Bad Guys Always Give Me the Shivers

Ivory Ribbons

Author's Note: Hey, just wanted to let you people know this may be a bad chapter since I had a horrible day at school today… On another note, I was just wondering which chapter so far is everyone's favorite? Tell me in a review!

Disclaimer: I only own my original characters and this plotline, everything else goes to credit of Mister Darren Shan.

Alexandria's Point of View

Awakening to the sound of the trees rustling, I shot upwards quickly. I had just had one of the continuous nightmares from my past, my father's death. That was always a pleasant thing to wake up to. Yawning, I noted that my roommate, Truska, was still slumbering in her bed and it was pitch black outside.

I began to trudge outside, feeling the grass crack beneath my bare feet, as I saw that no one was awake. Each caravan had their lights off, leaving me in the almost darkness. The only light I had was off of the ribbons of ivory stars that filled the ebony sky. The Cirque was completely asleep, except for me.

Hearing the noise of a cage rattling, my ears pricked up and my senses told me to go to the left. Glancing ever so slightly to the side, I heard the sound of something clamping onto metal. Fear took over every fiber of my being, pulsing through my veins like blood.

Taking a step to my left, the noise again rang, making my dead heart begin to plummet towards a high rate. But, I couldn't let my anxiety control me, so I continued on. Creeping past each of the sleeping Cirque members, my blue eyes widened in surprise when I saw something flash before my eyes.

My mouth gaped open when I noticed the wolf that we kept here was put under some spell. Usually, he would run around each night in his cage, awakening anyone asleep, but now, he was slumbering himself. But, that wasn't the only thing that caught my eye. Addison was standing in front of the cage, swinging a glowing amulet. His blonde hair seemed ruffled, but his locks were still bright, even against the faint light.

"Addison?" I called out weakly, making him jump in surprise. Gaping at me, he stepped closer, revealing that there was a jewel encrusted in the pendulum. The gem was a deep forest green, resembling that of an emerald. "Alexandria? What are you doing out here?" he asked, mocking my own tone.

"I should ask the same thing to you." I replied, staring at the wolf-man. His body seemed to be broken by the way he was laying down, causing me to shiver slightly. Addison stared at me, grinning, showing off his sharp, pearly fangs as he answered, "I'm trying out my newest illusionary trick, taming the wolf-man here."

"Who would have thought it?" I murmured, going up against the metal cage. I could smell the wolf's essence, sweat and smoke mixed together. I resisted the urge to gag as I stepped back, questioning, "How did you do that?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets." He said, winking at me while passing by. The air that came off of his body was hot, hotter than a normal vampire's should be. "Now, we wouldn't want someone like yourself to get hurt, so let me escort you back to your room."

I just nodded my head, still confused by his behavior. Was he trying to woo me, or was he just being sweet? I don't really know. He grabbed my hand, causing me to flush lightly as he led me back to my caravan, leaning against the door once we got there.

"Goodnight, Miss. Alexandria." He murmured, kissing my hand and with a blink of the eye, he was gone.

He left me to wonder exactly how he could disappear that fast, it was even too fast for flitting speed. What a strange boy… and I was going to find out what was wrong with him, even if it killed me.

*~*

Maria's Point of View

Everyone in our hotel room was sleeping, except for me. I had decided to stay up and just think. Think about everything and nothing. Sighing, I pulled myself off of the bed and opened up the curtains ever so slightly. It was dark outside as I slid through the opening glass doors.

The cool breeze shook my orange hair out of its ponytail, making it scatter everywhere. I couldn't care less about my hair at this point; it did have a mind of its own.

I couldn't help but notice there were no stars in the sky, and the moon was only a crescent sliver of light. Cars sped down the highway, beeping at one another which created a melodic, yet horrid, sound.

Plugging my ears in with both of my index fingers, I began to hum a song. That helped block out the sound even more but I did hear footsteps coming outside. Shock filled my own body as I looked up only to see Steve. For a split second, I had actually wanted to see Gannen. How weird was that?

He rubbed his eyes to get the tiredness out of them and I couldn't help but notice he was shirtless. Flushing brightly, I heard him mutter, "What are you doing up?" When he spoke, I was reminded of the malice in his tone and his hatred actions. But, then again, I couldn't care less about either of those things!

I disregarded his question as he leaned up against the metal railing, and I could see scars running up his long arms. I would have asked if it were someone else, but, this was Steve we were talking about.

"Maria, I need to ask you something…" he began, looking over at me. Bewilderment crossed across my face as I asked, "What is this 'something' I need to do?" He quickly got to the chase and blurted out, "Well, go to the Cirque and disguise yourself as a performer until they move closer to here, alright?"

Stiffing, I already knew what my answer would be. It would have to be a yes because I knew Steve would most likely force this upon me. He probably wanted me to spy on them just because he wanted to see how his little Alexandria was doing. Jeez, he gets on my nerve sometimes on the way he regards to Alex.

"Fine." I hissed through my gritted teeth, hoping he would leave me alone in peace now. He nodded and then walked back inside, leaving a trail of cologne. I shivered, knowing that I may get caught at the Cirque and they may not let me come back alive.

*~*

Alexandria's Point of View

I was lying back down on my bed, thinking about the past, the present, and dreading about the future. Hopefully, at this point, the vampires would win the War of Scars. But, I also hoped that Steve would win. It was a tiny shimmer of hope in the back of my mind, in the sick part.

Groaning, I turned over and examined the cream ribbon that was tied against the base board on the bed. It oddly reminded me of Larten back at Vampire Mountain.

*~*

Maria and I had been rummaging through our old, rubbish like clothes all day at Vampire Mountain. There were piles of clothing in different arrays of colors. Red was in one pile, green in another, and so on and so forth. Sitting down, cross legged, I began to go through the cream pile.

A blouse, couple of slacks, a dress, and a bunch of ribbons were there. Maria pointed at the dress then nodded towards me. I understood what she wanted and I quickly shook my head in a 'No way' manner.

But, that's when she forced me to go to the bathroom to change. Sighing, I let her lead me through the room; barking orders at me once we reached the bathroom, "Go in there and change!"

I did as I was told, gripping onto the light material. Once I was inside, I stripped out of everything that I was wearing at the moment and picked the dress up and held it in front of my eyes.

The chiffon dress had the sleeves going over the arms ever so slightly and I could see tiny pearl embellishments. It ended right below the knees and I noticed that there were ribbons going up and down the brocade, albeit tiny ribbons.

Sighing, I slipped it on and then walked out to where Maria AND Larten were. I hadn't been expecting to see him here and he was holding a ribbon in his hands. It was the one that had one tiny pearl on top, and when he saw me, he cracked a smile.

"My little assistant is finally growing up." He grinned, practically emanating a proud feeling about me. I had to frown a little bit at that, he probably still thought of me as his 'daughter'. Sighing, I walked over to him as he drawled on, "Here, let me place this."

He gripped onto all of my hair and swooped it all up into one direction, tying the ribbon to hold it all in. Sighing, I replied, "Thanks."

And with that, I withheld my tears because I knew that my teacher still thought of me as a child.

*~*

"Alexandria? Are you awake?" someone called, creaking open the door. Jumping up, my eyes fluttering open, I saw Darren standing in the doorway. "I need to talk to you…" he finally continued on, leaving me to wonder about why he needed to talk to me.

Maybe, just maybe, he was going to ask me about Steve.

After Note: Please review everyone, your thoughts about each and every chapter make me happy! :D