The Lost Child

chapter 21

Phillip came towards me and shoved me out of the room. Giving me an angry look. I shrugged. Beth needed someone to stop her and that would be me. Still I couldn't ignore his expression. Gripping my arm tightly, I felt my bones about to crack, he walked me away of the room.

"You need to stop" he whispered, eyeing back the room. "What you keep saying.. This isn't war, Lia " I could sense the plea in his voice but it was war.

"She killed your best friend.." I warned. Absolutely aware of how much pain that sentence would cause him. He needed to know who she really was. A murderer. "You don't get it" I didn't want to say it out loud though he understood. He understood the agony burning inside me. I just wanted to spit it out. "First the stab about Simon ,then Chrisy then Stephan ..I know I know they all turned out to be alive back then but... It hurt ..a lot. The stab engraved through my heart. Phillip I was shattered. And now Chrisy is still missing. My parents are dead. Stephan's second stab. And Beth.. I just want to -" I made a sound of disgust, making my hands form a strangling posture. "I actually wish I found her dead already" I said it loud enough that it rang in the corridor. Silently, wishing she had heard it and felt my heart flying when I saw her at the tip of my eye.

"At least you still have someone .." He whispered and the pained expression he gave me was enough to torture me. His sister and his best friend.

"And you still have me " I winked, tugging his arm. Lacing my fingers with his, he smiled. "I'n not going anywhere" he pulled my hand and kissed my knuckle as my lip formed a sweet smile. "I'm going to walk around for a while ,okay?" He nodded, releasing his grip. With one last glance ,I headed back upstairs. I was heading back to the royal wing when I saw something moving at the tip of my eye. I turned to see it, someone threw a journal through the shattered window and it was pilled over the thousands beneath it. I walked towards it and grabbed it. Pass time at least, would make me forget my grief. I crouched in a corner,blowing away the dust around me and started to take a look through the pages when something caught my attention. A phrase and a picture... The froze me in place.

PRINCESS CHRISTIANA FOUND!
KING STEPHAN RELEASED HER FROM JAIL !

wait what?

CHRISTIANA: they locked me up in their dungeon for years ,claiming that I was missing.

I couldn't believe what I was reading. Christiana was locked? They found her? At first I thought my eyes were betraying me. After all these years.... Chrisy was in the dungeon? How? Too many question popped to my head already making me twitch at the thought. And Stephan? I felt my brain cluttered. Fear started eating at the tip of my heart.
A picture was printed: Stephan holding Christiana as they waved. The 18 year old Chrisy was still as beautiful. I melted at the sight of her. Already missing her. Stephan was holding her like she might disappear. His smile was so genuine that I almost believed he were alive.

Wait...

I glanced at the date on the picture :15th of march. Glanced back at the date of the journal ,it said 15th of march. That was today. That's not Stephan! Stephan is down here, a corpse. This is an imposter! Unless....
This one in the picture was actually Stephan. That corpse down there wasn't him. No! I felt my brain about to explode. That was insane. I saw him. I touched his flesh. The one with us was Stephan!. I knew him! I was confused, more than confused. I was addled ..dismayed. I pulled back the page, peering at the picture. Closer...closer...closer. Until I saw it ,the bite on his neck. Could it be actually him? If that one was Stephan and the one below was also Stephan then that means one thing. He became a vampire....

I bolted downwards and grabbed Phillip. I took him far away,
out of anyone's earshot.

"How far can a vampire jump?" I shot as he went out with me. He looked confused but answered anyway.

"Many miles, maybe countries if he's a real or bitten vampire" perfect...

"And can he change his appearance , hide scars?"

"Yea" he started " what's wrong? Why are you being so weird?"
I had to tell him. I threw the journal at his chest, he caught it and stared.

"What's this?" He seemed as baffled as I was "Christiana found? Stephan? This is nonsense Stephan is dead!" He threw the journal at me.

"Look" I pointed at the picture, at the bite "see this? "

"Oh my God" was all that came out from him. He moved his hand and covered his mouth. Staring and peering at the picturing ,not believing his own eyes. Not believing what might be the reality. To him, Stephan being dead was mercy to being a deadly creature terrified of the sunlight.

" you think what I think?" I started. He blinked at me, getting back from his shock.

"Y-You mean..." He breathed, putting his thoughts together. His voice trembled as he tried to swallow the idea. His eyes turned a shade darker and I saw the pity and fear in there.  "Beth bit Stephan. She turned him into a vampire?"

"And he deceived us to hide and jumped there." I finished for him.

"Why? Why would he need to go there?" Now he was yelling, i tried to shush him otherwise we'd be spotted.

"Seems he had known about her" I shrugged as I pointed at Christiana. She looked real. She looked alive and that made the boiling in my veins cool down. She was alive! Relief filled me but as much as dismay filled me as well. Locked up? The words echoed in my head. Who put her there?

"But Chrisy, you guys locked her up?" He started slowly and I heard the hesitance in his voice. I didn't want to give him a chance to doubt me. And I had to stay honest with him. He was the only one I couldn't lie to.

"No of course not, I didn't know anything about her" I fired quickly in defence. "This is nonsense." I started pacing around, trying to ease my confusion "this is utter nonsense! How?" My chest became heavy and I started sucking in breaths. He came closer and his presence made me calm down a bit, knowing that he'd take some of my burden over his shoulders.

"I still don't believe it, maybe this guy is an imposter!" He tried.

"No no that's him I'm certain " actually I wasn't. But that was the only hope I had left... The only hope that he'd be alive.

"So what's the plan? Go and shake his body waiting for him to answer? " I heard the sarcasm in his voice. He glanced back to check that no one is there.

"Actually, that was part of the plan" I started slowly, ignoring his raised brow "I want to go back to the day we left, first... I think I can find answers in his room. Clues maybe" I whispered ,keeping my eyes on his in plea. Waiting for an approval. He grinned and his nod was enough for me to get started.