The Girl & The Vampire(A prequel to A Haunting Face)

Elyse's Arrival

It had been a week since Cassie's disappearance. Of course, the whole school knew about it. Aviva and Elyse hadn't been talking at all. Olivia and Elyse spoke very minimally, but that was only because Elyse was still upset about Olivia switching to Cassie's side. Olivia had tried to have full on conversations with Elyse, but El was not having any of it.

Elyse hadn't been going to the support group either, deciding it just wasn't for her. She appreciated that the people in the group wanted to be there for her and support her, but it wasn't like she had been traumatized by what had happened. It seemed to her that the others had been. They were all nice, she knew. A little quiet, but that was nothing that bothered Elyse.

As she sat on her bed, she turned to the rose that sat in the vase on her end table. It was drawing her in again, she wasn't sure how or why. The night of the ball played in her head. She couldn't imagine a man like him being a murderer, and she certainly couldn't imagine him kidnapping anyone. Still, she remembered the feelings she got from him; the mysteriousness of him, the danger, the dominance...

Elyse shook her head. She needed to stop thinking about him. She really needed to stop thinking about him. She had to get rid of the rose. It was a reminder of that night, a reminder of him. She knew she had to stop thinking about him. She needed to be rid of him entirely. It was late. Olivia and Aviva were fast asleep, and there was no chance that either of them were going to wake up any time soon. Elyse quietly got dressed and grabbed the rose, sneaking outside into the darkness.

The only sounds were the chirping of crickets and the wind. Elyse sighed as she walked, gripping the rose tightly in her hand. She exhaled as she stopped at the trash can that was behind the building her dorm was in. She was about to open the lid of the trash can when she heard a noise.

She froze.

Elyse shook her head and went to open the lid, when something swooped down from the top of one of the buildings and grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream but found that she couldn't. Her eyes widened in fear as she struggled against her captor. When she managed to turn around, she was met with blood red eyes. That was all she saw before she blacked out.

...

When Elyse woke up, she found herself in a room. She sat up and examined the room. Where the hell was she? Elyse pulled the covers of the bed back and stood up. The covers were a dark red, and as she looked down at them, she remembered the blood red eyes she had looked into before she had blacked out. A shiver ran down her spine and she moved on, walking around the room. The room had a fireplace, which was currently lit. For how long, she was unsure. She ran towards the window and opened it, gasping as she looked down from the window. She was extremely high up. If she tried to get to the ground from how high up she was, she would die.

Elyse closed the window and stepped away from it. Wherever she was, she needed to get out. The sound of a piano caught her attention, and she turned towards the door. Hesitantly, Elyse moved over to the door and opened it quietly. She stepped out of the room and followed the sound of the music. She wandered the halls, going down several sets of stairs, the music growing louder as she got closer. She could now make out the song Sehnsucht, the song that had played at the ball.

Her heart pounded against her chest. She looked over the balcony and saw a figure sat at a large black piano. Swallowing, Elyse moved to the stairs, slowly approaching the figure. Once she had made it downstairs, her movements slowed. The song came to an end as she took one last step towards the figure.

When the song was over, Vladislaus smirked. He could sense her presence, hear her movements as she had made her way down. "Hello, my angel," Vladislaus said.

Elyse knew the voice. How could she not? His voice had been echoing in her head for months. Vladislaus turned to face her, a smile on his face. "I was wondering when you would awaken from your slumber." He stood from the piano seat and stepped towards her, making Elyse step back.

"Where am I? And how did I get here?" Her voice was quiet, fear starting to take over her. Vladislaus seemed to sense Elyse's distress.

"There's no need to fear, darling. I won't hurt you, you know that." Vladislaus' voice seemed to calm Elyse briefly, but she shook her head. "Elyse, darling. Do not fear me." Elyse looked up into his eyes.

When their eyes met, Vlad's eyes were red. "Aviva was right about you, wasn't she?" Elyse asked. "You're a vampire." Her voice was quiet, and her gaze shifted to the floor.

"I am," she heard him say. Her breaths were heavy, audible.

"You killed Jeremy, didn't you?"

"I did."

Elyse turned from him, her back facing him. "And Cassie? You did something to her, didn't you?"

Silence.

Vladislaus stepped forward. Elyse's chest heaved as she breathed, her gaze still to the tiled floor. "If you are asking if I killed her, the answer is no." Elyse felt his cold hands on her upper arms. It now made sense why his skin had been so cold that night. Elyse felt herself being turned around. Vladislaus placed a finger underneath Elyse's chin and tilted her head up to meet his eyes, which were now the blue that Elyse remembered. "Your friend is safe."

"Where is she?" Elyse asked, her voice quiet.

"It does not matter, darling. You are the only one who matters," Vladislaus said.

Elyse moved away from him. "Cassie's my friend... and you are a monster."

Elyse ran up the stairs and back towards the room she had come from. She could hear Vladislaus calling from behind her. "Elyse, my dear. I am a monster, indeed, but you will learn to love and accept me for this soon enough. I know you will!"

Elyse made it back to the room and slammed the door behind her, locking it. She slid down to the floor, her head resting against the door, and cried.

Aviva had been right all along.