Narrator- Krulisa

Jan 1st 1990,

It’s cold and the breeze is freezing my skin, the soil beneath my feet is as cold as ice.

What day is it? I wonder. I can hear my people cry.!”

“All hail Krulisa!” Says Borham

“ALL HAIL KRULISA!” The rest of them follow him.

I remember Borham . My only trusted ally who I could rely on. I met him when my own family abandoned me and left me alone in an isolated dungeon. I can’t really remember where it was but Borham was the one who found me, saved me and gave me a new family. Borham is just like me.

An immortal.

A Vampire.

“Borham, once again ….it’s you.”

“Yes my Queen, the time has finally come for us to get back what we waited for.” Says Borham .

“Twenty years it’s been, Twenty years since I saw the stars shine this bright.” I say, walking back and forth briskly on the chilly stone floor. “We have all suffered a lot, it’s time we get back what is ours .This world, the humans, they have done nothing for us. It’s time we show them what we are capable of.”

I can see my people listening with hope for what I was saying. Some were even nodding with satisfaction, while some stood there and gave me a brave look.

“What do we do now, my Queen?” Borham questions, his head bowed down.

“Let’s think about that later. First, I need something better to wear and a warm bath.” Borham looks at me from head to toe and then nods.

“Yes, my Queen.” He says. “Let’s get you something better to wear.”

It feels good to be back again after twenty years. My people, Borham, my clothes, I don’t know how much I missed them. After I am done bathing, I get dressed in a Red Silk gown that Borham gifted me .

It still fits. I think, as I look at myself in the mirror. Crooked nose. Wrinkled skin. Pitch black balls for eyes, an abyss of dark magic swirling inside. Pale white skin with a pointy chin. Lips the colour of blood.

Beautiful.

It was a nightmare down there under the grave. How does it feel to be under the soil for more than twenty years with snakes coiled around your body, suffocating you and making you feel ill? I wonder.

It felt excruciating. I say.

Once I’m done getting dressed, I walk out and find Borham right in front of my doorstep.

“My Queen, you look… BE-B-BEAUTI-FUL!” He stutters.

“Don’t expect a ‘thank you’ note.” I say in a dismissive tone. “We have got work to do.”

“Yes, my Queen. What do we start with?”

“What else, we start with the institutes.” I reply, looking down at all my followers from where I stand with my hands clasped behind my back. “Let’s start with the Immortal Hearts.”

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Narrator- Victoria

“Victoria! Victoria! There’s trouble!”

I turn around to see Hector running to me. He stands right in front of me, gasping hard and continues.

“Krulisa! Kru-Krulisa!”

“What about her?” I ask. He breathes and then looks at me, terrified.

‘’She is awake! They brought her back. Her followers, they brought her back to life again!’’

The hairs behind my neck stand on edge.

“Not again.” I say.

Hector gives me his hands.

“Read me!”. He says, shoving his hands towards me. “Read me and you will know everything!”

The moment I touch his hands, a sudden force pulls me inside Hector’s head. Darkness. And then a little light makes a clear way for me to see. And that’s when I see her.

Krulisa in a red dress. Talking to someone. I have no idea who she is talking to.

“It’s a man.” I say, my eyes shut tight.

She is talking to a man. What is she saying? I wonder. I give a little bit more force to my powers. And I get to hear her.

“We start with the Institutes.” She says. “Let’s start with the Immortal Hearts.”

I pull myself out of Hector's head. Frightened and out of breath, I fall to the ground and start gasping.

“Victoria!” Hector says in a concerned voice

“I’m okay! I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“Krulisa, I saw her, and I know what she wants. Hector, she is trying to do it again, she wants to destroy the world and bring an end to the human kind. She is going to the Institutes.”

“You mean, she is going for the Immortal Hearts?” I nod with an exhausted sigh.

“Victoria, you know what happens if she gets the Immortal Hearts. We can’t let her have them.” Hector says with gritted teeth.

“I know! I know that already! We have to stop her! No matter what it costs!” My sudden burst of emotions is extinguished as the thought of how I’ll do it hits me. We need to defeat her, but how?

“But I don’t know how. Hector what do we do? I can’t let her destroy this world. Hector, sh-she won’t be able to rule the world anyway. She is just not the type to rule! He-Hector what do we do??We need-”

“Victoria, you need to calm down. We will stop her. We are not alone. The Vampire academy can help us. We can fight Krulisa. We can do it.”

The thought of Krulisa gives goosebumps all over my body. I’ve known Krulisa better than anyone. Both Hector and I were the one who casted the spell on her and cursed her by locking her up in a coffin and burying her for good measure.

I knew that one day she would be back again, the spell was strong enough to lock her for years but not forever. I promised Hector we would fight her if she came back again. But little did I know she would go after the Immortal Hearts before she came to us.

“How? Krulisa has an army of Undead with her. We can’t risk the whole Academy to fight Krulisa . And besides, it’s the Institutes, Hector! The Institutes! If the mortals get aware of us, they won’t let us live either. We fought her before, but this time it’s different she isn’t coming for us but the humans. There’s no way to stop her!”

“No, there is. We actually do have a way, Victoria. If Krulisa was summoned by her people it means she doesn’t have much time! It’s only a month or two. Victoria, if we can stop her for a month and make her weak, she will disappear by that time.”

Hector was trying his best to calm me down, but for all I know it isn’t the right time to calm down.

“But if she gets the first heart, she will get strong enough to fight us. She will get the rest of them too.” I was thinking one step ahead this time.

“So we don’t need to stop her.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that, we don’t need to stop her. All we need to do is protect the Institutes, that’s the only way she won’t be able to get them. Only for a month, Victoria, and then she will disappear on her own. The weaker she gets, the better for us.”

Hector does have a point. That’s the only way we can protect the world and the mortals.

“So what do we do?” I ask.

“The Institutes are a place for kids. It will be hard for us to get inside so you and me, we can do nothing. Our powers are stronger than anyone; if we go to the Institutes it will be hard for us to fight Krulisa in front of the humans. Besides you can’t even control yourself every time you see mortals.’’

“I know. It’s harder than you think, I tried a lot of times, but I can smell their blood from miles away. I am glad my daughters didn’t inherit that part of me.”

Hector was smiling proudly for one second, and then suddenly the smile in his face disappeared. He looked up at me, and said-

“Daughters.” He whispered.

“Huh?”

“Victoria, our daughters! They can do it.” He says it out of joy, holding my shoulders. But me? I feel horrified at the idea. “Hector, no! No, we can’t-”

“They can do it, Victoria. They are powerful and stronger, and they do know when to use their powers. And like I said the Institutes are for kids. It’ll be hard for us but not for them.”

“It’s not what you think. Hector, they don’t know what Krulisa is capable of. And they are just too young…”

“They are young but powerful Victoria! We have no other way, they are the only ones who can get inside the Institutes and stop Krulisa. Trust me Victoria, this is the only way we have.”

When words fail me, Hector gently grabs my hands, clasping them in his own large ones as he looks me in the eyes and says, “I know it’s not an easy thing to do, trust me, I don’t like this either. But if we don’t do this, Krulisa will get what she wants, and then even we can’t protect our children. Either way, they will be in danger. Better to face it head on.”

I start to think for a while. There’s no one I can trust right now other than my own children. They are powerful. They can do it. We can’t wait any longer.

But they’ll be in harm's way. My inner voice tells me, trying to let my maternal instincts get the best of me, but the more rational part of me diagrees. Hector is right. If we don’t do anything now, my daughter’s will be in danger either way.

“Fine. Let’s do it. Let’s send them.”

Hector nods at me and then turns around and calls the guards inside. “Tell my daughters that we are looking for them.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The guard says and marches out of the room.

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