CHAPTER TWO:

My legs trembled as I opened the familiar doors to the House of Night. I remembered before I was marked, these doors seemed ominous. Now marked, they had given me a different sense of feeling, welcoming me to my new life.

Behind the doors was a woman, statuesque and had long and rich raven coloured hair. She smiled in a manner to welcome me.

"Hello, Desiree. We've been waiting for you." She spoke; her voice was entrancing – drawing me closer towards her as if I was a fish on a fishing line that she reeled in slowly.

She was an adult vampyre, she survived the change. I would only pray and hope, that I would survive this transformation, rather than die a horrible death. Slowly, my consciousness regained control and reality hit me like a brick wall.

"This must be very confusing for you." She amended, taken aback by my silence. I nodded meekly.

"Well, I'll be here to help you adjust, along with many other prosperous students here." She smiled.

And then all this oddness hit me. How did she know my name? Did she expect me to come? Could she see the future? How much did she know of me? If she knew me, then would she know my mother? The woman grinned; my expression must have given away my curiosity in her.

"My name is Neferet, the high priestess of the House of Night." She introduced, as she put a hand over her heart and bowed towards me. I could feel a faint blush on my cheeks.

High priestess? My mind contemplated many definitions of 'high priestess'.

"A high priestess is sort of like, the head master – head mistress of this school." She explained.

I nodded.

"Well, there is no delay. Of course we'll need to assign you a mentor and you're already assigned to a dorm room. Your roommate is in charge of showing you around the school. I have a feeling you two will become good friends." She grinned.

Neferet led me past a long hallway and up the stairs to stop at a doorway.

These were French doors. The glass was tinted the faintest of sapphire.

"This will be your dorm area." She explained as she rested her hand on the elaborate handle.

She twisted it ever so quickly, and the doors opened with a sense of home. A girl, around my height with very long dark brown hair was microwaving some popcorn. Huh. Vampyres actually ate real food. And to think I would've condemned myself to a lifetime of drinking blood as my main meals.

"Zoey, meet our new fledgling, Desiree." Neferet smiled, but there was something wrong about the look she gave the girl named Zoey. Zoey turned to face me,-barely a glance at Neferet I might add- and smiled welcomingly.

"Hi Desiree. Welcome to the House of Night. Trust me, everything gets better in time." She said warmly.

I saw her Mark. It was coloured in, and elaborate patterns traced down her neck and to her back. Who is she? She can't possibly be a . . . 'fledgling' too. Wait what is a fledgling anyways?

"I'd like you to introduce her to her roommate, Skye." Neferet instructed with a hint of harshness in her tone.

Zoey narrowed her eyes on Neferet, and finally nodded.

"What room?" She replied.

"23." Neferet explained, before bowing to me once more.

Zoey started to leave the room, so I followed, suddenly anxious about how I would fit in when I didn't even know what a fledgling was. Zoey started explaining to me how to get to my room from the main girls dorm, but I was too uneasy to concentrate. Distracted as I was I didn't even notice when we reached room 23.

"So Desiree," She said a little loudly then she would of if I had been paying attention. "This is your room; you better get in there before you two have to leave for class."

Class?! But it was almost 8 pm! This was insane! My panic must've leaked into my expression easily, because she gave me another reassuring smile.

"Vampyre life is different. We do things at night," She shrugged. "It's only because the sunlight irritates our eyes." She explained. I nodded. It was a good enough reason to convince me – I hadn't exactly encountered sunlight at all since I had been marked.

"Thanks. . . Zoey." I replied awkwardly.

"Maybe I'll catch you later." She smiled.

"Yeah, maybe." I muttered pathetically.

She was already walking back the way we had come. My hands quivered as I touched the handle. I took a deep breath, and opened the door. Slipping on her shoes was a blonde-haired girl. She was literally drop-dead gorgeous. This must be Skye, I thought. My self-esteem took a big drop as she smiled at me. Her blue eyes were so captivating.

"Hi, you must be my new roommate, Desiree." She grinned.

I nodded.

"You must be Skye." I replied.

We shook hands.

"Yeah. That's me." She shrugged.

I looked around the room. Clothes were littered across her half of the room. Skye gave me a sheepish grin; her cheeks were a faint tint of rose pink.

"Sorry. I'm sort of messy." She apologized. I smiled at her. As long as you're no Goth or emo, I'm happy.

"It's alright." I shrugged as I placed my backpack onto my newly made bed.

Skye handed me my schedule and my uniform, all in one neat pile. These clothes must not be the right size, they wouldn't know this. How could I walk around school in clothing that are the wrong size while everyone is prancing around in their gorgeous uniforms?

"Are they the," I began to ask.

Skye seemed to understand.

"They probably are. These vampyres know everything. No need to panic." She assured.

I nodded; I was already starting to get over the major psychic-ness of this place.

"The bathroom is just through that door." She said, pointing to the door closest to the edge of my bed.

Shockingly, - well not really - the uniform had fit me perfectly, hugging my every curve (if they even existed). I returned to our dorm, and placed my neatly folded clothes on the bed. Skye showed me our new closet, most of it was cluttered with her things. Honestly, I didn't mind. She was a sweet girl, and I liked her – even though we had barely met. I placed my scarce amount clothing along with hers. I took a glance at the clock.

"Oh! We better get going! It's 8!" Skye worried, causing her innocent blue eyes to widen just a tad to reveal her shock. I nodded and followed her down to the kitchen.

"I should show you your class. It's an elective, right?" She asked curiously. I nodded.

"Music or drama?" She asked me. I contemplated the two classes. Who knew what we would learn here at the House of Night? I chose for something more familiar, something I wouldn't need prior knowledge of. . .

"Drama." I replied after a moment of contemplation. She nodded.

"I have Vampyre Sociology, but it's on the way." She replied. I smiled at her.

"Thanks for doing this." I said softly as I looked down at my shoes.

She swiftly led me past other students who were rushing to get to class. We abruptly stopped at a door. The name on the door said: Professor Erik Night.

"You know, this is a great class. The teacher is really hot." She teased. I smiled at her.

"Thanks for the assurance." I laughed.

Skye grinned and tucked a lock of her naturally blonde hair behind her ear.

"No problem. I'll catch you after class and walk you to your next." She explained. I nodded.

"I have to go or else I'll be late," She looked at her watch. "Well I'm already late. Bye!" She said as she half-ran down the hallway.

I looked at the door. Is Professor Night as hot as Skye says? Would I act like a total loser in front of him? I'm not ready to be a fledgling, whatever that means. Why did it have to be ME who was marked? I took several deep breaths, and entered the classroom.