Rooming With the Supernatural

by Francheska Fifield

  "Which Vampire is that? All I have ever known is biting."

  "Me too."

  There is a chorus of agreements while a couple of students talk to the teacher about signing up for classes to be certified in first aid. All the humans should have it honestly. But I wish they would hurry so we can get on with the tour and I will not be standing in the middle of a group looking at me like a miracle girl.

  "Are all the humans here Vampire pets?"

  They all basically murmur a yes or nod. Of course. Only Vampires feed on human blood so they would be the link between human and supernatural.

  "Well, he was a Vampire in my class. Alastair…you likely don't know that name…"

  "Alastair, like the prince? No freaking way!"

  Okay, seriously, is it the same Al and is he really a prince? I mean I know Fiona has a relation to the Vamp king, but I thought it was a distant one…

  "Umm, I don’t know if it’s the same Alastair. His mom Fiona and dad Fergus seem pretty normal and laid back…"

  "You were adopted by a Vampire princess! And Alastair the grandson of the king! That is so amazing!"

  Everyone surges forward and pats me on the shoulder, strokes my hair, and other weird ass shit that makes me want to hyperventilate. I try pushing my way out, but it is not happening. I am surrounded. The teacher tries to break it up, but everyone is ignoring him. I start to have trouble breathing and feel dizzy. I get down and huddle as people keep trying to touch me asking me a million questions at once.

  I cover my ears and really wish for Selene to enchant the hell out of everyone or Alastair to yell. I haven't even finished my thought when it happens. Everyone backs away and suddenly Al is leaning down in front of me. He puts one hand on my head and wipes away the tears with the other.

  I don’t know how he knew I needed help; how does he always know? But right at that moment I am grateful. I don’t think about our audience I launch myself at him. He hugs me and pats my back making shhhing noises.

  "Amber are you okay?"

  I nod and pull back trying to smile. It is harder than I care to admit.

  "They all surged me at once. I didn’t…I didn’t know it was a big deal that I lived with you guys so I didn’t think it would be wrong to say it…."

  "It's not wrong. You are part of the family. They should have known better. The teacher especially."

  I have a feeling that poor bastard will be getting an earful later. "I didn’t know about mom and you and…"

  "It's fine. Mother and I don't care about titles. We like that you didn’t know because we got to be normal with you."

  I smile cheekily and hug him quickly before standing up pulling him with me.

  "Like that will change. You two are still going to get far more hugs than you want."

  He smiles at me and I see the tension leave his shoulders. He ruffles my hair, damn his height, and stands back not giving a care to the others around us. Well, off to one side. No one will get that close to him. Can I join the Vampire classes?

  "You know mom wants every hug you give. She gets so depressed if she goes one day without. If she refrains from applying to be a teacher so she is close enough to get yours hugs I will be shocked."

  I laugh. Well that will cause a commotion. But honestly, I won’t be shocked…well not very shocked, if it happens. I am surprised she hadn't already done it before classes started…yeah, silly mom.

  "Thanks for coming."

  "Anytime."

  "Will you get in trouble?"

  He shrugs uncaring. I roll my eyes. Al is a great example of family. Family first, no matter the upset it causes for others. Great if you are a family member in need, bad for everyone else.

  I push his back towards the door. "Go back to class so we don’t get in trouble. I'll be fine."

  "Sure?"

  "Of course. I was just unprepared. All good now. Promise."

  He strides out the door without another word. I turn back to the onlookers and smile. I give a wave. "Hi I'm Amber and I apparently live with Vampire royalty. One question at a time please."

  So much for a peaceful day.

  Chapter 4

  The teacher speaks before anyone else can and makes us all line up and ready for the tour. I stand beside Shayla, not because I am not terrified of her questions, but because I have talked to her the most and am comfortable with her…well as much as I can be…compared to the others.

  "Everyone stick with your buddy and follow me. Mark down buildings that will be important to you and your class schedule."

  We start walking and he names each building and states what is contained within. I have already memorized the map and where my classes will be.

  "Hey, how did Alastair know to come to you?"

  I shrug. He always knows when I am in trouble. "I don’t know. He's always known when I am in trouble, even the day we first met."

  "Really?"

  In that case I am sure everyone in the class knew I was in trouble. My tormentors made no attempts to hide their torture of me. Al could have easily assumed every second he couldn’t see me I was in trouble with the wolves and he would have been right. Lately it seems more like a feeling. He shows up when something happens, I am not sure I can handle myself. Like he knows.

  "Basically. Of course, I got in bad with the mini werewolf pack at my school so I think he just assumed when we weren't in a classroom, I was in trouble…which was accurate now that I think of it."

  "Weres don’t usually bother humans."

  I shrug. "This pack had a very immature leader in training. He was…vicious."

  She nods keeping silent but patting my shoulder when I shudder.

  "You were hunted by them and Alastair saved you."

  I nod. "I was not in a good family situation. I know people think Vampires are monsters, but I have seen worse in the human world. Since living with Alastair and his family…. well, it’s the only kindness I have ever known."

  "So, they are nice to you?"

  That brings a smile to my face. "Fiona always takes me shopping, she never had a girl to do it with before and Fergus and Al hate it. I always try to buy stuff with my allowance, but she always pays and tells me to save it for stuff I want. I always laugh because I thought that’s what the shopping trips were for. She's so kind. She loves hugs and when someone is sad, she rages until everyone bands together to make them better.

  "Fergus is more stoic. He dependable, quiet, but strong and there when it matters. He barely speaks, but he was the one that helped me put this together. To take my dream of turning our small neighborhood into the standard for the supernaturals."

  "And Prince Alastair?"

  I laugh. Prince. It seems so silly to me. The teacher scolds us and we wait until he is no longer paying attention to us to talk again.

  "Al is so different from when I first met him. Or maybe I should say he shows himself now. He wasn’t shy before; he just had no interest. In others, in himself. He did what he had to do. But for some reason my troubles bothered him and he took it upon himself to save me from them. Convinced his mother and father to take me in. Since then he has opened up to me. I can hug him without him side stepping now. We stay up late talking. Fiona said he never learned how to interact with people and I helped him learn how. His interest is still limited to family and a couple of friends, but it’s a start."

  "Wow."

  I shrug. Is it a big deal? I accept it as a matter of fact. I mean, getting a new family member changes the dynamic. Fiona said her family had been missing its heart, then I came along and wiggled into all theirs making me the one thing they all needed. Fergus doesn’t agree, but he doesn’t agree with the need for family. He has honor. That is that. Still he doesn’t dare argue with his wife. She is a fierce little thing when angry.

  Because I want a change of topic, I can imagine the swell of people if I continue, I decide to turn to the convo to Shayla. "So, where do you live?"

  Shayla toes the ground where we stand while the
teacher gives the list of classes, we will find in the building we stand in front of.

  "The Vampire king said all the human pets had to be educated and given a choice. We are to be paid if we go back into service. A lot of us younger ones decided to get schooling. See if we can be anything other than a blood bag in this world. It's too late to leave, we know too much, but we might be able to pick something with a longer life span."

  Shayla, and those around us nodding in agreement even while not being in the conversation, are the reason I wanted to do this. I hated being treated like a blackmailing mercenary when I entered my high school and that place had been accepting compared to the rest of the supernatural world.

  "Well things are different now."

  "Because of you. We have all heard the stories."

  I feel like Harry Potter. Does everyone know more about me than I myself do?

  "It's not that big of a thing."

  "Not true. We all know you spent months lobbying for a meeting and went balls out spitting their mistakes in their face to get them to see the truth."

  "It wasn’t that bad. The Vampire king agreed right away with me. None of them seemed overly opposed so they mostly took my idea and ran with it."

  "But if you hadn't approached them nothing would have ever happened."

  I never thought of it that way. I only did what I thought was right. I don't like where this is going. As glad as I am it worked, I don’t want people looking at me like some kind of mythical superhero.

  "Any of you could have done it."

  A chorus of denials has me wondering if once again I am different…I am, but I mean different in attitude. Am I unlike others my age? I believe both humans and supernatural have their good and their bad. I am not afraid until I am given a reason to be. My experience with Vampires seems very different from everyone else's.

  "Are any of the humans here not donors?"

  "You."

  I look around and there is nothing but nods. Sad faces, angry faces, resentful faces. I see all these emotions, plus some shame thrown in, on these girls and boys faces. Then I notice something. They all wear long sleeves. It is end of summer; it can’t be comfortable. I grab Shayla's arm.

  "May I?"

  She looks at me ready to say no, but something in my face stops her. I pull up her sleeve at her nod. Teeth marks litter her arm. From wrist to elbow there are scars. I look around and the others won’t look me in the face. I am wearing a tank top. Proof I have never been a chew toy.

  I let her go and rub my neck. I had a scar reducing cream I made to make sure I didn’t scar where Al bit me. Which probably hadn't been needed since Al closed the wound. That means these Vampires are leaving the marks to heal and scar. They want it to be like this.

  "After parent's opening weekend anyone that wants something to help rid you of those scars come see me. I have something that might work."

  We walk to the next site silently, but I can feel the hopeful stares boring into me. I have to help these people. Someone has to care and I am going to be that someone. They may not have suffered in the way I had with my human step-father, but they suffered nonetheless.

  "I will do all I can to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that there is no proof it ever happened left on your skin."

  No one responds and we wrap up the tour and are released to have free time. I go in search of my friends. I now understand the feelings of Vampire hunters. I need something positive to remind me why this world is worth helping.

  I come across Heather first. We live on the same dorm floor so it is not shocking. She sees me, tears streaming down my face, and opens her arms. I hug her tight crying. Selene comes running yelling at us for not waiting up and stops short when she sees me. She pats my back while Heather holds me tight and makes shhing noises.

  A few minutes later I feel the thunder in Al's bad mood. He is feeling violent which only makes me cry more. Heather, who is used to him by now, is having none of it.

  "Your anger is making it worse. Bottle it or leave."

  He stops stomping and I feel the weight of his stare on me.

  "What's wrong?"

  Heather holds me tight as my hiccups turn into hard crying again. I can almost feel her glaring at Al.

  "She just met all the other humans. Have you not seen them around at lunch and in the halls? None of them wear anything but long-sleeved turtlenecks. Did you not wonder why they would do that in summer? Or how Amber would react to seeing how most Vampire human families work? She's been sheltered by your family, but she knows what it is to be abused. By humans and supernaturals."

  Heather doesn’t yell. She never yells to get her point across. But the steel in her voice makes it obvious how she feels about what has happened to me and how dense Al is. It is not his fault. He didn’t think of it because his family doesn’t operate that way. I push back from Heather wiping my eyes dry. I can feel the heat in my face. Great, people were going to think I am a homesick baby. Part of that is true. But the larger part is the sickening sight of shame on the faces of the victims.

  "Amber we are here to stop that. Remember that."

  Selene continues to rub my back even after Heather releases me. I nod and look at Al. He looks worried. I figure it is more over my emotional state than the state of those humans.

  "Go clean up and we will go get dinner and talk okay?"

  I nod and walk into my room praying Gwen is not back yet. Selene is right; I will need to clean up before going anywhere public.

  The muffled talking starts the second I am out of earshot. I ignore their talking about my emotional breakdown because, well, they are and I can’t change it.

  I wash my face and add some anti-puffing creaming I made. My skin care products work like my potions, faster and way more effective. You can put it on and see the puffing going down. I made it for allergic reactions, but it works as a facial as well. Hurray for me.

  The redness reduces as the puffing does. I rinse my face again, brush my hair, and put it back into a ponytail. I want to grab a long sleeve, but I can’t. I don’t want to do it to fit in, but out of respect. But what if they think I am mocking or making fun of them. Or just being insensitive to why they wear them. I don’t want to show off my clear arms and neck though. I decide changing things will be worse, they have already seen me bite free. I put the shirt back in the closet and look around my side of the room.

  I grab what creams I have that might help the others and bring them with me. I need to see what will work so I can make more, enough for everyone. I put them in a little tote I have and walk out. They all look down at my bag but say nothing. Al grabs it holding it and takes my hand with his free one.

  "Let's go eat."

  I nod and the four of us trudge down to the cafeteria. This time the Vampire blood bag line makes me shiver. Al rubs my back and skips it. They are allowed a little at every meal, but I know he will only take it when he needs. Right now, it is all about supporting me.

  Once we are back at the table, I grab his hand and squeeze, offering a small smile. He smiles back, ruffles my hair, and started eating. I look around and see a few Vampires tugging at the shirts of humans. I know they are humans by their turtlenecks. They are the only ones dressed like it is the middle of winter.

  I stand and basically stomp over. I have to be out of my mind. I grab the wrist of the lead offender. I had been them once, though my tormentors had been wolves. Either way I won’t stand for it.

  "Don't you have a blood bag to drink?"

  "Not as good as fresh."

  The sleazy smile almost makes me afraid, but I am not weak anymore. I know my limits and how to push past them. This guy doesn’t scare me nearly as much as he wants to.

  "Then go bite yourself." I turn my attention to the humans and smile. "Want to join my friends and I? I promise none of us, including the Vampire, is an asshole."

  I don’t drop the wrist nor do I look at the Vampire to see what he is doing…or going to do. But I have a feeling it
is not something pretty because I hear Al stand and do the undertone growl thing. The other Vamps look over; the leader tears his wrist from my grip and they all walk away. I keep my friendly smile and beckon.

  "Come on. Al doesn't bite. And Selene will promise not to make you drool over her…well not too much."

  I wink at their shocked expressions and go back to my seat. Slowly they filter over. Our little circular table is not going to be big enough. Another group of people pull a table closer to ours and sit. They seem content to stay out of the conversation and just do their own thing.

  Are they just here for the protection Al and I have inadvertently offered? Al must think so because he sees the humans flock to us dragging tables and chairs to our vicinity and sitting continuing their own thing, but basking in the freedom of no harassment.

  I smile at Al and shrug. "Sorry, I think you became a knight once again."

  "It's always your fault. You notice that?"

  I blow him a kiss and give my most innocent smile. He rolls his eyes and goes back to eating. Shayla brings over her tray and sits at the one seat left at our table. My friends introduce themselves and Al grunts. I explain that is his version of hi and we all laugh and eat.

  "Hey Shayla, if I offend you, I am sorry, but hear me out. I make these creams and sell them back home. I am not sure which will work best, but they are all safe to use so if a few of you would try them on your marks and see what helps the fading the most I can make more. They have an open potions and apothecary here. Like a witch lab, but I would need multiple volunteers."

  "How many?"

  "Three. And the same thing might not work for everyone so if one thing fails for one person it's no reason to give up entirely."

  She nods.

  "I'll do it."

  After she agrees more follow until everyone is offering. We sort out who will start and with what creams and we will cycle those until we find what will work for everyone. When I look at the group of humans this time, they look less shamed and more hopeful. That makes me happier than anything else in the world.

  Al looks at me and grunts knowing my thoughts. He pretends, but I can see the smile he is hiding. I wink at him and point to my dimples so he will know that he can’t hide his joy from me. He sees, ignores me, and continues to eat. I choose to let it go, talk, make new friends, and eat.