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Acacia/Ciarán - Age 15

Meliorist Sanctum

"I'm sorry I've been so off lately..." Sinéad's voice fades off slightly as she holds one of the black pawns in between her index finger and thumb. She's sitting on one of the tables that I'd just removed the chessboard from, the Saturday morning one of dreary rain. Sinéad had offered to help me put away the chess club room and tidy up as I didn't on Friday after the events that happened.

I set another board off to the side on a desk and ask her, "What's wrong?"

That's obvious...

...she's not the only one who's off lately...everyone in the school is, and I can't blame them. Teachers are turning a blind eye because of most of them...vampires. I wonder if any of them have even attempted to get in contact with Dante.

Probably not.

It's not like it's disrupting the educational part of the school.

Not yet anyways...

...however, it's affecting the whole purpose of what Meliorist Sanctum stands for.

Even my parents can't turn a blind eye to this if it's proven...

Sinéad plays with the piece in her hand as she sighs, "I shouldn't have grouped you while associating you with your brother..." her eyes meet with mine, and I see the regret lingering in them, "I just got so angry."

"I'm used to being blamed for everything," I shrug my shoulders, part of me upset that she saw me as an extension of Ciarán.

"Acacia...please understand that it wasn't just humans and werewolves that were affected by the vampire reign..." she's a little frustrated as she tries to explain the way she'd been so quick to judge, "...my mother told me about how mermaids and sirens never even came up past the water's surface, fear clouding everything we knew. I saw flashes of what she explained to Niamh and I...it..." she can't bring herself to say anything more as I note the thin edge in her tone.

Looking at her closely I reply, "I get it."

Releasing a heavy sigh, I accidentally knock one of the chess boards to the floor. Shaking my head, I kneel down to pick it up, Sinéad hesitantly asking, "How did...Ciarán?"

"I now understand how he truly sees everyone," it's hard fighting the bitterness from my voice. Rising to my feet and setting the board with the rest I state, "He's one of the many who continues to brag about and refer to me as Mercury's girlfriend." Tears form in my eyes as I lift my gaze to the ceiling, fighting back the tears before continuing, "Oh, not to mention that he wanted to group Rian into that mess...just when I thought I found a vampire that's not like the rest he turns out to be Mercury's cousin."

Sinéad's eyes widen at the light I shine on that subject, but she doesn't get a chance to reply to me because Rian is standing in the doorway. His eyes rest on me, and I hear it in his voice as he says, "Your friend grouped you with your brother...and she was wrong," he pauses as I realize he's been lingering longer than I'd realized. Before I can say anything, he cuts me off, "So what makes you think you're any different grouping me with my cousin? Hm?"

"You won't believe m-"

Rian cuts me off once again while taking a few steps into the chess club room, Sinéad setting her feet down on the floor as she takes her stance in regards to his approach. His eyes flicker from her before they rest on me as he says, "What? Believe you aren't dating my cousin just because others say you are?"

"I-"

"There's a reason why my dad doesn't care for visits from my aunt and Mercury...okay? He told me that nothing good can ever come from who his father was regardless of how nice my aunt is...I get it," Rian is very sincere in the way he's defending his views, and here I was so quick to judge him once again.

Sinéad stands there watching the two of us before she finally breaks the tension and says, "Well Rian...if you ever hurt Acacia," he turns his gaze on her while a smirk plays on her lips, "I'll send your ass to the bottom of the ocean."

He awkwardly smiles, and I see the tension lifting away as he says, "I'd jump in head first for you and save you the trouble."

I can't help but laugh at this, and his eyes find mine once again. A small smile tugs at my lips as I see he continues to separate himself from that who I'd grouped him with. He's right though...I wasn't acting any better than Sinéad.

Sinéad releases a sigh and says, "I guess I'll talk to Dante then when he gets here."

"You know...if there's no proof, he's not going to believe this is happening at his school," I dash those hopes as I'd been thinking things over. Regardless of who tells Dante, he very well might not believe them...even if it isn't me telling him. I have both their attention when I exhale slowly, "We need to expose them...catch them in the act for Dante to see for himself. That's the only way I can see this working."

While Sinéad thinks about it for a moment, I recall this morning the girls murmuring something and finally everything starts to click as I state, "They're setting up human feeding stations somewhere around campus...but I'm sure the humans are going to be too afraid to say anything, and we aren't getting any information from the vampires...so..." my voice trails off as my eyes suddenly land on Rian.

A grin makes its way to my lips, and he furrows his brows while asking, "What?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I ask, "Do you want to play a game of live chess?"

Play the part of a pawn...

...Vexy's words ring through my mind as Sinéad stares at us both hard, though I catch the optimism in her features.

Rian nervously glances to Sinéad and then back to me before asking, "Uhh...do I?"

"Well..." my voice trails off as I set the final chess board away, "...we're going to need a vampire on the inside we can trust."

"I'm not going to hurt anyone...I won't take someone by force, that's not okay..." Rian's voice is uneasy at my suggestion.

Shaking my head, I smirk while stating, "You won't," turning on my heels I release a small sigh and say, "I'll be your 'victim' voluntarily."

Sinéad waves her arms and tsks, "Nu-uh! Nope, you're gonna risk a lot doing that because you open up the floodgates for anyone else who wants a piece of you," she wags her finger at Rian and says, "what did I just say about hurting her?"

Rian shakes his head while taking a step back and say, "I-" he then looks at me and says, "it'll still sting, even if you're willing...you're not blood to me or..." his voice trails off before he continues, " Acacia...I don't want to hurt you."

"It's fine..." thinking back to the times the other vampires would bite me from their group, it hurt a lot worse than just a sting...probably them wanting to make it as painful as possible. Mercury...yeah, that was his own choice...whether or not to hurt me, and I still don't understand why as I'm not a vampire. Cypher's bite always came across more painful than the rest, taking pleasure in my pain...

Sinéad looks me over to make sure I entirely understand what I'm getting myself into. If Rian brings me, he'll be welcomed to the supposed feeding stations. I wonder how 'voluntary' they indeed are after listening to the other girls in the common room.

"Okay..." his voice is still a bit unsure before he says, "I'll go figure out from some of the other vampires what's going on and locations and get back to you."

Sinéad nods at him before reminding me, "Dante will be here Monday, so we need to figure this out this weekend."

"Have Fae scour from above the buildings where she can remain hidden and out of sight," I also suggest, knowing more eyes will be better than just Rian along figuring this out. I then tell her, "Figure out the vampires' patterns around the school and see exactly what specific aspects of the social structure everyone is adhering to so those can be exposed."

She nods and leaves to start her tasks. Rian lingers a moment before he says, "I'm sorry in advance..." he scratches the back of his head while his eyes flicker away from mine.

I'm used to being treated as an object...

"It'll be fine, don't apologize, you're helping the rest of the students when their 'council' is corruptly using power," a smile forms on my lips as I walk toward him and the door. He nods his response, and he's gone before I know it.

I need to see if there's a way I can get those girls to talk to me...

Locking the chess club room door behind me, I set off back across to my dorm building, making my way through the light rain that had started. Pulling the collar up tighter around my neck, I flick the hood of my jacket up over my head.

As I walk by one of the buildings toward the pathway of the shops on campus, I catch out of the corner of my eye something I wish I hadn't...

...this time, I'm correct when I see that it's Mercury standing under one of the building overhangs. Though, it's Niamh who stands in front of him, the two talking to one another. Just as I'm right about to pass through to the pathway in front of the dorm building, I catch him pulling her close a smirk playing on her lips before they kiss.

Oh good...now he can leave me alone.

Ducking out of sight as I hold the front of my hood, I climb the steps to the door, opening and closing it behind me. Pulling my hood down, I glance around and don't see anyone in the common room. Figuring maybe going door to door might be a good idea at this point if we don't have a whole lot of time to figure this out.

It's no use though because it looks like people are either away for the weekend or at the shops. Reaching my dorm room, I release a sigh at the uneventful effort of trying to find the other human girls. Grumbling under my breath, I glance around the room before I turn to leave...

...but there's a slight shift in the air as I do so.

A presence lingers behind me, seeing the purple hues alter the coloration of the world around me. Slowly, I release the frame of the door I'd grabbed in my shock, coming face to face with Lars...though he's a good few feet away from me.

He stares at me with those amethyst eyes, my heart skipping a beat when he takes a step forward. I see the spider webs creep around him, my heart nearly stopping in my chest when feeling the numbness set in.

"L-Leave m-"

My voice is nowhere near as brave as I want it to sound, but he cuts me off before I finish, "I wanted to see with my own eyes what my sister has done."

"You locked my magic!" I'm quick to snip back as I remember that he's the cause of my dad not believing what I can do...what Nimue told me...

"Oh, brave now are we?" He arches a brow before I feel something...

...I've never felt this type of pain before. It feels like the blood in my veins is being contorted, barely able to breathe as my chest tightens significantly. I'm gasping for air as I fall to my knees, my heart slowing to the point it almost stops. That same pain...it twists my muscles, and no cry is audible from my lips, but the tears fall from my eyes.

Lars walks toward me before coming to stand directly in front of me. He speaks with amusement, "You do not possess any magic, sweet Acacia...I gave you magic," he snaps his fingers, and I feel everything flood my body with intense pain, "and I can take it away."

A strangled cry surpasses my lips the second whatever floods my body leaves, crying harshly as I gasp for air. I'm clutching the floor while asking unevenly, "W-Why d-do th-this to m-me?"

A softer look crosses his features as he releases a sigh. He crouches down before me while resting his arms on his knees. Lars informs me, "Your vessel can't contain the power I've given you..." his voice trails off with a hint of what I presume is pain and regret, "...so I sealed the magic away...otherwise it'll destroy you until you're able to handle it properly."

"N-Nimue-"

"Whatever she was teaching you...she shouldn't have," there's a dangerous look that crosses his features. His eyes search over me before they soften once again, outstretching his hands while I at first hesitantly take them. Lars helps me to my feet, my eyes searching his as he continues to look over me before noting, "Seems she broke a portion of the rune...if she'd managed to remove it, she'd be dead." He pauses as I remain reticent, confusion filling my features before he says, "I apologize for hurting you...but you need to understand that you're capable of many things...just not right now. I did what I did to protect you," he finally rests his eyes on my own, "so please understand that you might need to tread carefully if Nimue should revisit this plane of existence."

What he says...

...it's similar to what Nimue warned me.

Who's telling the truth and who's lying?

💫--To Be Continued--💫
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