'Go away!' Mel said sleepily.

The persistent knocking continued. She tried to ignore it but couldn't.

'Fine!' she said angrily. In her night dress, she got up and opened the door.

'I see why you're late' he said.

Edward was dressed in most of his usual clothes, except he had put a thin steel chain mail over his clothes. His hair was well combed and he was grinning.

'You could've killed me!' Mel said sitting on the cheap wooden chair.

'You've been sleeping for six hours... what more do you want?'

She yawned. Against her will, she got up and opened her wardrobe, which had only the uniform and an extra dress. The gown had been returned already.

'Look away!' she said, yawning again. Quickly, making sure Edward wasn't watching, she changed into her outfit and tried to flatten her unkempt hair. It was impossible, as always.

'We should go there quickly, before anyone else' Edward said, after she was completely ready. 'Someone else is bound to have seen it'

She waved him off, trying to remember where she had kept the keys. She just had had a dream she had so intention of discussing with anyone, least with him. Trying to keep her eyes away, she locked up the room and they set off together for their adventure, or rather their picnic.

People often visited the ruins to enjoy the silence and the fresh air. They were located about a mile outside Thais' outermost premises, and were rumored to be the remains of an old haunted castle that once stood there. They were forbidden at night, for the spirits would come out and the reaper would make anyone his own.

The journey to the ruins wasn't very interesting, save for the moment when Edward tripped over a small rock, sending his sword flying and leaving his hair in a complete mess. Mel had laughed at him for the next five minutes till her stomach started to pain seriously and he gave her a very stern look. They had began when the sun was below the horizon. By the time they reached their destination, an hour later, the fresh rays were highly refreshing.

'Alright!' Edward said as the first fallen stone wall came into view. 'Let's explore!'

Mel started. She had almost forgotten why they had come there. Hastily, she tried to look very busy in looking at the ground, which was actually pointless as there was nothing but leaves that had fallen down from the predominantly yew trees.

The ruins were sad, but had an aura of the past around them. The construction was beautiful, the walls were carved and it probably had been a beauty when it stood. Creepers had started to grow on pillars, but they were free of moss even though no one possibly ever cleaned them.

The place was quiet and ideal for relaxing, provided you weren't too afraid of animals, who would rush past every few minutes. They were mostly docile, but Edward did have to scare off a wolf that had almost attacked Mel. She, on the other hand had ran and hid behind him when the beast attacked. Mel was never someone who preferred fights, she usually relied on the power of the mind for solving any kind of problem.

For some time, they stayed together, after which no more animals came, and they separated. Mel wasn't really looking around, her mind being preoccupied with the events of the night before. She couldn't contemplate how she hadn't realized it earlier: especially now that she remembered how Lydia was always pleasant to Edward and gave Mel murderous looks whenever she talked to him. Her initial thought had been that it was simply because Lydia found him cool, but retrospectively, she realized that there were other such boys in the academy too. She had no reason to ignore them, especially when they often gave her more importance than she had ever seen Edward do.

But that wasn't the only issue. The real issue was that Mel had somehow, somewhere in herself, started to like Edward more than she had ever liked anyone else. From her childhood, she had been - rather dogmatically - firm that she hated royals, nobles and by extension anyone who was rich; and that she would never have anything to do with them. In that sense, it was a real dilemma, for either she had to break this resolution, or she had to stop talking to Edward. The former seemed self betrayal and the latter was impossible. Her trance was broken as Edward's voice, calling out her name carried over the slight breeze.

She hadn't realized that she was standing in a pool of mud. Hastily, trying to get out of the sticky ground, she ran to where his voice was coming from. In the distance, she saw Edward sitting down on his knees. Her first thought was that he was hurt, but as she approached, she realized that he was actually examining the one on the ground.

It was a girl, maybe a year older to her, with eye-catching, but not very bright pinkish-violet hair. She was wearing a pure white dress, which was ruffled like her hair. She was barefooted and looked either unconscious or sleeping.

'This is strange' Edward said, bending down. He gently kept a hand near her chest. 'She's alive, looks unconscious'

He turned to Mel, who was looking at him rather coldly. He quickly withdrew the hand.

'Let her be' Mel said turning around. 'Let's continue our search. She probably...'

Before she could complete, the girl made a small noise and Mel turned around. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at Edward.

'Where am I?' she asked him. Her voice was frail, and sounded afraid. She tried to get up but fell down again. 'My head... where am I?' she repeated.

'You're in Thais' Edward said, unsure. The girl frowned slightly.

'I fell...' she said looking up. Edward reached out and touched her forehead.

'She's cold as ice' he said, urgency in his voice. 'We have to take her to the temple!'

He looked at Mel. She didn't say anything. In one sweep, he lifted the girl in both his hands. She immediately put her arms around his neck for support.

'Go ahead, I'll come later' Mel said.

'Mel...' Edward said, again unsure.

'It's fine!' she said stiffly. 'I'll return soon'

Edward nodded, still unsure and sprinted off towards Thais.


Without much thought, Mel started around again. She felt like kicking something, but controlled the desire; the last time she hadn't, her toe had pained for several hours. Her first day properly out of the city without the other students had been ruined by some foolish girl. She again controlled the temptation to kick.

A little exploration revealed that a small stream ran in between the trees and formed a lake ahead. She spent a few hours by its side, hoping Edward would return, but finally gave up after it had become too hot. Just as she was about to leave, something caught her eye in the bright sun.

It was a ring, rather small and wouldn't fit her finger. It looked made of silver with steaks of violet - the same as the girl's hair. On the back was inscribed the word 'Stella'. Probably her name, she thought. Careful not to let it fall, she slipped it into her pocket and started back for Thais.

The temple was situated at the middle of Thais and served as both hospital as well as a place of worship. Often, it was claimed that the priestesses had magical powers that healed those whom no other could. Others claimed that the water in the fountain of the temple was holy and cleansed the body of all disease.

Edward stood up as Mel arrived. The girl was lying on the bed, her eyes open, but she still looked weak. Ignoring Edward, she took out the ring and handed it to her. With some difficulty, she sat up in the bed.

'It says "Stella"' Mel said. 'Is that your name?'

The girl looked slightly perplexed. Then, she seemed to have remembered something. Her eyes sparkled slightly and she smiled weakly, putting on the ring, which fitted perfectly.

'Yes...' she said, again in the vague tone. 'Stella. That's my name'

Mel sat down on the bed. She was still angry, but all the same, intrigued.

'Where are you from?' she asked. She looked confused.

'Where...' she said. 'I don't remember... anything'

She seemed have completely forgotten everything. She lied down again.

'I remember falling... that's all...'

Mel frowned and turned to Edward.

'Do you reckon...?' she said, to which he nodded.

'It's strange, but seems to be. I know no one could have survived that'

Mel frowned again. A priestess, dressed in a flowing white gown entered.

'Don't talk too much child' she said, touching Stella's head. Then she turned to them. 'Why don't one of you stay here till the night? She'll be good, having company'

'I'll stay!' Mel said before Edward could open his eyes. He looked taken aback. 'I expect you have some special tasks, Edward?'

He looked at her coldly.

'Fine!' he said and picked up the sword. 'I was going to suggest both of us stay'

Without waiting for her to speak, he quickly left through the door of the dormitory, closing it quietly behind him.


It was dark and rather outside when the priestesses finally asked Mel to leave Stella to them. It turned out that she could remember absolutely nothing, and even after hours of questioning, Mel had no clue as to who she really was. She herself was equally confused, and kept repeating that she remembered her fall.

Two men were standing ahead in the dark alley, both cloaked and hooded. They seemed to be waiting for someone and turned as Mel walked past, trying not to look at them.

'Excuse me, miss' one of them said. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. The voice was colder than anything she had heard before. She ignored them and walked on slightly increasing her speed. A slight ruffle behind her back, the speedy run she had heard before and the throwing off of a hood. In a flash, Mel turned around and threw the water from the flask she had just opened. She saw them for only a fraction of a second, the bloody fangs, before the vampires screamed into the night as they crumbled. In seconds, their bodies had turned to ash, and Mel was shaking violently, their shrill screams still echoing in her ears.

They had found her. No matter what she did, the past had come back to haunt her. Her mind worked very fast. She had only one chance. Tomorrow, before dawn, she would leave Thais, unsure as for her destination, but she had to leave.

She opened the door of the room and closed it securely again. As she turned, she realized that she wasn't alone.