Chapter 5
"It's a good thing i was on patrol and heard the scuffle" boasted Isaak, Alik's eldest and most arrogant brother, "Jade could have had you for breakfast if I'd have been more than a few hundred yards out, you know?", A small pause then, "THAT LITTLE BEAST HAS A NAME!?!", A chorus of soft chuckles came from behind Amelia and she turned to see the rest of the clan (including Alik) watching her shock and outrage. Feeling quite like a child she sat down and crossed her arms waiting for someone to start explaining what was going on around here. "Not only does she have a name, shes part of the family" Katherine and Ivy simultaneously stated, they seemed to have a knack for things like that, though with them being identical twins and all no one really wondered why. "What do you mean, part of the family..?" Amelia asked purely stunned. "Well.. ", started Alik, " Although it doesnt happen often sometimes one of us falls in love with a human, and when we do we will go to ANY POSSIBLE LENGTH to protect them from harm...." Alik trailed off and Graham (Alik's older cousin) took over storytelling "A few centuries ago our great, great, whatever-uncle fell in love with a young girl, who, because of some odd virus died not long after, this girl however had a secret, she was a pregnant soon-to-be vampiress. The strange virus in fact wasn't a virus at all, but the beginning stages of the vampire transformation. After the untimely death of it's mother the dhampir was still living inside, feeding off of the nutrients of it's late maternal figure, and he decided then that he would bring said child home, better to have his loves child than no part of her at all.
He then named the girl Jade after her late young mother, and soon the girls last name was set to be Salazar for the first time she ever bit someone, they described her fang marks as 'incredibly snake-like'. Although Jade appears rather young she is actually several centuries old, and her mental state has progressed remarkably throughout those years, I wouldn't doubt if her general knowledge surpasses everyone in this room". "So you mean to tell me, your great uncle fell in love with a human who died from an odd virus, that turned out to be vampirism, so he kept her unborn vampire child who was feeding on its mothers corpse from the inside!?" Amelia asked incredulously. "Precisely", replied Katherine and Ivy calmly.
"Jade wishes to explain her actions and possibly apologize to Amelia, is she welcome to enter?" interrupted Rabekah (Alik's youngest sister. In response Amelia just nodded,
she definitely wanted to know what had merited such an attack without provocation.
After a few short moments a small black clad figure walked slowly into the room, head hung low, as if ashamed. "Hi, my name is Jade" came the soft angelic voice, like the tinkling of bells, from the small figure " I apologize for attacking you earlier, you see Alik is one of my favorite nephews and I've been asleep for the past several years while he was settling into his parents old house, you surprised me by being in his room when I went to greet him, as I had dreampt his return. I missed him quite dearly and the fact that I didn't know where he was had me quite stressed, and coupled with the fact that you, a human girl I've never met before, was asleep in his bed and wearing his clothes... I was instantly put on edge. I'm sorry but I've grown to be quite wary of humans, as every time the existence of my kind come to the attention of mortals they hunt and torture us, generally resulting in our death.. I really am sorry, I didn't realize that you were welcome, let alone a guest. I can swear that you have nothing to fear from me, and I will do my absolute best to protect you for the duration of your stay" the young-looking vampire seemed sincere and if she really was part of the family she must be trustable, thought Amelia. "O-oka-y" she agreed reluctantly. "Great, ill just shadow you then", a pause, "if you don't mind of course", said Jade, eyeing Amelia nervously. "No, no of course I don't mind" Amelia rushed trying to avoid hurting the young-looking girls feelings. "Great!!" Said the petite figure enthusiastically. She immediately began running around Amelia, smoothing the wrinkles out of her clothes and fixing every minor detail on her outfit.
Over the course of a few weeks Amelia and Jade had become close friends, spending almost all their time together. Now that Jade was more comfortable she was less quiet, and she made Amelia laugh, constantly. Jade had begun to really wonder what it would be like to be human, to experience everything the way Amelia would. Jade had always been a little curious but never enough to really look for the fabled cure. She had recently received word from one of her Italian friends that they found a map, supposedly leading to the cure's ancient hiding place. She had to tell Amelia and the family about it, no matter the risks she was sure theyd help her.
The next day Jade called everyone to a meeting in her favorite spot, it was a huge round clearing in the woods filled with wildflowers. Jade told them all about the cure and the map and the possible dangers of going to find it, they were all eager to help, especially Amelia, though she did seem a bit nervous.
After the finer details of the trip were discussed they decided to go and get ready. Once Alik and Amelia were in their room Amelia finally voiced her concerns with the dangers of the trip. She was worried that with her being the only mortal on the trip it may be more perilous for her to tag along. "Maybe i should just stay with my parents, then when you guys find it i can always come back, " she said, with slight anxiety. Alik immediately disliked the idea and attempted to talk her out of it "Amelia, darling, imagine how much it would mean to Jade and the rest of the pack if you came along, we will all protect you" Amelia stood up and walked around feeling helpless "but if you guys are protecting me how are you supposed to find the cure?"