Chapter Four

Viorica

My mother tugged playfully on a strand of my long brown hair.

"Soon we will be planning a royal wedding," she said dreamily to my Aunt Aloe.

They both laughed happily, sounding like little girls. I froze, my mouth dropping open.

"But surely not that soon, Mother? I mean, I am only seventeen."

"And Stefan is eighteen dear, and ripe for maturing. Once he matures, he can name the date for his own marriage. You already know this," Aloe said comfortingly.

I nodded numbly, turning my gaze back to my mother's portrait of our family. Stefan and I had only been children, but the intensity between us was startling.

I'm not ready to be married yet. I feel so young…

"Anise, think of how lovely Viorica would look in this kind of gown…"

My mother turned her attention from my hair to the book my aunt was holding up. I glared at my reflection in the mirror. My mother and aunt were in their flowery moods. They were actually being really annoying.

"Mom, I'm going back to my room now. I have studying to do…"

"Alright, Viorica. Good-night dear."

I let myself out of her room and into the fresh air of the corridor. I ignored the guards posted around the hall and went into the small open courtyard. I sat down on the bench, turned away from the door.

A mother bird was flying into the tree with food for her babies. I smiled as I watched them, safe in their oblivious peace. I sighed as I thought about my own predicament. Stefan loved me and the wedding in my future was probably closer than I had originally thought. Stefan's eyes had actually glowed red for a moment tonight, so he would probably mature soon.

I was pretty sure that I loved Stefan as he loved me. But how could I be 100 % sure without ever "testing the waters"? Whenever I was with Stefan I felt happy and light. But was that true love or the love you would feel for a dear cousin?

I sighed again, dropping my head in my hands. A strong feeling of fear and danger crept into my heart. I almost threw up because the force of it was so strong. What was happening? I hadn't even tried to listen to my feelings. Only mature vampires got foresight from feelings…

I felt someone behind me, and my fingers found the small sword I kept hidden in the folds of my uniform skirt. I willed the bad feeling to go away so that I could run to my father. The presence behind me grew closer and I drew the sword, whirling around to face my opponent.

Stefan caught the blade in his hand, surprise etched into every corner of his face. I held my defensive pose for another second, then I started to tremble. The blade slipped from between my fingers, falling to the ground. I glanced at Stefan's cut hand, which was already beginning to heal. Hesitantly, I looked at his face, which was now full of concern.

Stefan pulled me into his arms, his un-hurt hand stroking my hair. I burst into tears and he held me tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Stefan!" I sobbed, hiccupping. My tears were turning hysterical now. "So sorry. I don't know what happened, I-"

I broke off into more tears. Stefan pulled back to look at me, his hand caressing my cheek. I couldn't bear to look his face-which was concerned- and I buried my face in his chest.

"What's worrying you, Viorica? You seem so tense. What's the matter? You know I'm here for you."

I shook my head, pulling back from him. I wiped at face and Stefan helped, gently brushing away a tear with his thumb.

"It's nothing. I just felt… it's nothing," I said, hiccupping again. "How did your meeting with my father go?"

His face darkened for a moment. I stopped brushing tears off of my face and focused on Stefan.

"What happened? Did something go wrong?"

"No, not exactly. It just didn't go as I had expected. Your father pretty much gave me a secretarial objective. I have to find this ancient prophecy that is supposed to come true sometime soon. And it's somewhere in this big stack of parchment your father gave me."

I pondered the meaning of this and what was best to say to Stefan.
"You know my father wouldn't have asked unless it wasn't extremely important," I said gently.

I had chosen the right words. Stefan dropped his head, looking at our feet.

"I know that," he said meekly.

"How long do you have to find this prophecy?"

Stefan's head came back up, and his expression was no longer meek.

"Your father said that he trusts I will make the prophecy my priority," he almost sneered.

I gave him a long hard look. At first he met my stare, but after a moment he dropped his gaze again.

"You would be wise to make the prophecy your priority. You never know, it may be more important than you think. If it wasn't my father would have had someone else find it."

Stefan sighed, his head dropping onto my shoulder. I laughed softly, stroking his short dark hair.

"Alright, fine. I'll find this prophecy."

The six o'clock gong rang out and with a final sigh, Stefan pulled away. He took my hand, leading me out of the courtyard.

"Come one. I'll walk you back to your room. We wouldn't want to be caught out after hours."

"You know the whole danger after hours thing isn't true," I teased. "There are no foul monsters that stalk the corridors."

Stefan stopped and turned to face me.

"Do you really believe that? They told the human and vampire students the same thing. For the humans, we are the dangers here. For us, the humans are the monsters in the hallways after hours."

"I don't think that humans are monsters, Stefan. I just think that they allow their wants and fears to govern them sometimes," I said sharply. "And you know they didn't call the human students monsters. They merely cautioned us about our contacts with them. The younger vampires can be foolish, and the matured vampires can… loose control."

Stefan scowled, gently tugging my hand to continue walking down the corridor.

"They used to hunt our kind, Viorica. Thousands of our people were slain because of humans. I'm not sure if I can forgive that."

I sighed, running a hand through my long hair.

"That was such a long time ago, Stefan. Are you going to hold a grudge for the deaths of people we didn't even know?"

Stefan didn't answer. I wondered when he would accept humans. Even though we never saw them, we lived with a bunch of kids just like us. Well, minus the powers and blood-drinking of course.

We were both silent until we reached my room. He kissed me gently at first, but then his lips became more urgent. His hands dropped from my shoulders to my waist, pulling me against him. My arms wound around his neck, holding him as tightly as he was holding me.

I was surprised by his sudden urgency and I pulled away. His face was as confused as mine, but he worked a smile onto his face as he stepped away from me.

"Good night Viorica," he said kissing my hand gently.

Stefan turned and walked swiftly away. I watched him, a strange feeling of sadness mixed with confusion clenched in my heart. Sighing, I pushed open the door to my room.

Tonight I was grateful that I had my own room. Most of the time I was resentful of the fact that my royal status kept me from having a roommate. I had always wished I could room with Maria, my closest friend. But tonight I was in much need of the silence.

I sat in the window seat, my mind skipping back over tonight's events. It started out normally enough with the lecture, but had gotten a lot weirder as it went on. The human boy wandered back into my mind and I gritted my teeth in frustration.

How could he know what I was; say that word with such mocking arrogance? He was endangering everything that this academy and my father were working towards. I couldn't let him do that. I had to figure out who this boy was and find out what he knew about us.

I squinted, the sunlight irritating my eyes. The human students thought vampires burned in the sun. Ridiculous.

I had woken up during the human student's lunch hour to try and find the boy. I found a dark deserted hallway and opened myself to my feelings. To my surprise, the feeling of foreboding that had accompanied then human was close… closer than last night.

Spinning around, I noticed an open classroom door and foolishly walked inside. Almost immediately the door swung shut, revealing the person I was trying to find. I gasped and stepped further into the room. The boy smirked, and I noticed again how handsome he really was- for a human. He had sandy blond hair and bright green eyes, so unlike Stefan's dark looks.

"Who are you?" I demanded, furious that he could trap me so easily when I had meant to trap him.

"My name is Gregor."

"Were you the one outside my window last night?"

Gregor smirked again, and my fury rose up.

"Listen, you. I am not one to be toyed with," I snapped.

He threw back his head and laughed. His cold laughter filled the room and he stepped towards me. I automatically stepped back and found I was against the wall. I got angrier as I realized Gregor had successfully cornered me.

"Stop it. I want to know what you said last night."

Gregor walked closer; we were about a foot apart now. I glared at him, ready to run around him for the door. He had no prayer of catching me, an immortal.

"You should know," he leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Vampire."

I sucked in air in surprise and he rocked back a little. He half-smiled again.

"How- How do you know that?"

Gregor didn't answer me. His hand rose to touch my face, but I flinched away. He laughed softly in my ear again and backed away.

"If you truly want to know, meet me here again tomorrow."

Gregor pulled open the heavy wooden door and began to leave.

"I won't come tomorrow," I said defiantly.

Gregor turned to look at me one last time. His face was completely devoid of any emotion.

"Suit yourself," he said, and walked away.

Stefan was waiting for me outside Master Maximus's classroom again. He smiled and held out his arm. I was a little guilty about meeting Gregor, so I smiled widely and took his arm, kissing his cheek. Stefan looked surprised, but took it in stride.

Suddenly a searing pain shot through my head. I saw a face, a man's face. It was cold, cruel, and laughing. I gasped as the pain increased and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was the man's cold, familiar face.