I slept better than I had in days. I can tell when I woke up, I wasn't achy or anything. This new bed was amazing! Nala was cuddled up on the other pillow next to mine still sleeping the day away. I woke up and looked at the little purple alarm clock that sat on the glass table next to the bed. It was 6pm. Perfect, that was about my normal time anyways for getting up.
I slowly got out of the bed and walked towards my huge bathroom. The lights almost blinded me when I put them on and I had to squint for a few moments to get used to the bright light. I did my normal ritual, took a shower, washed my face, brushed my teeth, brushed my hair and got dressed. I got to wear my new Priestess symbol on my clothing now that I was a High Priestess. Caren had told me she wanted me to stick around the House of Night here in Tulsa, since Neferet had been thinking about resigning soon. Ha, like that would happen. I doubt Neferet would be leaving anywhere in the near future. So, while I had here still looking after the school, and I was double checking, I was still going to take the classes. I still had much to learn and Caren thought that was very wise of me.
I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, walking past a still sleeping Stevie Rae who was passed out on the couch with a bag of blood resting on her stomach with her hand still clamped on it and a TV remote hanging out of her other hand that was dangling off the couch and the TV running on the Cartoon Network. I chuckled, geesh she could be such a dork. So I walked back to her and took the remote and the bag from her and pulled the blanket that was on the back of the couch over her for just a few more minutes. Then I would wake her.
I walked back into the kitchen and got myself another bag of blood. I was starting to feel an uncontrollable thirst rise up in my throat and from what I had been reading, that was all part of the Change and being an Adult Vampire. Your thirst would increase as you got older and then plateau off. Mine was starting to become more intense, I needed it when I wake up, before I sleep, after I exercise, after any magic at all, circle castings…ext. It was a common thing for me to have and I needed it. I was still glad to be able to still eat food. So I took my bag of blood and sucked on it while I searched the cabinets for my favorite cereal, Count Choculas! I did manage to find a box of Lucky Charms as well, which was Stevie Rae's favorite. I took it down and put each in a bowl, one for me and one for her. When I was done preparing breakfast, I walked over and gently shook Stevie Rae back to life.
"Stevie Rae, get up" I said.
She just grumbled and turned over facing the back of the couch. "I don't wanna get up momma!"
I laughed, pulled the blanket off of her and close to her ear I said, quiet loudly, "GET UP!"
I think that did it as she jumped right out of the couch and onto her feet looking into all the directions of the room as if she was a crazed animal. "Zoey, ohmygod! You scared the poop out of me!"
"Well, you seemed to be enjoying your dream, whatever it was" I laughed at her and her very wild and all over the place curly hair.
"What?" she asked as she ran her hand through her hair, "Oh gross! Ugh…and I just washed it last night….darn it!"
"You can use my shower if you like" I offered.
"Nah, thanks but I'm just going to head back to my room. I have to get ready for my new class"
"New Class?" I asked.
"Well, I talked to Caren and Neferet and they both agree that since I was the first ever Changed Red Vamp, even though I'm not anymore, that I could help the red fledglings that we still have trouble controlling their thirst and lust for blood and all the icky stuff that goes with it. Plus teaching them to be respectable members of society" she smiled.
"Respectable members huh? Well, good luck with that. Hey, I poured you some Lucky Charms!" I said trying to get her to sit and eat with me at least before she bolted. We didn't get much time to talk anymore…well, not since the whole Erik thing. Which, really, I was totally over.
"Mmm, I might be tempted to stay for those. You know they are my favorite" Stevie Rae licked her lips.
"I already poured a bowl for you" I waved it in front of her face teasing her so she was sit and eat with me.
"Fine, but I have to eat quick so I can get to class before the fledglings get there" she sat down and started munching on her Lucky Charms. "So" she said in the middle of stuffing her face. "We're ok then right?"
I gave her an odd look, "What do you mean?"
Stevie Rae put down her spoon and looked at me, "I mean, you and I, we're ok? Like, we're still friends right? I've noticed that we've been kind of….distant since that whole…."
I put up my hand to stop her, "Yes, we are ok, and you don't have to bring it up again. I know that what happened was not of your two's doing. It was Neferet and her awful possession. So I'm looking past it. You're my best friend Stevie Rae. Even though it may have been trying times for both of us, I wouldn't be a friend if I just gave up on you. Friends forgive each other" I smiled and she smiled back.
"Thank you" she said quietly. "I've been kind of keeping my distance because I wasn't sure if you were mad at me or not"
Now this time I dropped my spoon and took her free hand, "I'm not mad at you, and I wasn't. Things have happened just so fast for me right now. From being a Fledgling to a special Vampire to now a High Priestess, it's overwhelming, and I'm sorry I kind of shunned you to the corner"
"It's ok Z. At least now we made up and like my momma always said, "A true friend is one who thinks you're a good egg even when your cracked""
"What?!" I asked laughing and nearly spitting out my Count Chocula's in the process.
"You know, that you're still my friend even though it's obvious that I've had problems…or cracks. Duh Zoey. And to think that you had a thing for Loren Blake…best poet laureate ever."
I dropped my spoon; no she didn't just say his name.
"Oh geeze, I'm sorry, I forgot…see…cracked egg" she pointed to her temple and gave a weary smile. I just rolled my eyes and continued eating.
Once we were done I gave Stevie Rae and hug and she left. I was still in my apartment just lying around, not sure what to do before 8, I had another hour. I decided to go check on my Grandma. So I pulled on my shoes, threw my hair up in a ponytail and walked out towards the infirmary.
As Neferet had told me, Grandma was still on the bed fast asleep. Neferet had sedated her to keep her resting and healing. I knew her and Erik were doing whatever they could for her. So while I waited for school to commence, I sat with her and held her hand and sang the Cherokee lullaby that she always sang to me while I ran my fingers through her hair. "You have to get better Grandma. I can't do this without you" I started to cry.
"She will be well again" Maurelle said as she came out of the dark corner of the hallway startling me.
"Maurelle, you startled me" I said wiping the tears from my eyes, not normal tears, but tears of blood, that soon she will have to get used to. I had to look back at her twice to actually see her. Her hair was no longer short, it was very long and hung in thick auburn waves down to her waist. Her eyes were bright green and huge against her oval face and her lush and pale pink lips. The Twins must have dressed her because she was wearing skinny jeans with knee high stiletto boots and a brown tunic with a thick gold belt.
"Y-you look nice. Quiet a change from the last I saw you" trying to give her a smile, obviously not working.
She knelt down in front of me and wiped my face with her hand. "You love her very much?" she asked.
"She is everything to me. My mother, my grandmother, everything" I blinked hard to keep the tears from coming down my cheeks once again.
"Trust me, she will be better. Let me see if I can help her" Maurelle comforted.
"What do you have an endless list of gifts?" I laughed.
"No, but actually, when my family was killed by the Dark Queen, I was just but a young girl. Before my mother left me she had my eldest aunt Eden weave an enchantment so that if anything should happen to them, that I would absorb all power. That is why the Dark Queen has always kept me. She is afraid of the power I hold in me. Alas, I do not know how to use it until the time comes. She hopes to one day use for me her own evil deeds. I am eternally grateful for you allowing me a way to leave."
"If you have the ability to walk between Realms, why couldn't you leave before?" I asked.
"The portal was closed. I think it was when you arrived that it actually opened again. I'm not sure, I just never really knew how to do it, but I remember my mom taking me to see my mortal Grandparents in London and her always saying it was like a side step."
"So, what other gifts do you have?" I asked, still holding Grandma's hand firmly in my own.
"My aunt Hopie had a gift for healing. She could sense cures for ailments when she mixed herbs together. Sancha could read the texts of our soul books and could find the real truth that lied within text. As you know, my mother could walk between the realms, as I can. Cordelia could speak to animals, which come in quiet useful from time to time." Maurelle smirked. "I did not inherit my Aunt Zara's gift; she was killed in the war against the Sorcerer king well before I was born."
"So you have all those gifts?" I asked, this would be wonderful and amazing to have such a gifted fledgling, none the less one that was a fairy!
"Yes, all except for the gift of music. That was Zara's gift; she could weave enchantments in her music. My eldest Aunt Eden, she was a master in the mystic arts, or what I guess you would call here, magic. She would assume what you do to be great mystic arts magic, even more advanced than she. That is the power of my Grandfather, the Great King Oberon that is able to control the elements as you do"
"What was it like to live in Fairy? I mean…um…because of the wicked witch of the west" I asked, curious to see how it would seem to live there, it seemed like a beautiful place, but no electricity, nothing.
Maurelle laughed, "Wicked Witch of the West, yes, I know that term, I believe from The Wizard of Oz, I remember my mother showing it to me when I was younger. Fascinating show. Anyways, Fairy, you wanted to know…well, you didn't have to worry about growing old, we lived forever, we were immortal."
"Were?" I asked catching her chose of words.
"Well, we ARE immortal, but we are not susceptible to death. If we are hit with Isenmort or killed in battle, it is a final death, but we do not die of natural causes, we never grow old, we never wrinkle. We are, I guess you would say, our own fountain of youth."
"That's pretty cool" I admitted.
"It is. Before the Dark Queen, our lands were vast and beautiful! We had many great mountains and woods with so many flowers and shrubs. The air, it is so much different than here. The air was clean and fresh, nothing to taint it. The water was crisp and cool. It was a beautiful place once"
I saw Maurelle's eyes darken and her face turn from happiness to sad. I could tell she was recalling some bad memories. "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it" I said.
"No, I can talk about it. It's just painful. See, the Dark Queen wasn't always as dark as she is now." Maurelle shifted in her seat and turned more towards me, "There was a time were we all had wings. Everyone flew. However, we were not immortal. When my grandfather became the king of Fairy, he made a deal with a socerer in a far away land to the East, as long as he ruled fairy, no disease or natural cause will harm his people. In exchange, we lost our gift of flight."
"Oh how terrible!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, well, I think I would rather have immortality than wings, however, there was a group of people on an island we call Ynis Maw. They all have the gift of flight still, but they are cruel and mean creatures and prefer to be alone. The Dark Queen was the leader of those people. My mother befriended her. Her name was Clorimel. She helped my mother free my grandfather from the Amber Prison on Ynis Maw where the Sorcerer King banished him"
"So Clorimel is now Allure and she used to be a good guy?" I asked slightly confused.
"Yes, Allure changed her name when my mother left in search of cures after fairy fell under a great curse that ended our immortality and caused us all to get sick. After King Oberon and Queen Titania died of the sickness they found that Clorimel and her people were not affected. Allure took that as they were more righteous than the rest. Her heart started to turn black. She killed villages and burned cities and from then, she was called Allure, Dark Queen of the Fae."
"Do you think she'll come looking for you?" I asked, worried what the answer might be.
"I do not think she knows how to travel the realms, but it is possible if she ever got a hold of a crimson stone. It is the only stone that my aunt Eden enchanted so that they could pass through the realms"
"When was the last time you saw one?" I asked.
"It was in Eden's apartment, but long after she vanished, the stone did too."
"Wow, seems like it's been a tough life so far for you"
"Yeah well, it seems your life isn't peaches and cream now is it?" she arched an eyebrow. I had let my guard down. "Your Step-Loser? What exactly is that?"
Crap! She had listened in my head at my internal monologue about how horrible it was to be her and yet I had gone through some horrible stuff myself, so I sympathized with her about losing her father and losing her mother. "Step-Loser. He is my mother's husband, but he is not my father. He is my Step-Father, but he's a loser and a jerk."
"Ahh, I think I know what you mean, as in he is rough and terrible to you?" she asked.
"Yes, precisely" I sighed. "Come, I will give you a schedule of classes you can take and then you have to get to class, actually, both of us need to."
"What kind of classes do you have here in the Mortal world? Is there music? Arts? Animal studies?"
I realized this was going to be much easier than I anticipated. "Come, let's go back to my room and we'll figure out a schedule that works well for you."
I took her hand and we started back towards my apartment, I was starting to feel at ease with Maurelle, and I hadn't yet asked her if she was made at home with Coraline. I figured they would be a good pair, but knowing they were both kind of shy, and fightened, I wasn't sure how either would react to each other.
"So, what do you think of your room and your new roommate?" I asked.
"Oh, the room is to my liking. Much better than I have been used to for the past thousand years or so. Not as magical as I had anticipated though."
"What do you mean?" I asked her, a magical room?
"When we lived in the Fairy palace, each room was filled with magic or each of our gifts. Since I had all, including psychic powers, which was what I was originally given, my room was filled with lots of magical things. The walls lived, they moved, sang, talked, they were like living beings."
My eyes were wide, wow, how I would love to see something like that.
"Maybe someday you will" she smiled at me and pointed to her temple, "Sorry, sometimes I can't tell what you say out loud and what you think. I don't use my Psychic powers all often."
"What about Coraline? Did you both get along?"
"Oh yes, she is a very sweet girl, but I know she is very troubled. She has night terrors about awful things, worse than any I've ever had about the Dark Queen."
"Did she tell you those things?" I asked
"Oh no, she saw my ears and assumed I was some demon from her dream and that someone was to come after her and kill her. I saw it in her head. I immediately went to comfort her"
"I'm going to have to see what I can do about those dreams, Natasha should be able to help, she is a dream weaver."
"Do not worry, I have healed her of the dirty dreams for the time being. She slept soundly today and was much refreshed this morning before I left"
"Well, thank you Maurelle, I'm sure you and Coraline might turn out to be very close friends" I smiled
"I certainly hope so"
