"Seraphina," Alicia sneered. "What a stupid name!"
Her friends tittered. "It's a stupid name for a stupid girl!" one commented, laughing.
The said Seraphina - tall, gangly, shy Seraphina – blushed awkwardly and hid behind a curtain of mousy hair. She followed the group but kept her eyes fixated on the floor, ashamed of herself.
She wished she were pretty. An unforgettable beauty, perhaps, like the group's beautiful tour guide, Heidi. She wanted Heidi's mahogany waves, perfect face and unique violet eyes.
The castle they were on a tour of was lovely – almost too lovely to be real. Seraphina observed the strange people who lurked in the dark corners, covered in black cloaks. The others didn't appear to notice much, or even to be interested in the magnificent place.
"And these windows date back to..." Heidi's smooth voice droned on. She was beginning to speak in a monotone, sounding bored, although her eyes shone in anticipation.
"Look! The nerd's interested!" Alicia whispered loudly – and this time the entire class heard and giggled.
Seraphina wanted to run away but she swallowed back tears of shame.
Ignore them, a small voice in her mind told her. Pretend you don't mind.
Heidi's head had snapped up to look at her curiously but Seraphina turned away. She didn't want anyone to see her face, especially not the most devastatingly gorgeous person in the world. It made her wonder why Heidi wasn't a model, instead of a tour guide.
There were some large oak doors at the end of the corridor. Two cloaked people stood either side, heads down, staring at the floor. Yet again, Alicia had another sniping remark to make.
"Don't you think Seraphina would be good here?" she whispered. "She fits in with the whole weirdo theme!"
Seraphina couldn't hide a poisonous glare at Alicia, who shrank back slightly. She looked nervous but muttered some malicious statement to her friends.
When they were all gathered inside the room, Seraphina noted the crimson eyes on all of the men and women in the room, excluding Heidi. Generally red eyes should have scared her but Seraphina wasn't afraid of these people, for some unexplainable reason. No one else seemed to share that thought – the class had gone shifty and fallen silent.
Heidi placed her hand in a tall man's. He had a long sweep on jet black hair – she could just imagine what Alicia would say. Hippy would suffice, she decided.
Then, the man looked at them all. His gaze lingered on Seraphina who looked back, utterly unafraid of the strangers. The man smiled a knowing smile which was intended for all, but directed at her.
Seraphina stayed stock still while the others shivered.
"Welcome," he began in a whispery yet powerful voice, "to Volterra!"
He beckoned forward his cloaked friends while Seraphina's class looked nervously at the door.
"Take your pick, my friends," he invited them, "but leave the tall girl. No one harm her. I'd like to... meet her."
By tall girl, did he mean.... herself? Seraphina? The rest of her classmates were fairly average in height. Seraphina's face fell into a mask of confusion but she simply had not the time to ponder, because the cloaked people had fallen upon her classmates like a strong, hungry lion falls upon a weak and feeble antelope.
While the others screamed, Seraphina darted lightly out the way. She was sickened to find that she felt no regret for anyone's death – they deserved all they got, she told herself firmly. They made your life hell. Seraphina watched them drain her classmate's feeble bodies of blood. Vampires.
When she felt a hand on her shoulder, Seraphina gasped. The tall, black-haired man stood behind her, chuckling to himself. How on earth had he gotten there?
He waved a hand vaguely. "Heidi, I think our friend has seen enough for now," he said. "We do not want to scar her permanently being as she is so... young – take her back to the guest room and make sure she is comfortable."
Heidi sashayed forwards and smiled reassuringly at Seraphina, indicating for her to follow. She trailed after her, trying to pretend that she didn't have the entire hall gazing after her enquiringly. Her brain was beginning to fail at trying to keep up with this turn of events.
And Seraphina feared the secrets that she did not yet know.