I look at the bracelet Max gave me. I realize that my mother gave me a necklace with the same bat on it. She told me to never take it off, but I never put it on, it's in my jewelry box. But since I know that the necklace and bracelet have power I shall cherish it and keep it safe.
Its probably 2 am now and the party is still going very well. I go around and have small talks trying to get my mind off of Madeline. I can't help it but I keep replaying what had happened.
I get a flash of Madeline's body...all twisted and contoured, it was horrific.
I keep thinking about what the news will say. I keep thinking about all the things that could go wrong.
Then it hits me.
What if there are more of them like her.
Anyone at this party could be on the enemies side. Anyone-
"Jewles." A voice behind me says before I got corrupted in my thoughts.
I turn and see Max and I smile slightly at him.
"Enjoying the party?" I ask.
He grabs me and takes me to an isolated corner of the room"I guess. Its kinda hard to when you know your nest friend is stressing." He says.
"I'm fine."
"Look, I know that you aren't okay. What happened..... Its gonna happen again. Trust no one. The enemy's side is getting stronger and is gaining more monsters. And things are only gonna get worse until this war is over."
"I know Max. Its just.." I grab my hair and sigh.
"I promise that things will get better. This is gonna be like a roller coaster. It will have its twist and turns. Ups and downs."
"Sometimes rollercoasers break down Max."
"Not with this operator." He says as he points to himself."I will be here and so will Kellen. You can trust us and your family, but that's it. No one else, and if anyone tries to get information out of you, don't say nothing at all you understand?"
I nod.
"Okay good. Look, I gotta go, but Kellen says he will stay here. Remember about the bracelet. Never. Take. It . off. Plus it looks good on you. Don't stress because I will take care of everything."
"Okay." I say biting my lip.
Hr then grabs my shoulders "I said don't stress!"
"I'm not!" I reply, then we both start laughing.
"Bye jewles. By the way training starts Sunday."
"Bye. Uh, max....I just wanted to say thanks...for everything."
He just smiles and winks at me, then he saunters out of the room.
I turn and Kellen is standing right behind me with a smirk on his face.
"What?" I say.
"You like him." He says with a big grin on his face.
My jaw just drops and I scoff,"No I do not!"
"Sure, whatever you say Princess."
I just groan and start to male my way towards the blood fountain before Kellen grabs my wrist and asks,"Wanna go on an adventure?"
I raise an eyebrow."What do you mean by adventure?"
"We can just do something to keep your mind off of things. Like....maybe I can show you how to use your powers."
My eyes light up,"Yes! That would be great!"
He smiles and beckons me to follow him to the garden.
Once we are outside I take my high heels off and walk on the soft, pillow like grass. I look at the black roses and see dew drops dripping off of them. For some reason just watching some of the drops incinerate into the flower and some of the drops dripping off slowly onto the ground.
Kellen leads me to a bench.
"Before we start." He says,"I just want you to know that what happened wasn't your fault. She was evil. A spy. Juliette, if you can't get over killing this spy, how are you going to kill the other spy's?"
"Kellen you don't understand....I kinda grew up with her, I know it wasn't my fault that it happened. This is just my first time....killing someone. I only feel guilty because I knew her, she was my friend."
"Well she didn't see you that way. She tried to kill you."
"I know! I know....but that's not what's really bothering me...I'm afraid that there are more like her. More spies."
Kellen pursed his lips and inhaled deeply. "Of coarse there are going to be more spies. Some monsters that you knew since you were little will turn to the dark side. The Ancient One is brainwashing many monsters for his army. That's why you can't trust anyone. Only your family, Max, and me. That's it. Don't tell anyone else what's happening. Its confident alright?"
"I know. Max already told me the same thing." I say.
"Juliette, be prepared for a big fight and seeing people you once knew go to the dark side. And most of all, if you have to kill an enemy, don't feel guilty. They made their choice, they chose to work for him. They don't care about you. Don't the guilt eat you up, it had to be done. They are evil. This is war." He finishes.
I never seen Kellen this serious about something. Well, this is a very serious topic. He knew all the right things to say. I still feel guilty, but he's right, I have to carry on.
"Got it. Now let's get started on those lessons." I say.
"Okay, first, running. Now you can run at a regular speed, but when you need to move fast, just imagine yourself going as fast as you possibly can, and try to move as fast as you can. I want you to go all the way to the end of the garden and back. Ready.... go!"
The end of the garden is at least a mile and a half long. I bite my lip and hesitate before I start sprinting. I imagine going as fast as the speed of light, Vanessa said that was always the best way to run fast. In a matter of seconds I'm touching the stone wall where the end of the garden is. I immediately turn around and run to Kellen.
When I return to him, I see a cheeky grin on his face."Impressive. You came back in ten seconds on two and a half mile run. You imagined going at the speed of light didn't you?"
"Yup."I say.
"That's always the best way to start. Well, you have running down. Let's try jumping. Its really easy. All you have to do is imagine going as high as you can....or as high as you want, then you jump. And vampires are like cats, we always land on our feet. Ready?"
I nod and then I did what he told me to do. We were near a pine tree, and I imagined touching the top. Then....I was actually touching the top, then I started to freefall and I landed on my feet.
"You're a natural!" He exclaims
"Well I was raised by vampires so I kinda know most of the tricks."
"Pretty soon you won't have to imagine anything, it will just come naturally." He states.
"Yeah, that's what Vanessa said." I say.
"Well, the way only thing you need to know is how to fly, but I'll teach you that some other time cause that's a little tricky."
We both just sat on the bench in silence.
"Thanks for teaching me these uh......vampire techniques."
"No problem. Wanna head back inside?"
I nod.
When we head inside, I see that some more people have left the party.
I couldn't see my parents anywhere. But I saw Vanessa in a corner with a group of friends.
I just remembered that I have to tell my parents what happened between Madeline and I. I will try to have Max explain everything to them.
Kellen said that he was going to go drink some blood and talk to a few people, so I went to the bar. I wasn't in the mood for blood so I thought I would try something new.
I had no idea what to get so I told the bartender to just surprise me. I'm surprised he agreed to give me alchohal because I'm still under age, but it was probably because it was "my day" or something.
I watched him put vodka in a large cup and he mixed it with some fruit juices. Once I tried it the fruity taste just danced on my tastebuds. It was so delicious, and you can hardly taste the alchohal, even though the giant cup was filled halfway with vodka. After I chugged the first one, I asked for about three more....from what I can remember because after I drank my third one, I could not remember anything after that.
• • •
I wake up with a massive headache and no memory of how I got into my bed. All I remember is Kellen teaching me techniques and all the events before that. But those were also a little vauge.
I touch my temples and take my blanket off, I wasn't in my dress anymore, bit in my silky pink nightgown. Its probably the only thing I have that's pink.
I decide to go to my bathroom and take a headache pill. Once I step out of bed I realize that I stepped in someone. And that someone was Kellen.
"Kellen!" I shout.
His eyes open up immediately and he shoots up into sitting position.
"What are you doing in here?" I yell.
He furrows his eyebrows at me and rolls his eyes,"I leave you alone for ten minutes and you get drunk, and then you start doing crazy stuff like.... I don't know stripping down in front of monsters. Then I had to pick you up and take you to you room while you were in your underwear, then....here's the fun part, you throw up on me, then I throw you in the bathroom so you can finish your business, then once you were done, I took a shower, and once I got out, you threw up some more, then I made you take a shower, don't worry I didn't see anything, then you passed out in the shower, so.....I had to get you out-"
"You saw me naked?!" I scream.
"No! I closed my eyes to turn the water off and I threw a towel on you and got you out, then I called a maid down here to get you dressed, and I decided to stay the night to make sure everything was okay. Does that explain everything?"
I nod,"Kellen I'm so sorry. Ugh I'm an idiot."
"Yes. Yes you are. By the way Max is coming over in an hour."
"What time is it?"
"Three."
My eyes widen. I can't believe I slept in that long. I apologize to Kellen again. I start to feel much better after I drink a little bit of blood. I guess that's the antidote to everything for a vampire.
Once Max gets here, that's when we have to spill about Madeline.
Fantastic.