by H. D. Gordon
I held out my hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mark, I’m Alexa.” He smiled a full smile and shook my hand, then he led me into the building and took me to the Queen’s personal office. It looked more like a sitting room, where one might have tea, than an office. Everything was decorated in silver and black, and white roses and other exotic plants that I couldn’t identify lined the walls. One side of the office was a large window, stretching from floor to ceiling, and overlooking a beautiful garden. There was a large Oak desk near the far wall and a daybed placed tastefully off to the side. I looked to my right to see the Queen sitting in a very expensive looking chair that was facing a very expensive looking couch. I walked over and bowed before sitting down on the couch.
She raised her eyebrows. Was I supposed to ask to be seated? Whatever.
She was wearing a black pants suit with a silver silk blouse underneath, and she was sipping a cup of tea. Her blue eyes studied me over her cup and I shifted a little in my seat.
Looking down at my clothes, I saw that I was wearing black stretch pants and a black tank top. I would have dressed nicer, but I thought I was just heading to school where I would have to train. Whatever.
“It’s nice to see you, your majesty,” I said.
She smiled then and it made her looks a little less sharp. “It’s nice to see you as well, young Warrior.
I struggled not to roll my eyes. I really wished people would stop calling me that. I had a name, and I kind of liked it.
When she just sat there, I cleared my throat. “Um… you wanted to see me?” She nodded. “I wanted to thank you personally,” she said.
I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Well, you’re welcome, but what for?” She laughed, a short, high pitched sound that sort of grated my nerves. Shaking her head, she said, “I suppose you save the lives of monarchs every day, young Warrior?” Oh, that. How could I have forgotten about that? I guess with everything else on my mind, I hadn’t really thought about how I had pulled her away from the podium just before it had exploded.
“Actually, you were my first,” I said. “But you’re welcome” She nodded and again grew silent, but this time, a look of regret and sadness came over her features. I waited for a moment and then decided that she wasn’t going to talk unless I asked her to. I worked to keep the frustration off of my face.
“Is there something else, your majesty?”
She met my eyes and nodded solemnly. “Yes, there is, and please, call me Camillia.”
Well, then, call me Alexa. “Okay,” I said instead.
“I deeply regret being the one who has to tell you this, but I think you have a right to know,” she continued.
“Okay,” I repeated. This was really starting to annoy me
She reached over to the small table that was beside her chair and picked up something shiny. My heart dropped when I realized what it was. My face must have given me away, because she nodded again, that sad expression still on her face.
She handed me what she was holding and I stared down at it. It was a necklace; my Mother’s necklace. It was the only piece of jewelry that my Mother had ever worn. It was silver and delicate, with a small, silver sun hanging from the chain. I closed my fist around it.
My tongue felt thick in my throat and my heart felt like it had just been ripped from my chest. “What are you trying to tell me?” I said, and not very nicely.
She sighed before answering, and for whatever reason, it made me want to jump out of my seat and punch her in the face. I didn’t. It wasn’t her fault. She was just the messenger. Plus, that would be just stupid.
“We sent someone to do cleanup after you arrived here. It is routine for us to do so as we don’t want to risk exposure to the humans. I asked them to search the surrounding area, in hopes that we could locate your mother for you,” she paused then, and I realized that I was breathing heavily.
“And we did find her,” she continued, not meeting my eyes. “She had been drained dry. I’m so very sorry, Alexa.”
I stood up abruptly. I had known that the chances of my Mother having survived were very slim, but I guess I had just been holding on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, she had. Having this woman tell me that she was dead was just too much for me. I was pretty sure I was going to cry, and I refused to do it in front of her.
I turned to leave, and she called out to me. “If you wish to skip classes today, I will inform your instructors. Take some time for yourself.” I stopped and opened the door. “That won’t be necessary,” I said. Then I stepped out and closed the door behind me.
Mark was standing in the foyer as I came walking past. He didn’t move from his post on the wall, but he did speak to me.
“How did it go, Alexa?”
I just shook my head and kept walking. I didn’t mean to be rude to him, but I was afraid that if I stopped, I might start crying. I burst through the front doors and took a deep breath. I clutched my Mother’s necklace and fastened it around my neck. Then, I took off in a sprint toward the direction of my school.
Chapter 33
I ran as hard as I could; it was the only thing that kept the tears at bay. I reached the school in record time and headed to the room number that was first on my schedule. I opened the door and stepped inside. It was more of a gym than a classroom. Other students were facing off in hand to hand combat, but when I entered, they all stopped and stared at me.
A man, who I assumed was the instructor, spoke first, “How nice of you to join us, Warrior.”
I just looked at him. I couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t involve a curse word, so I didn’t say anything at all.
“Well, I hope you’re as good as they say,” He continued, “Because the person who is late gets to pair up with me.”
My heart jumped in excitement. This, I could handle. I’d never wanted to fight someone so bad in my life, and if he wanted to volunteer, then that was his mistake.
“I can’t wait,” I replied, and the class erupted into laughter as the teacher’s face went red.
We fought, and we both got our asses kicked. The rest of the students in the class just watched as we beat the crap out of each other. He was good, really good, and on any other day, I’m pretty sure I would have gotten taken down almost immediately. But, I was so full of anger and rage that my body seemed to act on its own accord. I was seeing red, and if the bell hadn’t rung, I doubt I would have stopped attacking until I passed out.
At the end, I was bloody and bruised and dripping with sweat. I looked up to see that he was in the same condition. He dismissed the class and we all started to file out.
“Warrior,” he said, as I was exiting. I was the last person to leave seeing as how I was still trying to catch my breath. I turned to face him. He nodded his head and smiled a bloody smile. “Not bad.”
I managed to smile back, wiping some blood from my lip. “Yeah, right back at ya.” He laughed and waved his hand for me to go. I left the room to find almost all of the students from my class waiting for me.
They all wanted to tell me how awesome I was in class just now. For the first time ever, I welcomed the attention. It was a good distraction from everything else that was going on in my life. I realized how nice it was to be treated kindly by my peers, after being treated like a freak for my entire life. But, these vampires didn’t see me as a freak, they thought I was cool. It was all pretty… cool.
Finally, they all left to go to their next classes, and I realized then that I was smiling. I exited the building and reached into my backpack to retrieve my schedule. Then, a smell wafted over to me that had me whipping my head around to find its source.
A guy was leaning against the wall, a lit cigarette dangling from his hand. His build suggested that he was a Brocken vampire, and his clothes suggested money. He was kind of handsome, I decided, in a way that seemed effortless. My eyes darted to his cigarette. A sly smile came over his face as eyes as blue as day came up to meet mine. He reached into his pocket, eyes never
leaving mine, and produced a pack of menthol cigarettes. He held them out in offering.
I took one. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” he replied. He tossed me a lighter. I lit the cigarette, tossed it back, and turned to leave.
“You are amazing,” he said from behind me.
I turned back to face him. I wasn’t really in the mood for small talk, but there was something about him that made me want to pay attention. “Thanks.” He gave a small bow, sly smile still on his lips. “I’m Tommy. You’re Alexa, right?” I nodded and he continued, “I’ve never seen anyone hand it to Patterson like that. I think he was kind of surprised too.”
I looked down at my body, which was covered in black in blue. “I think I got it handed right back to me.”
He laughed at that. He had a cute laugh. “You didn’t get knocked out. That’s amazing in itself. That guy’s a beast.”
“Yeah, I kind of noticed that.”
“What’s your next class?” he asked.
I glanced down at my schedule and groaned. “World History,” I said. “Why do I have to take that? I thought that we just trained to fight. Why would I need to know the history of our world?”
He laughed again. “That’s my next class too, and we have to take all the normal subjects that other schools offer. Knowledge is power, you know.”
“Wonderful. Is there somewhere I can shower up before I go there? I don’t want to walk in on my first day looking like this.”
His blue eyes studied me for just a moment too long. I half expected him to make some comment about how I still looked hot. He didn’t. “Sure, I’ll show you. Take your time. I’ll tell the teacher that you had to fight Patterson. She’ll understand.” I smiled at him. I think I liked this kid. “Thanks.”
He smiled back. “You are so very welcome.”
I showered and then headed to history. My teacher nodded to me and gave me a sympathetic look as she took in my injuries. The class was actually pretty interesting. I had never liked history, but this wasn’t the history I was accustomed to. This was vampire history and it was pretty cool. We even discussed Warriors, and I enjoyed learning about the people I had come from.
Tommy was there too, sitting in the rear of the class. I couldn’t help but turn my head a few times to look at him. Each time I did, he was looking right back, a half smile playing on his lips. I gradually felt my mood grow lighter. I still wasn’t happy, but I was as close to it as I could get considering the circumstances.
Lunch time came and I nearly tripped over my own feet trying to head to the cafeteria. The schools all had lunch at the same time and in the same building, so I would get to see Jack and Nelly. I missed them more than I had realized.
Tommy walked with me as we headed toward the building that housed the cafeteria. When we got close, I took my Mother’s necklace off and slipped it into my backpack.
Tommy gave me a questioning look but I just shrugged. I didn’t want Nelly to see it. I was planning to tell her what the Queen said, but right now, around all of our friends, was not the time to do it.
Our friends, I actually had friends. That realization shocked me almost just as much as everything else that had been happening lately. I hoped it would last. I needed something to be happy about.
As we entered the cafeteria, I came to a stop. The place was enormous. Students sat at tables and lined the areas where the food waited. My stomach growled as I took in how much food there was. They had every kind of food you could imagine, from Chinese to Italian. I hadn’t eaten since before the ceremony last night, and I was starving. First, though, I wanted to find Nelly, but it seemed impossible in this crowd.
To my relief, Nelly found me. She must have been watching the entrance for me, because she hopped up from where she had been sitting and ran over to me.
“Finally,” she breathed. “I’ve been waiting for you. I got you some food.” I smiled and gestured to Tommy. “Nelly, this is Tommy. Tommy this is my sister, Nelly.”
They exchanged greetings and Tommy told us he was going to grab some food and he would be right back. When I reached the lunch table, Jackson pulled out the chair next to him and I sat down. Daniel was also there, sitting next to Nelly.
“Hey, darling,” said Jack, leaning over to kiss my cheek.
I smiled at him and stuffed a big bite of pizza in my mouth. It was delicious, or maybe I was just that hungry. I nodded to Daniel who smiled back at me, then, I turned toward Jackson. “Hey, Jack. I’ve missed you.”
He raised his eyebrows and pretended to choke on his soda. “Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my Alexa?”
I was about to make fun of him for that stupid line, when Tommy pulled up a chair on the other side of me. “Your Alexa?” he asked. “We’ll see about that.” Jackson and Tommy locked eyes from both sides of me and sized each other up.
Before either of them could say something else stupid, I held up my hands. “Down, boys, I don’t feel like beating the two of you up right now.”
Across from me Nelly and Daniel laughed. Daniel said, “I don’t know, I think that would be pretty entertaining.”
“Well, I don’t like fighting for entertainment,” I snapped.
Daniel’s smile slipped off his face and he looked down at his hands. “Sorry.” Nelly was glaring at me now and I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m sorry, Daniel. I’m just kind of wound up right now.”
He shrugged. “It’s cool.”
Everyone went silent after that and I felt bad for bringing so much tension to the table. None of what was bothering me was their faults. I didn’t want my bad mood to rub off on them, so I asked them how they liked their classes.
“It’s awesome,” said Nelly.
“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “I really like it here. I like being around so many other wolves.”
“Have you talked to your parents?” I asked.
His expression turned sheepish. “Yeah, I guess they called my Aunt Marcia and found out I haven’t been there. They were a little mad, but I told them I would come back when I was ready.” He shrugged. “We’re wolves, sometimes we take off on our own for a while. They were just happy to hear I was safe.”
Conversation flowed easily after that. Everyone joked and told stories about their experiences thus far. Even Tommy and Jackson got along nicely. They all seemed to be so happy, so I pasted on a smile and tried to let myself enjoy their company. As I filled my belly with the greasiest food I could grab, I felt a little happier too. Glancing around me, I noticed that everyone here seemed to be pretty cheerful. Maybe life here wouldn’t be so bad after all. I could make something of myself and earn some money doing it. It really was a beautiful place; maybe I just hadn’t been allowing myself to see it.
Then, Tommy said something that snapped me out of my thoughts. “I can’t believe that man tried to blow up Queen Camillia, he deserves to be executed.” I almost choked on my brownie. “What are you talking about?” Tommy looked over at me, sly smile returning to his face. “They’re going to execute him.”
Chapter 34
The way Tommy said this pissed me off. It wasn’t his fault; he was just relaying an interesting piece of information. Still, I didn’t like hearing someone talk about execution so lightly. I just remained silent after that. There was obviously something wrong with me. The guy had tried to kill me. I shouldn’t care about the punishment he would face as a result of it. So why did I?
Maybe I had just been seeing too much death lately. I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that I had taken three lives. And I definitely hadn’t gotten over the news about my Mother.
Death was just a sore issue for me right now.
Nelly shot me a look from across the table that no one else noticed. She didn’t have to tell me what she was thinking. She knew something was wrong and wanted to know if I was going to tell her later. I gave a slight nod and she returned to her food and the conversation with the others.
When lunch ended we all headed off to separat
e classes. Tommy had Calculus next and I had Biology, so I guess I would be on my own for the rest of the day.
I actually enjoyed the classes I attended for the rest of the day. It was like a perfect mix of physical training and mental stimulation. In my conditioning class, I learned that my lungs weren’t as strong as they could be because I struggled when we were made to run up fifteen flights of stairs. I figured this might have something to do with the cigarettes, but if I had to choose between smoking and being able to run up a ridiculous amount of stairs, I’d choose smoking. I just hoped that it would get easier after a couple of months.
At the end of the school day, I met up with Jackson and Nelly outside of the school building. Jack said that he had something to do and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before heading off in a different direction.
That left me with just Nelly. I didn’t say much as we walked back toward my dorm room. My tongue felt thick in my throat and my breathing was shallow. Nelly seemed oblivious us to this and regaled me with the tales of her day. I smiled and laughed at the appropriate times, but my heart wasn’t in it. I was so glad to see her happy and I didn’t know how to tell her about what the Queen had told me. Even though Nelly had already accepted the loss of our Mother, I knew that it would just break her heart all over again to hear that acceptance confirmed. I didn’t know if I could do it, but she had a right to know just as much as I did.
When we reached my room she glided in and plopped down on my bed. I closed the door, and as soon as it was shut, Nelly’s tone changed. It was full of concern and frustration when she spoke. “Okay, Lex, you ready to tell me what’s been bothering you?” I sat down next to her and rubbed my temple. Why did I always forget that Nelly could see right through me? Of course she knew something was wrong. She had probably known as soon as she laid eyes on me in the cafeteria. Her tone had confirmed this.
I leaned over and grabbed my backpack from the floor, steeling myself for what I was about to tell her. “I saw the Queen today,” I told her. Reaching into my backpack, I scooped our Mother’s necklace up so that it was concealed in my fist, and set the backpack back down.
