*virtual hugs and hot chocolate all around* I'm sorry, but this chapter might hurt you a little.
(POSITIVE NOTE: OVER 3000 WORDS! NAILED IT!)
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The slayers were standing over her body sadly, as if it were already over. Chloe let out a small cry and ran across the room, shoving the slayers aside. It wasn't as bad as she feared- Emarni was still alive, or dead, or whatever- but she was in pretty bad shape. Her eyes were wide open and she was gasping, like she was taking her final breaths.
"Emarni!" Chloe yelled, and the girl seemed to hear her. She didn't seem to see her however.
"Mother!" Emarni shrieked, "Mother, help me!" She was kicking frantically, her legs thrashing against the bed.
"Emarni, she's not here. She's not here, I promise." Grayson was there too, gripping his goddaughter's hand in his own.
"Malik!" was all Emarni could shout in response, tears dripping down her face.
"She's hallucinating. We don't have much time." Mina said, not even sounding remotely upset. She was grabbed by the arm, Grayson snarling at her.
"She's my goddaughter. You save her or I will kill you." he growled, "I'm calling her family." He pulled out his mobile phone and stuck his finger in his other ear, "Malik, you need to get to the Slayers Guild. Bring Ingrid. Vlad's too far away to get here in time. It's Emarni... She's in trouble."
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All she could hear were the urgent voices and the clinking of medical equipment, as they rushed to save Emarni. Couldn't they see that Emarni was ready to go? George shuddered, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She was sitting outside the room, on a small plastic chair. Police tape lined the entrance to the room and George didn't dare cross it.
"Just stay out here." Grayson had told her, "I don't want you to see this." And it was true that George couldn't see what was going on. But she could feel it. Ever since George had been very small, she had been incredibly empathetic. She could read the look on her police man's face, when he came to speak to her mother. She had already known that her father had died and she began to cry.
"You're really special, Georgie." Sally had told her that night, "You can feel other people's feelings. That's a gift." She had always been told that it was a gift. That's why she had known when the slayers came to burn down her village because she could feel their anger.
"Mum, they've come to kill us." George had told her and her mother told her to run. Run and never look back. And George had run, only glancing back quickly. Only glancing back in time, to see and feel her mother die. And it hurt.
"It's not a gift." George had always said after that day. She always had to feel the hurt, the tears, the anger. And it ate away at her. Ever since George had moved into Grayson's home, she'd struggled to cope. She had stayed in her room, as much as possible. Because Emarni was always in some kind of pain or another. She thought that her family hated her, that Chloe didn't love her, that Chloe did love her, that she was going to die, that Chloe was going to die, that her family was going to die and that she should never have come to England.
"She's going to die..." Chloe was sobbing. George began to cry, the hurt eating at her. Her heart throbbed inside her chest and she felt like someone had punched her hard.
"Stop it." George muttered. There were people running back and forth, but nobody stopped to see if George was okay. Nobody seemed to care. George stared at the floor, slipping her phone back into her pocket again. She only looked up, when two pairs of feet appeared in front of her. She knew those spiky high heels and those combat boots.
"You alright, Georgie?" Malik yawned, looking down at her.
"Not really." George shrugged.
"Can we talk later?" Malik said, "My sister's kind of dying..."
"She's in there." George sighed. The vampire kicked the door open and ran inside. After a moment, Ingrid sat in the chair next to George. She looked weirdly out of place in the Slayers Guild Vampire Hospital.
"I know this must suck for you." Ingrid said.
"She's your sister, not mine." George lifted her feet onto the seat, hugging her knees to her chest.
"I meant, having to put up with Chloe and Emarni all the time." Ingrid said, "They're really close, aren't they?"
"You could say that." George said. Or you could say that both of them were really confused. Emarni was deluded and she was pushing Chloe further away from her- because she was scared that she loved her. And Chloe was upset, because she had really hurt Emarni. And she blamed herself for this whole fiasco.
"If Emarni dies..." Ingrid shrugged, "Chloe's going to fall apart."
"She'll get over it." George said, because Chloe probably would. After a while. A very, very long while. Like a century or something.
"Can I ask you about something?" Ingrid said, suddenly. She's going to ask about Malik, George thought, she's got that expression on her face. And her emotional levels were spiralling.
"Malik... We broke up..." Ingrid said.
"And?" George said, a little coldly. The older vampire looked kind of hurt, looking away from the younger vampire.
"I don't know if I like him anymore." Ingrid said.
"You do." George answered, feeling bored. She didn't want to talk about Ingrid and Malik. She didn't want to talk about Emarni and Chloe. She didn't want to talk about Vlad and Talitha, which is what George was sure Ingrid was going to ask about next.
"I just feel-" Ingrid began, but George got up and walked away. She knew exactly what Ingrid felt about Malik and she didn't want to hear her go on about it. Definitely a curse. It was when George turned the corner, that she was grabbed by the shoulders.
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Malik could tell that she was getting worse, when she stopped fighting against them.
"Emarni, sweetie. Please wake up." Chloe was begging her. Although Malik couldn't help cringing at the lovey-doveyness, he was glad Chloe was there. He probably couldn't cope with this on his own.
"Emarni." Malik tried, "It's me. Malik. Your brother. Talk to me." Every now and again, he would slip into Romanian. And he was holding her hand tightly.
"She can't hear you, any of you." Mina said.
"Think again." Grayson said. He looked down on the flushed face of his goddaughter and watched as her eye lids fluttered open.
"Malik." Emarni lifted a hand and pressed it to the side of Malik's face, "My brother. Hello."
"Hello." Malik smiled, "Alright?"
"It is not really a hello. A goodbye, perhaps." Emarni said, "Grayson, hello, goodbye. Thank you so much. Chloe Branaugh. Come here." She grabbed Chloe by the front of her shirt and for a minute, Chloe thought they were going to kiss on the mouth. But they didn't. Emarni pecked her on the cheek and giggled nervously, letting go of Chloe's shirt.
"Say goodbye to everyone." Emarni said, throwing her arms around Malik. She hugged him tightly.
"Stop saying that!" Chloe cried, "Stop saying goodbye! You're not going to die." Emarni was hugging Grayson now.
"I love you all." Emarni said, "My three favourite people." Her eyelids were drooping, like she was sleepy. But it was so much more than that and everyone there knew it.
"Chloe." Emarni said, to the blonde girl that was sobbing over her, "There comes a time, where everything has to end. Everyone of us will one day have to die. My day just came sooner than I thought. But it is my day. And I am so glad I spent it with you three. Not quite so happy that I am in the Slayer Guild, but I suppose I cannot have everything."
"You're going to be fine! Tell her she'll be fine!" Chloe shrieked at Malik, who looked at her sadly.
"I can't." Malik said.
"Why not?" Chloe yelled.
"Because I can't lie about something like that!" Malik yelled. And Emarni disintegrated slowly into a mound of ash.
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She couldn't breathe, she actually could not breathe. She was dragged along the floor, her trainers scuffing against the cold stone floor. She was blindfolded and couldn't see. She could however feel; she could feel the heightened emotions of her kidnapper. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, he was excited. Why? Because he had just stolen George from the Slayers Guild. He propped her up and let her find her feet. Then, he ripped his hand off her mouth. George gasped for breath.
"Hello Georgina." the voice was cool, calm and collected. Nothing like the excitement that filled his mind. He was trying to psych her out.
"H-hello?" George stuttered. She still couldn't see where she was going and she felt uncomfortable standing in darkness.
"I suppose you have some questions for me." the voice said. It was a male voice, a young male voice. At the same time, it was ancient. It was hundreds of years old.
"No." George knew that she had to stay calm too. She couldn't see. She couldn't feel. She couldn't run. She had to stay here, in the dark, with a stranger. Which didn't necessarily mean that she had the lower hand.
"None at all?" The boy was amused.
"None." George said, "Except... Why would you snatch me? Hundreds of vampires, slayers, there. Why me? I don't even have my full powers."
"I think you do have powers though, don't you, Georgina? One that you are aware of and one that you are not?" The voice was moving, which meant he was walking around her. She could feel his amusement, his enjoyment. He was enjoying playing with her mind.
"You know already." George said, "And I only have one power."
"No." The voice said, "Two."
"What's the second one?" George asked.
"Information." The voice replied, "And I'm not going to let you go until you share that power."
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Malik kicked the wall in anger, denting the plaster and nearly breaking his toe. He slammed his fist into the wall, which felt good. So, he did it again. And again. And again. Until his knuckles began to bleed, scarlet blood trickling through his fingers. Ingrid hated him, his mother was a traitor and Emarni was dead. What did Malik have now? He hit the wall again, his blood leaving marks on the wall.
"Malik?" Ingrid sounded nervous, probably for the first time in her life.
"What?" Malik growled, hitting the wall again. Blood spurted out of his knuckles and all over his hands. His ex fiancé grabbed him by the arm.
"Stop it!" Ingrid said.
"What do you care?" Malik snapped, trying to rip his arm free. Ingrid still gripped him firmly; he kept forgetting that she was stronger now.
"I care because I'm your friend!" Ingrid threw him backwards and he slammed into the wall. His back began to ache instantly, another pain to add to his list. His eyes began to water from the pain.
"It's okay." Ingrid said, quietly. She was clearly mistaking his tears for him crying. And maybe he was.
"My sister." Malik said, and it sounded like a sob. Awkwardly, Ingrid pulled him into a hug. He rested his head on her shoulder.
"I didn't... I... I love her so much..." Malik said, "I didn't know I did. But goddamn, she was perfect. Just goddamn perfect." He pulled back, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his leather jacket. He was fine, completely fine.
"I'm sorry." Ingrid said, "I didn't know her as well as you did." She looked at him for a moment more, before stalking off down the corridor. Malik watched her go, trying not to smile.
"You should just go after her." Emarni would've said. And he probably should've, but he didn't. Malik had to go and find Chloe; she was probably the only person that would miss Emarni more than him.
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It had been exactly three and a half hours since Emarni had passed away and Chloe had not stopped crying. Every time she managed to stop sobbing, she would remember that Emarni was never coming back and would collapse in tears again. Nobody tried to comfort her, because nobody could. She sobbed into her pillow. The Slayers, though they didn't enjoy having them there, insisted that all vampires stayed, in case another of them fell seriously ill. And as if Chloe wasn't having a hard enough day, she had discovered a silver bracelet around her ankle. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed it, but it must've been there for weeks because her ankle had almost completely rotted.
"Chloe?" Malik knocked on the door, "Um, can I talk to you?" In answer, Chloe let out a small sob and buried her head further into her pillow. He came in anyway and she felt the bed sink, as he sat next to her. She lifted her head to look at him. Most of her make-up had been washed away by tears, so now her face probably looked like something from The Walking Dead- ha, how appropriate! Malik looked back at her. He was paler than usual, with even darker shadows under his eyes.
"This sucks." Malik summarised, and they both laughed miserably.
"It's nice to meet you in person." Chloe said, "Even if it is at possibly the worst time in my entire life."
"Yeah. One of my worst days too." Malik said, holding out his hand, "I'm Malik Hellfire Vaccaria."
"Chloe Elizabeth Branaugh." Chloe replied, shaking his hand. They let go and looked away. Malik flopped onto his back, looking up at the greyish ceiling.
"I hate this place." Malik sighed.
"Mhm." Chloe said, another tear rolling down her cheek. At least she wasn't full on sobbing now.
"I'm going to go and punch something. See you around." Malik said, and he wandered off. That was him? That was Emarni's older brother? In the leather jacket studded with silver skulls? Wow. Chloe wondered if he spoke Romanian too. And before she knew it, she was racing across her bedroom and flinging the door open.
"Malik!" she called. He turned around, looking at her in confusion.
"Yeah?" He called from the end of the corridor.
"Do you speak Romanian?" Chloe asked and he nodded, "Will you teach me?" He nodded again, more confused than ever.
"Thanks, bye." Chloe shut the door again.
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George was aware of the sweat dripping down the side of her face, her blindfold damp against her eyes. She was trying not to give herself away.
"We've been here for a fair few hours, Georgina." the voice was a little tenser, like he was worried that she wasn't going to give in. In amusement, George's lip curled into a smirk.
"Anything you'd like to say?" the voice demanded.
"Who are you?" George said, "At least give me a name."
"Julian. Noble." the voice, who now had a name, said.
"Erin's younger brother?" George guessed.
"Correct." Julian said.
"But you're a slayer. What do you want with me?" George asked. She was pressuring him and he was beginning to sweat. His breathing was getting quicker.
"I'm not a slayer. I am the Head of The Council!" Julian declared, "I brought the first six into the world and now I shall bring the other six. It's true, they are a little hard to keep under control but I'll manage it!" He was only a child, George knew that, he couldn't be much older than her.
"You're crazy." George said, "And I'm not going to help you."
"I'm sure I can convince you." Julian said, untying her blindfold. It fell away from her eyes and she saw him for the first time. George's mouth fell open. Julian was incredibly handsome, with dark floppy hair and chocolate brown eyes.
"I need your help, Georgina." Julian whispered, so close that she could feel his breath on her face. And before she knew it, she found herself nodding.
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When Malik had been a child, he used to hide from his mother because he was scared. In fairness, Elisabetta was pretty scary. Sometimes, he would go and see Katherine. See her, not talk to her. He used to spy on her, because he thought she was pretty. When Katherine wasn't around, Malik would have to just sit on his own. He used to skin stones across the river or climb to the top of trees. His mother never even noticed he was gone. Malik had resorted to the same idea now, climbing up a building and sitting on the top. His legs dangled over the edge. He thought he was alone.
"Hey Malik." Ingrid said, standing over him.
"Leave me alone. Please." Malik said. And his ex fiancé was shocked because Malik never said please. Never.
"I just wanted to know something." Ingrid said, "Do you really like Olga, or was it just a one off?"
"It was a one off." Malik said, "We were just flirting and she pulled me on top of her. And... Ugh, leave me alone!" She walked away, her heels clicking against the roof.
"Get lost, Branaugh!" Ingrid hissed, as she walked down the steps. Chloe raised her eyebrows and walked over to Malik. Her trainers scraped against the rooftop, as Chloe walked over and sat cross legged beside Malik.
"Will you teach me some Romanian now?" Chloe asked. Malik sighed loudly, looking at the blonde girl who dressed scruffily and had tears running down her face.
"I'm not a very nice person, Chloe. I don't do nice things for people." Malik sighed.
"Emarni was teaching me." Chloe's voice cracked whenever she said Emarni's name. That made Malik feel kind of bad for some reason.
"Okay. Fine." Malik said, "What do you want to know?"
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Please read and review. Share your YD feelings if you want.