They Say That True Love Hurts, Well This Could Almost Kill Me

“Rini! Get up! It’s time to practice!” I slammed on the door four or five times, glancing anxiously about the halls.

There was some shifting, and then the door cracked open a little. Rini stood there, glaring up at me like I was some kind of murderer. “What do you want?” She asked, her voice low, and scary.

“You have to practice.” I reminded her. She glared harder.

“At nine A.M?”

“Yes, at nine A.M. That isn’t that early.” I crossed my arms, looking down at the disgruntled looking girl. For a six year old, she sure did have a few quirks. For one: She had MAJOR anger issues. Two: She had morning issues. And for someone so young? That isn’t common. Three: She has issues, period. But then, she can be the sweetest little doll you’ve ever seen.

Right now, she was the morning monster.

“It is for me.” Then, she slammed the door…in my face.

“Damn it, Rini.” I muttered, and opened the door. Her room was messy, clothes all over the floor, dangling out of the dressers.

Rini had plopped herself on the bed, snoring like an animal. “C’mon, Rini, we’ve got to get at least one more practice in before the tonight.” I walked over to the bed, tripping once on the way, and shook her. She groaned.

“Rini, get up!”

Nothing.

“Fine.” I said. “You wanna play the hard way?”

Still no reply.

I sighed, and then grabbed her by the ankles. In one swift movement, I flipped her over on her back. She groaned in annoyance.

“Okay,” I muttered. That’s progress, right?

I went over to her dresser, picked out a miscellaneous outfit and started to get her out of her silk pajamas. She still snored softly, as if not even noticing me. The trouble started when I tried to take her pants off.

“C’mon, Rini, you got to—cooperate!” The brief space was me trying to yank them off. Yeah, this little vampire slept like a rock. Wouldn’t be surprised if she was one…

I sat her up, but she slumped. I groaned in aggravation and tried to get her straight, getting her to lean on my knee. Before she could slump forward, I pulled the shirt over her head. Then, I let her fall back to the mattress.

Then, I tried to get a pair of jean capris on her without luck. “Rini! Help me—!” I tried to yank them up and jiggle them on. They went on achingly slow, little by little. Rini slept like a baby through it all.

Once I finally got them on and buttoned them up, grabbed a brush off her nightstand and began to brush knots out of her hair. It wasn’t too hard.

“Okay, come on, Rini.” I said as I stood from the bed.

She lay back down on her pillow.

“Rini…” You know what? Forget this. I picked her up and slung her on my back. She was incredibly light, so I was able to get the door open. Maids and butlers were already scurrying through the halls, applying to the Master’s wishes or whatnot.

So, while Rini drooled on my back, I carried her to the main hall where the piano stood. As carefully as I could, I placed her on the piano bench. “’Kay, Rini, just sing for me, okay?”

She snores, eyes still closed.

I suck in my breath and scream, “Rini!”

She jumps ten feet in the air then meets my gaze. “Why’d you do that?!” She screams in my face.

I laugh half-heartedly. “Hey, you’re up.” Then I quickly change the subject as not to anger her further. “You ready to start?”

“Mmmf.”

“Good.” I pick her up and set her in my lap. I begin the first notes, and she yawns before we start the first verse.

“Falling a thousand feet per second…” I help her begin, and then let her go off on her own. She really does have talent, but she needed a little help with her high notes. That’s why I planned on accenting it during the performance.

“Making every kind of silence takes a lot to realize. I just know we can’t be over... I can see it in your eyes.” Rini sings, her voice changing during the right moments. Just like I taught her.

“I won’t fall…”

“Even if you said I was wrong.” I joined in during the chorus. “I’m not perfect, but I keep trying. ‘Cause that’s what I said I would do from the start.”

“I’m not alive if I’m—” Went Rini, and as we had planned , I cut in on the high notes. But that didn’t mean she stopped singing. She just sang in a lower tone.

“—lonely.” We sang in unison, and it went back to Rini all by herself.

“So, please—”

I joined in again.“—don’t leave.”

We kept singing together at this point. “Was it something I said, or just my personality?”

Then began the piano solo and we worked our way on from that. This time, unlike yesterday, her voice didn’t strain.

At the last note, I congratulated Rini and we raced to the kitchen to get something to eat.

I stuck my head in the fridge and asked, “What do you want?”

“Blood!”

“Pfft… How could I forget?” I pulled out a blood bag and tossed it on the counter. “Now, what do you want to eat?”

Rini swung her feet and tapped on the table and bounced up and down in her seat. She couldn’t quite sit still. Probably just excited, right?

I heated up her blood in a mug(Blood type AB) and put it on the table. She didn’t give it a second thought, but picked it up, the liquid sloshing around involuntarily, and she gulped it down in less then five chugs.

“God, Rini. Don’t choke yourself.” I told her. When she finally pulled the cup down, she had a bloodstache. No kidding. Still, I burst into laughter.

“What?” She asked.

I wiped her upper lip and showed her the blood before washing off my finger in the sink. Rini giggled, but watched as I started making us an omelette.

“Lots and lots of steak, please!” Rini chimed, and I happily applied to her wishes. I started to wonder what had changed in these past three days. Rini didn’t seem to hate—no, that word’s too strong…uh, dislike?—me as much as she had.

Well, I started making out with her vampire/brother/prince. Yup. That’s a start…

I started to flip the omelette as it neared done. After filling both, adding extra meat to Rini’s, I put them on plates and placed them on the table.

Rini clapped her hands and dig in, but before I could even seat myself, a figure came in and started going through the fridge. She was so fast; I wasn’t even able to look at her face.

But I turned around to get a good look at her. She was wearing a long night dress and her long, black hair cascaded down her back like a calm waterfall.

Then, as if sensing our presence, the woman turned, half her body still in her fridge. The plastic tip of a blood bag dangled from her mouth. “Oh, hello.” She said through gritted teeth in a rather curious tone.

And then, Rini exclaimed, “Mommy!” She leaped out of her chair and jumped into the woman’s arms, just as she pulled herself out of the fridge. “You’re back! You’re back! You’re back!”

“Oh, hey, Reeree.” The woman embraced the girl in her arms. “I’m sorry, the—”she finally spit out the blood bag where it was caught between Rini and herself. “The plane didn’t have AB- and I starved myself until I finally got back—who’s this?” The woman finally caught sight of me and she gave me a curious look.

“Oh, I’m Blaze.”

“Servant?”

“Slave.”

“Oh.” The woman snorted. “Right, I knew that. I’m Serenity.” She moved on quickly as she set Rini down “And I came just in time for Bubba’s birthday!” She cheered.

“Yay! Guess what?”

“What?”

“I’m going to sing for his birthday!” Rini said matter-o-factly, yet still in her childish tone. Which she was—a child.

“That’s great!” Serenity smiled a smile just as wide as Rini’s. I had never seen a woman so child-like before. She had a baby-like face that could be almost the same as Rini’s, if not the fact that it was slightly more mature.

I wasn’t necessarily stung when Rini didn’t mention that I was the one who taught her. Slightly wounded that she didn’t mention that her brother’s slave taught her something, but then when Rini hugged her mother, she winked at me over her shoulder. Somehow, I knew what she was saying.

“She’ll see soon enough at the party,” was what had been interpreted in my mind.

“Oh, and Rini,” Serenity pulled away to look her daughter in the eye. “Ms. Vannegan wants to see you for fitting.”

“Okay.”

“But, I promise we’ll spend time at the party.”

This time, she sounded more excited, “Okay!”

Then, the woman with the silken black hair exited the room.

“That’s your mother? She looks only—”

“Yes, that’s my mother. Now come along.” Rini grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen.

“Hey, where are we going?” I asked as she pulled me down a familiar hallway.

“To fitting.”

“And I need to go with you…why?”

“It’s not just me that’s appearing at the party. You’re going to be there to so you have to look nice.” Rini talked as if it were obvious.

“Fine, but nothing poofy, or too dressy.”

Rini stopped and turned to face me. She held out her hand, “Deal.”

“Deal.” I shook her hand In agreement and we continued on.



I made a choking sound as Ms. Vannegan tightened her corset. I had chosen a delicate red fabric. After an hour of Ms. V working vigorously, she had the corset part done. I had never seen something so delicately made in such short time.

“Please stop doing that!” I finally let out in a big huff of breath.

“Quit your whining, I ‘m almost done. Just let me attach the bottom.

After she was finally done, I was able to get a good look at it. It was now floor-length, poofy, and the top was slightly sequined. The exact opposite of what she wanted.

“You know what? I have an idea. May I borrow those?” Before she could object, I took the scissors from her hands and started chopping the dress.

Ms. V stood there, her jaw dangling from her skull as she watched me cut her masterpiece; her work of art, and make it into something…a little more me. As I neared done, even Rini was giggling at V’s reaction.

In my opinion, it looked much better. The only difference I made was cutting it to knee length. Of course, it was kind of large, but I could make it work.

“There.” I said, handing her the scissors. “Are those my shoes?” I asked, picking up matching black stilettos.

Rini wore a dress kind of similar. It was a light lavender colored dress that reached above her knees, and kind of…flowed out around her.

“Okay, girls. Your all done.” Said miss V’s assistant.

We were walking silently down the halls when Rini said, “I can’t wait to show you.”

“Show me what?” I asked, looking down at her.

She looked up and gave a devilish smile, letting her fangs poke out from below her upper lip. “The way a real vampire parties."