Esadora simply stared ahead as she, Holly, and Allecky were escorted from the room and lead down the stairs. She tuned out Allecky's protests at the two soldiers leading them, crossing her arms.

The day was just full of surprises, wasn't it?

Her legs weighed her down when the soldiers showed them down an unfamiliar corridor. Judging from what Mr. Veharic had said, they were probably being taken to the Interrogation Center. As nerve-racking as that was, she was more curious as to why she felt nervous at all. Did she even have anything to hide—well, besides her reason for coming to the Vampire Belt in the first place.

That may have sounded obvious for something she would hide, but she had a feeling it wasn't what Mr. Veharic wanted to get out of her. He'd said that he knew who she was, but what had he meant by "You're essential in ways I'm almost positive you don't even know"? Essential to what?

Mr. Veharic was hiding something, and she had to find out, lest she get wrapped up in some scheme.

She couldn't help the tensing of her body as the soldiers opened a plain, cream-colored door. But she forced herself forward. It was more of a hallway than a room, three doors spaced out on both walls. Chairs sat at the end of the hall.

"You'll each be interrogated in one of those rooms," one soldier said. "Do not question the interrogators— their ones asking the questions here. There will be no communication between the three of you while you're in the rooms, and if you're caught communicating in any manner, Mr. Veharic will decide what to do with you, and he's more than likely to kick you out of the Vampire Belt."

Esadora found it hard to listen to what he said, only paying attention when he told them which rooms to go into. Inside, a skinny, middle-aged woman sat, a clipboard and a few files on the desk she sat at. Upon seeing Esadora, she set the files aside, clasping her hands together and resting them on her clipboard.

Esadora took a slow step toward the woman, who smiled and nodded her head at the chair in front of the desk. "Come, have a seat."

Averting her eyes, Esadora took a seat across from the lady.

"It's really nice to meet you, Esadora," the woman said. "My name is Lavina Hallewe, and you can call me Lavina. Now, how are you feeling today?"

"...Fine."

Lavina gave a slight roll of her eyes. "Esadora, you can tell me how you feel. And you can relax—I only have a few questions to ask you."

"Okay." Despite Lavina's soothing voice, Esadora kept her guard up. Mr. Veharic had mentioned The Interrogation Center when she'd first gotten to The Vampire Belt, and while she wasn't sure if this was that place was, if it was, she couldn't let this woman get through to her.

"So, how are you really feeling, Esadora?" Lavina said.

"Like I said, fine."

Lavina's smile stayed in place, but her eyes were a little less warm now. "Good. What have you been doing the past couple of days?"

"Wandering around."

"Why?"

"To get a feel for The Vampire Belt."

Lavina laughed. "Well, if you really want to get to know this place, then you might not want to call it The Vampire Belt. We call it Malliard." She averted her eyes for a moment before looking back at Esadora. "Now, I know you didn't just come here for sightseeing, so why? What's here for you?"

Esadora didn't hesitate in telling her what she'd went with for Mr. Veharic, and Lavina nodded along with her, eyebrows creasing in concern throughout her little story.

But the second Esadora finished speaking, Lavina slammed a fist on the table. Esadora flinched, causing her chair to screech against the ground as she pushed it back.

"What kind of self-respecting person would seek solace where the person who harmed them is?" Lavina said, eyebrows arched. "I don't know what you think us vampires are, but we're not stupid, and I hope you're not stupid enough to come in here and lie to me. What are you here for?"

"I just told you!" Esadora pressed her back into her chair, leaning her face away as Lavina drifted forward.

"Is that right?"

Esadora nodded eagerly.

Lavina rose and stepped around the desk, standing at Eadora's side and staring down at her. Esadora cringed as the woman bent forward, face next to her ear. "I said, 'Is that right?!'"

Esadora fell out of her chair at the woman's bellowing voice. She scurried back against the wall. "Wha-What are you talking about? I—"

Lavina crouched so their faces were at the same level. "I expect verbal answers at all times. Are we clear?"

Esadora opened her mouth to say yes but instead gritted her teeth, irritation flooding through her. What kind of interrogation was this? And who was this lady—this vampire—to put her down like this? She rose from the floor, standing with her hands on her hips. Lavina stared up at her, an eyebrow cocked.

"What," Esadora started, "is wrong with you? I don't know what kind of interrogations you have here, but I'm not just going to—"

She cried out as her face smacked against the wall, Lavina's fingers tangled in her hair. Her other hand slapped the wall next to Esadora's head, and Esadora flinched. She turned her gaze to Lavina as her lip quivered, though moving her eyes that much was uncomfortable.

"Listen here, girl—in this room, I can do whatever I want. And you don't question me. Now sit your ass back on that chair." She stepped away, and it took Esadora everything not to fall over at that moment. The right side of her face ached, and her body wasn't ready to control itself after being swung around, but she shuffled to the chair, blinking back the tears in her eyes.

Lavina went on to ask her how she met Holly and what she knew about her, and Esadora answered honestly. It was through this that she realized she didn't know much about Holly. In fact, she knew more about Allecky than Holly, even though they'd only met on this very day.

"How do you know Allecky Stone?"

Esadora was careful but not hesitant. Any noticeable change in behavior, and her face might be pressed against the wall again. "She's also a wizard from Aster."

"How and when did you meet her?" Lavina's nails clicked on the table.

"Today, when she was brought in."

"I heard," Lavina said, drawing out each word, "that she knew you. Apparently, she said that your mother was in danger." She paused, and Esadora resisted the urge to sink lower into her chair. "Please tell me—how would she know that if she didn't know you?"

She kept her face blank. "I don't know."

"You went into your room with her. She must've told you something."

"She didn't." Esadora would've made up some sort of lie, but she couldn't think of anything that made sense, what with the aggravating clacking of Lavina's nails.

Lavina tilted her head. "Then what did you talk about?"

"About why we were all here."

"And what did she tell you?"

"That she was a wizard from Aster, but she was very vague as to why she came here."

Lavina's hands shot at her, gripping her collar to pull her halfway across the table. "I'm sure you think you're protecting your friend by lying to me, but I have this feeling that you actually didn't know her before today. Why are you protecting her when it's more than likely that she is lying to you?"

"I'm not lying—she really didn't tell me anything!"

"Really? Then why, when she first got here, did she say that your mother was in danger? If she didn't elaborate on it later, then why did she say it in the first place?"

"I don't fucking know! Let go of me already!" It wasn't in her best interest to lose her cool, but it was hard not to since this lady kept grabbing her!

To her surprise, Lavina released her collar, and Esadora fell back into her chair. "If that's the case, then... I suppose this interrogation is over."

Esadora instantly stood up, and so did Lavina, who stepped around the desk and held her hand out. "Thank you for being so cooperative, Esadora."

Esadora didn't take any time to question the lady, nor did she shake her hand. She simply stalked out of the room.

In the hallway, two soldiers stood on both sides of the door leading to the other hall, and Holly sat in one of the chairs. Esadora sat next to her.

"How did your interrogation go?" The question was foreign on her tongue. Esadora had never imagined she'd be here, interrogated like some criminal.

Holly shrugged, staring at the floor. "Fine, I guess. He asked questions I'd been expecting, but... I'll tell you when we get back to our room." That was when Holly finally looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"...I'll tell you when we get back to our room," she said.

Allecky was out in another few minutes, one tan cheek a bright red, and her hair just... everywhere! Holly and Esadora rushed toward her.

"What happened?" Holly said, eyes wide with dismay.

Allecky stomped past both of them, right up to the soldiers. "Can we fucking go now?"

The soldiers stared down at Allecky with hostility so clear that Esadora had to wonder how Allecky could be so unfazed.

Probably because she's just as hostile toward them as they are toward her.

Despite the animosity flowing off of them, they let her pass, and Holly and Esadora hurried after.

Once they were in their room, Allecky stalking around, Esadora asked, "What's wrong?"

Allecky paused in her pacing, clenching and unclenching her fists as she faced them. "We should leave."

"Leave the Vampire Belt?" Holly said, not looking particularly surprised.

"Obviously! That "interrogator" attacked me when she thought I wasn't answering honestly. How could I stay in a place where that's okay? And even if that didn't happen, they don't want us here. Those soldier—guard—whatevers look at me like I'm a piece of shit or something. They don't just dislike us...

"They hate us."