When Lela came too, she was lying on a soft, comfortable something. From what she could feel, it was warm, and it seemed dark, even to her closed eyes. With a great effort, she cracked them open. She was right; it was dark. But shadows flickered from a fireplace across from her. It was a large room, and the soft thing she was on was a large overstuffed chair.
A little groggily, she fully opened her eyes. A desk sat off to her left, in front of a large window overlooking the forest and all the dorms. There was a man in the chair, with long hair tied back in a ponytail, and he had on an oversized sweater. He looked at her, and a bright smile broke over his face.
" Well hello there!" he pushed his chair back and stood. He hurried over, bending down beside her.
"Ugh." Not her most brilliant response, but she still felt slow. He laughed, lines crinkling around his eyes. He was apparently older. " Where…am…I?" her voice was soft and her exhaustion shone through. His smile faded.
"First things first. Im Headmaster Emeil. What's your name dear?" he was holding one of her hands now, patting it in what she assumed was supposed to be comforting.
" Lela. How did I get here?" she was determined to know. The memories she had seemed like a movie, or something she had read maybe…he sighed.
"Well, as you know, Alix had…erm…found you…and uh…you and him…had an…encounter…" he was interrupted by a low voice from the shadows.
"You tell her already." Lela jumped, and looked with wide eyes at the figure emerging from the shadow in the corner. It was an older boy. He turned to her, "Alix bit you." His voice was angry, and he looked revolted by the idea. His dark green eyes were flashing, and he ran a pale hand through his longish dark brown hair. Lela had to look up to see him fully.
" Oh." She managed. Way to tiptoe around that one buddy. "Is that a…umm…very bad thing?" she was confused. Shouldn't she be a…
"You're not going to turn into a vampire." He said in a calmer tone. She squinted.
" You look like him. But not blond. Or blue." Her words were slightly jumbled still. He raised an eyebrow in amusement.
" Maybe you should go back to sleep." He was talking to the headmaster now. " Did you take care of Alix? And Corrin? He is just as much to blame for not stopping him." The anger had curled under the edges of his sentence, filling it now. " And what are you going to do about her, now that she knows?" he voice had gotten softer, and he peered at Lela.
Indignation rose in her. She stood, a little unsteadily, but still stood nonetheless.
" I have a name you know. And it isn't she or her. Its Lela." He was looking down on her now, not in the snobby way, but in the im-taller-than-you-and-I-know-it kind of way. Lela bristled, but took a breath to calm down. " I'm not going to say anything to anyone." She said impatiently, crossing her arm.
" Not even your closest friend?" the Headmaster was in the conversation again. Lela tore her gaze away, to stare at him.
" I don't really know anyone here." Lela stated frankly. The boy looked over to the headmaster. His eyes had a new light.
"Headmaster, What if you made her the new guardian?" his voice was urgent, causing the headmaster to pause. He raised a finger to the side of his face, looking thoughtful. " You know we need another one, and the year is about to start. She already knows, so you wont have to explain or prove anything. And now she'll be careful because she knows the dangers." He sounded convincing, even to Lela who was so lost she didn't know where to start. I'll be cautious? I should be a…guardian? The dangers…it has to be something with the vampires. Lela marveled at her calmness at the word she wasn't afraid of them, even considering her recent experience. Maybe im in shock?
While Lela pondered in her thoughts, the headmaster and the boy had been talking. They turned to her, and Lela felt a blush creep into her cheeks as she realized she should have an answer.
" Uh…repeat that?" she said in embarrassment. The boy rolled his eyes, earning him a glare from Lela. The headmaster chuckled.
" At this school, we are experimenting with peaceful human-vampire interaction. One set of dorms for us humans, the other are for our…more immortal students. There are four guardians, two vampires, and two humans. The humans keep the other human students from finding out about vampires. It just keeps the peace. The vampire's keep the other vampire from starting anything with the students. While the vampires are here, they are given a blood supplement, but im told it's not as good as the real thing." He shrugged, and the boy nodded. "The guardians also keep the humans away from the vampires, just to keep temptation at bay. It's really not that hard. Oliver here," hand gesture to the boy, who is apparently Oliver. "Is a guardian himself. He has suggested that you join us as one, since you have the…experience, and the knowledge now. It would help us a great deal you see, and it's really not that hard!" The headmaster was grinning at her again now.
Lela's head was spinning, and she heard herself agreeing with the headmaster. Out of the blue, she as swept up in a bear hug, courtesy of the headmaster. He's excitable. She thought wryly. It was hard to breathe again. Oliver shook his head.
" Oh, Lela, since you're the new guardian, you can have your uniform now!" Lela grimaced. The school had a uniform code. They weren't so bad, mid-thigh length skirts, and long sleeved dress shirts and a belt to keep your shirt at the waistline of your skirt, but still. She would have to look the same as everyone else. The headmaster walked to a closet, rummaging for a moment, before peeking his head out.
" I should have asked before, but what size are you?" she told him, and seconds later he was handing her the pale red uniform. Gingerly, she took it, staring at it in distaste for a moment.
" So… ummm…yea…" She was searching for words. Oliver turned his gaze to her, a smirk on his face.
" Are you always this articulate?" He was teasing. He better be.
" I try to keep my mentality with the level of those around me." The comeback was great. And then she realized the Headmaster was still there. " I mean…um… not that your stupid Headmaster…I was just-" she cut herself off, sighing dejectedly, before glaring at Oliver, who grinned back in fierce enjoyment. The headmaster himself laughed.
" You're going to get along great!" he spoke cheerfully. " One more thing Lela," she angled her head to him. " You're going to be staying in the guardians dorm. It's got its own common room and everything!" he was still happy, as Lela's spirit plummeted. "You can go get your stuff, and Oliver will show you where it is! In fact, he can help you move it!" this man is so relentlessly cheerful; I might have to keel over and die. And now im bunking with Oliver??? She was horror stricken, he groaned. " Well kids, get along now! It's getting late" With a last smile, he went back to his desk and sat down. Dismissed, Lela and Oliver stepped out into the dark paneled hallway.
Oliver turned to the left, and Lela followed. His took such big steps, with his long legs that Lela almost had to skip to keep up.
" Slow…down…" she panted. Oliver looked over his shoulder; taking in the picture of Lela slumped against the wall. He softly sighed, and stopped, hesitating, before turning around and walking over to her. She looked up at him, and abruptly felt his arms around her waist. Lela froze, and then sighed in relief, as all he did was pick her up. That relief turned to disbelief as he began to carry her the rest of the way down the hallway. She grumbled in defeat. She began to mull things over in her head as he walked. It must have been Oliver that found me with that other guy…Alix or whatever…oh…
Lela let out a mental sigh, and then looked up at him. From her…vantage point, she could feel his ropey muscles. He had picked her up with no problem. She looked at his face. He couldn't be that much older, maybe two years.
" Thanks." Then suddenness of her voice seemed to startle him. He slowed, and looked down at her in surprise.
"Your welcome? What did I do?" he sped up again. Down a flight of stairs. Lela moved closer to him.
" Don't drop me," she warned, "And I know it was you who stopped Alix." Oliver rolled his eyes. Apparently, he did that a lot.
" I'm not gonna drop you. And that's the only thing you've noticed so far?" he queried cautiously. Lela went on red alert. Theres something else. Look deeper…why would vampires listen to a human…they are obviously stronger than humans…and…uhh…I SEE…he thinks ill be scared if I know Oliver's a vampire. Oliver's a VAMPIRE. Am I scared? I don't think so…he's too nice…he isn't like them…
He was avoiding her gaze now. They had arrived out at the door leading to the…wait? They were at the school? Lela turned in confusion to face Oliver.
" I thought we were at the administration building…? And it's almost light out." He let out a low laugh, causing Lela to crinkle her eyebrows.
" You were out for a long time. And no, the school is where the headmaster keeps his office. You can walk right?" Lela nodded, and he set her down, and Lela was shaky, but steadier than before. She took a breath and took a step. Oliver watched her, making sure she would be able to make it, then he walked over the plush dark maroon carpet and opened the door. He held it out, angling his head,
" Go on." Oliver spoke slowly, as if to a small child. Lela sniffed, and stalked past him, out into the cool, dark, morning air.
" I'm not a dummy. I knew that." Lela said haughtily. She continued to walk, nose in the air. And then, as her foot came down on the slippery grass, wet with dew, she slipped.
Lela landed on her butt, pure shock on her face.
" OW" she gasped. Oliver was shaking with laughter, dark amusement in his eyes. Lela glared at him, before heaving her self up. Her hands were slick with water, and torn up grass. Hr uniform lay on the ground beside her, still folded, but the water was starting to seep through it. Dusting her shorts off, she bent over and picked up her uniform, eyeing it critically. She turned her wrath on Oliver.
"Are you done yet? You immature, rude, stupid, son of a bi-" she was cut off as he stuck his hand over her mouth.
" I was going to help you up!" he protested, ignoring her glare. He grabbed her arm, " Come one. Ill help you. Since you obviously cant walk…" the last part he mumbled, but Lela chose to ignore it. So, arm in arm, they walked back to Lela's dorm. The woods looked much different now, in the first rays of morning light. There were birds singing, and it smelled amazing. Oliver was staring at her.
" What?" Lela said, still a little miffed about earlier.
" You look like your trying to get high off the air." He observed. Lela sighed.
"It smells REALLY good." That made her think about Oliver. Why didn't he smell like blood like the other vampires? Pondering this, she turned her bright eyes on him. Oliver looked uncomfortable, and very obviously tried to distract her.
" So which room is yours?" Lela was thankful no one was awake yet. She couldn't handle any remarks about her appearance right now.
" Uh…this one." Lela led the way in, past the common room. It was empty, and actually looked quite cozy. Lela groaned. All she wanted to do was lay down on one of the comfy looking couches and go to sleep. But she dragged past, Oliver behind her, and all but crawled the stairs to her room. She opened the door, and peered in.
There was her stuff, still unpacked, right by the window, and piled on her bed. Apparently, her stuff had arrived overnight. Lela counted.
" One…Two…Three…and my bag." She turned to Oliver, who stood staring at the pile in shock and horror.
" I'm supposed to carry…that?? Do you plan on moving here?" his tone of voice was overwhelmed, and just a little teasing. Lela " Humph."-ed , and snapped her finger.
" Get to work then. You have a lot of carrying to do." Her voice was smug, and she was smiling. Oliver grumbled, as he stacked the nags up on his arms.
" Girls…damn clothes…ouch…heavy…" Lela giggled, and led the way out of the room.
Right when she passed the bathroom, Oliver in tow, it opened. A girl with short, light brown hair stood in the doorframe. Her slanted brown eyes widened when she saw Lela and Oliver.
" Oh." Her voice was warm and it sounded like she wanted to laugh. Lela grinned at her.
" This isn't what it looks like? I don't even know what it looks like actually. He's helping me move?" she offered up. The girl raised her hands.
" Its all good. Im Svannaya." Lela waved at her.
" I'm Lela, and that's Oliver." Oliver grunted on cue from behind the stack of bags. " We better go, but nice meeting you!" Lela smiled one last time, and continued on.
" I thought you'd never shut up." Oliver's voice floated from around the bags, as they walked through the common room. No one was there still, but someone was making coffee, and its rich flavorful smell was swirling around the dorm. Lela opened the heavy wooden door, and let Oliver pass. The door scuffed him on the backs of his legs, as Lela slid past him.
" We barley said two words, moron." He scowled in her general direction. This was going to be a long walk.
