"You said that I will have a daughter," Tella said.
"Your daughter will be born with a very powerful gift. But this child will have one fatal weakness."
-Finale by Stephanie Garber
This is a fanfiction! Please read both the Caraval trilogy and the O...
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Year 18, Scarlett Dynasty.
Aerith Santos.
Me?
Why is my name here? Is this a painting of me?
I'm left with no time to think about anything when I hear a loud banging on the door.
"ANYONE IN THERE? OPEN UP!" a man yells from outside. It doesn't sound like Eli. A part of me is resentful that he left me here.
That's when I remember that it's impossible to open the door from the inside.
The weak, wooden door immediately comes crashing down and I'm left facing a hungry looking vampire. So he was trying to kill me.
"Go away!" I scream.
"Don't bite her," a low voice from outside calls. I finally walk out of the stuffy room when the vampire backs away at the mystery man's command.
I finally get a good view of the two. A tall man with messy blond hair, and a vampire with brown hair and emerald green eyes.
The blond man eyes me with his cruel blue eyes. Eli's eyes, I think to myself.
"What do you want from me?" I finally managed to ask.
The man raises his eyebrows and looks alarmingly offended. "I think I should be asking you that. What are you doing in my son's studio?"
"How- how did you know I was in here? Your son? Eli?"
His hard expression reveals a hint of amusement at the mention of Eli's name. "I sensed your heartbeat from outside. It was beating quite fast," he smirks.
"How-"
"Let's get out of here. There's paint everywhere," the vampire interrupts as he wipes wet paint off of his hands.
We walk out of the studio and I try to continue my question, "How did you sense my heartbeat? You're Eli's father?" I ask as a turn to face the blond man.
He sounds so awfully bored when he replies, "I used to be the Prince of Hearts. And yes, Elias is my son."
"The Prince of Hearts? As in the Fate?? Eli's name is Elias?"
"You ask too many questions."
"That's because you make everything so damn confusing, Jacks," says the vampire who looks much too hungry for his own good. "Don't worry, I won't bite you, so let me explain," he says as he grins at me.
"Jacks over here used to be a Fate, and even though he's human he can still sense heartbeats. He's also still ageless. Oh, he was so, so powerful until he fell in love with pretty, pretty Evangeline Fox," he exaggerates.
"Shut it, Castor."
"And why exactly do I need to know all of this information?" I question.
"I need your help," Jacks drawls. He looks annoyed that he has to ask for any sort of assistance. "We all know you're Legend's daughter. That's why Elias wants anything to do with you. He's going to want you to do something for him, but I'm not sure what he wants exactly. I just know that he's up to no good."
"How does everyone know who I am?" I whine.
"Where do you think Elias got your information from?" Castor asks.
"You?"
"No, Jacks." He replies. "It was Jacks' mistake to tell him anything."
"Speaking of which, where did Jack's go?" I ask. He disappeared into thin air in seconds.
"He does that a lot. He probably went to go check up on Evangeline. Either that or he left because he hates that he had to ask you for help."
"Okay... but why are you here if it's Jacks who needs my help?"
"Oh, I just wanted to witness him asking for someone else's assistance. I didn't know if he would actually ask you, but it seems he must care a lot about his son."
"I'm not sure I understand anything." I say with frustration evident in my voice. Who am I supposed to believe? I'm really starting to wonder if it's really just the wish from Caraval that Eli wants. But who can I trust? For all I know, Jacks and Castor could be completely lying.
Moments after, everything gets cut off when I notice Castor's eyes turning red. I can see his fangs as I start to back away.
I've only ever witnessed a vampire feeding once in my life. One of my friends from Valenda had been turned into one, and I recall her feeding on her own brother. Disturbing. But if I don't get out of here soon, it looks like I'm going to be this vampire's food for tonight.
"RUN," he growls. But I know he's too quick for me to run far enough away. As I trip and try to run away, I feel so stupid. I should've ran the moment I saw him. Maybe this was their plan all along. Trick the foolish little girl and take her as a yummy meal.
I keep running and running and trying to get away, but I can see that he's losing control over himself. Run, I tell myself. Run faster than you did when you first met Eli.
Eli.
Help me.
I run into the forest, where I hope that I can lose the vampire. Swerving left and right, using the tall trees to my advantage. I keep making my run for it, but something is off. I take my chances and turn my head around. He's not there.
I'm not sure a single night could get more confusing. Castor is nowhere in sight.
"Why are you looking for him?" calls a deep voice. Eli's voice.
"Eli?"
"He was trying to feed on you, so why are you looking for him?"
"He just disappeared! I couldn't-"
Eli appears right in front of me. "That's because he wasn't real in the first place."
