Worst Luck

Skyla followed in the direction Xavier pointed to only stop after a couple of steps. Furrowing her brows, she wondered, 'Why is this place still dark?'

She squinted her eyes as she slowly raised her eyes towards the sky and mumbled, "Wasn't it supposed to be-" A gasp escaped from her lips when she saw the pitch dark sky, "morning?"

Her eyes widened as she wondered what the hell is happening here. Her eyes peered at the empty dark sky. She minced her lips as she whispered into the night, "Why the hell did he say it was breakfast time?"

Clearly, it was still night…

Letting out a sigh, she rubbed her temples tiredly as she thought, 'This place will soon drive her crazy'

Retracting her eyes, she shook her head as she proceeded to walk forward mumbling under her breath, "Whatever… I don't care"

Soon a crease formed on her face when she noticed the never-ending passage before her.

"Did this alley even have an exit?"

Right after her words, her ears picked up on some noises making her slow down her speed cautiously. But, her eyes soon brightened when she noticed the bright light at the end of this long tunnel signalling the exit.

Skyla gasped when she took a step out from the dark alley and muttered, "What the hell is this place?"

It was like a different world compared to before. It was bright and noisy…

She looked around wildly before mixing in with the crowd. Her eyes skimmed through her surroundings as she took in the hustle of vampires going forth with their business.There were couples enjoying their banter as they passed through the stalls while some were looking through the stalls seriously in search for priceless treasures.

"Did he just throw me into the den?" she muttered as she narrowly escaped crashing into a vampire.

Her heart was in her throat as she made her way through the crowd cautiously all the while knowing how loud her heart was beating in her ears. Skyla took deep rapid breaths in hopes to calm her heart but it failed miserably.

Biting her lips, she lifted her eyes to check whether any of the vampires took notice of a human but to her surprise and delight, none of the vampires turned their heads much less glanced at her.

"Maybe the thing works?"

A small smile blossomed on her face when she realized that she was safe. Her hands instinctively relaxed the hold around the bottle in her hands before proceeding to explore the place.

Unknown to her, a pair of eyes was watching her every movement keenly.

Skyla pursed her lips when she found nothing of interest to her. It was either some jewelry or antiques which bored her to no end. But quickly her eyes gleamed when she noticed the last stall empty of customers.

Skyla had an excited look on her face as she made way towards the last stall. Upon reaching the stall, she looked at the pile of books eagerly, completely ignoring the sleeping old man. The old man lifted his hat slightly when he heard a shuffle near him but soon disregarded her when he saw it was a young girl in front of him.

Skyla frowned when she saw the old man lower his hat as he returned to sleep. Ignoring the old man, she looked through the books but to her disappointment, it was all about war, history and classics.

Pursing her lips, she was about to leave when her eyes fell on the book at the corner of the table.

'The history of Defrox'

Skyla traced her fingers along the cover as she mumbled the word 'Defrox' under her breath. Curiosity burned inside her as she vaguely remembered someone mentioning it before. She narrowed her eyes as she opened the book, wanting to read when she heard a voice as sweet as honey speak beside her, startling her in the process.

"Any new arrivals?"

Stunned, Skyla lifted her eyes from the book and glanced at the elegant woman beside her. The lady was wearing a black dress with a black net mesh veil covering her face. Her eyes twinkled as she looked at the books while her bright red lips curved into a smile. Sensing a gaze on her, the lady tilted her ruffled lace parasol and glanced at Skyla for a second before a beautiful smile graced her face leaving Skyla dazed.

Skyla stared at the beautiful gorgeous woman in front of her before turning her head away.

'Did she just stare at a woman?'

Clearing her throat, she turned to face the lady when she noticed the countless number of eyes on them. Well, it makes sense when people stare at beautiful people, right?

But, somehow she felt the gazes were more of respect mixed with … fear?

The lady noticed the girl looking around and chuckled gracefully, "It's not everyday they meet a noble vampire" and winked at her making Skyla curve her lips.

'Noble?' She wondered while nodding at the beautiful lady.

The lady looked at her and asked curiously, "Which family are you from? I haven't seen you here before"

Invisible sweats trickled down her body as panic rose within her. Nevertheless Skyla resumed a calm countenance as she chuckled, "I don't often go outside" Her eyes curved as she said, "I prefer the indoors"

The lady looked at her in surprise before she laughed, "How strange! We have similar tastes"

Skyla smiled before placing the book back at the table. Her fingers were sticky from the number of gazes focusing on them. She gritted her teeth as she cried inwardly, 'Turn away'

Mustering a sweet smile on her face, she turned around to face the woman and said warmly, " It was nice meeting you, lady…"

The woman smiled and answered pleasantly, "Aurelia"

"Lady Aurelia" Skyla smiled as she tilted her head and introduced, "My name is Skyla"

Aurelia's eyes curved into small crescents as she said, "That's a wonderful name"

Skyla thanked her politely before telling her, "I have to leave or my family would be worried."

Aurelia nodded her head understandingly and watched her turn around to leave when a person knocked into Skyla startling them both.

Skyla staggered on her feet as she instinctively reached out for something to hold on when her hands fell on the pile of books…

THUD

The sound of books falling on her snapped Aurelia from her shock.

"Oh my!" Aurelia gushed as she immediately stretched her hand to help out Skyla only to pause when her eyes fell on something.

Skyla groaned as she pushed the books off her and patted herself dust free. She smiled embarrassedly and said, "I'm fine -"

Her words froze when she saw Aurelia staring at the ground in shock. Frowning, she followed her gaze only for her blood to drain from her face.

The small bottle, which was meant to be her life saver, laid on the ground with its contents splattered across the ground crumbling her heart at a speed faster than lightning.

Skyla lifted her eyes from the bottle to the crowd to notice all of them staring at her. She gulped nervously as she took a step back, cursing herself for her bad luck.