"They're clearing the castle from unneeded visitors so we can play without having to worry about someone tearing your throat open." Demetri says casually, which nearly makes me choke on the bite I had just taken.

"Don't worry though." He adds, clearly noticing it.

"You're not the best person to calm people down, I think." I mutter, and he's the one who laughs this time, as he briefly ruffles through his blonde hair.

"But aren't you the hunter of this group? Doesn't that give you an advantage?" I ask him, thinking about the game.

"Oh, everyone can use their powers. It's a bit more... brutal than you might expect." Demetri admits, grinning down at me.

"Yeah, you're definitely bad at calming people down." I state, and then we both laugh.

Suddenly, all of the guards speed into the room. I'm startled by the sight of all of them, but Demetri gets up and motions for me to do the same. There's Felix, Demetri, Jane, Alec, but even Afton, Heidi, Chelsea, Corin, Renata and Santiago are here. They must really like this game.

"Let's play some hide and seek!" Felix exclaims, clearly excited.

"Alright, you all know the rules. You can use your powers, don't destroy too much or Caius will be mad, and try not to kill each other. When you find the hider, you only win when you return here with them." Demetri speaks up, and Jane and Alec look like they don't care too much for those rules.

"Wait, what about me?" I ask, a little worried. They all stare at me, and then begin to laugh.

"Why, you're the person who hides, of course!" Afton exclaims, a big grin on his face. I believe I visibly pale at that.

"You're not going to eat me, right?" I ask, just to be sure.

"Of course not, the kings would have our heads. We can control our thirst, sweetie, even if you smell good." Heidi reassures, well... reassuring is a big word.

"Fine. How long do I have?" I give in.

"Let's give you five minutes, then we'll come." Santiago speaks up, and when he grins dangerously, I bolt out of the room as quickly as I can.

I don't even know where I am. I just ran blindly into a direction I hadn't gone before, darted into a room and found myself in a giant storage room. Alright, alright, I probably had another minute. Quickly, I climb on top of the shelves at the back of the room, and when I reach the top shelves I hide in the corner behind one of the cardboard boxes, and lie down. My heart's beating like mad, so I force myself to calm down. They'd probably find me in seconds anyways.