Twenty-two

The night air was heavy with the promise of secrecy and the smell of possibility as I ventured into the darkness, my red eyes still burning from the remnants of Bloodlust's activation. The urgent need for blood pulsed within me, and I navigated the city in search of a discreet source.

I only had 10 minutes left before I lost control of my body. I'd been sweating for well over an hour in search of a potential target, but I had no desire to harass an innocent. I was a vampire, but not a monster.

The men smelt disgusting but the women smelt very pleasant. But I never drank blood and doing so stressed me out but I still had less than 10 minutes before I lost control. 

A hologram appeared: time left 6 minutes. 

"How the fuck am I going to find someone who'll let me drink their blood," I said, almost screaming. I'm pissed. I was running out of options.

The time passed more and more quickly, then a noise rang in my head. 

"The two hours have passed, Bloodlust complete activation" said the voice and then black holes. I felt a surge of pain and rage, and then everything went blank.

The next morning 

"Mummy, mummy look there's a homeless person on the swing" said a little girl who pushed me off the swing which woke me up. 

"Hey" I said as I got up and the little girl ran to her mother crying. I looked around and saw that I was in a park, surrounded by trees and flowers. I had no idea how I got there, or what I had done during the night.

"You little shit." said the little girl, sticking out her tongue, and ran out of the park with her mother, but I didn't care. I was too busy checking myself for any signs of blood or injuries. I had some blood on me and mud, but I was also terrified of what that meant. Had I killed someone? Had I fed on an animal? Had I done something worse?

"Kids are so rude around here," I said, holding my head. I had a terrible headache and I felt dizzy and nauseous. I needed to drink some water and take shower . I also needed to find out what had happened and if I had left any traces behind.

I got up and started walking, I'd better hurry back to the castle.

I walked for at least 20 minutes and then finally found my way to the castle. It was a huge and majestic building, surrounded by high walls and guarded by soldiers. I had to sneak past them, using my speed and agility to avoid being seen. I didn't want anyone to know that I had left the castle last night, especially not Zara.

Once inside the castle, I crossed the corridors quickly without attracting the glances of others and finally remembered that Lydia was occupying my room, which was now hers. 

" Fuck, and my stuff is still in the room." I said with a sigh, I was already tired enough to argue with Lydia. All of my clothes and books where in the room, and I needed to get them back. I also needed to take a shower and change into my school uniform. I had blood stains on my shirt and dirt on my pants, and I smelled like a sewer.

After a few minutes of reflection I headed for the room and knocked on the door but there was no sound, there must have been no-one in the room. I hoped that Lydia was still asleep, or that she had gone out for breakfast. I didn't want to face her right now.

I quickly went in and grabbed my stuff and headed to the guest room and went straight to the shower. I turned on the hot water and let it wash away the dirt and the blood from my body. I felt a slight relief, but also a deep guilt. I had done something terrible last night, something that I couldn't remember.

I had lost control of my body, after the Bloodlust had fully activated. 

I had no idea what I had done, or who I had hurt. I only hoped that I hadn't killed anyone innocent, or exposed my secret. I hoped that Zara wouldn't find out.

Once I'd finished I changed into my school uniform but before I did I looked in the mirror. I felt like I was back to normal and I was able to use my magic to hide my red eyes and my canines, which had become much smaller. 

The bedroom door opened to reveal an angry Zara with her arms crossed. 

"Where were you last night?" she said harshly. She looked at me with a mix of concern and anger, and I felt a pang of guilt. She had probably been worried sick about me, and I had lied to her.

"I went for a walk and then the room you gave me, you never told me it was Lydia's room," I said, raising my voice, this situation irritating me. I tried to deflect the blame on her, and on Lydia. I didn't want to admit the truth, that I had left the castle to feed on human blood, and that I had lost control of my body.

"I didn't think she'd come back here and then lower your voice, I'm a princess and don't forget that I could kill your sister," she said and my anger lessened but didn't go away. And I remained silent. She was right, she was a princess, and she had the power to kill my sister. 

"Well, let's go or we'll be late for our magic class," said Zara, then I got my things and we got into the carriage to go to class. She changed the subject, as if nothing had happened. She was good at that, at pretending that everything was fine. She was good at hiding her feelings, and her secrets.

Inside, all I could think about was how I couldn't remember what had happened last night after I'd lost control of my body. I had a vague memory of running through the streets, of chasing a prey, of biting a neck. But I didn't know who it was, or where it was. I didn't know if I had left any evidence, or any witnesses. I didn't know if I had put myself, or my sister, in danger.

Zara's voice snapped me out of it. 

"From today we're going to have a new magic teacher, the old one retired a little earlier than expected," said Zara a little more seriously. She looked at me with a hint of worry, and I wondered if she knew something that I didn't. The old magic teacher was a kind and gentle man, who had taught only for a month. He had never shown any signs of wanting to retire, or of being sick. Why had he left so suddenly?

I nodded and then there was an awkward silence until we got to the front of the school then I helped Zara out of the carriage before heading to the classroom and we were 5 minutes late. We had wasted too much time arguing, and we had missed the bell. We hoped that the new teacher would be lenient, and that he or she wouldn't make a scene.

Me and Zara walked as fast as we could into the classroom and as I opened the classroom door a knife was thrown at me and I grabbed it with ease. I was used to dodging attacks, and I had quick reflexes that was nothing for me.

"You're 5 minutes late," said the new teacher. She was a tall woman, with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. She wore a black suit and a red tie, and she had a cold and stern expression. She looked at me and Zara with contempt, and I felt a chill down my spine. She was not a kind and gentle woman . She was a demon.