Hey ya'll! Sorry it's taken me over months to update but um…yeah, here we go! :D Oh! And by the way, this is where my story strays from the series storyline…just a heads up :P
I paced back in forth in the room I shared with my cousin, Kurda. He was sitting on my makeshift dresser, watching me go back and forth. He sighed. "Vanessa, he'll be fine, they won't let him pick something that will for sure get him killed." I groaned and fell into my coffin. "I know, but I want to be there! I want to help him somehow." I cried, frustrated. He laughed. "I know. That's exactly why you can't, you know what he finds difficult and easy, what his fears are." He said. I sighed. He rolled his eyes and stood up, extending his arms out to me. "Come on, my dear cousin. We need to go get this off your mind." He said. I shrugged and took his hands, letting him pull me up. He took my hand and led me down the hallways of the massive, castle-in-a-mountain.
"I thought you guys were cousins." I turned and saw Darren coming out of a room, walking towards us. I rolled my eyes. "I can hold hands with my cousin." I retorted. He laughed. "So what are you up to?" he asked as the three of us walked. I paused. "Actually, I need to go get my clothes from Seba…" I trailed off. I looked at Darren. "So do you." I noted. He looked down at himself and shrugged. Kurda laughed. So we headed off to Seba.
We walked into his chambers. "Seba!" I sang. He didn't appear to be there. "He must be with Larten." Kurda mused. "Yeah probably…hey, get something for Darren." I said as I made my way to the very back. I smiled when I came to a glossy black wooden chest. I sat on my feet and pulled it open. Pulling out the black material, I sighed happily. My dress. I quickly slipped out of my ragged clothes and put on my dress. It was a black strapless corset dress with the lacing in the back instead of the front and had a tutu bottom with layers of purple.
I reached into the chest and pulled out my necklace that my mother had given me. I put it on and pressed my hand against the smooth amethyst stone. I took the stone out for a moment and ran up my legs and over my arms. They started to glow softly and black, tribal tattoos swirled up my body, revealing themselves. I walked over to where the boys were waiting on me. Darren's eyes popped out of his head.
"Whoa, Vanessa, you…wow. Wait, where did those tattoos come from?" Darren asked, confused. I laughed. "I've always had them, they were just hidden." I gave Kurda the stone. "Can you get my back?" I asked as I turned around. He ran the cool stone down my back and laced it, tying it in a bow at the bottom of my back. I turned and took the stone from him, placing it back on my necklace. "There, that's better." I smiled. Kurda laughed at me.
"So, what all is there to do around here?" Darren asked curiously as the three of us walked out of Seba's chamber. "Exploring, fighting, sneaking about, walking about outside." I said. Kurda snickered. "Getting drunk and picking fights." He teased. My face turned red as I remembered the embarrassing moment. "I was not drunk!" I whined. Kurda and Darren snickered at me. "Vanessa!" a frantic voice shouted.
I turned around to see Arra Sails running towards me, a look of fear on her face. My face paled. "Arra, what's wrong?" I asked, confused, as she reached us. She bit her lip. "Darren's trials have been indefinitely put on hold." She said. I stared back, shocked. "Isn't that a good thing? He has time to train." I said, even more confused. She shook her head. "It's because…Mr. Tiny is here." She whispered. My eyes widened. "What!" I shrieked, my knees shaking. "Why is he here?" Darren asked her, afraid. Arra stared at me. "He's waiting for Vanessa in the Hall of Princes…it's about the Vampaneze Lord." She said, her voice quivering. Kurda and I gasped.
I burst into a run, soon flitting. I groaned as I hit the doors of the Hall of Princes with a thud. I shakily stood up and pushed open the doors. Mr. Crepsley, the Princes, and Mr. Tiny were all there. I frowned when I saw that Mr. Tiny was sitting on my throne. "Hello, Desmond." I greeted pleasantly as I walked up to Mr. Crepsley. He smiled, amused. "Hello, Vanessa. Did you have a nice run?" he snickered. I glared at him. He sighed. "You are so stiff, you need to lighten up." He complained. I snorted. Mr. Crepsley pinched my arm as Desmond clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, tsk Larten. You should teach her manners. She will be needing them for what I have in store for her." He said, smiling wickedly. Mr. Crepsley's eyes narrowed. Kurda, Darren, and Arra walked in then. Mr. Tiny smiled brightly at them. "Ah, hello friends and family of Vanessa!" he said, staring at each and every one of them. Paris cleared his throat. "What exactly do you have in store for our young Princess, Desmond?" he asked warily. Desmond looked at Kurda and smiled. "Well, it seems our dear Vampaneze have found their leader at long last." His face paled. Interesting… I thought, making a note to myself to find out whatever Kurda was hiding.
"So what has this to do with Vanessa?" Mr. Crepsley asked. Mr. Tiny started laughing and clapping gleefully. "Oh, I thought you'd never ask! You see, I've decided to solve your little problem with a form of diplomacy." He said. I frowned. "What problem? There won't be a problem. Now that they've found him, we can use the Stone of Blood (AN: If that's not what it's called, please tell me, my memory is a bit fuzzy ^^;;) to track him down and kill him, thus preventing the destined War of Scars." I said. Kurda's eyes popped open. "I suppose that was your plan?" I asked him. He flushed and nodded sheepishly. "Only mine was a bit more…elaborate." He said. I nodded. Mr. Tiny sighed.
"Yes, but I'm afraid that if that happened, nearly everyone in this room and a certain other Vampire Prince would be dead." My face paled. "What must we do, then?" Arra pressed. Mr. Tiny turned his attention to her. "Why, by marriage of course. Use Vanessa and their Lord to make a bond between the clans." He said. I froze. "That's just sick." Darren said, his hands now clenched into fists and shaking at his sides. Everyone was taken aback, except Mr. Tiny. He smiled. "Yes, but how else am I to entertain myself?" he asked dramatically. I shook my head slowly, trying to make myself believe this was a dream. "It's not a dream, my dear. They should be arriving now actually." Desmond said, pulling out his heart shaped watch. I glared.
"No, I refuse to marry someone that I don't love, let alone someone I don't know! Especially when the person in question is a Vampaneze." I seethed, aware of a set of familiar footsteps behind me. Darren yelped in surprise. "Even if that person was an old friend?" a voice behind me asked. I froze, my knees shaking. Mr. Crepsley's face paled as he, Arra, and Kurda turned to see who was speaking. Kurda and Arra looked confused. "Vanessa, who is that?" Kurda asked, confused. I couldn't utter the words.
"Steve Leonard." Darren whispered.