Lost Melody

Music

Sometimes, Camellia's throat hurt, as though all the words she wanted to say were stuck inside with no way out.

She headed down the hall, opening and closing doors at random to see what was inside. She silently closed a door that led to someone's bedroom—because it was messy. So messy that she could barely even see a bed. She walked further down the hall, and opened another door. A white piano stood facing the window, a viola in a case nearby. Camellia named instruments as she saw them—a violin, a cello, a flute. It seemed someone had decided to find every instrument in existence and stack them in the room. Tracing a finger over the keys, she began to play. A gentle tune, one of the few that she knew to play, danced from her fingers. This was a song she had once loved to sing. Fighting back tears, Camellia let her fingers dance more, feeling relief as the words she had wanted to say slipped out through the sounds instead.

The tune abruptly came to a halt when she heard footsteps, a bolt of fear shooting through her as her eyes met violet eyes and a face flushed and angry. His white hair sparkled in the light, a mole stood out at the corner of his eye. He would've been an unearthly beauty if he smiled.

He grabbed Camellia's elbow, and pain shot through it, as though he had the strength of the damned, and wasn't afraid to not hold back. "Who are you, thinking you can waltz up here and just play on my piano!?"

Camellia couldn't sign with one hand, so she glared at him instead. He pushed her, and she fell against the wall. With a hand free, she attempted to communicate in the only way she knew how, but all he did was look amused. This was the problem with any language. Both people had to know it for any communication to occur.

"I don't care. Get out of here, and don't let me see you again." A cruel smile touched his lips. "You can't speak? If anyone in this mansion attacked you, you wouldn't even be able to scream." The last sentence was spoken in a cold whisper, and shivers went up Camellia's spine.

She practically ran out, almost sliding down the stairs to the first floor. She bumped into someone who stunk of cigarettes and her nose scrunched up almost automatically. Leonardo looked amused. "'Scusa. The stench is probably amplified for you, huh?" After a quick glance at her face, he narrowed his eyes. "You played on Mozart's piano, didn't you?"

She nodded.

He looked up the stairs. "I thought that didn't seem like his music." His eyes swerved to meet hers. "Mozart hates it when people touch his things. Be careful."

Camellia nodded her thanks and signed.

"He said you wouldn't be able to scream if someone attacked you," said Leonardo, watching her hands. "The only one you'd need to watch out for is Arthur, cara mia."

She signed her gratitude again, and he patted her on the head as he headed up. Camellia watched as he vanished from sight, and then she headed down. It was late, and she thought she'd gone through too much drama. She decided to sleep and try again tomorrow.

That night, she fell asleep to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, an almost ancient version of the modern rhyme.

When she woke up, she had absolutely no energy left, but she had to get up. She needed food if nothing else. The second she stepped outside, she bumped into Sebastian, who had had a hand outstretched to knock.

"You're up early," he observed. "Did you sleep at all?"

Camellia nodded, and then tilted her head in question.

"I was coming to escort you to breakfast."

She signed quickly.

"That means thanks, doesn't it?" asked Sebastian, stalking down the hall with her on his heels. "I remember it from yesterday."

They stepped into the dining room as she signed again.

"Unfortunately, I didn't understand that."

"She said you're a fast learner," said Kiara, throwing Camellia a sideways nod. "Come and eat."

Camellia was halfway through signing when Kiara waved a hand impatiently. "I know you're grateful." She pushed her into a chair. "But you're also probably hungry."

Camellia nodded and started on the pancakes disinterestedly. Theo watched with intense eyes. "I've never seen someone eat pancakes with such little emotion. Put some feeling into it."

She put down the fork, and signed again. Kiara pursed her lips. "I can't taste anything," she translated for her. "I'm sorry."

"If a vampire couldn't taste anything, they wouldn't have any reason to eat," said Vincent nonchalantly.

"Vampire?" said Kiara, watching Camellia's hands. "Ahahaha... Vincent meant that hypothetically, right?"

Vincent blinked and Theo nodded in his stead.

"Don't be absurd," muttered Theo, burning a hole through Camellia with his eyes. "Vampires don't exist."

An uncomfortable silence fell across the table, through which Sebastian and Kiara exchanged an uneasy look. Camellia shrugged and continued eating. She missed eating for the taste, wondering exactly when food had simply turned into sustenance.

As the days passed. Camellia found herself vanishing whenever Arthur appeared in her line of sight, Leonardo's voice ringing in her ears. She headed to the kitchen one night for a glass of water, and froze at the sound of shattering glass. Isaac knelt on the floor, shards of broken glass around him, and a red liquid that smelled suspiciously like blood. She ran up to Isaac, a hand on his shoulder, hoping her eyes would convey her concern.

He tensed up, and pushed her away, and she scrambled back as his unfocussed eyes met hers. "Stay away!" Fangs flashed in the moonlight, and Camellia's blood froze in her veins. Vincent had meant what he said.

Isaac let out a low growl, and her heart went out to him, in both concern and fear. But she scrambled back again as he grabbed her wrist, pushing her up against the wall. She wanted to scream, to call for help, but she couldn't. Spotting a shard of glass, she grabbed it, and threw it as hard as she could. It shattered again, the sound echoing through the mansion.

Someone came running and pulled Isaac away from her seconds before his fangs sunk into her neck. "Cara mia, are you alright?"

She nodded.

"I should've warned you about Isaac too."

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Hi, updates may or may not be slow, because it's currently finals week and I tend to procrastinate. Which means I'll either procrastinate studying with this, or procrastinate on both by playing Genshin Impact. Bye.