twelve
the dream.

"YESTERDAY, I CAME into possession of another Malivore artifact. It was my hope to find a method of containment before it signaled another monster, but given the emergency meeting I've just called, I'm sure you can guess how well that went," Alaric announces a few hours later in the student lounge. Isabelle is sitting at a desk by herself, sipping a cup of coffee. She hasn't slept since she was knocked out in Fort Valley, because she's been cramming for exams. "But rest assured we are taking every precaution. Sheriff Donavan has been kind enough to open the doors of the Lockwood mansion to us, so Mr.Williams and Ms.Tig are now in the process of evacuating our students from the lower grades."

"Why don't we just evacuate the damn artifact?" Kaleb remarks, making Isabelle roll her eyes in annoyance. The Castiel girl is usually nice, but she's not so nice when she lacks a decent amount of sleep.

"Shut up, Kaleb," Isabelle snaps, sipping her coffee as she continues to scan her advanced chemistry textbook, half listening to what Alaric is saying.

"We are much more well-equipped than the world at large to handle the arrival of a monster. Once we know what we're dealing with and the problem is contained, then we can reassess what to do with the artifact. If any of you would like to evacuate, please talk to Dorian or Emma. However, exam week will continue as scheduled, wherever you are."

Everybody, including Isabelle, groan and Alaric frowns. "I know. I'm sorry. I can't exactly call the state accreditation board and tell them that we're cancelling the exams because of monsters. We'll get through this, I promise. Try and get some rest, okay? Good night."

Alaric dismisses them, but Isabelle doesn't move. She stays in her spot, wrapping her faux sherpa blanket tighter around herself in an effort to stay warm.

Most of the people file out of the room, but Rafael approaches Isabelle's table, taking a seat across from her with a lazy grin. "You good, Izzy? You snapped at Kaleb. Not really like you."

"Just kinda agitated," she answers, giving him an exhausted smile. "Exams stress me out."

"Same here," Rafael sighs, placing his books on the table. "Mind if I join you?"

"Feel free, Raf."

The pair study in comfortable silence for a while before Isabelle drifts off to sleep, not having any idea about the sleep demon that has ahold of her.

When she opens her eyes again, she's sitting at the exact same desk in the library and Rafael is sitting next to her, his hand on her arm. "Iz, you're so cute when you sleep."

He's chuckling as he says it, like he said something funny, but she pauses at his words. "What did you just say?"

"What?" He repeats what she said, making her blink and wonder if she'd just imagined it. It would make sense considering how little sleep she's gotten the last three days.

"I'm uh-tired," Isabelle declares, gathering her things. "I think I've studied enough. I need a break, so I'm gonna-"

"Maybe you need a distraction," Rafael remarks, gently cupping her face with his free hand. She looks at him in confusion, wondering why he's suddenly acting like this when he presses his lips to hers.

It's a pleasant feeling, but it's different from their first kiss. The first kiss was magical, one Isabelle will remember for the rest of her life. But this feels forced, so she pulls away from him, and when she does, she's no longer in the library at the Salvatore School.

She's standing in the yard of her family home in New Orleans. It looks the exact same it had the last time she saw it-the day her family died.

The girl's hands shake as she walks into the home, spotting her mother on the staircase with an arrow in her heart. Blood covers her mother's white dress, but then her eyes open. Her mother's emerald eyes stare at her angrily before her arms shoot out and she grabs Isabelle's shoulders roughly, so hard that her fingernails dig into the girl's skin. "You did this t me. Why did you do this to me, Isabelle?"

"I didn't," the girl whimpers in pain, trying to get out of her mother's deathgrip with no luck. She struggles against the woman's hold, her entire body shaking. "I didn't do-"

"Yes, you did," her mother nods, her iron grip now drawing Isabelle's blood. The young girl gasps in pain, finding herself unable to fight back. "But you can make this right. Where is it?"

"What are you talking about?" Isabelle deadpans, not having any idea what she's talking about. Her mother's grip then tightens and she winces.

"You're not stupid, Isabelle. You know what I want."

"No, I don't-" she begins as a hooded figure appears behind her mother. The woman is dressed in all black, and has a veil resting on her head, like she's just come from a funeral. Her voice is scratchy and ravenous, like she's a monster of some kind.

"You know what I want."

"No, I don't," Isabelle insists before she finally yanks herself free of her mother's grasp.

When she does, she jerks awake, still sitting in the library with a pile of books in front of her. Rafael is sitting next to her, and glances at her worriedly when he sees her jerk awake. "Iz, you okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a bad dream," the girl exclaims as Rafael reaches across the table and puts a hand on her shoulder gently. However, the second his hand makes contact with her skin, she winces. "Ow!"

She pulls away from him, wondering why that hurt before she gets up and looks in a nearby mirror. She pulls her shirt down just enough to see little moons in her skin, like something had been digging their fingernails into her skin, like her mother did in her dream.

"Iz, what happened?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

UNEDITED