*A.N. - Sorry it took so long - I just had other stories to concentrate on - sorry - ENJOY && remember this is supposed to be like a hundred years ago x*

I nervously held out my hand to shake hers and she surprised me by grasping my forearm and bending her head forward in a slight bow, "Sorry Neferet, I forgot to tell you how we bow as vampires." Shekinah apologised.

"It's okay,"

The girl Ruth was looking me over with her eyes, a slight line between her eyebrows.

"Ruth," Shekinah spoke a little louder than necessary, "Would you please show Neferet around the place, I'll speak to your professors and you'll get the rest of your classes of, I have Neferet's timetable here, and obviously the spare bed in this dormitory is hers," she turned and looked directly to me, she gave me a quick hug before she left, while Ruth stared on in shocked.

"She never hugs people, she's just not the touchy feely type of vamp, she must really like you," her voice was quite incredulous with shock, and I lowered my eyes, nerves getting the better of me, I wasn't really used to conversing with people my own age anymore, her perfectness made it only more likely that she would hate me, clearly she was waiting till Shekinah was out of earshot to turn on me.

"So here's your bed," she said with a light happiness, "Shekinah had your things brought here before you arrived, your dresses and riding clothes are in the cupboard and your shoes are underneath," she took a deep breath and moved to a small bedside cabinet with two drawers in it. "These drawers have your undergarments, hats, stockings and personal objects in them, it is a school rule that you may only have three things which reside on your bedside table, I would advise your hairbrush, a photograph of your family and a miniature lantern so you can put candles in it in the morning, well, when you wake up." She smiled again and began messing up my bed; I stood there at first, quite shocked by her sudden need to jumble my bed sheets.

When I had regained my voice I managed to ask her in a whisper, "What are you doing?"

She giggled a little as she worked out what I was thinking, "I'm messing it up so that I can show you how we are taught to make our beds here." I hadn't realised it, but my shoulders had been tense, and as soon as her sentence was out my shoulders slipped out of there stiff position, earning another giggle from Ruth.

"Can I ask you something?" she said as she began to redo my bed.

"Yeah, what would you like to know?"

"I know it isn't really any of my business, but why did you re-name yourself Neferet instead of, well, something else?"

"Oh that," I said as she giggled on, "I don't know if you'll believe me, but it's because the goddess told me to."

"Wow, she didn't really," she asked, her eyes bulging in shock.

"It was when I was marked, the goddess came inside my mind, and she told me that I would change my name to Neferet, I've felt like the name was right for me ever since, so I changed it, what do you think?"

"Not something I'd pick for myself, but I think it suits you."

"Thanks."

There was a little awkward silence; it was hard to find words to say when my whole head was spinning, Just days ago I had been raped and beaten by my father, driven to suicide, and now I was being excepted into a community of my father's worst enemies, vampires, what was I to make of it?

"Ruth, what year are you in?"

"Third, the same as you. Why?"

"I don't know my way to my classes," I admitted, a slight blush forming on my cheeks.

"That's alright, I can take you to your classes, I've been here four months and I've been deprived of friends my age, not that I regret being friends with Margo and Ebony, I just would like a friend who's in some of my classes with me."

"Who are Margo and Ebony?"

"I forgot I hadn't told you about them, they're our dorm mates, Ebony sleeps across from me and Margo will sleep across from you." I looked at their sleeping quarters and noticed the huge contrast I had been too immersed in my own thoughts before to notice, Ebony's bed had swirling, deep black embroidery covering it, her bedside table had a big leather black box, a framed sepia photograph and what looked like an ivory hairbrush, clearly, she was rich.

Margo's was thee complete opposite, the sheets were almost bare a small but intricate flower pattern sewn onto them with pale thread, her beside cabinet had a little metal hairbrush, and a photograph leaning against a plain lantern.

"Where are they, if you're here?"

"Well it's lunch time and I came back to pick up some ink, they're all in the dining room. You can meet them if you like, but not to be nasty or anything, you need to change."

I looked down and noticed the muddy mess of my cream coloured petticoats, true, I did need to change, and wash too.

"Do you have inside water?"

"Yes, there's a large bathtub in the toilet, I can run you a bath in just 10 minutes if you would like, I don't think we'll be able to meet the girls until schools finished but at least you'll feel better after a nice, warm soak.

"Thanks, Ruth," her eyes sparkled as she received my thanks and she bounded into the little room she had came out of before, I followed her, it was an indoor toilet with a steel bathtub bigger than the one I had at home, and a little basin with water in it. The walls were painted a mint green with was no windows whatsoever; the only light came from the lanterns which hung from the walls.

Once my bath had been ran, Ruth exited the room and told me that she would just go and inform the girls as to where she had gotten to, the warm bath water was scented with rosemary and contained a scrubbing brush for my back. I lay back relaxing as I scanned my body, for the second time looking over my bruises, last time I had looked it had been the morning after so they were a shocking violet, now they were decolourising and changing into yellowy blue things. On my front side I counted 27, and noted that I would have to wear long sleeved dresses for a week or so.

When I'd finished with the bath I peeked my head around the door, needing to catch Ruth's attention as I had entered the bathtub without a clean dress.

"Ruth?" I said, talking just a little louder than normal. "Ruth?" No answer, I wrapped a towel around my body and sprinted to the wardrobe which had been assigned to me. As I was finding my yellow, long sleeved day dress, I heard footsteps; I quickly pulled up the tidy bed sheets to cover my bruises and ran to pull the curtains around my "cubicle" as I reached the scarlet pull arounds a boy entered my room, "Ebony!" he called as he entered and we both blushed a bright red as he caught sight of me, I quickly pulled and he backed away, shouting his apologies, once I had pulled the curtains right around I collapsed onto the bed, running his perfect face through my head, his raven black hair had been tied up to show his perfect face, his eyes a stunning jade green, his jaw perfectly chiselled, I had never paid much interest in boys, but it suddenly hit me that it would be okay if I did, I had no father holding me back. I didn't think I was quite ready yet, but the strong feelings of desire that had just surged through me alerted me to the fact that – maybe I could like boys.

That boy would certainly be my type, if I had a type.

*AN - What did you think? Remember to review x x x*