Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 66: Vanilla

Over

I stretch and yawn, sitting up in my dorm room bed. The soft warmth of the late–fall sunlight streams through the window, casting a syrupy glow of the room. I blink away the remnants of a dreamless sleep, my new reality dawning on me. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

I cast my eyes over to the cork bulletin board, moments with my new sorority sisters captured in photographs, concert tickets, and mementos, sealing the history we’ve shared in the jam–packed two months since I left the Castle of Endless Night and began attending college. An elegant quote written in blue ink on lined paper is struck to the bottom, reading “Sisters by fate, friends by choice.”

So much has happened in these past two months. I’ve met so many people, learned so much, attended so many classes.

A corner desk by the window holds a laptop and a vase of fresh flowers, California poppies, aptly enough, their bright orange cups seeming to brim with sunlight. Sorority banners and framed photos adom the walls, and a rolled–up yoga mat stands ready for Kirstin’s morning practice, when she gets back from her sleepover with her boyfriend.

And I get on so well with my roommate Kirstin – we were like instant best friends, glued at the hip from the moment we met on Orientation Day.

I notice my wardrobe is slightly ajar, revealing the Halloween costume I picked up yesterday for the party tonight. It’s a tacky, unflattering, and rather worn witch’s costume worn by a hundred people before on countless Halloween nights, that doesn’t do any favours for my figure. It came with a pointed hat that instantly reminds me of Mircea, the real witch I met a few months ago. I wonder how she’s doing, whether she’s still at the Castle of Endless Night, or if she ventured out into the broader world. I also wonder how Luka is getting on, if he and Aleksandr have put the past behind them, or if I continue to cause tensions between them even after my departure.

My eyes drifting back to the wardrobe, I sigh, dreading having to wear the musty old dress to tonight’s party. I wasn’t thrilled about the witch’s outfit, but Kirstin, always up for fun and a good time, talked me into it. She’s going as a black cat, the Salem to my Sabrina, because of my long blonde hair

As I push thoughts of the Castle of Endless Night aside, I remember that I’ll be seeing my mom and Konstantin soon. They promised to come and me here in California for Thanksgiving at Aunt Janice and Uncle Tim’s house. I stayed with Aunt Janice and Uncle Tim when I first left the castle, for three weeks until the start of the Fall semester at college. The last time they saw me, I was being surrounded by a bunch of creepy, hissing, oddly- behaving guests at my mom’s wedding, while blood gushed out of my nose. They never saw Tatiana actually attacking me, or Aleksandr swooping in to rescue me, or him flying away into the night sky with me in his arms. I told them I’d been rushed off to lie down somewhere away from the other wedding guests, and everyone had been behaving so bizarrely because one of the groomsmen had the dumb idea to spike the punch with LSD. It was a wild story, but a lot more believable than the truth which is that the wedding guests were mostly vampires, driven to blood lust by the sight of my bleeding nose – and so Aunt Janice and Uncle Tim bought my story hook line and sinker, welcoming me into their home with their typical hospitality. They were actually kind of sad when I had to leave for college, but I go back and visit them every now and again, feeding them half truths about how my mom is so busy running the Vasiliev family business with her new husband from their headquarters in Romania, which is sort of true, in a way.

I wonder, when they see my mom again, if they’ll be able to tell that she’s no longer a mortal woman, but has joined the immortal ranks as a vampire. She looks pretty much the same, except that she’s more beautiful than ever, something ageless and timeless in her graceful allure.

After Thanksgiving, the next time I see my mom will probably be Christmas. She, Konstantin and I will be spending the festive season exploring the Christmas markets in Germany’s Black Forest villages, something my new father in law is apparently very keen for me to see. I think he usually spends the holidays at the Castle of Endless Night with his adopted vampire family, holding a lavish Christmas feast – but my mom and I want to spend Christmas together, and I won’t step foot in the accursed place ever again if I can help it.

There’s something… no, someone… I’m trying to avoid.

My thoughts go back to the black velvet ring box hidden in my bedside drawer, and the letter that accompanies it.

Kirstin could walk in the door at any moment, but I can’t help sneaking a peek at my secret treasure

I open my bedside drawer and pull out a small heart shaped black velvet box. I pop it open, revealing an antique ruby ring, sparkling like a drop of precious blood in the morning sunlight, like a rosebud bursting with the promise of new life, with a band of pure gold.

Out of habit, as I stare at the shimmering gem I reach a hand up absently to my neck, to the spot where Aleksandr’s bite mark once was. It’s almost entirely healed now, having scabbed over and scarred, now resembling two perfect white crescent moons facing each other. People sometimes ask about it, and I explain it away saying that another kid bit me in kindergarten. That’s usually enough explanation for them. Then I place the open ring box on my bedside table and next take out the letter that came with it, in a crisp white envelope, with my name written in a beautiful looping cursive script un the front.

For the hundredth time, I open up the envio and al

open up the envelope and slide out the letter stored within..

The letter and the ring arrived at Aunt Janice and Uncle Tim’s house as if by magic, the first night after I arrived. It just appeared on the windowsill of the guest room as I came out of the ensuite shower, noticing a sudden chill in the air. The window was ajar, which could have explained it, although I

Chapter 66 Vani

didn’t remember having opened it.

As I hold it now, I read the words once more, my hands shaking as I take them in.

The letter reads:

“Dearest Arianna,

I have been informed that Konstantin has taken you away to the mortal world at your mother’s behest, to live out the rest of your years in mortal mediocrity amongst your fellow humans. That is your choice.

If you ever change your mind and wish to be with me, place this ring upon your finger and call out my name. I will be with you in a heartbeat.

you.

I never meant to hurt you, sweet Arianna – I believed that was what you craved, and so I gave it to y

Yours eternally and forever,

Aleksandr

The ink is blurred in a few spots, where my teardrops have hit the paper, and now I quickly wipe away a single tear before it can ruin the precious letter further.

The truth is, I’m trying my hardest to adapt to college life, and some days feel ok but so much of the time. I feel my thoughts drifting over to everything I went through in Romania. A lot of the time, everything all around me feels slightly sad and empty and hollow. There’s an undercurrent of greyness, fakeness… or as Aleksandr put it so eloquently in his letter, mediocrity. Some days I just feel too raw and vivid for this world, for this normal, human, vanilla life. Too much, too different. My time in the supernatural world has changed me, and perhaps I have been transformed past the point of ever really rejoining the human world, now that my eyes are open to the truth.

No. I can’t think like this… I have to focus on living my life, my one and only precious human life, the best 1 can.

And tonight’s Halloween, the biggest campus party of the semester.

I plan to enjoy it… and maybe, I finally lose my virginity.

POST

Well if what I gather from the past pages, I bet she won’t be losing her virginity. I would bet the very second someone tries to penetrate her, her neck will start bleeding and cause immense pain. Let’s see if I’m right..

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