After I said that I was dead, I stuck out my tongue and pulled my eyelid down with my index finger. Blood stared at me for awhile until he finally said something, pointing at me.
"How are you dead already when you're clearly standing before me? Please, start at the beginning."
"I'm a vampire created in 1590. My creator tortured me and my other half for almost a hundred years before we finally killed him, unknowing he had killed and eaten from one of our many enemies, a white witch named Allistar. He used a witches curse used against my kind to feel the pain of all tortures over and over," I told him, lifting my hair and turning my back to him to reveal the black rose scar on my neck, "and this curse can never be lifted until he or another white witch does. Seeing as how that won't be happening anytime soon, me and Arisu are stuck," I finished, my hair still up. I heard Blood stand from behind his desk and walk towards me. I felt his fingers brush the curse mark, sending shivers down my spine. He removed his hand after what seemed like forever, and I let down my hair. I was about to turn around and face him when I smelled something...delicious. I sniffed the air a couple of times until I could figure out what it was.
"Oh my god, is that cake I smell?" I asked, a bright smile pulling across my face.
"Elliot probably had some carrot cake made. The guy absolutely loves the stuff," Alice stated. I was instantly in front her, grabbing both of her hands.
"Take me to the cake. NOW," I pleaded. Her eyes were wide for a second, but she smiled and pulled me after her.
"Ah! One moment," I said. I let go of her and walked back to Blood. I stood on my toes and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you for getting Alice," I said, then walked back over to her, "Alright! Lead the way!" I said, my eyes sparkling. She chuckled, grabbing my hand and leading me through a maze of hallways until we came outside into a huge garden. In the middle of it was a large table with chairs all around it. There were tea pots and pastries all over the table, and I couldn't help but snicker when I saw it.
"What's so funny?" a voice behind me said. I turned around to find Elliot standing behind Alice and I.
"The situation just reminded me of a book I've read many times. It made me want to sing a silly song that the characters sang in it," I managed to get out between giggles.
"Hey, wait a minute," he said, looking more closely at my face, "aren't you that girl who grabbed my gun and kicked the slacker's butts?"
"Um, kind of?" I said, backing away, "She's my other half. Sorta like a split personality...Why?" He grabbed one of my hands and started to shake it.
"I can't believe how quickly you beat them!" he said to me, a huge grin on his face, "I'm Elliot March. The two you beat are Dee and Dum." Okay, this was becoming to much. I started to giggle again until I was full out clutching my stomach in laughter.
"Th-this is too much!" I laughed. This was just too much like Lewis's book. The similarities were so apparent, I couldn't help but laugh. When my fit of giggles was over, I stood up, wiping tears from my eyes.
"Now what was that all about, huh?" I heard a boy say. I looked over and saw Dee and Dum peering out from behind Elliot.
"She better tell me, or it's tickle torture for her," Alice said, a sinister grin on her face. CRAP! I forgot she knew where my tickle spots were! Her hands reached out and started to tickle my sides. I couldn't help but start laughing again.
"P-PLEASE! No more!" I shrieked.
"Hey! We wanna play too!" Dee said.
"Yeah! Let's tickle the pretty lady!" Dum replied.
"ACK! NOOOOOOOO!" I screamed as they started to tickle me too. I collapsed on the ground, my stomach hurting from laughing so much. These people were relentless with this!
"E-ELLIOT! H-HELP ME!" I pleaded. Suddenly, I felt hands tickling my neck, an I knew Elliot was responsible (some help he is). Everybody was laughing at this point.
"S-SOMEBODY! HELP MEEEEEEEEE!" I shrieked with laughter. I was laughing so much my eyes were watering like crazy. Alice was at my sides, the twins were at my knees, and Elliot was busy with my neck.
"Hey, what's goin' on here, huh?" I heard someone say. Suddenly, I felt arms pick me up and pull me from the pile. I opened one of my eyes and looked up to see another man smiling down at me. His left eye was covered by his pink hair, and his cat ears were pink and faded to purple at the tips and were pierced with gold hoops. His eyes were a golden yellow. I stared at his face for a second until I realized how he was holding me. One hand was wrapped around my knees, the other on my ribs.
"P-put me down!" I stuttered, my face turning red.
"Whoops! sorry," He said, putting me on the ground.
"Boris! What are you doing here?" Alice asked from behind us. I stepped back from Boris to get a good look at him. His outfit was mostly black, except for a gold chain leading from a pink collar to one of his belt loops. All-in-all, the outfit was really awesome, but what caught my eye was the giant furry pink and purple striped boa he had draped around his shoulders. I almost considered stealing it from him.
"Hey, Alice. She an outsider too?" Boris asked. Dee and Dum popped up and each grabbed one of my arms.
"Yeah, she is," Dee said.
"No wonder she smells awesome!"
"We like her. She beat us in a fight!"
"And you like me just for that?" I asked them.
"YUP!" they both replied, smiling up at me.
"Buncha weirdoes..." Elliot mumbled.
"So, why is everything set up like this?" I asked Elliot, tipping my head back to look at him.
"Oh, this? We're going to have a tea party," Elliot informed me, his face brightening as he motioned at the table.
"Join us pretty lady!" Dee and Dum chimed together. They started to tug my arms toward the table.
"Alright, alright! I'll join you! Just stop yanking on me!"
"Ah! Blood, you came!" Elliot exclaimed. I tilted my head back again and saw Blood making his way towards the table. His outfit was different from before. It suited him. I almost started laughing again when I saw the "In This Style" tag on his hat, but I held it in.
"We get to sit next to Ari!" the twins declared. I tilted my head forward and sat down in the chair the twins had led me to. Faceless people came around around and served tea to everybody. I picked up the cup in front of me and smelled it. It smelled like strawberries and something citrusy. Oranges? I took a sip and tasted what I had smelled. I felt a small grin pull across my face as I remembered old memories of my sister an I drinking the same tea.
"You like it?" Blood asked me.
"Yes. Very much. It reminds me of when I drank tea with my younger twin sister. It was one of the only times I got to see her," my eyes turned sad as I remembered when she died, "but she was killed with the rest of my family when I was turned," I wiped my eyes to make sure I wasn't crying, "but let's not dwell on my past. I heard carrot cake was made!"
"You like carrot cake?" Elliot asked.
"Hell, I love anything that has sugar in it!" I exclaimed, my face brightening up. I watched as Elliot's did as well.
"Here. Try some," he said to me, handing me a piece. I picked up a fork and took a bite out of it.
"Wow! This is really good!" I said, taking another bite.
"Thanks. The chefs here make the best carrot dishes," he said, that wide grin still on his face. I continued to eat my cake, savoring every bite.
"So have you been to the other territories yet?" Boris asked me, a grin on his face.
"I've wandered around the woods some, but I haven't been anywhere else."
"You should totally come to the Amusement Park! Just watch out when the old man brings out his violin."
"Oh, GROSS!" Dee complained.
"That old man is terrible!" Dum whined.
"He plays a violin? I love music!" I chanted, clapping my hands together.
"Yeah, well you won't like it when he plays," Boris mentioned.
"Do you play anything?" Elliot asked. I simply pointed at my throat.
"I sing."
"She's really, really good at it," Alice chimed in, "she used to sing to me at night when she came to visit."
"What did she sing?" Blood asked.
"Anything that popped in my head. Mostly some Evanescence. In case your wondering, it's a famous band in our world," I explained, taking another sip of tea.
"Well, sing something now."
"WHAT? Now?"
"Yup." Demanding, I thought. I stood up while I thought of something to sing. I pondered WHAT I could sing for a minute, then started to sing the words to a sad song I had heard on the radio recently. I poured emotion into the song, letting the words flow out of me. I almost started to cry during the climax. When I finished, I let out a shaky breath, then bowed.
"That was frickin' AWESOME!" Boris yelled. I smiled at him.
"Wow, pretty lady! Your really good!" Dum said.
"Thank you," I said brightly, patting his head and smiling down at him.
"Which one was that?" Alice asked.
"A song I had heard recently by this new artist named Christina Perri. I've been listening to it constantly," I took another sip of tea, then put my cup back down. As soon as I did, I felt something sharp slide across my skin at my side, and I immediately jumped out of the chair and was on the ground in a crouch three feet away from the table. I looked down at my side and saw blood begin to seep slowly from a cut.
"ALRIGHT! WHICH ONE DID THIS?" I yelled while I stood up straight, pointing at the cut on my side. I could feel it start to burn. Everybody pointed Dee, and I watched as he waved a knife in the air. "Oh I see," I said menacingly, cracking my knuckles, "you're lookin' ta get creamed again, are ya?" I watched the twins grin wickedly as they stood and Dum pull out his own knife. I positioned myself into the snake stance. They ran towards me, and when Dee lunged, I twisted around and hit the pressure point on his wrist to make him drop the knife. I spun around again and hit more pressure points on his body. I turned again just in time to dodge a knife Dum threw at me. As he pulled out another knife, I ran behind him and grabbed the arm holding the knife and twisted it behind his back. He dropped the knife and I pinned him to the ground.
"Say uncle!"
"Never!" I twisted his arm further.
"Say it!"
"ACK! U-UNCLE, UNCLE!"
"Good boy," I said, patting his head and getting off him. I helped him stand up then bent backward as Dee's knife lunged over my head at the same time Dum pulled out another (?) knife and aimed it at my throat.
"You little-!" I yelped. While they pulled back, I jumped out of the way so I wouldn't get stabbed. I grabbed one of the fallen knives then jumped back to my spot at the table, taking a sip of tea. The twins lunged at me, and I blocked the attacks with my knife. I twisted my blade and theirs were flung away. I took another sip of tea.
"...That all of 'em?" I asked them. I watched as they tensed, and I grinned evilly, "good," I said as I threw my weapon into the ground. I set down my cup, then was suddenly behind the twins. I each grabbed one of their arms and twisted them behind their backs. I kicked out their knees and pinned them to the ground.
"Say it!"
"NEVER!" I twisted their arms further and felt them squirm.
"I said 'SAY IT'!"
"UNCLE!"
"You gonna stop?"
"YES!" Dee screamed.
"Just let us go!" Dum replied.
"Good boys," I said while I got off them. I walked back to my chair and sat down. I simply drank my tea as everyone stared at me. As I put down my empty cup, the sky suddenly went from nighttime to midday. The hell...? I questioned in my mind. I didn't want to be rude, so I didn't question it out loud. I watched Blood stand and clap his hands together.
"Right. Looks like this party is over," he said.
"Do you have anywhere to sleep, Ari?" Alice asked. I shook my head in response. I squinted my eyes in the sun. It was starting to give me a headache, "I'll probably find somewhere to sleep in the woods," I told them.
"Unacceptable," Blood said, "you'll sleep here."
"Um, okay?" I said, starting to feel uncomfortable, "where are you staying, Alice?" I asked.
"I stay at the Clock Tower with Julius."
"I need to leave, too. I stay at the Amusement Park," Boris said.
"See ya Boris!" the twins yelled as he walked away with Alice. A faceless woman came up to me. I took one look at her outfit and fell in love with it.
"This way, Miss," she said to me and motioned for me to follow. I started to follow her, but I felt a hand on my lower back stop me.
"It's all right. I'll show her the way," Blood said from behind me. I turned my head to look up at him, but the sun got in my eyes, and I would've fallen if Blood hadn't caught me.
"I don't care who leads me, just somebody get me inside. NOW," I hissed through clenched teeth. I was immediately led out of the garden and into the mansion.
"I'll take it from here," Blood said as a way of dismissing the woman. She bowed and walked away from us, "follow me," he said. I followed him down numerous hallways and stopped in front of a single door. He opened the door for me and motioned for me to enter the room. I walked in and saw a simple yet beautiful room. There was a queen sized bed covered in red blankets. On the sides of it were tables, one holding a lamp. In the middle of the room was a dark red, almost black, sofa. I walked over to the bed and sat down on it, finding the fabric to be smooth, almost like silk.
"My room is two doors down if you need anything. There's also a bath if you'd like to use it," Blood told me. I simply nodded my head in answer. I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes. I heard the door shut, and I opened my eyes again, too wired to sleep. I stayed motionless for a moment to make sure Blood was gone, then stood up and walked toward the door. I bit my finger and smeared a small amount of blood on the doorknob, then walked out of the room and smelled the air for water. When I caught it, I walked down a few hallways and walked into a huge room with a giant bath. Lordy, hallelujah, Arisu and I thought at the same time. Alright, time to split, Arisu said. We could "split apart", but it was too dangerous, so we rarely did it.
"Alright. But we have to be careful," I said out loud. I cut a pentagram inside a circle on my hand, then whispered a small chant in Romanian (all vampires and were-wolves know it). A small shadow formed, then shot out of the pentagram. When I opened my eyes, I saw my other half standing before me, wearing her navy blue strapless dress, black fishnet stockings, and ankle high boots. Her hair was as long as mine, yet jet black instead of bleached blond. She wore a red collar around her neck, and ten rings, one on each finger. She looked at me with a small grin on her face, her black eyes on the verge of turning emerald green.
"Ah, it's good to be out again!" she said, stretching her arms above her head.I looked at her and noticed her ears and tail weren't there. I simply shook my head and started taking off my clothes. When I took off my dress, I stood there just in my undergarments, my socks an shoes already off.
"Eeeeh? When did your ears and tail go away?" I heard Arisu ask as she took off her dress.
"Beats me. I think it was while Alice was taking me to the tea party."
"Nice fighting, by the way," Arisu said, giving me a thumbs up. Her dress was at her feet, and she stood in her underwear. Lacey, white underwear.
"...Why must your underwear be so skimpy?" I asked, an exhausted look on my face.
"Nyeh? You're asking this now?" she asked while walking over to stack of black and white towels. She grabbed a white one and a black one, then walked back over to where she originally was. She took off the rest of her clothes and wrapped the white towel around herself, walking into the water.
"Oh my god, this feels good," she purred. I rolled my eyes and finished undressing, wrapping the black towel around myself and walking into the water.
"Oh, wow, this does feel good," I hummed, sinking lower into the water. I started to relax when I suddenly heard voices coming towards the room. I sat up straight and stared over at Arisu. She just shrugged her shoulders and twisted her hair into a bun. I did the same with my hair and laid back again.
BAM! I heard a door slam. Arisu and I stared at each other, our eyes wide. Then we were out of the water, fixing our clothes to make sure what we wanted hidden was. Then we were back in the water like we had never left it. There wasn't even a drop of water on the floor.
"Ah! Pretty lady is in here!" Dee exclaimed.
"And she's got a friend with her!" Dum answered his brother. Arisu and I tilted our heads back to look at them, a bored expression on our faces. We stared at them for a second, then tilted our heads forward. I could hear the twins make their way into the water. Dee grabbed my right arm and Dum grabbed me around my waist.
"Who's your friend, pretty lady?" Dee asked, looking over at Arisu.
"You could say she's my twin..." I answered, trailing off from my sentence.
"I'm Arisu. Pleasure to meet cha," she said, grinning wickedly at the boys. They stared at her in awe, then Dee let go of me and traveled over to Arisu, grabbing onto her arm. She smiled and patted his head with her free hand.
"Pretty lady," Dum said and I looked down at him, "is your cut all better?"
"Oh, that? It's all healed. And yes, I know the knife was poisoned," I answered with a smile, my face turning dark.
"Eh? How did you know?" Dee asked, letting go of Arisu and ending up in front of me, "and why didn't you die?"
"I like him!" Arisu said next to me.
"W-well...my blood sorta eats it, I guess," I grimaced, "so I don't really notice it at first. If enough is used, it just burns. A lot."
"Did it burn?" they asked me, an engaged expression on their faces.
"A little. Not much though..." I said, trailing off again.
"These guys are vicious!" Arisu exclaimed, an evil grin forming on her face.
"Don't even think about it," I said, glaring at her. She held up her hands in mock surrender. I sighed and shook my head. She stuck her tongue out at me, and I pulled on my eyelid with my middle finger. We glared at each other for a few seconds when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head towards the thing that caught it...and saw Blood and Elliot staring at us.
"Holy shit," I heard Arisu mumble low enough so only I could hear it. And "holy shit" indeed. If I thought the were attractive before...
"Boss!" the twins yelped.
"And who might you be?" Blood asked, turning to Arisu. She grinned wickedly at him, then stood up in the water.
"Arisu, at your service," she said, bowing low with her head still up. A small grin formed on Blood's face. Arisu sat back down and put her elbows on the edge of the bath, then shut her eyes in an attempt to relax. I tilted my head back and shut my eyes as well. I could hear Elliot and Blood enter the bath.
"You seemed to find this room rather quickly," I heard Blood said, and sounding very close. I opened one eye and saw Blood sitting next to me. I hadn't even noticed the twins going off on their own. I looked at him for a second, then closed my eye again.
"My kind have extremely sharp senses," I told him. I could hear Elliot yelling at the twins and Arisu laughing at him. I opened one eye again and watched them arguing about something most likely completely pointless. I closed my eye and sat in the water for a few more minutes, then finally stood up to leave.
"Leaving so soon?" Blood asked without looking up. I got out of the bath, then turned around and bent down.
"We'll talk later," I whispered in his ear. Then I was back in my room, clothes in hand. Arisu was behind me a second later, carrying her clothes. She put her clothes back on her slowly, then nodded, giving me the signal to put her back. I nodded, then reopened the scar on my hand, then chanted in Romanian again, and Arisu was swallowed in shadow. In the next instant, she was back inside me. What came next was why splitting was so dangerous.
The black rose on the back of my neck began to burn, and this time I screamed. I doubled over and crumpled to the ground. Tears of red ran from my eyes. Very rarely I cried blood, but only the oldest could do it. WHAM! I heard my door slam shut. I shut my eyes and the screams poured from my mouth. I felt my fangs grow from my gums. I could vaguely hear someone shouting something, and hands pick me up from the floor and lay me on the bed. I heard more shouting as bloody tears ran down from my eyes like a flood. My throat felt like it was on fire. My whole body felt like it was on fire. My back arched as another scream of pain ripped from my lungs. The hands felt icy on my bare skin as they tried to restrain me. I cursed James in Romanian, and I felt a prickling burning sensation run under my skin. After a few seconds, the burning died down, and my body shook as I sobbed. The hands wrapped around me and held me, and I clung on to their shirt for dear life. This, excluding the first one, had to be the worst attacks I'd ever had. One, because of the pain. Two, I didn't pass out from it. The curse made me experience the whole thing. I felt a hand stroke my hair, trying to calm me down. My arms instinctively wrapped around the person, my body shaking from aftershock and sobs. After awhile, the tears stopped, and I figured out who was holding me, but I was too tired to care. My eyelids started to drift shut, and I was soon fast asleep.
I awoke what must have been hours later, my eyes and body sore. Blood's arms were still wrapped around me, making getting up somewhat impossible. I peeked up at his face and saw he was still sleeping. I felt my face heat up as I looked back down. Had he stayed with me the whole time? I thought. I was afraid to move, not wanting to wake him up. In the middle of my worrying about how I was going to get up, I felt Blood start to stir. I tensed up, my face getting hotter. One of his hands on my back moved to my face. He tilted my face up so I would look at him. There was a small smile on his face.
"Good morning, sleepy," he said to me. I blushed even harder. He let go of me, chuckling. I rolled away from him and sat up, drawing my knees to my chest (did I mention I was only wearing a towel?). I felt like crying from embarrassment. I buried my face in my hands. While I was freaking out in my mind, I felt Blood's hand touch my back. I looked up at him, my eyes wide. He smiled down at me, and I blushed even more. I buried my face in my hands again, really embarrassed about the situation. Blood's hand stayed on my back, but his other hand went to my face, grabbing my chin. He lifted my head so I would look at him, and his face was a lot closer than I thought. I could feel his breath on my lips. My eyes went wide as he drew closer to me. Our lips were about to touch, when I heard running footsteps draw closer to my door. I pushed away from Blood, falling off the bed in the process. My door slammed open, and Elliot came in, a shocked expression on his face. I looked over the edge of the bed, rubbing the now sore spot on my head.
"How many times must I tell you to knock, Elliot?" Blood asked, sounding rather annoyed.
"B-but-! It's Alice!" Elliot nearly shouted.
"What about her?" I asked. I read a piece of his mind and soon regretted asking.
"Alice-! She-she's gone."
Author's Note: Yeaaaaaaa, i added another cliff hanger. so sue me o-o. i enjoy writing them. keeps the reader's with me :D anyway, i appreciate all the good reviews i've been getting ^^ glad those who have read it like it so far~ and i apologize for slow updates. been wicked busy with school and what not :/ but i should have more time now that school's out for the summer~