Chapter 5 Meeting Derick

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 but you know, desperate times called for desperate measures.

“You’re probably wondering why you’re here,” he continued.

“I just said that,” she said snappily.

“Dana will soon return; she’s still taking care of things back at your place.”

“Who is Dana, and do you have anything to do with what happened to me yesterday?” She asked.

“Don’t worry, Dana is the coven leader, she will explain everything to you when she returns. I’m guessing you must be hungry by now.”

At the mention of the word ‘hunger,’ she then remembered her groom, Andrew, whom she had almost killed last night.

“Don’t worry, Dana will take care of your little boyfriend.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“We read each other's minds, it’s a vampire thing.”

“Vampire?” She raised her brow confusingly.

“Yes, you’re a vampire now.”

“That’s impossible, vampires don’t exist, and for your information, I am a human being. I was born a human and I have lived as one my entire life.”

“Yes, you have,” Derick responded. “Until now.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe it or not, that is what you are now.”

“Where’s the door? I want to get out of here now,” she said.

“You can’t go anywhere now, it's daylight.”

“Oh, so I can’t go out in the sun because I’m a vampire now, and the sun will roast me like marshmallows?” she said, imitating his voice mockingly.

“Yes,” Derick replied.

“Listen Mr. Derick, or whatever you call yourself, you are not going to tell me what to do with my life, do you understand me? In fact, I don’t even know why I am still here talking to you when I should be looking for a way out of this creepy place.”

After yelling at him, she stormed out of the room, in a bid to find a way out so she could leave. The castle was big, and she passed through a lot of passages, trying to find the exit. At a point where she thought she had found a way out, she would walk through it only for her to realize that she was just walking in circles, going back to where she had originally started from. This went on and on until she decided to give up and go back to her room. Derick was still standing in the same spot she had left him.

“I thought you said you were going to leave,” he said, in the same mocking voice she had used on him earlier.

“Whatever,” she said. “I’ll just wait for Dana or whoever it is you said. I’m sure she’ll be a way better person to talk to than you.”

Derick gave a small laugh at what she said. He was going to enjoy her company in this large boring castle where nothing interesting ever happens.

“While we wait for Dana, let me bring you something to eat.”

“I don’t need your food!” She yelled. Her stomach, as if hearing what she had said, began to growl in protest.

“Your stomach says otherwise, I’ll bring you some food anyways. If you don’t like it, you can throw it away,” he said as he flew out of the room. A few minutes later, he returned with a big bowl. Who would eat from such a humongous plate? Not her.

“Even if you to convince me to eat, couldn’t you have at least served it properly?”

“You’re not going to need a gallant serving for your meals anymore, lady. And trust me, this is way more decent than drinking it directly off a human or an animal.”

She couldn’t believe the garbage that was coming out of his mouth. What was he serving her and why would she want to drink anything off a human or an animal?

He placed the bowl on the table not too far from the bed. Joana walked over to where he placed it, she looked into it and noticed that there was nothing there but blood.

“Are you crazy?” She asked him.

“Nope,” he said. “That’s all you will ever be able to eat as a vampire.”

She shook her head. He was crazy if he thought that she was a vampire and even crazier if he thought that she was going to drink from a bowl of blood.

Just then the churning in her stomach began louder. She couldn’t believe that she was getting more attracted to the bowl that lay on the table. She reached her hand out to grab it, then pulled it back. She would not let her animal senses take over. Unable to resist the pressure anymore, she grabbed the bowl with her two hands and gobbled it up in her mouth, drinking every last bit of it. Why did it feel so refreshing? The normal Joana would never do something disgusting like this. Maybe she wasn’t the normal Joana anymore?

Derick laughed upon seeing what she did.

“The same woman who wanted to eat up her husband yesterday calls me crazy for giving her blood to drink.”

Joana ignored him. She had already confirmed what he said by gulping down that bowl. There was no arguing with him now. Darn it. Why wasn’t she able to control the hunger within her?

The sun had already set, how did Derick not notice before? He opened the window and flew through it, heading outside of the castle.

“You can come out now,” he said. She looked outside the window and noticed that this wasn’t the same oak tree height that she and Andrew were used to. This castle was built on a mountain.

“I don’t know how to fly,” she said.

“Hold my hand,” he told her, “I’ll show you.”

She looked at the hand he held out to her, unsure of whether he would hold her tight or let her fall for insulting him earlier. She decided to trust him, grabbing his hand and before she knew it, her wings unfolded and they were both flying through the skies.