What was Lucy doing here? I stared at her in a daze. Wasn’t the lady boss falling on the ground and hit by a sudden sharp object? Then why did my sister take her place all of a sudden?! Why was Lucy wearing those long robes of Lilith’s?
Millions of questions swirled inside my head as I stared at this girl curled up on the ground. I could even feel Liam’s steps pausing as he stared at this girl in shock. Then he walked over to me with his staggering steps supported by the sword in his hand. After that, he threw the sword and took the baby, who was still sleeping amid all the mess around us, and stood a little away from me and Lucy.
Did he have an intuition that a storm was brewing within my heart? He could probably tell that my powers were burning my entire body. Suddenly, my shoulders relaxed at that. At least my daughter could be alive even if I die tonight.
As I was thinking this, the woman on the ground woke up from her unconscious state and groaned while getting up. As soon as she did, I saw her hair falling on her face as she stared at her surroundings in confusion. Then her fingers touched her face, and her eyes widened.
A familiar face of my sister raised and looked at me in shock, but that expression was just momentary. A mocking smile formed on her face.
At this time, even Lilith’s brother appeared and crouched down beside her, taking out another mask to hand it over.
But Lucy shook her head, still smiling as she looked at me. “There’s no use of this mask anymore.” This time, the voice was Lucy’s, not the high-pitched noise I used to hear from Lilith’s mouth. “She has seen it already.” She walked over to me and cocked her head. “Hello there, sister.”
I stared at her for a long time before reacting. Why did Lucy replace that filthy villain? Where did she go? At this time, I still hadn’t considered the possibility of both the people being one and the same person. I was still in shock.
“Lu-Lucy, why did you come here? Where were you?! I was so worried about you! I had a kid you know? She’s really cute. Yo-You should see her! Wait, you probably haven’t seen her yet, right? She’s right here! And… and I hope they have treated you well, haven’t they? Lucy, say something!” I blabbered while staring at her. I prayed in my heart that the hunch that was in the back of my head about Lucy being involved in these things somehow would be false. I couldn’t deal with this blow.
I didn’t even realize tears were pouring down from my eyes like a waterfall.
But Lucy didn’t say anything, increasing the level of anxiety in my heart to another level. Why won’t she say something already?! But the smile only turned into a smirk before she parted her lips. “You still don’t understand, do you? Hah, you’re as silly as ever.”
What did she mean by that? I had never seen this kind of expression on her face. It didn’t even feel like my sister at all! But I didn’t get to say anything, before I heard her coughing badly until blood slipped out of her mouth. Lilith’s brother showed a worried expression as he patted her back. She shook her head. “It’s too late Thomas. You can’t save me anymore.” She looked back and stared at the boy with an affectionate face. “Run away.”
He got even more worried. “I won’t!”
She suddenly chuckled. “You Stubborn boy.” She smiled and chanted a spell, flicking on his forehead. As soon as she did, the body of the guy started to disappear. His eyes widened as if he could tell what was happening.
“You teleported me! Lilith, why? I want to save you!”
“I’m a lost cause, dear brother. You should’ve known that already. Don’t worry, these people will never be able to find you. Live a happy life, yeah?” As soon as she said, a sweet smile formed on her lips making Thomas froze tears spilled from his eyes, but before it could land on the ground, it disappeared as if a gust of wind blew it away. His body was not in the hall anymore.
I suddenly realized what was happening. This person who looked exactly like Lucy wasn’t my sister at all! A chill was sent down my spine. “Who’re you?”
She turned toward me. “Don’t you recognise me?” Suddenly her expression changed. Her face became gentle and gazed at me with so much affection that I genuinely felt that she loved me dearly. She twirled her silky hair in her hands in a way that was very familiar to me. Then she half closed her eyelids and said, “Don’t you recognise your own sister?”
The tone of her voice was so familiar that even in sleep I could tell who this person was. It was my sister!
But if this was my sister, then why would Thomas call her Lilith? I couldn’t understand this at all. Truthfully, it wasn’t that I couldn’t really understand it, I didn’t want to think about it at all! I was afraid that after tonight, my heart will be so shattered that it would be difficult to pick up its pieces anymore. So I just started denying the reality.
“Who’re you?” My voice was colder this time.
Lucy or Lilith I should say, sighed and looked at me helplessly. “Then I really can’t hide it anymore. I’m really your sister.” She paused unnaturally as an expression of disgust formed on her face. “Or you can say I pretended to be your sister for six years!”
The color of my face changed as my hands started shaking. The thing that I had never expected had happened. The thing that could kill my spirit and make me wish that I wasn’t alive had happened.
I fell on my knees as I stared unblinkingly at the girl before me. A strange, yet frightening conclusion was on the tips of my tongue. “Does… does that mean you aren’t me sister?” I couldn’t help but blurt it out.”
The girl before me suddenly smiled and clapped as if appreciating a kid. “Good! It shows you aren’t really stupid!”
That means it was the truth…If this person before me wasn’t my sister, then where the hell was she?!
My eyes turned sharp, and I glared at her. I walked over to her. Gripping her cloth tightly, I shook her body and said, “Where’s she?!”
By this time, this person laughed and laughed until tears appeared on the corner of her eyes. Seeing that, I couldn’t maintain my calm. But before I could say something, the girl gently moved my hands and brushed her clothes as if there was a speck of dust on her top.
“You’re really stupid, Emily. You still don’t understand? You never had a sister named Lucy. Never had, and perhaps never will! It was a fake name that I created to infiltrate your house!” She muttered something under her breath and her palms that were covered in blood started glowing.
Suddenly, I felt my head moving around in a circle. I felt dizzy so much that I even felt like I had just woken up from a deep sleep. Rubbing my eyes, I looked up in a daze only to find a familiar, yet unfamiliar face.
Everything was clear now. A rush of memories filled my mind. It was all related to how I would go to school with my grandpa, how he would tie my hair, and how I would bring a few of my friends home only to be scolded by my Gramps and the Nanny he had hired. But in all those memories, Lucy wasn’t there. There was no sign of her no matter how much I searched. And then the memory of a girl looking exactly like Lucy came at home under the pretense of becoming a second Nanny after the first one was old enough to die. But as soon as she came, I saw her lips moving and a smile formed on her lips.
After that, this was the moment that felt like reality. The rest of it in between with Lucy seemed more like a dream to me.
That was when everything became clearer. There wasn’t a person named Lucy. And all the so called memories of my sister were just a hallucination injected in mine and Gramp’s minds. But there was something I didn’t understand yet. “Why? Why did you do this? Why did you hate me so much?”
“Who said I hate you?”
“I heard Barbara…”
“That was all planned so that I could go through a sacred ritual to increase my powers a million times! I would have been more powerful than ten of you combined! And the only ingredients I needed was a child’s body and flesh who was born out of the union of both the vampire and magician royals. If I can’t kill the baby, I can at least make do with the flesh of the father’s.” Then she thought of something and smiled. “I had actually lied to you when I said that I would let Liam go and you just had to bring his blood in exchange. I instead had planned to use a dark spell to kill the owner of this blood. But sadly, Liam ruined it by coming to kill me instead!” She glared at Liam. “And the thing with Barbara, well that was to separate you and your dear husband.
“Only after the entire vampire clan abandoned you would you come and join hands with the hunter’s. But this vile man.” She glared at Liam with hatred. “He always ruined my plan so much that I had to resort to the worst case scenarios. He didn’t even know about my existence back then, and he could still ruin my efforts! First I had planned to manipulate you into killing a few vampires so that they could abandon you ruthlessly. And then I wanted to erase your memory, only manipulating it a bit so that you can think that you’re the victim, and I’m the savior. And I had also planned to bring Liam to you so that you can finally give me a foetus!” Then she turned and glared at Liam again. “He ruined my first attempt, but no worries. I still had a plan B.” She flipped her hair back. “I only had to turn the spell into a curse, and I was done.” Lilith suddenly smiled. “Do you know what would happen to you after I die? You will turn insane due to your power fluctuations, and almost everyone around us will die. And do you know where we are? In the heart of the American Vampire’s realm! That’s right, if you fluctuate, everyone will die anyway, and that was my goal! Say, Emily, ain’t I smart?”
My ears started buzzing, and head spinned because of all the information I gained. I suddenly remembered the day when George had taken me to the council. That day, Lucy had suddenly escaped and freed me. Now that I thought about it, Lucy had a chance to change the spell since my magic book was also lying on the ground. And it wasn’t even difficult for her to infiltrate using her manipulation skills.
Thinking of that, I felt even more depressed. It was really Lucy who did this to me! I felt as if there was a heavy weight kept on the top of my chest, making me feel stuffy. My heart shattered into dust, and I could no longer have the hopes of gaining sanity. For the first time in my life I felt like life was worth nothing. I just wanted to die and end this suffering.
Would I be saved? Would…
Just then a sound of a baby’s cry woke me up from a daze and I looked over to Liam, who was standing outside the hall beneath the sun and rocking a little girl in his arms. He didn’t seem to be aware of everything that had happened between me and Liam. When did he go outside? My gaze lingered on the two people for a while as a trace of warmth appeared in my heart. Probably Liam thought that since Lucy was the villain, it was better for me to deal with her. He thought perhaps I could deal with her.
If he was inside, he would have known what I had thought of doing. I had learnt a death spell earlier during my nine months for killing the lady boss, who turned out to be my so-called sister. A bitter smile formed on my lips at that. If I used it, I would end up losing my powers. But at least everyone will be saved. I didn’t need this life anyway. It would be better if I ended up dying.
I looked at my family for a little while before retracting my gaze and staring at the ground. This time, I would end this once and for all! Even Lucy wouldn’t have expected me to study such a dangerous spell! Something dark flashed in my eyes as I continued to look on the ground.
“I wanted to ask you something.” I controlled my emotions so that I didn’t end up getting too anxious to handle my power and ruining my plans. “Was it all fake?” I glanced at her with tears in my eyes. “Was the relationship between us fake?”
The girl before me froze for a moment before squinting her eyes at me. Then she shook her head as a small smile formed on her lips as if she was remembering a beautiful memory. “Even though I was able to infiltrate your house, many people were still doubtful of my identity. At that time, you had always taken it upon yourself to defend me with all your might, and slowly, everyone stopped thinking about it. At that time, I had wondered how wonderful it would be if I wasn’t who I am! I wondered if I was really your sister, not someone manipulated into caring for me, would you still continue to protect me? My decisions had started to waver because of you. And it wasn’t until your eighteenth birthday that I had hardened my heart and turned plan A into action. The time when Liam was attracted to you was also because of me. I had sprinkled a special powder that could only attract a person with royal blood.
“I felt a bit reluctant though, and I even thought was it all necessary? But then again, the vampires were vile creatures. I wanted them all killed! So I thought that perhaps I would destroy them, and save you only to pretend to be your sister for the rest of my life.” She suddenly stopped and a sad smile formed on her lips. “Now I’ve ruined it all. If there’s a next life, I’d want to become your real sister.”
I was stunned hearing that. I didn’t know whether this person was telling me the truth or not. The spell that I had been muttering under my breath halted for a moment. I couldn’t continue. Even if this person lied to me for six years, she still acted like my sister! I still loved her! How could I kill her? It was similar to the time when I was given a choice to either kill my husband or my daughter.
But she had also broken my heart and shattered the easy earned faith. I couldn’t trust her anymore. Not after what she did. And if I didn’t kill her tonight, perhaps she would run away and come back with new plans. I could feel my power on the verge of the outburst. Gritting my teeth, chanted the spell again and raised my hands to point five fingers toward her face. “Then I hope your wish will be fulfilled.”
Saying this, dark purple light flew from my hands and attacked Lucy! Her eyes widened seeing that as a trace of fear appeared in her eyes. She couldn’t believe that her last plan failed. She was perhaps thinking that her plans to make my powers go outburst would work. But unfortunately, I secretly learnt one of the spells that could kill even a vampire magician, and even deplete my power! Lucy was confused. But she didn’t get a chance to ask.
Just as the power escaped my hands, I started to feel dizzy as if I had run a marathon and power had drained from my body. After a few minutes, I felt that my energy vein was only left with white colored energy, and the purple spark disappeared without a trace. But I didn’t have a chance to celebrate because after this, I fell on the ground with a thud, unconscious.
…
I was confused when I woke up. And as soon as my consciousness returned, I felt my body numb and heavy. Where was I? I tried to pry open my eyelids only to find the job even more difficult.
Why couldn’t I remember anything? How did I fall unconscious? How long was I out?
Millions of queries troubled my mind as I tried to set up. Just as I was about to open my eyes, I heard some shattering noise from the background.
“She’s awake!” A woman screamed in excitement and rushed outside. “Master! She’s awake!”
Her voice almost got me a headache. Was it necessary to yell like that? But the noise didn’t stop. A few people talked more in the background, making my veins pop on my forehead.
“Master’s wish has been fulfilled! Finally!”
“Yes, yes. Let’s go find him. Today’s the day of celebration!”
“Let’s decorate the Queen’s room! Let’s hurry.”
Queen? Master? What were they talking about? Wait, who am I? I frowned and tried hard to scan my memories. A while later, the memories of the past flashed across my mind, making me dizzy once again.
First it was my human days with Gramps, then suddenly my Nanny had died and someone had come for the interview for the Nanny’s place. I couldn’t quite remember her face though. Why was that? I frowned, and turned my head.
Other memories also entered my head, but I couldn’t tell whether it was reality or dream. I remembered meeting a very handsome vampire, I became his human partner when I suddenly found out I wasn’t even human. I was a vampire magician. Then everything that happened after that until I fell unconscious came back to me one after another.
After regaining my memories, I couldn’t help but wonder who was this person who had actually dared to hypnotize and manipulate me into thinking that she was my sister? She even led my Gramps to believe the same! Good thing that I didn’t remember her anymore because I remember being overly emotional when I had flashed my power on her.
Speaking about power, I felt my energy veins almost empty with traces of white colored energy flowing around my subtle body. But this was the only change that had occurred to me. I could still feel my vampire instincts telling me that I didn’t turn back to being a human.
Somehow, I let out a sigh of relief at that. After all, I didn’t want to die in front of Liam and my baby.
Wait, baby!
I opened my eyes only to squint because of sudden brightness.
Just then, someone jumped on my chest making me cough endlessly.
“You’re my mommy, right?” A soft baby voice spoke that was enough to melt anyone.
I looked down only to see a small kid, around two year old, grinning widely. Her blue eyes stared at me with a hint of excitement as if she had just obtained the greatest gift in the world.
Those blue eyes and her shoulder length brown hair looks extremely familiar!
For a moment, I couldn’t tell what was happening anymore. Did I just transmigrate into another world? If yes, then why did this little girl look familiar?
But before I could open my mouth, another very familiar character entered my vision, making my eyes widened.
“Diana! You shouldn’t rush inside like this! Wait for your super grandma!”
The little girl above me puffed up her cheeks as her eyes shone in anger. She quickly hugged me leaving me baffled. “This is my mommy! Leave me alone!”
The woman smiled helplessly and came beside me. “See Emily? Your kid is just as stubborn as you.”
This person was Olivia. Seeing a familiar face, tears glistened in my eyes. “Olivia…” I whispered in my hoarse voice, trying to get up. As soon as I did, she quickly pressed my shoulders back.
“You’re weak. Don’t even think about it.”
A smile formed on my lips upon seeing her.
Wait, does that mean this little one is my kid? And they named her Diana? I wasn’t against the names, but I felt sad after learning that I couldn’t give her the name myself. How long did I remain unconscious? Perhaps it was more than two years.
Now seeing this little one before my eyes, I couldn’t help but feel warm in my chest. I raised my trembling arms and hugged her back, caressing her head a bit. The little girl seemed to be overly excited by my gesture and she nuzzled in my arms.
Suddenly, she got up and looked at me excitedly. “Mommy! I want to show you my anime collection!”
Anime collection? Why was this little girl watching anime at such a young age?! I couldn’t help but frown at that. I suddenly regretted being unconscious for two years.
Before I could ponder more over it, Olivia patted Diana’s shoulders and picked her up gently. “Now go and wait for your dad.”
The little girl’s eyes brightened. “Dad’s coming?!” As soon as she heard this, she jumped off of Olivia’s arms and rushed outside.
I was stunned seeing all of these things and I gave the woman beside me a questioning glance. She shook her head and asked, “Now tell me, what do you remember?”
I frowned at this and told her truthfully. “Everything except for that woman’s face and name. She had acted as my sister and hypnotized me for six years! I hadn’t even realized that she did this.”
Olivia nodded. “That’s true. Her power was unique. It was a spell she had developed herself, but there was a drawback. She could only use it on people who aren’t as powerful as her. Have you ever thought why she didn’t want to meet you after you were chosen by Liam? It was this reason.”
I would have nodded if I remembered it all. But everything related to that person seemed to be blurred inside my head. I furrowed my brows. “Why can’t I remember her?”
“You want to?” Olivia raised her brows. “Liam had me tamper with your mind to remove the memories of that woman. Sadly, I didn’t have that spell that the woman had used, so I could only make it blur in your head. You still remember her, just you aren’t as attached to her emotionally as before.”
Hearing this explanation, I couldn’t help but be stunned. Liam did that for me…
He really did manage to save me both physically and emotionally. It was good that he had tampered with my memories with my consent. Otherwise, I would have been mentally disturbed after waking up. Guessing from the memories of how I was overly emotional the moment I killed her, I knew I was attached to her the most. But Liam helped me remove that bit of memory.
I couldn’t help but feel a trace of warmth in my heart.
Just when I was going to ask about where he was, someone knocked the door, gaining my attention.
And there he was, leaning on the doorframe with Diana in his arms. Her little hands were around his neck as she had rested her head on his shoulders. His hair seemed to grow longer and reached his shoulders. Seeing him, my heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.
“My queen is finally awake.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but feel a trace of blush on my cheeks. “Qu-Queen?”
“That’s right. The council managed to reform after everything,” Olivia said. “Liam dealt with the aftermath alone and the new members of the council made you the queen. Even the British king was punished by their council member. So currently, the world is at peace.”
“Wait, if I’m the queen, then…” I looked at Liam and tilted my head.
“You’re right. Liam is the king, and Derrick went off to travel the world.” Olivia clapped her hands in excitement. “I’ll leave you two alone then!” And she rushed out of the room, taking Diana with her.
My glance fell on a familiar face. Years ago, when I still thought that I was a human, I was in a similar room, frightened and cold. But the situation had changed. Right now, I was surrounded with his warmth, and he was instead staring at me with affectionate eyes.
At this time, I couldn’t help but relax my shoulders and smile. My future seemed to be filled with love.