Ophelia glanced at Grace once again, silently seeking permission to start. Grace smiled at her as she said, "Just don't make a mess, alright?"

The girl gulped and raised her shaking hands. She had not learnt anything new so far. She only knew the basics.

A sigh left her lips as she focused on the books on the shelf beside her. Three books came out of the shelf one by one as her hands moved in the air. They flew in circles in front of the two sisters. Then, Ophelia let them down on the table.

Charlotte gaped at her in amusement, but Adelaide had no remarkable reaction. Ophelia sensed that she wanted to see more.

Closing her eyes, she held her hands near her chest. Then she parted them, revealing a ball of light inside. It slowly grew larger and illuminated the room with a soft white light.

Ophelia breathed slowly, not wanting the sisters to hear her pant. Small beads of sweat formed on her forehead. At one point, Adelaide said, "You can stop now."

The light disappeared in an instant, leaving the room dark. Ophelia wiped the sweat away from her forehead with the sleeve of her dress.

The older sister did not seem satisfied enough with what Ophelia had done. She looked sceptical. Of course, she would be. Ophelia had not done any kind of magic that involved spells.

"Just a beginner, I see," the older sister said. "Let her learn well. You don't want her to be a waste – a small amount of magic and she is already tired."

Ophelia saw the twitch in Grace's eye. The woman forced a smile and kept her cool. "Even so, she can do a lot of other things. Isla, didn't you bake biscuits today? Will you please bring them here?"

The sisters glanced at each other. Perhaps it was because they had never tasted biscuits, especially ones made by someone who had lived among the humans.

Meanwhile, Ophelia stood in her place and said, "Alright, Miss Grace." She went to the kitchen to bring the things she had prepared.

Entering the kitchen, Ophelia gave a sigh of relief. Her shoulders, which had been tensed this whole time, relaxed. She smiled, remembering the looks on their faces when they heard about the food.

She put some of the biscuits on a plate and placed it on a tray. Then, she came out of the kitchen with the tray in her hands.

The two sisters gazed at her as she placed the tray on the table before them. Charlotte stared at the cookies in awe while Adelaide remained sceptical. Grace said, "Try them, Adelaide and Charlotte. I am sure you will like them."

Charlotte picked a biscuit and brought it closer to her nose. It smelled sweet. She took a bite from it, the piece crushing between her teeth. It tasted sweet as well.

Her eyes sparkled. She took another bite, saying, "This is really good, sis. Try some."

Her words reminded Ophelia of Alice. The sudden reminiscence made the air around her melancholic. What could Alice be doing right now? Does she miss me? Does she still despise me for coming away?

Both sisters ate; they could not help praising Ophelia's work.

As they were leaving, Adelaide told Grace, "You're lucky to have someone like Isla with you, Grace."

Charlotte eyed Ophelia and winked. "Be sure to send us some of your treats if you don't want to be bitten," she said, pointing to a house which was right next to Grace's. "We live next door."

Ophelia cringed; she smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. The sky grew lighter; the clouds gained a yellow-orange hue from the faint light of the rising sun. Waving her hand at the two sisters, Ophelia said, "Goodbye!"

Neither did they say anything in return, nor did they look back. Perhaps that was how vampires were supposed to be. They went back home. Grace closed the door and Ophelia let out a long sigh of relief.

As Grace's eyes met with hers, she laughed. "Well, that was awkward."

Grace smiled and took the tray from the table. "Ophelia, you have never talked to other vampires before, right?"

"Other than you and your son, yes. I did encounter some guards and soldiers a few times and talked to them once, but I guess that wouldn't count."

She followed the woman into the kitchen and stored the rest of the biscuits in a jar. Grace ate a few of them and said, "They taste good, as I expected."

"Thank you."

After a pause, the woman said, "You know, the real reason they wanted to come is that they noticed your presence."

Ophelia's face suddenly turned pale. She lowered her head and muttered, "I'm sorry."

The woman yawned, patting her head. "Don't worry. It is alright." Then, she walked into her room.

A new wave of thoughts swarmed in Ophelia's mind. She did not want to bother the tired woman but there was no way around. She followed her and stood at the door of the room.

As Grace lay on her bed, she noticed the girl standing at the door. She asked, "What is the matter, dear?"

Ophelia hesitated for a while before opening up. "Miss Grace, what if... they suddenly show up one night when you're not here, and bite me? They don't know who I really am."

Grace pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, yawning again. "Don't worry, they won't. It is illegal." She drifted off to sleep.

Still, Ophelia was afraid.

***

The second apostle of Nathaniel hid within the shadows in an alleyway, looking at the students coming out of the magic school. School was over; it was a time she had been waiting for.

It was too bad she could not put up a disguise. She had dressed up in black, covering her head with a hood and half of her face with a mask.

Moments after the school had become empty and the entire environment fell into the quietude of the night, a young man came out of the iron gates of the school. He was not a student.

The girl came out of the alleyway, making sure there was no one else around. Not even another human.

Seeing her, the white-haired man stopped in the middle of the street, startled. His eyebrows furrowed as she tugged on his cloak and pulled him, nearly whispering, "Apostle I..."

She pulled him back into the alleyway, breathing sharply. The man rolled his onyx-black eyes, trying to show annoyance. "What is it? Is it about the mission?"

"I'm... I don't think I can pull it off alone. He's a vampire... Not just any ordinary vampire," she whispered.

The man sighed. "Do you want me to help you?"

Her eyes lit up as she nodded, already assuming that he would help her.

"I don't think I can. Master gave this mission to you for a reason."

"I thought we were a team," the girl said in a demanding voice.

"We are a team. I'll cover up for whatever you are going to do, remember?"

The girl leaned against the cold brick wall behind her. "I know, but-"

"You are afraid," he finished her words.

They passed a moment of silence before the man began to walk out of the alleyway. The girl grunted, irked at his indifference. "Lucian!"

Lucian, the first Apostle, stopped as he stood under the moonlight. He turned back to her and said, "Don't be afraid. You are much stronger than before. Master has given you enough time; he trusts your abilities."

"Does that mean you won't help me?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows, walking towards him. She stopped right in front of him, glaring into his eyes.

Lucian seemed amused; his eyebrows rose, lips curled up into a smirk. He took in a deep breath, seeing the glow in her bright silver eyes under the dim moonlight. Somehow, the clouds filtered less light during the night.

"Well, I have a lot of work here at school. Being a headmaster is not easy. Arthur has to deal with the orphanage, so he can't help you either. And Master might not be happy if he hears someone helped you, Apostle II," he finished.

The girl frowned. Lucian leaned towards her and pulled down the mask covering half of her face. "Also, stop hiding like this. It's suspicious as hell."

A few nights later, Grace took Ophelia to the market, complying with the latter's whims. She needed to get a few groceries and of course, blood.

The market was a peculiar place, not by the looks, but by the people who were there. Indeed, it looked almost like the ones Ophelia had seen or known. But it was mostly dark, with a few lights flashing here and there.

It was not very crowded. The atmosphere was cold; the vampires seemed to not be very kind. They purchased items from the small tents, some of which sold groceries, blood and other items. Ophelia was surprised to see fruit sellers too.

Ophelia looked around with curiosity, as well as contemplating her improved ability to see in the dark. She walked through the aisle between the tents, holding onto Grace's dress to avoid getting lost.

Grace stopped in front of a grocer's tent, intending to buy flour, sugar and other goods. Ophelia did not bother looking at what she was buying. She looked behind and observed the people, the vampires while Grace bought the necessary items.

Some vampires brought along a human with them. Were those humans companions like how Ophelia was supposed to act? She wondered.

What if they lived with the vampires to supply blood? The thought gave her chills.

She turned to Grace, who was done with that store. She followed wherever Grace went until the woman stopped in front of another tent, where blood was sold.

Ophelia's mouth felt dry as soon as she set her eyes on the bottles containing vivid carmine-coloured liquid. There was a small lamp inside the tent for the vampires to clearly see what they were buying.

She quickly turned around, hoping not to become too tempted by the sight of blood. The girl tried to focus on something else.

At a distance, she could see another section of the market where books, newspapers, and articles were sold. A good number of vampires and humans seemed to opt for those, which was surprising to her. The bookstores were nicely lit up for the humans to be comfortable as well.

Ophelia looked keenly at the people who were there. The humans who went to those shops were in a much better condition than the 'companions'. It was evident in the way they dressed, and the way they talked.

The girl even saw some youngsters buying books with their parents. She supposed that those were magic books. It was an interesting sight to watch.

From among the people in those stores, Ophelia spotted a girl with short black hair. She was facing away from her, so Ophelia could only see her back. The girl was dressed in black, her clothes oddly covering her entire body, including her neck and wrists. Ophelia had a strange feeling about it.

The short-haired girl turned her head slightly and looked behind from the corner of her eye. She could sense that somebody was watching her.

That was when Ophelia knew who she was. The face, though not fully visible, was oddly familiar. That girl had the same fringe, the same eyes and the same self-aware look on her face. It was none other than Isabella.

By that time, Isabella had seen Ophelia staring at her. Her eyes grew wide; she sharply turned her head back to the shopkeeper who had brought some books for her to choose from. Isabella picked the first book without even looking at any one of them, paid the money and ran. She did not take the change either.

Ophelia could not understand her actions. If anything, she should be the one to run, not Isabella.

She felt a desperate need to apologize to her for what had happened between them. She tried to follow her, hoping to fix things, to be friends with her again.

Isabella blended in with the crowd, being careful not to be noticed by any vampire. To her, Ophelia had just increased her troubles. Ophelia kept her eyes on the girl for as long as she could, until she realized she should have been with Grace.

She stopped, gasping in realization while Isabella gave her one last glance before disappearing into the crowd. Ophelia looked behind. Grace was nowhere to be seen.