Who was that girl? What was she here for? Did she come from the human world? Ray believed Claudia was from the human world because he had never seen her in Astoria before. 'Nice to meet you Blue. You already know my name so…,' Ray remembered what Claudia had said; he thought her voice was sweet, he also noted that she had called him Blue. Blue was the name his mom used to call him and no one in Astoria ever called him that. It was either Ray or Ven, well mostly Ray, only Damien called him Ven. Ray thought his parents were pretty much suckers for giving names or naming things; the thought made him smile. Ray thought they should've just named him Raven or something. However, when Claudia called him Blue, his heart ceased to beat for a while. He didn't know what it was. Was it love? No. That was too sudden. Ray perhaps felt strange because no one had called him that before except his mom and she was dead. He assumed she was dead because he couldn't find her.
A few months ago, Ray's mom was alive; healthy, happy, smiling; there were no signs of ailment or anything making her unhappy, she was fine. It wasn't as if Ray's mom was old or anything, she was young, beautiful, and she was a witch. A few days later, Ray's mom went missing. Ray left the human world to come to search for her here in Astoria, but couldn't find her. He didn't know and couldn't guess what might have happened to her. Living in dismay of not being able to find her, Ray got angry and angry every day, and it only added more rage to the short temper he already had; believing his mom was gone made him angrier. He wanted to go on a rampage, he wanted to destroy stuff, and he was willing to kill anyone that was going to add salt to his wounds.
Arthur stopped Ray from doing anything, he knew Ray's ability was deadly. Ray also knew his ability was deadly, and every creature knew what Ray was capable of. Somehow, Ray accepted that she was gone, even though there was no proof to confirm that she was gone.
"Brandon," Ray called as he knocked on the door; the room was quiet. Ray didn't expect his room to be noisy anyway. What was taking Brandon so long to open the door? Was he still asleep? Ray turned the knob on the door but the door didn't open, it was locked. 'Typical,' Ray thought. Brandon always locked his room. 'Ahh. Shit. Now what? It's 8:20 AM dammit!' Ray cursed. Brandon was supposed to be awake, but Ray had forgotten that he was a sloth, and sloths preferred to sleep than do anything else. Ray groaned.
"Brandon!" Ray called out loudly this time. He didn't notice the presence of someone behind me until he heard a voice.
"What's—"
"Aah!" he exclaimed and jolted at the voice as it startled him. It was Kara.
"S— Sorry," said Kara, giggling.
"Geez. You scared me."
"Sorry. Hehe," she gestured apologetically. "Why are ya calling out Brandon's name? Ya know he's prolly still asleep." She looked at the door.
"Yeah, I know." Ray furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, got a hairpin?" He looked at Kara and she looked back at him quizzically.
She said, "Yeah, I got a hairpin. Why do ya need one?"
"I need one to open the door," Ray replied.
"Nobody likes to be woken up from their sleep, ya know."
"He'd get over it."
"Just cos he never says anything or shouts," she pulls a hairpin out her hair, "doesn't mean he'd appreciate ya doing this to him." She hands Ray the hairpin and he takes it from her. Kara's white hair was down now, and Ray thought she looked very pretty like that. He didn't know why she tied her hair up all the time, either way, Ray still thought she was cute; and for her comment, Ray didn't say anything. He knew Brandon wouldn't blow up like a bomb if he did this, but he just loved being troublesome sometimes. If Ray were angry all the time, they'd say he had to lighten up and then push him into the swimming pool if there were a swimming pool around.
Ray inserted the hairpin into the keyhole, trying to pick the lock; he heard a soft chink sound and the door opened. Entering the large room, Ray and Kara saw Connor and Brandon lying together on the bed. Connor was lying sideways with his left hand on top of Brandon, and Ray thought it was almost like Connor didn't want to let go of Brandon. He also believed they looked cute together like that and would make an adorable couple. Ray pictured Connor causing a lot of trouble, and Brandon sighing and groaning exasperatedly through it all, and Connor saying, 'Sorry, babe, my bad', and, was still going to cause more trouble. Ray thought it'd be hilarious. However, Ray was just exaggerating.
"Aw, that's cute," Kara said "Wake up!" she yelled; Connor and Brandon stirred awake. Ray chuckled.
"What the— You guys…" Connor uttered, rubbing his eyes. Brandon was lying down on his back and staring quietly at the ceiling, and Ray thought it was funny. Brandon's eyes were awake, but his body still needed more sleep.
"Did you guys have a sleepover without us?" Kara asked, searching the room for pizza boxes or something to give away that they had a sleepover. "I don't see no leftover pizzas…"
"There was no sleepover dammit!" Connor said. "What are you guys doing here anyway?" Brandon was still staring at the ceiling. Ray wondered what was interesting about the ceiling? He looked at the ceiling to see but couldn't find anything interesting. However, Brandon was irritated that they had woken him up; he had been interrupted from an interesting dream!
"You know, we could ask you the same thing," Ray said and Connor turned red. Ray thought Connor turning red was interesting. It was the first time he had seen Connor redden this way because he believed he hadn't said anything to make Connor redden in embarrassment unless something was going on that Connor was ashamed of. But Connor wasn't ashamed of anything, he just couldn't contain his feelings…
"Wh— It's rude to wake people up when they're asleep!" Connor said and Ray chuckled.
"Look who's speaking," Kara jeered. "Mr. Polite much." She thumbed through her hair. "And why are ya so quiet?" she asked Brandon. Brandon groaned and turned his face to the wall. They all chuckled. Brandon was so damn lazy.
"Yo, Bran, we've got a job to do. Come on," said Ray, walking over to him and pulling his leg. Ray believed Brandon had probably forgotten that they had something to take care of in the Fast Lane. The fast lane was where the fast zombies resided; the fast lane zombies were fast, ferocious, heartless, mindless killing machines. These zombies were like the ones in the movies where a scientist creates some kind of virus to cure a disease but the virus ends up turning people into zombies — fast, brainless, mindless killing machines that destroy almost half of the world — and then some hero shows up, defeats the bad guy who let the virus spread even though he could stop it but didn't for selfish reasons, retrieves the antidote, opens the bottle to release the antidote into the air so it would spread quickly; but the only difference was fast lane zombies were created. Unlike the fast zombies, slow zombies were revived and brought back to life from the dead, that was why they were slow. Nevertheless, both creatures were deadly.
"Come on. Get up lazy pants," Kara said. "Why do ya gotta be so lazy, huh? Come on." She walked over to where Ray was standing and they both bent over to drag Brandon out of the bed.
"…You guys… Stop—" Brandon was saying but they didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence and he fell to the floor and didn't make a move to stand up. 'Uhh, come on, man,' Ray thought.
"Dude," Ray uttered. Kara and Connor giggled.
"He doesn't wanna go anywhere," said Connor. "Why don't you just leave him? I mean, I can go with you instead. I'm strong and mighty." Kara rolled her eyes. Connor liked to brag a lot.
"I agree with the amazing Connor," Brandon let out, still lying on the floor. Ray noticed the blush on Connor's face.
"Of course, ya would," Kara said.
"Fine," said Ray with a sigh. "Connor, let's roll." He walked to the door, Connor followed.
"Later," said Kara with a wave and smile. Ray wiggled his brows twice and shut the door.
Ray and Connor walked through the passageways, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth stairs before reaching the great hall. The castle was broad, and the stairs they had passed were just leg warmers. They got out of the castle and the morning sun hit their skin, it was a beautiful day.
"So, what's the issue with the fast lane?" Connor asked.
"I'll tell you when we get there."
"Seriously?" He raised a brow. "Why can't you just tell me now?!"
"I want you to tell me something." Connor creased his eyebrows.
"Huh? What could you possibly want to hear from me?"
"How you ended up in Brandon's bedroom." Connor halted in his tracks. Ray glanced at him with a lopsided grin and tossed the disappearing potion on the ground and, with a whoosh, they disappeared from the castle's premises.
Did she want to stay in Astoria? Did she want to experience a little of the fantasy world before going back to the human world? What if she ended up enjoying her stay in Astoria and didn't want to go back home? Arthur had asked Claudia these questions in the library room, but she didn't give him an answer. He said to think about it, no, Claudia thought he said she acted like a drunk koala back in her room, chambers, as he liked to call it. Claudia felt a sweet strange feeling in her belly as he called the chamber 'her chamber' which steered her mind to Arthur's way of speaking, it was very formal: no use of contractions unless when necessary, use of large words from the dictionary that Claudia thought was from the bible, use of sarcasm and insulting words, and straightforward judgments. Claudia believed Arthur was surely one of those guys that didn't hesitate to give you strict and harsh punishment if you fucked up, and guys like that hated scumbags, foolishness, and impudence. Claudia smiled. She wondered who made Arthur's veins pop up around here, she'd like to see that. She also thought it'd be hilarious.
Claudia looked out of the open windows as she strolled down the hallways, the weather was sunny. Stopping in her tracks, she moved to a window and rested her arms on the window sill, staring at the horizon. Claudia felt like she was the only one in the hall. She looked away from outside to glance at each side of the hallway, there was no one here. The place was as quiet as a graveyard which was expected by Claudia. She turned back to the sunny view outside.
Arthur had told her about Astoria, coincidentally, some towns in the human world had the name, Astoria, like an incorporated town in Fulton County, Illinois, and a neighborhood in Queens, New York City, there were a few more but that was by the way. Arthur said Astoria was founded by his father, Dravon McKnight. Dravon McKnight was a troublemaking, kingdom conquering, confident, powerful, cheerful but dangerous vampire. He traveled from kingdom to kingdom to battle, conquer, and rule. He was an overlord, only the smile on his face could make your skin crawl and although it was a cheerful smile, it'd still make you intimidated. The mighty vampire lord conquered kingdoms all by himself, there was no army, troops, or battalion of any kind!
During his conquering spree, he had lain with many women, of which, three got pregnant. Dravon was very picky when it came to females that would bear him children. He liked lying with different women but not getting every one of them pregnant. Who needed that? It was certainly not Dravon. Dravon had successfully overthrown a kingdom once again and, to celebrate, he had thrown a party. At the party, he met Arthur's mom. She was everything he adored in a woman. He took her to bed and after a few days, Arthur was born but his mom didn't survive the childbirth. Of course, she wasn't supposed to survive, she had lain with a monster; most villagers believed her pregnancy was unusual. Of course, it was. She was carrying a vampire's baby, and the pregnancy period wasn't up to nine months but a few days — the belly would grow bigger and bigger each day till it was time for delivery.
Dravon knew all about the bearing of vampire babies and what it does but didn't seem fazed, though he felt bad. Arthur grew up learning everything about his kind, what they were, what he was, what they ate, their powers, and abilities. He, of course, didn't grow up at a normal pace — his growth was unusual and rapid because he was a vampire. So, technically, Arthur was a half-human half-vampire — a Dhampir, so were Damien and Connor.
Dravon had encountered Damien's and Connor's mom after conquering another kingdom; Connor's mom didn't conceive before Damien's mom because she wasn't ready to carry Dravon's child, and she was also the youngest female Dravon had lain with. Claudia felt bad for those poor women.
"Good day," she greeted someone. It was a chef.
Dravon decided to withdraw from his conquering spree to settle in one place. He had always wanted peace and unity among creatures of any kind, so why not put his intention to work? He searched for a clear space to build his kingdom, not like he didn't have a kingdom before, he did but abandoned it on his appetite to conquer other kingdoms, which Claudia believed was just for fun. He was a really funny man. When Dravon found a clear area, he began building; creatures from different places, in the land, started to dwell in the place he called Astoria. He saw it, and it was good. Now that Claudia thought about it, she remembered hearing a story, once, about a very mighty king who battled, conquered, and ruled from kingdom to kingdom single-handedly. But no one mentioned anything about him being a vampire or a monster, only that he was very, very, powerful, and it was taught to be a myth. 'Fascinating,' Claudia thought.
Arthur had also told her why there were humans in Astoria. It was very interesting to hear that some of these creatures go up to the human world to mate. Claudia thought, 'What the fluff,' when Arthur told her that. She finally understood what king Dravon meant by 'mate classified'. 'This shit be crazy, this shit be very crazy,' Claudia voiced out. Was she cut out for all of this? Wasn't this too much? Claudia was thinking. This was what she always wished for, right? To know both worlds — fantasy and reality — which was more monstrous. She could always go back home if she wanted, Arthur told her, but how? Claudia didn't even remember how she got there.
Sighing and still staring at the horizon, Claudia placed her hand on her necklace. She wanted to stay. She could do this. She could handle whatever. She had always wished for this. Claudia looked at her necklace and something of a blur appeared in her mind, but she couldn't grab it; it was there for a second and then disappeared. What was it? Why couldn't she remember? Did it have to do with landing in a different world that Claudia had to forget how she got there? Claudia couldn't even remember what she was doing before materializing into this world. Also, Claudia wondered whether Astoria was below the surface of the earth or in the sky but invisible? Or was it just existing but not existing? Arthur wasn't specific on the 'clear space' that Dravon found to build the place. Well, that didn't matter, did it? Claudia wanted to be there. She wanted to stay for a while. She wanted to experience the thrills, chills, and wonders of this world. What was going to happen? She couldn't wait to see. What was going to unfold? It was all a mystery.
"Ahem," someone coughed, and Claudia turned to behold who it was. It was Kara. She waved at Claudia with a smile and Claudia smiled back.
"Hi," Claudia uttered shyly.
Kara said, "What are ya doing, standing here and being an old lady?" Claudia chuckled.
"An old lady? Really? Come on, that's not fair." Claudia pouted and Kara giggled.
"Aren't ya hungry? Come on, let's get ya something to eat," Kara said. Claudia thought she was so nice. "I know Arthur gave ya an ear-torturing lecture," she added. But Claudia didn't think what Arthur had told her was ear-torturing because she enjoyed every bit of what he said. Why wouldn't she enjoy it? It was a story after all.
"Nah, not yet," said Claudia as she glanced at Kara.
"Looks like someone's aiming at being naughty throughout her stay here." Claudia giggled.
"Arthur would punish me hard."
"Without mercy," Kara added. "But ya going to stay, right?" She looked at Claudia. Claudia smiled and said,
"Yes. Yes, I am." Kara grinned and said,
"Uh, thank God," she held her hands in prayer. She was happy to have a female, who wasn't a chef, to chat with in the castle. Kara mostly hung out with the guys: Ray, Brandon, Connor, Damien, sometimes, Rico. It was nice to have another female around, besides the chefs had run out of things to tell. "Great. I'll introduce ya to the guys later," Kara added, placing a hand over Claudia's shoulders. "You'd like them, don't worry." Claudia hoped so.
The silent but not awkward stroll to the dining hall allowed Claudia's mind to roam about. She thought of the way Kara talked; it was like slang, and Claudia liked it. She also liked Kara's white hair. Claudia attempted to feel the hair, and it was silky soft. What shampoo did Kara say she used? Claudia couldn't recall because her eyes were staring at someone; the person was gorgeous, and the small bandage on the right side of his cheek made him look mysterious and tough but, overall, he was cute. Claudia was wondering about who was hitting a drum next to her heart, but then she realized it was her heart beating loudly; she hoped nobody could hear. He glanced at Claudia and looked away quickly, but Claudia noticed his grey eyes before he looked away; she thought his eyes were beautiful. He was beautiful. Claudia wondered what happened to his cheek; she kept staring at him and didn't realize she had stared enough until Kara tapped her.
"…I've been calling ya," Kara said. "You spaced out for a sec." She smiled. "That's Brandon." She gestured, and Claudia wished she hadn't because Brandon was staring at them. Claudia felt warmth in her cheeks.' Ah, geez, thanks a lot, girl,' she said inwardly.