Amber watched in awe as the woman who she supposed was her mother attempted to stand, but collapsed onto the floor again. What had Luna done to her?! Had she been down here all this time?
Without second thought, Amber rushed to the cage and forced the metal gate open. It luckily wasn't locked, and once she was inside the cage with her mother, she didn't know what to do. The woman was clearly just as lost as her as she simply stared up at her.
She hadn't seen her mother since she was a small child. She had blindly believed that she had ran away from Amber and her dad. She had thought otherwise when she met and figured Luna out. She knew her dad had lied to her only to keep her from worry.
"Baby, come here," the woman whispered as her eyes filled with tears.
Amber immediately walked to her and kneeled down in front of her. She stared at Amber for quite some time, and Amber was growing nervous. Was this really her?
As if to answer her question, her mother cried out and wrapped her arms around Amber's neck. Amber squealed in surprise, but was hushed as her mother yanked her closer to her. Her face was soon buried in her mother's dirty hair, but she didn't mind. She heard her mother sobbing viciously, and Amber's own eyes stung with tears. She returned the mighty hug by squeezing her arms around her mom's waist.
She had found her. After all these years, here she was! Amber had torn herself to pieces with the mysteries of her mother's disappearance. She wondered why her mother had ran away. She thought she hated Amber. It was a relief but yet painful to find her down here.
Her mother loosened her grip and forced Amber to lean back. Her mom's cheeks were now stained with tears, but her eyes no longer let anymore fall.
"You're okay," she said in yet another whisper as she reached a hand up to feel Amber's face.
Amber let a tear fall and she smiled. "I am. But are you?"
Her mother's lower lip began to quiver. "Luna has kept me down here. I'm assuming you know all that's happened now. What did you think happened to me?" Her voice was louder now, although it was still raspy. It made Amber believe she had not had a thing to drink in forever.
"I don't know if I know everything as so many more secrets seem to keep popping up, but my dad told me that you ran away from us. I believed him for so long, and didn't understand why."
"No, no...I would never do that. I love you. Luna reported me to the council, and they decided I should be further punished. They captured me when you were only six years old. I didn't know Luna was responsible until later. You were there when I was taken. Do you remember?"
Amber was practically shaking and doubted she would be able to think properly enough to recall the event. It was so good to hear her mother speak these words to her. She tried to focus and think about the day her mother was taken. It took some time, but her mother stayed quiet so she could try to remember.
"Can you give me some information so that I might recall better?" Amber asked.
"We drove to a barnyard type place thinking we were going to a festival. Luna had invited us there, but it wasn't until we arrived that we realized it was no festival. Luna pretended she had no idea, and we believed her. Several men began to manhandle me, saying I needed to go with them. I refused, and they forced me into the barn. I lost you in the mess, and your father ran away from you, too, in attempt to help me. I don't know what you were doing throughout the event. I only remember seeing you before I was officially taken away. Luna was holding you, and the both of you stood outside the door to the barn. I told her to take care of you, and I told you I loved you. Then the door was slammed shut, and I never saw you again."
Amber was sobbing now. She remembered everything. She recalled trying to fight her way inside the large doors, and she remembered a woman picking her up and telling her it would all be okay. How could Luna be so cruel? She felt like she asked herself this all the time, but she just didn't understand.
"Mom..." She whispered between sobs, not being able to speak any louder.
"Oh, honey, please don't-"
"Amber?!" Shouted a familiar female voice to slice off her mother's.
"Who is that?" Her mother asked.
"Hailey..." Amber informed her. "Hold on, mom," she said before jumping up.
What was Hailey doing here?! She ran out of the cage and looked to her left and right, but saw no signs of her girl.
"Amber? Are you down here?" She called out again.
It seemed to be coming from Amber's right, but she wasn't certain. "Hailey? I'm here," she called back, hearing her own voice echo off the walls.
She heard footsteps coming from her right, and she immediately walked that way. Hailey finally appeared, and Amber didn't know what to think.
"What are you doing here?" Amber asked her.
Hailey stopped walking after she had finally reached Amber.
"I'm here to help you. What are you doing down here?"
Hailey wore a small, fitted blue dress with black flats. Her hair had been straightened, and it warmed Amber's heart to see she was wearing the cheetah scarf Amber had given her.
Without answering her question, she shoved her lips against Hailey's. The woman wrapped her arms around Amber and kissed her back.
When Amber thought of her poor mother whom she had left behind, she pulled away. She needed to get back to her.
"Luna threw me down here, but my dad came for me, Hailey!"
Her girlfriend smiled softly. "Didn't I tell you he would?"
Amber giggled lightly and took Hailey's hand. "My mother is down here," she told her.
Hailey's mouth fell wide open, but Amber didn't wait for what she had to say. Holding her hand, she dragged Hailey along back to where her mother was at.
They came into view of her, and Amber saw her mom had stood, although she was still in the chains.
"Mom, this is Hailey..." Amber said in a soft tone.
Hailey's mouth was still on the floor, but she seemed to regain herself after a moment. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Hello Mrs. Hunting."
Amber's mom blinked at Hailey. "Hello." She then looked to Amber, but she caught her mother's eyes linger on their interlocked hands. "Is this you girlfriend, Amber?" She slowly asked.
Amber smiled softly and nodded. She was happy to brag to others that Hailey was all hers.
Her mother didn't seem so happy, though. Instead, she looked shocked. Amber figured it was because of the age difference.
"You're a lesbian?" She asked even slower than her previous sentence.
Amber glanced over to Hailey, who was staring at Amber with wide eyes. Was her mother disappointed to know that? She couldn't have her mother now hating her for her orientation.
"Yes, mom," she answered once looking back to her.
Her mother hesitated, but then smiled. "Okay."
Amber felt relieved, and smiled back at her. "Help me get my mom out of these chains," she said to Hailey before letting her hand go so she could enter the cage with her mother.
Hailey nodded and followed her inside.
Amber realized how incredibly strong Hailey was just then. It took some time, but eventually, Hailey snapped both cuffs in half with her bare hands. Amber should had figured she was strong since she was a vampire, but she could never imagine her being capable of what she just did.
"Thank you so much," her mother told Hailey with a wide smile. She then pulled Amber into another hug, and Amber immediately wrapped her arms around her ten times at tight. Her mother felt so tiny, and she wanted to get her some food as quick as possible.
It looked as if the food needed to wait as there were suddenly audible shouts and screams coming from the main floor of the house. Amber then remembered how she had left them all, and she hoped no one was hurt. No one besides Luna of course.
Amber felt Hailey tug at her shirt, and she pulled away from her mother.
"We need to go up there," she said urgently.
"Are you sure?" Amber asked, not certain they should get involved.
"Why shouldn't we?"
Amber hesitated. She couldn't leave them up there alone, but what about her mother?
"Should I take her?" Amber asked with an indication to her mom.
"Yes, take me. Let's go," her mom said as she suddenly seemed to be filled with energy. "Is your father here, Amber?"
Amber then remembered she had not seen him in the same amount of time she hadn't seen Amber. She had to show them to each other.
"Yes," she told her simply.
"Okay, what are we waiting for then? I need you to help me walk," her mother said.
Amber couldn't help but smile. It was so wonderful to have her back.
Hailey ran over to one side of Amber's mother and took a gentle hold of her arm. "Babe, grab her other side and let's go," Hailey commanded.
Amber nodded and held onto the other side of her mother and they slowly made their way out of the cage. Hailey led them to the right side of the long hallway, and Amber remembered being thrown in from there.
"When's the last time you've had anything to eat or drank?" Amber asked her mom as they walked.
"A week and a half," she responded. "A slave here named Eva is supposed to give me food only twice a month. But she's always sneaking down here and bringing me more food. She sits here with me and gives me company. She's done so ever since I was taken. She's a good girl, Amber."
Amber almost stopped walking, but Hailey continued to, forcing Amber to proceed. "Eva? I know her!"
Eva was so sweet. She was always helping everyone, and Amber knew she had done so much for her family. Eva knew about her mother all along. It wasn't much of a shock to Amber, and she wasn't mad at her for not telling Amber where she was at. She understood that could have gotten her into major trouble.
Amber's mother smiled. "Yes, I gave her that necklace to give to you," she reminded her with a toss of her chin to indicate the necklace around Amber's neck.
Amber looked down at it and smiled herself. "Oh yeah." She remembered what Eva had said when she had given it to her. That's when she had realized her mother definitely hadn't ran away from home.
The three of them finally reached the door, and they walked up the few stairs to reach the main floor.
Luna stood only feet in front of them, and her hand was clutching Joel's shirt. Amber's uncle was screaming nonsense, and Luna was glaring at him intimidatingly.
Asher was to the right of them, and he was in a physical fight with a man who Amber recognized as Dave. Eva stood in between the two of them and was screaming her head off. She was clearly trying to break the fight up, but neither boy was paying her attention. Amber wondered if she knew Asher.
Her father stood next to Joel with his hands crossed angrily. Samuel was awkwardly standing behind everyone with his head in his hands. It was a relief to see that nobody was hurt, although they all looked furious as hell. It was complete chaos up here!
"Lucas!" Amber's mother suddenly cried out, making all heads snap in their direction.
Amber almost groaned out loud. She knew her parents would be ecstatic to see each other, but now all attention was on them.
Amber darted her eyes to her father, who slowly unfolded his arms as he stared at her mother. It was a magical moment. The two kept their gaze for so long, Amber was beginning to feel awkward.
"Samantha..." Her father finally said.
Amber looked to her mother to see her smiling under several tears.
"What are you doing?!" Luna suddenly screamed, catching Amber's attention.
The woman was now staring directly at her, and Amber did not know how to respond. Luna clearly hadn't meant for Amber to find her mother.
"And you," she went on after realizing Amber had nothing to say. Luna pointed a finger at Hailey, whose eyes were wide. "What are you doing here?"
Amber wondered how Hailey had gotten in without Luna noticing. Maybe she had snuck by when Luna was fighting with Joel.
"Stop this, Luna. I don't know who you are anymore," Hailey said, sounding unusually calm.
Luna didn't take her eyes off Hailey as she let Joel go. She slowly made her way over to Amber, Hailey, and her mother. Amber protectively held on more tightly to her mother's arm.
"I'm the same person, Hailey. I'm just taking care of my family, that's all."
"Just taking care of your family..." Hailey repeated then ended the sentence with a smirk.
Luna was still making her way to them, and was close now. Amber knew if the woman set a finger on her mother or Hailey, she would practically kill her. She was so mad at her for what she had done to her entire family, especially her mom.
Amber caught Joel sneaking around Luna, but didn't pay much attention to what he was doing. Luna looked ready to respond to Hailey when Joel jumped on top of her.
The woman screamed and slapped at him with her hands. "Get off me, Joel!"
He pressed her face to the side with his hand and stabbed a needle into the side of her neck.
Amber watched with a bewildered expression as Luna's eyes rolled backwards before she tumbled down.
Joel caught her before she hit the floor, but once he had her, he gently layed her still body on the ground.
"No!" Amber screamed after a hesitation. What had he done to her?!
She slowly let go of her mother and ran to Luna. Joel looked at Amber like she was crazy.
"No?"
Amber ignored him as she kneeled by Luna's side. The woman's eyes were closed, and her body didn't move at all. Amber roughly pressed her hand against her pulse, but all was still. She glared up at Joel who stood over her.
"What have you done?! I get that she's evil, but did you have to kill her?! What the fuck, Joel?!" She screamed. She couldn't live knowing she had witnessed a family member being murdered. If only she had stopped him on time!
"I didn't kill her, Amber!" Joel fought.
Amber wiped at her teary eyes. "She has no pulse," she told him. "I don't give a shit how cruel she is! She's family!"
"Vampires don't have to breathe! I injected her with a drug that will keep her knocked out for about five minutes. She won't have any powers for a good two hours, either."
Amber stared at Joel, trying to decide if he was being honest.
She seriously didn't care about all the things Luna had done and was doing, she was family, and killing her was no solution.
Amber suddenly felt an arm around her, and she turned to find Hailey squat next to her. The woman wrapped her arm around her shoulder, and she guided Amber's head into the crook of her shoulder.
Amber let her head rest there, feeling relaxed once in Hailey's arms.
"We need to lock her up, and once she's awake, we can talk this out," Joel said.
Amber guessed it was a good idea, and watched from her position as Joel and Asher lifted her off the floor. They took her away to the dungeon Amber's mother had been in beforehand.
Amber lifted her head off Hailey's shoulder to glance at her mother. She found her and her husband wrapped in each other. Their lips were loosely connected, as their arms held each other close. Amber smiled at them although they weren't looking at her. She was pleased everyone had seen each other, and that everyone was alright.
She got distracted when she felt Hailey kiss her ear. She looked to her teacher, who was smiling softly.
"It's gonna be okay."
"I hope so," Amber replied.
Hailey leaned in, indicating to Amber she was about to kiss her. Amber tilted her head in the opposite direction. Their lips eventually touched, and they shared a soft kiss.
Several minutes later, Joel ran up to the main floor. "She's awake," he announced.
Amber took a deep breath right before Hailey guided her to her feet. They made their way to the dungeon door, and Amber's dad gave her a kiss on the forehead, only making her more grateful for his presence.
Joel led them to the familiar hallway, and Luna was in the first cage that came into view.
The whole gang was now gathered right before her cage. Luna sat up against the wall with eyes that said she was confused as hell. Amber didn't know what they were supposed to do now. She felt Hailey squeeze her hand, but when she looked to her, her eyes were locked on Luna.
"Miss Luna?'" Eva asked softly.
Luna's eyes darted to Eva and lingered on her for some time. She then randomly burst into laughter, causing everyone to glance around. What was she laughing for?
"Let her out of that cage," Dave suddenly yelled. He began to push his way through everyone, and Amber was wondering why Samuel wasn't doing the same. Instead, he just stood in the back completely emotionless.
"Stop, Dave," Asher growled.
Dave shot him a look, but did as told, and took a step back from Luna's cage.
Amber watched as Joel stepped up to Luna's cage with a look of pure disguist. "Now, Luna, what should we do to you as revenge for all the things you've done to us?"
"You should unlock the cage, sweet brother," she drooled.
Amber didn't understand how they were going to have a serious conversation with her while she was drugged. She decided to bring it up.
"We aren't going to be able to seriously talk with her after she's been drugged!" Amber said, indicating to Luna with her free hand as her other one was interlocked with Hailey's.
Luna's eyes rolled around loosely as she grinned like a fool. She was acting as if she was high, which technically she sort of was.
"We'll be able to have a conversation just fine, Amber. She's just a little...loopy," Joel assured her.
Amber looked away from him. "Whatever you say," she replied, not completely convinced. All you had to do was look at Luna to realize how crazy she was at the moment.
"Luna," Joel said before snapping his fingers. "Look at me."
Luna did as commanded and wildly swung her head around to look at Joel. Her head bobbed up and down slightly, and her lips hung open. Her physical appearence was awful, making Amber think her mental stage wasn't so great either.
"Luna, we need to talk things over. We need-"
"I want to speak with Amber," she said in a harsh tone to interupt him.
Amber blinked. What did she want to talk to her about?
Joel stared at Luna speechlessly, as did all the others.
"No, you have done enough with-" Her father began, but Luna cut him off as well.
"Where is she?" She groaned.
Joel pointed a finger at Amber, even though he kept his eyes on Luna. "She's right here."
Amber glanced at Hailey before letting go of the girl's hand. She then walked up in front of the bars to join Joel. She did so to show herself to Luna.
The woman glanced at her before leaning her head back. It almost looked like the devil was inside of her, rather than some drugs.
"What did you give her?" Amber whispered to Joel.
"I gave her one drug, only to get her locked up and take her powers away. I didn't expect this effect to happen," he whispered back as his eyes not once let Luna out of his sight.
Amber was extremely worried about her aunt. She didn't look good at all.
"I want to talk to her," Luna repeated in a soft, quiet tone with her head still leaned back slightly.
Amber cleared her throat, but Asher spoke before she could.
"She's right there, Luna. Talk to her."
"Alone," Luna said in a harsher tone. Her head then drooped back down to face them all.
Amber swallowed the lump which sat in her throat. No way could she sit in here alone with this thing.
"Nuh-uh," spoke up a voice which Amber recognized as her mother's. She was sounding better, although her voice was still a bit rough. "I'm not leaving her alone with Luna."
Amber was going to mention that she already had, but kept her mouth shut. As much as she didn't want to be alone with or talk to Luna alone, she knew she needed to. Amber was curious as to what Luna wanted to say to her. And they might be able to possibly work something out.
"You guys can go. Me...me and Luna need privacy," Amber said.
"Amber-" Hailey began.
"No, really. I'll be fine," Amber protested after turning to face Hailey. She watched her girlfriend frown, but Amber didn't know what else to say. She did not mind speaking to Luna, the only thing was the fear of Luna hurting her again. But she didn't have her powers, so how much could she really do?
Amber then turned to her dad, who stood right behind her. "Go to the kitchen and get mom some food and drink," she told him as she couldn't stop worrying about her mother's health.
Her dad glanced at her mother and nodded. "Be safe," he told her before kissing Amber on the forehead once more. "You're a good girl, Amber. I know you'll do the right thing."
Amber smiled softly as she watched the two of them walk off. Hailey soon trailed behind them, not bothering to make eye contact with Amber. Joel gave her a pat on the back before heading out as well. Dave snickered at her as he followed the others, and Amber must have missed Asher leaving, as he was nowhere to be found. Samuel slowly made his way out, and Eva was the only one left in the hallway as she was staring at Amber blankly.
"Go on," Amber said in a calm tone despite the fact she was practically shaking.
"I'll be standing right outside the door, okay?" Eva told her.
Amber smiled at the girl. "You're amazing, Eva. Know that, alright?"
Eva's cheeks flushed but she didn't respond as she turned and darted up the stairs. Amber appriciated the way she always had Amber's back, through good times and bad. She loved that girl.
Amber slowly turned around to face Luna, who still sat on the ground, using the wall as support. She stared directly at Amber with pale red eyes, and Amber tried to accept the fact that she had been left alone with this demon.