-YAY REVIEWS! See I'm not that hard to please.-

Chapter 9

I couldn't resist putting the dress on. Nissa helped me with the back of the dress because I was not a contortionist. She spun me around in the mirror until I was dizzy. I laughed as I sat down. I had decided to do my hair when Christopher decided that he had seen enough of girl bonding, and left with a wave.

"Did Nikolas include curlers and hair spray with the dress?" I asked as I sat down in front of the vanity.

"No, wait hold on, I'll go get some" said Nissa. She disappeared and reappeared with a plastic bag in her hands. Vampire speed never ceases to amaze me. She emptied the bag onto the vanity's surface and riled through the mess of eye-shadow, lip-gloss and hair things. She grabbed a bag of self heating hair curlers and ripped them open. Slowly as to not rip my hair out at the root she brushed it and sectioned it off.

"Do you remember how you had your hair up that day?" she asked as she put a section up in a curler.

"No." I laughed as I watched her face concentrate on what she was doing. When she was done putting each up, I heard my stomach growl and I decided to get a few things from the fridge. I was making a peanut and pickle sandwich when I heard the soft footsteps of Marguerite.

"Ew, what is that?" she said in disgust as I took a bite of the sandwich. "What are you, pregnant or something?" She turned her back to me and laughed. I glanced at my reflection in the glass cabinet door. I nearly choked when I noticed an ever so slight bump above my hips. WHAT?! I thought. Its only been a few weeks! I composed my face as she turned around again "Nice curlers mom, but they don't really go with that dress, maybe a moo-moo would be better." she sneered at me and left. I all but ran up the steps to my room. Nissa was not there and I figured she had disappeared to get hairspray, which as I looked at the vanity, was missing. I watched myself in the mirror as I turned and twisted. No bump here. Relived, I sighed. It must have been the way I was standing that's all. Nissa appeared; in her hand was a huge can of industrial strength hairspray. For the girl on the go, the can read.

"Sit, its time for those to come out." she all but dragged me to the chair and began to pull the curlers out at super speed. I glanced at the clock. The red lights displayed 4:30 on to the ceiling. Obviously time passed quickly when you switched from panic mode to normal and back every four seconds. I heard an intake of breath from behind me. I caught a fleeting glimpse of Marguerite's figure out of the corner of my eye. I looked up at Nissa who was beaming at me. Then I looked at me. Wow. My hair had been swept up in a half do, all of it curled .A few curls fell to frame my face.

"Its a little more modern than what it should be. Now for the make-up" she giggled and pulled a palette of different colors over to her, then spun the chair around so fast I didn't see or feel it. I shut my eyes as she went to work. I didn't bother to open my eyes until she was done. I didn't know what magic she had done but I didn't look like me.

"Wow, it looks great, Nissa." I said a little dumbfounded. She looked me up and down and smiled again. "Nikolas will love it" she frowned.

"All that matters is that you like it Mae." she said poking me in the shoulder to emphasize her point. "He asked me to give this to you, and to say sorry he couldn't give it in person. He's been a bit busy helping out a friend of ours', Christine" She handed me a smallish black box. I opened it and smiled. Inside was a note and a pearl ring to match the rest of the things. The note inside read "A promise ring of sorts"

I put it on and looked at Nissa. Her face turned dark and she turned around to face the door. I heard her snarl and I was thrown on to the bed on the opposite side of the room. Nissa was crouching over me.

"You are you?" Nissa growled. It shocked me to hear her like this; I had never even heard her raise her voice. Whoever it was took a step forward.

"Move leech" The voice was high pitched and cold.

"No" snarled Nissa. I struggled to see around her, but she moved to block my view.

"If she wants to see, let her" Nissa paused and slipped aside slightly. There in the doorway of my bedroom stood Evelyn Smoke, my mother, poised knife in hand. I jumped to my feet and side-step Nissa's attempt to cover me.

"Get out" I kept my voice level.

"Mae, how dare you." Her face was smooth. Not the face I remembered, hunting had made her heart a stone. I saw her zero in on my ring. "What is that on your hand?"

"It is none of your concern what it is." I watched as the realization slid over her face.

"How dare you abandon your family, to live here among these monsters, for some bobbles?"

"Family?" I spat. I could feel the anger beginning to bubble in the pit on my stomach. "You left me, remember? You dumped me off at SingleEarth without even a good-bye. One day I woke up and you were gone. The only one who even gave a damn about me was Caryn! She looked after me! So who abandoned who?"

"I will take this to Dominique, when we get back. Now come with me and I will not hurt the girl leech" she shot Nissa a sneer, who pulled her lips over her teeth.

"No mother I will not go with you" I felt a slight stinging sensation run up from my toes to my arm. I pointed at her. "I have found my family, now get out!" There was a flash of green light and my mother flew back and landed on the platform of the stairs. I followed her out, anger feeding the powers that had never manifested themselves. I could feel Nissa behind me. Again she flew through the air and she land with a loud thud on the floor. The stinging feeling increased, I was enjoying the feeling. With one final push, she landed at the front door. She staggered up and opened the door leaning on the frame for help.

"I'll leave, but know this. You are no daughter of mine." I watched her stumble out, and down the driveway to where she had parked a black rental car. The door slammed shut by itself. I spun on my heels to face Nissa.

"She disowned me, and I attacked her. She has the power to call Blood Claim, and knowing her she will." I swept up the stairs, past the stunned Marguerite, who cringed back as I pasted. I closed the door to my room. I knew Nissa was on the phone calling around for Nikolas. I walked over the picture of my mother and I, picked it up, and threw it in the garbage can by the vanity. I smiled at the sound of the shattering glass.