Pride x Familiar

by Albert Ruckholdt

  “Why should now be any different from all the times we’ve shared in the past?”

  “Because you’re an Aventis and I’m a Familiar.” He said it softly yet with no room for argument.

  I took a deep breath. “Then why can’t we start over, as Aventis and Familiar? The Prides have no law preventing us from associating with one another. And there’s nothing in the student handbook that says we can’t talk to each other.” I shook my head slowly. “There’s no law that says we can’t be friends.”

  He was looking at me with a steady gaze. “You’re being naïve, Haruka.”

  I inhaled sharply.

  He shoved his hands into trouser pockets. “Familiars are bonded to the Prides. We’re servants to the Prides, but with more privileges than Regulars.”

  “I know that.”

  “You’re Pride is Avenir. My affiliated Pride is Lanfear.”

  I swallowed a little. “Yes, I know that.”

  “Avenir and Lanfear don’t mix.”

  I sighed. “It’s not as bad as you make it sound. I’ve looked into the situation with both Prides. There’s no outright animosity between them. In fact they have an amicable relationship here in Pharos.” I indicated the Academy buildings beyond the garden. “Here at Galatea, there’s no trouble between the two Prides.”

  “Because they keep away from each other.”

  “That isn’t true….”

  “Our social standing is different.”

  “That hasn’t stopped people in the past.”

  “You mean people in love….”

  I thought my heart was going to burst apart the moment he said those words, and he said them while looking straight into my eyes.

  He was challenging me to reply with a counter.

  Or was he expecting me to agree?

  I had trouble meeting his gaze.

  Caelum sighed softly, almost lost in the breeze. “Haruka…tell me the truth.”

  I struggled to get a single word out, yet he remained so calm. “What truth?”

  “Did you ever see me as more than a friend? What was I to you?”

  My throat tightened painfully, and I couldn’t reply.

  Long seconds went by, until he eventually chuckled lightly under his breath. He turned his face away. “Sorry. Forget I asked.”

  My heart was beating painfully in my chest. It was just like that day seven months ago when he bid farewell to our friendship. I was reliving that pain all over again.

  Caelum regarded our surroundings. “I made a mess of things. All those years in school, I made a mess of things for you.”

  I managed a hoarse whisper. “What do you mean?”

  “You were popular, Haruka. There were so many guys that wanted to confess to you. So many guys that wanted to approach you.”

  He wasn’t telling me anything new. Why was he bringing this up now?

  He shook his head slowly. “I was asked so many times to put in a good word for you because they all saw us as childhood friends and nothing more. As far as they were concerned, the only reason you hung around me was because of that. Why else would a beautiful girl be friends with me? It pissed me off that what they said was true.”

  I frowned at him.

  He muttered loudly, “I got fed up being their errand boy. That landed me in a few fights.”

  “I know….”

  I was the one that would patch him up before classes resumed whenever he returned to the classroom like the walking wounded.

  He laughed bitterly. “You’d ask me why, and I’d tell you those guys weren’t good enough for you.”

  I nodded slowly.

  He snorted. “Some of those guys were a lot better than me. Some of them would have looked good beside you. Some of those guys, I think I actually approved of.”

  “…what…?”

  “But I was jealous.”

  My eyes widened for a rapid heartbeat. “Huh?”

  “I was jealous of them. I was jealous of every guy that confessed to you, or approached you in a way that made their intentions clear.”

  I couldn’t stop myself frowning. “Why?”

  “Because they had more courage than me. I was envious of their resolve. Then I’d think of my situation and I had no choice but to accept the truth.”

  “What do you mean? What truth?”

  “That we were only childhood friends, and that I had more to risk than they did. It wasn’t a case of just crash and burn for me. It wasn’t a game for me. If I lost, then I lost for good and it wasn’t just a rejection. It was the end of what we had together as friends.”

  “Caelum, you….”

  He gave me a nod. “Yeah, I thought about it countless times. I thought about it every time I heard some guy had asked you out and been shot down.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  He looked at me in disbelief. “I just told you why.”

  I looked at him stupidly. “Did you really think I would reject you?”

  Caelum was quiet for a moment before he blurted out, “Of course I did. Why do you think I never asked you?”

  “So you’d already decided on the outcome by yourself.”

  “I already knew the outcome.”

  I clenched my hands and couldn’t stop my arms from trembling. “Do you know how tiring it was to reject each and every guy that came up to me?”

  He shook his head. “No, but I did try to save you the trouble.”

  I growled in my throat. “You would have saved me the trouble if you’d just told me how you felt.”

  “I couldn’t tell you—”

  “Because you’re a coward.”

  He blanched, then swallowed a heartbeat later. “I had no choice.”

  I leaned back and yelled up at the sky.

  “Haruka?”

  “You are impossible! You are so impossible to deal with.”

  I was hyperventilating.

  Why was I blaming him? I was the same. I fell into the same trap he did. I had the same reasons he did for not confessing. In fact, I was hard set on believing he should be the one to make the first move.

  I should have never listened to all those stupid advice columns.

  Why the Hell did I read those idiotic magazines? Was I looking for a miracle solution to the problem?

  I pressed down on my chest.

  This was my problem. I should have fixed it myself rather than listening to someone else’s advice.

  I should have told him how I felt.

  I gasped.

  Caelum was standing over me, his arms on my arms. “Haruka? Haruka what’s wrong?”

  I tried pushing him away but he was stronger than me.

  What? I’m an Aventis and he’s a Familiar. Shouldn’t I be the stronger one?

  “Let me go,” I pleaded.

  “Not until you calm down.”

  Again I growled in my throat. “Stop acting so mature. This is your fault after all.”

  “Huh?”

  “It’s because you never told me the truth.”

  He dropped his hands from my arms. His expression grew neutral, unreadable. “You haven’t answered my question.”

  I blinked at him dumbly. What question? I tried thinking back to the start of the argument. What had he asked me? Why couldn’t I remember?

  Caelum saved me from floundering through my short term memory.

  “Haruka, did you ever see me as more than just a friend?”

  Ah…that question.

  His eyes were locked onto mine.

  No running away this time. It had finally come to this point, and Caelum wanted an answer.

  I opened my mouth, but no air came out. No sound. No words.

  Why? Why didn’t my voice work? Damn it, not now!

  I tried again without success.

  Caelum turned away, and my heart sank.

  My reaction had hurt him. He took my inability to reply for an answer.

  And so he turned away.

  But he wasn’t moving awa
y. In fact, he was standing in front of me looking toward the trees at the far end of the garden.

  I peeked around him, and my breath caught.

  A girl stood at the opposite entrance to the garden.

  A girl with long, flowing locks of golden hair, a large bust, and enviable figure eight body topping a pair of slender, shapely legs.

  The Princess of the Seniors.

  Prissila Ventiss Raynar.

  Behind her stood another girl with a poise that reminded me of Caprice Steiner. This girl remained a few feet away from Prissila, her eyes watching me, Caelum and the garden in somewhat equal measure.

  I glanced at Caelum who was looking at Prissila but I had the feeling he was actually more worried about the girl behind the Princess.

  He turned to me quickly, and his gaze forcefully grabbed mine. “Haruka, I’m sorry but I’m going to need your help.”

  “Wh—what do you want me to do?”

  He reached out and took hold of my left wrist. “I’m sorry. I won’t take much.”

  I watched him bring my wrist up to his lips. “Caelum?”

  “The bleeding won’t last long. Staunch it, and then get out of here.”

  My eyes grew wide, very wide, at sight of him sink his canines into my wrist.

  Siobhan’s words came back to me.

  Just remember, Familiars are like vampires.

  It hurt like Hell when my skin tore.

  It hurt even more to watch him drink the crimson fluid that welled up from the wounds.

  And then after a few moments it was over.

  Caelum had a handkerchief in hand, and he used it to wipe at his mouth a moment before pressing it down on my punctured wrist.

  “Keep pressure on it,” he said.

  I didn’t need to be told twice. I looped the handkerchief around my wrist, and applied pressure to the wound. I looked up at him.

  Caelum looked to be in pain but he was doing his best to hold it back.

  “Go,” he said. “Get out of here. She’s not here for you.”

  I started shaking my head, but he reached out and bodily spun me away from him.

  “Get going,” he snapped while pushing me away. It wasn’t hard enough to make me stumble, but I did stagger for several feet.

  I half turned to face him. “Caelum—”

  I watched him start to unbutton his shirt. “Wh—what are you doing?”

  “I don’t want it to get dirty.”

  “What? Why?” I arched my eyebrows at him. “Caelum, do you and the Princess have some sort of relationship.”

  “Gah—you’re not seriously asking me that, are you?”

  “Well do you?”

  He looked aghast and stopped unbuttoning his shirt. “No—definitely not what you’re thinking.”

  “Then—?”

  “Haruka, leave. Everything will be fine, but you need to go.”

  I started to scowl at him in protest.

  Suddenly he was right before me. His eyes looked into mine as though staring straight into my soul. His face, his presence, completely consumed my awareness.

  I felt him…inside my mind.

  I heard his voice…inside my head.

  “Go Haruka. Run.”

  I could barely breathe let alone protest. Then suddenly my body began to move. It started backing away unsteadily from him.

  Then it turned and ran.

  I regained control as I fled down the path that led out of the garden. It stretched through an arcade of trees. Once past the trees, the path curved sharply in the direction of the east wing of the academy building.

  I ran without looking back.

  When I came to a stop, I realized I was standing at the foot of the steps that led up to a glass entrance.

  This was the main building and entrance for us high schoolers.

  The middle schoolers building was off to the east a couple of hundred meters away.

  I looked up and through the wall of tinted glass, and saw a few students milling about inside. They were in the lobby where the shoe lockers stood.

  True to their word, Siobhan and Alistair were waiting inside. They were standing near the glass wall, and it was Alistair who saw me first when she turned to look outside.

  They both rushed out the entrance and down the steps.

  They both cried out, “Haruka.”

  My breathing had recovered by then. “The Princess came to the garden. She came for Caelum.”

  Siobhan looked uneasy. “So those rumors were true….” Her voice trailed away when she suddenly reached out and grabbed my wounded left wrist. “What the Hell?” Her eyes bore into me. “Haruka—what the Hell is this?”

  “He—he drank from me.”

  “What? Why?”

  I shook my head quickly. “I don’t know. But—but it’s weird. There was another girl with the Princess but she wasn’t one of the regular four. Caelum—Caelum looked afraid of that girl.”

  A big frown settled on Siobhan’s face, but Alistair had grown pale.

  “Where—where are they?” Alistair asked.

  “The garden. The one we go to sometimes.”

  Alistair hefted her carry-bag and started to walk in the direction I’d run from.

  Siobhan stared at her then called out, “Ally, where are you going?”

  Alistair ignored her and picked up her pace.

  Siobhan grabbed my shoulders. “Stay here. I’ll go after her.”

  Then she ran after Alistair.

  Like Hell was I going to stay here.

  I chased after them at a run, and caught up quickly though I felt slightly winded. I was noticeably stronger as an Aventis, but outside of physical education class I never exercised. I was starting to regret my distinct lack of fitness.

  Then again, it was hard to exercise with breasts as large as mine.

  And I really shouldn’t be running around without the proper support.

  Siobhan asked, “Ally, what’s going on? What’s got you rattled?”

  Alistair replied, “Siobhan, you know about my brother, right?”

  “Yeah, he’s the—”

  “My brother told me the Princess caused trouble for the Raynar and Lanfear Prides a while ago. But it also affected the Ventiss Family’s relationship with us Kells. In fact months later and relations between my family and hers are still strained.”

  “So what’s your point? Are you saying the Princess is causing trouble here at the academy?”

  Alistair shrugged quickly. “Maybe. But there’s something else that worries me.”

  Siobhan leaned forward as she hurried. “Like what?”

  “Caelum Desanto, Caprice Steiner, Maya Khayman and Rina Sayen are not the only Familiars in this school. There are a dozen more Familiars here at Galatea. But there’s a second year student, a Familiar in Class Two Cee, and she’s a Special.”

  I was surprised Alistair knew the Familiars by name, but what did she mean by Special?

  Alistair glanced at Siobhan. “That girl answers to the Ventiss Family.”

  I blurted out, “Wait—you mean the girl that shadows the Princess?”

  Alistair nodded. “Yes, that girl.”

  Siobhan growled softly. “So? So what?”

  Ahead of us the paved path curved back toward the garden and disappeared behind the arcade of bushy trees.

  Quite abruptly Alistair came to a stop, and Siobhan and I almost collided with her.

  Since Alistair was blocking my view I moved to my left, and saw a familiar girl standing on the path.

  She had long black hair tied high into a single ponytail, and she was dressed in the midnight-blue blazer and white skirt of a second year high-schooler. She had what the boys would call sexy legs, but more importantly she was using those sexy legs to block the footpath.

  She faced the three of us. “I suggest you go back.”

  Alistair inhaled deeply. “What’s going on, Steiner?”

  “Nothing to do with you,” Caprice replied.

&nb
sp; Alistair nodded. “Fine. But I still want to know.”

  Caprice was quiet for a moment. “Did your brother send you? Are you doing his bidding?”

  Alistair frowned then shook her head. “I’m here because I just want to know why Prissila Ventiss is seeking out Caelum Desanto. After all, the Ventiss Family has history with us Kells.”

  Caprice nodded faintly and I almost missed it in the artificial afternoon light. “Yes, as do I. So I suggest for now you let things be and let me handle them.”

  Alistair hurriedly asked, “What are you going to do?”

  “Support Caelum. What else would I do?” She started turning away.

  I quickly stepped around Alistair. “Wait. Can you tell us what’s going on?”

  Caprice remained on the path, half turned in our direction. Her almond eyes betrayed no emotion. She was like a life-sized doll molded with exotic, beautiful features that held not a single trace of life in them.

  “Haruka Amiella, you’ve done enough for now. Please, do not associate with Caelum Desanto anymore.”

  I felt my stomach harden. “Caelum is my friend. You don’t have the right to tell me what to do.”

  “Then you will get hurt,” she stated flatly.

  “What? Are you threatening me?”

  She shook her head faintly. “No. I’m stating it for your well-being.”

  “What?”

  “Caelum is no longer the Caelum you knew.”

  “I know that. He’s a Familiar. He drank my blood—I know he’s different.”

  Caprice’s eyes glanced at my wrist.

  I stepped closer. “You can’t stop me. If you hurt me, you hurt Caelum. Do you think he would allow you to hurt me? How do you think he’d treat you if you did?”

  She remained quiet but her eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch.

  I pressed on, and stepped a couple of feet closer. “You think I haven’t noticed?”

  “Noticed what?”

  “You play the doll quite well, but it’s not perfect. I’ve watched you around him. That mask of yours slips off when he’s around you. You have a rather shy smile don’t you.”

  Her eyes narrowed a little more.

  I straightened, feeling a little more confident as I did.

  I was willing to bet Caprice wouldn’t risk harming me for fear of what Caelum would do if he found out.

  I gave her a nod. “I’m not the only one that’s noticed. The other girls have too. There are a lot of rumors about the two of you, and it’s only been a week since school started.”