Again, a short chapter. I'm really sorry.
I couldn't just kill Emarni and not mention her again. This is her story really. I don't know if she'll stick around for very long but I had to have more of her. I find it really easy to write Chloe/Emarni, so...
Yeah, sorry but I'm kind of shoving the Council plot aside because I'm struggling for ideas on that front. I'll get round to it, you'll just have to put up with me.
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
Once upon a time, there was a vampire child. The small girl had her hair tied in two long blonde plaits that fell past her waist. Her dress was long too, almost scraping along the ground. It was a pale shade of blue and tied around her waist with a darker blue ribbon. She only had her
Mother, who wouldn't ever speak to her. She was lonely. Carefully, she knelt down and slid her piece of chalk from under the floorboard. And she marked another line on her tally chart. She was waiting for her birthday. The day she could be free.
She was sitting on top of the table, her legs dangling over the edge.
"I really think he's lost it." Grayson hissed.
"If only they could hear me." Emarni sighed, softly. Ingrid looked up, very little concern on her face. It was Dracula nature to be crazy. What was new? It looked like Grayson was going to say more, but the door creaked open and Malik walked in.
"They were talking about you." Emarni told him. His t-shirt clung to his damp chest and arms, his hair dripping wet. He had managed to scrub the green ink off entirely.
"Hi!" Ingrid said, much too brightly.
"Hey..." Malik said, uneasily; he glanced at Emarni who waved.
"Hey Ingrid." she said, "Ask her what baby names she's thinking about."
"Emarni says hey too. And she wants to know what baby names you're considering."
"I... Hadn't really thought about it." Ingrid said, looking at Malik and 'Emarni', "Any ideas, Emarni?" She was treating the girl as if she could actually see her. Swinging her legs back and forth, Emarni thought about it for a moment.
"Cassius." she suggested.
"Cassius." Malik relayed.
"Cassius?" Ingrid said slowly, "I like it." Emarni looked smug and Malik clipped her over the ear. How come the idea of a boy was okay when Emarni said it?
"Why can't we see her?" Grayson couldn't stop himself, "Why can't we see Emarni?" The girl herself waved at him and grinned.
"She's grinning at you." Malik told him, "And waving." Emarni laughed quietly, her hair falling in her face.
"If it really is Emarni..." Ingrid said doubtfully.
"Of course it's Emarni!" Malik snapped.
"You probably shouldn't tell Chloe." Ingrid said, "I think she's finally over her. You can't suddenly give her hope again." And with that, Ingrid sped out of the room and up the stairs. There was the horrible sound of her retching in the distance.
"I think you should tell Chloe." Grayson said.
"You heard what Ingrid said." Malik said.
"She'll want to know. And it's better we tell her, then she finds out the hard way." Grayson said.
She wanted Chloe to know that she was here and that she could see her. But she knew that Ingrid was right: Chloe would be distraught.
"Braille isn't that difficult." Chloe was saying, as she pulled up a chair next to George. It reminded Emarni of when Chloe used to help her with her reading.
"Give me your hand." Chloe said. Instantly, Emarni lifted her hand and then remembered that Chloe couldn't see her. She dropped her hand back to her side.
"Oh." Emarni said softly.
"There we go." Chloe was holding George's hand in her own. Their hands traded the dents on the page.
"A... B... C..." Chloe murmured, "Feel the difference?"
"Yeah." George said, "A. B. C." Her tone was difficult to read. Sighing, Emarni looked up at the ceiling and crossed her arms. She didn't want to hurt Chloe anymore. But she couldn't just sit here and watch Chloe moving on with her life.
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
She ran up the wooden stairs, her bare feet making no sound against the steps. She ran up to the large wooden door in the middle of the corridor wall. She knocked gently.
"Mother?" she called, "Mother, please speak to me."
"I would not bother, Miss Emarni." A passing maid said, "It has been months since Mistress Elisabetta last spoke to anyone."
"But I am her daughter. She must speak to me." The girl looked at her pathetically. The maid sighed and moved on.
It was difficult to watch life passing by, when you were already dead and Emarni was learning this quickly. All the people in front of her would die someday. Would they come back like her? Who knows? Maybe it was Emarni's absolutuus-mortuus-ness that had brought her back.
"This is so boring. You guys just sit around all the time." Emarni sighed.
"What?" Malik said, "You called us "guys". You never talk like that. You've changed." The others looked at him pitifully, like he was crazy. They had called a meeting.
"Can we have a name for this club?" Emarni said, "Like the Inrame club. That's Emarni backwards." She really had changed. The old Emarni wasn't so self obsessed and casual.
"We are not being the Inrame club!" Malik sighed.
"I say we draw straws." Grayson said. Grayson, Malik, Emarni, Ingrid and Mina all looked at each other and then they nodded. Mina went to work, chopping some straws to different lengths and clenched them tightly in her fist.
"Grayson first." She said, and Grayson drew a long straw. Malik didn't draw the short straw and neither did Ingrid- and, god, were they glad about that.
"You lose Mina." Emarni sung.
"What about Emarni?" Chloe said, looking down at the photograph she held in her hands. It was the only picture that was left of Emarni, but she could still remember every single detail. Emarni was all sharps and angles, with high cheekbones and those bright green eyes that would draw you in. And those wonderful blonde curls that flopped in her eyes. And- no! Stop it, Chloe scolded herself, stop torturing yourself.
"She's..." Mina swallowed hard, "Back. Sort of. Kind of. Almost."
"What?" Chloe spun around so fast that she could've sworn she got whiplash. The photograph fell from her hands onto the floor, the glass that encased it smashing.
"Emarni's back!" Chloe shrieked, a smile spreading across her face, "Everybody, Emarni's back!" There was no response from the others, who were probably nearby and listening in.
"The thing is..." Mina said, "Only Malik can see her. So, she may only be a hallucination caused by the demon venom."
"I have to talk to him-"
"No, Chloe-" Mina tried to stop her but the girl was determined. She ran out into the hallway, shouting Malik's name.
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
She was standing next to the window looking up at the stars. It was beautiful out there, stars glittering down on the people like tiny night lights. She only had on a thin cardigan, so she shivered in the night.
"Emarni Vaccaria." a voice hissed.
"Katherine Mistletoe." the girl replied.
"Doing a little stargazing, you little freak?" the other girl said it, as if it was only teasing. She ran out from the bushes, her feet bare and cold.
"I am not a freak!" the first girl snapped.
"Well, how come you never leave the castle?" the witch girl said.
"Because I am not allowed." the vampire girl replied, "I must wait for my sixteenth birthday."
Katherine was lounging on the sofa in the Nobles living room. They had a large screen that they were using to monitor the Draculas.
"Don't you feel bad?" Katherine glanced over at the blonde girl.
"Yes." Erin said, "The Council are rising, the Draculas are doomed."
"Why don't you help them then?" Katherine stared at girl in bewilderment.
"Because I can't cope with the drama." Erin muttered, running her hands through her hair.
"But I thought you liked V-"
"Don't even say his name!" Erin growled.
"Sorry!" Katherine shrugged, "Don't you feel bad about stalking them all using cameras?"
"Just leave me alone." Erin sighed, then she paused. And she took in the look on Katherine's face.
"Have you been having those dreams again?" Erin asked quietly, "About Emarni."
"It's not just Emarni. It's Romania. The old country. It must mean something." Katherine sighed.
"You know..." Erin said slowly, "You do know that Emarni's dead, don't you?" The witch looked at her in a mix of surprise and... Not surprise.
"I thought she might have." Katherine said, "Are they having a funeral?"
"If they are, we weren't invited." Erin said, "Just forget about Emarni, about Romania. It's not important. What's important is stopping the Council. Otherwise they will kill us all."
THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY - THE ANGELS WILL ALWAYS CRY
It had been a long time since Emarni had felt so alone. It had been a long time since she was a small girl that was on her own. And all the unwanted memories were flooding back and they were hurting her head. She was collapsed against the wall, her head resting against it.
"I will not think about it. I will not think about it. I will not think about it." Emarni said, covering her face with her hands.
"You are so wrong, Malik Vaccaria!" The door was flung open and Malik was shoved out into the corridor.
"We need an heir!" Malik shouted.
"A girl can be an heir!" Ingrid slammed the door.
"Ingrid!" Malik yelled, "Don't slam the door in my face, you, you, you girl!" He growled and smashed his fist into the wall. Emarni looked up at him, her big green eyes full of disappointment.
"How many fights is that this week?" Emarni asked.
"Hundreds." Malik sighed, walking away. He didn't stop to ask how his sister was. Maybe Malik had the right idea. His relationship with Ingrid was rocky, all over the place and a bit messed up. But both of them seemed happier than they used to- a little happier anyway. With a sigh, Emarni leant further backwards and fell through the wall.
"Oomph!" was the noise Emarni made as she tumbled into Ingrid's room. She had not been expecting that.
"Stupid boys..." Ingrid was muttering.
"I know." Emarni rolled her eyes, "I am so glad I do not have a boyfriend."
"Why do I even put up with him?" Ingrid scowled.
"Because you love him." Emarni answered.
"Malik! Malik!" Chloe stuck her head around the door and Emarni inhaled deeply. Chloe was wearing a floral dress that clung easily to her body, making her look curvier than usual. And her legs, oh god, she had beautiful long smooth legs the colour of milk. Her hair had been curled and was clipped back using a pink bow.
"No! No sexist losers here!" Ingrid threw a shoe at her head.
"Alright, alright. Don't get your cape in a twist." Chloe said. And with that, she vanished again.
"She is so beautiful." Emarni sighed.
"You're a biased idiot." Ingrid said.
"What?" Emarni scrambled to her feet, brushing off her skirt.
"I can hear you, Emarni. And I can see you." Ingrid turned around, "I've been trying to figure out why." She scowled at her sister, "Why do you always have to be such a mystery?"
"Why do you always have to be so annoying?" Emarni retorted, "I'm not surprised Malik doesn't like you anymore."
"Malik was right." Ingrid said, "You've changed, Emarni. You're nothing like you used to be."
Once upon a time, there was a vampire girl. The teenage girl had her hair falling in long curls down to her waist. Her clothes were modern and in dark colours, a leather jacket hugging her shoulders. She had a family now and wasn't waiting anymore. She was even more lonely then she was before.
And this was only the beginning of Emarni Vaccaria's eternal curse.