Sophia

Muffled voices pushed through the fog in my brain as the events slowly came back to me. I couldn’t believe Carlos knocked me unconscious.

“She wakes up soon. Don’t worry,” he said, not a shred of doubt in his voice. Shouldn’t he at least be a little concerned about my wellbeing?

I grabbed a handful of grass and ripped it out. Why did I have to be so weak?

“See, she is back,” he said, kicking my foot lightly.

I peeled my eyes open, shielding them from the sun, as I carefully sat up. “You could have killed me, you know that, right?”

He laughed. “Oh please, that wouldn’t have killed you. If I wanted you dead, you would already be dead.”

I glared at him before searching for the person he was talking to before. My heart skipped a beat when my eyes landed on the signature polka dress. “Mary! What are you doing here?”

A smile spread over her face as she rushed towards me, helping me up. “I came to check on you. I was told to not come back, but I didn’t get to say goodbye. That old geezer didn’t allow me to visit you.”

“Of course he didn’t,” I muttered, as I let her pull me into a hug. I grabbed onto her tightly, breathing her in. She always smelled like freshly baked cookies and home. I couldn’t stop the tears welling up in my eyes and streaming down my face. For a moment, I didn’t care that Carlos was still there. I couldn’t bring myself to care, not after finally receiving a comforting hug like this.

“Are you going to work here again?” I asked, hoping she would say yes. To finally have someone back in my life who cared about me.

She pulled away, her eyes watery, as she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped the tears off my face. “No, darling, I can’t. But if I can, I will visit you again. You aren’t alone in the world. Never forget that.”

My throat closed up as I held onto her. “But I feel so alone.”

Her chin trembled, and she pulled me into another hug, patting my back. “It will be fine. I know you always struggled to find your place in this world, and it won’t get easier. But you’re strong, and I believe in you. It’s your time to show the rest of the world what you’re capable of.”

I nodded, absorbing all the warmth I could before she let go.

She smiled. “I better go before Pascal finds me here. That grumpy old man is no fun.”

I chuckled. “That is true.”

She bid farewell to Carlos before she turned around to leave the backyard. I watched her go with a heavy heart, wishing she could stay. One more reason for me to despise Pascal. He took her away from me, the only person who always listened to and comforted me.

“Are you ready to continue your lesson or do you still need to lick your wounds, princess?”

It was as if a bucket of ice water got emptied over my head when I heard his voice, and I turned to him. He leaned against the wall, a pocket watch in his hand, as he waited for my reply with a smirk on his face.

I straightened my back. “Stop talking, start teaching.”

He dropped his watch into the pocket of his jacket and rushed forward, his eyes wild. I knew this would end up being thrown around until the end of the lesson, but it was fine. At some point, I would see him lose, and then he gets back all he had done to me.

Adam

Back at the compound, the other scholars couldn’t hide their disappointment. Their long faces were evidence of our failed mission. The atmosphere was tense and gloomy. All while I had to force myself to keep the grin off my face.

The red-haired scholar knocked on the door to Samuel’s office. He called us in, his voice booming through the thick wood. The scholar pushed the door open with shaky hands, and we all squeezed into the room after him. I dropped my head, staring at the floor, so my eyes wouldn’t betray me.

“So, how did it go? Where is the vampire?”

There was a shuffling of feet before Lucas cleared his throat. “We had to stop our mission before we could get her.”

Samuel remained silent, but the anger radiating from him made my heart jump. I glanced up, seeing him eyeing us with a pinched expression, his hands folded on the table in front of him. “What happened?”

“The housekeeper interrupted us,” Lucas said, his voice trembling.

Samuel snapped his head to me, and sweat poured out of all of my pores. “Did he recognize you?”

I hastily shook my head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Samuel nodded and leaned back in his huge armchair, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Let’s hope you’re right. We have to try again another time, then.”

“We’re sorry,” the red-haired scholar added, with a high-pitched voice.

“It can’t be helped. I hope next time you are more successful,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “Leave.”

We turned around and shuffled out of the room, and the moment the door closed behind us, the others let out a long sigh as they stretched their backs.

“Man, I’m beat,” Lenard said, patting his stomach. “I’m going to get a snack.”

“Me too,” the red-haired scholar answered, as they and the rest of the group turned and walked down the corridor to the dining area. Like nothing had happened.

Lucas rolled his shoulders. “I feel so tense. I wonder what we did today.”

I shrugged, still vividly remembering how he went after Sophia as if she offended him. A bit of a grudge built up in me, even though I shouldn’t let those sorts of feelings influence me. Lucas didn’t know better, and he was only a puppet like the rest of the scholars here.

“Should we head to our room?” I asked, already turning in the opposite direction, away from the rest of the group.

Lucas nodded, tagging along as we walked to our room in silence. I felt a softness in every step, feeling a bubbling excitement in my stomach for failing this mission. It would give Sophia more time to sort things out, and most importantly, she wasn’t stuck here like her sister was. At least I hoped she was here somewhere.

“Do you remember the girl we brought with us before?” I asked.

He tapped a finger on his chin. “Hmm, yes. I think Samuel told me that we had rescued her from a fire that wreaked havoc in a village to the north. Why?”

I rolled my eyes with my back to him hearing that stupid excuse, but I didn’t comment on it. We entered the room, and I closed the door behind us firmly. “I wondered what Samuel was doing with her.”

I eyed him, watching for his reaction, to see if he was being suspicious of me, hoping my question wouldn’t lead to issues in the future, but he only shrugged, and pulled his shirt over his chest, revealing his toned stomach and muscled chest.

“I guess she might work for him now.”

I arched a brow at him. “A girl in an all-boy compound?”

“I don’t know. She could also be a guest until he finds her family. Maybe she is in the guest quarter on the west side of the compound,” he said, stepping out of his jeans.

I evaded my gaze, staring at the ceiling, avoiding seeing him in his full naked glory. “Dude, you have no shame, do you? But I have never been to those guest quarters.”

“We could go there,” he answered cheerfully, and I glanced at him to see him beaming at me. “The parkour is close by, and you promised to go there with me!”

I smiled. This was the perfect opportunity to get close to it without looking suspicious. “Sure, we can go there tomorrow, if you like.”

His eyes sparkled. “That sounds amazing! I have to work on my strength and stamina anyway, and working out with someone else is a lot more exciting.”

I glanced down at his toned muscles before throwing him a pointing look. “I don’t think you need to worry about that so much. You’re already very strong and fit, probably far over average than most of us here.”

He blushed and grabbed his shirt from the floor, holding it in front of his chest. “You’re exaggerating. I still have a lot of work to do to reach my goal.”

I shook my head. “You’re cutting yourself short. Have more confidence. You deserve it.”

His eyes widened, as his ears turned bright red. “I take a shower first.”

I watched him hurry into the small bathroom, closing the door behind him with a thud. I dropped onto my bed, finally feeling the pressure dropping off me. With Lucas’ help, I could get a little closer to finding Sophia’s sister. Perhaps things slowly fell into place? I could only hope so because the longer we waited, who knew what he would do to her?