Bella could barely see the room in front of her. This hallway wasn't lit like a regular hallway, and when she squinted, she swore that she could see bricks instead smooth white paint. There were nervous titters coming from everywhere, the girls whispering to each other, speculating. For once, all Bella wanted was quiet.
"I'm so scared," whispered the girl behind her.
Bells rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll pick you, Kris, you've got such a long neck."
Bella shuddered in disgust and stopped listening. There was no point in romanticizing it. In a couple of hours, ninety-eight percent would be dead, nothing but bloodless corpses. There was not a damn thing in this world that could stop this slaughter.
Bella wished that the vampyres would spare a couple more girls. They could work as servants, or maids. What good could was a girl if she was dead?
The procession suddenly stopped, and Bella only noticed this when she bumped into the girl in front of her and fell.
The floor was damp.
Cursing, Bella got up, not caring about the eyes that were watching, human and vampyre alike. It felt good to curse after such a long time.
"Shut up," hissed the vampyre nearest to her, red eyes glinting in the dim light.
Bella shut up. With some horror, she realized that the wet floor made a huge stain on her skirt.
Her heart skipped a beat. Well, there went whatever changes she had. Not that there were many to begin with.
There was a moment of frantic rustling, trying to rub the stain away. This action only made the strain bigger. Bella resigned herself to just clutching the fabric, hoping that no one would notice.
Tears of frustration pitched at the back of her eyes.
She didn't deserve this.
No one deserved this.
A door opened.
Bella's heart pounded in her chest, a beat so strong that she found it hard to breath.
Briefly, Bella wondered is this was the beginning of an asthma attack. Luckily for everyone, this was not the case.
The vampyres were filling them on, one by one.
Finally, Bella got her breath back to normal. Only to lose it again.
The ballroom was beautiful. White marble floors, crystal chandeliers, balconies on the edges of the whole room and even a king's chair at the front. The chair was empty.
It looked like a scene out of Anastasia, with the ghostly dancers whirling around the room and the pleasant chatter of the people surrounding them.
This all enamored Bella into obedience. She could have fought them. She could have screamed as they tied ribbons around her hands, she could have kicked when silver chains were put around her feet.
Bella would have fought, that is, if she had simply noticed.
The only thing she did notice was the feeling that she was completely at home.
The end result was that the thirteen or so girls were standing on a platform, blind and unable to move.
They were forced to compensate with their hearing.
Not that their hearing gave them anything, it was obvious how careful the vampyres were being not to let them hear excess pieces of conversation.
Bella just smiled, because even though it was inevitable that she was going to die very soon, she still felt happy.
Such a strange moment to feel happiness. It was as though, for a one blissful little moment, everything came sharply into focus.
As though for the first time, after wandering for so long, she had finally come home.
Bella smiled.
Fate was such a strange thing.
Before, Bella was certain that there was no such thing. There was just no point to believing in it.
Now, she was entirely that what happened in this room was entirely up to fate.
Not that she'd trust it.
The hinges on the grand doorway in front of them were so well oiled, that Bella barely heard that as they swung open.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Sultan."
Bella didn't need this to know that he was in the room. It was as though a sixth sense had woken up in her. She was acutely aware at exactly what point she would be able to find him. Heck, even when she was blind, she could point her head to him as though she was looking at him.
Bella heard a tiny whimper coming from a girl down the row. Everyone was becoming restless, waiting for the end.
"Tonight, we have our sacred ceremony, ladies and gentlemen. This blessed day comes to us only once in a very long time, so I am sure many of you restless."
Bella felt a cold hand run down her back, making her jump.
"I'm also sure of the fact that our beautiful ladies are restless as well. Look at them quiver! Aren't they delightful?"
The hand ran back up her back, and rested on her shoulder.
"Be still, it's just the doctor. Extra precautions taken on the girl with asthma."
Bella didn't relax, but let him take her pulse and do various other things. Not that she could do much of anything.
She felt the eyes of the Sultan on her. She knew that he was watching her, and he knew that she was aware. She could feel his desire.
Bella shook her head, ever so slightly. What in the world? It was bad enough to be put with the lunatics, but even worse to find out that they had a plausible reason for doing so.
The feeling went away.
Good.
The Sultan took his spot at the chair in the middle of the room, though he didn't sit down. He decided that it was the perfect moment for a small speech.
Bella wanted to scream. If there was a wrong way to do an execution, then this way was the jackpot.
He started to speak.
"My dear comrades! Thank you all for coming today…"
Bella immediately tuned him out, finding the subject matter repulsive and boring at the same time. There was something to the Sultan's tone that made her think about this one time when she and Jas went to a convenience store together to get yogurt. It turned out that the convenience store didn't sell any yogurt, so Jas gave a huge lecture to the clerk about how convenient stores needed to be convenient, and the fact that this one wasn't convenient was extremely bad for business. She had been absolutely positive that he had been half drunk.
Bella came back to present. What? Again? This completely confused her. Sensing another person's presence was one thing, but having memories about them was another.
Why was she so certain that the memory was true? Before she could even analyze anything, she knew that the memory came from somewhere, from someone.
Did this usually happen to someone who was about to die?
Bella pursed her lips, turned her head away from where she knew the Sultan stood, and listened to what was happening next to her.
On one side, a girl was softly sobbing. Bella could only distinguish this from the muted harsh breaths that she took.
On the other side, silence.
A cold kind of submission settled atop the girls, hugging them gently and propelling away their rebellion.
Even Bella, who once had thoughts of sabotaging this whole thing, could only stand in silence and listen to the tone of the Sultan.
There was a sense of urgency to the room, as though there was a low hum coming from somewhere and was slowly getting louder.
Bella clenched her hands into fists, sensing that finally, finally, this was happening.
"I hope that you all will stay for the feast afterwards, and meet your new Sultana!"
Dinner? Bella swayed on her feet, nausea coming up in one huge bubble.
The soft footsteps were purposely loud, signaling everyone where the Sultan was heading.
He started at the end of the line.
Bella strained to hear what was happening, only a couple meters away from her. There was sound of rustling fabric. Then, a thump that sounded like a body falling.
When a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?
Bella's goosebumps came, and she struggled not to make sounds.
Again, the same sequence of maddening sounds. Bella curled her toes.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Bella could now distinguish how the bodies were almost silently dragged off. She hoped to God that they were not just bodies.
Again.
He was getting closer to her. She could hear that there was small conversation going on between the Sultan and the girl. To her, the words were inaudible.
What in the world was he saying?
Again.
Bella heard a small gasp come from a girl, and then the thump.
Again.
Three more left.
Again.
Two.
Bella tried to inch backwards, just a last ditch attempt.
Again.
One.
No. Bella's mind went on overdrive; she saw pictures, she smelled familiar things, she felt hot and cold at the same time.
Nothing. He passed her by.
Again.
Thump.
Again.
Again.
Bella was the last one standing.
The hum was deafening now, and suddenly, the room broke into cheering. It sounded like a whole stadium was in attendance. There were crashes, there was laughter, and there was screaming.
Silence.
"Comrades, meet your new Sultana."
The Sultan's voice came from behind. Arms were slowly being wrapped around her, encircling her in a cool kind of familiarity. He had done this many times before; he knew her like he knew himself.
It was as though she was an extension of him, just as much as he was an extension of her.
In that moment, Bella could only feel happiness.
Here is the edited one.
It's still Fourth of July.
This one is for my friend, *waves*. I posted it. Happy now?
Beta'd by 4MeJasper
Cvaboda
Anything you can recognize from somewhere else is not mine.
