Page 20 of Losing The Vampire King

She circles me like a vulture, hiding her hands from plain sight. I suspect she has a weapon, at least some kind of a stone or something, so I keep my distance from her. I won’t leave Eddie, not now that I've found him.

“You owe us your life,” I remind her that we took pity on her and didn’t kill her when we had the chance.

“Pfft!” she scorns me with her gaze. “I suppose I should thank you for ruining my life as well, shouldn’t I?”

“I didn’t ruin your life,” I correct her angrily. “You did.”

“I did!?” she screams at me venomously. “We took you in. Our elders could have left you by the side of the road when they found you, but instead, they felt sorry for you and took you in as one of our own. And what did you do? You turn to our worst enemies and stab us in the back! You ruined our clan! You took everything from me, and now I will take everything from you, everything and everyone you hold dear, starting with this vampire here!” She points at Eddie’s unconscious body.

“I won’t let you hurt him anymore!” I warn her.

That is the moment when something dreadful happens. She looks at me in a way that makes my blood turn cold. Then, she bursts out into a joyful chuckle, as if she’s just heard the funniest joke ever. She keeps laughing like a maniac for a while, then finally, when the onslaught of laughter dies down, she gives me one of the wickedest looks ever.

“Oh, I won’t hurt him, you don’t have to worry about that,” she tells me, her lips widening into a smile that assures me I can’t even possibly begin to fathom what she’s thinking of. Then, she says it. “You will hurt him.”

“What?” I frown, shaking my head. “You must be out of your goddamn mind!”

She laughs again, in such a way as to try and prove that she is the one in control of the entire situation. From a certain perspective, that might appear to be so. But I won’t let her win. I can’t.

“You really have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, do you Bianca?” Gala mocks me again, just like she did before. “You poor, stupid thing. You might be a nymph, but you are a poor excuse for one!”

It takes all of my conscious effort not to lunge at her right then and there for saying those things and for doing this to Eddie, but I know I have to bide my time. I have to make her think that she is winning, that she does have all the strings in her hands and with them, all the control. Then, once she is most secure in her victory, I will come and swoop down on her with all my might. Now is not the right moment, no matter how much I want to punch her teeth in.

“You know, sometimes I wonder if this is all just way over your head,” Gala suddenly seems to ponder, but I know it’s just another try at mocking me. “Maybe this whole plan was too sophisticated for you, and you won’t even understand all the subtle nuances that I’m trying to– “

This is where I can’t control myself any longer and I take a swing at her, but she manages to jump to the side at the last minute. Once again, she starts laughing at me and my failed attempt to avenge myself.

“Do you really think you could do anything?” she asks. “Really?”

I decide not to dignify that with an answer. I would rather remain silent, than bury myself a little deeper. This wasn’t my moment and I still decided to act. Of course, it was a flop. Maybe it’s a good thing. It only strengthened her belief that she is in total control of the situation.

I glance at Eddie, wondering what I did to him. Did that tea help him at all, or did I make things even worse? Why isn’t he coming round? If only he would wake up and remember me…

“Oh, I have seriously had enough of all this pretending,” she suddenly shudders, looking back at Eddie. “I can’t wait to see you both standing face to face, realizing what needs to be done.”

I keep shaking my head at her, hoping that whatever she has planned in her mind will never come to fruition. This is all just an act of revenge. She’s confessed to it. But it goes far beyond that as well. If it were mere revenge, she would have simply killed Eddie. She had the chance. She could have done it easily. Instead, she chose the long path, the path that would make everyone involved, me included, suffer even more. That shows me how much she has always hated me, how much she still hates me, although I have never actually done anything to her to deserve so much hatred.

“Why do you hate me so?” I finally dare to ask her the question that simply doesn’t seem to make any sense, no matter from what perspective I choose to look at it.

She frowns at me, looking almost insulted. “You have wronged me just by existing, you worthless piece of shit. You think the world owes you something just because you appear before us, and we all have to bow down before you.”

I am shocked at her words, which don’t seem to make any sense. “When have I asked anything of you?” I demand to know. “I was a baby! It was the choice of the elders whether to take me in or leave me. I didn’t ask for any of this!”

“Exactly!” she points out. “You are always the one who needs to be taken care of, always the one who should be cherished and guarded. What about the rest of us? We were forced to take care of ourselves!”

“But that was your own clan,” I remind her. “I never belonged.”

“That’s why they did everything to make you feel like you did, at the expense of the rest of us!”

Then, it slowly started to all make sense. She’s always been jealous. There is no other explanation. All of her hatred stems from that feeling of inadequacy and low self-esteem. I know that no matter what I say, her opinion won’t change. If I try to contradict her, it will only make things worse. Staying silent here is the smartest option.

“Do you think this will give you the happily ever after you’re desperate for?” I ask, unable to keep my mouth shut, despite my initial plan.

“Maybe,” she says. “Maybe not. But it’s a start.”

On those words, she rushes over to me and tries to attack me. I react quickly, thinking on my feet, but I’m not fast enough. She manages to push me down to the ground and jumps on me, trying to claw my eyes out. I grab her wrists with my hands, keeping them away from my face, but it’s hard.

Using all my leftover strength, I manage to roll us both to the side, but before I can do anything, I see her grab something with her hand and aim straight for my head.

---