The Challenge
"You look like you have seen your death."
Chris looked up hearing the voice and found Oziyat standing in front of her with his usual amused expression.
After her encounter with that little spy boy, she was walking back to her room. She was so distracted that she didn't notice Oziyat coming towards her.
"Oh don't worry, I have been close to my death many times," Chris answered crossing her arms and tried to look indifferent. "Deadly situations don't scare me anymore. I was just thinking about something. Nothing special. Anyway, what are you doing in guest room hallways?"
Oziyat gave a small knowing smile before answering.
"I was looking for you. Mother wants to meet you."
"Really?" Chris almost smiled feeling happy, then stopped herself. "Great."
"Yes, and I am here to escort you to her," Oziyat said gesturing her to follow him.
"Isn't it something the servants or your guards would do? Why the Prince is escorting me?" Chris asked as they started walking.
"Always suspicious, aren't you Christina? I offered to escort you because I wanted to, that's all."
"Sure," Chris rolled her eyes. "There are no ulterior motives, right? Nothing you want to ask me?"
Oziyat chuckled.
"But I promise not to ask any difficult questions. Let's start with something safe, how about your life at Hogwarts?"
"Life at Hogwarts was the exact opposite of safe," Chris replied as they started walking. "All my five years has been utterly chaotic there. But honestly, life at Hogwarts never gets boring."
"Five years? Is that all magical education?" Oziyat looked genuinely curious. "Is that enough to know so much about magic?"
"Oh, no, it's a seven years magical education curriculum. I just didn't finish my years."
"You are trying to fight a century-old wizard without any proper education of magic?" Oziyat suddenly looked surprised and very disappointed.
"What? No. I said I didn't finish my school years but I have enough skills, okay?" Chris glared at Oziyat. "I just didn't get to finish school."
"If you say so," Oziyat shrugged looking sceptical.
Chris opened her mouth and then closed it. There was no point wasting her energy on him. But his assumption made Chris furious. It was an odd thing because Chris hadn't been this mad over a silly thing like this for a long time.
For some time Chris and Oziyat walked in complete silence. Then Chris thought she should ask him about the boy.
"Hey, do you guys have humans here? Like normal people -- Muggles?"
Oziyat furrowed her eyebrows a little at the change of topic but replied anyway, "Yes, there are many humans here. For blood."
"So do their families live here? And you drink blood from all of them?" Chris felt a little weird asking this stuff but she needed to know about the boy.
"The humans here, don't have families. They are outcast or homeless people in the normal world," Oziyat looked unbothered as he explained. "They have no one in this world."
"What about . . . kids? Do you take homeless kids in too? To drink their blood?" Chris asked hesitantly.
"No, we don't drink blood from kids" Oziyat looked at Chris with a strange expression. "Drinking blood from young is a sin for us. We have punishments for doing it. So we don't take in young children in the palace."
Chris nodded slowly. If not for blood then what does a normal kid like him was doing here? Chris was deep in thought when she realised Oziyat was staring at her.
"What?" Chris asked, feeling anxious. Did she just stupidly revealed that she knew about the boy spy?
"How old are you?" Oziyat asked looking very uncertain.
"Er . . . seventeen."
Another long and rather uncomfortable silence stretched. Suddenly the realisation struck Chris, she understood, maybe Oziyat thought she was asking the kid question for herself, that if they would drink blood from her. Feeling a little weird, she self-consciously looked down at herself. Did she look like a kid?
She was wearing her blue pants and a black shirt, over it she wore a palace-made long light golden cloak. Nope, she definitely didn't look very young, in fact, she thought she looked older.
"How old are you?" Chris asked crossly. She didn't go through so much just to be underestimated by a vampire, who himself looked young. For some reasons, his patronising tone was really bothering her.
"I am twenty-four years old," Oziyat replied without even glancing at her.
Chris glared at the back of his head but didn't say anything else.
Soon, they reached a set of doors and the guards opened it let Chris and Oziyat enter. The room was well lit and was decorated with candles and flowers. Multiple guards and the servants were in their usual position, near the walls. In the middle was a table surrounded by many armchairs, two of the armchairs were occupied by Queen Vasilisa and Prince Volker. As Chris entered Vasilisa gave Prince Volker a strange warning look and then turned to Chris.
"Good evening, Lady Christina."
"Good evening, Queen Vasilisa," Chris replied without telling her to call her just 'Christina'. She had realised there was no point.
Chris sat down on an armchair opposite to Vasilisa and Oziyat sat on the one beside her. Chris gave a polite nod to Volker, though, he didn't return it.
"Thanks for meeting me, Queen Vasilisa," Chris began. "If you are feeling well then I was thinking you could tell me the rest --"
"Before that," a voice interrupted Chris. "I was thinking about something."
Startled Chris looked around and a familiar woman stepped forward from a corner. It took every inch of Chris's occlumency training to not flinch away from that woman's gaze. Looking straight at Chris with her red-ringed eyes, the First Princess elegantly crossed the room and sat beside Oziyat.
"Sister!" Oziyat gave a surprised but pleased smile.
"Lady Christina, this is my oldest daughter, Rosaline," Vasilisa smiled at her daughter a little bit.
But Rosaline, the First Princess didn't smile at anyone in return, keeping her eyes at Chris, she spoke, "So, Witch, I was thinking before we start telling you all of our secrets, how about you prove that you are, indeed, the Chosen One?"
Rosaline kept her eyes trained at Chris and Chris didn't break her gaze either. Chris felt Rosaline's aura and it was strong, very powerful. Rosaline was scary but the way, the servants and the Queen treated her, she was also a very important vampire. Chris understood that if she looked scared or intimidated by the Princess's cold attitude, then she would not gain the respect of the vampires. A few minutes ago she was assumed to be a young amateur witch, she was going to prove those words wrong.
"Nice to meet you, Princess Rosaline. To be honest, I did not think of myself as the Chosen One. That is something your people believed but I am a witch who must protect the Wizarding world from Malgino," Chris said very calmly. "So, how do you want me to prove that I am someone, who need to know about Malgino and the South-East part of your forest?"
Oziyat raised his one eyebrow at Chris and she ignored him.
"With a challenge," Rosaline announced.
A hush fell over the room. Oziyat gave a startled look, Vasilisa's smile became very thin and then Volker chuckled loudly.
"A challenge?" Chris raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, I challenge you to defeat me in a combat and we will gladly accept that you are the Chosen One," Rosaline's voice was as cold as her attitude.
"A combat? Of what? Magic or weapons? I thought Vampires and Wizards have different magical abilities," Chris said and her face didn't show any emotion, even though inside she was starting to feel nervous.
"Both. What do you want to use is up to you. You just have to defeat me, that's all," Rosaline narrowed her eyes at Chris. "That is if you dare to accept my challenge."
"Yes, think wisely Witch," Volker barked. "Princess Rosaline is the most talented and powerful vampire in Titian."
"Probably one of the best in the world," Oziyat mumbled glancing at Chris. His face showed concern for some reasons.
"Rosaline, is this necessary?" The Queen spoke at last. She peered at her daughter's face with an odd expression.
"Yes, it is. We can not trust any Wizard or Witch, just because they have come here seeking answers," Rosaline retorted. "They have to prove themselves."
Everyone became silent. All pair of eyes focused on Chris, waiting for her answer. Chris could see the doubts in all of those eyes but for her, it wasn't even a question.
"In that case, I accept."
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To be continued. . .