After the hospital visit, Octavia and I returned to the school. We went into the Garden together. Octavia got me a carton of milk before we discussed our private investigation. It was already past midday. The sun was hiding behind a huge mass of clouds above the sky, so we were able to sit around the broken fountain together and read the last diary. Octavia had found a few important entries in the book. And the rest of the story was like this:

February 18th

Octavia is two years old now, growing strong and happy. I am so content to see her enjoying life like any children. At the same time, I'm utterly scared. I don't know how long it will take for them to discover us. We have been living in secret yet under safe cover of normalcy. The Royal Council will never stop hunting until they find us. All I want is a normal family with Marco and Octavia by my side, but it is too much to ask if you were locked in a structure of the Underworld.

But what grief me the most is the stricken news of his Highness, Prince Vladimir and the fate of his human family. He was like a brother to me, but now he was gone, leaving me stranded all alone. And no one in the world could tell me what happened to his beloved human wife.

I wonder what would be like if they had a child like I do. That could be the most wonderful thing for the last three hundred years of our lives, but also the worst fear for our kind. The prophecy has been around for millennia, and nobody can figure out why it is the way it is.

Priscilla.

May 5th

My older sister Florentine showed up this morning. It's been decades since I last saw her. The reunion surprised me as I did not know how she could find my secret nest. Her presence brought both comfort and alarm. The fact that, she had carried along words of warning about my illegal life. But she took one glance at Octavia and went frightening pale. That's when I realized what the prophecy is all about. The offspring of a human and a vampire is prophesied by the original creator millennia ago. Being inherited from two superior races on the planet, this gives them unimaginable power within their blood. We're forbidden to fall in love with humans to prevent us from creating another demon on earth. But I have no idea whether the prophecy is true or some myth. However, Florentine grew fond of my angelic daughter immediately, but still, I do not understand how my heavenly Octavia is destined to be a great destruction to our vampire race.

December 31st

Lord Dimitri, my dear friend had come all the way from Russia to inform me in person. He told me the Royal Council has decided to start the hunt for my family. He advised us to flee our home, finding a place where the sun shines all day and no one can recognize us, but it is difficult since I used to serve as a Lady in the Council myself. I thanked the Lord for his warning and all the helps he had provided for us over the years. Then I prepared my family and set out for a long journey at first light. If we are lucky, we will be able to make it together. But if luck is not on my side, I will do everything within my power to protect my precious daughter and my dear husband.

Priscilla

I finished reading the entries and looked at Octavia. The diary ended on December 31st; I didn't need to ask what happened to her family after that. Octavia's face darkened, she had a faraway look as if she was remembering the old times. In the last entry, it seemed like her mom knew what her future would turn out to be.

"You know," I began to speak, "My Dad, he also mentioned something about the prophecy in his letter,"

Octavia turned to me again.

"Can I read his letter?" she asked, and I quickly searched in my backpack and took out my dad's letter which I had kept around with me. Octavia began to read it. After she finished, she sighed heavily.

"This is not good," she said, shaking her head.

"Yes, I know, but what does it mean?"

"It means both of us are the Children of the Prophecy," she said.

"Because we are half-bloods?" I asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

"But I don't understand, we are just half-bloods, and how can we have the power to destroy them?" I took the diary and my dad's letter from Octavia again. I studied them side by side like I was finding a missing answer. "I thought they just didn't want us to live because our blood is not as pure as theirs. I thought they were like a pack of racist Nazi."

"At first, I thought that way, too," Octavia said again, "But maybe we don't know ourselves yet."

"So what is the prophecy all about anyway?"

"That's what we're going to find out," she replied. "There are two people mentioned in my mom's diary. My long-lost aunt Florentine and her friend Dimitri. It's said he was from Russia, maybe he knew your father too. They can be our lead. If I can find one of them, we can get more detail about the prophecy or the death of our parents. I believe it's not simply that the true-bloods just found us so easily. My mother was always so cautious. There must be someone informing the Royal Council to take action."

"You think someone betrayed our parents?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that the person not only knows about our existence," she said. "but also wants to keep us alive for some reason."

And when we stared at each other, I knew what Octavia was thinking about. We had found our mission.

A while later, as we started to leave the garden, Octavia sniffed the air and then looked up at the sky.

"It's going to rain," she said, even though I only saw a few drifting clouds. But given the animalistic sixth sense, we tend to get a warning earlier than normal humans. "We won't be able to make it to the school," she added, looking at me.

"I don't see where we can go," I said, looking around the garden.

"But I do," Octavia smiled and pulled me by the hand.

"Where are you taking me?" I said, but she didn't answer and just walked on.

A moment later, we reached a hill. Then I saw a small house that looked exactly like a Hobbit home. I had to gasp at the sight. As if it came straight out of Lord of the Ring, this house was half-hidden in a grassy hill, sheltered from the earth element and blending in seamlessly with its surroundings. It was a perfect getaway place I'd ever seen.

"Are there any Hobbit living in that house?" I said in awe. Octavia giggled.

"I wish," she said. "If I don't get it wrong, it belonged to one of the school founders."

"Wow," I breathed again. Suddenly a clap of thunders sounded through the sky. Octavia was right. It looked like it was going to rain soon. Slowly, more dark clouds roamed overhead. The first droplet of rain fell on my cheek, following the others and soon, it was fully downpouring. I knew we couldn't be out any longer.

"Okay, let's get inside," Octavia grabbed my hand and we headed toward the small door the size of a French window. To our relief, it was unlocked. Not that it would be our problem, though. Octavia opened the door and led the way inside. I followed suit.

My jaw dropped as I scanned the polished wooden interior of this seemingly Hobbit house. Everything looked quite clean even there was no one living here. And it wasn't as small as I had thought. People could miss this spot easily from the outside, but it was huge and cozy inside. Classic furniture was well arranged, leaving a welcoming feeling in the air. There were several rounded windows facing the river and the mountain. From downhill, I could still see our garden from afar.

"The school staff must have come here to clean up from time to time," Octavia said. "But hardly anyone knows about this house. It's like a hidden museum or a memorial place."

"Is it okay for us to break in like that?"

"The house is for everyone who finds it," Octavia said. "It's a school property."

"Then how did you find it in the first place?"

"A little bird told me," she just said and walked on toward the fireplace. Well, who knows? Maybe Octavia was the next Snow White or something. I looked around the living room. There was a kitchenette in one corner and a small dining table. I walked toward a table by the window facing the river. There were sketches of blueprint and map and strange machines. They placed around the wooden table with wooden models of the various devices.

I picked up one of the drawings, which looked like a familiar building. At the far end of the page had a signature of someone named Josephine D.

Suddenly a burst of light bathed through the room. Octavia had managed to breathe life into the fireplace at last.

"Impressive," I said. "You could make fire like a cavewoman."

"If a cavewoman is as sexy as I am, what's not to like?" she smirked. That's when I noticed, she had taken off her knitted blazer. I couldn't take my eyes off her body. How her slightly damped shirt clung to her perfect frame, showing off her goddess curves. The way her golden wet hair swayed as she walked toward me made my jaw drop.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"Oh...nnn...nothing," I stuttered. Octavia came up beside me. Our shoulders brushed against each other. She pointed to the drawing I was holding.

"I meant this," she said.

"Oh well, I guess a woman named Josephine must have lived in this house a long time ago," I handed her the sketch.

"It looked like the school blueprint to me," Octavia said, studying the paper.

"Are you sure?" I said, trying to peer over her. There was a brief silence, and then I realized I was so close to Octavia, and now she was staring back at me. Our eyes met. The glow from the burning fire danced across our faces. I straightened myself back.

"You're soaking wet," Octavia noted. I snapped my head to her, and when I was staring at her stupidly, she added, "I meant your clothes."

"Oh, right," I breathed. For the second time, I blamed Cammie for ruining my innocent mind. Octavia bit her luscious lips from smiling.

"How about we dry them over the fireplace?" she suggested.

"What?"

"You can get cold," she said.

"You know we can't get cold," I said with a frown and started to walk away, but then I felt a grip on my elbow, and I was yanked back right into Octavia's arms. Thunders roared outside the house. Flashes of lighting cast through the tiny windows.

"Octavia..." I started, but before I could finish, she crashed her soft lips into mine. She had her hand settled so gently under my chin, her other hand curled around my waist. My heart pounded against my ribs. The blossoming of my wild, red-hot desire echoed from the depth of my craving mind. I could feel myself getting wet for her already. Oh god.

Then Octavia turned me around and eased me onto the table. I was almost, by sheer sexual instinct, spreading my legs to let her get between them. Octavia sucked hard on my bottom lip and I made a mistake by opening my mouth, which she took as my permission to shove her ravenous tongue down my throat. Her roughness only made me crave her more. She started grinding herself gently on my private part even our clothes were still on. This brought us uncontrollable moans.

My outstretched legs opened wide, wrapping around Octavia's rocking hips with desperate needs. Her wild curious hands wandered inside my shirt as she gave me a tongue braiding kiss, slithering around my hungry mouth. Then Octavia took a break to pull my slightly damped blazer off and unbuttoned my white blouse just enough to expose my bare shoulders and aching breasts.

I gasped louder when her soft cold lips touched my neck, sucking and teasing their way down my heaving chest. I could feel my throbbing nipples erected under the silk bra. My bones practically melt from the heat of our lustful touch.

Suddenly I felt her soft cold hand in between my opened thighs, slithering like a vicious snake down my cotton panties. Octavia's lukewarm tongue continued invading the crawling skin on my tingling breasts. The sensation caused the extra flow of slippery juices down my shivering canal walls. I could almost hear the bubbling sound from within my burning femininity.

Slowly but surely, Octavia's determined fingers traveled pass the waistline of my already wetted panties and down toward my heated swollen girl peak. All I wanted to do was to surrender and let her have me. Let her take me all the way and how ever she wants.

But then I stopped her. Just like that.

Both she and I froze. Octavia looked up from between my desperate breasts with her light-brown eyes darkened. The rings of greenish blue around her pupils widened as she stared back at me.

"I can't," I said in the smallest voice I could manage through the thunder-raging noise.

"Why not?" her voice came out in a raspy whisper.

"I don't want you doing this to me just like that," I said.

"You don't want me?" she stepped back, leaving me on the table.

"No!" I said. "Octavia, I do want you, but not this. This...is...just lust. It's not what I want with anyone, especially with you."

"Tell me one good reason why you think that way, Viv,"

"Because I know it doesn't mean anything to you!" I said at last.

"What? How do you know it doesn't mean anything to me, Vivienne?" Octavia said in a deep steady voice. Her eyes lighted with emotion as we stared at each other. "I want to be with you from the first day I saw you, not just now. And I will want all of you again for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, over and over until it reaches forever. I honestly have no strength left to fight the longing for you anymore. Vivienne, can't you see? It's torturing me inside."

"Oh Octavia," I breathed, not knowing what to say. She came forward and wrapped her arms around me again.

"But if you don't want it now, I can wait. Anything you want, I will do it...just for you."

"Octavia..."

"It's okay," she said. "Maybe it's not the right time."

"I'm sorry..." I whispered.

"Ssh...it's alright. You're still shaking, I'm sorry," she said, rubbing my back gently, "How about we just cuddle until the rain stops?"

I nodded, resting my head on her chest with a passionate sigh.