Chapter 12

Totoka

Tears falling down her cheeks, Hermione prayed aloud to Phoenia, begging for a solution to her problem.

"Goddess of the Phoenix, mother to my kind, please help me!" Hermione cried.

"She cannot help you, child," came a faint whisper.

Hermione looked up. Where did that voice come from?

A crackling sound came out of nowhere and Hermione felt the room get colder by the second. Ice grew over the floors and walls.

"Who are you? Where are you?" Hermione asked, her voice wavering.

"I am here. There. I am the ice, the cold. I am Totoka. I am the Ice God," the voice replied.

Hermione looked around the room. She saw nothing. 'I am hearing things now. Great!' she thought. She bowed her head,' What the hell am I supposed to do if I've gone completely loony!'

"You're not hearing things my dear child. I'm here," The voice said again, only this time it sounded as though he were near her.

Hermione's head shot up. A man dressed in Royal Blue robes stood across the room. He had white blonde hair, pale-white skin and eyes so blue and clear it seemed impossible for them to be that way. Hermione stared open-mouthed at him.

"Why I get that look evertime i show myself to someone, I'll never know," he said.

"Er...um, why won't Phoenia come? Why did you come?" Hermione finally asked. Her mouth became dry as she waited for his answer.

"Because your fate is not in her hands. Nor is it mine. Nobody controls your fate. You do. You take care to remember that, child," he said.

"Yeah. I will, but why is this happening to me?" Hermione asked. Naquin had told her everything she knew. Dracula claimed her body and part of her mind but not all. She still had a chance. If only she knew why it was happening.

"You see, Traian and Akini were in love," a woman's voice said.

Hermione turned around to see the goddess of the Phoenix clad in a blood red and flame orange and yellow feather dress. Her eyes were a maroon red and her hair was flame itself. Hermione bowed low on the floor at her feet.

"See now. They gawk at me when I make my entrance, yet they bow before you!" Totoka said in amazement.

"Now, now Totoka. Don't be frigid. She has never met you. Get up Hermione. We have some things to tell you. And you, Totoka. I might not be able to help her but I will make sure she is safe," Phoenia said pointedly.

"Alright, alright. Child look at me," Totoka said, "This is happening now, to you because it happened to you as Akini. And the same is happening to Draco. Akini and Traian did not leave their souls to rest with the gods. They reincarnated themselves into you, to replay their lives in hopes of being able to live them out fully. They did not expect a war to begin, nor did Akini expect for you to be claimed by any other than Draco. This is you and Akini. She is the part of your mind that resists the joining with this vampire, Dracula," Totoka paused.

"Are you saying that I am Akini?" said Hermione not believing what she was hearing.

"In a way, yes. Your two souls are intertwined. You share your body in harmony, as does Traian and Draco. If you fully give in to the powers you have, you might be able to fight this. Know this, you cannot take the throne as queen until we know it is safe from the hands of those that mean no good to your people," Totoka said.

"So, there is a way? I can get out of this? I don't have to be with Dracula if I destroy him? How am I gonna do that?" Hermione asked.

"That you will have to figure out on your own. Hermione, this has gone on too long. Finish it for all our sakes. Follow your heart. Not your body. Find Akini in your mind and draw on her knowledge. We must go now," Phoenia said sadly.

"But what about Draco? Shouldn't he be told all of this?" Hermione asked. Phoenia looked at Totoka pointedly.

"Draco and Traian are different. Only when Draco experiences a true state of happiness or anger will he and Traian ever acknowledge each other. Draco knows you are destined to be together. So you will be the one to help him accomplish this. Do not tell him about Traian though. He will find him on his own. It must be this way," Totoka said.

"We must go now. Heed our words Hermione. They may help you later on," Phoenia said.

"I will."

"Good-bye, child."

"Good-bye, Hermione, dear," Phoenia hugged her and disappeared into a ball of flames, leaving an orange and red feather at her feet.

She looked at Totoka. He was staring at the Phoenix feather. Hermione could have sworn she saw a shadow of pain flicker in his eyes but as soon as it came, it was gone. The ice melted away from the floors and walls and covered him as he began to fade away.

"I really loved her. A long time ago," the whisper was so low, she barely heard it.

Hermione looked around her room. Everything was normal again. She pulled off her clothes and put on her boxer shorts and a tank top and crawled underneath the satin sheets of her bed.

Ive had people look over this whole thing and tell me its good...but youre the ones who i need the most info from! R&R please!