We yawned and sat up, stretched and pulled some clothes on, I always slept in some leggings and a vest top so in the morning I only needed to pull a jumper on, then I needed to grab my weapons, that went everywhere with me. We walked down to the hall of Kheldon Lurt to get some breakfast but on the way we got pulled aside. Darren by Mr. Crepsley and me by Arra. I growled "HEY! What gives?!" She smiled and said "We need to get you some new clothes for the festival." I groaned when I noticed that she was wearing a long flowing dress. I groaned "Please, please no dresses!" She looked at me and laughed, "Not like this," she gestured to herself "More like this." She reached into a cupboard and pulled out a smaller dress. It ended just over the knee and had black and white dogtooth print all over. She chucked me a pair of red leggings that went to half way down my shin. She gave me a thin black cloth cardigan that was almost as long as the dress to wear as well.

I put it all on behind a curtain and walked out, she clapped and said "Now we can go," I smiled and nodded. I walked out and saw Darren in a black tux. I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and his jaw dropped. I punched him on the shoulder and got a yelp of pain in response. "What?" I asked shrugging. He smiled and stuttered "Y...y...you look...great." I looked back at Arra who winked; I smiled at him and said "You look great too." We walked down to the hall of gathering where there were at least four-hundred vampires crammed into the hall. The suit that Darren was wearing didn't last long because it irritated him too much. Vane rushed off and bought him some flimsy light clothes; they still irritated him but not as much.

Seba whispered something to Darren, he was about to reply but a very loud noise cut him off. It was, I think, a gong. Every vampire in the hall went completely quiet and still. The princes went on to make an announcement welcoming everyone to the mountain. They then went to announce all of the vampires that had died since last council. After every name that was announced all the vampires, and I, made the deaths touch sign and said "Even in death, may he be triumphant." After all of that was done we got to the celebrating. All the vampires rushed off to the gaming halls, apart from the vampires who wrestled in the corridors connecting the halls. We got carried to the gaming halls with all of the other vampires. Harkat was tossing vampires over his shoulder left, right and centre. Darren got pulled over by another vampire. I was watching Darren get his butt kicked when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around and shouted over the noise "Oh, hi Mr. Crepsley." He nodded and was smiling like a wild man. He said to me "Let us see what you have learnt." I smiled and nodded. I walked into the ring with Mr. Crepsley who was excited about another challenge. We pulled out our knives as I tossed my bow to the side. We held our knives up, I nodded and started the match. First he leaped at me using his speed. I dodged out of the way as he said "Good," He landed and just stood there watching me. I stayed deathly still until the right time, too close and I would miss, too far away and he would block me easily. He was just about the right distance when I leapt at him dagger outstretched in front of me. I landed on his chest and held the knife to his throat. I growled at him "Give up yet?" He tutted and said sourly "I may have taught you everything that you know, but not everything that I know." I narrowed my eyes and felt a something on my stomach. I looked down where I found his knife pressed against the skin of my stomach. I put my hands up and dropped the knives I was holding. "I give up," I said. He lowered his knife. When the knife was away from 'stabbing range' I said "But not now." I quickly ducked down and grabbed my knives, kicked him square in the chest and held my knives to his throat once again in an x shape around his neck. He looked up at me as I hissed "You give up now?" He shook his head but said nothing. I made the knives bite deeper down into his skin, drawing blood. He winced in pain as he whispered "Game over, you win." I nodded thanks, got up, dusted myself off and grabbed my bow. I walked over to where Darren was, passed out on the floor, getting patted on the back on the way for defeating Mr. Crepsley. When I got there people were shouting at him to wake up. I saw someone with a bowl of water. I rushed over to the vampire holding it and said "Can I borrow this," before he could answer I grabbed the bowl and legged it to the other side of the hall dodging the wrestling vampires as I went. I got to Darren and dumped the water on his head, laughing. He coughed and stuttered as he sat up and said "Best out of three?" We all laughed and cheered. He had a second round on jousting but only lasted a few seconds; we all cheered anyway and carried him off for some beer. He did that sour-lemon-face when he tried it to start with. He downed the whole jug and then looked a little tipsy, I just laughed when he fell over someone else's foot. Darren decided no more beer, for that night, whereas I decided no alcohol for me at all! We wondered around and bumped into Kurda. I growled and walked over to watch Arra. Arra smiled at me and gestured to Kurda "Let's challenge Kurda!" I shook my head and said "Arra, you will lose." I said this seriously but she took no notice. She whistled to Kurda and challenged him; he complained he had a sore leg, that liar! Nonetheless she managed to get him on the bars. They had their match and needless to say she got knocked off when she started to get big-headed. She was on the floor, she looked at me with pain in her eyes, but it wasn't physical. I turned my head but her gaze stayed on me until she left the hall.

As day came most vampires went to sleep because they were tired and wounded. At sunset there would be a massive ball for everyone. When time came everyone took to the dance floor even those with broken legs or cracked skulls. As soon as the sun set everyone raised their heads and howled. Darren's voice went out early but I stayed strong, I mean it's kind of easy to howl when you're half wolf anyway. Everyone betted on who they thought would win, nobody betted on me, after all I was only human. At the end it was me and a massive vampire called Yebba. His face was going red with strain, his voice was cracking. I was perfectly fine, I wasn't even out of breath but I stopped. I mean how much shame it would cause him if he lost to a human. He was greeted with cheers and howls all around, he gave me a small nod, I guess he realised what I did for him.

As soon as he had been announced Yebba of the howl, the music started playing and the vampires started dancing. The song finished and she vampires smiled and laughed together. Suddenly on the platform, which I guess was really a stage, was Paris Skyle the eight-hundred year old vampire prince. He boomed across the hall "This council we are doing something different, you can now perform," He got down off the stage. I felt a hand pushing me towards the stage, I spun round and said "Why, Darren?" He smiled brightly and said "I've heard you sing and play guitar before, you're performing." I shook my head and stuttered "No no no no I can't." He smiled and said "Yes you can, and there's a guitar over there." He pointed in one direction, where sure enough there was a guitar in the corner. I grabbed it and tried a few chords, the guitar wasn't as good as the one I had left with Evra at the cirque but it would have to do. I smiled at Darren and said "Okay...but you owe me." He nodded and said "I can deal with that." He walked out on stage, the entire hall went quiet as he announced "Here is Vix," He gestured to the side of the stage when I walked on. I couldn't help but smile.

I sat on a stool that had been laid in the middle of the stage. I shouted out in to the audience "I will perform one of my favourite songs from when I was with my human family." I strummed an intro on guitar, they already seemed interested. When I started to sing most of the vampires jaws dropped. I sang:

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation,
And it looks like I'm the Queen.

The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried

Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know

Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door

I don't care
What they're going to say
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway

It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all

It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I'm free

Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You'll never see me cry

Here I stand
And here I'll stay
Let the storm rage on

My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back,
The past is in the past

Let it go, let it go
And I'll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone

Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway

Darren happily had a quick little dance to my song but after a while he had to stop because the itching was unbearable. When I finished my song I was answered with cheers and howls all around the hall, even Mr. Crepsley enjoyed it. Darren and I went to talk to Seba. Darren asked how he could stop the itching. We got told to go and talk to Kurda and to get Madam Octa. Darren went to get Kurda and I went to go and get Madam Octa. She was in Mr. Crepsley's room. I grabbed her off the rock table and ran down to where I agreed to meet Kurda, Darren and Seba. We walked down a maze of tunnels going deeper and deeper, darker and darker.

As we were walking down the tunnel Kurda had his head buried in a piece of paper. Gavner had also come to see where we were going. Kurda tried to light a candle but Seba grabbed his hand and stopped him before he could. Darren looked in confusion at the older vampire and said "Why can't he light a candle?" I rolled my eyes and turned around to say to him "Smell the air," He paused and sniffed the air. He crinkled his nose in disgust as he said "It smells horrible," I nodded "Of course, rocks naturally release a gas that is poisonous," I paused and turned to look at Kurda "And extremely flammable," He put the candle away and looked at me in confusion. I punched him on the arm and said "Kurda... when I went to school I had top grades in everything, apart from physical education." He smiled as he saw me in a new light. I rolled my eyes as I said "What, brains over brawn." I smiled at him for possibly the first time. We carried on after our conversation and kept walking the endless halls. After a while of hunching over in small tunnels we emerged in a big cave covered in spider webs. There were spiders everywhere. Seba told us to be quiet. They were very hairy and they were yellow and gray. Madam Octa watched in fascination as I showed her around the hall. I said to her using her chirping language "You like it here don't you." As I was talking to Madam Octa I heard Kurda question "What is she doing?" Gavner chuckled and said to him "She can speak with animals." A few of the spiders crawled up Darren, Seba and I but we didn't mind them. It was Kurda and Gavner that were jumping around like ballerinas. "Scared of spiders, twinkle toes?" I laughed as Gavner went red in the face and puffed "No, I'm not overly fond of them." I laughed again and had a chat with the spiders. They were happy about the visitors and they laughed when I told them that Gavner and Kurda were afraid of them.

Seba, Darren and I had fun making them hop around between us. I was slightly unlucky because Seba and Darren could control them whereas I had to ask them. When we had finished having our fun Darren asked Seba why we were down here. "Hold your arm out," I said. I grabbed some of the webs off of my hair and rubbed them in my hands so that they crumbled into a powder. He looked at me in curiosity as I rubbed the powder into his cuts and bruises. I asked Seba "Can I have some?" He nodded and said "Make sure to tell the spiders you mean no harm before taking their homes." I chuckled and nodded. I went to a corner of the cave and politely asked the spider for their webs. They agreed so I went ahead and made a powder and shoved it into my cardigan pocket. After Seba had finished with Darren we walked back up to our rooms.

Darren led down in his hammock and actually got some sleep for once. Once he was asleep I walked out of our room and went to find a jar. I walked to the store rooms where I grabbed an empty jar and poured the powder in. Next I went to find Mr. Crepsley. I found him still in the ring. He looked at me when I walked up to him. I asked Mr. Crepsley "Can you spit in this jar." He looked me over and said "Why?" I looked at him and signalled for him to bend down so that I could whisper something. I went up to his ear and whispered "It's for Darren's next trial." He nodded and worked up some spit before firing it into the jar. I nodded and said "Thanks," I ran out the hall before anyone could challenge me to anything.

Next I ran to the hall of Kheldon Lurt where I grabbed some water. Normally what happened was when I put my energy into the water to let it heal but then as soon as I stopped concentrating it would go back to being normal water! This time though I ran back to the room and sat down on the floor. I concentrated so hard on keeping the water's healing properties that I almost passes out from exhaustion. I screwed the lid on the jar and hid it under my pillow. I went to sleep as soon as I led down.