Arranged? More Like Deranged!

Chapter 7

It was amazing to see how much had changed in me since I'd come here. Since Luke and I had smoothed over that fight. 

But this new information of my brothers death had practically wrenched the memories right back into the front of my mind. The memories I had buried deep under the ocean floor in a chest that was bolted,chained and whatever else you could do to keep a chest shut. But someway, somehow... that chest was now lying open in front of me.

I wandered the halls of the castle aimlessly, looking but not really seeing. I had no destination right now. I wandered as if I were a ghost.

I didn't know how Hunter dealt with the pain of knowig that he was responsible for his sister's death everyday. Maybe that's what made him so scary - determination. The determinatin to prove himself to everyone and everything every waking second of his life. I didn't envy him. Living like that would be terrible.

I wondred how Hunter ended up here. Had his parents found Lily dead under her brother's fangs and sent him away? Had Hunter and Luke been friends before and Luke offered to take him in? Or did all confused vampires come to live here?

I was completely lost, but I didn't care. It would take seconds for Jessica to find me if anyone needed me. That was the funny thing about Jessica...

Jessica is the messenger girl of the castle. She can find anyone and anything in the castleas soon as someone needs in. Her ability to find things is uncanny. What amazes me about Jessica is that she is a hlaf vampire. Her mother was a human, her father a vampire. No one knows how Jessica can find people. Sure, if one of her parents had been some sort of canine, whether only a shapehifter or a demon or something, then she could probaly get the whole "finding" ability from that parent. But humans are ever forgetful and rarely ever have a sense of direction, and the only thing vampires can sniff out is blood.

Luke guesses that's just it - that being half vampire, half human, Jessica can determine the difference between peoples' bloods. Vampires can only smell blood in the criteria of age and gender, mostly, though a chosen few can define the certain smells of blood types, but Luke thinks that, because when vampires are turned their senses are amplified, she can smell twice as good as a human can. Every human has their own smell, right? So mix that with the scent of their age/gender and viola, Jessica can find us. But Jessica says that's hardly the case. She says she just knows where people have been, where they walked, and where they're going. I have no idea what to believe.

And sure enough I hear the lovely voice of Jessica behind me. "Katrina?"

I had tried to become friends with Jessica, in an attempt to replace Lauren, my newest arch nemisis who had practically replaced Hunter...

Another thing clicked in my head. A chain reaction had been set off the moment I had kissed Josh, slowly firing off into place... Cameron had "replaced" David as the person who protected me as a brtoher, Hunter had replaced Cameron as someone I could talk to, Lauren had replaced Hunter as my arch nemesis, Jessica had sort of replaced Lauren as my girl friend, Josh had replaced Jessica as someone I basically didn't know, and James had replaced my parents as my parent.

Weird.

"Yes, Jessica?" I asked, turning around to face her. Jessica was always infinitly polite, too,so I tried to return the favor.

"Prince Luke has requested I find you. He'd like to speak with you in his quarters, if you don't mind. Would you like me to escort you there?"

I sighed. That's right, I remembered, it was getting very late. That's probably why Hunter had told me to leave; if Jessica came to find me and found me in Hunte's room late at night, Luke would've had a fit. I wondered absentmindedly how late it was.

"Yes, please, Jessica."

Jessica smiled and tried to break away from her prim and proper ways as usual when we were alone.

"So... why were you wondering the halls alone at night, anyways? Last I remember you hated leaving Luke's side. Now look at you... not only wandering, but wandering at night! You realize, don't you, the risks of that?"

I sighed. "You mean if Lauren had found me?"

Jessica's wide eyes stared at me. "Lauren is the least of your worries at nighttime in this place!" She snapped. I jumped; that was definitly out of character for Jessica. "Oh, you found her! Thanks, Jess."

I looked away fom Jessica's suddenly fierce eyes to see Luke's molten caramel ones. The expression was violently different.

"Your welcome." Jessica said, the sudden anger from her voice completely gone. Her expression was serene again. "Have a good night, Prince Luke. Lady Katrina."

There wasn't even a waver to her voice asshe spoke my name. Jessica was phenomenal at hiding her emotions. I suddenly wished I was, too.

~ I bet she doesn't dive into her fiance's arms and blither on about her life.~ I told myself. Then I told myself to shut up.

"Where were you?" Luke asked as he placed his hand on my back and pulled me into the room, shutting the door behind me. "Do you realize how worried I was?" 

I rolled my eyes. "You sound like my mom when I was a kid." I muttered. Then I stopped for a second. The words I spoke stung.

"Katrina." He said disapprovingly as he ran a hand through my hair. "You shouldn't be saying things like that. It's bad enough that I reminded you of it." I sighed. "I know..."

When I got changed I layed down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Luke?" I asked. He opened the door from the bathroom and came out in his plaid pajamas. "Mhm?" He asked, chucking his dirty clothes into the laundry hamper.

"What's so dangerous about the castle at night time?"

Luke gave a bitter laugh. "Now you ask me?" He muttered. 

Just as Jessica's anger had suddenly disappeared, Luke's anger suddenly flared up.

Ooooooooooo. Angry Luke. Makes you wanna read more, doesn't it?

Well then. I've done my job.