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I would like to know people's opinion on this story I wrote. ^^





Chapter One

The day Illia turned back time was the day she returned him to the week before he was exiled, thus beginning a new life. This starts the night before Illia restarted the life process.
“Or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you . . .”
“There, Nikki, are you happy I got on stage to sing for you?” Ross asked rolling his eyes while jumping off the stage and handing the microphone in his hand over to the bartender’s wife, Sara. He walked slowly over to Nikki, who was giggling happily, watching nervously as a bunch of human girls began to squeal as he passed by them.
“Yes I am, but you need to act more normal. Quit acting so nervous and just relax,” Nikki sighed pulling him over to the stools they were sitting on earlier before she had forced him to go sing on stage for her.
“But, Nikki, I could -” Ross began, but was interrupted by Nikki’s finger over his lips giving him the signal to hush.
“I will not let it happen, ok?” Nikki smiled.
“Fine. You win for now at least,” Ross sighed waving Sam, the bartender and a close friend, over in the two’s direction.
“Yes, Ross? What can I get you two?” Sam winked flashing them a smile.
“I would like a strawberry daiquiri and my sweet little companion beside me would love the same thing, so I believe that to be two strawberry daiquiri’s,” Ross said rolling his eyes at the bartender’s joke.
“Coming right up,” laughed Sam walking away from the two of them to get what they ordered.
“Ross, I am only seventeen and you are only sixteen and yet you’re able to get drinks for us as if you were twenty-one. Just to be honest, I do not believe myself to be that great of a queen for the vamps and you’re not even listening to me. What are you glaring at?” Nikki sighed, calm at first but growing angrier as she noticed he wasn’t even paying attention to her.
“Illia,” Ross hissed.
“My mother? What does she want?” Nikki hissed back.
“I don’t know, but I will find out,” Ross hissed still not returning Nikki’s look. He walked across the room quicker than any human could see and stopped five feet away from a woman that looked sort of like Nikki.
“What are you doing here, Illia?” he snapped causing the people around them to get up and move quite a distance away. The pounding music around the club/bar came to a sudden halt.
“Oh nothing. Just listening to my daughter’s servant sing,” Illia smiled continuing to scratch marks onto the table she sat at with her nails. Ross’ eyes glanced over to the table top and then back at her. Her smile hadn’t even flickered a little. The only thing moving at the time was the flashing light in the room.
“Are you having fun? No one wants you here, so vanish into thin air,” Ross snapped glaring at her smile.
“Tell me, do you like the vampire palace?” she asked so quietly only Ross could hear her.
“Shut up! I will never return to that place. I-I am not a slave anymore,” he snapped growing quieter as his gaze fell to the tabletop again.
“I take it you loved the palace and the past you had in it,” Illia giggled softly placing her hand on his cheek. He kicked her chair to where she almost fell backwards making her reach out and slap him.
“Don’t touch me, Illia,” growled Ross taking a step backwards.
“Tell me if anything weird happens, if you can,” Illia laughed slapping her other hand flat against the tabletop. The tabletop began to glow as her hand made contact with it. Ross was fixing to slap his hand on the table but his reaction was too late. The air around the two felt as if it had begun to shift.
“Ha ha! Time is now reverting itself, Ross! Too bad you can’t move,” Illia began to laugh, as everything around them grew dark.
Time was restarting . . .

Chapter Two

“Mom - I mean my lady - do I have to go and live within the palace? Especially with those horrible children of the queen’s that will ruin the books just so they don’t have to study them?” a boy of just five feet in height, short black hair with a few red tips in the front, a golden amber eye and a deep crimson red eye sighed looking up at the back of a woman with long black hair as she walked in front of him. She stopped and turned towards him.
“Are you saying the queen is a bad mother, Texenius? Yes, of course you are to live in the palace. The queen has asked for someone with your level IQ to be delivered to her. She needs help because her husbands keep dying for some reason so she needs you to help. Besides, there are two others who stay in the library that you can befriend because they love books just as much as you. The girl’s name is Enaia and the boy’s name is Ienzo,” she hissed fixing his hair and then pulling him along the hallways.
“No, my lady. I was not calling her a bad mother nor was I calling her children juvenile delinquents. I just do not think so highly of myself. I do not consider myself a genius. I am just an ordinary boy who loves the books and magick in this world. Nothing more. Nothing less. Is something wrong? You stopped so suddenly,” he said looking behind him at where his mother stood quietly.
“You’ve been casting spells on yourself since you were little. Here, don’t let anyone get a hold of your book. There are many who would use it to their advantage. You, my sweet son, are one of the most powerful beings in the land of real and make believe. Princess Nikki will have two new bodyguards, Koail, a musician, and Lurtz, someone from a somewhat noble family. If you have any questions about where things are, ask them. Do not speak directly to the queen or the other royal family members. Understood?” she smiled grabbing his hand with one hand and the doorknob in the other. He nodded his head and followed her inside the Great Hall only to see Illia yelling at a five foot eight boy with short, messy brown-black hair, golden amber eyes, a serious look on his face, and many cuts up and down his body.

Chapter Three

“Find her, Lurtz! If you don’t that’s another beating today! How does the musician able to keep up with her if you can’t even stay by her side for five seconds? You have had nineteen beatings today already? What will it be tomorrow?” snapped Illia from across the room.
“I’m sorry, your highness. I get distracted too easily. It has been twenty-five beatings today, your majesty. I will try to make it less tomorrow,” the boy said bowing and turning around only to see a group of guards in which his eyes widened.
“Make this his twenty-sixth beating and do it in here. I love to hear him scream in pain. It takes a long time, but that is what makes it all the more pleasurable,” Illia smiled looking over at Texenius and his mother. Lurtz snatched his arms away from the guards that reached for them only to be hit in the face by one of the many guards left in the room. A fist then hit him in the stomach making him collapse to his knees and cough up blood while gasping for air.
Illia smiled as she watched a guard pull out a whip with several heads with different ends to them. Then the sounds of the whips coming down on the boy who went by the name Lurtz rained down like hail fire. Texenius just stood watching in horror until he heard it from beside him. The snickering at the poor boy came from his mother. His mother thought it was funny for Lurtz to be punished for the princess and her musician friend to have abandoned him.
“No. NO! Stop it!” he shouted as a blast of magick blew all the guards away from the boy who looked up from the ground wincing, but looking around as if he had no idea what had just happened.
“So this is your little genius, Arisa? I like this little rebel,” laughed Illia stand and walking over to Lurtz before Texenius could get there. She grabbed Lurtz’s hair and pulled his head back only to expose a slightly bleeding cut on his neck.
“Don’t you want to feed upon this living thing’s blood, Texenius?” Illia asked smiling at him.
“No, and just to let you know, I am going by the name Tex now. I hate the name Texenius. Why do you ask? Do you want to?” Tex spat standing several feet away while holding his breath.
“Sure, but first, Nikki, come here,” Illia called. A small girl and another boy of about five feet and seven inches with a guitar on his shoulder came out from around a pillar.
“Yes, mother?” Nikki asked rolling her eyes and grinning at Koail.
“So why didn’t you come out to protect this vile thing called Lurtz?” she asked.
“I like the smell and taste of his blood.”
“Would you like a bite?”
“Sure.”
Nikki skipped over to Illia and Lurtz. She lightly grabbed the side of his neck and bit down. The warmth of his blood came from his skin over into her mouth with such a sweet taste that she grew jittery at the deliciousness of it.
“P-princess, please - please stop,” Lurtz whispered, his voice had grown softer with the obvious hints of lightheadedness. His hands were on Nikki’s arms but anyone could tell that he didn’t have the energy to push her off and even if he did, it wouldn’t be for much longer.
“HEY! He said, ‘please stop’ didn’t he? So knock it off, Princess of Delinquents! Oops,” Tex snapped starting to walk over to Nikki but his mother had caught his arm. Nikki was just about to pull away to spout a sarcastic remark when Lurtz’s held her to him so she couldn’t and also so she wouldn’t do something ridiculously stupid and regretful.
“Hey, princess. Lurtz is just a human - I mean elf - oops. I definitely didn’t mean human, but if you continue like that you’re going to kill him. How about we go switch out my guitar for tonight’s dinner concert?” smiled Koail speaking quickly.
“Okay, Koail. I like seeing all of your guitars,” Nikki said pulling away from the now limp armed Lurtz. She glared at him for a second and then began to walk off with Koail. He sat in silence for a second, but finally stood and stared after her.
“Lurtz, get over there next to the queen,” a male voice snapped. Lurtz looked over to the doorway in which he saw a man and two women walk into the room that he quickly familiarized and his eyes shot down as he quickly stumbled over to Illia and tried hard to not let his knees give out on him.
“It’s time for Lurtz to return home, at least for tonight. He is nine now so he needs to meet Lady Sierra, his fiancee. Well that as well as join his family in our condition,” one of the females said bowing to Illia, her eyes directed at the floor.
“Go on. He’ll be better off in the same condition as well. You may take and change him,” Illia replied turning away from Lurtz being grabbed by the hand of the quiet girl.
“Mother, what are you talking about? Change? Into what?” Lurtz asked voice rising as his eyes moved up to look into the woman to his right’s eyes. A loud slap was heard all throughout the room.
“Don’t look up at people who are higher in society than you! Don’t even speak unless spoken to,” she snapped putting her hand down next to her side. Lurtz’s eyes quickly shifted back to their original position of staring at the floor and his feet. Nikki’s voice echoed into the room not even a second later.

Chapter Four

“Agh! Pervert!” her voice screamed.
“I’ll check on it,” Tex said running away from the scene he had just experienced until he reached the garden. Nikki was standing there in the center of the garden with a boy with black and crimson red hair and garnet eyes trying to say something over a laughing hysterically Koail and a screaming Nikki just to calm her down.
“Please calm down! I’m not a pervert! I’m probably even the same age as you! I was hoping we could avoid the yelling! Stop screaming already!” he shouted, hands over his ears to stop the noise somewhat. He suddenly grabbed Nikki’s face within his hands, pressed his lips to hers to keep her quiet and vanished up into a tree with her.
“Sorry, but will you stop screaming now? My name is Ross. What’s yours?” he asked smiling.
“Fine and it is Nikki. Why?” she said angrily in return.
“See, now is it so hard to talk without screaming? I was actually looking for you. In fact I heard about you and this place and I was wondering if perhaps I could live in your garden. I won’t be any trouble -” he started only to fall out of the tree with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder to where he winced, sat back up and hissed at the vampire guards and an enchantress, who was chanting something, that were surrounding him. The enchantress pointed to the arrow after she quit her weird incantation and a huge bolt of pain ran through Ross.
“Agh! This was a huge waste of time! Stupid demon-hating leeches!” he snapped trying to pull out the arrow.
“What should we do with the half breed that tried to kidnap the princess?” one of the guards asked.
“Dungeon,” Illia answered simply.
“Wait. Um. How about we use him as an extra -” started Nikki who was staring at Ross who glared at Illia.
“No, Nikki. That is my final answer. Get over it,” sneered Illia in return. The guards grabbed Ross’ arms and began their way to the dungeons. Illia turned her back towards Nikki.
“Oh yes. And Nikki, in the kitchen you will find a servant by the name of Kinso. He is to be your servant for a week and only a week. So do not get yourself attached to him like the last seven servants you had,” she hissed grabbing Tex’s wrist and pulling him out of the room with her.

Chapter Five

“Great. Maybe I can write some songs while I’m down here pinned to the wall by chains. I feel like a slave to that demon-hating leech. A slave again to another person,” Ross sighed doing handstands to pass the time, the chains attached to his wrists jingling as he looked towards the door.
“Hey. Psst, Ross. It’s me, Nikki,” a voice whispered from down the hallway. Ross slid back down to his feet still looking at the door.
“Down here. What are you doing down here? You’re going to get both of us in trouble with that demon-hating leech called Illia,” Ross called lightly back as he heard the small, quick footsteps heading towards him.
“Look, I’m going to throw a tantrum to get you to be my bodyguard. Then you can stay in the garden. Oh yes. This is my musician friend, Koail. He’s also one of my bodyguards. But you will have to report in to my mother like - Hey! How did you get out of the chains?” Nikki said louder than before.
“Shh! I phased through them. I was making sure the guards didn’t see me do that. I also just gained my magick back. I’ll go back if you want me to,” Ross said picking up one of the chains and then smiling up at Nikki.
“No! Go to the Garden!” Nikki hissed at him.
“Ok. Tonight, I’ll visit your room to give you a proper thank you,” Ross winked jumping up through the ceiling.
“Geez! Why didn’t he -? What the -? That’s the arrow that hit him! No wonder he didn’t phase through it!” Nikki said to herself, picking up the arrow off the cell floor.
“I told them the chains were too long and that he would be able to pull out the arrow, but no one would listen to me. They listen to Siegfried, but not me. We need to recapture him before mother finds out,” a tall boy with short, neat light brown hair said softly, glaring at the arrow in Nikki’s hands.
“Albert! I’m going to hurt you, you brown-haired, green-eyed weirdo!” Nikki shouted hitting him in the shoulder, stomping on his foot, and running off with Koail right on her heels.
“Grr! You’ll pay for that, Nikki!” growled Albert vanishing into thin air.
* Later that night *
“Night, mother!” Nikki shouted down the stairs.
“Grr! Little brat yelled that on purpose!” Illia screeched. Tex, the short girl with dark brown hair and blue eyes and the little boy with silver hair and blue-green eyes looked up. Tex glanced across the table at the girl who sat there and began to glare.
“You know, that dictionary hurt right, Lady Enaia?” he hissed looking down at his food that he still hadn’t even touched. The girl looked back at him and shrugged.
“So? I thought you were going to attack my little brother or me. It was pure self-defense,” she hissed back.
“So you would rather a book be damaged by pure violence than at least to try to talk to me before then? You are a ruthless child. I would take better care of the library here than you would. If the queen didn’t need you and your brother here as well I would get rid of you,” snapped Tex standing up from the table and walking away.
“You want to say that again little man?” Enaia snapped walking around the table to get in his way.
“Here we go again,” was all Ienzo said while eating a little of the food on the table.

Chapter Six

“Ross, I’m up. Are you there?” Nikki called lightly.
“Peek-a-boo! Here is your ‘thank you’ gift,” smiled Ross standing on the edge of the balcony with a bouquet of roses the color of the night sky except for one lonesome white rose with something red and glittering on it in the moonlight.
“Is that blood on those?” whispered Nikki quickly moving over to Ross and pulling him inside her room.
“Oh yeah. I accidentally hurt myself while getting these for you,” smiled Ross sheepishly.
“Liar. That came from that arrow wound didn’t it?” Nikki asked pulling the first aid kit out of Koail’s hands. A shocked look crossed over Ross’ face.
“How did you know? How did you know it was a lie?” Ross asked taking a step away from her. “No one – No one has been able to tell.” His eyes began to show a painful look as if he were remembering something he didn’t want to remember, the memories of all the lies he told just to get to where he was in life at that moment.
“Don’t take offense to it. I’m just a really lucky guesser,” smiled Nikki. “You’re really nice. Now take off that bloody shirt so I can clean up that injury.”
“D-do what?” he asked eyes making contact with hers.
“Take. Off. That. Shirt. So. I. Can. Clean. Up. That. Injury. Don’t worry. I have to patch up Siegfried and my sisters all the time,” Nikki said pushing Ross to sit down on her bed. “Koail, go get me some warm water and a wash rag since you can tell if things are warm or cold.”
Koail ran off and showed back up with a bowl of warm water and a washrag within just a few seconds. Nikki was slapping at Ross’ hands as he tried to keep his shirt down.
“I don’t like people going under my shirt. Never have,” Ross said quietly when he noticed her foot tapping impatiently.
“Why?” she asked trying to catch his gaze.
“I-I just . . . don’t,” Ross said looking back at her.
“Well since I am allowing you to stay in our garden her in the palace, you have to do as I, the princess, say,” Nikki said glaring at him.
“But -” Ross started only to get Nikki to start tapping her foot again. “Fine. There,” he said removing his shirt and closing his eyes. Nikki saw bruises, scars and scratches covering him, including the newest injury on his chest, arms, and sides.
“They’re . . . they’re on your back as well . . . aren’t they?” Nikki asked lightly touching one of the many scars and tracing it lightly with her finger, making Ross flinch away.
“Sorry,” she said quickly pulling her hand away. “I’ll get busy with that injury.”
“It’s ok, Nikki. It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. Just - just don’t . . . touch anything that isn’t bleeding,” Ross said quietly, his shoulders growing more tense.
“I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry,” Nikki apologized again taking the washrag and dipping it into the bowl of warm water. She began to wash the front part of the injury to have more blood start running down his chest.
“You’re a heavy bleeder,” she choked out as the scent of his blood hit her. She continued washing the blood away until it stopped bleeding. She then moved around him to see if it had gone all the way through only to see it had and at an angle. She started washing the injury on his back when something caught her eye from under his hair on the back of his neck.
“What’s this?” she asked moving his hair to see the mark. He quickly slid off the bed and towards the balcony when she touched his hair.
“I have to go. Someone is coming,” Ross said walking out onto the balcony and jumping into a nearby tree. “Just call my name if you need me.” Then he was gone. The mark on his neck seemed to be burnt into Nikki’s memory.
“Hey, princess. He seems to have left his shirt,” Koail said picking it up off her bed.
“Koail, you cut your hand,” Nikki mumbled. Koail looked down, saw the blood and the cut on his hand and just shrugged.
“We’ll say that it is your shirt and you were using it to stop the bleeding,” muttered Nikki turning around.
“Yes, ma’am,” Koail answered without a second thought.

Chapter Seven

“Hello, Nikki. Siegfried is getting yelled at by mother again,” Albert said walking into Nikki’s room. “Why is the servant holding a bloody t-shirt?”
“He cut his hand open,” Nikki said simply looking up at Albert. Albert looked at Koail for a few seconds longer, but then returned his glance over to Nikki.
“So, yeah. Mom also wanted me to tell you to check out your seventh bedroom tonight,” he said turning around and walking out of the room.
“Hi, Nikki. Did Albert come in here?” asked a boy with short, messy light brown hair, blue-green eyes, but more hyperactive than Albert running in.
“Yes, Siegfried. I thought you were being yelled at by the royal pain in the butt,” Nikki said looking over towards him.
“Yes, well I was until a maid walked in and knocked over a vase and thus she is getting yelled at,” laughed Siegfried walking over to Nikki.
“Siegfried, I know you’ll keep a secret between Koail and me. That half-demon is going to be living in our garden,” Nikki blurted.
D-do what? Fine. I’ll keep it as our little secret. I’ll even say I let him stay there just so you won’t get into any more trouble,” said Siegfried quickly just to make sure Albert would not hear him.
“Thank you,” Nikki said kissing him on the cheek.
“Yeah well, I have to go hang out with my dad, your step-dad, and you need to check out those weird voices in your seventh bedroom. The maids won’t go in there because the voices are oh so ‘creepy’.”
“Hmm. Voices that are creepy in my seventh bedroom? Now that I have to check out.” Nikki grabbed Koail’s uninjured hand and drug him to the seventh bedroom.
*Nikki’s Seventh Bedroom *
“Keep quiet.”
“Shh.”
“They’re coming?”
“Yes, we’re here, voices. Talk to us,” Nikki called out looking around.
“Why should we talk? Maybe we should sing to each other. How about that? Ladies first,” the voice whispered.
“Fine. Umm . . . in sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. That voice which calls to me, and speaks my name, and do I dream again, for now I find, the Phantom of the Opera is there, inside my mind,” replied Nikki glaring at the bed as if the voice sat there.
“Y-you’ve actually . . . heard me singing in the walls of your home? You were the one who would walk onto the balcony and return my song? How did you find out the words if your mother never let you listen to music unless it was Koail’s?” the voice said quietly.
“Yes, I have heard someone singing, I answered your song with more words, and I don’t know. They just popped into my head I guess. How do you know my mom only lets me listen to Koail’s music? How do you even know Koail’s name?” Nikki sighed tapping her foot while awaiting this mystery person to show his face.
“My spirit and your voice in one combine. The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside your mind,” his voice sang, slowly forming into a tall boy with short, messy whitish-silver hair, silver eyes, a black mask and the misty look of a phantom.
“No one has ever sung to me before. No one has ever really needed or wanted or talked to me before, but now . . . I have someone who will actually answer my call. I am Phantom. Others who have actually met me also know me as the Phantom of the Opera. It is a delight to talk to my second Christine Daae. We can perhaps stay together this time,” he smiled lightly.
“Why do you hide behind a mask? Because . . . wait a second! What did you just call me?” Nikki yelled.
“Please do not yell. I stay hidden by this mask because of a hereditary gene that my brothers and me inherited from our father. I just called you my second . . . never mind. She was a girl that I used to like because her and me used to sing this song to each other through the walls. It sounds beautiful with a girl in it, otherwise it’s just the male parts and it sucks,” Phantom said quickly closing his hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t be able to yell about anything else.
“So what is this here-heredi-hereditary gene? Whoa. Is it a total cuteness gene? Do I look like this girl or something?” Nikki asked waving his mask in front of his face.
“Hey! Give that back! My brothers’ genes are a tad bit different than mine, but yes. We all are too cute to be able to be seen by ninety-nine percent of the world surrounding us. We . . . all three of us couldn’t even be looked upon by our own mother without these masks. She loved us, yes. But it was more . . . way more, than sons. Please, give me back my mask,” was the only thing he said as his hair fell over his face, covering it from her view.
“Here.”
“Thank you. No, it’s not that you look like her, but you just . . . you just sound like her. Only thing is that I didn’t need to put you in a trance to sing that song. Most people think that it was a human who wrote that song when it was actually one of the phantom people. Now my people are on the edge of extinction and you are the only friend I have. It’s nice to be able to talk to someone without having him or her jump you or trying to jump you,” Phantom lightly smiled placing his mask back on his face.
“Wow. Really? I was just messing around,” Nikki smiled blushing slightly. “You were good too. Did you write it or another phantom?”
“Yes and no, my grandfather wrote it. Thank you for the compliment, but for now I need to go. I shall return tomorrow at midnight. Yue is getting impatient while waiting for my return,” Phantom said fixing to walk into the wall before Nikki caught his arm.
“Yue? Is he your brother?” she asked.
“Yes. He’s one of my two younger brothers. He’s the one that is actually awake. Tori can’t wake up for a little while longer . . . He has more issues than Yue or me,” Phantom said vanishing into mist.
“W-wait! Hmm. I was going to ask if his brothers live in the walls with him. Go on, Koail. You can go on to your room and rest. Good night,” Nikki mumbled going over to her dresser, picking up a brush and brushing her hair.
“Good night, princess,” Koail said quietly bowing and then leaving her room.

Chapter Eight

* 4 Days Later *
“Phantom, I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but I haven’t heard from Ross in four days! What should I do?” Nikki asked looking depressed as she was pacing through her room. Koail was quietly strumming on one of his many guitars on the floor next to the bed.
“Well maybe you should try to call for him. That usually works when you want me. Try it while I go check on Tori and Yue real quick,” he smiled vanishing into a puff of white smoke.
“Ross, if you can hear me, please show up,” Nikki sighed looking out the window to the balcony.
“Y-you rang?” Ross panted landing on the balcony and walked through the window of a door.
“Were you running from someone? I’ve called for you like a million times!” Nikki snapped.
S-sorry. I’ve been a . . . been a little busy with . . . canines and . . . enchantress’ and guards,” he laughed walking over to her. “You still have my shirt and you had it washed?”
“Yes well I can’t just throw it away. You need it,” Nikki sighed throwing the shirt at him. “Are you injured again?”
“No,” he said a little too quickly as he caught and slid on his shirt.
“Liar.”
“Prove to me I’m injured then.”
“Well considering there is blood dripping from both of your hands, you are too,” Nikki snapped lifting his hands in front of his face. His eyes quickly looked to the side, snatching his hands down.
“Please don’t . . . don’t do that again. I hate seeing the blood stained on my hands. It tells me over and over again that I am a murderer and I can never escape that fact,” Ross said quietly looking as pained as the day Nikki first met him.
“Is that why you want to live in the garden? Because it is so peaceful, most of the time, and you don’t have to kill to live there?” Nikki asked giving him a hug.
“Why? Why can you read me like an open book? Why do you know me so well after only knowing me for four days?” Ross asked quietly just standing there within Nikki’s embrace. She looked up at him and just smiled.
“I’m just really good at getting people who normally close themselves off to others to actually open up,” she said pulling his head down to kiss him on the forehead and then lean it against her shoulder. “Now smile. I’m tired of seeing you look so pained.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t pretend to be happy. It hurts me to lie about my emotions. I’ve hurt myself for years trying to hide my pain,” Ross said suddenly trembling.
“Ross? Why are you trembling?” Nikki asked a shocked look crossing her face.
“I don’t know. I’m - I’ve never had anyone to comfort me, to talk to me, to be there for me when I was scared. I’m - Shoot! This is the first time I’ve cried since I was like six and sent to that lunatic asylum,” he laughed lightly pulling away from Nikki and walking away so she couldn’t see his face.
“Ross, it’s ok. My shoulder is here for you to cry on. I’m here for you to listen to your worries and your problems. Now quit running away,” Nikki hissed grabbing his arm and pulling him to her bed. “You’re going to sleep in here tonight.”
“But-” Ross said trying to stop her from pulling him towards the bed, but failing miserably considering he had barely eaten anything Nikki had left on the balconies for him. He landed with a thud on the bed and turned to see Nikki glaring at him as if to say ‘try getting up’.
“Sleep. Koail, have Kinso bring up some food for all of us,” Nikki said sitting next to Ross.
“You’re going to get in trouble by your mother if she finds out I’m in here,” Ross said. Nikki pulled his head down into her lap and began to pet his head as if he were a cat.
“I know. So Koail has - Lurtz! What’s wrong? Talk to me!” Nikki said slipping out from under Ross and running over to Lurtz who stood in the doorway.
“M-mother - fangs - ouch! I feel like my whole body is on fire, princess,” Lurtz answered holding his hand to his neck.
“Lurtz, are you -?” Nikki began putting her ear on Lurtz’s chest. “You’re dead! Well, undead! B-but you were a regular elf just four days ago! Wait a second! You’re a . . . you’re a vampire! Oh my god! Koail is going to flip when he hears about this!” Nikki started but got Lurtz’s hand slapped on her mouth.
“D-don’t tell him. Please, don’t tell him,” Lurtz hissed wincing at the slight breeze in the room going across the two fang marks on his neck. He removed his hand from her mouth and placed it back over his neck.
“It – it burns, princess,” he said quieter leaning against the wall.
“Ok,” sighed Nikki sliding his other arm over her shoulder and helping him cross the room to the small couch on the other side of the bedroom.
“Thank you, princess,” he said sliding onto the couch and laying on his side while closing his eyes. Ross had already fallen into a half-sleep by the time Lurtz had shown up. Lurtz’s hand slid down his neck and fallen next to him allowing Nikki a better glimpse at the fang marks on his neck. She quickly placed a bandage over the bite mark and sat down next to Lurtz only to hear Koail and Kinso come in.