Andromeda had no strength to get up from her bed. She had been crying all night long, her bedsheets drenched in crimson from her blood tears. Proteus stayed with her, patiently accompanying her in her despair.
The stoic Commander, Erwin, had made sure no one disturbed the two vampires inside the room. He already provided them with more bedsheets and clean clothes.
Morning already came. The sun showered the chamber with its harsh light and Andromeda wanted to curse at it. She felt horrible. The hours that passed by did not diminish the hurt that she felt; it only made it worse. Now she understood why some people die from heartbreak. The pain inside her was so intense that the thought of choosing death passed her mind not only once.
"Would you like some breakfast, my lady?" Proteus stood beside the blood-stained bed where Andromeda lay.
The vampiress did not answer, only clenched the sheets tighter. She wasn't hungry although she knew her stomach was empty. Thrice last night, she had vomited its contents inside the narrow bathroom.
Her chest started to quake again.
How many blood tears had she shed already? How much had she bled? Yet, it still wasn't enough to ease her pain.
"Princess, you must eat," Proteus insisted.
At last, Andromeda spoke, "Leave me."
"I could never..." The vampire exhaled. "Please forgive me for telling our secret to the human Captain. I did not know he would hate you for it. I thought- No. I did not think much. Everything was my fault."
"No." Andromeda sat up. She wiped the blood flowing from her eyes. "A relationship built on lies is doomed from the very start." Her hand clenched her heart through her reddened gown. "I just didn't know it would be this painful."
"That is love, Your Highness. Sometimes, it comes with pain."
"Will it ever end?"
"Will you stop loving him?"
Ha. Love. Never had Andromeda thought she would be asked about love. She did not know that she was capable of loving another being. All her life, she only cared about herself. Everybody else was below her, undeserving of her affection. But, now, deep inside her, she knew that Levi had already imprinted himself in her heart.
She loved him.
And would continue loving him until her heart was ripped away from her chest.
She unclenched her hand and then turned at Proteus. "Where is he?"
"I-I do not know, my lady."
"Find him. Tell him to come see me at once."
"D-do you think he would comply?"
The vampiress huffed. A palm cradled her forehead. Of course, Levi would just ignore her command. The man could be as stubborn as she.
This was it.
It was really over.
Heart constantly breaking, she took the blanket and buried herself in it as she placed her head back on the welcoming pillow.
+0+0+0+0+
Her blood tears stopped falling when noon came. She was able to dress up properly and change the sheets of the bed. But she still refused to eat or get out of her room.
Then, by dusk, when the sun was casting an orange glow inside the lonely chamber, Oluo, Barbara, and Nifa opened the old wooden door and let themselves inside the room.
Oluo hid his face behind a fat, naked teddy bear. He said in a tiny voice, "Andy~ Come out and play~"
The vampiress didn't react; she just watched the three come closer to where she was sitting.
"We know you don't want to eat right now, but Proteus said you haven't eaten anything since last night, so we brought you some meat," Nifa showed her a plate with a steak on it.
Barbara grinned, "We stole it from the King's food so it must be good."
The two girls sat beside Andromeda on the foot of the bed. Nifa tucked the vampiress' soft, black hair behind her ear. "We don't know what exactly happened between you and Captain Levi, but we want you to know that we're here."
"That's right." Barbara took the vampiress' hand. "You're not alone."
Oluo threw the teddy bear on the bed. "You know what you need? A distraction!"
"That's right, Andy. You need to focus your mind on other things and try not to think about Captain Levi," Barbara suggested like an expert.
Nifa, then, stood up and smiled, "Come with us to the Fair. It's better than staying cooped up inside this room." She went closer to Andromeda and pinched her pale cheek. "You're too pretty to waste your time crying over a man."
"It'll be fun," Barbara promised.
But Andromeda was not ready to face the world yet. The gaping wound inside her was still fresh. She shook her head, "No. I must stay here."
"No can do." Oluo was already walking out of the room as Nifa and Barbara pulled the vampiress' arms. They dragged her outside.
"Stop it. I'm not heading out," she tried to say with a warning, but there was no bite in her words.
The soldiers insisted on pulling her away from her room and without her usual strength, in the end, Andromeda was not able to resist.
She thought, Darn it, let them do whatever they like. These stupid humans would soon realize how helpless their efforts would be. She was positive that nothing could ever lift her spirits.
On their way out, Oluo grabbed Proteus who was caught off guard. He stumbled a bit and then walked with Oluo's arms over his shoulders.
The five exited the castle doors and were assailed by the festive sight of the Fair.
Andromeda's eyes widened. The outside of the castle was bursting with colors. Colorful banderitas hang over booths decorated with flowers and cheerful designs. Confetti littered the grounds with some hanging in the air. Merchants sold various food and items. There, a vendor held on the strings of big balloons, and over there one sold cotton candies. As the sun was setting, the people of Mitras, dressed in gowns and suits, merrily took part in the Fair.
The group squeezed themselves through the crowd. Nifa, still holding Andromeda's hand, pulled her to one particular booth. "The royal haircutter," she said, pointing at an old man working on the hair of a little girl sitting on a bench.
One of the vampiress' brows shot upward. She did not need to voice out her thoughts. Nifa knew Andromeda was questioning why the female soldier led her here.
But it was Barbara who spoke. "I don't know if it's the same in Detlef, but here, when girls get heartbroken, we cut our hair."
What kind of foolish ritual was that? How was being heartbroken related to cutting one's hair? But the soldiers were urging her to sit on one of the chairs and ask for the old man's services so much that she finally complied just to shut them up.
"You can just let him trim a very small portion," Nifa whispered as she gently brushed Andromeda's hair, "let him cut away all the bad memories."
The vampiress choked a sob. Images of Levi plagued her thoughts once more. She remembered his sweetness and then his anger. Remembered the hurt and rage within his eyes as he stared at her. She also remembered James and Derek and the night she betrayed them.
When the haircutter started trimming the ends of her long, silky hair, she said, "No. Change the style. Cut it however you want." And cut the pain away.
Portions of her hair fell to the ground. She listened to the sounds of scissors' snips. Soon, the old man was finished with his job. Andromeda looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was no longer too long. It was cut to middle length and styled with layers called a wolf cut. She looked different and somehow felt a little lighter.
Nifa and Barbara hugged her from behind as Oluo clapped his hands. Proteus stared at her disbelievingly. Andromeda had always worn her hair long. Never had she let anyone cut it any other way.
But, she was different now.
She felt different.
The vampiress stood up and let the other soldiers pay the haircutter for his service.
They went to booths with games next. Oluo showed his skills by winning the ring toss game. He won a naked teddy bear which reminded Andromeda of the stuffed toy he left in her room. So, this was where he got it. Nifa wanted to scoop a goldfish so they accompanied her. Unfortunately, she didn't get any. Oluo tried to help but failed, too. Before the Scouts embarrassed themselves any further, Andromeda took the scoop from the soldier and successfully bagged a living goldfish. She handed the creature to the laughing Nifa.
Next, Proteus urged them to eat something. By now, the moon was up and the skies were already dark. They would surely miss supper, but they didn't want to go back into the castle yet.
They first ate bread shaped into crowns and then tried the little pieces of meat grilled with some kind of sauce. Unlike Trost, meat in Mitras was plentier although it cost more. So, the group bought only one serving and divided the pieces for the five of them. They last ate an apple pierced by a stick and covered in hardened sugar.
"Oh! We must try that!" Barbara exclaimed as they passed by the gambling booths.
Running, they went to the color table gambling booth. Colored boxes were on the table. The dealer would pick a ball from a bag, determining who would win a certain amount. Nifa and Oluo bet on "red," Barbara bet on "green," and both Andromeda and Proteus bet on "yellow." The dealer shook the bag and revealed a blue ball. The only color no one picked. The vampiress clicked her tongue. The rascal was surely cheating. She walked closer to him to give him a piece of her mind but Nifa and Barbara held her shoulders and led her away from the booth.
They tried some more games and, when the soldiers' pockets got empty, decided to climb the tower and finish their cotton candies there.
Their eyes were fixed on the star-lit sky.
"There'll be fireworks. Because it's the first night of the celebration," Barbara said.
"Fireworks? What is that?" Andromeda asked.
Nifa swallowed the last bits of her cotton candy. "Right, you don't know. There must be no fireworks in Detlef."
"They're like flowers bursting in the sky," Oluo explained.
Flowers bursting in the sky? Andromeda's brows furrowed. She couldn't imagine such a sight.
"Just wait for it," Barbara suggested as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand and leaned on the railing. "It's beautiful. Only Mitras holds a fireworks show. They say that if you're with your lover when you watch the fireworks for the first time, the two of you will spend your whole lifetime loving each other." Slyly, she looked at Oluo, "Oluo tried watching it with Petra last year."
Andromeda almost choked on her cotton candy. Oluo? With Petra?
Nifa laughed out loud as Oluo blushed hard and muttered, "Shut up."
"You?" The vampiress was still puzzled.
Embarrassed, the soldier scratched the back of his head and avoided Andromeda's gaze. "It's one-sided."
Oh...
Oh!
Oluo liked Petra. Was that why he was always imitating Levi? Because he knew Petra liked the Captain? That, maybe, by becoming more like Levi, Petra would like him, too?
Levi.
The thought of the man brought a spear that shot through the vampiress' heart.
It hurt.
Still.
She was reminded that no amount of haircutting and merry gaming could diminish the intense pain that the man brought to Andromeda. The sockets of the vampiress' eyes burned and blood tears started to form in her eyes once more when, suddenly, she heard a series of explosions.
What in Aurum's name?
Startled, she looked above.
Nifa and Barbara shouted with joy as they saw the wondrous lights in the night sky appear, spread, and then disappear.
Those were fireworks?
They did look like flowers-daisies of bright colors exploding and brightening the darkness in the most beautiful ways.
"Amazing," she uttered, mesmerized.
Oluo ruffled her hair. Barbara grinned at her as Nifa linked an arm around hers.
These... people...
Unexpectedly, Andromeda's heart warmed.
It was true. The events during the night did not lessen her ache, but with the help of these three, it seemed more... bearable. It had always been this way. They've always been there for Andromeda-making her comfortable, making sure she had fun, and making her feel happy.
Making her laugh.
For the first time in her life, the vampiress' insides swelled with gratitude.
"Thank you," she whispered softly but loud enough for the three to hear.
Immediately, they teased her.
"Eh? What did you say, Andy?"
"She said thank you!"
"Look, she's turning red!"
They, including Andromeda, laughed.
Suddenly, she heard the ghosts of Derek and James laughing with them.
The vampiress trembled and clutched her chest. "And I'm sorry," she said next.
"You thanked us and then said sorry? What's with you?" Oluo grumbled. He placed a hand on Andromeda's head and forced her to look at the sky, "Just watch the damn fireworks."
But she still whispered, "Forgive me."