Chapter 6 Pt. 1
I was not quite awake when I heard my door open and close. Moments later, I felt Kitty jump onto my bed and walk cautiously towards my hand. She sniffed my hand and my arm, and then licked my cheek with her rough tongue. It took all my early morning strength to raise my hand to stroke Kitty from her head to the tip of her tail. She purred loudly as she settled down next to me and groomed herself.
I could now feel the sunlight spilling into my room, illuminating everything of treasure to me. My queen sized bed, the Renaissance-style writing desk in the far corner next to the French double doors the led to the balcony overlooking the Grand Canal and the rest of Venice. In short, I live like a princess on her own island of charm.
Almost everything that occupied my sleeping quarters was pink, black, white, and gold and either made of pure gold, hand carved mahogany, or the finest French and Chinese silk available; a sign of my luxuriously lavish lifestyle. My duvet is made of raven colored Chinese silk with a thick diagonal stripe of light pink cashmere, bordered with gold threads. The sheets, on the other hand, are soft cotton as far as I know, but they are the color of faded red roses. The canopy above my bed was, of course, black Chinese silk with pink-gold roses scattered across the length of the silken fabric.
And everything matches. The floor, covered in light pink carpet, complements the black, gold, and white walls. The sunlight hit the crystal chandelier, scattering glittering ribbons of light across my room.
Before I could drift back to sleep, I heard some tapping noises on the doors to my balcony. I opened one eye to try and see who the idiot was, but the sun was too blinding. Thus, forcing me to roll over until my feet dangled off the edge of my bed. I pushed myself up and firmly planted my feet to the floor. In a short time, I was walking to let my intruder in. I saw that it was Dakirai and I hastily unlocked the door, but I never got the chance to let him in myself. He bounded inside and threw his arms around me and held me close.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
“You were just here a few hours ago,” I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck. I won’t tell him, but I missed him as well.
“I know, but I still missed you.”
I liked this feeling, being in his arms. It felt warm and safe, like nothing bad would ever happen to me if he was holding me. It felt right.
“You do know we have a front door, right?” I said as I gently pulled away from him.
“Well, yeah, but climbing up the wall and knocking on the door is a lot more fun.”
“Whatever floats your boat, I guess. And no one knows you’re here, right?”
He nodded and looked around my room and made a face. “Does the rest of your house look as girly as this?”
I laughed out loud. “If it did, Kian would go into shock, Klaus would cry, and Annette would be in heaven.”
“How can you tell the twins apart,” Dakirai asked once he sat on my bed.
“Klaus is the one with the snakebites and Kian has the eyebrow ring and pierced tongue. Can you please take off your shoes?” Call it obsessively compulsive, but I like having a clean room.
“Sure,” he said as he slid his shoes off.
“Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes? I need a shower.” I was already making my way through my vast closet, looking for some clothes. I decided on a white Luella skirt and light blue Bluemarine long sleeved shirt.
“Just stay right there,” I ordered.
“Okie dokie.”
I honestly tried to be quick but, I’m just so slow at getting up and moving in the morning. Showering took me much longer than needed and my hair was an angry ocean of waves that desperately needed to be calmed. But for now, I had to make do with a simple ponytail until I had more time to tend to my hair. I pulled on my clothes, swiftly brushed my teeth, and walked out of the bathroom. Dakirai was waiting patiently for me.
“Ok, so it will be awkward if everyone sees you come downstairs with me. So why don’t you jump out my window and I’ll meet you at the front door,” I said.
“So it’s okay if I stay for a while,” he asked, smiling widely.
I nodded. He walked towards me and very gently placed his hands on either side of my face.
“You look just so adorable,” he murmured. He leaned in close and I forgot how to breathe.
“You think so?” I barely uttered the words.
He answered with the sweetest kiss that made my heart jump around wildly. He seems a little forward, but it just felt right.
And all too soon, he backed away, releasing my face. My heart would not settle down.
“Yes, I really think so.” He turned away and hopped over the balcony.
My mind was strangely blank as I walked through the hallway. Something white caught my eye; something sinisterly white. I looked up and stumbled back a few steps in terror. It was that statue of Annette’s cousin. Cold emptiness crept up my arms and coursed through my body, freezing me to the spot.
“Sophia?”
I jumped and screamed at the sound.
“Are you okay,” Annette asked with concern.
“Y-yeah,” I stammered. I scrambled to my feet and looked up at the statue. From what I could tell, this person was once a very good-looking strigoi. The lively smile was a dead giveaway.
“Why did he come after me?”
“I can’t really say. I never knew him personally, so I don’t know how he could ever be associated with any of us.”
The chills continued to settle in my arms when the doorbell rang, reminding me of Dakirai. I could hear Klaus walking through the front hall towards the door.
“Oh no,” I groaned as I bolted down the stairs, Annette a step behind me.
“What is wrong with you this morning?”
After sprinting downwards for two and a half flights of stairs, I stopped in my tracks; Annette crashed into me and nearly knocked me flat on my face.
“You’re really strange sometimes. Oh, let’s watch this.” Annette smirked and made me sit with her on the stairs. I could see Dakirai standing just outside the doorframe and Klaus staring at him, chugging a glass of orange juice.
“Hi there,” Dakirai said.
Klaus just stood there.
“Hey, isn’t that your stalker?” Annette glanced at me.
I sighed. “He’s my boyfriend now.”
“No way! Since when?”
“Since last night. He snuck in to my room while I was sleeping and can we talk about this later?”
She ignored me. “Has he hugged you?”
A small smile made an appearance on my face. “Well, yes.”
Annette’s chocolate-brown eyes grew mischievous. “Has he kissed you?”
I flushed pink and I grinned hugely. I nodded.
“You like him! I think you two look cute together,” she squealed.
“Thanks. Can we save him from Klaus now?”
“Well, sure, but what should we do? I mean, Klaus is basically harmless; he just talks too much sometimes.”
“Exactly.”
I inclined my head to the right so I could see Dakirai more clearly. His expression made him look like he was trying to understand the philosophies behind quantum physics. And Klaus was waving his empty orange juice glass around, going on some long winded rant about (for an unknown reason) bunnies.
Dakirai interrupted him, saying, “Is Sophia around?”
Klaus looked taken aback. “Yes, hang on.”
He turned on his heel and took a step towards the stairs and yelled, “Sophia, your stalker is here!”
I stood up, my face burning. “Yes, I know that.”
“What are you doing on the stairs?”
“Nothing.” I glared at Klaus as I stomped towards Dakirai, ignoring Annette as she wiped away tears of laughter.
Dakirai took a tentative step inside and I motion for him to follow me past a bemused Klaus and a giggling Annette. We strode into the kitchen to find Kian engaged in a gruesome fight with the gas stove. Lena and Millie were cheering him on, but sadly, he was losing. He had several burns on his hands and the air smelled like burnt hair. Watching Kian battle the stove was much like watching Klaus try to change a light bulb. You felt like you should do something, yet, it was much more fun to watch them suffer a bit.
I took hold of Dakirai’s hand and walked him to the table and sat down him down with me.
“Should we do something,” he asked me quietly. Kian’s shirt had just caught fire.
“Nope,” I smiled. Dakirai still looked a bit concerned.
“Look, he’s perfectly capable of handling a stove. You should have seen Klaus try to change the light bulb. I was worried then. Trust me, there’s nothing to worry about now. We’ll worry when the kitchen goes up in flames.”
Dakirai glanced at the clock on the wall above the door. “I’m sorry, but I have to leave. I won’t be able to see you again until tomorrow.”
A heavy sadness settled in my heart. I didn’t want him to leave just yet. He could see it on my face.
“I’ll come back tomorrow, okay?” He hugged me tightly and then walked out of the kitchen, past a curious looking Klaus and a wide-eyed Annette.
I missed him and his blue eyes and wacky hair already.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Part 2 coming soon