Chapter 12
Elisabeth sat alone in the guest quarters prepared for her in Auradon Prep, impatiently waiting the setting of the sun so she could go outside and walk around. The windows had been boarded up and covered with extra heavy curtains, yet Elisabeth could sense the sun as it crossed the sky towards the horizon. She found herself appreciating her new senses more and more, for she also could keep track of time without the aid of a clock.
As she discovered the benefits of her undeath joyful, she found the detriments rather unpleasant. Whereas before Elisabeth found herself indifferent to being trapped inside while the sun shone, now she realized that she wanted to go outside, even though the slightest touch of solar rays would harm her exponentially more. She realized to her disgust that she was developing cabin fever.
But her anxiety about being cooped up until sundown was just the tip of the iceberg. Elisabeth felt something else gnawing at her being all the way down to where her heart once pulsed; thirst. Every second that passed, Elisabeth's desire for blood increased, resulting in a thirst that was more psychological than physical. She wasn't merely dehydrated and required energy; she needed blood, she craved it, coveted it, desired it.
Elisabeth stood up and looked around her rooms, searching for something, anything, to take her mind off her thirst for blood. There were plenty of books to read and a flat screen television set on the wall with hundreds of channels for her to browse, but none of this interested her in the slightest. She went to a nearby table where a small but lavish feast lay for her. This would have enticed anyone of any pallet, but not Elisabeth. For her, the gourmet food and drink on the table were mere curiosities.
With her enhanced senses, Elisabeth could appreciate the scent, flavor and texture of foodstuffs far more than even the most cultured of critics. Yet the feast offered no sustenance to her. Yes, her senses would enjoy eating, but for Elisabeth, human food was now like a flower was to a human; pleasing but unappetizing.
Then Elisabeth saw something else on the table, something she knew Audrey had brought especially for her; a water jug full of animal blood. Audrey had promised that she would have 'the finest animal blood from the finest butcher shops in Auradon City' brought over for her to drink. Elisabeth appreciated the gesture from her first real friend, yet one sniff of the jug's contents almost made her retch in revulsion.
Perhaps it was the fact that the blood came from an animal, maybe a cow or a pig or a lamb, that made it so unappetizing to Elisabeth, or maybe it was that she had only taken sustenance from human blood and was unused to blood from other life forms. Whatever the reason, Elisabeth was grateful for Audrey's efforts, for she knew what Audrey had in mind all along; to find other sources of nourishment than human blood.
Yet human blood was what Elisabeth wanted and denying herself human blood was slowly driving her mad with desire. A war was raging within her; her newly awakened vampire instincts' need verses her will to hold onto her humanity. She had resolved back in The Falcon's Nest to drink only the blood of the wicked and protect the innocent, yet here she was, in Auradon, the one nation in the whole world where evil was all but nonexistent.
"I may be a monster, but I refuse to be a monster," Elisabeth said to herself as she uncorked the jug full of animal blood. Instantly, the scent of its contents hit her like a punch to the nose and made her stomach roil.
"I won't be a monster," she said in an unsteady tone as she picked up the jug and tipped it to her lips, "I won't! I won't!" a few drops of animal blood touched her tongue and she cried out in revulsion. Spitting furiously, she threw the jug against the wall where it shattered, splashing animal blood across the wall and floor. With another screech of disgust, she overturned the table and dispersed food across the room.
As she stood there surrounded by the mess of her making, Elisabeth panted with frustration, furious at her situation and despairing at the thought that she would have to kill to satisfy her own desires. But then a thought occurred to her, that she didn't necessarily had to kill in order to quench her thirst.
"Who says I have to kill anyone?" Elisabeth said aloud, "who says I have to completely drain someone of blood? And furthermore," she looked at her right hand, seeing her nails sharpen into claws and small holes appear where her victim's blood would be siphoned into her body, "who says I have to turn anyone into a vampire?"
As if to further justify her future actions, Elisabeth sensed the setting of the sun. She chuckled to herself as she realized that her obsessing over her thirst had caused her to lose track of time for a while. Opening the thick curtains and heavy shutters, Elisabeth stood for a moment as the first stars illuminated the darkening sky.
"I may be a monster," said Elisabeth, "but I can choose how monstrous I can be. And now," she smiled wickedly, "I choose to get a drink."
She then walked out of her rooms and into the hallway, silently stalking through Auradon Prep's corridors in search of prey. Despite her raging thirst, Elisabeth remained in control, patiently and methodically questing for the perfect target.
It was all too easy for Elisabeth to remain undetected by the various students and teachers in the school. Whether she was naturally stealthy or had a power to remain unnoticed, she did not know. What was clear to Elisabeth was that if she was ever to quench her nagging thirst, the first step was to get her prey alone.
Elisabeth then found herself in the school library where several students were either hitting the books or just hanging out. Yet none of the students was alone, either in groups of two or three or more. Sighing silently in frustration Elisabeth headed for the exit, when she paused and stepped to the side at the sight of one student, a girl of about 15, pack up her books and walk out.
Elisabeth followed the girl into the hallway and, after listening for other encroaching footsteps and finding none, grabbed the girl, spun her around and clamped her left hand over the girl's mouth. Before the girl could let out a muffled scream, she found herself captivated by Elisabeth's violet eyes. The girl's eyes dilated as she fell helplessly into a trance.
"Follow me," said Elisabeth as she released the girl. She turned around and headed down the hallway with the hypnotized girl right behind. Elisabeth soon found an empty classroom, which she and her intended victim went into. "Sit down," Elisabeth ordered and the girl obeyed.
But then the hypnosis broke and the girl blinked in confusion at her new surroundings.
"Oh, I guess I can only keep them hypnotized for a few minutes," said Elisabeth, "oh well, I'll get better at it later. For now," her face then contorted into a horrific expression of vampiric lust and desire as she grabbed the girl again, whom now screamed and tried to get away. Elisabeth's grip was too strong and she waited a few seconds, finding perverse pleasure at her prey's fruitless attempt at escape.
"No more games," said Elisabeth as she raised her right hand to strike, "time to drink!" she plunged her sharpened fingers into the girl's neck, whom screamed again and writhed in agony as her life's blood was siphoned into Elisabeth.
"Ah…that's better," sighed a relived Elisabeth as her itching, burning torment alleviated, watching with more perverse pleasure as the girl's struggles slowed, her body beginning to desiccate from the drain of blood.
"ELISABETH!" screamed a horrified and outraged Audrey, just as Jay and his group burst into the room and were dumbstruck by the nightmarish scene before them.
"JoJo!" said a shocked Elisabeth as she pulled away from the student, a look of utmost shame on her face, as if she had only now realized what she had done, "I…it's not what it looks like." Yet she knew exactly what it looked like; she had attacked and fed on the blood of an innocent.
"Well, it seems to me you're sucking the blood from one of my classmates," said Chad, "either that or I need glasses."
"Shut Up, Chad!" said Jay, Carlos, Doug and Lonnie.
"Cassandra, how could you?" a distraught Audrey asked as tears of shame and disgust fell from her eyes
"I…it…I had no choice!" said Elisabeth as her own shame faded, replaced by self-righteous contempt for those who would judge her actions for survival, "I had to have human blood, not that nauseating animal filth you brought me!"
"And so you're killing one of my classmates, Cassandra!?" shouted Audrey as her own shame fell, replaced by anger at her friend's betrayal of trust, "look at her? She's barely alive!"
"I wasn't gonna take all her blood!" said Elisabeth, "she'll be fine! Look, she's not even turning into a vampire!"
"Oh yes she is!" said Jay as he and the others witnessed their classmate's skin paled further than what was explained by blood loss, while the girl's teeth and nails sharpened into fangs and claws.
"Good god, you're right," said Elisabeth as she realized the girl was transforming before her eyes, "well…I…I can fix this."
She looked around the classroom franticly for something. She then hurried over to the chalkboard and grabbed a wooden pointer and snapping it in half, "just a hard jab in a soft part of the skull and problem solved."
"What? No! NO!" exclaimed Audrey, "you're not killing her?!"
"It's either that or have another blood sucking freak running around and I already made two back at The Falcon's Nest!" said Elisabeth as she stood next to her victim, "I'm sorry, JoJo, but it's the only way. It's not like I can take it back."
Just then Fairy Godmother teleported into the room, her wand raised at the ready. With a shouted spell, she aimed her wand at Elisabeth, the tip of the wand producing a beam of intense sunlight that shone on the vampire.
Elisabeth cried out in agony as the sunlight hit her skin and set it ablaze. She fell to the floor and rolled around to put the fire out, then crawled over to the teacher's desk to shield herself from the burning illumination.
"NOOOO!" screamed Audrey as she tried to help Elisabeth, only to find herself restrained by Jay and Carlos.
"FG!" said an astonished Doug, "you're using magic again."
"Extreme times call for extreme measures," said Fairy Godmother as she moved towards the desk, intending to finish off Elisabeth before the vampiress had a chance to escape.
"No! Don't hurt her! Please!" Audrey wailed, "she didn't mean any harm!"
"Have you taken leave of your senses, child!?" an outraged Fairy Godmother asked, "that creature attacked and infected a fellow student with her inhuman sickness!" She the knelt beside the girl, whose undead transformation was accelerating, "look at her, I don't even know if my magic can help."
"I can help," said Jill as she and Andrew walked into the classroom, "at least I think I can. Hamon can heal all but the most grievous of wounds, and I've cured more than a few serious illnesses."
"This isn't a case of the common cold, Jill," said Andrew seriously, "you've never done anything like this before."
"There's always a first time for everything," said Jill as she knelt beside the vampirized girl, "wish me luck."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Fairy Godmother asked worriedly.
"Of course I know what I'm doing," said Jill incredulously, though Jay, Carlos and Doug would later claim they heard Jill mutter "I have no bloody idea what I'm doing."
Taking several deep, controlled breaths, her body shining with Hamon, Jill lay her hands on the suffering girl. For a few seconds nothing happened, yet before our heroes eyes, the girl began to glow as Hamon infused into her body. Her skin color slowly filled up and her veins resumed their normal shape and size; the fangs and claws retracted to regular teeth and nails. By the time Jill stood up and backed away, the girl was, aside from being unconscious, perfectly healthy.
Jill then let out an exhausted but satisfied sigh as she slumped into Andrew's arms, "and I'm spent."
"You did it!" said an astonished Fairy Godmother, "you saved her!"
"Yes I did," said Jill with drowsy smugness, "you can bill me in the morning."
"So it is possible to cure the curse of undeath," said Doug, "if so, then perhaps…"
"We can cure Cassandra," said a hopeful Audrey.
"You mean make her human again?" Jay asked.
"NOOOOOO!" bellowed Elisabeth as she got up, her face twisted with hellish rage as she picked up the desk and held it over her head, "I'll never go back! I'd rather burn in Hell than become that weak, pathetic waste of skin again!" she then threw the desk at Jill and Andrew.
On instinct, Big Bang Theory appeared next to Andrew and fired a psychic shell at the desk, blasting it into splinters before it hit him and Jill. But before Andrew could do anything else, Elisabeth rushed over, grabbed him by the neck and threw him out the window with a loud crash of shattering glass.
"I'll destroy her!" spat Elisabeth as she rounded on the weakened Jill, "I'll tear her apart before she even tries to make me mortal again! I'll…!"
That's as far as Elisabeth got before she whirled around and grabbed Fairy Godmother by the right forearm, just as she was about to cast another sunlight spell.
"Not this time!" said Elisabeth vindictively as, to Fairy Godmother's horror, her arm began to freeze. Within seconds, her arm from her elbow to hand, including her wand, was incased in ice. Screaming in pain and terror, Fairy Godmother collapsed to the floor.
Elisabeth turned to attack Jill, only for Chad, in a rare act of bravery, slammed a chair against the vampire's back. The chair broke into pieces yet Elisabeth was unharmed, other than a bruised ego. Jay, Carlos and Doug rushed at and tried to wrestle Elisabeth to the floor, only for the three boys to find themselves thrown against the walls. Jay hit the blackboard and collapsed in a small cloud of chalk, Doug landed in a bookcase and partly buried by books and paper, while Carlos found himself sticking halfway in the wall, the other half out into the hallway.
"You…you morons!" snapped Elisabeth as she focused her wrath on a now cowering Chad, "how dare you! Don't you realize what I can do!? You want to get frozen solid like a meat popsicle?!"
"Uh…I…Uh…" said Chad as he found himself backed into a corner with his knees quivering like jelly, "uh…"
"Oh relax," said a contemptuous Elisabeth, "I'm not gonna freeze you." She then glared with even greater repulsion at Chad's sigh of relief.
"No, I've got another power I want to try out on you," said Elisabeth. Twin streams of pressurized fluid shot from her eyes like laser beams, cutting through Chad's left leg above the kneecap. Losing balance, Chad fell to the floor, wailing in agony as he clutched his mangled thigh.
"Now, about her," said Elisabeth as she turned to face Jill, whom was desperately trying to get up.
"CASSANDRA!" shouted Audrey. Elisabeth turned around and saw Audrey, her face set with righteous indignation and holding the heaviest object she could find; a trophy.
Elisabeth laughed derisively, "oh, JoJo, do you really think you can hurt me with that piece of…"
Audrey swung the trophy and hit Elisabeth on the forehead, causing the vampire to stagger back several paces.
"Wha…what?" asked an astonished Elisabeth as she felt her head, realizing that she had been cut and bruised, "how…"
Audrey didn't give Elisabeth a chance to finish as she hurried over and swung the trophy again, hitting Elisabeth on the other side of the head and knocking her out cold.
Astonished at what she did, Audrey dropped the now dented trophy and staggered back and almost tripped over a chair.
It was at that moment when Mal, Ben and Evie rushed into the room, "oh my God!" exclaimed Ben, "what happened here?"
"Audrey's friend nearly killed us!" wailed Chad as he clutched his wounded leg, "she crippled me! I'll never play Tourney or R.O.A.R. or anything else again!"
"Oh shut up you big babby!" exclaimed Jill, her strength returning as she hurried over to the window, where Andrew was trying to climb through.
"I'm alright," said a slightly gorgy Andrew as Jill helped him back inside, "lucky the grass in Auradon is so soft, and we're on the ground floor."
"No, you're just a lucky bastard," said Jill, "good thing you're my lucky bastard."
"You know who else is lucky?" Jay asked as he and Doug tried to pull Carlos out from the wall, "this guy for having such a hard head!"
"Stop making jokes and get me out of here!" shouted Carlos from the hallway, "hurry before the blood sucking freak wakes up!"
"She's not waking up any time soon, I reckon," said Andrew as he cautiously checked the unconscious Elisabeth.
"How?" Mal asked as she used a controlled fireball to melt the ice on Fairy Godmother's arm, "we heard the fighting halfway across the school."
"We thought she was killing someone," said Evie as she helped Jay and Doug free Carlos.
"I…I just hit her and she went down," said Audrey, "what have I done?"
"You discovered something very useful," said Jill as she picked up the dented trophy, "vampires truly are weak against silver."
"Good to know," said Fairy Godmother as she shook her defrosted yet slightly numb arm, "now, about her," she aimed her wand at Elisabeth and bound the unconscious vampire with silver shackles.
"Please, don't kill her," Audrey begged, "she was only defending herself and…"
"I'm not taking any chances," said Fairy Godmother, "she's too dangerous. I'm sorry, Audrey, but your grandmother was right."
"Ben, Mal, please!" said Audrey, "tell Fairy Godmother to stop! Don't let her hurt Cassandra! Not after what Cassandra did for us!"
"She did kinda save us, you know," said Mal, "but…"
"I get it, Mal," said Ben, "Fairy Godmother, please stand down."
"Your Majesty!" exclaimed Fairy Godmother, "have you taken leave of your senses!? Has everyone gone mad!?"
"No, we haven't," said Ben confidently, "I'm thinking quite clearly. Elisabeth must answer for her crime, and she will, justly."
A short time later found our heroes back in the makeshift conference room with the gathered Princesses, Princes and Heroes.
"Okay, Elisabeth is secured in an empty storage closet in the basement," said Ben, "now all we need to do is…"
"What we need to do is destroy her!" shouted Cinderella, "she crippled my baby boy!"
"For crying out loud, Ella, Chad's fine!" said Mulan, "or he will be after he gets out of the hospital."
"Yeah, modern medicine can do incredible things, even without magic," said Aurora.
"He'll be fine," said Phillip, "he might need a lot of physical therapy, and psychological counselling, but he'll be back to his usual absent minded self soon enough."
"I'm more worried about what that freak did to my mom!" said a much more lucid Jane as she held Fairy Godmother's defrosted arm protectively, "are you sure you're alright, mom?"
"I'm fine, Jane," said Fairy Godmother, "just a little tingly where Elisabeth touched me, that's all. Who would have thought that girl had that much power?"
"We shouldn't wait to find out what else the creature can do," said Kit, "let's destroy it now before it feeds on anyone else!"
"No, not yet!" Ben insisted as he saw the outraged look on Audrey, "we're not killing her yet."
"Why wait?!" Kit asked irately, "why take the chance with any more innocent lives! That girl the vampire attacked, she's lucky to be alive with her soul intact."
"For that we can thank Jill," said Belle.
"Please, put it on my bill," said Jill smugly.
"I have to agree with Kit and so many others on this, son," said Beast to Ben, "I know how grateful you, Mal and the others are for what Elisabeth did for you in Transdoria, but she's too dangerous."
"She's more than just a friend whom we owe one, dad," said Ben, "Elisabeth is under political asylum from her family and Transdoria."
"Well, it appears her actions have revoked her asylum," said Cinderella.
"You saying we should throw her back to her folks?" Evie asked, "you can't!"
"Heinrich will either tear her apart or hand her over to Adriane for dissection or something," said Lonnie, "and that other Shadowcast scientist, Dr. Orange, she wants Elisabeth destroyed even more than we do!"
"She's not going anywhere!" said Ben, "not without a fair trial that is. Elisabeth broke the law and therefore must be considered a Villain."
"Wait, what?" Carlos asked.
"You're not seriously considering roping Elisabeth in with our parents?" Jay asked, "please tell me you're not thinking about shipping her off to The Isle of The Lost!"
"I don't know who'll suffer more," said Mal, "Her or everyone else still on The Isle."
"Everyone, please," said Audrey, "don't do this to Cassandra! Yes, she attacked an innocent, but now we know she need fresh human blood to survive."
"So?" Jay asked, "what, do you want us to let her suck out our blood?"
"No, not like that," said Audrey, "we could donate blood, or come up with a synthetic substitute. If all else fails we can use magic to make blood."
She looked at Ben with sincere pleading eyes, "I have to believe there's still good in her. If we would just give her a chance, I know she can prove herself to be good."
"I'm sorry, Audrey," said Queen Leah as she stood at the doorway with a man wearing a brown cloak, "but we can't take that chance."
"Oh there you are," said Belle, "for a moment we all thought you went to bed early."
"I'm going to ignore that," said Queen Leah as she walked in, "I apologize for my tardiness, but I had to meet my old friend who's come a long way in Auradon's hour of need. Permit me to introduce David Joachamin, vampire hunter."
"Your grace," said David Jochamin as he walked forward and bowed to Ben. He was tall with blading white hair and several scars on a deeply tanned face. Though appearing over 70, he was well muscled and moved with a lifetime of training and experience. In one hand he carried a black suitcase.
"You apparently come highly recommended, Mr. Jochamin," said Ben, "but how do you and Queen Leah know each other."
"Oh, we go way, way back, your grace," said David, "I knew Queen Leah back when she was Princess Leah, long before her marriage to King Stephen."
"David served in my father's kingdom as an official vampire hunter," said Queen Leah, "one of several who protected the realms against the horrors of the undead, and they did a very, very good job of it too."
"We'd all but exterminated Nosferatu from the world," said David, "as were the Stone Masks that created them. Unfortunately, another Stone Mask was put into use."
"You know about The Stone Masks?" Mal asked
"I spent decades tracking down and destroying as many as I could," said David, "but there's always more cropping up just when you think you've finished. Fortunately, I'm not alone in my ventures in vampire hunting.
"I come from a long and proud line of vampire hunters who also fight other things that go bump in the night. In recent years my family and other hunters organized and formed a unified group; The Watchtower Initiative. We're not just specially trained warriors who fight evil, we also employ psychics and magic users.
"But I'm not here to give a detailed history of The Initiative. I've come for one purpose; to destroy Elisabeth von Karstein."
"No," said Audrey quietly, glaring defiantly at Daivd.
"How do you know Elisabeth?" Evie asked.
"I was warned about here long before Queen Leah reached out to me," said David, "to make a long story short, one particular esper in The Initiative, a clairvoyant, had a prophetic vision concerning Elisabeth von Karstein. If was foretold that a troubled girl from a troubled land would fall from grace into vampirehood."
"You knew Heinrich would use The Stone Mask on her?" Audrey asked, "you knew that monster would turn his own daughter into a monster?! And you did nothing?!"
"We did not know the name of the girl," said David calmly, "only that she would be the first pureblood vampire to be created via a Stone Mask in decades. But that's only the first part of the prophecy."
"There's more?" Doug asked as he eagerly took notes.
"Oh yes, so much more," said David, "the prophecy states that this new pureblood vampire would rise above other vampires to become a Queen of the undead and plunge the world into an endless necromantic nightmare. The Watchtower Initiative is convinced Elisabeth von Karstien is the vampire queen stated in the prophecy. She must be destroyed before she makes the world her undead bitch."
At that Ben, Mal and the others were left in stunned silence for several seconds before Aurora spoke up, "how do you know Elisabeth is the one from the prophecy?"
"And how can you rely on this prophecy?" Jane asked, "the future is never a certain thing and warnings about are often vague and misleading."
"This prophecy had specific details we were watching for," said David, "it said the vampire queen would come from a warlike nation seeking to conquer a larger, more peaceful kingdom, that her undeath would be forced upon her by her heartless father, that there would be those who seek to use her for their own dark purposes.
"The list of details goes on but needless to say, when Queen Leah told me of Elisabeth's origins, I knew with every fiber in my heart that she was the one in the prophecy."
"But how can you be so sure Elisabeth will turn out evil?" Lonnie asked, "how do you know Elisabeth will try to take over the world?"
"Not take over the world," said David, "kill it. If Elisabeth isn't stopped, she will spread death and destruction across the globe until only the undead are left moving."
"But how can you be sure she'll do it?" Jane asked.
"It's inevitable that she'll try," said David, "it's in the very nature of vampires to seek the blood of the living, to corrupt innocence and destroy all that is good, to spread their evil and make more vampires. Elisabeth's own traumas from her human life will compel to seek vengeance upon a world that, she believes, treated her most unfairly."
"I don't believe that!" said Evie, "I mean, I don't want to believe that. Yes, Elisabeth hates Heinrich, but she doesn't want to take over the world. She wants to save it from Heinrich's evil."
"And she doesn't hate us," said Jane, "she even loves Audrey like a sister, right, Audrey?"
"That's right, she and Audrey are like sisters!" said Lonnie, "Elisabeth's the only one who calls Audrey JoJo."
"I call her JoJo!" said an outraged Queen Leah.
"Yeah, well, she doesn't like it when you do it," said Jane, "Audrey, back me up on this, will you?"
At that everyone looked at Audrey, whom seemed ready to both explode and pass out. "I…I can't think about this right now."
"Oh, poor dear," said a worried Queen Leah, "you're still traumatized and exhausted from your ordeals. Let me take you back to bed."
"I'll take her to bed, mother," Aurora insisted, "you just stay here and spout anti-vampire sentiments." With that she escorted Audrey out of the room.
"You see what that creature has done?!" snapped Queen Leah, "what it did to my granddaughter and daughter!"
"If it weren't for Elisabeth, none of us would have gotten out of Transdoria alive," Phillip insisted.
"I won't deny that she…assisted in the rescue," said Queen Leah, "but I hate it that Audrey is friends with that…that thing! I hate that she's so protective of the creature! Can't you all see it?! That undead abomination has corrupted my precious JoJo!"
"Elisabeth and Audrey were friends before Heinrich put the mask on her," said Mal, "she risked her life to confront Heinrich during the ball."
"I admit that the girl was good," said David, "and there may yet be some good left in her, but not for much longer. With every tick of the clock, the evil imposed by The Stone Mash is darkening her soul. It's only a matter of time before her heart is so full of hatred and disgust for humanity, she'll see us all as nothing more than fodder and potential undead slaves."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Kit asked, "let's drag the thing outside, tie it down and wait for the sun to come up and burn it to ashes!"
"Or better yet, let Fairy Godmother use her wand on it," said Ella.
"I…I'd rather not," said Fairy Godmother as she looked at her still tingling arm.
"I doubt sunlight is enough to destroy Elisabeth," said Jill, "the good lady here, she used a spell of pure sunlight on the creature and she regenerated shortly afterwards."
"That's right, not even real sunlight was enough to stop Elisabeth," said Jay, "she got burned by the sun and she healed herself."
"I thought Elisabeth had chronic photosensitivity before she was a vampire," said Doug, "that she couldn't stand to be out in daylight."
"It's possible her undeath has interacted with her condition," said David, "if there were time, we'd study her, but she must be destroyed before she gets too strong to contain."
"How shall we do it then?" Ben asked.
"Aside from sunlight, there are two other methods of destroying vampires," said David, "a massive blast of Hamon energy will dissolve her undead cells. The Initiative has employed Hamon users for generations, though it will require several of our best users for an entity of Elisabeth's caliber."
"Well, you'd better get them here soon," said Andrew, "because Jill's still too weak to do it, and Leon and Kaylee aren't nearly as strong enough."
"I beg your pardon!" exclaimed Jill as she stood up, "I'm perfectly capable of vanquishing a vampire!"
"After all the effort you put into healing that girl less than an hour ago?" Andrew asked, "I think not! You shouldn't even be standing up!"
"Look who's talking?!" said Jill, "even less than an hour ago, you went head first through a glass window and onto the ground outside!"
"The grass was soft!" Andrew insisted.
"OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" bellowed Ben, startling everyone, "we're wasting time! Now, David, what's the other method of destroying vampires?"
"Three items are needed," said David, "The Stake, The Sword and The Flame. Piercing the vampire through the heart with wood or silver will paralyze the creature long enough to cut its head off; preferably with a sword but an axe or even a chainsaw will do. As for the flame, simply light the creature on fire and keep it burning until there's only ashes left. Sterilizing the ashes with holy water is a preferred option."
"Then let's get to it, already!" said Kit, "I'll bring the sword. Phillip, you get something sharp made from silver. Lady Mal, you can burn the creature if you feel like it."
"Not yet," said Ben as he sat with his head bent and hands clasped in thought, "I still haven't made up my mind."
"What else is there to decide!?" Queen Leah asked, "Elisabeth must be destroyed!"
"Your grace, I must insist we destroy the creature!" said David, "the fate of the world hangs in the balance!"
"And I'm supposed to take your world that Elisabeth is a threat to the entire world?" Ben asked.
"I can vouch for his world, your majesty!" Queen Leah insisted.
"And I can trust you when you're so driven by hate and jealousy?" Ben asked, "oh yes, you're jealous that Audrey's found such a kindred spirit, especially that Elisabeth's a vampire."
"Wha…how dare you!?" snapped Queen Leah, "how dare you accuse me of such blind bias! I only have the safety of Auradon and the world in mind! Have you been listening to anything I've said!?"
"Yes I have!" said Ben as he stood up and glared at Queen Leah, whom backed away, "now you'll listen to me: sit down and don't open your mouth again!"
Queen Leah looked ready to argue further, but another glare from Ben left her without the will to continue, so she sat down.
"I'd be a sorry excuse of a king to callously condemn someone to death without hearing all the facts," said Ben as he sat back down.
"I beg your pardon, your grace?" David asked, "you heard the details from the prophecy! Elisabeth von Karstein is destined to become the Queen of the vampires if she isn't stopped here and now! What other facts do you need to hear?!"
"Elisabeth's facts," said Mal calmly, "Ben wants to hear her side of the story. If you expect us to destroy Elisabeth without giving her a chance to explain herself, then we're all no better than my mother and the other Villains."
"I expect you all to do what is needed to protect humanity from an unholy abomination!" spat David, "and if none of you will do what must be done, then I'll…"
"You'll what?" Andrew asked as he pulled out a .38 Special yet kept his finger off the trigger, "you'll attack Ben or Mal or someone else? I know what you're capable of, David Jochamin, just as I know that under that cloak, you're armed to the teeth."
"And then there's the other vampire hunting toys you keep in your little black bag," said Jill as she eyed David's suitcase.
"Your zeal for the defense of humanity is appreciated," said Beast, "but in this case, my son has the final decision."
"Leah, for God's sake!" said David, "do something!"
"I…I can't," said a defeated Queen Leah, "I have no power in this situation. In matters of life or death for a prisoner, the sovereign of Auradon has the final say."
"And I'll decide soon enough," said Ben as he stood up, "I'm going to talk to Elisabeth and hear her side of the case. Once I have all the facts and thought it over, I'll let everyone know what to do."
Just outside the meeting, Audrey and Aurora stood listening as the argument over Elisabeth go back and forth.
"Mom, they're gonna kill her!" said Audrey, "they're gonna murder Cassandra!"
"Well, you have to admit, Audre," said Aurora, "she did try to kill you and your friends just now."
"She was acting in self-defense, mom!" said Audrey, "and she wouldn't have hurt me, I know she wouldn't! I just know there's still good in her! If I could just talk with her, I can prove that she's still good!"
"They'll never allow you do to do it," said Aurora, "Ben has Elisabeth locked in the basement and under guard. He'll never let you get close, and I'm not so sure I want you anywhere near her."
But then Aurora saw the heartbreak in Audrey's eyes, the mounting despair and agony roiling in her daughter's heart and that too made her heart break a little.
"This isn't just about friendship, is it?" Aurora asked, "Elisabeth, she's more than a sister to you, is she?"
"I…I don't know," said Audrey as new, confusing thoughts and feelings cascaded through her mind and heart, "but I do know is that I need to see Cassandra, alone, before Ben puts the screws to her."
"I know you do," said Aurora, "go to her, Audrey."
"Really?" Audrey asked.
"Yes, go," Aurora insisted, "I'll buy as much time for you as I can."
At that Audrey flung her arms around her mother in a loving embrace, "oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you thank you!"
"I'm so gonna regret this later," said Aurora, "now go before I try and stop you!"
"Thank you!" said Audrey one last time before hurrying down the hallway.
Aurora could only smile at her daughter, before going back into the meeting, "Audrey's gone to bed, she's had a rough time. So, what'd I miss?"
"A lot," said Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos at the same time.
"Well then," said Aurora as she sat down next to Phillip, crossed her legs and smiled pleasantly, "would you mind filling me in? And spare no details, I'm all ears."
Audrey hurried through the school as fast as she could without drawing attention from those still awake, hoping against hope that she'd get to where she so desperately wanted to be before someone stopped her.
She reached the first of her goals, the stairs to the basement, without Ben, Mal or the others catching up with her. As she walked down the stairs and calmed her pounding heart, Audrey muddled over what her mother asked; was her feelings for Elisabeth just that of worried over a girl who was like a sister? Or was it deeper than that? And just how deep did her feelings go and what did it mean for Audrey herself?
Once in the basement proper, Audrey followed a trail of lights to where a dozen Auradon policemen were standing guard outside a door.
Brushing her clothes free of dust and wrinkles and running fingers through her hair, Audrey regained her composure and approached the guards, "King Ben sent me to check on the prisoner."
"Princess Audrey, ma'am!" said one of the guards as he and the others saluted. Without question, another guard unlocked the door, "just be careful. The creature's chained up, but…"
"I won't get close, I promise," said Audrey as she gave the guards an appreciative smile. She walked in and closed the door behind her
What she saw made Audrey's blood pressure spike with outrage. There hung in the air was Elisabeth, her arms and legs pulled to their limits by silver chains attached to the ceiling and floor, while more chains crossed her body and several heavy links wrapped across her forehead. Elisabeth herself breathed sharply as if in pain, as if the silver chains were harming her.
"Oh my gosh! Cassandra!" said Audrey as she hurried over.
"Hi, JoJo," said Elisabeth weakly, "they let you see me."
"Just hang on! I'll get you lose somehow!" said Audrey.
Elisabeth laughed at Audrey's unintended pun, "don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Audrey asked.
"Aside from these horrible chains, no," said Elisabeth, "and you beaming me on the head twice. Seriously, I didn't know you were so strong."
"Silver, silver hurts you somehow," said Audrey as she franticly looked around, "now how do I get you out of those chains? I can't ask for the key the guards, they'd stop me in a heartbeat."
"Why are you doing this, JoJo?" Elisabeth asked, "you're not seriously trying to help me escape? Not that I don't appreciate it."
"I…I don't know," said Audrey, "it's just, oh Cassandra, why did you do it?"
"I am what I am, JoJo," said Elisabeth, "a vampire; I needed human blood and I took it from an innocent."
"But you don't have to do it again," said Audrey eagerly, "my friends and I, we can donate blood, or someone can come up with synthetic blood, anything to keep you from attacking people and making more vampires; I'll do whatever it takes to prove you're still good."
"I believe you'll try," said an astonished Elisabeth, "but why are you so eager to do so? Unless…"
"They're gonna kill you, Cassandra," said Audrey, "my grandmother, she brought her old vampire hunter boyfriend to destroy you. They're gonna stab you in the heart, cut off your head and burn you alive?"
"Un-alive you mean," said Elisabeth, "but maybe they should destroy me."
"What?" Audrey asked, "I must be more tired than I thought, because I don't think I heard you right."
"You heard me right, JoJo," said Elisabeth, "it'd be better if I were destroyed, now, while there is still some good left in me."
"I don't understand," said Audrey, "do you really want to die?"
"There's a darkness in me, JoJo," said Elisabeth, "a thirst that's greater than my need for blood. I can feel the evil in my heart growing, and it scares me. I honestly fear that I'll turn evil, just like my father turned evil when my mother died."
"But you're nothing like your father!" said Audrey, "you want to keep us safe from him!"
"I want to rend him into bloody fragments and start on my brothers!" snapped Elisabeth, "or maybe start with my brothers and make my father watch as I wipe his progeny from the world one by one!
"Either way, there is hate and rage in me that I fear may turn on you, JoJo, and I'd rather die again than hurt you."
"You'd do that for me?" Audrey asked.
"Of course I would, JoJo," said Elisabeth, "I love you."
"I love you too, Cassandra," said Audrey as tears began to well up in her eyes, "and not just because we're like sisters. Ever since we met in your disappointment rooms I had this feeling that we were meant to find each other, that we're meant for each other."
"I also felt that," said an astonished Elisabeth, "and whenever I saw Willhelm or any of my brothers, touch you, I wanted to rip them apart and comfort you, to make you forget they ever laid a molecule on your body and make you feel warm and safe."
"And when Heinrich used the Stone Mask on you, I felt part of myself die with you," said Audrey, "and when I realized you were back, I felt such joy, it was like my heart was gonna explode. Oh my god, I…I think I'm…in love with you."
"I think I'm in love with you too," said Elisabeth, "but…we just met, we barely know each other."
"My parents barely knew each other when they fell in love," said Audrey proudly, "they're soul mates. So many famous couples in Auradon are soul mates who fell in love at first sight."
"But…we're both girls," said Elisabeth.
"Anyone who says that true love can only be between a boy and a girl is an idiot," said Audrey as she smiled warmly, "now let's get you out of those chains, then we'll figure out what to do." She examined the chains and found the whole setup was secured by a single, silver-plated padlock.
"Too bad there's no secret passages in here so a introverted, crippled girl can drop a bobby pin or something," said Elisabeth.
At that Audrey smiled even brighter and pulled a bobby pin from her hair, "now, how did Evie do it? If she can pick the lock on a window, I can pick a simple padlock, can I?"
"I don't know," said Elisabeth, "that Fairy Godmother, she conjured these chains out of thin air, you'd think she'd have more than just a padlock to keep them in place."
"Any other fairy godmother would," said Audrey as she worked the bobby pin into the lock and jiggled it about, "but our Fairy Godmother, she's trying to get everyone to go without magic as much as possible." She then gasped in triumphant surprise as the tumblers clicked into place and the lock opened.
"It worked!" said Audrey as she took the lock off the chains and started unwinding them from Elisabeth, "it actually worked! I guess I'm a bit of a VK after all!"
"You're just you, JoJo," said Elisabeth as Audrey loosed enough of the chains to let her down to the floor, "and that's what I love so much about you; you're one in a million."
"We're both unique, Cassandra," said Audrey, "I guess that's why we're meant for each other."
"But can we truly be together?" Elisabeth asked, "how do you know I won't succumb to my thirst for blood and suck you dry? How do you know I won't turn on your friends?"
"Because I believe you wouldn't," said Audrey, "and until I see otherwise, that's enough for me." She then finished freeing Elisabeth from the chains, "can you stand up?"
"I can run and fight if I have to," said Elisabeth as she and Audrey stood up, "I'm feeling much better now that all this silver isn't touching me. Okay, so, now what?"
"Uh…I don't know," said a somewhat embarrassed Audrey, "I really haven't thought this far in advance."
"Well…that's okay, I'll think of something," said Elisabeth.
"No, I think I have an idea," said Audrey, "no matter what Ben decides, that vampire hunter my grandmother brought in is gonna try and kill you, so you have to run for it."
"Run for it?" Elisabeht asked.
"Yes, run away for now," said Audrey, "get out of Auradon and lay low until we can figure out how to call off the vampire hunter and his friends."
"Okay, but what about you?" Elisabeth asked, "they're gonna want to know how I escaped and what your part in it was?"
"I'll say I wanted to confront you and denounce our friendship," said Audrey. She then smiled mischievously, "I think I'm gonna like lying to my grandmother. Anyway, I can say the lock gave way or you unlocked it with your mind or something. You then knocked me out, fought your way past the guards and ran out of the school and into the night."
"I can take care of the guards without hurting them too much," said Elisabeth, "I'm not thirsty right now, so I won't take their blood. But…" she looked at Audrey earnestly, "I don't want to hurt you, JoJo, and I don't want to leave you alone here."
"I won't be alone," said Audrey, "I have my parents and my friends. And my grandmother too, she's not a bad person, just overprotective."
"I still don't like thinking about leaving you behind," said Elisabeth. She then smiled with an idea, "you can come with me."
"Come with you?" Audrey asked.
"Yes, come with me," said Elisabeth, "we can escape together! Just the two of us against a world that doesn't understand. We can go back to Transdoria and stop my father and brothers! We can destroy Shadowcast! We can take back and destroy The Stone Mask! Or…" her smile then turned slightly dark.
"Or what?" Audrey asked cautiously.
"Or we can use the mask," said Elisabeth, "on you. Let me make you immortal, JoJo."
"You mean…" a shocked Audrey asked.
"Just think of it, JoJo!" said Elisabeth, "The Stone Mask turned me from a plain, crippled girl into this ravishing superstar! Imagine what it can do to you! We can be young and beautiful forever!
"And think of the power you'll gain! No one would be able to hurt you again! We can take on the world together and fight evil in the night!"
"That…that actually sounds kinda nice," said Audrey in a distant tone as her mind and heart were severely tempted.
"We can even use my father's blood to activate the mask and he can be your fist victim," said Elisabeth, "we can feed on the blood of the world's wicked and protect the innocent! Imagine it; two immortal beauties fighting for love and justice until the end of time!"
Audrey was left speechless and Elisabeth's offer rampaged inside her; having discovered that Elisabeth was her soul mate, she desperately wanted to be with her, but at what cost? Would she slowly develop an overpowering darkness in her heart that she'd have to constantly struggle to control? Would she be forever tempted to sake her thirst for the blood of the innocent?
And what of her friends and family? If Audrey became immortal, what would happen to her mother, father, Ben, Mal and the others? Audrey imagined all her loved ones growing old and dying one by one while she and Elisabeth went on and on and on.
"I…I can't," said Audrey, "I mean I want to, I really, really want to, but…"
"I understand," said a disappointed yet hopeful Elisabeth, "you can't leave your friends and family. That's something I envy about you, JoJo; you have an extended family who loves you, and I guess I love that about you as well."
"And I love that no matter what Heinrich or your brothers did to you, it never broke your spirit, Cassandra" said Audrey. She sighed, "we can wax how much we love each other all night, but that vampire hunter's gonna try something and I don't want you here to see what it is."
"Alright, then," said Elisabeth, "now, I'm gonna have to make it look like I broke out on my own, so that means I have to hurt you a bit."
"Whatever it takes," said Audrey, "just…just…"
"I'll make it quick, I promise," said Elisabeth. She then raised her right hand to backhand Audrey across the face.
"Wait a second! Wait a second!" said Audrey, "hit me on the right, my left side is my good side."
"Oh, okay," said Elisabeth as she lowered her hand and raised the other. With as little force as she could and wincing in anticipation, she struck.
Audrey was forced against the wall and fell to the floor in a dazed heap.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Elisabeth as she knelt down, "I'm so sorry!"
"No…this…this is perfect," said Audrey as she gingerly touched the bruise forming on her right cheekbone, wincing at the pain, "I think you cracked the bone, good job."
"I'm so sorry," said a frantic Elisabeth, "I'll kiss it and make it all better like mother did whenever I was clumsy and hurt myself!" she gently kissed Audrey on the cheek, then kissed again, and again.
Almost instantly, the pain let Audrey's assaulted face, as if Elisabeth's lips had healing properties. Turning her face, Audrey felt Elisabeth's next kiss fall on her lips. Both girls felt a spark of something more than electricity shoot through them. Elisabeth backed away in surprise as she touched her lips with her fingertips while Audrey touched hers.
Cautiously, Elisabeth kissed Audrey again. They both felt another spark of energy.
"What's happening?" Audrey asked after they broke contact.
"I don't know," said Elisabeth, "but I want to see where this goes." She then kissed Audrey again. Audrey returned the kiss with growing passion as she placed her arms around Elisabeth's neck. The spark became a current of energy that slowly grew with intensity.
"This…this is right," said Audrey as they briefly broke contact, "I want this."
"Me too, JoJo!" said Elisabeth. They kissed again, then Elisabeth kissed Audrey's neck.
"Yes! More!" said Audrey as she felt Elisabeth's lips on her carotid artery. Elisabeth felt her vampire heart beating as she felt Audrey's pulse. Her teeth parted and her tongue touched Audrey's skin and Audrey cried out in loving pleasure.
Never before had either girl felt so much love and desire and they both desperately wanted to see this through to the end. Yet for Elisabeth, she felt something else beside love and desire. Something darker was driving her, something that made her want to elongate her teeth into fangs and tear into Audrey's flesh, to seek out and sever the vessels where Audrey's precious blood flowed.
"NO!" shouted Elisabeth as she forced herself away from Audrey. She then saw the look of hurt and longing on Audrey and realized she too wanted her back in her arms.
"I'm sorry, JoJo," said Elisabeth as she backed away, "I had to stop myself before I lost control."
"I know, Cassandra," said Audrey as she felt her neck, holding onto the memory of Elisabeth's lips on her pulse, "I'm glad you did, because for a moment, I wanted you to lose control. I wanted you to take me."
"And I would have regretted it for the rest of my life," said Elisabeth, "however long that would have been." She reached out and gently took Audrey's hand in hers, "goodbye, JoJo, may we meet again in better times." With that she turned around, kicked the door off its hinges and burst into the hallway. And instant later the air was filled with the terrified shouts of the guards as Elisabeth beat them unconscious.
"Goodbye, my darling Cassandra," said Audrey as began to cry.
…to be continued.