The Final Farewell (Dance of Shadows and Regret)

Anita stopped the car in front of the big estate. The gates were open and a lot of cars were parked by the driveway. There was music coming from inside the beautiful castle. It was my first time at the estate. It looked like it's even bigger than ours.

"It seems like there's a party going on. Are you sure about this?" Philip asked.

"Yes." I said.

We walked to the entrance and opened the door. There were a few talking in the foyer. They fell silent when we came in and stared at us in surprise. We followed where the music was coming from and came into the wide ballroom. The ballroom was filled with dozens of partying vampires. The music stopped when we entered and everybody turned their heads to stare at us. Anita and Philip both took a step back, but my courage didn't falter. I stood still and searched the crowd with my eyes. I came in eye contact with a few vampires. They hissed at me. I ignored them.

"What happened to you?" Christian came running with a concerned look on his face. After he asked that, I started to feel the pain from my wounds and injuries.

"Nothing. Where's Kai?"

"What do you want?" I turned to where the voice came from and saw him standing at the upper landing – looking as dashing as ever. I felt my heart getting stabbed.

"I need to talk to you." I said rather calmly.

"Okay. Follow me." He said coldly.

I turned to Anita and Philip. "I want to talk to him alone. Both of you stay here, okay?" Then, I turned to Christian. "Take care of them." He smiled at me in assurance.

I followed Kai to a dimly lit study. Silence fell between us, and I came to realize how big the distance between us had become. He wasn't even looking at me. He kept spinning the globe on the study table.

"Why?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" He finally turned to meet my eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me? What happened between us?" Tears started forming in my eyes.

"Nothing. I just came to realize it was wrong to be together. Nothing good will come out of it. It's better this way for both of us." He said without emotion.

"I understand breaking the relationship, but what about our friendship? What did I do to the five of you? How can you all abandon me like this?"

"You're overreacting. You're clearly not alone. Don't you have Anita and Philip?"

"So, what is this? Mere jealousy?"

"I'm not that shallow. Neither are the others. Let's face it. Friendship between humans and vampires is impossible from the beginning. Despite living in harmony, our kinds are still enemies. Especially you. You are the Church leader's daughter. We can't have any connection with you."

"Then why did we even become friends in the first place?!" I couldn't control myself and finally raised my voice.

"It was a mistake. And that's why we corrected it."

"You are so selfish and cruel." My voice cracked at the end and I realized I was already crying.

"Well, we are monsters after all."

I took a few deep breaths and finally said what I originally came to say. "We've uncovered the truth about the orphanage, and we already solved the problem. I just thought you should know."

"You came all the way here just to say that?" He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to come. I have no interest in your troubles."

Say it. Just say it. "There's one more thing I need to tell you about." I knew I had to say it. He had the right to know.

"Well, what is it? I don't have much time. My guests are waiting for me. I'll look like a bad host if I keep them waiting any longer."

"Well, it's, uh—"

Then the door opened. A beautiful female vampire came in and walked pass me gracefully. The woman threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

"What's taking so long? Everyone's feeling anxious. If the elders find out you've invited humans here, we'll all get punished." She said before looking at me with angry eyes.

"I didn't ask them to come. They came uninvited." Then, he turned to me. "It's time for you and your friends to leave."

I stood frozen. I had to say it. I just had to. But his eyes were throwing warnings at me. For the first time, he looked like a monster who was about to kill. And his prey was me. I thought I wouldn't get hurt more than how I was already hurting. I was wrong. It felt like I was getting stabbed over and over again. My heart was crying in agony. It was slowly dying. Furthermore, I knew I didn't have the luxury to mourn over it.

"Okay. I wish you happiness." I said.

I got out of the study and back to the ballroom. Anita and Philip were standing awkwardly by the doorway, while Christian kept his distance from them. The other vampires were conversing in low whispers I couldn't quite decipher. Though I knew they were talking about their uninvited guests. I walked towards Anita and Philip and their faces were filled with concern.

"Did you tell him?" Anita asked.

"No. It's not important anymore." I said.

"What do you mean not important?" Anita raised her voice a little. "He has to know."

"Know what? What's going on, Krista? Is something wrong?" Christian asked. We didn't notice him approaching us.

"Nothing. Everything's fine. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'll treasure the memories we shared."

"Why do say it like that? Are you leaving?" He sounded worried.

"Just extend my thanks to the others."

"No, we're not leaving until you tell that guy. Where's that jerk? I'm going to teach him a lesson!" Philip shouted. The vampires in the ballroom snarled and growled at us.

"What is the meaning of this? I thought I already told you to leave?" Kai came back to the ballroom. He was already standing just a few feet from us. "You're all disrupting our party. Leave now or we'll resort to violence."

"Don't worry. We're leaving. But there's one last thing I forgot."

"What is it?"

I slowly walked to him and very gently kissed him on the lips. I heard the other vampires gasped. When I pulled away, he was frozen in place and was staring intently at me.

"Goodbye."

And I mustered the courage to walk away from him…