The Curse

Chapter Twenty- I am Your HeadMistress

I wake up and yawn. Kuroji is on the floor, curled up in his covers. I roll my eyes and smile, thinking about last night. "Get up, sleepy-head." I yell, throwing my pillow at him. He moans.
"Come on, we must go and see who survived last night and take care of this leader business..." I mumble. "Oh, yeah, and face Katoro's wrath." "Right...she's gonna be ticked." he says.
We walk together to the hole, slide down the rope to the tunnels, and walk to the main entrance. I take a deep breath and Kuroji pats my back before walking in. Everything is a mess. King is trying to take care of all the newly-turned vampires, but he is a vampire himself. I see his struggle.
I quickly walk over.
"King! You have to rest, recover. I'll take care of--" "I am capable. And by the way, thank you for following your instincts." he says, shakily nodding.
I am caught off guard. Is he being sarcastic...?
"It was all apart of the plan. We did a bunch of research on this village and you before coming here. We knew you wouldn't listen, and we knew you'd defeat him. But we also knew you'd transform and that...well, we would probably get hurt as well." he says with a big sigh.
"You knew what would happen...? How?" I stutter. "We have...certain ways of communicating," he laughs, glancing at my new, more menacing form. "And by the way, your new look suits you. It looks like you, just more...tall." King laughs, but winces when he remembers how sore his mouth is from the fangs.
"Hey. I insist. Lie down." I say, leading him to a couch. When he finally lies down and closes his eyes, I walk into the room with all the new vampires. Sarah and Joshua are there, thank goodness. But I get worried when I don't see Corey. "Hey. You did a heck of a job!"
I hear behind me. I breathe a sigh of relief. It's Corey. His smile almost seems even brighter when he has fangs. I see grief in his eyes, though. Around half of his crew has died. Then, I hear arguing out in the main entrance.
I walk out to see what the commotion is all about, and I'm surprised to see Katoro and Kuroji fighting. "You just decided to hang with your girlfriend instead of get me!? I was starving and bruised!" Katoro yells. "She's not my girlfriend. And yeah, you were. But Nobara just saved the village, including you. She needed some company," Kuroji argued. I walk in. "Hey, guys!" I say, waving. Kuroji immediately smiles and walks over. "Um, Wild Rose! I got Katoro. I thought maybe while you rest up and get a little vacation, she could help them rest up down here. Right?" Kuroji says. Katoro glares at him. "No, you and Katoro go up and catch up. I can help them down here." I smile. Though on the inside I really do want a vacation...
"But, Nobara--!"
"See, she's fine. Let's go." Katoro says, tugging on Kuroji's arm. "No. I'll stay down here and help. Nobara, you go up. I don't care what you decide to do, Katoro." Kuroji mumbles, shaking his head and walking away. Katoro looks angry and speechless. She walks quickly after him. I sigh. They probably wouldn't fight so much if it wasn't for me...
I feel guilty as I climb the rope and lay in bed. I lie there, drinking blood and doing nothing, when I think of something...
"The village!" I gasp. They're all probably freaking out right now. I run out to see how it looks. Surprisingly, I hear murmurs and gossip, but not spazzing. I walk up the dirt road to the rusty bell and ring it, and then walk past some broken-down gates onto the "stage" the HeadMaster used for draining people. Warily and confused, people pile in. They are surprised to see me. "Hello, people of the Hidden Valley! Um, whoever wasn't happy with the HeadMaster, raise your hand!" I shout a bit too loudly. I nervously clear my throat. "Okay...well, the HeadMaster was an evil ruler and did not give you freedom. He said you couldn't marry a human. You couldn't cross the line. And he forced you to murder innocent people for blood." At these proclamations, there is a lot of murmuring and glaring. There are only some cautiously nodding their heads.
"He has hidden something from you all. A secret that I was taught from my mom." I say. I pause, trying not to think about her. "Animal blood," I say. Once again, the crowd explodes. Some excited, some angry. "Settle down, I'm not kidding! Come up and...try them both." I say. "Guards, quickly! Fetch two cups; one cup human blood, one cup animal blood. And I'll choose someone. How about...you, way back there!" I shout, pointing to a girl. The guards shrug and run off. She shakily climbs the stage and looks at the cups I had called a couple guards to bring in. They arrived just in time. She takes one out of my hand, sniffs it, then gulps it down. She does the same with the other. "How...did it compare?" I ask. "Well...not much different, actually! One was a tad more salty maybe, but..." she stammered nervously, shrugging.
"See? We can all drink animal blood instead. It will save many human lives and it's less risky concerning being exposed." I got lots of looks and whispers. So I decide to cut to the chase. "I, Nobara, am your HeadMistress. I have the DNA of the HeadMaster, and I am the one who murdered him." I proclaim. There are gasps everywhere. "I admit I have not much experience...but I will be kind and just. Things will be changing around here! And don't go looking for another one to take my place--I'm the only one left!" I finish, and walk off. The crowd stands in silence, stunned, and they watch me walk off with a guard at each side.