A Diamond in the Rough
Chapter 1: The Introduction
This is so not fun, I thought to myself darkly. I was leaning by the door in the Hall of Princes, feeling very out of place. I was wearing short black Soffe shorts and a Green Day tank top, my hair pulled back into a ponytail, wishing I had my pink hair dye so I could finally dye my tips like I've been promising myself. The place was almost empty, with the exception of two very stern and surprised looking guards, and five equally surprised looking Generals, not to mention three Princes: an ancient looking one, a bald one with arrow tattoos, and a grim looking one dressed in all black. And then of course there was my tormentor, Vanez Blane. Technically, he's my mentor and I'm his assistant. I call him my tormentor because he never lets me get away with anything, and always makes sure I'm in "fighting condition", as he puts it. My idea of fun on a Saturday morning is not running Suicides in the middle of no where, doing 10 push-ups, and fighting. The only thing I want to do on a Saturday morning is drag my sorry ass out of a nice warm bed, stumble my way to the couch, and turn on Nickelodeon and watch cartoons till noon or one, get a shower, put my pj's back on (or get dressed if I'm going out somewhere), and eat another bowl of Cocoa Puffs. Not the healthiest routine, but hey, it works for me.
I was jerked out of my thoughts (very rudely in my opinion) by the dark clothed Prince.
"Can you fight?" he asked, with evident dislike in his voice.
"Yes, and judging by your looks, I could beat you, too," I replied before I could mind my attitude.
The Prince showed amusement in his icy, gray eyes.
"Is that so?" he asked, the dislike slightly decreasing in his voice (but not by much), "What is your name?"
"Rowan Sigman," I replied, feeling rather annoyed, my expression unchanged since the beginning of the conversation, "And yours is…"
"Mika Ver Leth," he said, offering his hand for me to shake, "It's my pleasure."
I looked at his hand, then back up at him, obviously unwilling to shake it.
"The pleasure's all mine," I said coldly, "Really."
Vanez cleared his throat, showing his disapproval of my attitude. I knew I shouldn't have given the curt, cold, and somewhat sarcastic remarks. So much for starting my time here off right; I mean, what's the worst they can do? Drive a stake through my heart? Drop some Holy Water on me? Hate to break it to them, but I'm Jewish; or rather was Jewish before I became a vampiress.
Vanez turned to face Mika. "I'm sorry for her rather rude display of attitude and lack of manners, Sire. I assure you this will not happen again." With that last statement, he shot a glare in my direction that was worth a thousand daggers to the heart. 'Ouch! That hurt Vanez,' I thought sarcastically. As if reading my mind, Mika grinned. I looked at him, a slight smile forming on my lips. 'He is kind of hot in a gloomy way,' I thought, 'But then again, I'm not always the bright and cheerful person that most people know me as.'
Vanez grabbed my arm and led me out of the Hall of Princes. He took me to a deserted corridor and turned to face me.
"What was that all about?" he asked, angrily, "I told you to mind your tongue and you disobeyed me! Explain yourself, Missy!"
Before I could answer, a man dressed in red came up behind Vanez and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Vanez, she is young and obviously unhappy. Why don't you strive to understand her a little better?" advised the man, smiling in spite of himself.
"I'm afraid I haven't introduced myself. I am Seba Nile, quartermaster of Vampire Mountain," he said, very politely and holding his hand out for me to shake.
"Rowan Sigman," I said, refusing to shake his hand also but slightly smiling anyway, "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Nile."
He smiled at me, the fire of youth still burning in his old eyes. He turned to Vanez once more, "I can take the young half vampiress off your hands for a while if you wish so, Blane."
"Thank you, Seba," he said and nodded to me to let me know that I am to go with the quartermaster.
I watched Vanez walk off, not minding his departure in the least. He was honestly getting on my last nerve. Seba tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to follow him. I was led through several dim and winding tunnels and when we emerged, we were in front of a giant hall full of tables and socializing vampires. 'There aren't many vampiresses,' I noted to myself as I followed him into the hall.
"This is the Hall of Khledon Lurt," he explained, "This is where the eating and the majority of the socializing takes place." He led me to a table and motioned for me to sit, which I did not do.
There were already five people seated there. Another man dressed in red with a crop of orange hair on his head and a long scar running down the left side of his face, a woman with long black hair and gray eyes, a blonde man with clear blue eyes, a brunette man with a cheerful expression and heavy breathing, and a teenage boy that looked no older than fourteen.
"Larten, Arra, Kurda, Gavner, Darren," he acknowledged them, bowing slightly to each one, "This is Rowan Sigman. Her original blooder died at the hands of a Hunter and Vanez found her alone on one of the paths to the Mountain and took her in."
"Greetings Rowan," said the man with orange hair, holding out his hand, "I am Larten Crepsley." I nodded in greeting, but refused his hand. When I did so, I noticed the woman smirking.
"Have you got a problem with my unwillingness to shake the hands of those whom I do not respect?" I asked curtly.
"If I had a problem with it, I would not still be sitting here," the woman replied still smirking, but not offering her hand, "I'm Arra Sails."
"Charmed, I'm sure," I said sarcastically.
The man with the blonde hair learned quick not to offer his hand and merely said, "I am Kurda Smahlt."
The boy looked at me, and mumbled, "I'm Darren Shan, Mr. Crepsley's assistant."
The brunette man however, was persistent and held his hand out. "I'm Gavner Purl," he said, "and I shall feel very insulted if you do not shake my hand, Miss."
"Is that so?" I asked, noticing a slight mischievous glint in his eyes, "Well then I'm afraid you will have to just be insulted until you figure out how to earn my respect."
Seba grinned and so did everyone at the table, including Arra.
"I'm afraid Vanez has pushed you to your last nerve, am I correct?" asked Gavner.
"Si, Señor," I replied, it was so tempting to speak Spanish sometimes.
"Ah! ¿Habla Español?" inquired Seba.
"Si," I said in response, "Yo hablo Español un poquito. I'm still learning, but I hope to be fluent in four years."
"Do you speak any other languages?" Gavner asked.
"Somewhat," I replied, still not liking his cheerfulness, "I spoke a little Chinese when I was pretty little, I can speak a few words of Hebrew and can read it fairly well, I took German in fourth and half of fifth grade, and I took Japanese for about a year before our teacher got replaced with an incompetent teacher."
Everyone at the table looked pretty impressed, especially Gavner, with the exception of Arra.
"Mastery of languages means nothing if you cannot fight well in a battle!" she exclaimed.
I looked at her icily, "What does being able to speak another language have to do with speaking languages?"
"My point was that is a waste of time. Why learn useless languages when you could be making yourself stronger and your reflexes faster?" she replied, just as coldly.
"¡Ve te al Diablo!" I exclaimed, my dislike for her changing into hate.
She grinned evilly and leaned back slightly, "If you're so confident, then why not take me on the bars?"
A/N: In case you don't know any Spanish, here is a translation of Seba's and Rowan's short conversation:
"Yes, mister," I replied, it was so tempting to speak Spanish sometimes.
"Ah! Do you speak Spanish?" inquired Seba.
"Yes," I said in response, "I speak a little Spanish. I'm still learning, but I hope to be fluent in four years."
And her comment to Arra was as follows:
"Go to the Devil!" I exclaimed, my dislike for her changing into hate.
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