Bitter Revenge

Chapter 25

(Stella King's POV)

I'm glad she's safe. When that random vampire rushed in from nowhere, I didn't even try fighting her. I wouldn't have gotten her out of the woods in time anyway, so I'm glad someone else did it for me. Though it unnerved me that I didn't know who that was. I sat in the courtroom, tuning out the squabbles happening between the court of witches and my aunt... plus Harley and I. Instead of paying attention, I reminisced in older memories.

***

So this is Devil's Corner? I thought to myself, seeing the nightclub from the outside. It was actually really quite beautiful. I knocked on the door, pushing my glasses up as they slid down the bridge of my nose. The door opened to reveal a slightly shorter woman with pitch black hair and really beautiful off-colored eyes. Her olive, pale skin showered in freckles and the area above her right eye scarred. Why does her appearance sound familiar? Once I'd taken in her masculine appearance, I noticed she was very openly checking me out. "Take a picture, it'll last longer." I chuckled at the red hue that traveled to her cheeks as she nervously scratched the back of her leg with her other foot. "Excuse my rudeness. Care for some coffee?"

We both sat in the VIP section of the club, which looked more like the inside of a diner. "So you've finally graced us with your presence. You're late." The masculine girl next to me turned to look at another woman that was walking over to us in a very casual, albeit provocative, outfit. "I had to make my grand entrance at some point. You must be Stella, I'm glad Fiona kept you company." I tensed and paled as Ms. Serrano revealed a truth I hadn't realized until now. That's why she seemed so familiar! Her description and now her name! Fiona the vampire, the leech I've been hunting for about 2 months!

The rest of the interview was a blur really, but I was feeling restless from needing to report my findings to my aunt. I yawned hard, really pushing it from the depth of my soul to seem real. "I know this may be out of line for me to ask, but I'm exhausted." Fiona jumped up which made me flinch, on guard for an attack. But she just led me to a clean bedroom, no attacks, nothing. Interesting. The second I was alone, I pulled my phone out and called my aunt. She didn't answer until the third ring. "Stella, my sweet niece, how are you?" I didn't even bother with formalities. "Auntie, I found her. Fiona the vampire, I've located her."

There was a pause before the next words reached me. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work on a plan to get her head to me." Then she hung up. I took a deep breath, sitting on the bed to try and come up with a plan. I'd apparently sat here for hours thinking, because I then heard knocking. I jumped up and messed my hair up to appear like bed head before announcing that she could come in. I apologized for my messy appearance and she informed me of when the club opens. "Then you can see this place for what it really is." I tried to contain the grimace at the thought of her using drunk and vulnerable people here to satisfy her murderous drive. "And what is this place?" She just blinked at me as if I'd just told her the Earth was flat, before replying slowly. "A night club. Where everyone is welcome... Well, anyone over 21 that is." I couldn't lie, her joke was funny.

"Stella?" What? Fiona looked me dead in the eye, the world blurring around us until I recognized it as the Royal Woods with her tied to the log. "Stella." She looked so peaceful, no hatred towards me. How- "Stella!"

***

My eyes snapped open, finally realizing that I'd fallen asleep at court. I turned to my aunt who was looking at me with daggers sharp enough to mentally and emotionally hurt me. "Is it true that you didn't even try to fight back?" Shit. I sat up, clearing my parched throat. "Yes. It just happened so fast, and I was so shocked at seeing such a tall man." It was a pretty shitty excuse, despite being partially true. The guy that was with that vampire lady was way too tall to be humanly possible. His waist would probably be level with my chest. My aunt sighed, before turning back to talk to some other court snob.

I have to wonder, who was that lady? She fought Harley with a passion, and despite the blur of the whole thing, I could've sworn that when she turned to take Fiona with her- there was genuine worry etched on her face. "Don't furrow your brows like that, you'll get old lady wrinkles." Harley joked at me, making me realize that I'd been scrunching my face up and gripping my hands together. I swallowed and looked at my dear friend, smiling softly at her slightly scratched appearance. "I'm still in shock at what happened." She nodded understandingly, clearly she had also been replaying the fight in her head this whole time.

After a very meaningless meeting, I finally got to leave this stupid place. Before being grabbed and almost thrown into a very familiar house. "I have questions, you have answers. Please talk to me." I looked at Harley with wide eyes, wondering where the hell this came from. "Uh... Sure. Hit me." She gave me a pretty hard punch on my arm before shooting. "What the hell were you doing talking to that vampire so early? You were housing her for almost a month and didn't think to tell me? Weren't you scared she'd attack you?" Wow okay, a lot to think about.

I took a second to think of every question, really chewing the information before responding. Was I afraid she'd attack me? I thought back to the incident with Calvin and how she attacked him the second she saw what was happening. Her not getting a wink of sleep to assure I was okay, making me breakfast the next day, bending over backwards to make me comfortable... I wasn't for a second afraid for my life while around her. Only at the beginning before I kidnapped her. "She's really passive actually, she didn't even try running away– even when she had multiple chances to do so. And I didn't tell you because it was classified information, you didn't even know I was hunting Fiona." I ignored the first question, not wanting to tell her that I didn't believe Fiona deserved to die.

"The classified stuff is fair game. But what do you mean she's passive?! She kills people as easily as she breathes!" She threw her hands up in the air, exasperated by either her confusion or my confession. "If she did, I would've been dead a month ago. Harley... She's not as bad as you think. She's a vampire, she needs blood to survive. It's understandab-" "And you're protecting her?!? Have you lost your fucking mind?! Vampires are the sons of bitches that got your mom killed and you're defending them now?!" Her words cut right through my heart and all that was left was a cold numbness in my hands.

My mother was my idol, my everything. She was beautiful and sociable and smart and strong and powerful. If it weren't for that stupid mission, my mother would still be alive. After the long silence, Harley finally spoke. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone there. But my point stands. Vampires are even worse than werewolves! At least werewolves act the way they do because they're partly dogs, but vampires? They just enjoy killing." Again, my mind snapped to images of Fiona. Her working diligently with her unexpected glasses, her turning to smile at me to say that dinner was almost ready, and the vulnerability of when she told me about her past. That one was the freshest in my mind, I remembered how her body trembled recalling her parents and sister.

"You're wrong. It isn't a species thing, it's a psychological thing. Of course you're biased against vampires, we've been taught that they're the scum of the Earth and that killing is the only thing on their mind. But that applies to all of us! I mean, we have our own outcasts. Like the Red Priestess! She was violent and wanted war unlike anything else, we witches aren't perfect either. And Fiona especially isn't some mindless murderer." I rambled, shivering at the mention of that witch, not necessarily raising my voice, but it was stern enough to seem that way. Harley clearly wasn't ready for that, since no words could seem to form to retort to my vent. I won't let beliefs ingrained into me or bad previous experiences affect my perspective on a species that has proven to be more than killers.

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Ahhh, finally. The strange behavior is answered. I told you guys that I would explain that later on. Also, thank you for making it this far!

-ChaseDarling