BLOODLUST

The New Neighbors

"What?!" A loud shrill scream was heard just outside of my room. Surely that was Aunt Bertha, the exaggerating one. She was a theatre actress when she has'nt been turned yet. She usually does the yelling with Aunt Vivian as close second so we didn't mind her.

After my hair and makeup was done for quite half an hour of boredom, I went downstairs to the living room and saw all of them. All eighteen of them dressed in ball gowns. Wait, where's Aunt Lora? Okay, make that seventeen.

"She's asleep dear" Aunt Monica answered as she hauled her white fur shawl and wrapped it in her bare shoulders. Aunt Monica's the only one who could read thoughts. I find her 'abilities' really cool but she always gets upset when I try to appreciate her, saying it was a hideous curse not some silly gift.

There was something heavy in the air tonight. No smiles on their pale dead but ravishingly beautiful faces, no playing with the cats and no petty fights from my younger Aunts that might actually be over 600 years old.

"Is my attending this ball very much concerning? If the answer to that is a yes, then I will stay. I would not want to be responsible to this discomfort all of you are suffering from." I said noticing the burden on the air rising from our living room to the stare case where I stand.

"No love. The Ravenhearsts sent ye that invitation for they surely are up to sumfink. Whatever that is, facing em is our lone choice." My optimistic Aunt Susan sounded quite desperate in her usual deep nasal British accent that once amused me.

Aunt Vivian lead Aunt Veronica and I to the first carriage. She waited for us to get settled before she gave her sister a trustful nod. She closed the carriage door behind her and walked towards the carriage next to ours with conviction written all over her face.

I looked at Aunt Veronica, wanting to ask if their planning something again but the look on her face just answered me. She wore the same face of confidence that her sister Vivian had. Now I'm sure their up to something, something big, something I might not like.

As all of us got settled, six carriages had come out of Bridge manor. Off to the newly bought Ravenhearst manor, an hour and a half away through the dark forest.

The moon was full and the trees were shedding their precious leaves around them. The light of the moon gave these lifeless dry leaves their warm color of burning orange and gold. Just like how it gives power and vitality to my Aunts and all their kind.

The sweet calming scent of lavender slowly filled the air inside the carriage as I turned to look at my Aunt Veronica. She smiled a smile that matched the sweetness and calmness of her scent as I felt tired. I felt weird and dizzy.

Damn so this is their plan. To drug me in her witchcraft and put me to sleep again. They always did this to me back when I was a stubborn kid that hated bedtime so I was kind of used to it.Aunt Veronica was once a white witch, she cured people and was hanged because of it. Now she is what she is.

A thick white mist appeared on the corners of my eyes as I saw her smiling face, saying:

"Sleep dear one sleep

spare not a peep.

Consciousness seep,

lessons to keep."

She whispered as I fell asleep.

First it was dark, my feet starting to hurt. Then I saw a door, a huge wooden door that I've never seen before. I was about to touch its golden knob when I heard a male voice telling me not to.

I noticed that I was in some heavy white gown. With thick laces covering my sight, I felt my loose bun as I noticed that it was a long white veil. I'm in a wedding dress.