"Halloween ball?" Victoria asked Caroline, eyebrow raised. Victoria was laying on her bed, a book propped on her knees, and Caroline was holding a bright orange flyer that advertised a Halloween ball the next day.
It was, of course, now November, therefore Halloween had already passed, but Eclipse Academy, Eclipse Night Academy, and Eclipse Underworld Academy come together on this night, and also Christmas.
The Valentines Day dance does not, however, do that.
"Yeah," Caroline responded. "Perhaps Sebastian will ask you.." She added with a face. Victoria blushed slightly, or as much as a vampire can. She, of course, already knew of this ball, but she had spent so much time with Caroline, Erica, and Molly, she hadn't had time for Sebastian, or even Zach.
It had only been five days since they found out about James, and still their research was leading them no where. It was very stressful. Plus, Victoria was also trying to catch up with her peers, having not had the education from the start.
"Maybe.." Victoria answered, her voice an octave higher.
She thought intantly of bloody tears all over her face while she was on the ground in Sebastian's comforting arms.
She thought, also, of the memory she saw in the moment in time; a little boy with pale skin and paper-white hair and blood on his wounded neck, crying as he stared down at his dead parents. She felt sadness towards the boy, knowing that it was Sebastian. Sebastian, who never opened up to anybody except her. Who had intense sadness in his eyes, much like a survivor of war. With whom she also shared unknown emotions.
She shook her head to focus herself back into reality. Caroline had asked her a question.
"Wah?" Caroline sighed, then asked again.
"How did the conversation with your father go? You haven't talked about it at all since it happened." She asked.
Victoria sighed, then set aside her book (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and then she sat up, to face Caroline properly.
She started to explain after a long, tired sigh.
"Well, I asked about my mother, Martha Grimoire. Zach told me she passed away like three years ago," She felt her eyes begin to sting, and her head began to ache.
"So I decided to speak with my father and find out what happened and why he wouldn't tell me...He told me she died human..." She said quietly, not looking at Caroline.
The story did not seem to make sense to Victoria, no matter how much she thought about it, but even still, why would her maybe-father lie? Caroline was listening closely.
"I guess what happened was they had to abandon me and erase my memory because my mother had done some very bad things (I don't know what though) to a lot of people and they had means to flee. After they fled, my father became the Headmaster, and my mom went off and tried to do her own thing, or whatever
"I guess what happened was the Council, or whatever the hell they are, caught up to her, and 'arrested' her. They scooped out her eyes and tortured her with the blood of ghouls and dead men, which eventually made her so unvampire-like that her age caught up to her and she turned to dust." Victoria explained.
She tried to keep emotion out of her thoughts and words, in fear that speaking of her own mother like this, she'd have another breakdown.
"Damn...I'm sorry, it's none of my business, I shouldn't have asked.." Caroline said sympothetically.
Victoria just waved her hand, as if to wave off the thought.
"It's cool. I'm over it, or trying to be. If they really cared, they wouldn't have left me outside of the Realm with the true monsters of the world."
And with that, the conversation was over.
.....
Josephine wandered around for days trying to gain direction to the Academy, but eventually came to a part of the woods where a lonely road passed. She was weak of starvation.
There was a single car pulled over on the left side of the road.
"What the heck is that?" She asked herself quietly. Due to the fact she hadn't seen anything of the outside world (besides a laptop) in 30 years or so, she had no idea what a Honda Odyssey looked like.
She walked up to it and saw her reflection. The same as before, except she had a few leaves and a small twig in her hair, and dried blood from a cut on her naturally black lips.
She wiped it away with the sleeve of her uniform.
Ugh, I was supposed to have killed Molly already...why can't I find this stupid Academy?!
She stamped her foot like a toddler not getting her way after a mother in a grocery store says "no."
After about 30 seconds she sighed and was about to walk away weakly (it had been days since she'd had blood and she was hungry, as well as tired) when she heard laughter emerging from the forest.
A man and a woman came onto the road from the woods, both wearing hiking clothes. They looked like they were in their mid-40s or so.
The woman had Sandy blond hair, and the man had brown hair with gray streaks.
"All I'm saying, luv, is just because it looked like a giant, spooky, castle, doesn't mean it was haunted." The man said.
Are they talking about the Academy?
Afterall, if a human were to come across the Academy, the Realm Shield would prevent them from seeing something they'd think as welcoming to enter, causing them to leave. Josephine acted.
This is going to be fun. She thought.
"Excuse me! Hullo! I need help, I'm injured!" She called out to the couple in a British accent. Then she reached behind her back, and cut her wrist open deeply with her nail. The blood spilled out and onto the ground, creating the perfect distraction.
She winced and showed the concerned-looking couple her arm.
"Oh, my. Phillis, grab the mobile out of the auto." The man said to his wife.
She nodded and ran to the drivers side, on the left. They must've gotten the car from America.
She pulled out a cellphone and handed it to her husband, who was looking at Josephine's wound. He was about to dial, when suddenly he dropped the phone, and complete, white shock and confusion crossed over like a wave onto his face.
Her wounds started to heal itself. The skin sealed itself up as quickly as it had been broken apart, like wounds always do for vampires.
He averted his eyes from the wound and to her face to see that she was smiling. Before he could call out to his wife, Josephine's fangs were out and she threw her tiny, 14-year-old body onto the innocent, British man.
He was screaming as she dug her fingers into his eyes and sank her teeth into his neck, where she ripped out bits and pieces of his skin, like a dog tearing apart a chew toy. The intoxicating, sweet, and glorious taste of blood poured into Josephine's mouth, and she drank as if she'd never had a drop of blood in her undead life. It was as if she couldn't get enough. And she couldn't.
The wife was screaming at the top of her lungs, apparently too shocked to move. Josephine drank and drank, until she started to get a headache. She stopped for a second to take a breath, then she laughed a little and snapped the man's neck to make him shut up.
Her red eyes were glowing, and she had blood running down her whole front, especially her mouth. She zoomed towards the wife, grabbing her by the neck, picking her up, then throwing the woman down onto the hood of the Odyssey. The hood bent slightly on impact.
She was crying and kicking at Josephine's legs and grabbing at the tight grip around her neck, but it was hopeless. Josephine just laughed at the woman's pain.
"Now," She said, "One- I need you to shut up. And two- I need you to tell me where this castle you found is." Her voice was rough and serious, a hint of her laughter still there. When the woman wouldn't stop crying and screaming, Josephine simply rolled her eyes and covered her mouth with her free hand until she stopped.
The woman whimpered, and Josephine, growing impatient, picked the woman up and threw her down again, much harder.
"WHERE IS IT!?" She screamed.
The woman gasped out breaths and spoke timidly.
"T-through the woods. Head northeast u - until you come to a stream. T-then follow the stream i-in the direction it's flowing." She stammered, gasping for breath.
Josephine smiled sweetly (as sweetly you can smile with blood all over you), then grabbed the woman and threw her at a tree, where she hit the middle of her back.
Josephine laughed at the sound of the woman's back breaking and her cries of pain, then went in the direction of the Academy, leaving her victims.
.....
Caroline sat at her desk, frustrated, trying to finish the last of her homework for Reading, Mystical Creatures and Beings, and Potions before classes started...in one hour.
She sighed.
Why can't I just concentrate?! She thought to herself.
Victoria was in the Common Room with, Caroline guessed, Sebastian.
She sighed and just did it all quickly, not caring if she got anything right.
I'm a star student anyway, what's this gonna do to my grades?
She sighed again and threw everything into her backpack, then got up to get to the showers. Like most dorm rooms, it didn't have a bathroom of your own, if you wanted to shower, you had to go to the Blood Dorm showers.
Where most students go to hook up.
She gathered her things and left, locking the door to room 407,and jumping off the level seven balcony to level one.
She then went out of the girl's dorm and down the staircase into the Common Room, where she saw Andrew Stormfly sitting in one of the chairs in his uniform. He seemed to be reading.
Caroline felt her stomach drop and tried to walk past quickly, but he already had noticed her.
"Oh, hey, Caroline!" He called.
Just say hi. Just be a normal person and say hi.
"H-hey, Andrew. What's up?" She responded. He stood up and zoomed over to her.
"I have a question.." He said.
Probably about schoolwork. She thought.
"Yeah, sure. What is it?" She responded.
"W-would you," he stammered nervously, running his hand through his dark brown hair, "go to the..Halloween Ball thing with me?" He asked.
Caroline dropped her things in shock. Then she realized that she had dropped her things and knelt down to pick them up. He did the same, and they almost bumped heads.
She chuckled awkwardly while he shook nervously. She lightly touched his shoulder.
"I'd love to." She said with a smile. After all, it was the truth. He slightly relaxed.
"Really?" He asked excitedly. She nodded.
"Haha, okay. I'll um, meet you here at six P.M. tomorrow night then? " He asked.
"I'd like that. I'll be ready." She responded, tucking her hair behind her ear on her right side, then she gave him another smile and headed towards the showers.
Andrew Stormfly was nothing like his twin, Adrian.
.....
The classes that followed seemed to fly by easily for Caroline. She was on Cloud 9.
During her last period, which was a free period, she thought about how she'd do her hair, what dress she'd wear, and what she'd like to talk about with Andrew.
He was also a level seven vampire who had been going there since level one, so she had known him well, but not well enough.
Victoria was also in the free period, but she had told Caroline that she wanted to spend some time with Sebastian.
It's cool, I'm fine. Caroline would tell herself when she thought about it, but deep down, it was a bit painful. She really felt like she was starting to bond with Victoria.
Caroline experienced this quite a bit in her 24 undead years of dealing with people and other vampires, yet every time something like this happened, it pained her, made her think about the past before vampirism.
She shook her head and waved her hand at the reoccurring thoughts, and felt someone tap her shoulder.
She turned to see Sebastian standing there, like a beacon. His hair seemed whiter every time she saw him, and his eyes were especially glowing. He also surprised her.
"Oh, hi, Sebastian." She said quietly. They were in a library.
"May I sit and speak with you?" He asked politely.
She nodded and gestured to the seat next to her, which he accepted.
"What's going on?" She asked. They never really talked before this moment.
"It's about Victoria...I think...I think that she's extremely depressed, but she won't let me speak to her about it. I was hoping that you could help me in that area...give her female assistence?" He asked.
Caroline was taken aback.
"Ummm.." She said, "ummm, well, yeah, of course. I'm glad to help. I just have a quick question.." She said.
He nodded. "Do you love her?" She asked. He smiled slightly and looked off to the side thoughtfully.
"I have never, in my time, fallen in love. I always told myself that I'd find the vampire that murdered my family and Turned me, and kill it. As long as I had that on my mind, I wouldn't fall for someone. But the thing is, I forget all about that when I'm with her. I have this feeling, this sense that I need to protect her and all she is. That she needs it somehow-" Sebastian started, but she cut him off.
"Listen, Sebastian. And listen well. Victoria has been through hell. Does she need peotecting? Probably not. She made it this far. True, she has her weak points, I mean, we all do, but look at her. She may not look like it, but that girl is the biggest badass of them all.
"What I would suggest is just work with her. Distract her. If she's depressed, then distraction is exactly what she needs. Hell, everyone gets depressed. Just don't push it, otherwise, it'll seem like you're trying to get too close too soon. You're not in love yet, kid. So, give her a little space." She said.
Sebastian thought about it, looking off into space, then finally he stood up, straightened his uniform, even though it didn't even need it, and looked at her.
His red eyes had a hint of gold to them. He held out his hand.
"Thank you very much, Miss Wright." He said politely. She took his hand gingerly and gave it a little shake. He then turned and zoomed away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She chuckled to herself slightly, shaking her head.
Kids. She thought.
.....
There were no classes the next day, for the preparations of the dance needed many teachers to help.
Victoria could not escape the grasp of Caroline with her makeup bag and hair brush. Victoria was going to wear her black, ripped skinny jeans with her Fall Out Boy shirt and her red and black checkered Converse that went all the way up to her knees, but Caroline wouldn't allow it.
She insisted that Victoria wore a dress, and it wasn't black, but actually green. A light, lagoon green, with black lace. It was shorter, and she wore regular black flats with it along with a black lace choker and a My Chemical Romance neclace in the shape of a heart.
When Caroline was done making Victoria look like an Emo/Scene Princess, she prepared herself. Caroline wore a white dress with black lace. Much like Victoria's, only a little shorter, and she wore black and white heels, and she curled her fair hair, making it look a bit shorter than it already was.
Around 5:45 pm, Caroline went to the little fridge and poured out O negative into two glasses, careful not to spill on her white attire.
"Cheers to Hallows Eve, my friend." She said, toasting her glass before taking a long, polite sip.
Victoria took the glass down in one swig.
"Well, damn. Hungry?" Caroline chuckled.
Victoria nodded with a guilty smile she had tried to hold back and set the glass down. She walked over to her bed and sat down. She reached under her pillow, unplugged then checked her phone.
There was one message, from Zach...
Hey, Vic, just checking up on ya. I want you to bring that thing I gave you, I feel like there might be something going on tonight and I don't want you to get hurt. See ya around.
Victoria looked up at Caroline who was drinking the last of the contents in her cup.
"Hey, Caroline. You can go on ahead, I'll be out in a sec. It's best to be in the Common Room early in case Andrew shows up, ya know?" She said in her rough, yet smooth voice.
Caroline smiled, unsuspecting.
"Yeah, sure. I'll see you there, Vic." She said with a sweet smile. Then she was gone.
As soon as the door closed, Victoria was off the bed and to the wardrobe, reaching into the pocket of her favorite hoodie.
She pulled out a silver and ruby studded dagger about the length of her forearm and put hid it in her dress. Then she grabbed her phone, and off she went, locking the door to room 407.
.....
Josephine approached the Academy grounds ruefully with a smile. Molly White was on this girl's hitlist.
Finally. Hehe, she won't escape me this time.
As she approached further, she felt someone tap her shoulder and turned around to see a figure come at her. She couldn't see their face, but she smelled Lycan. They wore a black hood with a red symbol she recognized, but couldn't remember the meaning.
The figure pinned her to the ground and stabbed a dagger through her shoulder, nailing her to the ground. She yelled in pain and frustration, and hissed at them. The Lycan chuckled, then the figure snapped her neck. She was dead...for now.
.....
Victoria met Sebastian (who was holding a blood red rose) in the corridor outside the ball room.
He was dressed in all black, and wearing a long coat that was charcoal gray. To her, he looked magnificent, as did all vampires, but he was different somehow. More magnificent and beautiful.
He was a gentlemen through and through.
To say the ballroom was packed was an understatement. The music was loud (Lights by Ellie Goldberg), it was dark with flashing blue and green and red lights, really hot from all the bodies, and Victoria seemed to get lost easily.
Caroline and Andrew were off dancing somewhere, and she and Sebastian were having fun. He was picking her up, spinning her, and escorting her.
After a while, he leaned down and said past the loud music, "Outside?"
She nodded in response.
They zoomed towards the balcony, avoiding the many other students and teachers.
Because Victoria had full strength from the blood, she zoomed too fast and smashed into the balcony railing. The concrete cracked.
"OUCH. Son of a-" She was cut off by Sebastian's fingers closing her lips.
He was giving her a smile that said "no." She smiled weirdly although her lips were being pinched, which made him laugh shyly, and soon they were both laughing.
He let go and gestured her to follow down to the lawn, where lights and Jack-o-lanterns and the lake awaited.
There were other students there, but not nearly as many as in the ballroom.
Then walked side by side to the lake to see the merpeople having fun themselves. The mermaids were playing volleyball with a beachball. The mermen were mingling and playing ultimate Frisbee. They had multicolored candles floating around on the water, and fireflies were flying around, giving a beautiful lighting.
"Wanna see something funny?" He asked. She nodded with a smile.
He took his fingernail and cut open his wrist. The dark, thick blood poured out into the water and spread. It looked like food coloring being dripped into a bathtub.
A mermaid, a blond, came up to the surface and tried to jump out and bite Sebastian's arm off, but she was unsuccessful.
"I don't know. I find it funny how hard they try although they know they'll fail." The mermaid eventually gave up after giving them the finger and returning to her friends.
"It's strange. How mermaids eat vampires." She noted.
"Yeah. What's really weird is if you are a human who used to be a vampire, because you still have the vampire smell, they eat you. Like, they rip you apart and eat you alive." He said, his eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe it himself.
"Interesting. And good to know. Wait- what's going on?" Victoria heard screams in the distance. They both turned back towards the castle to see many students running to and from in pure panic.
She used her enhanced sight to look closer and saw Molly running as fast as she could toward them, her red hair whipping behind her. She looked very, very afraid. Right behind her, was a hooded figure holding a glowing blue sword. Hot on her heels.
"Victoria! VICTORIA!" She screamed. She was crying and running as fast as her 14-year-old legs could take her, but it was no use.
"Molly!" Victoria shouted back. Then she pulled out the dagger (which surprised Sebastian greatly) and she zoomed over to Molly.
However, before she could get there, the figure grabbed Molly around her waist and jumped high into the air. Molly screamed, holding out her arms and shouting Victoria's name, but she was gone. Out of sight.
"Molly!" Victoria screamed, "MOLLY! !" there was no response.
Students were running around causing tumult. Teachers were trying to figure out what was happening.
Through the chaos, Victoria spotted James. She ran to him, determined to figure out if he was okay.
"James!" She said pleadingly, "Molly was just taken by one of them!" He was at first alarmed to see Victoria, as if he'd been thinking the same thing she had been, but then more alarm filled his red eyes after she told him that.
He grabbed her arm and guided her to the woods.
"Go to Eclipse Night, and stay there. I'll meet you when I can." He said sternly.
She nodded and zoomed away. Still holding the dagger she ran, then she spotted Zach, fighting another hooded figure.
"Zach!" She yelled. He glimpsed her, but then engaged in the fight.
She zoomed over, leaping 15 feet, and landing a kick to the hooded figure. Then she pulled out the dagger and was about to stab the hooded figure when the figure grabbed her arm and snapped it in half. The crack was loud, and she let out a cry of pain, then (out of anger) she kicked the figure again. She had very little fighting experience, but she knew the basics.
Zach called out to her, trying to get her to move away from the fight, she turned for one second, then felt a blow to her head.
She flew about 10 feet and landed on the ground, feeling dizzy. Zach went on fighting the figure, almost winning, but then another came behind him and stabbed Zach in the back, the weapon potruding through his front.
Victoria screamed Zach's name. His body froze from the shock, and blood started to pour from his mouth in droplets. He collapsed, and the figures pulled out two red stones. There was and bright light, then they were gone.
Victoria crawled over to Zach, who was barely breathing, life slipping from his eyes. His blood filled the air with a sickening aroma. She started to say his name over and over again, panic flooding in her chest.
Her best friend was going to die.
He grabbed her forearm on the arm that wasn't broken and healing, looking right into her eyes.
"Vic...don't t-trust anyone, except for James." He told her with a fading light.
"Shh. Shh. Zach," her voice was breaking, "D-don't speak. I-I'll get you help. Oh, God, please." She felt thick liquid in her eyes.
"He...he still...." His beautiful golden-green eyes faded, like a candle blown out, and rolled downwards and his body went limp.
Victoria's hand went to her mouth and she let out a dry sob, then looked up, more hooded figures were coming.
She grabbed the dagger, kissed Zach's forehead, and zoomed off towards the other school. He was, after all, just a corpse now. There was nothing more anybody could do to hurt him. You can't revive a shell.
.....
Zachary never belonged to a pack. He always believed in fighting for ones self rather than relying on others, as most packs do. He was always a Lone Wolf.