A man, clad in a velvet waistcoat, bent down, and picked up a rose that had fallen from its branch.
"Odd" he whispered. This was the first time that a rose had fallen in this garden.
A man younger looking man, stood behind him. "Lord Cassian, someone probably cut it off, I'll get to the bottom of it." He said.
He shook his head before standing. "These flowers are immortal, if they're dying it means it's time is up."
"What do you mean?"
"Simply put, the owner of the garden has arrived."
"You do not mean-"
Cassian, nodded before he looked up at the sky. "The King is finally here"
"Do you no longer fear me that you refuse to acknowledge my presence?"
Cassian chuckled as heard the familiar voice and when the turned back, he saw his master, Arzhel, the King of Vampires.
"Forgive me sire." Cassian said before he knelt down and bowed. The other man there, widened his eyes in shock before he knelt down.
Arzhel, stood in the middle of the garden and smiled. There was every reason for them to be surprised. Asides the fact that he had been gone for centuries, now that he had arrived, he was covered in blood.
"You are forgiven"
Cassian, stood up and looked at his King. He looked different. Asides the fact that blood was all over his body, he looked slimmer, his usually short white hair was now extremely long and his silver eyes, looked weary. He shook his head, that wasn't what made him different. The difference was the he had suffered, he had been broken.
"If I may be bold to speak, why are you drenched in blood?"
Arzhel, chuckled as he looked at his bare chest that was covered in blood. "I was simply paying back what I owed." The thoughts of the people screaming as he ripped their necks made him smile.
"Oh, what a hassle. You must have really been bored locked up there for centuries."
Arzhel, smiled but not at brightly as before. He turned his head and saw that the other man in the garden was still on his knees. "What is your name?"
"Davian, my King"
"You may rise."
Davian stood up but kept his head bowed. It wasn't as if he did not want to look at the face of his King but, he could not. It was as though there was a force, emitting from him, a power that pushed away the weak. He quivered in fear, so this was what real terror looked like.
Cassian chuckled as he looked at the boy he was training. "Your stares Arzhel, are pushing him on the ground, literally."
Arzhel, laughed before he diminished his powers. When he was done, he looked at them. "Done. Now I seem no different than an ordinary man."
Davian, breathed in relief before he finally looked at him. He was taken aback by the beauty and gentleness of the King's face, it was different from what he had been told.
"Don't let a fly in your mouth." Cassian teased.
Arzhel snorted as Cassian's words. "Don't bully the child you fly."
"Fly? You bastard!"
"How dare you call me a bastard!"
"How dare you call me a fly?"
"You..."
Davian, looked back and forth from Lord Cassian to the King as they threw insults at each other.
"So Lord Cassian was serious when he said he and the king were best friends." He whispered to himself. He choked on his spit and then coughed loudly.
As though that were a signal, Arzhel and Cassian, stopped arguing and immediately became serious.
"I exceeded a thousand years, didn't I?"
"Yes my King."
Arzhel, looked up and sighed. He had spent all his time, hating himself and begging for death when he should have thought of his people that he had left behind.
"You have done a god job while I was away, my friend." Arzhel commended him and placed his hands on his shoulders.
Cassian smiled brightly, like a child who had just been given candy. "Thank you master." He looked up and his eyes shone with excitement. "What next? Who are we killing?"
Arzhel, released a hearty laugh and his sides hurt. Cassian had not changed one bit. Though he came off as the perfect gentleman, he was nothing but a blood thirsty vampire.
"I've dealt with some already" The blood on his body was enough proof of that.
"Is that why you killed that mystic, Lydia?"
Arzhel's expression, changed to that of disgust at the sound of her name. "She's a witch not a mystic."
"That wasn't your opinion when you were bedding her."
Arzhel, snorted. He couldn't fathom why he was attracted to something so hideous. "She was a mystic then until she became tinted. Once a mystic performs forbidden dark magic, they are witches. A defiled cup cannot be used again."
"The order had another opinion of that."
"The order, reeks of corruption. But they won't dare oppose me."
Cassian nodded his head in agreement, his Master was right. "You are still the head afterall."
Arzhel shook his head slightly. "I do not care any longer about frivolous things."
Cassian, paused as he watched his Master. Of course he wouldn't care, there was only one thing he cared about more than his people or his pride. "But I think you'll care about this one." He frowned as he thought of what might happen.
"What?"
"If you're free, that means she has awoken." He paused to look at the blank face of his Master before he continued. "I've heard the wolves have been up to no good. Should we send an army?"
"No"
"No?" Cassian was taken aback. He expected Arzhel to round up the armies at the mere thought of her.
"I'll be nothing but a stranger if I approach her now. It is not yet time."
"The enemy will strike."
"Then so be it. My queen is not weak. If she dies, then she is not mine." Arzhel said. He had made up his mind that he was no longer going to be ruled his emotions. Everything needed to happen at the right even, even if it pained him.
He walked to where the broken flower was placed on the ground and picked it up. He released fire from his palms and burnt the stem leaving only the petals, he had no use for dead things.
"You are indeed wise my King."
Arzhel, looked at the petals in his hand one last time, before he crushed it in between his fists. "She is yet to fully awaken. When she does, she will come to me."
***
Ruelle, tugged her hair as she tried to focus on what the lecturer was saying but, the noise the other students were making, made it seem so impossible.
"I wonder how El is doing?' She whispered to herself. Was she having a hard time in class? Was the lecturer mean or nonchalant? But she wasn't going to get any answers to her questions until she saw her sister.
Eloise, always got irritated when Ruelle doted on her. She claimed even though Ruelle was few minutes older than her, they were both of the same age. But, Ruelle couldn't help it. She couldn't help but worry. Even if she was the younger sibling, she would still dote on El.
"If you pull your hair anymore, you might just become bald."
Ruelle's eyes widened as she looked at the guy sitting next to her. "What?"
"Your hair." He pointed out "You've been pulling it since you sat down. I'm definitely sure you're not even paying attention to what the lecturer is saying." He chuckled as he looked at her confused face.
Ruelle laughed awkwardly and released her hair from her hand. "What's your name?" She asked as she looked at him. She had noticed him when she entered into the class. His brown hair looked as though they were recently dyed but he had pretty eyes.
"I'm Tyler" He stretched out his hand and smiled at her. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself to you earlier."
He's pretty.
Ruelle, took his outstretched hands and shook it.
"I'm Ruelle, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm guessing you're new here"
"Is it that obvious? Well, yes I am. How did you know?"
Tyler shrugged his shoulders before looking away from her. "Well to begin with, the lecturer introduced you as a transfer student."
Ruelle, wanted to hit her head on the table. Of course it was obvious, even a child could guess that.
"... Plus, you don't seem exactly caught out for this town" he paused to look at the short black skirt she wore which was paired, with a velvet colored top. "Why are you here?" He continued.
He was right, Ruelle thought. Why had she possibly left her home to follow a woman she barely knew? But she knew it wasn't an impulsive decision. They had decided to follow their Aunt after receiving a Pandora box from their mother. She was here to discover the disappearance of her mother.
"Well, I feel this town is the key" She said after some time.
Tyler, looked at her and studied her. At first glance, she looked like a quiet pretty lady but there was something about her. An aura that exuded confidence. But, she was foolish. There was only one thing she was going to find in this town, death.
"A key?" He scoffed "You're beyond foolish"
"Resorting to insults?"
Tyler chuckled, when he saw that her gray eyes, deemed. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to."
"Apology accepted" Ruelle said as she turned towards her book, with the intention of ending the conversation.
"One advice for you." His face hardened as he looked at her with seriousness, compelling her to stare at him. "Whatever happens, don't give your trust so easily. There's always more than what meets the eyes"
"Why are you telling me this?" She asked as she felt terrified for some reason.
"I can't tell you more than this. I have already overstepped my boundary."
Why was everyone in this town so strange? What was going on that she couldn't see?
Ruelle shivered as she remembered the creepy secretary she has met during registration, who had told her to be beware of the dead.
Ruelle, leaned towards him to ask him more questions but, stopped when a loud siren rang. She covered her ears and wondered what was going on. Soon enough, the sound stopped and she looked around the class. All the students, looked terrified as though they knew something was about to happen.
The windows in the lecture room, suddenly shattered and fragments of glass, flew around the classroom. The screams and panicking of students were drowned by the sound of gunshots coming from outside.
Ruelle began to cough and struggle to get up but for some reason she felt weak. She was about to collapse when she was slapped hard across the face.
"Don't you dare sleep on me, you have to get out of here, now!"
Ruelle, looked up and noticed that Tyler and her were the only students who were still conscious. It was as though everyone had fallen into a deep sleep.
"What's going on?" She said as she coughed, struggling to stay conscious.
"Hypnosis to make everyone sleep. I'll get you out of here."
"Hypnosis?"
Tyler stood up hurriedly, and carried her in his arm, like a baby.
"Grip tightly to me."
Once he had secured her, he took their phones and began to run as fast as he could out of the class.
The wind, blew strongly at her face and she struggled to see the environment around her because of his speed. She felt like she was on a bullet train.
Once they were at a safe distance, Tyler stopped running. Ruelle became better and the fatigue began to wear off.
"What's going on" She said as she stared at him.
Tyler, smiled slightly before he placed her on her feet. "We're under attack, that's what's going on."
Ruelle, pushed back the vomit that was building up her throat. What the hell was going on? Why had all the students collapsed? Why did the windows shatter? And why were there gun shots?
Most importantly, how was it possible for a human to run that fast?
She gripped her head and tried not to scream, it felt as though her head might split in two.
"How come you're okay Tyler?" If what he told her was true, why didn't he lost consciousness like the rest or like she almost did?
"Because I'm not human." Tyler, smiled sadly at her, before he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I can't do more than this for you. I can't explain now but the life you once knew is over." He stopped talking when the sound of a shriek was heard down the hall.
Ruelle, shook as she heard the sound and shivers ran down her body. It was loud and it seemed to pierce through her skin. She shook in fear as she saw cuts appearing on her body and blood gushing out. "What the fuck is this?!"
"Ruelle, there's no more time. Use the back, I'll secure the area so you can escape." He said, ignoring her question.
"What is going on? Help me understand!"
"I have no time to explain. If you get caught, you'll die."
"Get caught! Who is chasing me?!" She nearly screamed in frustration.
Tyler, placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled sadly. "They're witches, and they're here for you"
"What? Stop joking, I'm not a child anymore."
"Does anything seem normal to you Ruelle? Exploding glass without a bomb or anything? People losing consciousness all of a sudden? The speed I ran at?You getting cuts from hearing a scream?" He stopped as he looked at her sadly. She looked pale and striken with fear.
"Why me?" She whispered.
"Because it's your destiny." He closed his eyes for some time, and when he opened them, his former brown eyes, were now silver. "they're coming."
Ruelle, shook as she saw the change in his eye color and tried to process what he was saying. "Tyler..."
Tyler, looked at her one last time before he pushed her back. "Go."
Tears, rolled down her eyes as she looked at him. But she couldn't move.
"Do you want to die? Run you fool!!" He shouted.
Ruelle, turned around and began to sprint down the hallway. She had no idea what was going on but one thing was certain, she had to survive, no matter what.
***