Cora sighed for the umpteenth time staring at her reflection in the mirror. She wore a mask she was never supposed to take off unless maybe when eating.
"Cora dear there's no need to get worked up about this , trust me you would be admitted ?" Her mom assured and she nodded . She had applied for admission to one of the best Universities in the country ,Oscars Island university which rarely admits just anybody due to their strict rules and regulations.
Evelyn Mercedes woke up one day from the noise of a little baby girl in a mask at her doorstep. Living alone after losing her husband she decided to take the baby and adopt her but then she realised a note attached to the girl that read 'Never take off the mask'. She didn't know why but had a feeling that whoever brought the baby would be keeping an eye on them .
She named her Cora which meant heart .
Cora nodded to the question her mother, Evelyn asked, still staring at her reflection in the mirror. Evelyn noticed it and smiled "I'm sure you'll look very beautiful without your mask "She encouraged and Cora smiled , she knew her mom was just trying to make her happy .
The doorbell dinged and Cora gave her mom a hug before taking her hand bag and walking to it . It was her friends Luna and Aiden. Even though Cora wore a mask she still attended a normal school and was able to make two friends who upon never seeing her face before still supported her in all her ways . She hopped into their car and queried "Have you both applied for admission in Oscars' ". Aiden chuckled and answered '' My grades weren't that good so father said it's better I settle for the town's College". Cora nodded while Luna rolled her eyes , she didn't want to talk about hers . The car suddenly turned quiet with everyone concentrating on something else. Cora who was staring out of the window furrowed her brows when she realised her friends weren't sending her to the mall as planned. "Where exactly are we going?''she asked, staring at Luna through the rear view mirror since she was the one driving. " My dad said some people brought some new antiques to the museum and I thought it might be helpful because it's about the history of this town," Luna explained, looking at her through the rear view mirror. Cora sighed , her friends where trying to help but this wasn't necessary.``Trust me the last time I went for an excursion there it wasn't so good because I passed out "Cora explained having a bad feeling about this whole thing especially when she had told her mom that they were going for shopping."I'm not turning back no matter what "Luna defended and Cora sunk into the seat glaring at her from the back seat .
Two men dressed in suits were seen entering the museum as one walked faster with the other one two steps behind . "I wonder where those humans got that from '' One muttered as the other looked around worried before saying"Young master please be mindful of what you say and at where ". How can he act so recklessly, he thought, still making sure nobody overhead them. The latter rolled his eyes as he continued to stride through the hallway with powerful footsteps.
The Curator, who had gotten a short notice of the arrival of a powerful person in the museum, quickly rushed to meet him. "Greetings ,young master Damien" the man greeted, bowing his head as low as he could and Damien gave him a nod .
Almost immediately Damien noticed three people walk in with one in a black mask that covers the lower half of her face ."How wide has it spread that there's a new discovery"He queried bringing his gaze back to the man before him. "It just arrived yesterday sir , I doubt anybody knows about it "the man answered and Damien muttered "lead the way ". The man nodded quickly and began walking. He couldn't believe the infamous beast of the business world and also the richest man on the continent's son was just two steps behind him . He swallowed when he remembered that they were not normal human beings like him but they were the creatures of the night , 'Vampires' . He thought as a cold shiver ran down his spine.
Cora on the other hand had arrived not so long ago with her friends with Luna leading the way , swaying her hips side to side .
Luna was a very beautiful girl , her night black hair cascaded down her shoulders and she brushed her hand through it . She had a slender figure with a small face , thick and long eyelashes which made her breathtaking.
Aiden and Cora caught up with Luna when Cora noticed some men standing there. She curiously glanced at them, locking her gaze with one who only held her gaze for a second before returning to whatever that he was doing. Cora's heart started beating rapidly when the man held her gaze and was grateful when he stopped.
The trio made their way to the antique before the Curator and Damien did. "Touch it and see if you'd feel anything"Luna encouraged and Cora nodded . They had met a woman the last time who had told Cora that the very reason why she was stuck in this mask was because of the past history of this city. 'But why' she thought about what the woman said.
Taking a deep breath, Cora touched it and was electrocuted as she was pulled into a new world. The whole place was dark with no one in view. She heard the splashing of water and looked beneath her , that's when she saw a very beautiful woman swimming in what looked like a little pool but what caught her eye the most was the tail that was splashing the water . Trying to see exactly where she was she started walking around and that's when she saw the very antique she had touched not so long ago when someone emerged from the other side of what looked like the cave she was in . She didn't dare make a sound when she realised the man who had entered had red eyes . He walked to the woman in the water and the woman swam to him ."what are are you doing here?"she enquired with fear evident in her voice."There's no need to worry about me , no one would ever know I came here "He assured and the woman nodded smiling fondly. Cora furrowed her brows staring at them, 'they might be lovers 'she thought looking at how the man also smiled with affection in his eyes . The woman got out of the water and her legs turned into the human one . She slipped into a black dress which Cora hadn't noticed before and approached the man . Looking at the dress she was wearing she could see that they were in the Victorian era. The man beckoned the woman to come and she did without a second thought. The man hugged her and whispered "Close your eyes Alicia " and the next thing Cora saw was the man slitting the woman's throat. The woman didn't even make a sound when she stopped moving. Some of her blood splattered on the antique that was there . The man removed one of his gloves and muttered removing the strands of her that covered her face "I'm sorry, we'll meet in our next life , I'll wait for you" he whispered and Cora gasped when she saw the tattoo on his hand .
It was a tattoo that drew the sun with what looked like a big eagle standing on it .The man turned in her direction as if he had seen her' ,'this is not good ' she thought and just then she felt someone's hand on her shoulder and she zapped out of whatever cave she was .When she opened her eyes she saw the very thing she had seen back in the cave. She felt something trickle down her cheeks and noticed she was crying.
"Are you al-"Aiden paused when he saw some scales on her hands which vanished as quickly as they came. He swallowed and was about to comment on it when Luna held his hand , stopping him from muttering anything. Just then Damien appeared there with the Curator and the other man he came with. He passed an annoyed gaze to the man and the man swallowed. 'What are these brats doing here? ' he thought and walked to them . "What are you guys doing here?"he questioned . The trio turned and saw the Curator glaring at them .