GISELLE 

The hunger was all-consuming. At first, Giselle cursed her dumb ass to the Hell and back, because she hasn't drunk any blood in days. God, she couldn't even count how many days. Giselle wasn't aware of it earlier because her mind was elsewhere.

But now, she was in a wet, stone cell, the only light being the candle coming from the outside. Why did anyone decide this was a good residence, she didn't know. Her body was... itching, burning from the inside out. Giselle had never felt starvation, but she somehow knew this was different. She felt like she lacked everything, from water, food, warmth and peace. Her mind was running wild. Flashes of her father, Rosa and Adam danced in front of her eyes. Misery was coursing through her veins, the need to die, to cease existing. Or simply to feed 'til she lost consciousness. Giselle tried focusing on the candle, swallowing hard, trying to trick her stomach into thinking it is receiving food. It didn't work.

She's been here for a while now, every now and then she heard a scream that was closer to her than all the others. All other sounds were muffled, mixed together. Giselle tried thinking about what was going on there, if Ala and the others were safe, but she couldn't.

Because all Giselle heard, all she tasted in her mouth was the human girl behind her breathing. Every time she let out a cry, Giselle could feel her tears on her tongue, salty and wet. That's how vivid it became, almost like Giselle already knew what the girl tasted like.

"You need to be quiet." Giselle's voice was hoarse, rough, even predatory, she thought with disgust. She was disgusted, truth be told. She hated herself. It was all fun and games when you could eat whenever you wanted, but now... a beast was waking up in her, a beast so hungry it would devour anything in its way. The beast wouldn't care, it wouldn't ask, whether the girl was alive or dead.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Shut up, girl, just shut up." Giselle cut her off. She wasn't aware that Giselle was not a person in this moment, Giselle wasn't Giselle. She wanted to tear the girl apart, drink every ounce of whatever liquid she had in her. Those plump, rose lips, the health in the spark of her eye.

They warned her, both Alacaris and Vlad separately, that drinking from a cup is nothing like being near an alive person, blood strong and fresh. Giselle ignored it, just like she ignored that she was now different, that she died and came back to life. Giselle would've cried, except she was so hungry, all she felt was anger. She wanted to scream, she wanted to tear down those bars in front of her, but they were so strong and Giselle was so weak.

And the truth was, Giselle didn't really want to tear them down. She didn't really want to leave; her body wouldn't allow. Never in her life had she felt such perplexity, such indecisiveness.

"Please, to some it helps knowing who I..."

"Jesus Christ, don't you understand the words shut up?" Giselle screamed at the girl, gripping those bars tighter. Giselle didn't want to hurt her, but oh, God, she wanted to hurt her. She wanted to feel the fear in the girl, surging to the surface, she wanted to lick those tears gathered in the corners of the girl's eyes. Only thinking about it made Giselle shiver with anticipation. The struggle within her was the realest thing she had ever felt. Giselle didn't want to kill her, not when she knew this would haunt her for the rest of her days, and another, still quiet but growing stronger, part of her asked: who cares? You are the one that chooses whether something haunts you or not, you choose whether you live with your sins.

"Listen, we can work this out, if you simply tell me what is going on..." Giselle wanted to strangle her, she wanted to suck out the life within her, wanted to feel it dissolving in her hands.

"You unbearable little bitch! If you love your life, you will, shut, up!" Giselle screamed at her and not being able to help it, she turned around. When the girl saw Giselle's face, she gasped. Giselle laughed out loud, but the sound was bitter and rough, more like a growl.

"Oh, you are pathetic." Giselle said. The feeling reminded her of craving water, and water was few steps away, and she had to stop herself from drinking it. It hurt her body to abstain from this, it hurt her mind and her soul. The girl cried out again, not understanding that she only added to Giselle's cravings.

"I understand you're mad..." Giselle's laughter interrupted her, this girl wouldn't quit, this stupid bitch wouldn't quit.

"Oh, I'm not mad." Giselle said throughout her laughter. "I'm fucking hungry." Her voice wasn't hers, those words consisted of something bordering laughter and growling, like an animal ready to claw its way to flesh. Finally, she girl shut the fuck up.

She wouldn't make it, Giselle realised. If they didn't come down for her this very moment, she would not make it. She couldn't stand being alone with this girl anymore.

Finally, that same black-haired woman arrived.

"You! You need to get me out of here!" Giselle called for her. The black-haired woman turned and looked at Giselle, her face twisted in terror.

"Madame De Noves said..." The woman began.

"I, do not care," Giselle said slowly, "what Madame De Noves said. If you want this girl alive, you need to get me the fuck out of here." Giselle hasn't cussed her entire life, she realised. But this wasn't her life anymore, she died and came back as something else. Everything the previous Giselle did is long forgotten. The woman approached the bars and Giselle stared at her, breathing heavily. Giselle was sweating.

"You must abstain from this, sister. For she is counting on you to kill her." The woman told her and Giselle saw honesty in her hazel eyes. Giselle moved away from the bars, because she just might snap this woman's neck through them if she managed to reach her.

"I've had it with the riddles! I'm done. You want me to play along, you tell me exactly what is going on. And you tell me this fast, because if I don't get blood soon, I am going to sink my teeth into my own damn skin." Perhaps she looked frightening, because the woman nodded.

"I am a trickster, girl. And I can feel your power. If you want Lerra to spare you, you must tell her this, and whatever you do, you mustn't kill this girl."

"What is going on up there?" Giselle asked, barely managing to utter the words, she could feel her teeth, aching, probing the soft skin of her lips.

"One member of the Monarchy was found dead, they blamed a young wolf and cut out his heart. So now, it's a werewolf rebellion out there. Madame is trying to save as many vampires as possible."

Suspicion was probably written all over Giselle's face, because the woman shrugged her shoulders and shook her head at the same time. Giselle's mind wasn't quite there enough to focus on this, but she did ask the woman one thing.

"Who was found dead?"

"Adam Adamov."

As if someone hit her on the head, Giselle staggered back. Amongst all the feelings that ran through her, one she didn't expect, and that was sorrow. First time tonight, her tears overcame her anger, and escaped down her cheeks. The strange realisation, that she did in fact care for him, surprised her.

"Please, please do not eat this girl." The woman in front of Giselle whispered. Just like that, Giselle was reminded of her situation. And all that hunger, rushed back and intertwined with all those feelings buried in her.

"Lerra sent me here on purpose. She wants to test me, doesn't she?"

The woman said nothing, but her wide eyes said plenty. She mouthed 'please' one more time before she disappeared.

Soon after that, everything went very quiet and Giselle could once again hear the soft cries of a girl locked in a cell with her.

She was human and Giselle was a vampire. Just like Giselle ate pork when she was human, she could eat the girl now. Vampires were the stronger species; they were the predators. If she killed the girl now, she would simply try to satisfy her basic need, wasn't she?

But you weren't, a voice spoke in her head. You wouldn't need to kill her to satisfy your hunger, you simply want to kill her. And she did want to kill her, God, she felt like she wouldn't even sate the hunger if she didn't take the girl's life.

Battling within her thoughts, Giselle didn't realise she was almost biting her lower lip. Finally, she punctured the skin and her own blood ended on her tongue.

Giselle lifted her head, still gripping the bars of the cell. All she could hear was the buzzing in her ears and all she could taste was the sweetness of her own blood.

Then, just like that, she blew out that candle, leaving her and the girl in complete darkness. Darkness was all that was left in her head, as well, because every rational thought went out.

"Please!" The girl screamed as she felt Giselle turn around. The girl wasn't talking to Giselle anymore, she was talking to an animal, much stronger and immensely hungry.

"You should've shut up." Giselle told her as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was incredible, Giselle saw the girl's eyes dancing around the cell, not knowing where to look and Giselle saw everything, as if a candle was burning just for her.

Giselle went for the girl, reaching for her neck, but she hit the clavicle. Nevertheless, Giselle probed the girl's skin with her sharp teeth and it was disgusting just how easily her teeth went through it. When the girl's blood reached Giselle's tongue, she forgot anything else existed.

All control was lost, the taste took over all of her senses. It tasted like air and she hasn't been breathing lately. The girl's body relaxed under the pressure of Giselle's and Giselle realised she won. This feeling, the feeling of having taken down an animal, one that surrendered, admitting her superiority, added to this bursting sense of omnipotence and Giselle smiled at the girl's skin. Giselle was lost in this feeling of overcoming her prey, drinking its life force straight from its vein. It must be what a hunter feels when he catches a tough animal, it must be what a man feels when he finally kills his enemy on the battle field.

It lasted shorter that Giselle had wanted it to. The girl's body was completely drained of blood. It was then, when there was nothing left in her to drink, when panic washed over Giselle. She moved away from the girl quickly and screamed. The girl was white, even in complete darkness, her white, bloodless skin shone in the cell. Now, all Giselle could hear was her own breathing, her short, shallow breaths as she took in the sight of this girl, alive a few moments ago.

Suddenly, Giselle was a stranger in her own body as dread crept through her skin. Disgust, fright and panic all collapsed straight onto her, taking her in, drowning her.

Giselle began to cry, her tears washing the blood from her face. She blubbered like a child, feeling the pain in her throat, unable to breathe. Her entire core burned from all the pain.

Giselle sat there on the floor for a while, crying softly, up until she felt exhausted. She cried for all the mistakes she had ever made. She cried for her father and his kind heart, because she didn't know whether he was alive or dead. She cried for Adam, for all the misfortune she brought upon him. She cried for Amalia, for her baby. She cried for Rosa. Then she cried for herself, for all she used to be, for the innocence of the little girl that wanted to play in the field, that wanted to explore. Such tremendous guilt ran through Giselle, helplessness and despair for all she had become. She was so alone in this big, dangerous world, not knowing what to do, what they wanted from her. She hadn't known she was capable of things she's done, she never thought she would want to do them. Giselle never knew she craved power.

And within that dark place in her soul, buried somewhere deep, somewhere she never dared enter, Giselle found a sensation.

Because only when she admitted to herself that she might be worse than she would ever want anyone to be, a gateway opened. And Giselle felt it wakening, a small, rusted bundle of power unravelled. Scared out of her wits, Giselle didn't tap into it.

She sat there, eyes wide, staring at the wall as the beast within her purred.

The black-haired woman came for her sometime later and lit up a candle. She gasped as she saw the body on the floor and then looked at Giselle's face, probably as expressionless as stone. Slowly, she nodded and unlocked the door. Without a word, Giselle walked past.

"Giselle, think about whatever you wish to do next." The woman said. Giselle turned around. She was so broken, her feelings scattered all over her soul, only thing calm enough to focus on, was anger.

"I've been thinking quite enough." Giselle's voice was incredibly even, no tone, no rhythm. The woman simply stared at her as Giselle left those underground chambers.

Once Giselle finally found her way to the main hall of Cardona, she was surprised to find it quiet as a graveyard.

Dead bodies, grey and broken, spread all over the dark red carpet and stone tables. Curtains covered in dry blood hung from the ceiling. Pieces of bodies, limbs and heads were all over the place. The smell wasn't pleasant, this blood was dead, as well as everyone in the hall. Giselle had to swallow hard to stop herself from vomiting. Panicking, she searched for her friends amongst those bodies but she didn't find them.

The saddest thing was the lack of sound. She heard all of these people, dancing and laughing, and now, they would never make another sound or move their feet. Giselle entered deeper into the hall and looked towards the throne.

There, the Queen sat. Lerra's face was covered in blood, her hair messed up, her dress ripped apart. Her left hand was almost bitten off, it hung by a few veins sticking out of the body. She stared at the hall, not lifting her gaze towards Giselle. In her right hand, she had a glass filled with red liquid. It was wine, Giselle could smell it. She approached the throne.

"I killed the girl." Giselle uttered the words, Lerra smiled bitterly but didn't do her the honour of looking at her.

"It'll pass, the guilt." She said. "Once you do many things worse than that." For a moment, it felt almost intimate, the empty, dead hall and the Queen covered in blood.

"What happened here, Lerra?" Giselle asked, unsure whether to use her name. But it seemed to trigger something in here and she finally looked at Giselle.

"I did what I had to do." She whispered and her eyes seemed to beg for understanding, not knowing what else to do, Giselle nodded. But deep within her, she felt fear. The unstableness in Lerra's eyes made Giselle nervous, but Lerra quickly gathered herself.

"Good, you killed the girl. I got what I wanted, then, you proved you're a liability."

"Excuse me?" Giselle asked, very much on the edge again. Lerra smiled and this time, Giselle noticed the same old wickedness. It seemed to be her mask, her facade. Right as she was about to say something, Devan entered the room. His hair was rustled and he was covered in blood, as well.

"You killed Devan's wife." Lerra said, smiling.