Starlight

by Lauren Jade Case

  Natalia stared. He was tall and slender with slicked back blond hair. Around his left eye rested a monocle. The monocle itself enhanced the eye’s bright golden colour, contrasting the other’s royal blue. He wore a blue jacket with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket. The golden insides of the jacket made it seem like it was rippling.

  He smiled and the air vanished from Natalia’s lungs.

  Fangs extended from the corners of his mouth, long ones that could graze his jaw if he closed his lips. His tongue flicked out to lick the fangs.

  “Vampire,” she half-whispered. Her shoulder’s itched more.

  “I’m the Vampire, dear Fairy,” he said. His whole demeanour was composed.

  “I don’t want to seem rude, but do you mind if—”

  “You take a minute?” He shook his head calmly. “Go, little one.”

  Natalia power walked from the room; a spritz of air burst inside her lungs as if she’d escaped from an air-less bubble. She aimed for the stairs and crawled up them on all fours. At halfway the banister changed into solid wall, and Natalia folded in on herself, hugging her knees.

  Of all the crazy things she’d experienced so far, somehow this topped them all.

  Every other moment was blurry because of a distraction at the time but this one was happening in quiet. No Monster was breathing fire or cracking lightning and there were no fast-paced explanations she had to accept like her life depended on them. This was a slow moment, one she had time to face.

  There was a damned Vampire in this house.

  Natalia touched over her chest, as if her heart might flee at any moment, her palms and forehead slick with sweat.

  “You alive up there?”

  Natalia broke out of her staring contest with the steps as Jasper crawled up towards her, sitting a few steps lower to give her some space. He pressed his back to the wall, one leg to his chest with the other dangling.

  “Gold won’t think you’re being rude,” he promised. She grimaced but he didn’t notice. “In fact, he’s impressed you asked to be excused.”

  Natalia hadn’t worried about then, until now. She stared as she continued to shake. “He said that, did he?”

  Jasper looked up at her then. “Which part?”

  “Any of it.”

  “He knows you’re new to this and knows you need an adjustment period. He was just having fun with you.”

  “Fun?” Natalia screeched. It rang through her ears like a bird’s cry.

  “But he didn’t know how little you actually knew.”

  “Before the other day, I knew nothing!”

  “Exactly. Which is why he won’t take offense to you running off.”

  “I didn’t run. I walked.”

  “Power-walked. We all saw.”

  Natalia groaned, “Really?”

  Jasper laughed heartily. “If I didn’t know you were a Fairy, I would’ve assumed you were a Vampire because of how fast you moved.”

  Natalia dropped her head into her hands.

  “He didn’t mean any harm by what he did and he accepts you’re new,” he continued. “But Gold’s the best you could hope for when it comes to meeting a Vampire for the first time. Someday, you’ll have to be introduced to everything. And they won’t all be that nice, or playful.”

  She raised her head slightly to stare down at him; an odd action since she had to look up at him before. “Is that a professional or personal opinion?” she asked, noting how his smile vanished and his green eyes shone despite the lack of light. “I could easily lock myself away and never meet anything again.”

  “You could,” he agreed. “Will you?”

  Could I really give this up? She thought. Could I run from it all?

  After all she’d already been through, Natalia sensed there was no turning back now. As much as coming face to face, teeth to fangs, with a Vampire had made her heart stop and her mind see blood, she supposed it could’ve been worse. Maybe some Vampires weren’t as nice as Gold but Monsters were worse still, and Natalia had already met her fair share of those.

  She realised then that Jasper was staring. He seemed to be waiting for an answer while already knowing what she’d say. There was a twinkle in his eye, a curiosity, but she couldn’t pinpoint what he was curious about exactly.

  Without warning, she stood. Jasper watched her and she matched his gaze in return. He must’ve seen something because he smiled and stood too.

  Despite being shaky and sweaty, she accepted the hand Jasper offered. They descended together, Natalia retrieving her hand once they were off the steps.

  Crossing the threshold into the living room had everyone turn their watchful eyes distinctly to her.

  The Vampire stood, glided over, and touched Natalia’s hand without a word. She was too scared to do anything and waited with baited breath as warm lips pressed to her skin.

  “To second beginnings,” he declared to the room like a toast.

  Natalia avoided looking directly at him, thinking she’d rather not face his fangs again. “I’m sorry,” she said, guilt winding through her body. “For running out. I was—”

  “Overwhelmed?” Gold, as he’d called himself, provided.

  He threw a defanged smile in her direction. His golden eye glinted and she was mesmerised by it. She blinked and suddenly it seemed less appealing, like it’d lost its magic to her.

  “It’s not because of you,” she said. “Until the other day, I didn’t even know what I was, let alone what else is out there.”

  “My girl, you need not explain yourself. This world is new, freshly birthed to you unlike your favourable, I imagine, Human one. That in itself is awfully fascinating. Something we must discuss if you will allow me to offer you tea some time?”

  Natalia managed a smile. The way Gold spoke, it was like he belonged in a different century. Maybe he did, something she would have to ask him sometime. Maybe indeed over tea, she thought. Just never say “freshly birthed” again.

  Realising she hadn’t verbally replied, she said, “I think I can do that.”

  “Excellent!” Gold cried. He lowered his voice again. “But if you don’t mind, for the time being, I need to speak with you. Preferably alone.”

  “Alone?”

  “I will not bite.” He smiled and Natalia double checked for fangs, but they hadn’t reappeared. “The idea that brought me here was about talking to you, and not about tea. If you wish to have those you trust remain, then I see no reason why they cannot. There is nothing that I have to say that they cannot hear. I would just have thought that being alone with me would make you feel more comfortable in my presence over time. Settle the differences, shall we say, together, between two parties.”

  Natalia looked to the others. While they were here, guiltily, she did feel safer. But was that just because she didn’t understand what she’d been forced to confront? Would she feel better about Gold by giving him the chance?

  She caught Jasper’s eyes and he offered her a single, subtle, nod. She trusted Jasper, and so if Jasper trusted Gold she could try too.

  Settle the differences.

  “Ok,” she agreed, facing Gold again.

  “Cross my undead heart,” Gold promised as he drew a cross over his chest. “I will not harm you. The minute you wish to stop, or you wish to have company, I will respect it. Everything is in your hands.”

  There was no issue with her stomach – no pinch anywhere. She gave him a nod, not trusting her words, and he gave one in return.

  Peri launched to her feet, ushering everyone out, saying that they should get dinner started. She threw Natalia a lasting look. Natalia knew exactly what it meant; the very minute she felt unsafe, Peri would be there.

  Once the room was cleared, Gold directed himself and Natalia to the sofa. Natalia sunk into it, shuffling to face the Vampire who now held her undivided attention. She tried crossing her legs for comfort but with Gold’s intense eyes staring her down like he never needed to blink, and with the memory of his fangs fre
sh in her mind, she figured she wasn’t about to feel any less on edge.

  Gold clasped his hands together. “The beginning is always the best place to start. Unless it’s a horror story. Then working backwards is more effective.”

  “Is that why you’re here? To tell a horror story?” Natalia fiddled with her trouser leg. She tugged on a loose thread, fixating on it until it pulled free.

  Gold touched her face, guiding it up, his fingers warm pokers under her chin. When their eyes connected, he let her go, the warmth gone with him. “No, my girl,” he lulled. “There is no horror story.”

  “I’m sorry.” She let go of the thread. “I don’t mean to be rude, I’m just curious why you’re here. You said you came to talk, but why? How did you know I was going to be here? How do you know who I am?”

  Gold laughed and it sent a shiver down Natalia’s spine, the kind of shiver that only came when something beautiful was sung. When he stopped, the air settled. “One question at a time, I think,” he said calmly. “I didn’t know you were going to be here until you made the decision to come.” Natalia went to interrupt but Gold held up a hand to silence her. “Vampires have ways of knowing things. They can use certain Crystals—”

  “Crystals?” Natalia blurted, unable to contain herself.

  “They come from this world and plane, the layers of Hells, and sometimes other planes in general.”

  “Other planes?”

  Gold smiled, kindness lighting his eyes; the gold vaguely disappeared, but the blue one never faltered. “It’s easy to forget how little you know. You are so ready to accept this world.”

  “I’m sorry.” In reality, she wanted to argue how she hadn’t yet fully accepted this world because there was so much to accept. But an apology sounded better.

  “There is nothing wrong with wanting to know more or simply wanting more. Never apologise for trying to understand, my girl. Knowledge is power and the highest kind. It will get you the furthest if you’re smart enough to master it.”

  Natalia cast her gaze down. “I’ll try to not interrupt.”

  “Save your questions,” he agreed. She glanced back up, her eyes wandering along his unaged face. How old was he? He could’ve been one thousand or twenty. “I may explain and answer what you want to ask as I talk.” He nodded, seeming satisfied. “By planes, I meant planes of existence. But before that, where was I? My poor old brain cannot simply be stopped. Ah, yes! Us Vampires, if we know how, can connect to another life. To be quite honest though, most Crystal work is considered old fashioned now. But anyway. I saw that you were debating coming here over staying at your residence. When you decided, I knew where to find you and arrived ahead.”

  “To talk?”

  “This is where it gets a little more complex,” he tipped his head, his monocle unmoving, “or interesting.”

  “I don’t know if I like the sound of that.”

  “The Council?” He phrased it like a question. “They wish to speak to you.”

  Her brown eyes swam in the dusk light. “The Council?”

  “Apparently, they have no records on you. That is nobody’s fault,” Gold added quickly. “They are merely interested in amending their files.”

  “Like a thing to collect? And they sent you?”

  “I owe them a favour or two.”

  He glanced away for a split second. Natalia saw it then; a glimpse into a soul that was very old. But when he looked back, the youth returned, though his eyes seemingly held centuries of secrets in their depths. Natalia couldn’t help but wonder how much the Vampire had actually been through.

  Gold cleared his throat. “They asked me to come, to see if I could convince you to go and see them.”

  “Seems like an awful lot of trouble for one person.”

  “One Fairy,” he emphasised.

  She shook her head to free it from cobwebs. “It’s easy to forget.”

  “Or you still wish to forget.” Natalia stared at him, open-mouthed. Gold took her hand and patted it. “I’m not here to judge. I am only here to offer my services as a guide for your journey and as a friend on your side. They want to add you to their system, not a collection, especially if you’re considering joining the Purpose of our kind. It’s standard procedure for them to have records – birth’s, marriages, deaths.”

  The silence Gold offered engulfed her. White noise burned inside her ears. If hadn’t been opposite her, clasping her hand, she would’ve forgotten he was her company.

  Natalia sat like stone, as much as her hyper breathing allowed. There wasn’t a choice here. Gold was probably under instruction to drag her screaming if she disagreed. Why else would they send a Vampire she’d never met instead of a letter of invitation?

  That made up her mind.

  She nodded once.

  “We shall leave tomorrow,” Gold announced.

  Natalia paused. “My dad? Can he come?”

  Gold’s eyes narrowed. “Is he a Creature?”

  “Human.”

  Gold abandoned her hand. “I can ask.”

  “Tell the council that if he can’t come, I won’t be either.”

  Her words circled inside her head, her heart pounding to their fierce tune. When had she become so brave? Brave enough to challenge an entity she had no grounding with when she barely believed who she was?

  Gold grinned. “I will,” he promised. “And if I may make a judgement? You’ll make a fine Fairy.”

  She didn’t know she needed the approval, but her eyes welled. She tried to blink them away and thankfully managed too.

  “You still have questions,” Gold surmised as he stood. “Ask them.”

  Natalia stood alongside him. “Why would the Council have no records on me?” Where had that come from?

  Gold adjusted his monocle as if to get a clearer perception. “Probably because you were brought up in the Human world from birth,” he answered. “Would you be surprised if I told you that, though it was and is uncommon, it does happen? A few Creatures every few years are found to be undocumented.”

  “Do you collect them all?”

  “There is no collecting. And no. I only search for the special ones.”

  “Special?” Natalia’s shoulder blades itched. “What makes me special?”

  “I do not know. Perhaps they have seen potential in you? Or it might be because of who your mother was?”

  Natalia inhaled sharply. “My mother?” she whispered.

  “Your last name. I doubt it was explained to you how important it is,” he said, straightening his jacket. “The Fairy Kingdom, which is an entire land that exists on its own inside this plane, the same way Home City does, has a royal family. Their last name is Royal, for obvious reasons. The Queen of the Kingdom had two daughters. The oldest was to receive the Throne. She has had no heirs, and has not yet married either. Though Fairies, unlike other Creatures besides Vampires, have extensive life-spans compared to other Creatures. But that’s off topic.

  “Because the eldest daughter took the Royal name, and is meant for the Throne, the other daughter was given another name. Yet it was not spoken. She asked everyone who called on her to use her first name only.

  “One day, however, she left. It was said she didn’t want to have a life in the palace, and instead wanted to fight Monsters and save lives, and the Queen let her go as it was her daughter’s right to choose.

  “That daughter, the second heir, had the last name you carry, Natalia. The name of Whitebell.”

  The second heir was my mother?

  A lump formed in her throat and her blood ran cold. Did her mother really leave a Kingdom and being a princess to live out her Creature Purpose? And then she’d gone on to hide Natalia from the very Purpose which she’d now chosen for herself? That didn’t make any sense. Natalia covered her face. Just when she’d thought she was free of surprises, here was another, ready to pierce like an invisible blade into her sanity.

  It sounded plausible, but it didn’t make sense.

  �
�I did not mean to displease or upset you,” Gold said solemnly.

  Before she could respond, the door was kicked open, sending it smacking into the wall. Natalia jumped and turned to the noise. Archie and Jasper were by the door’s frame, but Peri was ahead of them, already in the room.

  “And what’s going on in here?” Peri asked harshly, her brown eyes lingered on Gold. Natalia noticed Peri was holding a golden three forked trident. “I sensed a change.”

  “Mermaids,” Gold huffed, turning to Natalia, “can sense people’s emotions and notice when there’s a change. Though they can’t always tell what the change is.”

  “I’m ok,” Natalia said, sending her stomach reeling. Archie’s green eyes bore into her as they narrowed on her and Gold.

  “You have lots to discuss,” Gold told them all. He flurried past to the doorway. Still cast in the light of a sunset, he exuded confidence; Natalia wished to be equal in what Gold seemed to be. He gave Jasper a sweeping glance as if interested in him in some way, and then returned his gold and blue eyes to Natalia. “I shall meet you on the dawn. Be packed and ready. Rest well.”

  Gold left.

  Peri zeroed in on Natalia. “What’s going on?”

  “Can you promise you won’t stab me if I tell you?” Natalia asked, pointing. Peri glanced down at her still raised trident and she lowered it eagerly. “I have to go see the Council,” she said, not bothering to waste more time. “Apparently, they have no records of me and now need some.”

  “Have to?”

  “I think I’ll be dragged kicking, screaming, or unconscious if I don’t go willingly.”

  “What about drugged?” Jasper piped up. Natalia’s eyes found him; his blazing green eyes matched the mischief in his grin. “Was there a chance of you being drugged if kicking, screaming, or being unconscious weren’t viable options?”

  Natalia wanted to laugh, thankful for the change in pace and how easily Jasper made her feel comfortable despite the situation. It was like he knew what she needed and was providing it – had he been in this situation, the roles reverse in some ways, for him to know?

  Peri, however, took the situation more seriously. “Why don’t they have records on you already?”