Camarilla

02 veracious

Tamsin Pov

"Take a seat." She tells me, motioning to the doctor-type chair as we press into the room. "How are you feeling? You should start to feel a little loopy soon."

"I uh, it's fine." I nod, fiddling with my hands. "Seeing kinda double."

"That's normal." She nods her head. "Full name?" She questions.

"Tamsin...Tamsin um, Aurora Vaughn." I answer, struggling slightly.

"And your birth faction? The faction of your father." She clarifies.

"Veracious." I nod. "He-He died when I was young, so I could be wrong." She nods her head.

"And without knowing the results of your tests what faction would you choose to be placed in if you were asked to pick?" She questions me.

"I don't know." I whisper, staring at my hands. "Samaritans, I guess." I say. Mom didn't want any of us in Warriors. And I can't put that stress on Colette, or Roxanne.

"Perfect." She nods her head, typing a few things in the tablet she's holding before wheeling a cart over to me. "Give us one minute and one of the test administrators will be administering your test today." She tells me before moving out of the room. Perfect. I take a deep breath, trying to center myself. You'll do fine. After a few minutes pass, the door pushes open and a familiar strawberry blonde moves into the room.

"Good morning, Miss Vaughn." She says, sinking into the chair beside me. I swallow hard.

"G-Good morning, Madame-Madame President." I stammer. How is it fair I get the fucking President for my administrator?

"It's been too long. How are your sisters?" She questions me, crossing her legs.

"Good...ish. Roxanne is struggling with Mom's death, but she won't say that she is. Colette is better, she's taking the mom role." I explain, swallowing hard. "Can I ask why you're my administrator?"

"Your father and mother were very important to us, I just want to ensure you're taken care of." She smiles. She carefully pulls on a pair of black gloves, a common color theme throughout the testing hall. She carefully pulls a few cords from the machine to my left, attaching a few to my temples, one just on top of my chest and one on my left wrist. She grabs a single-use alcohol pad and takes my right arm, rubbing a small spot clean before pulling a small shot needle out. "This shot is going to render you unconscious. We will use this machine to detect brain activity in certain simulations that we put your mind through. For instance, how your brain would react to a sick child or a deep fear." She explains to me. I nod slowly, staring at the needle.

"What if one of my deep fears are needles?" I joke.

"You shouldn't feel it. The Nexton pill should have taken away most feelings." She explains to me, carefully slipping the needle in and out. "Count backward from ten and then we will begin."

"Ten, nine, eight...seven, six...five...four...three." I trail off as I feel my eyes close.

For a moment, it feels like I'm weightless before things begin to come into focus around me. I'm in a white room, completely alone for a few moments before I hear footsteps behind me. I spin quickly and my eyes catch on Colette, in all white.

"Colette." I smile, moving towards her and wrapping my arms around her. "Where am I?" I question her. "Is this part of the test?" She doesn't answer but holds me tightly for a moment before pulling away. My eyebrows furrow but before I can question her, my eyes catch on Roxanne, suited in dark grey. "Rox?" I breathe, moving towards her. "What is this?" My father appears behind her. This can't be real. But I don't mind. I move to him, wrapping my arms around him. "Daddy." I breathe, hugging him tightly. Just as I let myself relax and my eyes closed, I'm pushed back. I let out a rough cough as I try to stand but Roxanne, Colette, and both my parents move closer. "What's going on?"

"You're pathetic." Roxanne snaps at me. "You'll be the family fuck up, just like you always have been."

"You're the reason we died." My parents say in unison. They all move closer until they're hovering over me.

"My life would be easier with you dead. Wouldn't have to sacrifice me to take care of you." Colette adds.

"Just stop! I know this isn't real, stop!" I shout, trying to push as far away from them as I can.

"You won't pass this. You know that. Zero on all fours." Roxanne laughs, moving closer.

"You're not good enough to follow in my footsteps. To be Veracious." My father chuckles.

"Or Samaritans." Both my mother and Colette adds.

"Hell, you're not even good enough for Cunning." Rox pipes.

"You'll never succeed at anything besides being a burden to everyone in your life." My mom snaps. "You're the reason I died."

"We died protecting you." Dad adds. Their voices begin to overlap as a dark hooded figure appears through their legs.

"Behind you!" I shout, trying to get to my feet but it feels like all the weight in the world is pulling on me. The figure begins to move closer, and I see the outline of a sword of some sort. Before I can give out another warning, the sword plunges straight through my father's chest. "Dad!" I shout, and I can feel his blood splatter across my face. The figure moves to my mom and I struggle to my knees, but I can barely get any farther before the figure repeats the action with my mother. He then moves towards Colette. "No!" I fight with everything in me to get to my feet. I move in front of her just before the figure can repeat his movement, the blade instead moving through me. I stare down at the large sword still sticking out from my torso, scarlet red staining my white outfit. As the figure withdrawals his sword from me, I begin to cough up blood. He moves towards Roxanne, and almost like instinct, I jump in front of her. His sword rips through my side, sending a whole new wave of pain through me. He disappears just as quickly as he appeared. I crumble to the floor, my hands moving to my torso. My sisters move quickly to my side, and Colette tries to patch me up. "Hey-Hey." I whisper weakly, trying to take their hands. "I told-told you I love-I love you most." I laugh weakly, everything slowly being swallowed by black.