Bitter Revenge

Chapter 42

Warning!

Two weeks had gone by, they were probably the best two weeks of my life. I took Stella on lots of dates. We talked about a lot of crap, even our strange fever dreams where we saw each other. I even got to steal some pecks on some of those dates. Nothing more though, I wanted to reinforce the idea that I wasn't going to pressure her or force her. Something I remember from way back (or at least it felt like an eternity ago) was the Calvin incident, and something tells me it wasn't her first time. All crap aside, I'm now crashing from dreamland because I'm going to be used as a chew toy in a couple of minutes.

"Freckles, you're white as a ghost. They're not going to hurt you." Stella tried comforting me, which would've helped under different circumstances. "Strawberry, these witches have two reasons to kill me. 1. I'm the vampire they've been hunting for years. And 2. I'm a Miako, which apparently means that I'm related to their version of the Chupacabra. They're going to eat me alive. Why are we doing this again?" I'm about to be presented to the entire Royal Coven as an example of peace. With Harley being the new High Priestess, she'll obviously protect me... but still.

"Because most of the witches out there probably have never even seen a vampire. If we can show them that you're not bloodthirsty or crazy for death, well mission accomplished." I sighed, then the sound of Harley's voice speaking to the masses reached me and the sensation to puke overtook me. "I'll be right beside you, Freckles." I smiled at her encouragement, then walked closer to the curtain that separated the main stage and the backstage. "Ladies and gentlemen, elderly and young. I want to present to you a dear friend, and I ask that you control yourselves. Anyone who even attempts to hurt her will be booted out of the Royal Coven without a second thought." I saw her hand reach into the curtain, a hand that I took and then pushed through the curtain.

A huge gasp of horror washed over the crowd, I could see fear and anger alike stare back at me. I maintained a neutral expression. "A lot of you may recognize her as Fiona the Vampire. She has been hunted by our Coven for years. And it was wrong of us to do that. We had no right to attack another person that wasn't our responsibility to take care of. Let me properly introduce her to you. This is Fiona Miako, and she has proven to me that she is not only trustworthy, but also kind." She started a rant about how they needed to let go of their views on vampires and adapt to the new world. My eyes were trained on a certain brunette who seemed to back away from the crowd.

I recognized his features from my Stella fever dream, his light brown hair and the stubble on his chin. From in person, I could see his eyes were a mix of brown and green, hazel-green would be the better description. Mr. King, and he looked mortified to see me. I don't understand why. I thought he'd be furious to see me standing beside his daughter, instead he looked like he'd seen a ghost. I turned to Stella to see her also staring at her father, then she turned to me and shrugged. 'We'll ask him later.' She mouthed to me, to which I nodded. After Harley's huge speech, I could finally get out of the spotlight and relax. But immediately got dragged away by a worried Stella. "My Dad is never the type of guy to get scared. I've only seen him that mortified twice in my life; once moments before my Mom died and then after he stopped disappearing for months at a time. Maybe it's because you're Miako, but I promise you Freckles. No matter what my Dad thinks, it won't change my mind about you." I smiled softly at that before we reached a little two story house.

She lightly opened the front door and looked around, only hurried walking from upstairs could be heard. I followed her into an upstairs room and found her father pacing the length of what seemed like an office. "Hey Dad, are you ok?" His eyes magnetized to me and again with that look of fear. "You brought her here?!" His typically lumber voice raised an octave or two and he backed away from the door to put some distance between us. "Dad, come on don't be like that. She's not going to hurt you or suck your blood." She walked closer to him but I maintained my distance, deciding that was the better decision.

"No! You don't understand Stella! She's a danger to this family, I knew it the moment she saw me!" I couldn't help but be confused. The first time I've ever seen him was back on that stage, when he looked at me like a spooked deer... then turned away and... ran. Memories flashed red lights in my brain. Two moments overlapping perfectly. A scared father turning and running away. A cloaked figure standing outside my living room window- the dim light outside catching his light brown hair, the stubble on his chin, and hazel-green eyes- turning and running away. The words escaped me as quietly as a whisper. "It was you."

Stella turned to look at me, confused at my words. But Mr. King? He knew I had finally linked the two, he probably cursed himself for having connected the two for me. I spoke louder, the only sound I could hear was my dead-beat heart pounding in my ears. "It was you. That night, when my life went to hell. When I lost the only person I ever cared about. It was you! She was burned alive by YOUR hands!! YOU DID THIS!!!" Comprehension dawned on Stella, but I had lost all my senses and launched myself across the room. My fingers dug into his shoulders, pushing him against the wall before I drew my right hand back and swung my fist so hard into his cheek I could hear the bones in my knuckles crack on impact. They'd heal, unlike the hole in my chest caused by this son of a bitch.

Stella immediately tried to grab ahold of my shoulders to pull me back, but I kept swinging at him. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and threw him to my right, making him skid across the wooden floor. "Fiona please!" Her voice was drowned out by the sounds of my sister screaming in pain. I could feel her grab my arm and tug, but I just pushed her off me- probably harder than I'd meant to. I knelt over the bloodied man and grabbed his jaw, forcing his eyes to meet mine. "Tell me why you did it." I pushed the command into his brain, uncaring of my own mindscape spilling into his. A film laid over his eyes and his mouth began to move. "Sena was the love of my life. When she left me for that Akui idiot, I grew furious. I moved on and fell in love with a different woman, Astelle. And when she died from a mission Sena had ordered, my rage controlled me. But unfortunately, she was booted out of the Coven and I no longer had a way of finding her. I hunted her for years, positive she'd left the state. But when I searched for her here, I found Akui on his way home presumably from work. I waited until night to attack, so when a female figure made her way into the kitchen- I burned her alive."

I gritted my teeth and punched him again, no longer feeling Stella's pleading hands. My punch knocked him out of his trance, and he dazedly looked at me. "You think you're so fucking smart." Swing. "Like you cracked a case or some shit." Swing. "Well. YOU THOUGHT WRONG!" Swing. Swing. "THAT WAS MY SISTER! My little sister! She had JUST TURNED 15 YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" I finally swung so hard, that I not only knocked him out, but I shattered just about every bone in my hand. Which'll only take seconds to heal.

I huffed out my frustration, the red film over my eyes clearing at the sight of so much blood around me. I stood up on shaky legs and inspected my hand, seeing muscle and bones weave back together in front of my eyes. I turned to a quiet Stella, her dilated eyes staring at her father. Her father. I felt a huge weight of regret sit on my chest. I just punched her father unconscious! "S-Stella... I-I'm so s-sorry-" She didn't even let me finish before she turned her gaze to me.

That's when I noticed a small streak of blood running down her nose. I panicked and rushed over, "Stella you're bleeding! Are you ok?! We should-" "'We'? There is no we. Get out." My heart dropped to my feet at seeing how cold her eyes were. "Stella... You can be mad at me later but right now you're hurt and-" Again she interrupted me. "AND WHAT?! You'll THROW me across the room again?! You'll beat my father unconscious again?! NO! I don't want to fucking see you! GET OUT!!" For the first time since we met, she yelled at me with actual anger. I hurt you? The realization made my heart 100 pounds heavier and my eyes water. I turned to look at Mr. King, the man who killed my sister and ruined my life, and all I could think was... I was right. Revenge wasn't worth the risk of her smile.

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God I love this chapter. It just- so perfectly captures how some people's emotions really get the better of them, and how most of the time- we regret what we do in the heat of the moment. That's why I always step out of a conversation when my emotions ride too high, because I'm going to say and do things I'm going to regret. It's okay to step away or shelf conversations you're not ready for.

-ChaseDarling