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With a gentle whoosh, the door closed and Hunter was gone

Rules and Regulations

I cried hysterically into one of the white silk pillows I was so torn; I didn’t knohat to do As a friend I should be there for Hunter I should try to help hian to pound I winced in response The pain flared, pulsed, and travelled down along my skull to the back of s because I’d been crying so hard Dinner would start shortly, although I couldn’t iiana or steak and chips

A soft knock sounded upon my door My body automatically tensed Please don’t be a vampire, please don’t be a vampire

"Ruby?" a soft, feirl, who appeared to be around er Her skin was beautiful and tan, on closer examination, she was human She didn’t have the dark, soulless tunnels the rest of therey eyes and full pink lips

"Are you okay?" she whispered, walking slowly towards ht dark blonde hair draped over her shoulders

"I’s on ht up in h it did sting a little

"You have a headache? Can I help?"

I watched her curiously Unless she had some Advil on her, I didn’t think she could do too much for me "No, thank you I’ht here"

"You were kidnapped?"

She nodded andtaken from her home

"Sorry"

"He took your boyfriend from you?"

"You know about Hunter?"

"Yes, he’s a nice boy He doesn’t want to be a vaht accent, it seees The girl sat down onblack skirt

"That headache must really hurt Please, let me help you" Slowly she pulled a horseshoe froht it closer to ?"

"Trust h she lived here with Lucian Somehow I just knew I could trust her She pressed the ends of the horseshoe to ood metal loosed, from horse’s hoof, draw from my brain, these nails of pain: cast them away, rust them away, keep them away"

I stared skeptically at her, maybe she wasn’t fully ‘there’ in the head

"Don’t look atto have to say it with an to chant together

"Good metal loosed, from horse’s hoof, draw from my brain, these nails of pain: cast the in o away

"Didn’t work," I said in a told-you-so tone

"Wait" She closed her eyes and began e I couldn’t make out A few seconds later her eyes opened and one The hairs onmy skin A trickle of fear mixed with curiosity warmed the core of my body

"I’m a witch My naan to curve doards "You’re freaked out, aren’t you?" Her eyes had a regretful gleam to them and I felt sorry for her She probably only wanted to make a new friend

I nodded "But it’s okay … It isn’t your fault" And then it hit h I know she was different, but I hadn’t even given Hunter a chance Being a vaer at someone, I should point it at myself If only I hadn’t led hione

"I ca a party and would like for you to dress accordingly In the cupboard over there are lots of different gowns Choose one" Anna rose from my bed and strolled casually over to the door

"You’re leaving?" Despite the fact that she was a witch, she was still the most normal person here, besides Eli

"It was nice to ain"

When she was gone, I cli muscles, and opened the cupboard I was taken aback by the array of gowns Soht I had soI wanted was to resemble blood With that in own The chiffon fabric was so light it barely touched my skin and when it did, it felt so soft and delicate I stood in front of the mirror on a stand that was beside eous I ran s and appliques that ran around the waist Despite the beauty of the gown, I had a few small issues with it One was that it was too low cut It still covered my breasts well, I suppose The other issue was that it was backless; the only thing that touched s It looked gorgeous but it e

I turned around and took a step toward the cupboard again A cool breeze brushedslit up the leg of the dress, exposingto be sexy, I didn’t want to attract the wrong attention I looked through the cupboard again It looked like I didn’t have a choice It was hard to believe, but I chose the dress that concealed the h the door

Crap I didn’t have tie or accessorize with a jacket I couldn’t afford to waste another rabbed a diamond encrusted bracelet off the vanity I didn’t know if it was real or not, either way, I didn’t care It slid over my hand smoothly and matched my outfit perfectly I freed my hair from my ponytail and let it drop over my shoulders; it wasto have ht as well lance in the mirror before I left the room

Classical music filled the halls of the castle Why did this place seem so normal? Where were the cobwebs, the ardless of how normal these people seemed, they were still monsters No a to change that

I found myself at the botto froo

"This way, ma’am" An oldroonized thee Sanctum The room was spacious; only three or four chairs decorated the rooh it looked like it had never been used Vampires were scared of fires, or so I read Maybe that’s why it looked so pristine

I peeked sideways at the old man, he seemed human His skin was normal and his eyes were a deep blue Why would a hu to stay here? Maybe he was under lure?