Year 2125…
Rie woke up with a rushed breath. She quickly scanned her surroundings. She was still in the school's library and not in that nightmarish dream she just had. Rie leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She forced herself to erase that nightmare from her mind. She could feel the rustling of the wind outside and she clasped the bracelet on her wrist.
Calm down, Henrietta. Calm down. She told herself that again and again until her breathing slowly came back to normal and she could no longer hear the rustling of the wind outside.
Rie turned her gaze back to the book she’s reading. It was the historic account of the war that happened a hundred years ago. Before the world, as everyone had known it, ended. In the year 2025, the third biggest war in the history of mankind happened. But it wasn’t between two countries or group of countries. It was between vampires and werewolves.
That’s right, vampires and werewolves.
When nobody believed in such beings, they suddenly appeared and changed the course of history. That was followed by the appearance of witches, wizards, even fairies and all types of demons. Every being from myths and legends suddenly became real.
Rie couldn’t imagine just what the humans living at that time period had felt. They must have been all frightened to death. Beings from their worst nightmare suddenly coming to life. Slaughtering and killing them.
Nobody knew what really started it all. Why these beings made their existence known after millenniums of concealing themselves from humans. Some said that it was because the werewolves revolted against the vampires. Everyone knew how werewolves had been the vampires’ slaves for the longest time. Maybe they got tired of being slaves, so they revolted.
There had been many sightings of enormous wolves fighting against beings that has inhuman speed. Many had said back then that it was only a rumor made up by those die-hard supernatural fanatics. But when news of those sightings appeared again and again, from news to different social media sites, many people wondered if it was really true.
What really sealed the deal, though, was the legendary fight at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.
The humans who were there probably thought that it would only be an ordinary night for them, they couldn’t be any more wrong. People started turning into enormous wolves attacking an army of immortal fanged beings. Many people witnessed it and there were also a lot of casualties. World leaders started talking with themselves, planning the best course of action. But nothing could really be done because they didn’t know how to contact these beings.
The war between werewolves and vampires continued. And every time they fought, they left hundreds of human bodies in their wake. The humans tried to interfere with this war, the US government was very enthusiastic in stopping the war between the two beings. But every time they tried to interfere, they all ended up dead or worst, turned into vampires.
What could an army of humans do against those huge werewolves and powerful vampires? Despite their advanced weapons, in the eyes of these beings, they only considered them as ‘prey’.
When humans realized that what they were doing had no effect, the world leaders reached out to the vampires. Their wish was granted, and seven purebloods from the seven noble vampire clans talked to them. And they reached a decision. If the humans helped in eradicating the werewolves, the vampires promised they would once again attain peace. So, the humans allied with them.
An idiotic decision, in Rie’s opinion.
But things didn’t end there. Because witches and wizards also joined in with the ‘fun’. Many of them helped the werewolves. And just like how it started, no one also knew how it ended. The fighting suddenly stopped. All werewolves suddenly disappeared. But despite the end of war, the lives of those humans couldn’t possibly go back to normal. How could they, when they already knew of the existence of these supernatural beings?
It must have been really hard to live in that era.
Rie stood up and picked up the book. She read it for her assignment in her history class. Rie must have read too much. That’s why she had that nightmare. She returned the book to the bookshelf where she took it.
While walking outside the library, she couldn’t help but think back to the things she just read. After that war, some vampires killed humans. It was no longer enough to just take blood from them. They started killing people indiscriminately. That’s why Rie thought it was such a stupid idea to ally with those bastards.
The world leaders voiced their complaints, but the purebloods turned a blind eye to everything. So, in retaliation for that, the word leaders created the Hunters Guild. It was a group of humans highly trained to kill supernatural beings.
It took years and years before they achieved peace. And that was only because of the current head of the Vampire Council — Regulus Maximillian. He agreed with the humans, saying that they could kill any vampire they found to be killing humans. They wouldn’t retaliate as long as they will let them feed from humans who would willingly give them blood. There were so many things that were fixed, so many things that were agreed upon, until they reached a balance of power. Or at least a semblance of it.
Every faction has some sort of government. The vampires have their Vampire Council, the witches and wizards have the House of Hecate, the fairies have their Courts, even the demons have their own sort of hierarchy. Each country also had their own Ministry of Supernaturals which dealt with these beings.
Oh, what the world had become. Rie was sure that people who lived before the 21st century would think so. They would probably wouldn’t have thought that the world would become like this. Then good for them.
Because they didn’t have the chance to live in this kind of world.
***
“Dobre odpoledne, Rie,” the two students greeted her in Czech.
“Good afternoon as well,” Rie greeted back in the same language.
Both of the girls squealed. She continued on walking, not affected by it. It’s not something that’s really new to her. Whenever she talked to some students, they would blush for no reason. They would even squeal just like those two girls earlier.
Czech was the major language in Prague, where St. Markéta Academy was located. It’s a boarding school for girls. Most of the students there were mostly from rich families all over Europe. They would send their daughters here mostly for protection. Because St. Markéta has the most advance defense against supernaturals, particularly vampires and demons.
It’s because the headmistress of the school was a high-ranking member of House of Hecate. That’s why a magical barrier surrounded the entire school. For some reason, humans trusted witches and wizards more than other supernatural beings. Maybe because, aside from being immortal and having magical powers, they looked a lot like humans. It also helped that humans weren’t part of their diet.
St. Markéta Academy was divided into three main parts. The elementary department, where girls from ages 7 to 12 studied. The high school department where girls from ages 13 to 18 belonged, Rie was also part of this department. And the dormitories, where the cafeteria and other school amenities were. This showed just how large the whole academy was.
Rie went straight to the school garden. She hadn’t arrived there yet, but she could already hear the soft sound of the violin. It was Pachelbel’s Canon in D major. She smiled and continued walking. At the center of the garden was a gazebo and inside it was a girl with long golden hair and golden-brown eyes. She was the source of the wonderful violin music that Rie had just heard.
Rie closed her eyes and savored the music she’s hearing. Then the music paused. She opened her eyes and saw that the girl was looking back at her. The girl then smiled as if she had just saw the most wonderful thing in the world.
“Rie!” she called with a bright smile on her beautiful face while waving enthusiastically at Rie.
The girl’s name was Federica, and she was Rie’s twin sister. The one connected to her since birth, the most important person in her life, and the only reason she continued on living.
“Eri,” she called the other’s nickname.
Despite them being twins, they couldn’t be any more different. Just in their appearance alone, one could clearly see how different they were. Her hair was black like that of a raven’s feather and, unlike her sister’s golden-brown eyes, hers was violet.
Eri was full of love and compassion for others. That’s why it’s easy for other people to love and care for her. While it’s hard for Rie to even trust other people. She always has her guard up, constantly being careful. Because it’s the only way she knew how to protect her sister.
“Are you done with your research?” her sister asked when Rie sat down inside the gazebo where Eri was.
“Yeah, sorry if it took a while. I kind of feel asleep.”
The other sat beside her. “Are you having trouble sleeping at night again?” Eri asked worriedly.
“No,” Rie quickly denied. “I just stayed up late last night because of some student council work,” she lied, without changing her expression. She couldn’t just tell Eri that she was once again being haunted by the nightmares of the past. There’s no reason for her to make her sister worry. “Is Canon the piece you’re going to play at the music concours?” she asked, changing the topic.
Eri would join a music competition next week. It was an annual competition where students from different schools in Czech Republic would compete. They would hold it at Klementinum—one of the largest and most historic complexes of buildings in Prague.
It was only this year that Eri had the courage to take part in the said competition. This was their last year at St. Markéta. Eri said that it would be such a waste if she didn’t even try.
Eri stared at Rie, as if reading every micro-expression she had on her face. Then she suddenly smiled. “Yes. Do you think I could win?”
“I just don’t think it. I know you would.”
“You’re not just saying that because we’re twins, right?”
“Of course not. You are very talented, Eri.”
Eri leaned on her sister’s shoulder. “I wish I can have your confidence, Rie.”
I’m not confident. In fact, I’m always scared, a part of Rie said. But she chose not to voice it out. “Hey, I will be there to support you. If you ever feel nervous, just look for me in the crowd and I’ll make funny faces just to make you smile and relax.”
The other suddenly laughed. “You wouldn’t! The perfect Henrietta Snow doing funny faces? No way! Your fans might leave your fan club if you do.”
Rie pinched her sister’s cheek. “I don’t have fans. And I’m not perfect.”
“Tell that to the younger students who always put love letters in your locker.”
“They’re hormone-crazed teenagers, Eri. They’re just looking for someone they could direct their affection to because we’re all girls here. And for some unknown reason, they chose me.”
Of course, there might be some who really swing that way. And there’s absolutely no problem with that. They’re all young and it’s normal to explore their own sexuality. It’s just that Rie wasn’t interested. But that didn’t mean that she would disrespect them and mock them for it.
“The reason is not totally unknown, you know. They think of you as their prince. If you haven’t noticed yet, you have this princely vibe that most teenage girls like.” When Rie frowned at that, Eri just laughed again. “I really love how you’re so dense sometimes.”
Rie stood up. “Let’s just go back to the dorms. I think you’re just hungry. That’s why you’re saying a lot of nonsense.” She was about to walk out of the gazebo when Eri held her hand. She looked back, wondering why her sister stopped her. “Is there a problem?”
“Rie, you know you can tell me anything, right? That’s why if there’s something bothering you, talk to me. I’ll always be here to listen.”
Rie was slightly surprised by what the other said. Eri was still worried about her not sleeping properly during the night. She just forced herself to smile. “Of course. I don’t have anyone I could confide in besides you,” she joked.
But despite saying that, she knew she couldn’t tell Eri the contents of her nightmares. She could never put Eri in that kind of sadness. In that kind of pain.
~o~o~o~o~
In the middle of the dark night, four shadows walked through the streets of Prague. They were doing everything they could to not attract the attention of others. But the chances of that happening were probably lower than seeing a crow with white feathers. That’s how strong their presence was. It’s like if they entered a room, people would focus all their attention on them.
The four looked around, sniffing the air as if they were looking for something.
“Are you certain about this place?” the one with long gray hair asked in an annoyed tone. “If this is another wild goose chase, I swear I will leave the lot of you.”
“How many times have you said that? And yet, you always come back to us,” said by the one with blue hair in a lazy tone. “Don’t worry. Because according to the information I found, we’re in the right place.”
The gray-haired guy tsked. “And how many times have we encountered trouble because of that information of yours?”
“We’re definitely in the right place,” said by another, the one with chestnut brown hair. “Can’t you smell the air? It’s filled with the scent of night-blooming flowers,” he said excitedly to the others.
The one with black hair closed his eyes, covering the irises that were the same color as the night sky. “She’s here,” he said in a whisper. He turned to the other three, a grin on his face, and continued, “The Moonflower.”
Translator's Note:
Rie's name is pronounced as 'Ri-Ye', not 'Rey' or 'Rai'. Eri's name is pronounced as 'E-Ri', like Erin without an 'n'. :)