Vampire Possession 3
July 5th, at least on Earth it was. The calendar on Alyraius was much different, given that it had 30-hour days and 406 days in its year. The inhabitants of the world didn't have months or weeks either, they just went by their four seasons and the number of the day. They were a very simple people.
At least, when it came to time. However, when it came to holidays and government issues, they made sure every detail was as perfect as it could be.
Nanashi was wandering through the halls of the Celiti Alliance Assembly Hall, a building used only on holidays. It was currently empty, but the decorations were already in place. Purple and gold sparkler projections lit up all the corners, while bunting hung from each and every doorway and on the stair and balcony railings as well. The elaborate gold and glass chandeliers were brightly lit with fire, which was unusual since they usually ran on the Alyraius form of electricity, which was similar to nuclear power, but much safer and stable.
Nanashi sighed, and touched her neck. There were two scars there, only 13 hours old. She continued walking, out of the Assembly Hall and across the road to the Celitia Officials Lounge Hotel, a hotel where Celitia leaders and council members could rest and change before the main events began. Nanashi checked her watch; on Earth, it was nearly 1:00 pm. The festival didn't start for another two hours. She sighed again, and quickly crossed the bustling road and made her way through the lobby of the hotel to the elevators.
Once she made it to her room, she didn't bother turning on the lights, since it was dark in there already. She flopped herself on the queen-sized bed, and buried her face in the marshmallow pillows.
"You seem to do that a lot," a voice behind her spoke.
Nanashi shot up, and glanced around. She found the source of the voice; a long-haired man in a black cape with the hood up. She sighed in relief, but was still annoyed. "Don't start sneaking into my rooms, now, Vasska. That's borderline stalker-like."
The caped man shrugged, but looked at the floor. "Sorry. I was restless. There are a lot of them already here. Out there, in the street. Luckily, they didn't sense you. They'd have been pretty stupid to attack you out there anyway, with all those guards and law enforcers. Not to mention the common people."
"Well, I'm sure I'll be safe once Nona and Yueko get here. They're my best bodyguards. The vampires won't be able to even touch me." Nanashi got up off the bed and switched the light on. Vasska flinched, but otherwise didn't show any emotion.
"Well, unlike you, I'm not so sure of your safety by the hand of those kids. Granted, Yueko is a very good psychic, and Nona is excellent in some martial arts, but vampires have an unlimited stamina. Especially when they have a goal."
"Yueko and Nona can do anything they set their minds to. And, I'd be careful of calling Yueko a kid. She's 20 already. And she has her maturity mark. Nothing will stop her once she has a goal."
"Yueko is still a child at heart. She acts as if she's never heard of death, and plans to pretend it doesn't exist."
Nanashi bolted from the bed and slapped Vasska across the face. "She lost her parents when she was just a kid. He sister is all she has left. Don't you dare say things that you can't back up with actual proof!"
Vasska looked startled as the door opened. "Yo, Nashi! How you doing?!" Nona walked in and stopped as soon as she saw Nanashi and Vasska standing close to each other. "Ah! A-Am I interrupting something?"
"No." Yueko came in, all smiles. "They're just in a little argument. Nanashi, it's alright if you think we can't handle it. Vasska has a point, even if he does make false accusations."
Nanashi ran her fingers through her hair; a habit she picked up from Iyume, her close friend. "No, I... I want someone there I can trust, and I trust you guys. And Letitia, Mitzi and all my friends from the CSF, too. They'll all be there, guarding everyone else. I know none of you will let anything happen to any of the people there."
Yueko gave a thumbs-up. "Of course! You can count on us!"
Vasska stepped in. "Maybe she can, but I can't. I know the enemy, I'm one of their kind. I know how they think, and I also know that none of you can protect Nanashi."
Yueko crossed her arms over her chest, her expression suddenly poisonous. "Oh? And, how can we trust you, given that you are one of them? For all we know, you could be setting something up."
"She's my bonded master. I can't do anything she tells me not to do."
"And that could be a lie. You think you know you're telling the truth, but that's not always the case. You could be lying, unknowingly."
Vasska looked startled. "What? You think I'm lying?"
"No. I think you could be lying, but you don't know it."
"But you can read my mind. Go ahead, do it now. You'll see."
"I already have. You're hiding something. Something important. Something you don't want anyone to find out about."
A look of fear suddenly crossed Vasska's face. He quickly suppressed it and looked to the floor for a moment. When he looked back at Yueko, his red eyes were burning. "Fine. I'll let you ignorant children handle this. But I warned you." Vasska adjusted his cloak and he stalked out of the room, shutting the door hard.
Nona whistled. "What's up with him? He seems... really ticked off."
Yueko shook her head and uncrossed her arms. "Anyway, the festival is supposed to start soon. Shouldn't you change for the opening ceremony?"
Nanashi nodded absent-mindedly. As she went to the closet with her ceremonial robes, Nona flopped onto the bed, watching her. "Nashi, maybe you shouldn't turn on him yet. He could just be hiding some bad memories of the people who changed him."
Yueko sat next to Nona, playing with Nona's pigtails. "She might be right. He's hiding something personal, something that he doesn't want to admit to himself. His reaction was definitely not something that someone who's working for the enemy would show."
Nanashi nodded. "I don't think we should be calling them enemies, though. Maybe just misunderstood people." She took a lavender dress off one of the hangars and looked at it. It was a formfitting simple lacy dress with a pleated and layered skirt. She thought it must have been for the after-party. She hung it back up.
Nona considered this. "You have a point there, too." She looked around Yueko to see what was in the closet. "The one in the zip-up bag is the robes you have to wear."
Nanashi moved some hangars aside and grabbed the bag, and took it to the bathroom. Yueko and Nona waited in the bedroom patiently for a few minutes, and Nanashi emerged from the bathroom and took a long look in the mirror.
The top was halter-like, with a leathery material running around her neck and down to the middle of her chest, where an emerald-like jewel was set. Form-fitting material wrapped around her chest, creating a bra of sorts, and loose material hung from the beaded border just below the form-fitting top, and formed puffy sleeves above the top, which hung off Nanashi's shoulders. The loose material was split in the middle below the bra, revealing her stomach area, which had a leather-like belt wrapped around just above her belly-button. Hanging on her hips was a skirt with a beaded belt, but in the center was another emerald jewel, strung between a leather-like belt that was not attached to the skirt except for where the jewel was, but rather went up and rested above her hips. The fabric of the top hung a long way past the skirt, but flared out just enough for her stomach to be seen.
Yueko got up and pulled some armbands and a feathered and beaded hairpin from a wooden box that sat on the dresser. She handed the armbands to Nanashi, who slid them onto her forearms. Yueko pinned the hairpin into Nanashi's bangs, and the mint bead strands mingled with her hair. Nanashi found her sandals and slipped into them, completing her look.
Nona sat up and nodded her approval. "Niiiice. You look stunning. It bears some resemblance to your work outfit, but it's much sexier."
Nanashi rolled her eyes, disapproving of Nona's choice of words. "Oh, great. Yet another reason for the vampires to eat me."
Nona winced. "Oh, sorry about that." She gave an innocent but embarrassed smile.
Nanashi changed the subject. "You know what's weird? I got an invitation this time around. It's already mandatory I attend this festival, so why did I get an invitation?"
Yueko thought a moment. "Well, maybe Alek wanted to remind you because you've been away from Alyraius for a while. You have been on a lot of 'business trips' lately. Not to mention your recent vacation for the USA's Independence Day and all of those finals you had to take for your college freshman semester last month."
Nanashi nodded. "I guess that's true. Wow... so Vasska's been a CSF member for about a month now? It feels like just a week ago."
Yueko nodded. "Yeah. This is his first field mission after soaking up all the information on Celitia over the past month. Maybe that's why he seems so high-strung."
Nona gave Nanashi a mischievous look. "Back to Vasska, huh?"
Nanashi raised an eyebrow at her.
Nona then gave a blank stare, and shook her head. "Ah, never mind."
Yueko glanced at her watch. "The assembly starts in about a half hour. We don't need to change until about an hour after that. Hopefully, by then, Letitia and Mitzi will be here to take our places until then. Vasska will probably be with you the entire time. All the CSF field members will be on the lookout for anyone who might try something. Kansae will give a short speech regarding the conduct the people should take before the main events begin. You know, just reinforcing the rules."
Nanashi nodded as Nona ran a brush through Nanashi's long hair. "First introductions, then speeches, then the party starts. Sounds good."
Yueko nodded. "Okay, time to head out. The first assembly takes place in the main square, where most of the citizens can watch and listen. You'll be flown there in one of the personal government cabs. Alek will accompany you."
Nanashi nodded again. She huffed and walked to the door. "Well, let's get going."
Nanashi met Alek in the lobby of the hotel, and they both made their way to the floating limousine parked just outside. Nanashi got in first and sat on the passenger side, and Alek slid in next to her. He nodded to the driver, and then turned to the cloaked figure in the passenger seat. "Hello, there, Vasska. How's it going?"
Nanashi looked up in surprise, and her eyes met Vasska's red ones, obscured by his long black hair and black hood. "Oh, you know, first field mission and all that. I meant to thank you for letting me join the CSF. I hope I can set a good example for my kind and my family. I've heard they've been giving you some grief on Tekgarden and Earth."
Nanashi looked out the window, confused. She wondered when he had heard about his family. When he first arrived, he had claimed to have known nothing about his personal life. Maybe he had done some digging while he was studying. Yueko did mention she had been helping him with something, and she was a Psyche-type NeoHuman, which would make her an expert at memory recovery.
Vasska turned back around and kept the conversation going with Alek, but he still stole glances at Nanashi, and she could feel them as if he were boring lasers into her. Nanashi crossed her legs and rested her arm on the armrest of her chair, and then rested her head in the palm of her hand. She was getting irritated with each passing moment he looked at her, and she wondered how long it would take before she snapped at him.
The cab at last pulled around the main stage at one end of the main square, and Alek helped Nanashi out. Vasska got out as well, and the three of them met up with Kansae and Aimee and their bodyguards, and they all went back behind the curtain that was hanging behind the podium on the stage. Mitzi, Yueko, Nona, and Letitia were back there, in their assigned positions to prevent anyone from causing a conflict. As the crowd outside grew larger and louder, more of the CSF members arrived and took their places around the square and next to the stage. Finally, Alek nodded at Letitia, who was currently the head of security, and he stepped out. The crowd clapped and cheered as he took his place at the podium. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
Nanashi, standing at Alek's right hand, as she was the Second Eminence, couldn't pay attention to his speech. She scanned the crowd, looking for the vampires that had come for her. She wondered if they were only here out of hunger.
Then something occurred to her. There was no way a whole group of vampires would come for her just because they were hungry. And Vasska was being much too over-protective for that to be the case as well. She stole a glance at her personal bodyguard, standing at the base of the stage, to her left. He was concentrating on the crowd, determination shining in his red eyes.
Nanashi knew what was wrong with him now. She knew now what Yueko had meant when she said he was hiding something.
At least, when it came to time. However, when it came to holidays and government issues, they made sure every detail was as perfect as it could be.
Nanashi was wandering through the halls of the Celiti Alliance Assembly Hall, a building used only on holidays. It was currently empty, but the decorations were already in place. Purple and gold sparkler projections lit up all the corners, while bunting hung from each and every doorway and on the stair and balcony railings as well. The elaborate gold and glass chandeliers were brightly lit with fire, which was unusual since they usually ran on the Alyraius form of electricity, which was similar to nuclear power, but much safer and stable.
Nanashi sighed, and touched her neck. There were two scars there, only 13 hours old. She continued walking, out of the Assembly Hall and across the road to the Celitia Officials Lounge Hotel, a hotel where Celitia leaders and council members could rest and change before the main events began. Nanashi checked her watch; on Earth, it was nearly 1:00 pm. The festival didn't start for another two hours. She sighed again, and quickly crossed the bustling road and made her way through the lobby of the hotel to the elevators.
Once she made it to her room, she didn't bother turning on the lights, since it was dark in there already. She flopped herself on the queen-sized bed, and buried her face in the marshmallow pillows.
"You seem to do that a lot," a voice behind her spoke.
Nanashi shot up, and glanced around. She found the source of the voice; a long-haired man in a black cape with the hood up. She sighed in relief, but was still annoyed. "Don't start sneaking into my rooms, now, Vasska. That's borderline stalker-like."
The caped man shrugged, but looked at the floor. "Sorry. I was restless. There are a lot of them already here. Out there, in the street. Luckily, they didn't sense you. They'd have been pretty stupid to attack you out there anyway, with all those guards and law enforcers. Not to mention the common people."
"Well, I'm sure I'll be safe once Nona and Yueko get here. They're my best bodyguards. The vampires won't be able to even touch me." Nanashi got up off the bed and switched the light on. Vasska flinched, but otherwise didn't show any emotion.
"Well, unlike you, I'm not so sure of your safety by the hand of those kids. Granted, Yueko is a very good psychic, and Nona is excellent in some martial arts, but vampires have an unlimited stamina. Especially when they have a goal."
"Yueko and Nona can do anything they set their minds to. And, I'd be careful of calling Yueko a kid. She's 20 already. And she has her maturity mark. Nothing will stop her once she has a goal."
"Yueko is still a child at heart. She acts as if she's never heard of death, and plans to pretend it doesn't exist."
Nanashi bolted from the bed and slapped Vasska across the face. "She lost her parents when she was just a kid. He sister is all she has left. Don't you dare say things that you can't back up with actual proof!"
Vasska looked startled as the door opened. "Yo, Nashi! How you doing?!" Nona walked in and stopped as soon as she saw Nanashi and Vasska standing close to each other. "Ah! A-Am I interrupting something?"
"No." Yueko came in, all smiles. "They're just in a little argument. Nanashi, it's alright if you think we can't handle it. Vasska has a point, even if he does make false accusations."
Nanashi ran her fingers through her hair; a habit she picked up from Iyume, her close friend. "No, I... I want someone there I can trust, and I trust you guys. And Letitia, Mitzi and all my friends from the CSF, too. They'll all be there, guarding everyone else. I know none of you will let anything happen to any of the people there."
Yueko gave a thumbs-up. "Of course! You can count on us!"
Vasska stepped in. "Maybe she can, but I can't. I know the enemy, I'm one of their kind. I know how they think, and I also know that none of you can protect Nanashi."
Yueko crossed her arms over her chest, her expression suddenly poisonous. "Oh? And, how can we trust you, given that you are one of them? For all we know, you could be setting something up."
"She's my bonded master. I can't do anything she tells me not to do."
"And that could be a lie. You think you know you're telling the truth, but that's not always the case. You could be lying, unknowingly."
Vasska looked startled. "What? You think I'm lying?"
"No. I think you could be lying, but you don't know it."
"But you can read my mind. Go ahead, do it now. You'll see."
"I already have. You're hiding something. Something important. Something you don't want anyone to find out about."
A look of fear suddenly crossed Vasska's face. He quickly suppressed it and looked to the floor for a moment. When he looked back at Yueko, his red eyes were burning. "Fine. I'll let you ignorant children handle this. But I warned you." Vasska adjusted his cloak and he stalked out of the room, shutting the door hard.
Nona whistled. "What's up with him? He seems... really ticked off."
Yueko shook her head and uncrossed her arms. "Anyway, the festival is supposed to start soon. Shouldn't you change for the opening ceremony?"
Nanashi nodded absent-mindedly. As she went to the closet with her ceremonial robes, Nona flopped onto the bed, watching her. "Nashi, maybe you shouldn't turn on him yet. He could just be hiding some bad memories of the people who changed him."
Yueko sat next to Nona, playing with Nona's pigtails. "She might be right. He's hiding something personal, something that he doesn't want to admit to himself. His reaction was definitely not something that someone who's working for the enemy would show."
Nanashi nodded. "I don't think we should be calling them enemies, though. Maybe just misunderstood people." She took a lavender dress off one of the hangars and looked at it. It was a formfitting simple lacy dress with a pleated and layered skirt. She thought it must have been for the after-party. She hung it back up.
Nona considered this. "You have a point there, too." She looked around Yueko to see what was in the closet. "The one in the zip-up bag is the robes you have to wear."
Nanashi moved some hangars aside and grabbed the bag, and took it to the bathroom. Yueko and Nona waited in the bedroom patiently for a few minutes, and Nanashi emerged from the bathroom and took a long look in the mirror.
The top was halter-like, with a leathery material running around her neck and down to the middle of her chest, where an emerald-like jewel was set. Form-fitting material wrapped around her chest, creating a bra of sorts, and loose material hung from the beaded border just below the form-fitting top, and formed puffy sleeves above the top, which hung off Nanashi's shoulders. The loose material was split in the middle below the bra, revealing her stomach area, which had a leather-like belt wrapped around just above her belly-button. Hanging on her hips was a skirt with a beaded belt, but in the center was another emerald jewel, strung between a leather-like belt that was not attached to the skirt except for where the jewel was, but rather went up and rested above her hips. The fabric of the top hung a long way past the skirt, but flared out just enough for her stomach to be seen.
Yueko got up and pulled some armbands and a feathered and beaded hairpin from a wooden box that sat on the dresser. She handed the armbands to Nanashi, who slid them onto her forearms. Yueko pinned the hairpin into Nanashi's bangs, and the mint bead strands mingled with her hair. Nanashi found her sandals and slipped into them, completing her look.
Nona sat up and nodded her approval. "Niiiice. You look stunning. It bears some resemblance to your work outfit, but it's much sexier."
Nanashi rolled her eyes, disapproving of Nona's choice of words. "Oh, great. Yet another reason for the vampires to eat me."
Nona winced. "Oh, sorry about that." She gave an innocent but embarrassed smile.
Nanashi changed the subject. "You know what's weird? I got an invitation this time around. It's already mandatory I attend this festival, so why did I get an invitation?"
Yueko thought a moment. "Well, maybe Alek wanted to remind you because you've been away from Alyraius for a while. You have been on a lot of 'business trips' lately. Not to mention your recent vacation for the USA's Independence Day and all of those finals you had to take for your college freshman semester last month."
Nanashi nodded. "I guess that's true. Wow... so Vasska's been a CSF member for about a month now? It feels like just a week ago."
Yueko nodded. "Yeah. This is his first field mission after soaking up all the information on Celitia over the past month. Maybe that's why he seems so high-strung."
Nona gave Nanashi a mischievous look. "Back to Vasska, huh?"
Nanashi raised an eyebrow at her.
Nona then gave a blank stare, and shook her head. "Ah, never mind."
Yueko glanced at her watch. "The assembly starts in about a half hour. We don't need to change until about an hour after that. Hopefully, by then, Letitia and Mitzi will be here to take our places until then. Vasska will probably be with you the entire time. All the CSF field members will be on the lookout for anyone who might try something. Kansae will give a short speech regarding the conduct the people should take before the main events begin. You know, just reinforcing the rules."
Nanashi nodded as Nona ran a brush through Nanashi's long hair. "First introductions, then speeches, then the party starts. Sounds good."
Yueko nodded. "Okay, time to head out. The first assembly takes place in the main square, where most of the citizens can watch and listen. You'll be flown there in one of the personal government cabs. Alek will accompany you."
Nanashi nodded again. She huffed and walked to the door. "Well, let's get going."
Nanashi met Alek in the lobby of the hotel, and they both made their way to the floating limousine parked just outside. Nanashi got in first and sat on the passenger side, and Alek slid in next to her. He nodded to the driver, and then turned to the cloaked figure in the passenger seat. "Hello, there, Vasska. How's it going?"
Nanashi looked up in surprise, and her eyes met Vasska's red ones, obscured by his long black hair and black hood. "Oh, you know, first field mission and all that. I meant to thank you for letting me join the CSF. I hope I can set a good example for my kind and my family. I've heard they've been giving you some grief on Tekgarden and Earth."
Nanashi looked out the window, confused. She wondered when he had heard about his family. When he first arrived, he had claimed to have known nothing about his personal life. Maybe he had done some digging while he was studying. Yueko did mention she had been helping him with something, and she was a Psyche-type NeoHuman, which would make her an expert at memory recovery.
Vasska turned back around and kept the conversation going with Alek, but he still stole glances at Nanashi, and she could feel them as if he were boring lasers into her. Nanashi crossed her legs and rested her arm on the armrest of her chair, and then rested her head in the palm of her hand. She was getting irritated with each passing moment he looked at her, and she wondered how long it would take before she snapped at him.
The cab at last pulled around the main stage at one end of the main square, and Alek helped Nanashi out. Vasska got out as well, and the three of them met up with Kansae and Aimee and their bodyguards, and they all went back behind the curtain that was hanging behind the podium on the stage. Mitzi, Yueko, Nona, and Letitia were back there, in their assigned positions to prevent anyone from causing a conflict. As the crowd outside grew larger and louder, more of the CSF members arrived and took their places around the square and next to the stage. Finally, Alek nodded at Letitia, who was currently the head of security, and he stepped out. The crowd clapped and cheered as he took his place at the podium. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
Nanashi, standing at Alek's right hand, as she was the Second Eminence, couldn't pay attention to his speech. She scanned the crowd, looking for the vampires that had come for her. She wondered if they were only here out of hunger.
Then something occurred to her. There was no way a whole group of vampires would come for her just because they were hungry. And Vasska was being much too over-protective for that to be the case as well. She stole a glance at her personal bodyguard, standing at the base of the stage, to her left. He was concentrating on the crowd, determination shining in his red eyes.
Nanashi knew what was wrong with him now. She knew now what Yueko had meant when she said he was hiding something.