Aug 24th, 9:30 p.m.
"Welcome, Kris!" Vilgot said cheerily as he greeted her, Eric and Pam in the lobby of the Diomheir Beinn Sgoil. After nodding to Eric and Pam's hands, which he ascertained didn't appreciate the courtesy of handshakes, Vilgot put his arm over Kris's shoulders and led her through the expansive lobby.
Kris was completely overwhelmed as she briefly looked over the many enormous and exquisite paintings of horse-mounted hunters with tracking dogs leading them as well as others of mountains and the lake; prior headmasters of the school; and countless deer antlers, bear heads and stuffed birds.
"I truly hope you'll like it here, Kris," Alexis said as she walked behind them. "There are many activities the kids play after classes and plenty of clubs to join if any interests you."
They passed a group of boisterous kids ranging in ages from ten to probably twenty years old wearing brightly colored tartan uniforms, but when they saw their headmaster they immediately became quiet and walked away in silence.
The school was so large that after Alexis gave Kris the grand tour then joined Vilgot, Eric and Pam in the reception room, it was well after midnight. "So, what do you think?" Vilgot asked.
"Everything is beautiful and big and … antique. It's a bit overwhelming." She sipped blood from the glass and found it ironic that instead of wine she'd be drinking blood. Water under the bridge.
"Yes, it is," Vilgot said. "Would you like to enroll?" He certainly doesn't beat around the bush, Kris thought, though Alexis gave no indication she heard her thoughts.
"When does it start, the semester, I mean? And what would I even study?"
"Oh, right," Vilgot said then handed her a thick notebook. "You may join us whenever you'd like. I'm sure someone will help catch you up. Everything is in there, Kris. Degrees, historical information on sabers, fun activities and the lot. Feel free to contact either of us if you have any questions."
As they walked back to Eric's cabin, he shot up in the air without taking Kris with him as he had before. Pam continued to walk beside her as they went back to the house. "Pam, you and Eric hardly said anything."
"No."
"Why?"
"It's your decision."
She eyed her aunt cautiously before taking her arm and stopped her from walking. "Nu-uh, Pam. What did you three talk about while I was gone?"
"This and that."
Kris got a little irritated at Pam being so evasive. "Mind if I go down to the lake?"
Pam started walking again. "Don't care."
At that point, Kris didn't care, either. She hurried off to the lake until she found a spot with some grass to sit on. She had so much to think about, too much, in fact that she didn't know where to begin. The one place she always found solace was at the beach or in a pool, having her head underwater, where nothing but silence met her ears – except for the crashing of the waves at the beach.
Quickly undressing, she ran into the still water of the lake, ripples scattering around her before they raced away from her. She dove into the waters and swam without surfacing for air, being that she didn't need to. Not caring where she was going or how far, she was shocked when she met the shore on the opposite side of the lake. The gravelly sands scraped against her chest and stomach, but getting on her knees with the waters just at her waist she watched as the bloody cuts quickly healed.
"It is such a waste to ruin those beautiful, perky breasts of yours," came a voice from a log just on the shoreline.
Her eyes shot toward the voice and immediately kicked herself back into deeper waters before sinking under the water to hide her breasts. "What the hell, Eric?" she spat.
"I'm just watching out for you."
"Eric, if you don't mind I'd like to be alone," she said as she swam away on her back, her eyes closed, keeping her ears underwater so she could get back to her thoughts. A moment later a shadow was cast over her eyes as something broke up the moon's rays shining on her body. Eric flew horizontally over her, mouthing something. She closed her eyes and ignored him – that was until the top of her head smashed into a huge boulder jetting out from the water.
"Ow, damn it!" Kris cursed as she stood in the shallow water and rubbed her head, paying no mind to her naked body she was then showing off. Getting her bearings, she hurried to the spot where she left her clothes, put on just her sweater that covered her to her thighs and sat down on the patch of grass.
She watched him as he floated down and sat down beside her. "So," he started, "Made up your mind yet?"
"Yep. I've concluded you're an ass."
"True, but I was referring to the school."
She thought a moment. "Did Vilgot, I mean I know he's not –"
"You picked up on it, too?"
She shot her head toward him. "Too? Ah, that's what was wrong with Pam. Yeah, Alexis seems okay, but I'm not sure how to take the way he looks at me. Do you think he's … okay?"
"Looking for an excuse not to go?"
She hesitated. "Yeah, I think so, no, I don't think …"
"You don't have to, you know."
"Eric, what else am I going to do here? Nothing. But I just don't have a good feeling about the school."
"There's no reason why you can't go in the spring if you change your mind."
"I've thought of that. I'm going to go bat-shit crazy if I don't do something."
"Your things from home are already here. And there's a surprise for you in front of the fireplace, but you can't use it until the next full moon."
Ignoring the surprise, she replied, "Now that I'm so fast, that'll take me, what? Five minutes? What in the hell did you do with yourself for a thousand year?"
"I never said it was easy for me. But I managed."
She stared out over the now-tranquil lake waters. "The only thing I really find fun and exciting is when I'm saber. I'm not knocking being vampire. It's only been four days. What do I know?"
"Remember, Willa and Tara will be coming. Tara's older, but Willa is close to your age."
"Oh, goody," she said sarcastically as she stood and slipped on her undies and jeans. "Guess I've got some organizing to do," she said before she ran off to head back to the house.
By the time she got there, Eric was waiting at the front door. "Kris, before you go in, let me just tell you being vampire isn't all fun and games. I've gone decades …"
She didn't bother listening to him as she walked in, went to her bedroom and slammed the door. Throwing herself on the bed, she tried to come up with the reason why it all seemed so troubling and suffocating to her. Losing her parents at a young, impressionable age, there was never talk of what to do in college or what she'd do with her life, even though her adoptive family was supportive of some of the dreams she had. Depressed. She was depressed, plain and simple. She had options now, but there was end game, no final epiphany to kick her ass in the direction she truly wanted to go.
Not even bothering to put her things away and wanting something to eat before she went sleep for the day, she went downstairs where she heard music coming from the reception room. As she turned the corner, she stopped when she heard a soft moan then stepped back and watched Eric as he fed from a strikingly beautiful woman, whose hand was slowly creeping up his thigh. She'd never really watched him feed before, but she could tell he was enjoying her taste, being that she'd just caught his eyes roll in the back of his head before he closed them.
The look of pure bliss on his face made her stomach surge with a feeling she'd never felt before, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. Was she jealous? Was she angry that he liked the female, or was it that it wasn't her neck he was feeding from?
"You may join us, if you'd like," Eric spoke, breaking her train of thought.
When she looked over his face he was looking directly at her, his eyes narrow as if he'd been trying to read her mind. She threw her back against the foyer wall, closed her eyes pretended she hadn't been busted.
"Suit yourself," she heard him say. "Your bedtime meal is in the moon room, courtesy of Vilgot."
After hearing the woman moan even louder, she raced to the room and saw a male only a few years older than her, smiling warmly. "Hi, Kris," he greeted as he stood, his Scottish accent thick, heavy and sexy. "I'm Matthew … Matt."
He was a boy at the school that she had seen on the tour that Alexis gave her when she was shown the dorm room. It was the brother of a student who brought his sister a care package. And she definitely took a keen interest in him. They never spoke, but it was the look in his eyes that held her attention as she stared right back. He was no taller than six feet with chocolate brown hair, slightly wavy, with a little curl over his forehead. The color of his eyes was an azure blue with streaks of gold streaking outward, and his smile chilled her to the bone.
"Um, hi," she replied as they sat down on the couch. "You're human," she commented, assuming he was full-bred saber, as was his sister.
"Yes. I got the brains of the family." He chuckled. "She got the saber side." As if by routine, he took off his jacket and pulled the collar of the t-shirt aside to expose the vein in his neck.
She didn't immediately feed from him. Instead she heard herself ask, "Matt, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No, I don't. Speaking of, a group of us are having a bonfire down by the lake tonight. I'd love it … I mean, would you like to …" He blushed wildly, which made her smile, but she waited for the invitation, if that's what he was trying to say. "If your Maker will allow, may I come pick you up, say around ten? I mean … if you want …"
She put her hand on his shoulder to ease his anxiety. "No, I don't think Pam will mind, but Eric …"
He frowned. "Oh. I didn't know …"
"No, no, Matt. We're not … We're just imprinted." Was that all it was, or was it more than that? "It sounds fun. I'd love to come."
He smiled and instantly relaxed. "I never really understood the power of the imprint."
"Neither do I. I've got the information from Vilgot tonight but I haven't read it yet."
The conversation between the two was easy and effortless, not to mention the fact that the more they talked and got to know the other, she was beginning to like him more and more. And what she'd felt for Eric earlier quickly dissipated.