Joana couldn’t explain what was happening to her. It all started with a raging headache, it felt as if she was seeing a million things all at once. She could suddenly hear the bee buzzing on a tree over a mile away, she could hear the frogs croaking near the lake. She could hear the sound of her husband-to-be, Andrew, greeting the guests and ushering them in. He was in the wedding hall, quite far away from where she was. How could she possibly have heard him from such a distance?
The pounding in her head didn’t stop. Instead, it kept on getting louder and louder. She began to hear more sounds; she could now hear the orchestra in the wedding hall playing music. She could hear the pianist playing the big grand piano by the side of the stage. She could even hear the car honking on the road, near the cityside. She could hear her guests chatter, waiting for the bride to walk in through that door at any moment. Why was she hearing so many sounds?
The worst had just started, as at that moment, she felt two of her canines growing bigger and popping out of her mouth. She looked at her hand, as watched as her cute little fingernails grew longer and sharper, turning into claws. She then felt a ravaging hunger in her stomach. But this time, it wasn’t for food. No, it was for blood. Was she turning into a monster? Why would she be yearning to taste the blood of a living mortal, especially that of a human? She knew with all these changes that she would look terrible, and she wanted to see just how bad she looked. She managed to reach for her hand mirror on top of her vanity table, but as she grabbed it and looked into it, there was nothing there. She must be hallucinating, she thought as she gathered her strength to walk towards where her mirror stood beside her window to look again. Again, there was nothing.
She fell back to the ground and held her head in her two hands, unable to contain what she was feeling anymore. The pounding continued and her stomach growled even louder. Just then, she heard a knock on the door. She was thankful to have remembered to lock it before coming in to get dressed.
The person tried opening the door but after seeing that it was locked, spoke to her from outside.
“Joana, it’s time already, and we don’t have all day. The guests are seated and are waiting for you. Hurry up, dear. I’ll be outside the house.”
She recognized the voice. It was her best friend and maid of honor, Sandra. She heard Sandra’s footsteps fading as she left the front of her room and headed down the stairs.
At this point, she didn’t even know if she could get married again today. She could not let anyone see her like this, not even Sandra, her grandmother, her guests, or even worse still, her husband-to-be, Andrew.
She went back to her window, opened it, and reached for the tree right in front of it whose branches had always tugged at her curtains.
She held onto a branch and was able to slowly climb onto the tree. She only wore a slip, as she hadn’t put on her wedding gown before the headache started. She didn’t have a problem getting down, she was familiar with the art of climbing up and down from this tree. Andrew was too, if not how would they have been able to hang out together after curfew?
As soon as she got down, she began to run.
“Joana!!!” She heard a loud voice call out to her as she was running. Damn it. Sandra had seen her, she wanted to leave this place as quietly as she could, so she could figure out what had happened to her, as this was beyond normal. But now, she had been seen.
As Sandra kept calling, she didn’t stop. She didn’t even know where she was going, but she wanted it to be as far away from everyone as possible.
It was as if her legs had betrayed her as she didn’t know that she had headed to the wedding venue. And there she stood, at the entrance of the hall, whose doors were wide open. Someone at the back who had seen her gave a scream, which called the attention of all her guests, including her husband-to-be who stood there with his groomsmen, finding it hard to believe that this was the woman he wanted to marry and spend the rest of his life with.
Upon seeing her, all the guests started jetting out through the other entrance, like they had seen a ghost. Andrew was a bit scared, but he summoned courage and began to take slow steps towards her, thinking that this might probably be one of her famous pranks.
“Joana, are you okay?” He said as he reached where she was, taking one step at a time. She could hear the sound of his blood flowing through his veins, she could taste it already as he came closer to her. He then reached his hand out to her in hopes to comfort her.
Though his hand was right in front of her, all she could look at was his neck. And before she could stop herself from doing something crazy, she took a bite out of that delicious cake.
A month ago… All the students of Woodenville high had gathered to take their seats in the large hall, along with the parents of the school and other guests. They were all waiting for the ceremony to begin. In front of the hall, a huge decorated sign congratulating the class of 2020 stood bold for everyone to see. The graduands; who were followed by the school principal and other esteemed faculty members, then marched into the hall in two straight lines fully clad in their grad caps and gowns, taking the special seats that had been reserved for them right in front of the stage. Joana was one of the lucky people who would be graduating from high school today; along with her boyfriend turned fiancé, Andrew, and her best friend, Sandra. She spotted her grandmother, Jennifer who was fondly called grandma Jen amid the audience who were applauding the graduands and taking pictures of them as they marched. Grandma Jean had come to represent h
Joana heard a tap on her window by 8:00 pm. She knew who it was as she had been expecting him and was beginning to get worried that he wouldn’t come and they wouldn’t have their private celebration together. She strolled happily to her window to let Andrew in, he hugged her upon seeing her. “What took you so long?” She asked. “Grandma Jen said she invited you to the party but you didn’t show up.” “I know, I’m sorry babe. I wanted to come but it turned out that my parents also threw their surprise party for me,” he said laughing. “It’s ok my love, the most important thing is that you’re here now. I would have hated us not getting to celebrate in our little way.” “Are you ready?” He asked. “Yes, I had already gotten dressed before you came.” “Ok babe, then let’s go.” He held her hand and led her out of the window, with Andrew’s help Joana climbed onto the tree and got down. Then he did the same. Walking towards whe
The next few weeks became busy for Joana and Andrew as they were both caught up making preparations for the wedding. They had a lot of things to do, starting from planning the budget along with the other sponsors, getting a license- she needed granny Jean’s parental consent for this as she was still a minor, choosing a location, creating the guest list, sending out invitations, choosing the right wedding planner, planning the reception, the rehearsal dinner, choosing the wedding attire, amongst other things. And they only had about a month to get everything done. There was barely enough time for the couple to hang out alone anymore, as there were plenty of things that needed their attention. At some point, Joana thought that maybe she should have given more space to get things planned, but that would mean that she wouldn’t have her wedding on her birthday anymore. She had only one birthday in a year, and she couldn’t wait till the next year before getting marr
Dana had just arrived at the wedding venue, gorgeously dressed. She hoped she had come here on time as the transformation on Joana would begin anytime soon. She checked the gold watch on her wrist. The wedding was supposed to start at 6 pm and it was already 5:50. No sign of a vampire bride anywhere, she thought as she walked towards the tent. She spotted the groom at the entrance, along with some relatives welcoming the guests that were walking in. She began walking towards them. “Welcome Mrs.…... um,” Andrew greeted her at the entrance, trying to identify who she was. “It’s Miss Dana Smith,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m a friend of the bride’s family.” “You are most welcome Miss Smith,” he said, indicating for her to enter. She went in and looked around the hall. Joana wasn’t here either. Where could she be? She wondered as she took her seat right next to the other guests. She couldn’t send her messenger bat here, as people would see her. And sh
Joana woke up with a slight headache as she clutched the side of her stomach, the wound was no longer there. Was it a dream? She noticed that she didn’t wake up in her room. This place looked different, it looked historical as there were a lot of ancient art and drawings on the wall and the roof. She got down from the bed and tried to look if she would see anyone who would explain what had happened to her. She also noticed that the room was very dark, the large windows covered by thick black curtains. Even though the room was dark, she could somehow still see. She walked to the window and was about to open the curtains when she heard a voice behind her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. The sun will roast you like marshmallows.” She turned to see another strange face standing at the door. She recognized him; it was the man who had stabbed her at the wedding. “Who are you, and why am I here?” She asked. “My name is Derick, I’m sorry about the stabbing
Dana was waiting for them at the castle when they arrived. They landed at the gates and walked to the entrance where she was standing. “Where have you two been?” She asked them. “I was just showing Joana how to use her wings,” Derick answered the question for them. “Excited to be a vampire huh?” she said as she turned to Joana. “Not at all,” Joana replied. “I want to go back home. Grandma Jen would be worried sick by now!” “Don’t worry, I’ve talked to Grandma Jen, I told her you’re with me and that you’re safe. Although it did take a bit of brainwashing.” “You brainwashed my grandma?” Joana said loudly. “Don’t worry, she’s fine, only that she has no memory of the wedding and the plans you had made the past month. I did the same to all your guests, including your groom. And also, to anyone who could provide information about what happened at the wedding, for a little token of course.” “Why would you do that?” Joana asked
“Marylin returned to the castle to keep the peace, but for days she couldn’t sleep. She came here to the library, searching if she would find a way or a place for her and her lover to be together without causing any disruption. John had offered to run away and come and live here as a vampire, but Marylin knew that his family would never stop until they found him or even his dead body, as he was the only child. And if they ever came here, this coven will be finished. She didn’t want to endanger our lives by transforming John, so she kept on searching for another alternative and never gave up until she found one. “Luck shone one her one day when she found a book about where she could find the supreme council. Everyone knew about their existence and how they keep the law but no one had ever seen them, except of course for those who had incurred their wrath, and were never seen or heard from again after being summoned to their presence. “In her desperation to be with her
He looked at her eyes again and gave up. He would never say no to the one he loved, even if it meant she would leave him again. “Fine,” he said. “But I am only helping you for personal reasons.” She raised her brow at what he said. He then realized how weird that just sounded. “No,” he said, correcting himself. “I mean that I can’t tell you the reason why I am helping you, but just know that it has something to do with Marylin Lou.” Ok, she said with a small breath of relief. “We will go hunting now as we need to feed and store some blood for later. I will show you how to do it, Dana didn’t come back with the remaining members of the coven, Hillary and Edmund. They should be on their way if they are not already back. I’ll go and check for them and see if they are around, then we will all go together.” And with that, he flew out of the room quickly. He came back about two minutes later with a bowl and a cover. “They are no