Nova The editorial team and leaders of the school's literary and press society gathered at the school hall, preparing for our social night, setting the venue and discussing the activities for the event. Tracy, the vice president who vowed to never let me rest and determined to challenge every idea I brought up and frustrated the hell out of me. As usual, I took several breaths, remaining composed and pretending that she was nothing more than a botfly. "I think it would be great to have the matron and some house mistresses attend the social night. The last time we didn't involve them, they sent us back to the dorms after lights out." Tracy crossed her arms and shook her head. "No way, Nova. That's way too boring. Think of something else." I raised an eyebrow, trying my possible best to stay calm and not explode. My mum taught me the best trick to disarm troublemakers. "Tracy, we've already discussed this. We can't keep going back and forth." Tracy scoffed and countered me, "N
NovaI was heading to the dorm and walked past the stone pathway, empty at this time of the evening.Most students were having a siesta in their dorm except for the soccer players having their practice.Speaking of soccer players. It was surreal that Vlad smiled at me in class. He fucking smiled and it did many things to my body.My legs came to a sudden stop when Vlad was approaching me, dressed in his soccer outfit and holding a jar of what I suspected was blood. He locked a grin on me, beaming and throwing me off balance."Hi, Nova. I looked for you everywhere but didn't see you."Uneasy, my mind raced to search for answers wondering why he was suddenly being nice to me."Is there a problem?"He wagged his head. "No, not at all. I wanted us to spend some time alone. "Well, I'll be damned...A sudden tightness squeezed my chest and suspected that Vlad was up to something. Not only did he smile at me all day but now he was stopping me to talk to me, wanting us to spend time togeth
RavenThroughout the morning run, I couldn't concentrate on anything. My heart pondered, wondering what mystery was behind Vlad's strangeness. His indifference and detachment messed up my head. He neither returned my calls or texts and hadn't bothered asking about the staff of authority up till now.His father's source of power.Our sadist trainer's roaring voice pulled me out of my trance. He pushed us to our limits, forcing us to take several laps and yelling like a banshee.My legs scrambled into motion, running past the sturdy oak trees. My lungs burned and I crashed to a halt. Something was wrong with Vlad. I could feel it in my heart. His eyes didn't rake boldly over my body like I was the only one that mattered, or like he was photographing me to his memory The sooner I found out, the better it would be for me. Taylor grew increasingly concerned last night when I didn't touch my dinner. Despite counting sheep, tossing, and turning like a child with the flu, I didn't catch
RavenMy feet in their motion rushed to Vlad, swirling with confusion and hurt. Vlad turned around, annoyance etched on his face. Nova seemed confused, her eyes staring at us, bewildered. Taking a deep breath, I mustered all my composure, speaking with the calmest voice I could muster."What's going on, Vlad? Why are you with Nova? Am I missing something here?"Vlad's brows furrowed, his indifference cutting through me like a knife. "I don't understand what you're talking about."The more he acted unaffected by all of this the more my heart sank. I'd never witnessed such a shift in anyone before. "What do you mean you don't understand? You're not even talking to me!"He remained mute and I cupped his face with my hands, hoping that whatever prank or spell that was cast on him would clear and my Vlad, the one who loved me would return. Tears threatened my eyes but I wiped them off with my palm."Please stop this, I beg you. We have a lot to talk about… "He brushed my hand away from
Dora's POV (DORA IS VLAD'S NANNY) Eighteen years ago Young Olivia's complicated battle for her life during labor was the most agonizing event I had ever witnessed. I didn't know what to do or how to relieve her of her pain, considering that Elvira poisoned her. I had never wanted kids out of fear of dying in childbirth and the excruciating pain that accompanied it. It was ironic that I had become a midwife, caring for countless vampire women delivering their babies. Olivia's situation was unusual. I had never seen anyone fight so fiercely, despite the plans to kill her, just as she had done. She was merely a child herself, barely eighteen years old and struggling to stay alive, fighting for every breath. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her unborn baby. King Vladislav didn't deserve to be backstabbed. Olivia's welfare wasn't supposed to cause me concern, but there was something about her that compelled me to protect her. The evil matriarch, Queen Elvira, i
Dora Three months after Olivia escaped with the other twin, I got accustomed to the routine of taking care of baby Vlad. Thankfully the boy was a healthy, peaceful baby who only fussed when he was hungry or his diaper was full. Lifting him off the changing table, I put a generous amount of baby powder in his butt, changed his diaper, and wrapped him in a plush blanket. His huge eyes locked on the spinning animals above him. I kissed his forehead before mixing his powdered formula, scooping it, and shaking it in his bottle. I lowered myself to the wooden recliner and the baby's eagerness made me laugh as he reached for my hand. He took one greedy sip, looking at me expectantly. The glow in his eyes reminded me of Olivia. You’re so adorable.” I smiled, patting his cheek and cooing at his childish antics. "I'm never going to leave your side." After he fed, I burped him, waiting for him to fall asleep. His eyes were drooping shut when King Vladislav walked in, holding a new se
LucianPresent dayAngry bursts of rain banged on the window space cascading down the earth. I was restless and paced around Vlad's fancy dorm room, thinking of the next step to take.There were a whole lot of things to be done in such a short time, most especially, pretending to be Vlad until I got the staff of authority.I thought I was prepared for this, but after the swap, I discovered I didn't have the nerve to do half of my requirements of being Vlad's imposter.For four years, my uncle, Dimitri, coached me on my twin brother's mannerisms. He made me talk like him, walk like him, use his catchphrases and even wear his signature half-smile. Vlad trusted the king to death. He did no wrong in his eyes and so, Vlad couldn't go against him. The fool didn't know that our father and his evil wife were behind our mom's death. Revenge was the driving force behind my plan to take my rightful place and have the staff of authority. Dimitri taught me to be strong, no matter how hard it see
Raven I sat in the library, toying with a calligraphy pen and pricking my thumb with the metallic nib. I had so many tests and exams coming up, but I couldn't bring myself to concentrate. All the words in my textbooks became blurry lines. I tried everything I could, from taking long walks from one end of the school to another, practicing mindfulness exercises that Taylor had introduced to me, and even wearing more makeup and dressing better, which Taylor felt could attract Vlad back to me. None worked. Vlad never looked at me more than once, and I stopped everything altogether when that bitch Ivy mocked me when I wore a stupid tank top that revealed my stomach. I didn't know what to do anymore, or even who to tell. This was getting stranger by the day, and I knew that Vlad wasn't joking when he rejected me. But it bothered me that he hadn't asked about the staff of authority that was in my custody. And from the look of things, he didn't seem like he was planning to. I had n