Talk
The Night and the FaeA week passed. Dahyun had made an effort not to avoid the vampires. If they spoke to her or asked her to have lunch, she would go along with it, but she didn’t seek them out herself. She was grateful that polite conversation could still be had, but only as long as it was left at a superficial level.
Her solution to the sleep issue was to sleep during lunch. She had found an area in the library away from prying eyes. It was there where she found the alarm on the phone very useful. That interval of time was precious to her and it made a big difference. Usually. On bad days, she would find her eyes falling shut no matter how hard she tried to concentrate in class. That was when she sought out coffee. It was like excitement in a cup. It energised her and, if she put in enough milk, tasted good.
There had been moments when terror got the best of her. Dahyun couldn’t avoid them, but she found that if she strayed further into the emotional world and in a region of good emotions, there was enough time to excuse herself.
This was one of those moments. She was in a bathroom stall, thankfully able to stand, but still shivering. Images of Teresa flashed in her mind. She felt the ghost of her mind, the emptiness. She heard her screams as they drew her emotions out of her a second time. It had been the last time.
The guilt clenched her chest, but it brought her back to reality. Was the theft of their emotions tied to the magic used on her now? Their emotions had to have gone somewhere. Had they been studied? Or just used to fuel themselves? She thought back to when she’d escaped. The first time she’d ever killed. Had she not gotten to them all? Or had they shared the information with another clan?
Her captors would have never understood the intricacies of emotions, just as Dahyun never understood those of the elements, but they knew the benefits. Calm held your concentration, happiness could energise, and love strengthened you. She still didn’t understand how that worked, but she had felt it with her family. That love had been lost now. She knew it as a distant memory, but it no longer brought her warmth.
“Dahyun? Are you in here?” It was Mina.
She forced her voice to steady itself. “Yes.”
“I know why you leave class,” she said. “Maybe I can help?”
She swallowed a retort. How could you? “Don’t trouble yourself.” It felt strange to talk to someone through a bathroom stall. She opened the door.
Mina was smiling gently. “Have you already heard our stories?”
She shook her head, walking past her to wash her hands. She didn’t look at her reflection, knowing she would see through the makeup she’d used to cover the growing shadows on her eyes. Instead of looking at her face, she focused on her hands. By now, she was able to take the bandages off, her muscles had healed as well. There was a scar.
“I used to be a servant,” the vampire said. “Someone from the Toyotomi clan had taken a liking to me once, they demanded I work in Osaka Castle.” When Dahyun didn’t respond, she continued, “I’m not sure if you covered this in history, but that clan was destroyed.” Her eyes fell to the floor. Dahyun felt the immortal sadness expand. It was one she knew well. There was also an underlying fear, or anxiety. It was still potent, even if those feelings had been felt as a human.
“Is that when you were turned?” She glanced towards the door. No one was coming. Yet.
Mina nodded. “Somehow I survived the siege, but my chances of survival were slim,” she said. “The smell of so much death attracted the vampires in the ar
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