Wisteria glanced over at where her friend Eona used to sit during their class and, just like yesterday and the days before it, her seat remained unoccupied. It had been over a week since she last saw Eona and her worry grew even more as the days passed by because she couldn't get a hold of her even through her mobile number. Every time she tried dialing her number, she would be met by an automatic voice message system that asked her to leave a message instead. She tried visiting her house but everytime she did, no one was there to open the door for her, as if her family had decided to relocate once again. The last time she actually saw Eona was when the school made an announcement that their classes in the afternoon would be dismissed at an earlier time until further notice because of the sudden rise of victims being killed on the streets by unidentifiable perpetrators. But, being a daughter of a blood donor, someone whose mother works for a vampire, she knew better. Those who killed indiscriminately were Lepers, vampires who, even in their world, are being hunted by their own because they cannot be allowed to exist, both in the world of the living and theirs. The authorities, with the influence of those connected with the Vampire Hunters' Association, were just filtering the information being disseminated through media networks as well as printed news, because of those who don't know the truth.
She shouldn't have let Eona travel back alone. Maybe if she hadn't, she wouldn't have gone missing without telling her. What if someone had abducted her on her way home – someone who resides in the shadows of the night? But with Rouen being close to her, would someone even dare to do her harm? They wouldn't have wanted to make an enemy out of the vampire prince himself, would they? Wisteria tried to ask the Chairman of their school regarding the whereabouts of her friend since, as a hunter, he should know something but Kaien remained silent. In fact, for a few days after the mass killing that took place on the train which departed from the metropolis, he too never reported to the school as if something urgent had happened. If she had to think things through, if Eona's driver for that afternoon did not arrive to pick her up due to unforeseen circumstances, she would have ridden the train where half of its passengers died for reasons the authorities could not tell the public. The Night Class were in disarray and the school was obviously keeping something in the dark. And somehow, Wisteria had a feeling that it had something to do with what happened on the day she last saw her friend.
"That is all for today. I'm looking forward to your output at our next meeting."
"Mr. Dale, can't we just work in groups?"
"No. I"m expecting an individual output."
The students groaned but agreed with their teacher nonetheless.
"Do not go anywhere if you don't need to," their teacher reminded them and the students just agreed half-heartedly. "Though if you do, be sure not to go alone. Be careful on your way home."
Wisteria blinked and then sighed in her seat. "Another day wasted," she thought to herself.
Nothing ever gets through her head these past few days because her mind is occupied with thoughts that are far from the topics being discussed during their classes. She silently arranged all her things inside her bag and then went along with her classmates out of their room and into the hallways. Even with the sounds of footsteps and murmurings that echoed around her, Wisteria never paid it any mind. Upon exiting their building, she was about to go straight home but she saw Kaien walking towards Cresian Hall where his office was. Her thoughts turned to a complete three-sixty as she turned and followed him there. This time, she's going to corner him and get the answers she sought from him. But because his strides were long and fast compared to hers, Wisteria had to run just so she could catch up to him. He seemed to have used his ability and agility as a hunter, so she ended up catching her breath instead when she stopped for a while, with no Kaien in her sight.
"Damn it," she gritted before she continued on her pursuit. "If you think you are going to avoid me again, then you have to think otherwise," she whispered as she walked towards Cresian Hall where she knew Kaien was at.
She was already in the courtyard, a few meters away from the stairs heading towards the hall, when something which her naked eye saw like a blur went past her. Her curiosity took over. She decided to stop on her way and look back to see what it was, only to frown because she saw nothing but the vacant garden she had passed by on her way to the hall. But when she faced forward, ready to run towards the stairs and follow Kaien into his office, she came face to face with a chest. If she was not able to stop midway, she would've bumped into the person who decided to block her way. When she looked up, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who it was.
"Greetings, Wisteria…"
Caius Cyprian Ahlefeldt, a Silver Blood vampire and the son of her mother's employer, stood like a goddamn Greek statue right in front of her and he looked like he wouldn't move an inch even if she pushed him aside. She tried to ignore him but her efforts proved to be of no use at all. She moved away from his way but he just followed her and blocked her. His silver eyes were not showing any emotions as he towered over her with his slightly protruding fangs on display while he was smiling knowingly. Even though he was a vampire who was supposed to hate the sun, he was not even slightly bothered by the afternoon sun as he stood there in the courtyard with her.
She frowned at him before she gave him a stink eye. She is in a hurry and he is not helping at all.
Caius had been following Wisteria the moment he went past the Astral Gates from the Kingdom of Aceldama to the world of the living. He had planned to abduct her if given the chance because time was not actually on their side this time, but the damned girl just had to stay cooped up in their classroom all day after she entered it in the morning, as if she unconsciously knew he was there waiting for her to stray away from her classmates. He waited so painstakingly long outside, away from prying eyes, because he could not go directly inside the building of the Day Class students just like the rest of the Night Class students, much like staying on the school grounds for a long time.
Hillcrest was known to be the school for both the naturals and supernaturals. It was built for those who knew about the secrets of the night – human beings whose family served vampires as blood donors and vampires who wished to peacefully coexist with them as students. And to ensure the safety of students, both the vampires and the human beings, Kaien and the Cross family have cast a protection magic around the school and its buildings that keeps uninvited individuals away from the school grounds. Even at that moment, as he stood in the courtyard, he could feel a prick in his skin which meant that something was rejecting his presence because he had not received Kaien's permission to be there. Who knows? Maybe seconds from now, the school chairman will have the hunters that guard the academy at his back. And with his task at hand, he did not want that to happen, especially when they decided to do things secretly. The last thing they wanted was for the hunters to be tailing them.
"What are – mmmph!"
Caius immediately put his hand above her lips to avoid getting any attention because she'd surely scream at him again in hate as he restrained her with his other hand before he looked around, trying to see if someone was witnessing what was happening in the courtyard. He came here untimely to get Wisteria while he was on his way to retrieve his original target, Eona, and he did not want anyone to report him to the human authorities that he kidnapped the girl from her school. The last thing he wanted was to have his face posted on the news with the words 'wanted' attached to it. If only he would not need her assistance with what he was about to do, he would never meet her, even within seconds if he could.
"We don't have much time, Wisteria. I'm taking you with me."
Her eyes widened at his statement. "What? No!" She said as she pulled away from him, only for Caius to pull her back to him. "I'm not going with you!" Where is he taking her anyway?
No matter how much Wisteria struggled, Caius had overpowered her and it only took him a little to no effort to carry her over his shoulders like a sack before he leapt from one place to another at an unruly speed. The things around them passed by like a blur as the wind ruffled Wisteria's hair in different directions, tangling it in between and the way she was being carried. Dizziness immediately affected her, but Caius did not even care at all.
"What are you doing, you leech?!"
Caius knew that her anger was starting to rise to some degree but he continued on his way. She could not do anything anyway, no matter how much she hollered. "Can you not scream? It's making my ears ring," he told her without raising his own voice. In fact, he talked to her as if he was talking to a little girl throwing tantrums.
She groaned as she hit him in the back a few times, which he completely ignored even if she had been making an effort to hurt him. Damn him for having a toned body! Maybe it comes with him being old. How does she forget that fact every time? She had to remember Caius was an old man. A very old blood-sucking leech with the face of a handsome young man in his prime to deceive his prey.
Caius chuckled. He found her thoughts fascinating as he continued on his way with the girl still hanging on his shoulder. And when he leapt higher as he moved faster than before, she unconsciously held onto his shirt so tight like her life depended on it. "You really do amaze me sometimes. Were you aware that you praised me just as much as you insulted me in that single thought of yours?"
She gritted her teeth and imagined herself glaring at him. Yes, she had to imagine, because she couldn't actually do that in her present situation – her feet being held by Caius on his chest with just his right hand, which is not actually comforting, her stomach, which is now starting to hurt, is resting on his shoulder, and the upper part of her body is upside down behind him.
"Stop reading my mind," she deadpanned.
"Maybe you should stop thinking first. Keep your mind blank while you're with me so that I won't have anything to read. It's not like it's my intention to read every word you're thinking. It just happens, you know?"
How the hell would she even do that? Does he think she's some kind of doll without consciousness? She hated him, god, she really hated him!
"Just in case you already forgot, I hate you, too, Wisteria."
Instead of retorting to that, she ignored his words and went back to hitting him again. "Let me go, Caius!"
"No. You made me wait for hours, so you are just gonna have to grit your teeth and come with me. I needed you for what I came here to do. It's not like I wanted this. I hate the moments I spend with you just as much as you do." He said as he kept travelling south from their school and away from the direction of her house.
"Let me go!"
"I won't, so stop wasting your time repeating your words. Will you keep quiet for a second? And stay still while you're at it."
"If you want me to keep quiet, let me go!"
"No."
"I said, let go, Cauis!"
"Fine."
What she didn't expect was that he'd truly let her go, and to her horror, Caius did it midflight. With eyes that show her disbelief and terror, she looks up at the figure of Caius that is standing atop a skyscraper as he looks down at her without any emotion in his eyes as she fell. She couldn't even scream as her life literally flashed right before her eyes. Even though she did not want it, silent tears escaped her eyes as she fell from the sky towards concrete ground while Caius just stood there and watched her. Her pride did not allow her to ask him for help because, for sure, he'd let her die without care. She resigned to her fate and had her eyes closed as she waited for her end, but the end she was expecting didn't come. Instead of the hard concrete ground receiving her fall, she fell safely into Caius' arms, whom she did not expect would follow her at all.
For the first time ever since they met each other, Caius had seen her completely break and it tugged something into his frozen heart. For the first time in his never-ending life, he regretted something he had done. His guilt is eating him away as Wisteria was a crying mess in his arms. She did not even care anymore whether he was there to witness her misery or not. It's as if she completely ignored his existence as she lets herself break. Due to their close proximity, her body was trembling due to intense fear. She didn't even have the strength to flail from his hold anymore the way she did before while she continued to cry. Looking at her present state, he knew he had taken his joke a little too low this time. For a vampire like him, life is just something they were born to live for a long time. It is something they can play with because they are aware that they cannot lose it easily. But for a human being like Wisteria, life is something precious. And he just played with hers.
"I'm sorry..."
"How could you, Caius? How could you?" She asked, her trembling voice merely a whisper, while she tried to dry her tears with just but her fingers, which proved to be not helping at all, but for a vampire like him, he had heard her clearly no matter how soft she had spoken.
"I'm sorry," Caius repeated continuously, while Wisteria still cried in his embrace.
She cursed him, told him she hated him, insulted him to no end, but he just remained silent. He guessed he deserved all those hurtful words she'd uttered in between her sobs after what he did to her, so he just let her express her anger and fear that way. If only he did not have the ability to conceal their presence from everyone around them, they would have been a sight to see if only one would look up from the streets and into the skyscrapers towering over the city with the setting sun as their backdrop.
When she did not show any sign of recovering from her fright, Caius decided to take her down to the nearest cafe. Maybe it was better for her to be in such a place as she calmed down. Upon opening the glass door, multiple sets of eyes welcomed their arrival. He did not care if the people in there looked at him like he was a villain after they saw the state Wisteria was in as he assisted her, but no matter how much he tried to ignore their presence and deem them invisible, different thoughts still assaulted him. They made his head throb, but he disregarded them as usual. Though even if he had to seal his ability himself, certain thoughts still made their way into his mind, making him a little more moody than before as his aura turned darker by the second. This is why he hated crowded places, especially in the world of the living. He can't help but read the thoughts of others even if he didn't intend to do so.
Wisteria sniffed at her seat when they found themselves sitting at a table for two by the glass wall of the cafe where they could see the view from outside, her attention solely focused on her still trembling hands that rested on her lap. Caius could not understand it himself, but the way she was trying not to meet his gaze irked him in some way. While they waited for any of the waiters to accommodate them both, silence settled between them.
Caius tapped his forefinger on the table. One. Two. And then another. He did not say anything as he watched the girl sitting in front of him and it was then that certain thoughts entered his mind.
"You think he rejected her?" A question echoed in Caius' mind and he unknowingly looked for the one who whispered it.
"Well she's crying a river, isn't she?" Another whispered voice resonated.
"Right. She must have confessed and he rejected her. Serves her right. She thought a guy that looked like him would say he'd date her?"
"Your dream is high, girl."
Something in him snapped, especially when he clearly heard them snicker as if they found Wisteria's situation funny. There is only one person who can make Wisteria cry. One individual who can make her feel miserable. One being who gets to be happy when she's down and one man who gets all the right to turn her life upside down. Him. How dare they find joy in her tears when he is feeling miserable himself after what he did?
Caius looked around the cafe before his eyes spotted two women who were wearing school uniforms. They must have found themselves in the cafe after their classes ended for the day or maybe they were a regular there. Looking at them, they were probably the same age as Wisteria. They laughed and sneered from their seats in a corner as they glanced once in a while in their direction, most certainly at Wisteria's back. When they saw him looking at them, they blushed and hid their faces behind the menu they were holding, but when they glanced back at him again with the hope that he wasn't looking, they were met with glaring eyes which he made sure would haunt them in their sleep because he made his eyes glisten for a moment for them to see.
"Should I devour you two?" He asked them through telepathy.
He saw how their eyes widened in surprise and fear and when he smiled sinisterly with the tips of his fangs showing behind his upper lip, terror almost immediately engraved itself in their faces. He made sure they knew what being was accompanying the girl they were making fun of. That he is someone that doesn't belong in their world and that he is someone who could kill them at the snap of his finger. They shuffled their things while avoiding looking in his direction and went out of the cafe in a rush.
Humans really are fascinating beings. They feared every little thing they knew so little about. They act haughty and nonchalant, then easily threaten the next. They get easily attracted and don't know what kind of danger was right in front of them. He was about to focus his attention again on Wisteria, but the waitress who was smiling widely at him disrupted his plan and the thoughts in her mind made him almost show who he really was.
"Good afternoon, sir! Welcome to Cafe Perigrine. Have you already decided what to order?"
"Rude," he thought to himself when she completely ignored the girl he was with. "Yes. Your parfait for the day for my fiancee."
The waitress' smile faltered as she looked at Wisteria up and down, her eyes full of judgment. "Oh."
He smiled in a way that he made certain insulted the woman. "Beautiful, isn't she?"
"What?"
"Well, it seems like you can't take your eyes off my girl, but unfortunately, I'm not willing to share. She's mine alone, you know?"
The waitress flushed red in embarrassment but he was not done yet.
"And if you insult her once again, I will make sure your life turns miserable in a way that you'd wish it was never you that accommodated us today. That is all I'm going to order. Please have it prepared immediately."
The waitress lowered her gaze as if she cannot wait to leave. "Certainly, sir."
Unknown to Caius himself, Wisteria had been staring at him with a frown on her forehead.
"What?"
Wisteria shrugged. "Can you just..." she paused, looking for the right words to say. "I don't know, act like a normal being for once, Caius?"
He smiled as he focused his attention back on the girl he was with. She had finally dried her tears but her eyes were a little red because of how much she cried. But at least she had already stopped. "What do you mean? This is how I usually act and you know it."
"So it's normal to abduct someone from their school?"
"It's normal by vampire standards."
She sighed. Caius is a lost cause. "What do you want from me, Caius? We might as well get through with it. The sooner we finish the business you came here in the world of the living for, the sooner we part ways. Your presence is making my mind go haywire and it's making my head throb."
"I came here to get your friend Eona and I need you to get her out of their house," he told her without beating around the bush. Well, if she is still alive, that is. "Kaien and the Duke of the Lohengrin Duchy, Cohen, cast a protection magic much stronger than the one casted around your school and it is preventing me from getting in even through their gate."
"And you think I haven't tried it yet? I have been to their house several times but no one had opened the door for me. It's like their house has been devoid of any kind of life. Who knows? Their family might have relocated again."
"No. They did not. The Lorentzs have just shut themselves in after what happened between Eona and the prince. We couldn't actually tell whether your friend had really died but – "
"What?" She cut him off. What the hell is he talking about?
Caius gave out a sigh as he slightly massaged his temple. "The prince drained her blood dry over a week ago. She wasn't breathing when we came to retrieve the prince from your world after he escaped the cell he was confined in under the palace. To tell you honestly, there's not even any sound of a pulse coming from her."
"You... What the hell did you do?!"
Before Caius could answer, the parfait he ordered for Wisteria arrived but the one who delivered it was not the one from before. Shame must have been eating that one away somewhere. Serves her right.
"Don't put the blame on me, Wisteria. We were just tasked to get the prince back to the kingdom because the sentinels would not be enough to restrain him. Everything was already done when we found him with Eona lying lifeless in his arms. We needed to confirm her whereabouts because the prince really thought he had killed her. He's now starting to delve deeper into the dark sides of being a vampire and it was affecting everyone around him."
Wisteria's hands trembled yet again while thinking of the worse for her friend. She wanted to eat the parfait Caius ordered but the contents of their conversation wasn't actually helping with her appetite. "Well she's not breathing back then, isn't she? Does that mean she's dead?" Is that why Kaien was avoiding her the best that he could?
"We're not actually certain of that yet, Wisteria. Kaien was there with us that night and it was him who took Eona away. After that, we really didn't receive any words afterwards about whether she really had died or she had survived. The Hunters' Association have ways of reviving people, you know? And Kaien was affiliated with them. Duke Cohen and Kaien were silent no matter how much we asked. Hence, I am here to confirm everything so that we can move on to the next. And I needed your assistance. We suspect that Eona's family were the ones who decided to completely keep your friend away from the secrets of this world after what happened and we can't actually blame them, especially when they did not want her involved with our kind from the very beginning."
For a while, Caius told him his plans for that afternoon and she just listened. She too wanted to see her friend and if working with Caius, even for a while, was what she needed to do, then she'd do so without another word. She did not plan on eating the parfait Caius ordered for her, but he told her they wouldn't leave until she did, so she finished it while they were discussing what they were about to do to know what really happened to Eona.
While conversing with Caius, Wisteria found herself listening to him intently. For the first time, she realized that he had this way of talking that would want everyone to listen. Maybe it comes with him being a vampire. And in between, Caius unknowingly showed her kindness and gentleness which she had never seen before, making her question whether she had really known him. There was even a time when she had a thought that maybe he was intentionally acting rude towards her at times. But what could he have gained from that? It only watered her animosity towards him.
When daylight was almost gone, as the night sky was starting to take over everything around them, both Caius and Wisteria found themselves standing a few meters away from the house owned by the Lorentzs. It was actually built on a hill overlooking their neighborhood, a little too far away from the houses around them.
"If they're still there, shouldn't the lights inside their house be turned on already?"
Caius frowned when he glanced at her. "Close your eyes."
"What?"
"Just close your eyes, Wisteria," he told her, and she did.
For a moment, Caius put his hand over her eyes and when he removed it, he told her to open them and what she saw almost made her want to curse. Eona's house, which looked uninhabited before, now looked like it was occupied. All the lights inside were turned on and she could even see the silhouettes of certain people through the glass windows. But what made her frown was the thin white-colored aural dome that surrounded the house. Something was really cast around it.
"It's the work of the hunters. Meaning, they really are hiding Eona from those who knew of her existence. I need you to get yourself inside their house. By then, I will be able to get in through you."
"But will they open the door for me?"
"You just have to make an effort now, Wisteria. I'm counting on you."
Wisteria did not know how long she waited at the gate nor how many had she tried to ring the door bell. She almost gave up because she thought her efforts were in vain, but when she was about to leave, Eona's grandmother, Lauren, had finally opened the door for her. Just as when she was heading inside, she looked over at Caius who was standing not too far away, hidden from those who did not know who he was.
"Great job, Wisteria," he praised her as he smiled. "You now just have to make them take you to Eona."
"Her family is going to hate me."
"Only for a while."
Wisteria was aware that what she was about to do was wrong, but Caius wouldn't have made an effort to do anything if they had any ill intentions towards her friend. For a while, after they received her in the living room, Eona's grandmother as well as Eona's mother did not say a word. Even though they welcomed her with snacks, the atmosphere made Wisteria feel that her presence really was not welcome, but she herself needed to know what happened to her friend.
"Wisteria, dear..."
"There is no use hiding what happened from me, Aunt Helena. I already knew what happened to her in the hands of the prince. How is she?"
"She is still sleeping in her room. She has been sleeping for over a week now."
"Can I at least see her for a moment?"
Lauren and Helena glanced at each other before they agreed, though almost hesitatingly. Wisteria thought they wouldn't leave her and Wisteria alone after they took her into her room, but they did and, without wasting any more time, she called out for Caius, who almost immediately appeared beside her without a sound inside Eona's room.
"I appreciate you helping me this time, Wisteria."