She surprising slept well, and woke up the next day. She freshened up by taking a cold shower that stimulated her nerves alive. She opened the drawer, only to find black clothes. With her robe still on, someone knocked, and she reluctantly opened it. Livia stood at the door, "I want to know if you are okay Mayana, do you need anything?" Luckily, Dracula did not call for her as she had annoyed him last night.
"I need clothes that aren't black," Livia nodded, but before she could go, Mia stopped her and asked her whose clothes they belonged to. She asked for clothes of another color, because she thought they belonged to someone else.
"These clothes are not anyone's, they are prepared for the...woman to ...marry Dracula," she whispered and Mia noted her worry. She told her to come in, and locked the room. Maybe it was a private matter, she frowned upon hearing that they belonged to the queen-to be.
"When Dracula arrived, he prepared a separate room and clothes for whoever he wanted to marry." Mia also realized that the room was also meant for a Queen, why'd he bring her here? This was a chance to befriend Livia, so as to spill all the secrets of Dracula, she seemed to hate him.
"Livia, you look my age, how old are you?" Livia looked at her, tilting her head as the question didn't relate to their discussion.
"Am a hundred and one years old, how about you, you seem young," Mia remembered Xander telling her that he lived for only 2 decades. He was only twenty, so Livia was a hundred years, but she seemed younger. If she were in the human world, to estimate her age would be like 25 years old.
"Am...2 decades old," Livia gasped, widening her eyes. Mia recalled her birthday to be next week. Too bad she won't be with her family to celebrate her 17th birthday.
"My, my, you are so young, but I get it, you pyrexes live like humans, so according to you, you are not young, but according to us, you are very young.". This meant that Livia was not a sphinx, she could either be a vampress or a witch.
"Are you a witch?"
"Am a vampress, all servants in the palace are vampires except for one woman who often visits the palace. She is a witch, an evil witch," she whispered the last words to Mia.
Could she be the witch that had cast a spell on Queen Mother and had her locked up?
Could I ask you something?" Livia nodded and Mia continued, "Uh... how did you enter this dimension? Do you know another motive of Dracula other than looking for a wife?"
Livia stared at her for a while, and cleared her throat in fear. "T..Y...mmh...The witch attacked our dimension and killed the real Dracula, they defeated us due to their strong spells and resurrected a new Dracula. The one that is here, we don't know where he came from, but he was brought by the evil witch. Rumors were that he... was human, he looks like our king Dracula, but that is not his real face. Its a magic disguise... we were forced to come to this dimension in order to conquer humans when the portal opens." she talked in the lowest tone possible.
"How...but the portal to the human world can only be opened by the green glowing necklace, how are they opening it?" Mia knew Queen Mother was the one who made the necklaces. If her powers were drained, it would not be possible to make any necklace.
"Mayana? I..think the Golden Saki was born, and now, its powers are activating. If the Golden Saki's powers fully come, then accessing the human world will be easy, as the portals will automatically open. So the Golden Saki must be found and killed before acquiring its powers, it will bring destruction. I believe the Golden Saki is born with a purpose, that is to open the portals of every dimension so that different beings can make peace, but that is impossible. Everyone wants power, so the Golden Saki must die, and the portals will shut down. Am... scared, what if.. the Golden Saki and chosen one aren't found. The reason why your Queen Mother is locked up is because she knows them, but she won't say it. But I hope she doesn't reveal them, if the witches know who they are, they will keep her and murder the chosen one, whereas us vampires want to kill them both. What do you think, do you support us? or witches." she looked expectantly at Mia. Tears were stinging Mia's eyes, but she held them back forcefully, she didn't want her or Xander to die, but she couldn't decide her fate.
"I want the Saki to die, but Chosen one to remain alive. If the Saki dies, everything will be normal again, its for the best, the chosen one should just be alive and live a happy life," she said with melancholy, she already accepted it. Soon, they will find out who she is and end her.
"Thanks for the info. I'll wear anything," and with that, Livia left.
She looked for a decent clothing, but she didn't find any. She put on a sheath dress which reached just below her hips. Luckily, her thick long hair covered her hips perfectly, and she walked out.
When she reached the dining, she was delighted to find no one there, just breakfast. There were pancakes, sandwiches, waffles, and burger, glass and a huge packet of milk. Did Dracula expect her to finish all that?
She fletcherized, thinking of how to find Queen Mother. But first, she had to find out Dracula's real identity, and his weakness, since he was only a vampire because of a spell. An idea popped in her mind, and she planned to head to the garden, where she saw the weird sculpture. She'd definitely find garlic there.
After finishing breakfast, she strolled towards a hall with dimmed lights. To the left, she came a cross a room, that sounded as if people were talking. She opened it slowly and peeped inside. There was a huge table, with nine people sitting, five on one side opposite to four on the other side, one person was missing. People had hidden their faces, maybe they were unanimously plotting something evil. Dracula was seated in the front, and it was the first time Mia saw him emitting a deadpan aura. He wasn't smiling like the way he did every time when he was around her. Then, she saw a woman standing next to him. She had a long black cloak, with a hoodie. One could not see her face, but her long jet black hair. Wait, she seemed so familiar that Mia had to squint her eyes. Was she the woman at the entrance of the ball when she was with Xander? Also...it can't be.. the 'museum thief,' who appeared when she was with Liam. She had worn the very same cloak! Mia's heart throbbed with terror.
With a closer look, Mia saw lower part of Queen Mother's sceptre, but it was hidden in her cloak. Their conversation was out of ear shot, but she couldn't risk eavesdropping, so she walked away. She restlessly bit her fingernails, without looking forward. She twisted her ankle because of the platform slingback heels and almost fell, but strong arms flew around her waist just in time.
She had stumbled into a stranger who had a black mask on, and covered his eyes with a hoodie.
She felt so embarrassed, and after steadily putting her down, Mia noted his reluctance to let her go, he still held her waist. "Thank you," she muttered, and he let go, walking away.
She ran away, feeling like burying herself, how could she let a stranger hold her like that and even say thank you? She didn't want her soft side coming back, but there was no reason to make a fuss about it.
****
She walked around the palace, trying to get acquainted to her surrounding. She tried her best not to admire the environment, she sat down on an egg hammock until dusk when she went back for supper. Dracula wasn't there, so she ate little amount of food and went to her room. There was a shelf containing books, so she took one slept on her stomach and began reading. She didn't look at the title, and somehow got engrossed in the book. It was about high school vampires, with mysteries going on in their school.
She suddenly felt cold, and found the huge window opened. 'Wasn't it closed when I came here?' that was so strange, when she closed it and turned back, she met a huge figure standing in front of her. Before she could let out a shrilling scream, she was muffled by his huge hand. It was the guy from earlier, in the hall! His mask and cloak still on.
She struggled from his grip but he held her tight. "I wonder why the tiny buttercup is scared of me," he said with a familiar husky voice, and Mia widened her eyes and stopped struggling. There was only one person who would call her buttercup...
Without thinking much, she hugged him, tears streaming down her eyes. "X..Xander, you came, I missed you so much, please don't leave me here," she buried herself in his chest, and the guy just patted her back like a dog.
"Why are you crying, do you want Dracula to bust in and kick me? Hush, I said I don't know how to comfort little humans." with one hand, he lifted the petite girl and put her gently on the bed. He tucked her in, and this shocked Mia as she thought he was taking her with him.
"Xander, what is the meaning of this," she tried to get out but he held her down.
"You've lost some weight, It seems that you missed me so much that you failed to eat well. It has only been 2 days since you last saw me buttercup," he said after staring at the girl.