My rival. (GXG)

Sugarcoat

Beverly skipped school that day. She found a map on the last page of the book, and she thought that maybe by going there, she would get some answers. She left for the vampire's city.

It was very close to the palace, but there were two entries, one through the road and the other through the forest near the quarry. The forest was the one that was the farthest from the palace, so Beverly chose that.

She put a black coat on and gathered her hair into a low, messy bun, taking the map in the book with her in her pocket, as well as a small knife in case of an emergency that she put into her boot.

She left her house and made sure to put her emergency call on Jacey.

She answers all the time.

Max falls asleep randomly, and she's half-dead when she snores her ass off.

She jumped outside out of her window so her dad wouldn't notice her. He reeked of alcohol anyway, and he was surely intoxicated by beer by then. She closed the window after her and took the map out of her pockets, gazing at it.

She had to go forward because her house sided with the quarry. She followed the path on the map, walking quickly but quietly to avoid drawing any attention. The night was dark, and the moon barely shone through the thick clouds, adding to the eerie atmosphere. As she made her way towards the quarry, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Every sound and every rustle in the bushes made her heart race.

But she kept walking with her lantern in her hand.

She avoided going during the daytime because, that way, the king would see her easily.

But god, it was so scary that she could fucking die in the place if a bird dared to even flap its wings. Her hands were clammy as she gripped the lantern tighter, the light flickering ominously. The silence of the night was deafening, broken only by the crunch of leaves beneath her feet. She quickened her pace, unable to shake the feeling that she was being followed.

"Don't be paranoid, Beverly. " She muttered to herself. "Don't be like Max." She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her. She sighed quietly when she got to the edge of the cliff. Down there was a rope that descended into a space Beverly couldn't quite see.

She looked at the map. She was supposed to go down. Her throat pounded at the thought of climbing down a cliff with a rope that seemed thousands of years old. Fuck. She could die.

But maybe she doesn't care enough about death to stop her feet. She didn't have important powers, so it was totally irrelevant if she died or not; it's not like she had someone to care about her at home.

Swallowing thickly with trembling hands, she grabbed the rope and sat down at the edge, tugging at it twice to see if it was still usable.

It didn't seem to break.

"Fuck, take care of me, god." She muttered under her breath as she began to slowly lower herself down the cliff face. The wind whipped against her face, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. As she descended, she couldn't help but think about how reckless she was being. But at the same time, a feeling of adrenaline washed over her. She was defying death and taking control of her own fate. And as she reached the bottom unscathed, she couldn't help but smirk defiantly at the sky above. She felt alive in that moment—more alive than she had felt in a long time.

She grinned when she jumped off the rope, looking up with awe. She's so fucking awesome for doing that!

She took the map out and analyzed it her way. She had to follow the rocky path. It seemed like it was used in the past, but now dust was covering it whole, and the grass had grown to Beverly's waist. As she trudged through the overgrown path, Beverly felt like an explorer in uncharted territory.