Selfless

Chapter 8

The next day, Emily and Devon decided to leave the house and head to town that afternoon. They hadn't really been outside since the evening they had arrived, which was almost two days ago.

Emily got dressed first, putting on an off the shoulder black top, a pair of dark blue jeans and black sandals. It was oddly warm for early April but Emily didn't complain. She went into the bathroom that Emma shared with her and brushed her long hair, she decided she would put on makeup. She hadn't worn any since the ball Aaron had thrown, mostly because she either never had the time or never had the supply.

Emily felt as if she were looking at a familiar stranger as she watched herself put on the makeup. The girl staring back looked like her, but at the same time she didn't. This new Emily looked older, wiser, as if she had seen and learned new things. The new Emily also seemed to hold confidence and strength equally on her shoulders. She smiled at her reflection, liking the stranger who smiled back.

Emily exited the bathroom and walked into the hall right as Devon was closing the bedroom door behind him. He turned and stopped, starring at her for a few moments while Emily felt a slight blush on her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" She asked, Devon snapped out of his trance as a smile danced on his lips.

"Nothin" he said with a goofy grin on his face. He was thinking about how beautiful she looked, not that she wasn't gorgeous all the time to him, but at this moment she seemed to shine and her eyes seemed to dazzle. She smiled shyly back and turned down the hall.

"Come on" she said over her shoulder while Devon kept a smile glued to his face.

**********

Emma quickly walked through the halls of her high school, dodging her peers and not making eye contact with anyone. She was determined to get to the library, which is something she usually never did unless she had to. This was important though, she needed information.

It was 6th period which was her study hall, she had a little under an hour to get this done. Emma walked into the media center, quickly making sure there weren't a lot of people, she didn't want any of her friends interrupting her study time. As Emma walked in the smell of old books hit her almost immediately. She passed by the front desk, nodding to the cheery blond librarian who said hello. The place was mostly clear, a few students at the computers and a few more in the lounge area either reading or playing on their phone.

The media center was pretty big and had huge clear glass windows on the back wall. All the computers were in two rows in the middle of the library, giving view for the front desk. Book shelves lined the walls and every other space besides the front desk, the computers, and the lounge area. The lounge area (or reading area as the librarians called it) was in the front left corner of the room. It was a pretty cool area, big couches, bean bag chairs, a coffee table with board games underneath it.

Emma went to the first computer she saw and looked up the word 'Vampire' in the library's book database. Twenty-eight results, decent amount. Emma quickly looked through all the books basic info on the computer, none of these looked helpful. My Babysitter is a Vampire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, ugh Twilight. Emma rolled her eyes and sighed, none of these seemed like they would help.

Emma scrolled to the end of the page and found one last book. "The Order Of Blood." Emma tapped her chin, the book seemed a bit ominous but sounded like it had some promise. She wrote down the book number and authors name before logging off and walking towards the fiction area of the library. This section was toward the back of the big room, probably because it was the largest section in the library. Emma looked at the authors name again; Agatha Hillington, the name didn't sound at all familiar.

On the bottom shelf, Emma found the book, it had been put in the wrong spot. Emma grabbed it, the book looked pretty old. It was a hardcover and it was black, with the title of it in bright red colors.

Emma sat down and leaned her back against the book shelf, opening the book to the first page:

'I am not proud of the things I have done in my life; I have committed many crimes against my own kind and many against humanity. I became what I told myself I wouldn't, being brought up by royalty and forced to marry a cold hearted man made me cold as well. The only thing good that came out of my life and out of my marriage was my son, I hope that he will not make the same mistakes I did and will not follow in his fathers footsteps.

'The royals are full of bloodlust and anger, in their mists they bring sorrow and devastation. My father was a royal, when he married my mother she became one as well. My father was much like my husband, cold and ruthless. I like to think I was like my mother, but even she was dangerous when she was angry. After my son was born I told myself I wouldn't raise him like a royal, I would raise him with kindness and love, not harsh punishment and obedience. He will be different, he is good even if he is a royal.

'There are four classes of vampires; the royals are at the top. They live the longest and have amazing abilities. Some, like myself, have elemental abilities, people with these are able to control and often times create one of the elements. This trait is mostly only seen in the royal class. Others have mind abilities, while many others have physical abilities. Every royal has some type of ability and they use them as a way to control the lower classes.

'Next there is nobility; these vampires are closes to royalty and often times will marry into the higher class. They don't live as long but definitely longer than a few centuries. Nobles also contain many abilities and are very powerful. They serve the royal families and pledge loyalty to them.

'Next is the warrior class; they are physically the strongest of all vampires, but rarely do they exhibit mental abilities. At one point in time, the warrior class was lead by royalty in battle, but nowadays, in times of peace, they are used for protection or even entertainment. They don't live as long as the higher classes, but they still surpass a normal human lifespan.

'Lastly, the lowest class, often referred to as the peasants or common vampire. These people live among humans, they are the weakest and most docile of all the classes. Very few have physical or mind abilities and they barely live pass a century.

'Even though we are separated by our power and status, there is one thing that makes us all equal, and that is our insatiable bloodlust. No vampire, no matter how powerful, can overcome their need to-'

The bell rang, ending sixth period, the sudden noise made Emma jump and almost drop her book. She had been so lost in her reading that she hadn't even noticed she wasted her entire study hall with her nose in a book.

She sighed, it was like she was turning into her sister, the thought made her roll her eyes. Emma quickly got up and checked out the book at the front desk before heading to her next class.