The next day, I woke up to find Kelly, Silvia, and Debra in my bed together. I guess I did it again. So, I got out of bed and showered. I changed into a white hooded sweatshirt, a white shirt, white sneakers, and black shades. I headed to the car, which Margret was driving.
"Take me to the hospital."
"Yes, ma'am."
Margret drove me to the hospital and to Regina's room. Her mother and sister were present by her side.
"How is she?" I asked.
"She was in a coma before, but now she has come out of it," Regina's mother explained.
"I'm glad."
It's thanks to me, of course.
"It's a pity to see my friend in such a state. If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask," I said.
"You're so kind; Regina is blessed to have a friend like you."
Regina's mother held my hand while crying. After spending some time with them, I left. Outside, waiting for me, were Kelly and Silvia by Kelly's car.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked.
"You left this morning without saying anything. We figured this would be the place you'd come," Silvia explained.
"I just came to check on Regina. She'll be fine; I can guarantee it."
I looked down and clenched my fist.
"The worst part is that I can't heal her. If I do, there will be ramifications. But if I don't, how long can I look at her in such a condition? I wish I had made those people suffer more," I said.
Kelly hugged me from behind without me realizing it. "You've already done enough, mistress. It's time to rest," she said softly.
"You left without eating any breakfast; I'm sure you must be hungry," Silvia added.
"Why don't we buy some cake? Sounds good?"
Kelly smiled at me, and my rage slowly began to fade, thanks to Kelly and Silvia. I was glad to have these two with me again.
I smiled. "Kay."
The next day was a school morning. As I sat in class, my classmates were discussing Regina's situation. She had more support than I imagined; every turn I made, people were asking about her hospitalization.
Class started, and the teacher called out to me.
"Miss Valentine."
"Yes?"
"Since you're Regina's closest friend, do you mind collecting her assignments and homework?"
Hearing that from the teacher irritated me. I stood up and slammed my hand on the desk violently.
"My friend is in the hospital; she's in a coma with broken ribs, a broken leg, and ruptured organs, and you're here concerned about homework and assignments? Just how insensitive can you be?"
I glared at the teacher, making her yelp a little.
Realizing my outburst, I calmed down. "My apologies; I didn't mean to say those things."
"It's okay," she replied.
"I need to go to the restroom. I need to be excused."
I walked out of the classroom and went to the bathroom to wash my face. Strange—have I become attached to her? Have I been around humans so long that I'm starting to adapt to their emotions? Have I abandoned my instincts as a vampire to become human? I know I was human before, but this is different.
Before, I didn't care what happened to humans. My only concern was my family and nothing more. But now, I'm going out of my way for a human. I've become so engrossed in my life that I've totally forgotten that I'm a vampire—an ageless and immortal being.
"This... can't keep happening."
"Mistress?" Silvia asked, snapping me back to reality.
"I'm fine; I was just lost in thought. Let's return to class."
On my way back, I looked out the window and saw a fight; it was Veronica slugging it out with a boy.
"Tell me something, Silvia. Am I doing the right thing?" I asked.
"Mistress?"
"No, it's nothing. Let's go back to class."
After school, I decided to pay Efreet a visit.
"So, you've finally realized what you're doing while living among humans," Efreet said.
"Yes."
"And now you feel that you're forgetting yourself as a vampire for human emotions."
"Yes."
"You feel that you've become weak."
"...Yes."
"..."
Efreet fell silent before speaking again.
"You're pathetic."
"Huh?"
"I knew eventually you would see the reality of our situation, but I never expected it to be so soon."
He got up and walked to the window.
"So what if you're becoming human? So what if you're fraternizing with them? I don't care. But I will tell you one thing: you need to ask yourself."
Efreet looked at me.
"Do you want to be human or remain a vampire?"
That question struck me to the core. It was a question worthy of my attention, but it felt useless. The day I died in my old life, I wanted one thing: to live longer. I wanted to be immortal, so I wouldn't have to worry about breathing my last breath.
"I want to remain a vampire," I said firmly.
"Remember that you're immortal just like I am. If you make human friends, be prepared to watch them die in front of you; that's how I lived."
Efreet looked through the window. I recalled that Efreet had a daughter who died by human hands. That's why he hates humanity and wants to destroy them so badly.
"I see. Thank you for your sage advice, Efreet. Now I know who I am and what I have to do."
Efreet looked at me and smirked. "Just know you owe me."
"Whatever. Bye."
I got up and left; I knew what I had to do before it was too late. Three days later, the time had come; Regina regained her consciousness. It was an emotional moment for everyone, especially her parents. I stopped by the hospital when no one was there.
"Hey, Roselina."
She was still cheerful as ever.
I sat at her bedside, and as I looked at her leg, I felt a bit guilty.
"Huh, what's wrong, Roselina?"
"It's nothing."
"Come on, cheer up. You're my bestie; you can tell me anything."
Regina smiled.
"Silvia, could you give me a moment to speak in private?"
"Yes, mistress."
Silvia closed the door behind her as she walked out.
"Roselina, what's wrong?" Regina asked.
"I don't know why, but I somehow feel responsible for what happened to you."
"Oh, don't worry; I just got careless, ugh."
She saw that I was crying.
"Listen, I have something to tell you. You seem... I'm... I'm..."
I clenched my skirt tightly.
"You see, the truth is I'm not human; I'm a vampire," I said.
I sat there waiting for her to judge me, waiting for her to condemn me. I expected her to shout, "Get away from me, you monster."
"I know," Regina said.
I looked up at her, my eyes wide with surprise. "How did you know?"
"Well, I've kind of known for some time. After the accident, I started seeing strange memories in my head. I thought they were dreams, but I realized they were real... and a couple of nights ago, I kind of overheard what you were saying."
She confessed. Wait, so that night, she heard everything I said.
"But you hate me," I asked.
"Yes, I kind of hated you for erasing my memories, but I finally understand that you were trying to protect me from harm. It doesn't matter if you're not human; you're still my friend. What kind of friend would I be to condemn you?"
She smiled at me, pure and honest. Hearing her say that, I couldn't help but cry. I hugged her tightly while crying. After such an emotional moment, I began explaining to her the truth about what was going on. She seemed more curious than ever.
"So you're a true vampire—the highest-ranking vampire who has the power over of all vampires and a guardian who protects this world—and there's a madman who turned humans into monsters and wants to use them to take over the world?" Regina asked.
"Yes, and that's not all to worry about; the kind of hell Lucifer is going to bring to this world," I explained.
"Yes, and you were given this mission by God herself?"
"Yes."
"Wow, sounds like you have it rough. How old are you, anyway?" Regina asked.
"I'm 628."
"You're six centuries old! That means you're like my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, and yet you're still underdeveloped."
Regina looked at my breasts and kept staring.
"How rude! I have you know that this is my original form; you should see my other form," I said.
Wait—Why am I upset?
"So is Kelly a true vampire like you?" Regina asked.
"She's a pureblood and my kin; our sisterly relationship is for cover."
"I see. Does this mean Silvia and Debra are vampires?"
"Silvia is a pureblood vampire; Debra was once human until last month. She wanted to become part of my family, so I turned her. As for Diane and Lufilia, they're Kelly's subordinate nobleblood vampires."
"I see."
I looked at her. "Are you afraid of me?" I asked.
"To be honest, no. When I look at you, I don't see a vampire. All I see is a girl who loves to smile, eat cake, and live life to its fullest."
"Oh, Regina."
"One question: when you need blood, what do you do?" Regina asked.
"Well, I don't need it, but when my subordinates want it, they have their ways of getting it."
"Hey, show me a trick. I bet you can do magic."
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, come on!"
"Oh, okay."
I held out my hand and gathered blood.
"What was this, blood?"
She poked it with her finger, and it moved like jelly.
"It was my primary skill—blood manipulation."
I transformed the blood into a dolphin, then a pelican, and finally a herd of elephants.
"I had the ability to create blood and transform it into anything."
"Wow, so cool! What else could you do?"
"Well, I could generate fire and lightning and create storms. Do you remember the day the paparazzi came to our school after finding out I was Kelly's sister?"
"I remembered! Wait, the rain that was you?"
"Yep."
"So awesome!"
Regina went silent.
"Roselina, why did you go so far to protect humans? Why were you willing to risk your life for us?" Regina asked.
I held her hand.
"Because having a friend like you was worth it," I said with a smile.
...
Silvia peeked into the room and saw Roselina and Regina laughing together. She smiled and continued to guard the door for them.