Chapter 4:

Even though last night had been rough, I managed to wake up on time and drag myself to work.

As I was heading to my office, I heard a voice behind me say "Well, I see our senior executive finally managed to get herself out of bed this morning on time."

I turned to see the chief executive, leaning against my office door, smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Wow, brilliant Jake. You really have a life, don't you?" I stalked into my office and started working on my computer, pointedly ignoring Jake's presence. I could feel him looking at me and it was really unnerving. Especially since he was incredibly good-looking. With his dark brown hair and eyes and his nice figure, he could drive a woman crazy. He had been doing this to me ever since I had first joined the company. It didn't help the situation that I had known him since childhood. I don't think he was even aware of how much I liked him.

"JAKEEEEEEE" a shrill voice shrieked. Cherie was always trying to win Jake over no matter how many times he had tried to put her down. Jake sighed and went to Cherie to discourage her once more.

I continued to do my work.

At last, it was time to leave. I grabbed my things and left as quickly as I could. I reached home and got ready for my 7pm. I was very nervous. Immediately, I went back to my memories….

Mommy, I don't want to go to school! I whined. My mother took me by my hands and said to me, "Honey, you're beautiful and smart and the most wonderful girl in the whole wide world. Everyone's going to want to meet you. But they can't meet you if you don't go to school, right? Come on, let's go." Mother and I walked down the halls to the kindergarten class and as I entered the classroom, I looked back to see if she was still there. She was and I felt so safe and secure, knowing that I wasn't alone….

I blinked back the tears that had unexpectedly sprung into my eyes. Too bad I'm all alone. I thought to myself bitterly.

At 7, I went downstairs and there, sure enough, was the small, black Mercedes-Benz waiting for me. I hopped in and soon, we arrived at the castle.

Gloria was waiting for me on the front steps. "Hello, Arisa! I hope you've had a good day today. Everything has been arranged for you. I'm sure you'll be glad to meet your tutor."

She paused at a set of doors and smiled "Wait for me here, Arisa. I'll just go check to make sure everything's set inside." She quickly slipped through the door, leaving me alone outside.

A loud bell sounded and in entered streams of girls all dressed in bright colours. I felt very out of place in my black get-up. They were all in clusters, laughing and talking. I started to feel more and more like a recluse. "Hi, are you new here?" I heard a friendly voice behind me. I turned to see a cute, little redhead smiling at me.

"Hi, yeah…uhmm…I'm new here. My name is Arisa." I smiled nervously.

"Oh, so you're Arisa! We're all really excited to meet you! My name's Samantha but feel free to call me Sam. I hope you'll like it here! This is a really awesome place to be." With that, Samantha prattled on. She was a very sweet girl and I pretended to listen to her, all the while taking in my surroundings.

Gloria came back outside. "Ah, Arisa, I see you've met Sam! I'm sure you both will get along with each other very well. Samantha and the other students live in the school for the whole year, only returning during breaks. This school is like an academy of sorts. I'm sure you'll run into Samantha often. Samantha…" she frowned. "I think you had best get to your class. It's about to start."

"Bye, Arisa! It was really nice to meet you!" Samantha gushed, running down the hall.

I waved my hand at her and then turned to follow Gloria through the doors. "Have a good lesson, Arisa. After, please get your tutor to take you to my office so we can discuss a few things." She hugged me gently before she left.

I blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill and ignored the pain in my heart. Gloria was so kind and wonderful, reminding me so much of my mother and all of the memories that I had stored deep inside of me kept resurfacing. I wish mommy was still alive now. I pushed it all back, focusing on what was about to come.

At the front of the room, a man was standing with his back to me. I cleared my throat. "Hi. I'm Arisa…?"

He turned to face me and I gasped in shock. Train guy was here!

For a minute, neither one of us said anything. We just stared at each other in shock, utter disbelief showing on both of our faces. Why am I always with this guy?!

He cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Ok, so I'm your tutor. My name is Rick. Let's get a move on since we have a lot to discuss and you know almost nothing about anything whatsoever." He gestured to the lone desk in front of him. "There's your seat and you'll be stuck there until I feel you are ready to move on to higher levels. I think you'll be stuck there for a very long time, don't you?" he smirked.

I flushed with anger. "Well, sorry to be so stupid, RICK. But this is my first encounter with anything like this…so give me a break, ok?!"

He stared at me. I stared back, not willing to back down. After a long minute, he looked away and went over to his desk. "Open your textbook to page 100. We'll start our lesson through there."

I flipped to that page and read the title, Vampires and Their Abilities.

"Vampires are very powerful, one of the most powerful supernatural creatures you will ever meet."

"Wait – you mean there are other supernatural creatures, like dragons and stuff?!" I interrupted, horrified.

Rick sourly replied, "Yes, Arisa, vampires aren't the only supernatural creatures that roam the Earth. And for your information, dragons are extinct."

"Now, back to the lesson." Rick glared. "Vampires live for many, many years. It is nearly impossible to kill them due to their strength and speed. They can only be killed through certain rituals, which are described in a different section in the book. Look at that when you have some free time, alright? Moving on, vampires have retractable fangs that come out when they are either hungry or in the presence of blood. Light doesn't affect them nor do crosses. Most active at night, they prefer to sleep during the day. Certain vampires have powers that set them apart from other vampires, such as the power to control the elements or the power to read minds.

You, though you are but a mortal, have all these powers in you. They have not been present in you yet because you have not reached the stage where you can accept your position. When that time occurs, the replacement priestess will conduct the ritual and utter the words that will unleash the powers and thus, make you our long awaited high vampire priestess. The replacement priestess is none other than Gloria and though we are all happy with her rule, it is time for the chosen one to ascend to her rightful place. I sincerely hope that you'll be able to meet the expectations required. It would be quite a let-down to have a washed-up priestess ruling." He concluded, smirking once more.

I ignored that comment and asked him, "What are the responsibilities of a high vampire priestess, anyway?"

Just as Rick was about to answer the question, a gong sounded. "Well, class has ended for tonight. Now, it's time for the dinner break and then dismissal. If you want more information, then just read your textbook. All the information is in there."

He walked briskly towards the door. Pausing, he called behind him, "Hurry up, I promised to show you Gloria's office." With that, he opened the door and strode out. I jumped out of my seat, grabbing my belongings, and running behind him, trying to catch up with his fast, brisk pace.

We went through many winding corridors, each turning a different direction. Keeping track of them was useless; there were just too many. We finally reached Gloria's office. Rick, without another word, spun on his heels and left me there, all alone. I was starting to feel that I would always feel this way.

Sighing, I entered the room. What else am I going to find out today? I wondered wryly.