Chapter Five

One in a Million

I bustled into the kitchen removing my bonnet and placing it upon the hook by the door.

'Now what would you like to drink? I have water, tea and even some coffee lying around' I heard myself say coffee and winced, I only had tea, why did I say coffee? Ysandre hadn't spoken yet, so I turned around to probe her with my eyes; it irked me when someone simply ignored my hospitality. As I turned, I was shocked to see Ysandre draped over my one and only chair smiling slightly, eerily. She flexed her fingers once, twice and tilted her head to the side, a small yet mocking smile upon her beautiful face. Unconsciously I felt my feet shuffle back, her grin merely widened at this. She rose fluidly and walked, practically danced to my side, small intricately slow steps.

'Im sorry about this Amelia, I truly am,' she whispered.

'It's Ana,' I spat, shakily I'll admit, but no-one has ever called me Amelia apart from my mother, which is why I chose the name Ana. She gave a low chuckle and I shuffled back further, or thought had, when I looked back up her face was before mine.

'Oh, but your so wrong, you can try and deny your true name, but it never escapes you my dear,' Ysandre drawled, the name gave me shivers.

'You know.' I felt her take a strand of my hair and roll it between her fingers, 'I have a feeling you will turn out quite fine.' She sniffed the strand she was playing with and sighed, 'if only,' she moaned quietly. My heart thudded and I felt droplets of sweat roll down my back.

'Be still, and calm, it shall be over before you know it.' I turned to gaze at her and to my horror saw her teeth elongate, vampire. I gasped and my feet shuffled awkwardly for a few seconds before I ran for the stairs. Suddenly she was there, right in front of me, grinning manically with her hand holding tight to my upper arm. Frantically I tried to pull free, but it was like fighting a brick wall. I saw her bend towards me slightly and only had time to gasp in horror as she plunged her fangs deep into my neck. I instantly felt cold run down my body, much alike my weekly bath, apart from colder, much colder. I shivered and my mouth opened to scream, as it did I felt something warm, much alike tea, drip into my mouth, apart from it was sticky, like honey. I felt it roll down my throat and suddenly I wasn't cold anymore. I was hot, too hot. My back arched and I opened my mouth and screamed, screamed until my throat grew too hoarse. Everything hurt; I was in so much pain. I could feel my bones breaking and, I hoped, fixing themselves almost as quickly, apart from they seemed longer than before, my hair seemed to be pulling from my head, prickling painfully. I felt tears run down my face and drip from my chin, and I just sobbed and sobbed, 'let it stop, let it stop.' I heard a small chuckle, a blow to the head and then darkness claimed me.

I opened my eyes to a new world. Everything looked so different. I could see every speck of dust and dirt, and being a normally incredibly tidy person, I was appalled at how dirty my house was. I sat up and felt two warm hands push me back down.

'Rest now, rest' I heard. I turned to look at the face of the hands and smiled, of course, Mr Peter Phillips had come to my rescue again. Except he didn't look like Mr Peter Phillips, his once blonde hair was now a deep chestnut tinted with red, and his eyes, a deep, dark blue, I could drown in those eyes. I flexed my fingers slightly and winced slightly. I glanced down and saw the droplets of blood that had come spurting out when my, now long, rounded, fingernails had punctured the flesh. I looked at Peter shocked.

'What happened to me?' I whispered, it hurt my throat slightly.

'I can answer that,' said a light voice from behind me. Pushing Peter's hands away I sat up and looked towards the doorway the voice had come from. A woman, beautiful beyond belief, walked into the room. She wore a simple brown peasant dress with a small silver bracelet around her wrist. Her blond hair was pulled away from her face with a simple black ribbon that contrasted brilliantly with her pale, flawless skin.
'My name is Amalie; I am here to help you through this difficult time.' Her voice was soft and sang out in soprano.

'Help me with what-,' I gasped. My voice, usually deep and gravelly was high and melodious. 'What's happened to me?' I winced at my wind-chime voice.

'You have changed,' she answered in a condescending tone, this irritated me.

'Changed? Into WHAT! What is wrong with me?' I was so angry, I hadn't even realised I'd rose from the worn couch stuffed with moss. Amalie simply stared at me.

'Show her,' she said to Peter. Peter was suddenly in-front of me with the piece of glass I used for a mirror. I gasped at the reflection. My red hair was darker than normal, more auburn than red; my body, fluid even in stillness, and it was pale and perfect. But I wasn't drawn to the darker hair, nor the tall, flawless body, but the eyes. My once green eyes were now a dark blue, the same colour as Peter's. I wrenched my eyes from the reflection and focused instead upon Amalie.

'Please, what happened to me? What have I changed into?' I was close to tears, my hands wringed together as I beseeched her. She gazed at me steadily before replying.

'Ana, you are still human; but also part vampire. you will be a victim of your own thirst, and will live for eternity, however; you can die, easily, as your heart still beats, a little faster than a normal humans, but still traceable. You can also bleed. My dear, you are the first half-human vampire in history. You're one in a million.'