Rose of Dragona: 3. Leone

         Leone’s room was black as night, save the dim red light of the moon coming in through a tiny gap in the curtains. Everything was in tact and there was still no sign of the room’s owner.

         “Leone? Where are you?”

         “I’m over here, on the sofa.”

         I looked over and there he was. He was very pale like most vampires and seemed to glow in the dim red light. His hair was black and fell just under his shoulderblades. He wore black jeans and a shirt with sleeves that only covered his arms to the elbows. He was well built, but didn't have bulking muscles. In my opinion, he was beautiful, but I'd never tell him that.

         "I cannot stay long. I still have to say good-bye-"

         “Good-bye? I don’t understand.”

         I walked over to the leather piece of furniture and sat in front of it. An arm wrapped around me, making me stiffen.

         “It’s just me.”

         That didn’t really help. I tried to relax, but that was proving to be harder than usual.

         “Now tell me why you’re saying ‘good-bye’ to anyone.”

         “I’m moving to a different realm.”

         “…Why?”

         “It’s a guardian thing. I have to move out on my own to protect the Diamond. Of course I have no say in the matter, but it just has to be done.”

         “…I’m going with you.”

         “Leone-”

         “Don’t argue, Rose. I’m not going to hear it.”

         “What will you when I’m at school?”

         “I’ll go with you.”

         “And for blood?”

         “Well, I’m not sure. If I drink from a student, that could cause trouble. If we brought a note saying I had to drink fresh blood from you, we might be able to get away with it.”

         “Would Zaria mind writing it?”

         “She shouldn’t. Let’s ask her now. However, you may want to stay here. Demitri may still be after you.”

         “Fine. Just be careful.”

         Leone nodded and stood, but as soon as he did, he froze. He glared at me, his eyes looking me over as if looking for something. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me roughly to my feet. "Why didn't you tell me you were bleeding?!"

         I looked at my hands and finally noticed the cuts Demitri left on my hands out of frustration. "I didn't know I was. The wounds are so minor...I didn't even feel it when I got them."

         Leone sighed and licked the wounds clean, the saliva sealing them. He dropped my wrists and walked to the door. “Come on. We don’t have all night.”

         I nodded and walked out first, Leone not far behind.

         Now, I’m not sure of the order of the next few events because they happened so fast. I think it was something like this: Leone pushed me to the floor and covered me protectively with his own body, something sharp went through Leone and poked me in the back, I was covered in a thick black, stick substance, and Leone’s body fell on top of me.

         Zaria suddenly came out of the room closest to the stairway and gasped at the sight of the three of us.

         “Rose, what’s happened here?!”

         My answer was muffled by the floor for I had lost my balance and my face fell into the black goop. "Ew..."

         “What was that, Rose?”

         I pulled my head up slightly and said, “Demitri attacked me, but Leone blocked him.”

         “Oh my. Demitri, go to your room and stay there until I finish wrapping Leone’s wounds. Rose, hun, you can take a bath in Leone’s bathroom. I’ll find something of Asha’s that you can wear, but please, help me get him to his room first.”

         I nodded and lifted Leone’s limp body up gently, walked back into his room, and set him his couch before walking into his bathroom and getting ready for my bath.

         Once in the water, I noticed it go from clear to black almost instantly. I held my breath and slipped under the water to get the blood out of my hair. I drained and refilled the tub after rinsing it out a little. I grabbed the soap and washed away the rest of the blood. I put the soap down and grabbed the shampoo. I poured it into my hand when a knock met my ears.

         “Who is it?”

         “Zaria, I brought you some clothes to change into.”

         “Come in.”

         Zaria set the clothing on a counter and sat beside the tub as I washed my hair.

         “Leone. How’s he doing, Zaria?”

         “It’s too soon to say, I’m afraid. He’s still out cold. Won’t respond to anything.”

         “May I stay the night? I really don’t think I can leave Leone when he’s like this.”

         “I thought you were going to a place called ‘Earth’ tonight.”

         “I was, but I refuse to leave him alone. What if something happens? Good or bad, I want to stay with him. We were going to ask you to write a note saying Leone must drink my blood because of some condition and if it was alright for him to come with me.”

         “Of course dear.”

         I ducked under the water and rubbed the shampoo out of my hair. I came up and the black blood started to run into my eyes. I cringed, knowing it belonged to my best friend. “Eww…this is… possibly the worst day of my life.”

         “Oh, don’t worry. Our blood isn’t as thick as yours. It’s fairly easy to get out.”

         I sighed as I worked on getting the rest of the black blood out of my hair. “That was not what I meant. First off, I discover I’m moving out early. Then, I come here to say good-bye and I’m attacked by…hunted by a blood-thirsty Demitri. And finally, my best friend earns a hole through his gut because he protected me from Demitri. Know what? Drowning sounds extremely good right now.”

         “Don’t even think about it. Leone isn’t going to die. You hear me? He’s much stronger than you give him credit for. Just stay the night and you’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

         When I finally got the blood out of my hair, I rinsed it off my body and dressed in Asha’s tight night clothes. “How does she breathe in these?!” I then realized Zaria was no longer there. People are too quiet, I thought and walked out to Leone’s room and walked quickly down a flight of stairs to use the phone. I dialed my house code and held my breath as my mother picked up. I could tell I was in for a world of hurt.