Disclaimer: Not mine.
Realization
I was in a deserted garden. I had been called to clean up some sort of mess, but I couldn't see any. It was dark, and the trees were throwing shadows which were honestly creeping me out. I heard some rustling from behind me, and I turned towards the sound, terrified already. "Wh-who's there?" I squeaked. That's when a figure appeared. It was pale as death and had red eyes. Strigoi! The creature was every bit as terrifying as I had imagined. It started stalking towards me, and I couldn't move my feet! As it came closer, I recognized the face. The creature's identity horrified me, but somehow did not surprise me. I closed my eyes, preparing for my imminent death, and-'triingggg!' I woke up with a jolt at the sound of my phone ringing. It had been a nightmare! I had been plagued with such dreams ever since I turned her in. The killer was different every time. Usually it was her vampire boyfriend Adrian (well, husband now, I corrected myself bitterly), or Eddie (an unnatural creature himself, I had to remind myself frequently). This was the first time she was the killer. My sister. The traitor. I couldn't even bear to think her name. Maybe it was seeing her today, hearing her say "My name is Sydney Ivashkov now" in that same expressionless voice she had used when we sent her off to re-education. Maybe it was the knowledge that she married one of them.
That still shocked me. Hadn't she spent enough time at the centre for the vampire's influence to have been removed? These thoughts were going through my head when I realised my phone was still ringing. Without paying attention to who was calling, I answered the call. "Hello!" The voice that replied was one I hadn't heard for ages. "Carly?" I said in surprise. "Why are you calling at this ungodly hour?" She didn't bother with pleasantries. "Do you know where Sydney is?" she asked, sounding panicked. The question was even more unexpected than her call. "Yes, I do, but why are you asking me about her?" "She's my sister. Isn't that reason enough? Besides, I'm not able to get through to her." "Well, she's in the vampire court." "What the hell is she doing there?!" Ah. Finally a reaction which was not completely unexpected. I knew I shouldn't tell Carly where she was, that it was alchemist business, but she was my sister after all. What was the harm in telling her something that all those unnatural creatures knew, anyway? "She married a vampire." "To my shock, I could hear relief in her voice when she replied, "So she's safe then. If she married Adrian. That was smart. She's a subject of their queen and the alchemists won't be able to do anything when she's still at court."
Carly was now making it a habit to confuse me. How did she know who Sydney married? And why wasn't she more shocked at the news? Most importantly, she just said that the alchemists wouldn't be able to catch Sydney. How did she even know that we wanted her? I intended to find out. "You don't seem shocked that Sydney is married. To…to one of those creatures. And how do you know we want to catch her?" "We? You mean you are one of the people who want to put her back in that...that torture chamber?" she shrieked. Her tone shocked me into silence for a minute. I had never heard sweet, soft spoken Carly raise her voice. But then I realised what she had said. "What do you mean, torture chamber? She was in a re-education centre. We sent her there for her own good. She thought she was in love with a vampire, for God's sake! She was clearly influenced by those creatures. It seems she still is. She escaped and married him after all," I said, frustrated that she was supporting their kind rather than the alchemists.
"You fool! She is in love with him. And he loves her enough to die for her. For once in her life, she was happy, and you took it from her. I never thought you could sink so low", she said, sounding disgusted. "After all she's done for you, you took away her happiness. I had hoped dad was helpless and couldn't do anything to stop her from being sent there, but if you were involved in her capture, dad must have been, too. I can still understand why dad would do it. He never loved any of us. Only Keith Darnell," she spat the name as if she was disgusted by his very existence, but before I could speak up, she continued her rant. "But I never would have expected such a betrayal from you. She loved you more than her own life, and this is how you return the love?" I was about to protest her words about dad not loving us (and what was that about Keith), when the rest of her words sank in. How dare she accuse me of betrayal? Sydney was the one who had betrayed all of us by running of with one of them! And what did she mean "After all that Sydney had done for me"? All she did was steal the show...even going as far as to humiliate me in front of her (our) superiors.
"You don't know anything," I told her fiercely. "I know more than you think, Zoe," she snapped. "In fact, I have a feeling I know more than you do. After all, I, unlike others, actually care about my sister. I was the one who got the location of that hellhole out of Keith, and I was the one who told Adrian and her other friends where it is. So in a way, I was the reason their rescue attempt even started. I was the only one who seemed to care enough to help. Eddie and Jill and Adrian are more of a family to her that her own blood. No wonder she left you alchemists and fell in love with a vampire. They appreciate her much more than you or dad ever would."
Her words cut me like knives. As they registered with me, the guilt started to set in. This one rant was making me question everything I ever believed in. I wondered if I had truly done the right thing as, clinging to the last vestiges of hope that I hadn't done anything wrong, I asked her in a small voice, "Why do you keep calling the re-education centre a torture chamber?" "You truly don't know, do you?" said Carly, her voice losing some of its hardness and taking on a sympathetic edge. "They tortured her, Zoe. I don't really know the details, but when her friends found her, she was drugged and tied up like an animal. Not to mention the scars all over her body. She also looked like she hadn't eaten for days, as if they were starving her. Now tell me, was it truly for her own good?"
Every last bit of anger I had felt drained away at Carly's words, leaving me exhausted. I didn't know how Carly, who wasn't even an alchemist, knew all this, but I didn't doubt her words. Carly was, after all, my sister. Why would she lie to me? The implications of what she said filled me with guilt, and I felt the sudden urge to cry, but I held it in. "I'm so sorry Carly!" I said, "I honestly believed it was for her own good. I never imagined they would torture her. Dad knew what they do, and he was the one who took her there. So I never thought he would be cruel enough to put his own daughter through all that."
Carly seemed to understand my guilt and suddenly transformed into the sweet sister I'd always known. "You really had no clue, didn't you?" she said, her voice now gentle. "I should have known you wouldn't intentionally put your own sister in danger like that. I'm still not really able to forgive you, of course. You should have spoken to Sydney first before running off to dad. But I kind of understand. Just...stop trusting dad so much now, okay?" "I definitely will," I said, my voice hardening. I would be wary of our father from now on. "I would really love to see you. It's been so long since we last met! I'm actually kind of ashamed I didn't keep in touch with you now." "I'd love to meet you too Zoe! See if you can sneak out sometime. Dad can't know," she replied, enthusiastic now. "Bye Zoe, go get some sleep. I did wake you up after all."
"Bye Carly! I'll see you soon!" I replied and put the phone down. I was definitely going to do just that very soon. Well, at least one good thing came out of all that sadness and guilt. I was reunited with my big sister. I had missed her.
Love it? Hate it? Please tell me. Constructive criticism is much appreciated, but no flames please. Also, I may come back to this fic and add on the conversation between Zoe and Carly when they meet, but that's only if I get good ideas for it.