Dark Night

by Stefany Rattles

  “Go ahead.” I waved a hand.

  “About two years ago, I had a boyfriend. His name was Max. He was a royal, one of the elite. We lived in Crimson house. Now, there are three floors, the first is where you’ll be with Genevieve, Robert, Delilah, Mereily and a few others. I will be on the second floor, Denise (Genevieve’s BFF), Jack, a few others I don’t recall. The third floor is where the young go, like Sophie. Each floor represents the importance of each group. The first is obviously called 1st Royalty, and etc, etc. Back to my story, Max was on the first floor he was very important, a lord. We were so in love.” Her eyes were tearing up but she quickly glanced away, cleared her throat and recovered. “So a few months went by, then suddenly Max was acting strange. He was doing weird things… well at the time I thought it was weird. But now I know better, and I know for a fact that he wasn’t going crazy, it was just a cover up story so no one would know the truth, but I do. Though I never said a word, it was his God that told on him and they took him away. They said that he was locked up somewhere where he was going to be fine, but… he isn’t. I know he isn’t. I know the truth, he….” She blinked, I could see the regret of her telling me this in her face, but I wanted to know now. There was obviously something going on, and Anna knew what it was.

  “What is it Anna? What did Max do?” I leaned forward and waited patiently.

  Now, tears escaped from her eyes and she swallowed before she could say a word. “He had powers. I don’t know why that was a bad thing, but they certainly thought so, they said it was unnatural, not from this world. But there was nothing dark about it, he told them the truth. And they just… took him.” She wiped her eyes with a tissue. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you that. It’s not something that you should be worrying about.”

  What she didn’t understand was, that I was already worried. From day one I knew this was all too good to be true. However, now I understood why she was so dark all the time, and why she didn’t like friendship. Who could blame her? “It’s that why they locked down Crimson House?” I asked already knowing the answer.

  She nodded, got up and went to her bathroom. I heard the sink running for a few seconds, then when she walked out she looked normal again, composed. “Now, are you ready to move in?” She tried to smile but failed, I could see through it all.

  “Sure.” I said weakly.

  We passed the dining room, and turned onto a hall that was almost at the end of the institute, Anna took out a key and we walked out through some back door that led through a patio, that led to a building that I used to think was the God’s dorm… but apparently not.

  The building looked brand new, though it wasn’t. It was all brick with some giant double doors that I swear looked impossible to open. Anna put a key in and pushed the door, it swung back all by itself and we walked through.

  The lobby was amazing, about twelve foot ceilings, bay windows all around, hardwood floors, and a fountain that sat a few feet away from us. It smelled so new, clean, there was two staircases that led upstairs, one on the right side, and one on the left that connected together at the balcony. There were some paintings by the front door that I recognized, they were Picasso’s. They were the originals, and that meant that this house was not just any dorm, it was exclusively for royalty, which I now was.

  Anna smiled slightly. “Come on, I have to show you your new room.” I saw two large French doors in between the stairs and wondered if they were the 3rd Royalty. We walked up the left stairs, and turned to face an elevator.

  “Seriously?” I asked in awe.

  She tried to giggle. “Yep, this is nothing just wait till you see your room.” She giggled again and I joined her.

  When we reached the third floor I was nervous, I didn’t know what to expect. The hall was long, and there were suitcases sitting outside each French door we passed, until I spotted mine which were the only ones with the color purple. This time it wasn’t the last door but close only three doors down, there were about twelve to fifteen rooms in this floor. Not that I was paying much attention, because I was excited. I turned to Anna for guidance.

  “Go ahead.” She said, handing me a key card with my full name on it. I slid it through, and pushed it opened.

  My eyes wend wide at the sight of my new room, it was to die for. For a second I thought I was Cinderella. I walked to the center of the room and took in my surroundings. There was a king sized canopy bed with a white comforter and pillows, lots of them. A bay window right beside the bed with a round, white chair, a cream colored chest at the foot of the bed, two side tables, one with a cute lamp and one with a clock., a dresser with a mirror on one side of the wall. Across the room was a fifty two inch flat screen TV, another round sofa facing it. One door on one side of the TV and another on the opposite side, there was study desk with a lap top sitting on it, a bookcase over it, and across from that was a mini fridge and a table with two chairs. The ceiling was round and at least ten feet high and a chandelier in the center of it. I had no words, literally.

  “So what do you think?” Anna startled me from behind.

  I swallowed. “Don’t you think this is a little over the top?” I knew I did.

  “You can always request to get your old room back__”

  “NO!“ I said too fast. “I mean no, I don’t want to cause anymore drama, but this is way too much.” I lay back on my soft comfortable bed.

  “You are a Princess you know. Now it’s the time to change.” When Anna said that, an idea came to mind.

  “Anna? How do you feel about a makeover?” I looked at her amused face.

  “Humor me.” She rolled her eyes.

  CHAPTER 24

  After checking out my bathroom which was one of the doors in my room, and checking out my huge walk in closet which was the second door, I was unpacking my things. I had also found an envelope on my desk that had a catalogue where you could order whatever you want. Anything from clothes, shoes, accessories, to school supplies TV’s, furniture. It also had a credit card with my name on it, and a letter from my parents. It said that I had unlimited credit, and that if there was something I wanted specifically, to just ask and I’ll get it. I was lightheaded, so I had to sit down.

  Then my cell phone rang.

  I received a text that said: Meet @ end of hall… last door. Robert. I put my cell in my back pocket and walked out of my room. The other suitcases and luggage were still outside the doors. I passed a few doors, and slowly opened the last door on the hall. When I walked in the room, it was completely dark.

  Someone flipped a switch on and the lights turned on. I was standing in front of some familiar faces, and some I didn’t recognize. Suddenly I wanted to cry when I saw Bonnie. “Bonnie!” I ran to her and hugged her.

  She hugged me back. “Chill girl.” I stepped back to have a closer look at her. Her short curls were now long and bouncy around her face. I glanced at the others that were standing in a line beside her, everyone wore a burgundy cloak on top of their clothes. I focused on their faces and my knees wobbled. Bonnie caught me and led me to a chair that was behind me.

  “Mia.” Robert said. I was too busy staring at the other people who were: Dana, Edgar, Chloe, Jewel, Cole, Eliza, Leo and some others that I didn’t recognize. “Mia.” Robert said again, getting my attention. “These are the new transfers who will be living here too.” He started to introduce them. “This is Bonnie, as you already know, Bonnie your room is across hers. Mia do you mind showing her?”

  “Of course not,” I said quickly.

  He nodded, and continued. “This is Dana, who I hear you also know. Here you go Dana.” He said handing her a key also. “Your room is on the first floor.” He said dismissing her. Dana looked so different I barely recognized her. She smiled, and waved at me as she left the room. “Next is Edgar, Edgar this is Mia. And you are also on the first floor.” He gave him a key and Edgar smiled at me shyly and walked out the room. “Also on the first floor is Chloe, Eliza and Cole.” He handed them all the k
eys, “Everyone this is Mia, and Mia this is Chloe, Eliza, Cole, Jewel, Leo, Matthew, Deyanara, Sebastian, Nina, Ivy, Augustine, Roman, Jade, and Leticia.

  “Hey.” They all said, and I nodded back.

  “Moving on….” Robert continued assigning each one their rooms and giving them directions while I was in shock still staring at Bonnie who just smiled. She seemed taller, and slender. Her skin was pale pink, and her eyes were the only ones that remained the same.

  “Gosh, you know you’ve been staring for a while now. It’s getting weird.” She laughed and I joined in.

  “Right, it’s just that I’ve missed you guys so much, I thought the worse. But now here you are…”

  “I know, we’re going to have so much fun! So where’s Mereily? I know she’s here, I have so much to tell you guys___”

  “Wait, Mereily is… sick. She’s in a comma right now… they don’t think she’s going to make it.” I whispered close to her ear.

  Bonnie’s face fell, and tears came to them. “Oh my god,” She whispered. “I thought she was better. A couple of months ago she told me that she was sick but that she was getting treatment for it. Last time I checked in with her she told me that she was as good as new. When did this happen?”

  “A few days ago she just collapsed, I don’t know why, they won’t say a word but I think something’s up.” I knew something was up, but I didn’t know what that was. Though now I definitely had to find out, there were a lot of unanswered questions.

  I stood up when Robert walked towards us. “How are you feeling?” His expression was of worry.

  “I’m fine. I want to know why you chose to do this here and why did they transfer?” I knew they would catch the rest of the people hiding in that building but I didn’t think that in a million years they would end up here, specially Cole, and Jewel. That was really unexpected.

  “Well, they were just sent by other institutes no questions asked, that’s how that works. The reason why I decided for you to be the first one to meet them was because I knew of the history you had with some of them, I didn’t want for you to be surprised when they introduce them at the ceremony tonight. Wouldn’t want you to pass out or anything right?” He cocked his head to the side and a cocky smile played on his handsome, sarcastic face.

  I rolled my eyes thinking that he cared about me but he wasn’t about to admit it, because I wasn’t the only princess on this campus and he knew it. So I let it pass for later and instead focused on the situation. “Sure.”

  “After the ceremony I need you both to be here for a private meeting. Don’t ask questions now just be here as fast as you can.” He instructed us as he walked us to the door. “Get settled in. And I’ll come by your room to get you.” The second part was strictly for me. Bonnie raised her eyebrows and smiled knowingly. Robert didn’t seem to notice, he closed the door behind us.

  As I walked Bonnie to her room I noticed that some suitcases were gone from their doors. Bonnie paused and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.” She said as she pushed the door open. She gasped at the sight of her room then she walked all the way in and started looking around. Her room was like mine, except her TV was smaller and she didn’t have a bay window.

  I helped her with her suitcases we sat them on her bed. “So tell me, how have you been? it’s been a while.” I said as I sat on the chair that was by her bed.

  “Oh, I’ve been great actually. The school I was at was smaller, nothing like this. It’s like a castle here, and I was impressed when they flew me here in a private plane. It has definitely been a journey, but now that I’m here I see that they are very serious, and organized. They don’t just let you run around and do whatever you want, when I first arrived I was staying in a five star hotel with the others, until this morning when they picked us up and brought us over. We had been in the office the whole morning until now, I am so glad to finally be here.” She said excited.

  “Why didn’t you return any of my emails? You could have told me ahead of time you know?” I remembered the many times I had tried to get in contact with her and Dana but nothing.

  “I never got an email from you, not even a phone number. I didn’t even know you were here till Lord Robert told us about all the drama going on with you, your sister and your parents. I was totally in shock and so were a few others, I didn’t know if he was talking about you at first. But then he showed us a picture and it was you!” She jumped to her feet and crossed her arms shaking her head while she laughed.

  “Yeah didn’t Mereily give you my number or something?” I asked confused.

  “No. She never mentioned you, I think that maybe she was told not to say anything, you know…. An oath,” She whispered. And then I understood, my friends had said they were under oath but I didn’t know if that applied to others, I guess it did.

  “Anyway, how about I leave you alone for now so you can unpack, when you’re done come by my room, its right across from yours. Then we’ll get ready together for this ceremony.” She agreed and I left.

  … The dress I was wearing was not comfortable, it was actually itchy and way too much for my taste. It was a Milan dress that had a tight corset then it would poof out and had a tail on the back, not only that it also had huge bow on the back. I was a fan of Milan, but this dress was not pretty at all. The corset was gold and the bottom half was a silky blue, the bow a deep red. I thought I looked like a clown. Bonnie texted me: Can’t make it, got a call from a God and have 2 meet @ audtrm, C u there!

  My doorbell rang and I went to open it, Robert was early. “Don’t laugh.” I warned him, but he simply smiled. My hair was actually up in a bun, displaying my tiara that was part of my outfit. “I feel ridiculous, how come I have to wear this? Can I not wear just a regular formal dress with no crown?” Irritated I turned to my mirror and put my earrings on.

  Robert followed behind and leaned against the wall. “No. You can’t, it’s your duty as a princess to look like one too.” A laugh escaped from his mouth.

  “Says the guy that only wears tuxedos, come on let’s get this over with.” My dress dragged as I walked.

  We walked in silence down the hall until Robert stopped in front of a door near the elevator, he knocked once. The door opened and Genevieve walked out wearing the exact same dress I was wearing. Genevieve glared at me and rolled eyes as she closed the door behind her. “Robbie baby, where were you? I’ve been looking for you___” She whined as she tried to get a hold of his hand. Robert simply pulled away and gave her a dirty look.

  “Not now Genevieve, we talked about this.” He said in a low voice, I was walking behind them. Observing Robert carefully, he was so handsome and adorable, and Genevieve was such a conniving, manipulative, little brat who didn’t deserve him. But I had no say in the matter, because I knew better I knew I had to let him go.

  She groaned. “This is bullshit! Why are you doing this, you know we belong together, and sooner or later you’re going to come crawling back to me, and when you do you’ll be sorry.” She paused for a second and turned to me. “And so will you.” She spat, before she stormed back the opposite way to take the other elevator.

  Robert sighed and then we walked all the way to the back of the auditorium in silence.

  CHAPTER 25

  When we arrived at the auditorium, Robert led me to the front row, where Genevieve was already sitting talking to her friends. The curtains on the stage were closed and there were only a few students wearing exquisite clothes, sitting on the first two rows whispering to each other. It wasn’t until we were sitting beside Genevieve that I realized that the rest of the royals clothes weren‘t as over the top as ours. Genevieve and I were the only two wearing the exact same dress, which I knew that was the reason why they stared. When she looked over at me she rolled her eyes, whispered something in the ear to a girl that was sitting next to her (Denise), then they exchanged seats.

  “Ignore her, she likes the attention.” Robert whispered in my ear. He didn’t move for a second and as I loo
ked up at him he backed away slowly. Those lips were totally kissable, yet we were surrounded by people, so I sighed and looked up to the stage as Abi walked towards the podium.

  Everyone fell silent.

  “Hello, you were asked to meet early for a simple rehearsal.” She paused for a second searching for someone then she stopped when she spotted me, and smiled. “Princess Mia Dawney, and Princess Genevieve Stuart, please stand up.” We stood. “Both of you need to go around the curtains and seat in the middle of the stage.” She nodded right to the direction we were supposed to go, and we followed. I already knew which entrance to take, that left Genevieve behind me, following which I knew she didn’t like. After all the time she had been here, I wondered how she didn’t know this.

  We didn’t say a word until we were backstage. “Well, this is new.” Genevieve said in a sour tone, to herself. We stepped on stage and there were a few rows of fancy chairs around two throne chairs, which I knew automatically who they were for our parents.

  The throne looked like it was made out of gold and not comfortable at all. We took our seats while we heard Abi giving directions to the rest of the students.

  …When the ceremony actually began, I was excited for once. I had been tired of hearing Genevieve blabbering about herself nonstop, it was ridiculous how conceded she was.

  I saw Abi pull the curtain up and when she did, my excitement died. Staring back were hundreds of students sitting quietly in the auditorium. The lights, lighting the stage were almost blinding. I couldn’t see the faces clearly, while Genevieve and I sat silently alone by the throne on stage. Then the lights dimmed a little, a sound of someone playing a piano came from the walls that surrounded us. It was a pretty, relaxing melody that silenced every soul.