Circle Quartet: 45

Chapter 45

“Don’t listen to her, Alice! She’s lying!” shouts Mom as she pushes Grandma Zelda out of her way.

I stare at Mom, and then Dad, and then to both of my grandmothers, who are avoiding my gaze.

So it’s true.

“Alice,” Mom calls me out as if she’s pleading not to listen to the truth.

“You’re hiding something from me, right Mom?” I lock my gaze to hers.

“I know that I should tell you, but – ,”

“But what?” I raise my voice.

Mom turns her gaze to the floor.

“You lie to me all this time,” I grit my teeth and grip my knuckle, hard. “All of you! Liar!” I shout in rage.

Alse chuckles. “See? I told you I’m not lying, Alice. Let me tell you the real truth of who you are. You were human. I abducted you when you’re very small. I wanted to make you my descendant so I killed you by stabbing you right to your heart. But those fools found me,” she points to the Elders, “and sealed me. Your dead brother took you away from me. Because they pitied you for your death back then, your father turned you into a vampire. You’ve been sleeping for 22 years and after that you woke up, being a fully vampire. But they have to feed you with special blood.”

“Double-purify blood,” I mutter.

“And one more thing. Do you know why they named you Alice?” asks Alse.

I stare at her, waiting for the answer.

“It was after my name. My real name is Alice. Alice Black. I changed my name to Alse after I regain a powerful magic. When I abducted you, I put a black seal inside your body so that you’ll be my descendant. But Zelda knew about that seal and she purified it so that you won’t be like me. She’s afraid that when I consume your blood, I will be unstoppable.”

I hate ugly truth! I hate it!

“You named me after this ugly witch?” I scowl to Grandma Zelda in anger.

“I have my own reason, Alice,” says Grandma Zelda.

“Is it because I’m part of her?” I try to control my anger.

Grandma Zelda doesn’t say any word.

“Tell me!” I growl.

“You should tell her, Zelda, that she and I share the same blood,” says Alse.

My brothers gasp in horror, and so as the others who has just known the truth.

“Is it true, Grandma?” asks Sable in trembling voice.

Grandma Zelda nods.

Alse laughs once again as if she’s achieving victory. “So, Alice, since you know the truth, why don’t we work together? They’re not your real family. They lie to you. You don’t want to live with bunch of liars, don’t you?”

I look at my family and my grandmothers then I turn my gaze to Alse.

“You belong with me, Alice. I’m your real mother, the only family that you have, not them. Come, Alice. Let me drink your blood and together we’ll gain eternity,” she smiles as she reaches out her hand to me.

I take a deep breath and slowly walk up to her.

“No! Alice! Don’t!” shouts Mom and Dad.

“Alice, she wants to trick you!” shouts Ace. “Get away from her!”

I hear all them shouting, trying to prevent me from believing Alse’s words.

“It’s too late now,” I tell them without looking at them and smirk. “Gotcha!” I grab Alse’s hand and twist it to her back. Alse screams in pain.

“What are you doing, Alice?” she growls fiercely. Suddenly, the barrier vanishes. Jeff has broken the barrier.

“Let’s say, I was pulling your leg just now. Do you think I’ll fall in your trap? Okay, Stefan! Time’s up!” I shout to Stefan.

Stefan stands up and brushes the debris on his black jacket and jeans. “Good! I’m tired of being dead, you know,” Stefan smirks and cracks his knuckles. “Let’s take care of this business.”

His eyes turn silver and he takes off his jacket. Hairs start to grow swiftly on his half-naked body. He’s now a were-man – he has werewolf features but stand on his two feet. Everyone is shock of his new appearance.

Alse struggles to break free but I grip her right hand tight. She mutters a spell so I have to let her go and jump backward.

“You should change too, Alice,” says were-Stefan in a deep voice.

“Not yet, Stefan. I’m saving it for a special occasion,” I wink at him. Then, both of us dash towards Alse who is trying to heal herself.

Alse attacks us with several spells but we manage to dodge them as Jeff is fighting with us too. Alse didn’t know Jeff’s existence and she was confused why her attacks don’t work on us.

Suddenly jumps up and floats in mid-air. “I’m tired of your play, you fools! I’m going to destroy all of you!” she shrieks. Then she summons a sword, a black sword.

“Let’s start with you two!” Bolting like a comet, she strikes her black sword towards us.

I want to grab my double sword from my waist but they’re not there! I totally forgot that I left it to where Stefan lied moments ago.

“Look out, Alice!” shouts Dad and so the others.

Stefan covers me with his huge body.

“Die!” Alse shouts in excitement.

I close my eyes and hold Stefan tight. If something bad happen to Stefan, I’m going to kill Alse!

Suddenly I hear a loud clank. Somebody stops Alse’s attack. Who is it?

“Who the hell are you?” asks Alse, gritting her teeth.

Stefan and I turn to the person who saved us just now. It’s the hooded man. My guardian!

“You…you saved us,” I say.

That man turns to me and smile – I can only see his nose and mouth.

“Answer me, you damn creature!” scolds Alse.

The man chuckles and takes off his hood. That blond hair looks familiar. He looks over his shoulder to us and smiles.

It’s my great, great, great grandfather, Vlad!

Circle Quartet: 44

Chapter 44

“Aww…looks like poor little puppies got trap,” says Alse mockingly.

I hate this kind of situation. How can I be so careless? I should have been more careful since she can sense me and also Stefan.

Stefan stands with me, side by side, ready to encounter Alse’s next attack.

“You want to play brave, don’t you, little brats?” she scowls at us. “Guess what? I won’t kill both of you in an instant – since I have this golden chance, trapping both of you here. I’ll torture two of you slowly, until you shred to tears!”

She said ‘two of us’? That’s mean she can’t see Jeff who is standing beside me. Great!

“Get ready, Alice! She’s going to attack!” warns Stefan but he still doesn’t change into werewolf.

The barrier is quite spacious so I think we can move around a little bit. We jump high in the air as Alse throws two red flaming balls towards us. I use my strength to attack her back but she’s not easy to defeat. She must have some tricks under her sleeves.

I throw some punches and kicks towards her but she dodges them easily. Stefan quietly moves behind her back and attacks her from behind but she seems she has eyes at the back of her head. She catches Stefan’s foot as he’s trying to kick her and throws him down on the ground. Stefan coughs blood as his back hit the ground.

“Stefan!” I shout and kick Alse on the head and send her flying to the corner. I help Stefan to get up. He groans in pain as he tries to get up.

“She’s stronger than I thought,” says Stefan, wiping the blood from his mouth.

“We have to be careful. I don’t think my kick just now can hurt her,” I sheath my double swords.

Alse stands up and cracks her neck. “That wasn’t so bad. You have a very good kick, Alice.” Then she points her index finger to us. “Sevurzans Murniya!”

An electric current flows directly towards us. Stefan quickly pushes me aside until I tumble on the ground. Then he screams in pain.

I shout in rage and dash towards Alse and swing both of my swords to attack her. I finally manage to scratch her arms. Black blood drips from her injured arm. And now she’s mad. She mutters a spell and her fingers become long and sharp, just like the night that Jeff died. I need to be careful.

We fight for more than 10 minutes until we’re out of breath. I got some scratches on my arms and legs. Lucky me the scratches are not too serious because Jeff fought along and at the same time he healed me. Even though I fight Alse by using all my strength but she seems she’s not in bad shape.

Stefan can barely stand now and he’s panting hard. I crouch next to him, trying to help him stand. Alse is laughing her head off, seeing us in this kind of situation. Her wounds are now healed. Jeff whispers something to my ears and I whisper it back to Stefan.

“Alice! Stefan!”

I hear someone shouting out our names. Dad and the rest are running towards us.

“We’ll save you!” shouts Granddaddy Saba.

“So, you managed to escape my Dark Fences,” Alse turns to them with unsatisfied face.

“That was easy to break,” Ace smirks and so as Sable. Those two are very good in breaking any barriers and shields.

“But you’ll never save them inside here,” Alse chuckles.

Then Grandma Zelda, Grandma Tanya and Grandma Maegan step in front. I think they’re going to barge through this stupid barrier. I don’t know how long Stefan can bear the pain because he’s getting weaker and I’m running out of energy. I need to consume more blood and I need to get out of here!

“Well, well, well, look likes my own sister and her best friends want to stop me,” Alse puts her hands on her hips. “Interesting. You think you can stop me, Zelda? I’m much stronger than you can ever imagine. Once I get the blood from these two little brats, I will annihilate all of you. I’ll wipe out all the entire clans and rule this world!” She laughs evilly.

“You never change, Alse. You never change,” Grandma Maegan shakes her head slowly. “You think that you’re unstoppable but you’re wrong.”

“Alice and Stefan will stop your evil doings! They are going to crush your lunatic dreams!” says Grandma Zelda firmly.

This time, Alse laughs harder.

“Alice and Stefan? Look at them,” she points to us. “They can’t even move. Besides, do you want me to tell her the truth?” she glances at me and turns to Grandma Zelda. “I know that you’re still hiding that secret from her.”

I turn to Grandma Zelda. Her eyes widen in shock as Alse mentioned about the secret just now.

“Grandma, what is she talking about? What secret?” I ask. Thank goodness this barrier is not sound proof.

Grandma Zelda just stares at me, and so the rest of the elders who are standing behind. I don’t like the look on their faces.

“Do you want to know, little Alice?” asks Alse in a gentle voice. “I’ll tell you the little secret since your grandmother can’t say any word.”

“Alice, don’t listen to her!” Mom warns me.

“You must know the truth, Alice. You are not the real daughter of Zavier Amber. You are not the genuine vampire to begin with,” says Alse, ignoring those people outside of the barrier, especially Mom and Dad who are trying to stop her from revealing the little secret.

“What do you mean I’m not my Dad’s daughter?” I ask curiously.

“You were human before you became a vampire,” Alse smirks.

Tell me this is a lie!

Circle Quartet: 43

Chapter 43

Tonight is my birthday! I wake up an hour earlier than usual – it’s winter so the night time is kind of long. I’m thinking of throwing a party, maybe a small party since Alse had destroyed some parts of this Academy, including the Dining Hall – but half of the damages were rebuild two days ago. When I was small, Mom and Dad will throw a surprise party for me, and Stefan. The best part of it, we could choose any cakes that we want – of course I chose chocolate cake. And the birthday party is still going on until today.

I discuss with Jeff what to do for tonight. We’re planning to make a surprise party for them since they’re not so happy in this past two days. Everybody is busy with re-constructing the damage – but for the Wizards and Witches, the work is much easier, just cast some spells and things get back to normal. I also helped the librarian to re-arrange and sort the books. I also volunteer to give help at the Healing Chamber as well as visiting Joseph who is recovering day by day.

And now here I am, thinking of what kind of foods that need to be served for my birthday party.

“How about simple delicacies? We don’t have to think of the supreme foods. Simple is better and it doesn’t take much time. I can help you with the cakes,” says Jeff as I’m scribbling the recipes on a rough paper.

“Okay, simple is nice. But we need some people to help us. We can’t prepare all those things by ourselves. Stefan said that he’ll do the decoration, which I highly doubt it. Ace will do the cooking – but I haven’t consult with him yet. And Beatrice and Saffron will help me with the dress,” I scribble those three name on the paper. “How’s that?” I turn to Jeff who is leaning against the wall beside my study table.

“That’s great. All we need is to consult Ace and tell those guys not to spread the word, not until 12 midnight tonight. I’ve checked the Dining Hall this morning and afternoon. They won’t use it until it is completely re-build,” smiles Jeff.

“Good! Let’s consult Ace at once!” I grab Jeff’s hand and teleport to Ace’s room where he shares it with Sable. And thank God, Sable is not here. If not, he’s definitely going to spread this whole plan. Sable is not good in keeping little secrets.

Ace is lying on the bed, reading comics. He’s taken aback by my presence. After that, I tell him about my plan and he agrees to help me with cooking. He says that he’s going to make a special chocolate cake, just for me.

We don’t take much time to decorate the Dining Hall. Most of the Elders are having discussion upon Alse who will come back sooner or later. I know that she’ll come back to get her revenge but there’s no way I’m going to cancel my birthday party! At least I’ll have some fun before facing her for good.

Beatrice and Saffron are very helpful in choosing the right attire for me. This time I don’t wear gown or anything with skirt. I’m wearing my vampire suit and yes, it is perfect! We gather at the Dining Hall 15 minutes before midnight. Most of the clans are already there, taking their seats. I wave at Stefan who is talking with Zayne and they compliment my look. Stefan wears his best werewolf attire and I really love seeing him in his black leather jacket and black jeans. The Elders enter the Dining Hall few minutes later and they’re very shock to see the decorations. Even Mom and Dad slightly forgotten about my birthday today!

Stefan and I stand on a mini stage, made by Nash and Tavis. Ace pushes a food trolley where he puts the cakes on. All of them sing ‘Happy Birthday’ song delightfully. Stefan and I blow the candle and make a wish. Then the hall is filled with round of applause. Then the eating ceremony begins. Grandma Zelda and Grandma Maegan enjoy the meal, made special by Ace himself.

Stefan and I receive lots of present and we are still waiting for the special gift soon. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake menacingly. All of us are starting to get panic. Then, we hear an evil cackling right from below. It’s Alse! She’s going to ruin my birthday party!

“Well, well, well. What do I see here? A party!” she smirks as she looks around.

“You finally came,” says Grandma Zelda calmly.

“Of course, Zelda. I don’t want to miss this lovable party. You know I love to go to parties. I always got the invitation back then,” she looks at Grandma Zelda and scowls. “But I didn’t get the invitation this time. Too bad for you for not inviting me.”

“Who wants to invite an old devil hag like you, Alse?” shouts Granddaddy Saba.

Alse chuckles. “You never change, Saba. Do you think a low life like you can stop me? You’re too old for that, the four of you. And your children, they aren’t strong enough to fight me.”

“Don’t get so cocky,” says Grandma Zelda.

Alse throws her head back and laughs. “Is that a joke? Zelda, dear, you should know me better,” Alse stops laughing and smile evilly. “I’m the strongest Witch in this universe and no one can stop me now. I’m more powerful than you can ever imagine.”

Alse walks slowly towards us and her evil smile never fade from her face. The Elders order everyone to leave the Dining Hall. They are ready to encounter the attack. Alse stops on her way and swings her right hands. In one blink, half of the Dining Hall is ruined. Lucky for us that Mom and Aunt Ada create the shield for us.

Dad and Uncle Azure whisper to me and Stefan to get out of here quickly before Alse knows it. I look at Stefan and he nods. I summon Jeff from my necklace and he’ll show us the way. Stefan and I quickly slip off from the crowd and we head to the Sacred Fountain as Jeff tells us to go there.

This place is bright as tonight is the full moon. Stefan and I walk towards the fountain where the crystal water flows gently. This is the Sacred Water where it will appear during full moon.

“Both of you need to drink the water," says Jeff.

“I want to say this before it’s too late,” says Stefan as he puts his hand on my shoulder. “Happy birthday, Alice.” He kisses my forehead.

It makes me stun for a while. I thought he wants to kiss on my lips.

“Yeah, happy birthday to you, too, Stefan,” I hug him.

“I’ll save my last kiss for the special occasion,” he pats on my head. And now I’m blushing!

“Okay, lovebirds. Time to drink the water,” Jeff clears his throat. Stefan and I chuckle. We scoop the water with our hands and drink it.

It tastes funny – I never drink this kind of water before. Then, I get this funny feeling inside my body. Is it true this water is sacred? Because I think I have a little headache.

“Biparita Mauntena Kristala!”

Suddenly a barrier appears around us! We’re trap!

Circle Quartet: 42

Chapter 42

This is disastrous. Everything is a total mess, like a hurricane just passed by.

This is where our proud Night Café was. Everybody loved to hang out here after the night class or training. The back door will be opened so that we could have some fresh night air and also moon-bathing; vampires and werewolves love it very much because it will gain our strength. There were stalls here and there, selling most delicious foods and mid-night snacks.

I loved hanging out here after training, especially. No matter how exhausted I was, it was compulsory for me to grab chocolate ice-cream stuffed in a bun or fresh lemon shake. There’s also a garlic bread stall which sold the most sumptuous garlic bread in the whole world. I always grabbed more than 5 sticks per night.

But now, no more Night Café. No more students hang out here, laughing and chatting in excitement. Everything was destroyed in one blink.

Suddenly, we hear someone’s groan not very far from here. There are still wounded people around here. We search for the sound but carefully step on the debris and broken tables and chairs for we don’t want to step on the injured people.

“Guys, over here!” shouts Ace as he found one of them. Three people are injured and one of them is Jeff’s best friend.

“Joseph!” I gasp. He’s lying on the ground helplessly with deep wounds on his chest and stomach.

“Alice…,” he calls me weakly. “You came.”

“Did Alse attack you?” I ask furiously.

Joseph slowly shakes his head. “Monsters…,” then he groans in pain.

“We need to take these wounded guys to the Healing Chamber,” says Stefan and carefully lifts Joseph wounded body by slipping his arms under Joseph’s shoulder.

“Let me do the teleportation. You need to save your energy, Alice,” says Ace and cast a teleportation spell.

As we arrive at the Healing Chamber, I shout for Aiden. There are lots of wounded people in here and the doctors and nurses are rushing here and there to treat them. Aiden comes within no time and asks Stefan to carry Joseph in the Emergency Room for his injuries are far worse than the other two.

My Mini beeps as I’m waiting at the Waiting Hall with Ace and Stefan. It’s from Dad.

“Dad,” I call him as I push the blue button.

“Alice, where are you, honey?” Asks Dad worryingly.

“I’m at the Healing Chamber with Stefan and Ace,” I reply.

“What? Are you guys hurt?” Now Dad is super worry.

“No…not at all. We found three wounded people as we entered the back door; one vampire and two shape-shifters. We quickly sent them here,” I explain. Dad lets out a sigh of relief.

“I’ve just got rid of several monsters with your uncles. We’re now at the Elders’ Chamber.”

“You want us to go there?”

“It’s okay. I’ll meet you guys there. Bye.”

Dad hangs up the phone and few second later, he appears in front of us. Ace squeals in surprise as Dad appeared. Dad laughs out loud and I shush him. I point to the sign ‘Silent Please’. Dad clears his throat but still wants to laugh.

We tell him about Joseph and the other two. Dad tells us that Alse sent her underlings and monsters from the underground. She wants to lure me to her trap because she thought that I was here in the first place. Those monsters and the underlings have been defeated but Alse may send more and we need to get ready for that.

“By the way, your grandmother has contacted them. They will arrive soon,” informs Dad with a smile. “Oh, I need to go to your Mom. Make sure you guys drop by to the Elders’ Chamber. Everybody is waiting for you.” Dad ruffles my hair. I roll my eyes irritatingly and Dad chuckles then disappears.

Aiden comes out from the Emergency Room just about Dad has gone. He tells us that Joseph is quite stable but he needs to rest for he lost too much blood. I thank him and tell him that I’ll be visiting Joseph soon.

Everyone is so delighted to see the three of us unharmed. Mom and Aunt Amethyst hug me and Stefan tightly. I know they’re very worried. Ace gets a little jealous because no one hugs him. Then Mom pinches his cheek and everybody laughs. Ace doesn’t like his cheeks getting pinched.

There are foods served on the dining table. I’m starving right now so I gobble the food up, as well as Ace. Stefan is hungry too, I guess, but he doesn’t gobble up his food. I know this one has manners. Mom scolds me and Ace for gobbling up the food like hungry wolves. I drink two bottles of double-purify blood. Dad says that the blood is enough for me to stay awake for two weeks.

“Now that reminds me, did Alse’s stupid monsters destroy the Underground Chamber and Blood Supply Room?” I ask as I lick my fingers heartily. Ace lets out a loud burp and Mom threatens him to turn into cockroach if he did that again.

“They appears around the compound before destroys the four main doors,” replies Grandma Zelda.

“Then the blood supplies are safe?” I ask excitedly.

Grandma Zelda smiles and nods. I cheer in delight.

“But you don’t need to drink that kind of blood anymore, Alice,” Grandma Maegan cuts in. “I’ve made a special drink for you and this is for the upcoming war. We need your strength,” Grandma Maegan turns to Stefan who is wiping his mouth with the kerchief as he finished his meal, “and you too, Stefan. Only the two of you can destroy Alse.”

Two of us? I look at Stefan and he looks at me too. Now there’s something fishy is going on here. It likes the Elders know something that we don’t.

“What do you mean, Grandma Maegan?” I ask.

“The answer is in the library,” says Grandma Maegan without averting her eyes on me.

My heart crumbles when I see my favourite spot is nearly destroyed. Half of the books were burned. The shelves crushed on the floor. My favourite reading place is also turn into dust. I think I’m going to cry but Stefan slowly pats my shoulder and points to the librarians who are busy re-building the broken shelves and walls.

I approach them and they greet me with pleasure. One of them, Mr. Dun, whom I close the most, tells me everything. He, too, is sad to see this library being destroyed and he couldn’t protect all the books here.

“And they stole some of the books too,” says Mr. Dun.

The monsters stole the book? What for? Can they read? Are they trying to…wait a minute!

“Mr. Dun, where are the old inscriptions were kept?” I ask as I realize something.

“Now that you mention it, we keep them in the secret room. Only we, the librarians know the code word. Come, let me show you,” says Mr. Dun and we follow him behind. He stops at the old grey shelf with full of dust. Then, he taps his wand on the shelf and says the code word. The shelf opens like a door and Mr. Dun asks us to come inside with him. And lo and behold, bundles of old inscriptions neatly arranged in the box like pigeons hole.

“Wow…this is amazing!” I look around with an amuse expression. Stefan, on the other hand, whistles amusingly.

“Not all people from all the clan can enter this secret room. The Elders told me once that when the time come, I have to give this to both of you,” Mr. Dun hands us two old golden inscriptions, wrapped in leather folders. Our names were carved on the folders.

“Thanks, Mr. Dun,” Stefan and I say in unison.

Mr. Dun nods and smiles. “All the answers that you seek are in there.”

Tagging Time!

Yeah! Tagging season. Thank you Sui for tagging me. I'm so delighted to answer you questions! Oh, here are the rules!

Link back the blogger who tagged you.

You must post the rules.

Answer the questions given by the person tagged you.

Tag eleven new bloggers.

Set eleven new questions for the bloggers tagged by you.

Inform them about the tag.

These are my questions that I need to answer :)

1.      Do you enjoy being tagged or is it annoying?

I really enjoy being tagged. Haha!

2.      What does hardship mean to you?

Hardship means challenge!

3.      Is it reasonable to be judgemental?

I think it depends on the situation.

4.      Would you be friends with a person who disagrees with your opinions and beliefs but doesn’t mind hanging out with you?

Yeah. I be-friend with all kind of people, except the evil ones.

5.      What are the actions that make you believe that you are treasured by a certain person?

That person shows that he/she accept me as I am.

6.      What do you prefer to do in your free time?

Writing my novel.

7.      What is it that cheers you after a day of hardwork?

Food!

8.      When is your birthday?

20 October

9.      What do you think of the current state of the world?

More people are living misreably.

10.  You had been saving money to buy an item that you had been eyeing for days. How would you feel when you finally buy that item and found it to be a defective piece?

OHH! Frustrated! I’ll lose my appetite for 5 days in a row!

11.  As far as you have come to know about me, what kind of person do you preceive me to be?

Be who you are!

Okay, my turn to ask the questions!

Do you get scared in the dark?

Who is the last person make you cry?

What’s you worst fear?

What kind of hair/eyes colour do you like on the opposite sex?

Where can you see yourself proposing/being proposed to at?

Do you prefer coffee or energy drink?

What is your favourite pizza topping?

 If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?

What was the most meaningful gift you ever received?

Do you have crush?

Your favourite clothing brand?

You've been tagged!

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Ashabul Islam

Einstein

Nani

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Kopurians

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