House of Night *Started*

Kelly Myers

I reached the infirmary after some time as I got near the door I heard talking on the other side. Maybe it was my vision's but I somehow knew who was on the other side. I poked my head in to see not only Zoey but Serena, Serena was probably one the only Dark Daughter's I had kept in touch with since my expedition from the Dark Daughter's. But in the last few months I had realized that she had tricked me used my desire to become head priestess-in-training. Now with my expedition from the Dark Daughter's she had moved up to second in command, I looked at her for only a split second and then at Zoey who was now awake.

"Hey new blood mind chit chatting sometime soon?" I asked.

Pharaoh Draco

I lingered in Kelly's room, trying to avoid her desk as my curiousity rose. I tried to keep my hands to myself, but it became so unbearable I couldn't stop myself from searching the desk to find the source of the emotion that made me blush. My hands discovered a diary, which had the emotion at its strongest. My face got redder as I opened the diary and read page after page. I stopped cold when I found a page based on me. Oh Goddess, forgive me. Kelly has feelings for me?! Goddess, how could I be so blind? I could sense emotions and alter them at my own free will, but I never thought someone would have feelings for me. I put the diary back where I found it and tried to compose myself as I sat on Kelly's bed. I took a breath as I thought over the page in her diary. It spoke of me in different angles, a feeling of affection in each and every paragraph. It made me wonder, was what I read all she thought of me? If so, then how can I return the favor? I was no poet, even with Professor P's help.
I took the diary back out and read more. There was a feeling of sorrow and defeat from one page. It spoke of how Calypso defeated Kelly. I knew remembered that night. I was there at the time. To me, Calypso didn't deserve victory the way she taunted Kelly to attack with fire the same way it happen months later. Kelly was about to walk out the door- which meant suicide for those of us in the House of Night- when I stopped her from taking another step. I talked her into staying, calming her down with my affinity of empathy and speaking to her with confidence. I didn't want her to give up too soon, so she had to keep trying. I knew she was happy to know I had her back, but until now I didn't expect that she had feeling for me after that night. I put the diary away once again, making sure it was where I found it. I didn't want Kelly to know I was snooping around in her diary. I put myself in enough trouble anyway.

Zoey

Did I mind chit chatting with her? Soon? Hell yes I minded. Not only had she tried to get me on "her side" in my first ten minutes at school, she had also made me angry in Nyx's temple. Had I hurt her? No, sadly. Had I aimed to hurt her? No, actually, I hadn't. Maybe there was more to her than this one side she kept showing me, this vengeful side that she had for Calypso, but kept slipping out in front of me. No, I wasn't friends with Calypso either, but that didn't mean I couldn't be friends with both of them. There was middle ground, right? There was a side where I didn't have to be put in between them and their fighting all of the time, right?

All of these things flew through my head at once, making my mind a jumbled mess. If there had been a mind reader in the room, they would be so confused they would be sick. All of the while, though, I kept my poker face on. I looked Kelly square in the eyes, really looked, as if I could see into her soul and her true intentions.

I smiled my OMG-I-think-we-could-be-best-friends smile at her and said, "Of course, any time you want to talk, just let me know." That was the only thing I could really say to her before Neferet flew in. She looked pretty, as usual, wearing a long silk dress that dragged behind her a little. It was a wonder she was ever able to get around in those kind of things, seeing as she always slammed the door behind her.

Neferet gave one glance at Ethan and Kelly and smiled sweetly. Then her eyes met mine. "How do you feel Zoey? I hope you're not hurt too badly. You only have minor bruises from your fall, but they'll go away in a few days. It's not to major for me to heal, plus they shouldn't hurt much. I'm sure you must be very hungry, why don't you go grab some food from the dining hall and head back to your dorm, you're probably still tired." Her eyes swept the room once more, taking in the two other fledglings in the room. Her smile faltered a little and I wondered what was behind her smile. Was she really happy with her job? Of course she was, she was a High Priestess of Nyx. Who wouldn't like that job?

"You should return to class as soon as possible," She said, looking at Ethan. "Zoey does not need an entourage. And you." Her icy green eyes found Kelly. "You should get to the stables. If you're not there for your punishment, I will lengthen your job." She said it all with a smile that never fell. Neferet hadn't even said it rudely, but something about what she was saying sounded wrong, too mean, too rough. I didn't want to over think anything, but there might have been something off about Neferet.

Kelly Myers

I looked Neferet dead in the eye, and I could see that she had a special hate for me. I wave Zoey out the door and she follows me. I wait for the door to close and take a deep breath knowing I might have to find another way for Pharaoh's revenge. I just hope what I had to offer would do the trick.

"Listen about earlier, those fights with Calypso. I'll be honest I was more stuck up with trying to keep you out of the Dark Daughter's but now that seems more prominent than ever for you being recruited. But that's what I'm not here to talk about, what I am here to is, Pharaoh, my friend wants revenge on Calypso because he holds her accountable for his injury and not me. Your her dorm mate thanks to Neferet telling Calypso this while I was there. And we both need something, I need into your dorm to allow Pharaoh to mess with Calypso, and you need a mentor on how to use fire." I said after taking a deep breath.

Zoey stared at me akwardly, for a moment I thought she was going to say no.

"So what your saying is, I allow you into my dorm to mess with her, and you'll teach me about fire?" She asked and nodded.

Zoey

She was going to teach me fire? How could I say no to that? I mean, it wasn't like I liked Calypso much anyway. I hadn't been here very long and she still made me feel like I was an outsider. Plus, I could tell there was something coming, something big and something bad, though I didn't quite know what yet. I had a feeling I was going to have to be able to control the elements to take on what was to happen.

So that didn't leave me in a really good spot at the moment. Kelly was offering to give me something I needed in return for revenge. Alright, so I wasn't that mean, but if someone had tricked my friend to burn my face, hell yea I'd be mad. So I knew what position Pharaoh was in. The thing was, it was my choice to let Calypso get hurt. Would she get hurt? It was odd that I was even worried, it was obvious she didn't like me.

"Fine," I said finally. I could see Kelly relax a little. The hardest part of her plan must have been getting me to agree, so I added, "But I don't want any part of this. If anyone asks, I don't know how you or Pharaoh got in there. You're on your own if you get caught."



~Neferet~

Now that the other fledglings had left, Neferet was left to tend to an unconscious Athena. She glared down at the newly Marked... what exactly was she now? Not an adult vampyre for sure, though her Mark now said she was. What had happened in Nyx's temple must have changed her, all of that power being thrown around. From what Neferet had heard from the other fledglings, Zoey controlled all of the elements--fairly well.

And to be honest, it gave Neferet pause. Zoey Redbird was strong, but the more she thought about it, the more Neferet realized she would have never discovered her affinity had it not been for her friends. So that's what she had to do, get her friends to desert her. Without them, she would be distracted, much too distracted for her to see Neferet's attack coming. She would destroy the fledgling once and for all.

Do not kill the girl until I am free to bear witness. His seductive voice sang through her head, making her body shiver with it's Darkness. She didn't need a Goddess who overlooked the things her children were doing, and she certainly didn't need a woman to tell her what was right and what wasn't. She didn't need Nyx at all, not when she had her sweet, dark immortal. And soon, he would be free from the earth which entrapped him. She would soon rule everything, with him at her side. The world would be her's to command...

Kelly Myers

With Zoey's agreement I nodded at what she had said, I relax. I nod once more and look her in the eye, and she knows I only ask one more thing of her.

"Right don't worry, me and Pharaoh have gotten out of jams like that before. But I ask one more thing. When you know Calypso is asleep come find me in my dorm to let us know." I said.

I start to walk away but quickly give Zoey a "follow behind" signal. We walked in silence most of the way until we finally reach my dorm, I open the door and allow Zoey inside. I see Pharaoh on my bed his head buried in his hands.

Pharaoh Draco

I got up and saw Kelly and the new blood. "I almost thought Neferet had you two by the horns already. I may have been here for such a while, but I really think there's something up with her. She's been awfully calm and it's really making me suspicious."
The new blood stared at me confused.
"I have an affinity for empathy. It's a give-and-receive sort of thing that took me a few months to master on my own." I looked at Kelly. "Let me guess: the new blood here is in on the plan?"

Kelly Myers

"Oh yea, she lets us in, I teach her on how to use fire, Zoey, when you know Calypso is asleep come knock on my door, me and Pharaoh will be ready." I said with a smile and she nodded.

I shooed her out the door and she left, I walked over to my desk and sat at it. I pulled out my diary and opened it to a blank page, and start to write as I talk to Pharaoh.

"So how you feeling?" I asked.

Pharaoh Draco

"A little better, now that I can get back at Calypso for the damage done to me." I sighed and decided to confess. "But I'm also a little worried about my little sister. She hasn't written back to me for weeks now and- being her eldest sibling and only brother- I'm worried that something might've happened to her. She's all I have left of my human family."
Kelly was silent at the moment.
I sighed again. "My sister's name was Angel, after our grandmother Angeline. Little Angel was the youngest out of four children, I myself the eldest and only son. Ever since Angel started taking history classes in school, she called me Pharaoh because she treated me like a pharaoh. At least, that's how she thought of me as. Angel never disowned me like our mother and sisters did when I was Marked. She stood as support and helped me get enrolled into the House of Night. I changed my name to Pharaoh because I wanted to keep my sister in mind. When I was chosen by that little tabby cat, I named her Angel to honor my sister. I've been writing to my sister back and forth like rapid fire ever since I got here in the House of Night, so I could let her know how I was doing and she could tell me what's been happening to the family since I left."

Kelly Myers

It was funny in a way, I had only asked him how he was feeling and he up and told me his lifes story, I chuckled slightly at what he was telling all about his little sister. "Angel" what a cute name.

"Well all you can do right now is hope that she just hasn't received it or got mixed up. And you know it's funny how I asked how you were feeling, and you tell me your lifes story. But I suppose it would only be fair if I do the same tho." I said.

I put the pen in my diary to mark the page I left off at, then turned around to face Pharaoh. I took a deep breath to calm myself and not let my emotions go crazy.

"Well after I was marked, my father and mother were quick to disown me. My brothers and sisters distanced themselves from me, but there was only one who continued to be my friend was a guy named Andrew, he didn't care if I was a monster of the night, he was still my friend. But the last time I talked to him was when I set out for the house." I said between breaths.

Mark

I couldn't sleep. The memory of being Marked kept playing in his head.

I was staring blankly at the two caskets in front of me. My parents were inside them. They had been killed in a drunk driving accident, a few weeks back. Out the corner of my eye, I saw a figure scanning the perimeter of the grave, as if looking for someone.

When he met my eyes, I started to panic. He put his finger to his mouth, telling me to shush. After the funeral, I was walking to my car, when the man came out of nowhere, and pulled me into an alley.

"Don't say a word," he told me. I felt something inside me, before it vanished. "You are now Marked. You must come with me to the House of Night, where you will learn about your new future. Since your parents just passed, you have no choice but to come with me," he continued.

Nodding, I followed him to the House of Night.

I sighed and closed my eyes again, hoping to get a good day sleep.

Zoey

After leaving Kelly's dorm, I walked back outside. I had no plans on going to my own dorm until I absolutely had to. I wasn't going back to class either, so that didn't leave much else for me to do. Last hour only had about twenty minutes left to it, so no one would be outside--no one but me of course.

The night was cool against my skin. It would probably be freezing to a human, but I had learned that a vampyre or fledgling didn't feel the cold the same way humans did. I was glad for that, because if I was still human I would be shivering. It was funny how I'd only been Marked for a day and I was already setting myself apart from the rest of the world--human world that is.

I sighed and watched the little puff of white escape my lips. It had only been a day and I was already missing my grandma. Of course I could have her come visit me, but she lived so far away that I wouldn't want her to have to go through the trouble of driving all that way in the dark. Of course she wouldn't mind, not if it was to see me. That was the way my grandma was, she loved me and would do anything for me. If only my mom were still like that.

Mom... I missed her--missed how she used to be. She used to care, she used to be a real mom, but then she'd gotten married to the step loser and forgot that she ever had kids. I didn't hate her, she was still my mom, I just didn't like her--or her new husband for that matter. If that made any sense...

It was only when I ran smack into someone that I realized I was walking down the sidewalk, too deep in thought to have been able to see them coming.

"I'm so sorry," I said, feeling awkward. I sighed and looked up to see who I'd actually run unto.

Mark

I smiled down at the new blood Zoey. "Finally, I get to talk to you," I said looking at her.

"Uhm, who are you?" she asked me stepping back surprised.

"My name is Mark. I've been waiting for some alone time with you," I told her watching her nod. "I was wondering, do you want, to uhm, go out somewhere?" I asked sheepishly.

Before she could respond, Calypso appeared behind her. "Hey lover boy, go somewhere else. I need to, 'talk', with Zoey," Calypso said.

"Uhm, no. I think you're just going to hurt her," I said standing between them.

"I'll talk to you soon, Zoey," Calypso said before walking away.

"Thank you for standing up for me, but the answer to your question is no. I'm sorry," Zoey told me before walking off.

I watched her leave before grimacing. Forgot about her, we don't need her a voice said in my head. I turned and walked away.