Clermont

chapter 1 - The Arrival

“How did they even find us! I thought we weren’t supposed to…I mean we don’t show up on any maps do we!” In my mind I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing, let alone actually asking this question out loud. “Dad, say something”…“Hana, ju..just give me a second I need to think. Damn I need to, I need to get to the elders. They’ll know what to do just wait here and watch the desk im sure they aren’t coming in”. “ but what if they do, I can’t, I mean I don’t know how to talk to them”.

“HANA, just act natural” And just like that he ran, left me to deal with this on my own. I mean it’s not like It’s the first time he’s ran off and left me to deal with some kind of bullshit. Why change a habit of a lifetime? But just once I wish he could put me first. At this moment, right now I was terrified, I can feel my heart beating like a drum in my ears. My senses, are like needles running through my body. It’s taking everything I have not to panic, not to change right here in front of them and take them, but I knew I needed to wait. I needed to understand what they were after, who knew they were here, what they are doing in our town.

I’ve never left Clermont, I mean I couldn’t even if I wanted to, but to be truthful I’ve never really wanted to. Why would I? I can do whatever I want here without fearing for my life, we’re all protected by the elders no matter our kind and we really do have everything you could ever dream of. Our bars serve up the most delectable dishes, we have bakery’s that never cease to create the most interesting sweet and savoury treats, shops, a school, even a…let’s call it a farmer’s market. I love it here. 

I’ll never forget the first time I woke up in this town. The sky was black, the air was clear, and the stars shone like id never seen them before. Maybe I’d just never seen the world like this, but I remember shaking, with tears streaming down my face. I was scared, not knowing where I was, why I was here, but my fears began to fade away, lavender and faint smell of oak being burned washed over me and I started to feel calm. I could sense someone, something watching over me. My body began to tingle, like the blood running through my veins had been electrified as if whatever was edging closer to me was causing this to happen. I started to feel faint, as if this feeling of excitement and terror was becoming too much and then… I noticed something strange, there was blood on my shirt. Was it my blood? I thought it couldn’t be mine surely, I wouldn’t be standing here if it was but then out of the darkness, I saw her.

Chapter 2 - Broken Bonds

“MARA, HUMANS!...y, you need to come NOW!...MARA! please”. As the words burst from my lips, I knew I’d overstepped I knew I should have knocked, been calm, not demanded, but surely, she would understand the urgency. Mara was our leader she was the oldest and most powerful of us all, she brought me to Clermont I know I didn’t turn out how she wanted but she has to understand my insolence, after all there are humans outside my store! what was I supposed to do. How can this have happened it’s been what 20 years since we, well since she and the elders saved us all from their kind.

It never used to be like this, we used to have an understanding with the humans from the surrounding villages and they went and broke it! We lived with them as friends for decades, worked alongside them, some of us even grew to love them. We promised to keep them safe and to never harm those who swore to protect our kind. We could have torn every single one of them apart, but we sacrificed our yearning for flesh so they would keep our secret, so that we could try to live a peaceful life away from the rest of the world, but they betrayed us. They made us who we are today, they chose to ruin all that we’d built, years of bonding with their slovenly selves ruined.

Mara had to protect us from them, destroying their very existence wouldn’t be enough. More would come, the word of how an entire town of monsters destroyed the villages surrounding of Clermont would spread like disease throughout this world, we’d have a war on our hands. Mara and the elders combined all of their dark strength to invoke the most powerful protection spell and like that we vanished. We disappeared from any map, any satellite. We were ripped from the minds of the humans that meant to harm us, we were cast from the minds of all that knew we had once existed. Black magic had saved our kind, but it had also changed our lives forever.

Chapter 3 - The Couple

Act natural, what does that even mean. Ok Hana just act natural…yeah like that’s going to be easy when all I’ve ever heard about humans is that they ruined this town. I mean they can’t all be bad can they, I mean I used to be one. Not that I remember that. Anything of that life has gone, vanished form my mind like some kind of trauma, my body rejecting those memories as if they’re harmful to me. As if remembering what my parents were like, what the warmth of the sun on my skin feels like would somehow break me. I love my life now as impulsive and exciting as it is, but this lack of memories does make me wonder, who was I before this, what is it really like to have lived as a human.

And just then I heard the doorbell chime as the two women walked in, I knew they were a couple immediately . Being a Vampire really does have its perks, I can just sense things about people that I couldn’t before. That’s how I knew these two were a couple, their pulse spikes just a little when they look at each other and their eyes widen a touch with every glance. These powers make me feel strong, empowered and aware of everything around me, I could feel that they weren’t like us but something about them didn’t sit right.

“Evening, umm where abouts is your water? I am so thirsty after that long drive…ahh Babe can you grab my wallet I totally forgot it in the car”. Long drive…where have these two come from, they haven’t come here on purpose they must just be passing through, have a flat something. As I was stood there staring into the eyes of this women, I felt off, something wasn’t right. She had big brown eyes the colour of chestnuts in autumn, they pulled you in as she spoke, her curls swept across her face with every word, this girl had a glow about her. What was it! She can’t be like me I’d be able to tell! I know it. So much time had passed she must have thought I wasn’t all there, I realised id been staring at her for so long her girlfriend had come back in. “Umm yeah sorry, I, uh I’ve just started and didn’t expect a customer so soon. Drinks are to the back right you can’t miss them”. “Ahh no worries that’s cool, I will go grab one, Chlo wait here I won’t be a minute “.

Chlo, her name must be Chloe and she was definitely human, she had no spark, no aura I was right they are human, or at least Chloe was. This was my chance I needed to find out as much info as could. “Uhh so what brings you two out here?” “Not much really, Bea and I are on vacation and she found this great hotel just down the road from here, she said was beautiful. I haven’t seen it but I trust her, it was so odd every time I went to look online myself the site just wouldn’t work. It was so strange but ahh well, Bea knows what I like so we just jumped in the car and came up here”. What, they are staying here! This cant be. How did she, I mean it’s not possible no one should be able to find us, Chloe couldn’t see our site, we’ve never had this issue before the spell has always worked, the spell still works it must!

How can this be! only supers can see us. BEA HAS TO BE A…”hey I’m back, found the water…great directions haha, so how much will that be?”