My footsteps are quiet as I make the walk towards the king; he and I make a long bit of eye contact as I put on my fakest smile and curtsy. My teeth grind against each other as my eyes look downwards, pure hatred roaring through my heart. 

I finish my curtsy and head to the seat that lies by the side of Lily. She and I share a long look, both of us beyond freaking. Our attentions turn towards the king as he clears his throat and seems to look directly at me,

"I want to thank you three for helping keep this kingdom to be in the condition it is. You each will receive your payment from the keeper within the next few days. Now, let us give these three amazing people a round of applause," a chill runs through my spine, and all of a sudden there is a pounding against my chest. Something flashes in my line of sight and my head start to throb.

The roar of the townspeople drowns out the rest of my senses and things start to get blurry. My head starting to swirl as movements start to become slower; voices are starting to blend. Everything is buzzing so loud that I cannot take a moment to relieve that pain.

I close my eyes, attempting to release the tension building within my forehead. My breath is becoming shallow, and I must constantly remind myself to gasp for any sort of air. 

I can feel a hand reach mine, and I open my eyes to see Lily with a concerned look. She mouths something, but it does not register in my head. I now look around and see that the clapping has stopped, and everyone is simply staring at me. Every pair of eyes within this entire Gala looks at me as I continue to hyperventilate. I can no longer hear anything besides a ringing caught within my mind. 

My eyes stare blankly at Lily while the king just gives me an odd stare; it did not look pitiful, almost malicious. The way his jaw slightly shifts upwards, and his eyes are sparkling; it just makes me wonder. 

My body starts to shift slightly in my seat, but I have no control over it. My limbs feel weak, and my eyes feel heavy. I can see Kyler run to me, almost in slow motion. His movements are blurry, and the vision that reflects in his maple eyes reflects something more than worry. 

My body falls along the ground as dirt invades my eyes, nose, and mouth. My body is stunned, nothing is moving to my command. I can see Kyler at my aid, asking me something, but I can only hear the buzzing in my head.

Thoughts that would typically rush throughout my brain are relatively quiet. I close my eyes and allow myself to doze off, embracing the calm that starts to radiate throughout my entire body. One thought hits my mind as I slip farther away from reality.

What if magic is involved? 

-

I groggily awaken from my magic, hypothetically, induced fainting. My head is still buzzing, and the beaming lights certainly do not help the looming fear that settles in my throat. I quickly recognize the walls that I was surrounded by a few days ago. I turn my head to the right and see Kyler sitting in a chair fast asleep. He is quietly resting with his head uncomfortably leaning on his shoulder. I feel bad; did he just stay there for however long I was knocked out? 

I rub my eyes and then stretch my arms out. I look towards Kyler and take a moment to appreciate the beauty captured within his entire being, inward and outward. No doubt he is cute, but I can also see that he has a very pure soul. I smile before taking in a deep breath,

"Kyler," my voice is rough due to a lack of fluids. I notice that he stirs a little bit, but there seem to be no other signs of waking up.

"Kyler, are you there," he groans slightly before his eyes flutter open. When our eyes meet, a small bolt of electricity runs through my body. It is not painful, but it is not settling either. I give a smile towards Kyler.

"How are you feeling?"

"I think I should be the one asking that," we both let out a quiet laugh as I turn to let my legs slip other the edge of the bed. I am quick to notice that I am dressed in a silk nightgown, and my hair is not a matted mess. 

"What happened? I remember the round of applause, but after that everything faded away," Kyler is quick to reach down and grab a cup of water; he ushers me to drink it, and I oblige graciously. 

"It looked like you had a seizure. The weird part was when I attempted to open your eyes, they were lifeless, almost a dark, ocean blue. I haven't told anyone, but I think magic is involved," I nearly spit out my water as my eyes widen. I have had my suspicions, but the fact that someone else can confirm my theory is relieving. Well, somewhat. 

"I saw a flash before the applause and things seemed to go downhill from there. I knew something bad would happen, but I did not know something like that would happen. Listen, I need to tell you something."

"Go ahead, I won't judge."

"Well, you can't tell anyone. Promise me you won't mention anything," a shiver runs down my spine as he nods his head. My vision goes blurry as tears start to form in my eyes. I know something is wrong, and I feel like everything is out of my control. Who attempted to use magic on me? Why?

"I was told by Elder Zornem that I am meant to die after Gala. She also mentioned that I was to be trapped in the body of a strigoi and that I could be at rest when I killed my murderer," Kyler looks past me, and I can't help but glance out the window. The moon is still outside, and the fear that strikes my heart allows the tears to fall along the cheeks. I cover my body with my arms and let out a sob. It really has not kicked in that this is happening; it is only a matter of time before I will meet my end. Someone already tried, so what happens next? Did they fail? 

"I won't allow you to die; I promise. You've been healing from the priestesses, so I assume most of the magic is out of your system." I let out a sad smile before something churns in my stomach; my face falls flat as goosebumps rise all along my arms. I instantly stand up and rush out into the hallway; there is panic bubbling in my body, and I cannot help but frantically look around.

I have no control over my body, and I am mentally screaming inside. I start to gasp for breath as my eyes sway side to side, looking for where the threat is. Kyler comes up behind me, but I turn around and shove him back.

"What are you doing, Alice?"

"I don't know, you have to stay away," my body freezes as pain rushes through my chest. I start choking as blood rushes through my throat, and I fall onto my knees. Kyler runs out of the room and shouts for help. There is still no sign of another person besides Kyler and me.

"Kyler, help me," I choke out. Blood is pouring out of my chest and mouth, and I can feel myself start to convulse. Kyler reaches down and cradles me into his arms and attempts to calm the situation down. 

Things only seem to get worst when an odd feeling comes from my ears; Kyler lets out a curse as I am soon to realize that it is blood. A red fog is starting to flow from my eyes, and I can only assume it is blood. My neck falls to the side as I can only look at Kyler as he continues to shout for someone to come to my aid. I can vaguely hear footsteps, but I know my body is starting to give out. This is not something that can be cured; I can tell that whatever happened was something spell related. Someone wants me dead, and they are a magic-user. 

My eyes remain open, and I can tell that they are unable to close again. My body stiffens in Kyler's arms, and I cannot help but feel lighter. 

I can feel myself almost float forward, light as a feather, and free as a bird. I take a big gulp of air before turning around to look at Kyler. I let out a scream as I step away, only being able to see my dead body lying in his hands. I look at my arms to notice that they are a lighter color and see-through; I start to hyperventilate before shouting at Kyler. 

"Kyler, you're a spirit whisper, right? Help me! I know you can hear me!" his eyes snap towards me as he continues to hold my dead body. I take a step back as three women rush forward; they are wearing nursing uniforms and are all taken aback by my --- dead body. They rush to heal me, but nothing is happening. I am dead. 

Kyler glances from my body to me, and I motion for him to follow me to somewhere where no one can notice us, or, well, him. Kyler stammers something to the nurses as I almost float towards the end of the hospital highway and through the doors. Kyler follows behind me and we end up on the stairs of the infirmary entrance. 

"What the fuck? You're dead, you're really dead."

"No shit! What do I do? I am not stuck in this body forever, right? Am I not supposed to float to the clouds and meet the gods?"

"How am I supposed to know? I've never spoken to a dead person before," I let out a staggering breath and turn around and sit on the top stair. I want to cry, but there were no tears left to fall. Only then do Kyler and I look at each other when we hear the familiar words.

"Strigoi, strigoi, my little strigoi," a shiver runs down my spine, and Kyler draws a knife from his satchel. 

"Who goes there? Come out!"

"Turn around, little boy," we both turn back to the infirmary doors, and I let out a long scream. I step backward off the step, and I brace myself for a long fall. Only then do I realize that I am still floating, and I can feel myself get physically ill. I am simply a spirit; there is no way I can fall. 

"Who are you," I whisper towards the being as I take in his intimidating stature. He is six foot something, extremely muscular, has short hair, and is rather well dressed in a proper suit. His hands occupy a cane, and the smile he bears is nothing short of ominous.

"I go by many things, but that doesn't matter. I am here for your soul, my strigoi."