"Amelia, do you really need to use my laptop? You have a phone don't you?" Madeline asked, watching as her sister erratically copied down streets off of Google Maps. "I have a paper I need to work on you know"
"I'll be done soon just give me a few more minutes" Amelia hadn't even looked up from her paper to respond.
Madeline groaned and headed into the kitchen to brew herself some more coffee.
Amelia had been up since dawn because she couldn't sleep; her absolute determination to find that man in black had kept her from even catching a wink of the sleep she needed. She had been downing coffee all morning just to keep herself from passing out on top of the computer.
"You know I have to pay for the coffee right Amelia?" Madeline called from the kitchen; she however didn't even get an answer. Grumbling she peeked into the living room once more, she was still working.
Madeline was curious as to how long she could run off of fumes, her last record was 12 hours. And that was in grade 12. Amelia had long since gotten better at not procrastinating, though she had learned that the hard way.
"What are you even doing?" Madeline asked, not expecting to get an answer.
"I'm trying to calculate routes that a rogue Vampire would take so as not to be seen," Madeline was honestly surprised she got a response. "The locals said that they haven't caught wind of any Vampire prowling the area which means that the one we are dealing with must be extremely good at moving around undetected. I'm going to have to familiarize myself with the streets so I can hunt him properly"
"You sound really determined, you told me that you hadn't found anything last night?" Amelia's hand froze for a quick second. "I shouldn't ask should I?"
"Sorry" Her voice was low. Madeline shook her head, insuring her that it was alright. She didn't have to talk about it if she didn't want too.
Amelia quickly went back to work and Madeline to brewing coffee.
It was nice to have her sister with her again; it was starting to get lonely in her apartment. After moving to London to attend college shy little Madeline had had difficulty in making friends, after all parties and crowds of people didn't sit very well with her. But with Amelia around, things were less lonely. The apartment no longer felt like it was too big for her.
Smiling she poured two fresh cups of coffee. One for her, and one for Amelia.
It was finally dusk, and Amelia was already patrolling the streets. Thankfully for her she had crashed for a few hours after speaking with her sister, she was going to need all the sleep she could get to stay alert at night.
Since it was still early there were a lot of people milling about the streets, Amelia took care to scan the crowds in search of abnormalities. She was sure that the man in black wouldn't be that hard to miss, but she still had to be careful.
Before she knew it hours had passed and she had yet to find any trace of a Vampire or the man in black. Saying Amelia was confused was an understatement. She was downright thrown off balance by the complete absence of anything. She knew there was a Vampire in the city, there was tons of proof. But for the life of her she couldn't find it. Now she realized why the locals weren't searching.
Frustrated Amelia kicked an abandoned soda can across the street, watching it as it rolled underneath a streetlight.
She was discouraged to say the least. And the guilt from last night was still fresh in her mind, she'd never let herself live it down if she couldn't find the killer. She'd been the witness, and since the woman was surely dead she'd have to become her avenger.
Amelia had always wanted to be a hero, and it was likely one of the reasons she had taken up the old family business. She wanted to save people, and even if people couldn't know the extent of her deeds she felt fulfilled. If she wouldn't do it, then who would?
This little slip up was killing her, how could she possibly be a hero when she let an innocent woman be swept away by a ruthless killer.
She was no hero.
And with a heavy heart, she slowly made her way back to the apartment.
That next morning Amelia woke up to find that Madeline had already left for her morning classes, leaving behind a half full pot of coffee and a plate of eggs and bacon in the microwave.
Gloomily and groggily Amelia heated up the breakfast, and while waiting for it to ding she heard her phone sound a small 'ping'.
Inspecting the phone she found that Madeline had texted her, she'd forgotten her assignment in her bedroom that morning. It was due that day and she needed it for her next class, Amelia chuckled softly.
Oh how the tables have turned, She thought to herself amused. She used to be the one forgetting, it's almost hard to believe that she was in fact twenty-three and hadn't been in school for almost five years.
Scarfing down her breakfast Amelia quickly grabbed the stack of papers, stuck it into her bag and headed out.
It didn't take her too long to get to the campus; Madeline had showed her the route there numerous times. Just in case this sort of situation happened. As diligent as she was Madeline was quite the worrier and it often presented itself as increased anxiety but since high school it had gotten more manageable.
Amelia kept an eye out around the campus for the tell-tale sign of her sister. The bright red hat, she wore it with almost everything. It wasn't very difficult to pick it out in crowd, and with how often Madeline was over looked it was a blessing that she liked it so much.
However she couldn't find the darned hat in the crowd anywhere. Where the heck was she? Pulling her phone from her pocket she dialed Madeline's number. It didn't ring for very long before she picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Maddie, where are you? I'm at the campus but I can't find you anywhere"
"Oh!" She gasped; clearly she had forgotten that Amelia had been coming at all. "I got kind of sidetracked. I'm sorry" She knew it.
"Well then where are you?"
"I'm in the lecture hall, its right next to the library. Not hard to miss."
"Alright I'll be there in a minute"
Hanging up Amelia sighed, Madeline was also known for getting distracted easily.
Like her sister had said locating the library wasn't difficult, it had a big sign that said 'Library' on it after all. And the newer looking building next to it had to be the lecture hall.
Walking inside she quickly spotted her sister, the red hat and all. She stood with two professional looking people that Amelia assumed were professors there.
Madeline was situated next to a tall brunette with long hair pulled into a bun atop her head, she was dressed in a simple white blouse and a dark pencil skirt. Amelia had to admit that the woman's legs were quite nice; the skirt accentuated them quite well.
Then there was the man, he stood tall with importance. His shaggy blonde hair shone in the light from the tall windows, his blazer was black and-wait.
Black jacket, shaggy blonde hair, and even the fancy pointed shoes all matched the description of the Vampire she had lost.
For a minute Amelia just stood there taking it in, could it be the man she was searching for? It couldn't be now could it? He was standing in a well lit room with next to no difficulty after all. But she still couldn't shake the uncanny feeling that she had.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Madeline calling for her.
"Amelia!" She exclaimed waving at her to come over, Amelia felt uneasy possibly bring in a near empty space with what could be a Vampire. But scaring Madeline even more wasn't a great idea.
"Hey, got your paper" Amelia reached into her bag and pulled out Madeline's work and handed it to her.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver!" She sighed with relief.
"You never forget your work Madeline what made it slip your mind?" Said the woman, from the way she spoke Amelia could tell she was French. Her accent was slight but it was still easy to pick out.
"I stayed up rather late trying to finish it, guess I was so concerned with getting to school on time after sleeping in I forgot about it" Madeline laughed embarrassed .
The woman laughed as well, "Well you're lucky to have such a good older sister to deliver it to you!"
"Lucky indeed" Spoke the man. His voice was very calm and formal feeling; it had taken Amelia off guard. She hadn't expected him to talk, and the softness that his voice carried surprised her.
"Ms. Williams and Ms. Bonnefoy, it was wonderful talking to you both." The man continued glancing at his wrist watch "But I'm afraid I have other appointments to which I must attend. Please excuse me"
The man shook both Madeline and the French woman's hand, and then offered his hand to Amelia.
Again taken off guard Amelia cautiously took his hand, it was very cold. As she shook his hand she stood tall and locked eyes with him, she had been avoiding it since she got close.
He smiled and the light reflected itself in his green eyes, "It was a pleasure meeting you Miss."
"You too" Letting go of her hand he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets and headed out. Amelia watched his movements as he left. "Who was that?" she asked breaking the silence.
"That was Mr. Kirkland, he's a professor here. Teaches English history" Madeline answered. "Why?"
"No reason."
AN: Thank you for the positive reviews! I'm happy to hear that your interested in the story! It really means alot that you decided to sit down and read through the first chapter ‿
