I
Nova Scotia wasn’t known for being seasonal, we never received the scorching weather the southern islands experienced in the Summer, nor did we freeze in the Winter like the neighboring provinces; We had the surrounding bodies of water to thank for that. The balance of nature was always a calming notion to me and spirituality claimed my soul, though you’d never guess that if you were to experience the misfortune of having my teeth tear your skin.
“How refreshing. . .” The sun-soaked deep into my pores and the heat radiated from my body as an aura would.
“Yeah, but we shouldn’t stay out here too long. Mother and Father called us out to the Eastern Hemlock for a job .” My brother Lincoln spoke with his voice so smooth.
Link and I weren’t often called home, only when our services were needed. Our land was beautiful. There was a petite waterfall surrounded by great big stones in the woods a few miles away . The trees were mostly dense, except for the clearing that was stationed in the upper east side of the woods, a spot where the sun rays could easily touch the grass. This caused many flowers to bloom near the waterfall and in the open grass that surrounded it.That’s where we were.
Home was such a strange word with such a large definition. Anywhere could be home. It could be somewhere you feel safe, or it could be a place with the people you love. I had one home at a time. My family had hopped around the world separately, always slowly finding our way to one another.
My father Adrian was a very powerful man in our community. He was the head of the Fortescue Coven in the North America sector. Adrian had a handful of advisors that helped him keep track of the vampire activity under his jurisdiction.
We may be immortal, but we were still careful. The Crown consisted of 6 long lines of vampire royalty, each in charge of protecting a continent, except for Antarctica. From those royal families, a council was formed to monitor the vampire activity of the assigned area.
It was something we weren’t always involved in. The Crown normally didn’t have missions, and Link and I are able to live our lives how we wanted, but once in a while vampiric activity spikes.
Link and I found ourselves indispensable to The Crown. My gift of sight and Link’s gift of weather manipulation, Adrian and the others couldn’t let us out of their grasp. We both never really minded his need for us, in fact, we needed him just as much as he needed us. With protection from any outside threats, endless amounts of food, and constant catering to our every whim, it was hard to want to leave. In return, we provided protection to the public, something the Crown was responsible for. We kept the peace between humans and vampires, making sure suspicion never arises and monitoring the kills our kind made.
We protected North America currently, though the people had no idea we existed, hence us living in the deep woods of the beautiful Nova Scotia. The Crown decided where Link and I lived and they assigned us to different places to watch over as life went on. We’ve lived all over the world keeping things in check.
“C’ mon Lucy, we shouldn’t worry them.” Link impatiently stood up from the rigid rock and held his hand out to help me up. His honey blonde hair whipped in the wind as he looked down at me.
Link always was the more responsible one, he always listened and was tamer. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up without flinching. “I wish you weren’t such a saint all the time Link. Live in the moment.” I rolled my eyes and looked up at the sun once more.
Sun wasn’t an issue for us, not like it used to be, but we’ve adapted much as humans have during the years. Together we headed towards the path that led to the castle. It was about 3 miles long, though it took us no time at all to get there. Our running was equivalent to a cheetah on crack- so pretty fast.
The stone battlements appeared and before I could think, we were at the gates. The steel bars created several spirals and French curls that ultimately spelled out Fortescue. Link pushed open the gate and we headed towards the doors. We rushed inside and waiting by the coat rack was the butler, Robert.
Robert had been with my family for quite some time, he started working for us about thirty years ago. My Father had found him abandoned at the age of 5 and decided to take him in. He wore a rustic silver locket which housed a black and white picture of his family whom he never spoke of. He was a playmate to my brother and I. He followed our family wherever we went. Robert was very conversational with my brother and me. He was of British descent and was extremely knowledgeable of all different things in the world. Once he became an adult, my father asked him to work for him as the Majordomo of the house.
“Hello Mr. Lincoln and Ms. Lucette , your parents have important news for you, and you must see them in the office right away.” Robert bowed.
My Mother and Father sat on the velvet red couch in the middle of their office. Family portraits scaling from back then to now hung on the walls, along with our family crest, a branching tree with roots that formed the symbol of strength, symbolizing the growth and power of the family. My Father rose swiftly from his seat.
“Ah yes, Link and Lucy, we have news for you.” My Father grabbed a hold of an elegantly crafted wine glass that was filled to the rim in red.
“We need to send you two out on another mission together.” He took a sip from his glass.
“We’ve tracked a disturbance in Boston, Massachusetts, a spike in vampire activity, and we need you to put an end to it, by any means necessary. Even if this person is strong, you will still have the advantage. We are going to send you to a college near the disturbance and see if you can find the vampire or vampires responsible.” My Father finished off his drink and sat back into his leather chair, looking at us.
Link and I exchanged looks of interest.
“Robert will pack your things and supply you with your necessities. ” Father clapped his hands together and nodded his head ever so slightly, signifying the end of the conversation, without giving us the time to respond.
“You’ll be leaving right away.” Mother chimed in and my eyes glistened in excitement.
“Here are some clothes for you to wear, though I’d imagine you would want more.” Bonnie, a young maid of 23 years folded my new clothes. She was here voluntarily, she was one of those girls who was obsessed with vampires. She used to write Twilight fan fiction in her spare time, hell she’d even read it to me sometimes. She helped clean up the premise and was my mother’s personal food source. My father had one too, Chrissy, another maid with the same story as Bonnie.
They were all here by choice, all the girls that were fed on. They found them online, which was pretty easy. So many humans were frantic over the idea of vampires, especially since Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles and Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight surfaced. It was a dream come true for these girls to get to meet vampires, serve them, and be fed on.
“Thank you, Bonnie,” I smiled weakly.
“Where are we even going?” Link nodded in agreement at my question.
“Roseiron University, it’s a few miles away from Boston. It’s a beautiful college, very prestigious. You two ready? Your parents instructed me to drive you. From there, you’ll be taking the ferry over to the states.”
“Oh definitely,” I responded. This was gonna be fun, I always loved college.” I really didn’t know what to expect. That was the best part. It’s always different yet the same.
Bonnie pulled out her keys from her pocket.It all felt as if I was walking in slow motion. I wanted to move faster. Each step was as if I was stuck in quicksand. The doors opened and the sun greeted us with open arms. Bonnie’s silver Fiat was parked right in the front of the castle inside the gates, and I couldn’t get there quicker.
She unlocked the car door and I swung the door open, plopping down in the front seat, and she followed into the driver’s seat, leaving Link in the back. The car started and my chest lit up, it almost felt like my spirit was flying out of my body. The radio automatically turned on, blasting in our ears.
“Lucy, take out your phone and plug it into this cord right here,” She pointed at a small skinny white wire. ” You can play your favorites.”
Series of indie pop and alternative songs played, all of which I loved. I looked out the window and admired the passing trees and the oceanic views. The car ride wouldn’t be that long, I knew that. The boats were fairly close to the castle. Link knew it too, I could see him getting antsy with excitement in the back seat.
The boat became visible and we grew closer each second. Soon enough, Bonnie was parking the car and I was stepping out of the vehicle. I could smell the salty air, it whisked through my hair. This was it, another adventure awaited.
