A few of the vampires laughed.
"Well… did you know that in their family… the children have the gift?"
I frowned and looked over at Diego. What gift was he talking about?
The vampires all looked over at me and began studying me.
I fidgeted.
"Not just Alex, but also her sister has the gift… so far. We are unsure about the other sisters yet. One sister… it's not important which one, can see ghosts. Another sister can see the ghosts of… vampires."
There was uproar over the last statement. Vampires were on their feet and shouting. "That's impossible! Once a vampire is dead, they cease to exist," one yelled. Another vampire yelled, "This is heresy!"
Diego let it go on and then calmed them down again. "I will attempt to bring this sister into this class and you can hear her story. But I will tell you this… Serentis has talked to this sister while she was talking to the dead vampire. He told the sister to ask the vampire questions, that only a vampire would know. The answers came back as if from a vampire. The sister asked the vampire who had killed him. The vampire responded with a name. Serentis then carried out judgement."
There was dead silence in the classroom. No-one moved or spoke.
"I will also tell you that any attempt to get to this sister or harm any member of her family… will not only result in your death… but in every member of your bloodline."
There were gasps of horror from the vampires. A few stood and attempted to leave. Diego pushed them back to sit down.
"I tell you this to warn you. Don't go near the family… not with harm."
They eventually settled back down. A few still looked upset though.
"Finally… I will tell you that this course is compulsory for every vampire to attend. We hope to create a fighting force who can not only fight physically, but can reason while fighting. We also intend to create weapons. New weapons… and each vampire will receive training in these weapons."
There was a loud cheer that went up at that. It seems the vampires were keen to train on weapons.
"We're also going to create a portable medical pod. So we can help the men on the battlefield as soon as possible."
A few vampires nodded at that.
"We will be prepared to go to war… and to win. There are other things we are hoping to create, but that can wait until a later time. It is more important now to begin the class, before it gets too late."
"Now… for the required behaviour in the classroom."
I tuned him out at this stage. He seemed to be wrapping up. I began thinking about how I would introduce my first subject to the vampires. And how I would do it.
My mind drifted back into the class as I heard Diego explain to them, that the bodyguards were there for my protection and, what would result if they found anyone attacked me, or even attempting to be hostile against me.
Grabbing paper and pens, he then sent them around the room with a request for everyone to fill in their full name, address and age. He also wanted by tomorrow morning, for homework, a full report on what jobs each of them had ever done in their life. What skills each of them had, both physically and mentally, and what kind of work they were looking or hoping for?
I realised then that these vampires weren't just the bodyguards that Keogh had talked about, but these were also Serentis's people.
--------------
When everyone had filled in the sheet of paper, and scribbled down the homework he had given them, he stepped back and gestured to me that I now had the floor.
I took a breath and stepped up. I began by introducing myself. I then began to inform them in more depth, of what subjects were in the course.
I also explained that there would be assignments on each subject. I pointed out that each year the course would include theoretical, physical, and practical classes. It was compulsory for all people to attend and complete all topics.
I also advised that in the design of this course, we included the easier subjects in the first year and moved up to the more complex as the course progressed. The first topic, of the first semester, of the first year, would be Colours and their Effects.
I paused for a few seconds to let the class consume everything I told them. Glancing towards the doorway, I saw Diego standing there, along with my bodyguards. It then dawned on me that maybe a class of vampires differed from humans. Maybe they interpret, analyse and become involved in different ways. I would have to talk to Diego about that after class today. Maybe it would mean a different delivery strategy would better suit this class. I should've thought of that before, but I'd been too bogged down in the subjects themselves.
I sat down on the edge of my desk where they all could see me. Then took a deep breath and began. "Well, we're here to talk about colours. Let's see hands up of everyone who thinks this topic is a waste of time?"
I looked around to see that no hands were up. I glanced to my left to see a strange expression on Diego's face, then I looked back to the class. Maybe humour didn't go over too well with vampires.
"Okay… So, why would you need to know about colours? We're not training you to be artists or painters. What good would knowing about colours be to you?" Again, I got silence. "You guys are already tough enough, aren't you?"
I looked out to some of my audience who nodded their heads. Some mumbled in agreement
"What's this? Are you saying you haven't even got a voice that people can hear?" I repeated the question in a firmer tone. "You guys are already tough enough, aren't you?"
This time I witnessed more nods of heads and a stronger verbal response.
"I can get a better response from female human cheerleaders. You guys are already tough enough, aren't you?"
The response was completely different, this time. Everyone was nodding and putting in a verbal affirmation to my question. Looking over, I saw a stranger expression from Diego. One of my bodyguards had his hand on his weapon.
"So, if you are tough enough, why do you need to worry about colours?"
The vampires again gave me a loud response though I couldn't make out specific words from that one.
I put my hand up to quieten them down. "If you've got a bunch of humans coming at you, each one of you could take them all down, without a sweat. Couldn't you?"
Loud cheers and yells from the class. Some at the back had gotten to their feet, with their hand in the air, as if showing their superiority.
I let the noise calm down again. "But, what would you do if a hundred other vampires, or demons confronted just one of you? Could just one of you take them all down?"
The noise stopped. They all stared at me. Some in anger as if I'd just questioned their manhood.
"I doubt you'd be able to take on a hundred of them."
I pushed myself off the desk and stood straighter. "You already have a certain level of strength. But, you need to remember you are here to learn to guard and protect as well and not just to attack and fight. When you have several enemy combatants coming at you, you need to use more than just your brawn. You need to develop equal skills in your brains."
Learning about colours can give you insight into the enemy. It can help you determine who their leader is, compared to who are just common soldiers."
I had their attention now. I was talking on their wavelength.
"And everyone knows that if you take out the leader… the others will fall."
I had their interest for certain now.
"Learning about colours can help to determine who will strike first. It will help to better guards also because you'll be able to recognise the people who will cause you trouble. It will give you signs you need to know."
I walked across the front of the class now. All eyes followed me.
"I'll put it to you bluntly. This isn't a pissing contest you're training for. Your end goal is to have the ability to guard and protect people like Serentis who need your protection. Why? Because their attention is on other things, you people can't do. Their attention is on
where to strategically put the big guns. Where to hit the enemy the hardest and try to make him fall. Your goal is to protect and defend. Each one of us has their own job. And it's up to each one of us to learn how to do that job to the best of our ability. Learning about colours will help you in your protection duties."
"There's a problem with that."
I looked over to the left of the class. One student had gotten to his feet. "What's the problem?"
"You say colours can help to determine who will attack first."
"Yes."
"What if the enemy is wearing a uniform, or gang colours, or even similar clothing?"
Shouts of agreement are coming from the room.
I put up my hands to bring the noise down.
"That is an excellent question. Knowing colours is one method that can be used. If, as you say, the enemy is wearing a uniform or gang colours, colours might not be all that much of a help."
That's why, during this course, we'll be looking at a multitude of different strategies you can use, to determine the enemy and their attack patterns. Colours is just one of the first ways we'll look at."
"You will also learn how to judge your opponent by their stance, who is standing nearer to you, what sort of grip do they have on their weapon, and many other aspects. In other words, you will be taught how to read people."
"When you finish this course, you will have an abundance of strategies at your disposal, that you'll be able to access if the need arises. It is important that you recognise which strategy best fits the different situations."
The vampire who asked sat back down. He seemed satisfied with my answer.
"Are there any more questions before we continue?"
The class was quiet, and they were all watching me. I think I could see more interest in their eyes. I was hoping I'd chosen the best means of delivery for them. Diego had a slight smile on his face as he watched me. Keogh was now standing beside Diego. When did he enter the room?
--------------
"Now, soon we will break you up into groups. In your group, we're going to get each person to find out about a specific colour and the ramifications of that colour. They will then report their findings back to their group. After that, there will be a presentation with each group presenting its findings."
"Before we go there, let's take a little time and do an experiment."
I called out certain vampires to step out to the front. I picked vampires who were wearing different coloured shirts. Some wore black shirts, others had red shirts. One wore green, and another wore white.
When the vampires arrived out the front, I asked the remaining class to pick out which one, just by their looks, would they be more wary of?
Most of the class picked out the guy dressed in black. This led to a spirited discussion on the use of colour and how it affected people. The class was getting involved in the conversation with some shouts and laughter coming from around the room.
I didn't let this continue for too long because I wanted the people to get into their groups early. I was trying to get a level of bonding going. For the rest of the lesson, I let the groups meet each other, if they didn't already know everyone. I also got each person in a group to pick out a colour. They then had to research that colour by the next class. There was some grumbling when some of them picked white. Most wanted to research black or red.
It wasn't long before the end of the class came. I thanked everyone, and it surprised me to get an applause from the class. They were talking and laughing as they exited the room.
Diego stepped up as the last ones exited.
"Thank you," I whispered to him.
"For what?"
"I was panicking, at the start. I wasn't ready. And you eased me into it with your opening. For that I thank you."
He leaned down close. "With what you did here, I don't think you need that much help. You were great."
I could feel myself going red in the face in embarrassment.
"I will accept your thank you, though. I hope you give a thank you in the same way you apologise?" He laughed.
And my face grew even redder. Talk about the colour red. Huh!
I watched as he turned and almost strutted from the classroom.
There was a few minutes break before the next class. So, I took the time to grab something to eat. I felt a lot more relaxed now that the first class was done.
Diego had been right. I could catch up with the research for the other subjects, while the classes were going. But I wasn't going to tell him he was right. His head was big enough as it was.
Janey
Later that night, Diego got his proper 'thank you'.
He appreciated it immensely.
I spent the whole day teaching, and then afterwards, I spent most of the night researching. I was exhausted but still feeling good about it all. The coming weeks were looking brighter.
I was looking forward to preparing the next class, researching the next topic and devising more essay questions. I was especially looking forward to the students' answers to the essay questions.
I realised that researching and teaching this course for the vampires would change my life. I had already learned so much more on the supernatural world and also of my world. I couldn't wait to continue expanding my knowledge.
My mind drifted, and I fell into a deep sleep dreaming about the upcoming classes.
"So," Diego snuggled into me early the next morning. "Do you think you'll enjoy living here with me?"
I gaped at him. "What?"
"Well, you realise that you'll have to stay here. With all the research you'll need to do, as well as the teaching, and assessing. You'll have to stay close for quite some time." Diego nuzzled in a little more. "So I was thinking…"
He didn't have to finish his thoughts. "Oh, were you now?"
"I was." His fingers inched towards my breasts. "I think you should stay with me. You know, solely for the ease of you being on hand, so to speak. You never know when you might be needed in the classroom for something."
I laughed, which quickly turned into a squeal, as his fingers reached their goal. He pinched the nipples of my right breast. "So what do you say? Do you want to stay here with me for a while?"
I arched at his touch. "Yeah." I could feel my body reacting. "That might be a good idea."
He laughed. "Good."
He then showed me how good an idea it might be.
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