It’s not the appearance…but the feeling. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, a red carpet covered the floor, separate booths of fluffy down pillow seats, and curtains that you could pull over the wide windows. But, even so, I greatly disliked trains.
I think I may have entered the noble car by accident, I thought with a quiet sigh, pushing my long bangs out of my eyes from under my hat.
There were only a few other passengers, but I still made a point to avoid trouble – as it so greatly liked to fallow me – and chose a seat in the back of the car. I threw my ‘luggage’ into the other booth facing me and collapsed into the one across from it. With my great hatred for trains…I had to admit that this was way better than hitching a ride with some Farmer Brown and smelling of pigs, sheep, and hay for weeks.
Taking the multi-feathered hat from my head, I shrugged out of the long coat that needed a washing extremely badly! “Mrrr…murff, murrmrrrr!!!” came the sounds from inside my buttoned coat pocket. I sighed again – but this time out of displeasure – as I reluctantly unbuttoned the depthless fabric. Faster than the speed of light, a white blur flew out from the unknown regions in which was my pocket and onto my head. I let out a little yelp and fell onto the floor of the train car out of surprise.
I growled under my breath and gripped the white fuzz on my head, taking the thing down from where it had perched, and glared at it. Kozu – a weasel demon – had fuzzy velvet white fur with black ancient rune markings spiraling around his muzzle all the way to the tip of his long tail; he was my familiar. His eyes were bright yellow with cats’ eye black slits. He didn’t look much like a weasel at all…especially because this one talked.
“Miyuki Hymn Cross!!” Kozu yelled, struggling in my grip. His nails scratched at my fair moon-pale skin creating white little lines that would heal in moments.
I quickly pinched his muzzle shut, crawled on the ground, and peeked out to see if any of the passengers were staring. None were but it was always good to check.
I climbed up onto the seat again and let him scurry to my side as I sat cross legged. I dragged my long-nailed fingers through my hair and frowned. My hair was a soft blonde with two long pieces dangling in the front and the back cut short in an angle. Since the time when I turned four, my hair stopped growing longer and stayed in the design it is now, never to change again.
“Miyuki!” Kozu snapped. He was sitting across from me near my coffin, glaring like only a weasel could.
“Hmm?” I acknowledged faintly from my thoughts.
He sighed. “I can’t believe you! Going on this wild goose chase from town to town, killing every vampire in your path. What are you trying to accomplish?!”
I looked away from my familiar to look out the window. What am I trying to accomplish? I asked myself. Oh, I know exactly what I’m trying to accomplish. My mind faded back into that memory…of that time…
Flames licking up the sides of the walls, destroying everything in its path. Only this wasn’t regular fire. Its flames were blue and enhanced by magic. I ran from the tower to the ground floor, yelling for my mother, father, brother, anyone who could possibly answer…but only the roar of terrors’ voice came back at me. My bare feet burnt black as I ran down the fire-filled halls of the mansion. I finally opened the room that awaited me. The room that would always be scared into my mind for eternity.
And, at last, the room that would send me on the journey.
That room was the ballroom.
