Waiting for Sisters }{ Dara

[Mihaela Reveka Vladescu]

Mihaela couldn't say it was her most enjoyable activity, what she was doing. But since Valeriu had gone to college, it was Mia's job to pick up her little sister from school. It wasn't that Mia hated Dara, except sometimes she did, it was mainly that at thirteen years old the youngest of the Vladescu children was still being baby sat. She never went anywhere without one of their parents, Mia herself, or a nurse maid. Mia would have loved to be as innocent as Dara was. She barely remembered that time.

The most predominate memory in Mihaela Vladescu's mind was of her first year in school. It was also her last until her freshman year of High school. Mia touched the scar on her face over her long black locks that always hid the hideous thing. She winced, though the pain from the injury was long gone. Well, the physical pain was gone. The emotional she feared would always be there. Mia hated people. They were not to be trusted.

Sighing the girl took her hand away from her cheek and watched the doors of the school. Dara had a scar on her leg. But it was easily covered. It was small and on the back of her leg. Mia's was clear upon her right cheek and couldn't be covered. Mia was jealous of her sister more times than naught. So happy. So friendly. Mihaela wanted that. But it was never in her reach.

Her mind drifted off once again into thoughts of her childhood. Her training with her father after what everyone called 'the incident'. Mia knew what to call it. An epiphany. Just as her thoughts were drifting into the endless sea of hatred against humans she heard a sound and turned her head to the school doors, searching for the source of the noise.

dara and mia || 314 words || clothes

[Dara Nhadala Vladescu]

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.

Dara walked out of the building that held her captive for the majority of the day. Her laughter rang out through the courtyard as she responded to a joke one of her friends said. Artfully reaching into her purse she pulled out her white frame sunglasses and slipped them on. Her eyes, carefully shielded behind her tinted lenses, she scanned the area for whoever was there to get her that day. She was never left alone for long; school, in fact, was one of the only places that she was. Though Dara knew that she could be grateful for this, the truth was that it got annoying sometimes.

Her eyes landed firmly on her sister and she broke out into a huge smile. As usual her sister was wearing something that could be deemed gloomy and D did everything she could to stop from sighing. Waving good bye to her friends she ran down the stairs and toward Mia. “I didn’t know you were coming for me today.” she said enthusiastically. Despite the fact the Mia didn’t like her much Dara never stopped trying to be like her and gain her affection.

“How was your day?” she asked spinning lightly trying to tone down her excitement. She could see Mia every day of life and D would still be this excited. It seemed like a blessing to be able to be this happy at everything but Dara’s emotions changed as rapidly as they appeared. Her honey eyes twinkled as she studied her sister, noticing the outline of the scar she tried to hide behind her dark hair. Dara thought of her own small scar and knew that there was no connection. Mia’s scar had a much more painful origin and made her sister what she was; Dara’s scar was an ice breaker, a point in a trivia game about her.

Word count:346
Outfit

[Mihaela Reveka Vladescu]

Mia stood to greet her sister in the polite fashion. If there was anything all of the Vladescu children learned at home, it was etiquette. When greeting someone of a high class, even if they were one's own family, you were to stand. And besides that, the two were supposed to head home.

"Hello, Dara," Mia greeted, attempting and failing to smile at her little sister. "Mom and Dad are busy with some political matters. They told me we should hang out in town for a little while." Mihaela explained this to her sister so she wouldn't ask where the car was. In a bad day like the one Mia had had, questions from Dara were things she avoided.

"Where do you want to go first," said the high school senior as she picked up her messenger bag and began walking toward the school's exit. There was a decent amount to do in Sighişoara, even if you were a regular. "I think Mr. Gabor has some new plăcintă recipes," she said as they walked. Mia was like her father in the way that she adored the thin pancake like desserts. She adored when it was coupled with strawberry jam. There were so many different varieties, one could hardly try them all. That didn't stop the two Vladescu girls from attempting the feat when they had the chance.

dara and mia || 233 words || clothes

[Dara Nhadala Vladescu]

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.

Dara looked at her sister standing so regally and wondered if she would ever achieve that level of grace. The girl doubted it, she was much too impatient and the tradition seemed silly. It was her sister after all, Mia had been there since she could remember. Still she remained perfectly still until she felt was appropriate which in reality was most likely seconds later. She noticed the smile on her Mia’s face, or rather the lack of one. Her smile faltered only slightly before returning. It bothered her that Mia disliked her so much, but she figured it was normal.

Dara gave a brief nod not really caring what her parents were doing, all she really gathered from that message was that her and Mia were going to spend time together. Besides it saved her from asking her next obvious question which was in fact going to be where the car was because the shoes she was wearing were most definitely not walking shoes. Still the excess information meant that Mia didn’t want to put up with Dara; not that she ever wanted to put up with Dara. This was simply another fact that the 13 year old avoided. She understood that she and her sister had lived different lives.

She shrugged at her sister’s question not sure where she wanted to go – until dessert hit her thoughts. Dara loved anything sweet, she was about to mention it when Mia did. “That sounds fantastic – I’m starving.” she said avoiding the octave that her voice wanted to take. She wanted to make Mia understand that she could be controlled and not hyper, it was hard but she always toned her personality down a bit around Mia, knowing that it got on her nerves.

Word Count: 349
Clothes

[Mihaela Reveka Vladescu]

Mia nodded lightly to her sister. Dara and the elder princess had spent very little time together alone. For years after the incident her parents refused to let Mihaela near anyone alone. Not so much her father, but her mother worried about the emotional repercussions of what had happened. It had occurred to Mia that Dara didn't know the story of what had happened. She's only seen the hideous scar that covered almost half of her sister's once beautiful face. No one ever spoke of it. It was taboo. 'Specially around Antanasia Vladescu.

As they walked Mia thought to herself. It was a little while before she spoke. "How was school today?" she asked, trying to sound genuinely curious. For all her jealousy and hurt, Mia wanted to have a sisterly relationship with Dara. Valeriu was off at college, and even with him around, Valeriu was a boy. Mia wouldn't be able to talk about boys and crushes with Valeriu. And her mother was always too happy. Dara was the only one left.

"There's a few new kids at the high school," she said, offering information first. "I think they're French." Mia glanced over at her sister. The two of them were still a good few minutes from the shop that was their destination.

dara and mia || 220 words || clothes

[Dara Nhadala Vladescu]

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.

Dara looked up at her sister and though she was bursting to ask her how her day had been she bit her tongue; something that had grown to be a habit around Mia. The younger girl knew that her sister didn’t appreciate the cheerful attitude that usually graced Dara and so she tried as hard as she could to tone it down. They had never spent much time together but as far as she could remember Mia had always been present in some far off corner of her life; the scar that graced her face always present as well.

She had been too young or simply not alive when it occurred and had never known the truth of it. All she knew was that Mother was sensitive about the subject, so much so that she had punished Dara for asking too many questions. This of course had genuinely made the girl even more curious but she had never asked again; Dara hated being punished.

Lost in her thoughts she was brought back to reality sharply as her sister’s voice pierced through the air. She looked toward her almost immediately ready to reply with some non committal answer. She wanted to tell Mia all about her day but she doubted the girl actually wanted to know. She was thinking of a way to sound uncaring and nonchalant about the whole situation, perhaps avoiding the funniest stories of the day. Like how Brian had laughed so hard his drink had come out his nose.

To her surprise Mia spoke first. New kids? the phrase rolled around in her head. There were hardly any new kids and if there were it was usually one not a few. “French? – What are they doing over here?” she questioned. She also wondered why it was that her sister had taken notice of them. Mia hardly noticed anyone that was outside of her very small and tight group. “How many new kids?” she asked wondering why it was that the 8th grade hadn’t been buzzing with excitement over this news.

Word Count: 390 || Clothes

[Mihaela Reveka Vladescu]

Mihaela didn't look to her sister as she answered. She simply walked, her eyes looking forward, her head high and her shoulders back. The way anyone graced with the Vladescu name carried themselves, with pride. Though Mia had always hid her scar from view, she was always a proud person with a cold exterior. For the most part a cold interior as well. "Yes, French. Their accents were thick. Obviously there until recently," she said, thinking briefly back to the captivating young man. Sebastien Fortescue. He was the reason she paid some attention to the new students. "I don't know what they are doing here," said the girl calmly.

The girls walked a little further before replying again. "There are two students. One is a senior, the other is a junior. I have most of my classes with the senior," she said. Mia pondered telling Dara that the senior was a guy. But she knew how Dara was when it came to boys. It was true that Mia wanted a sisterly relationship with Dara. She just wondered if she was ready for the jumping bean, energizer bunny that Dara would no doubt become at that information.

Mia continued to walk for a few moments silently before she spoke again. "One is a girl, I don't know her. We only have Gym together. But the senior is a boy, we have almost the same schedules. The only differences in our schedules are Gym and Science."

dara and mia || 247 words || clothes

[Dara Nhadala Vladescu]

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.

Dara followed her sister close behind, almost like a procession trying to mimic the exact regal way her sister walked. She always walked with the grace of a dancer her steps smooth and perfect, but there was an exactness that Mia had that Dara could never quite achieve. Dara wanted to raise her eyebrows but she doubted it was the expression a royal wore and so she refrained. The girl rolled theories around in her head as to why someone would move to Romania from France of all places. “Interesting that they would move so suddenly.” said the eighth grader.

Something beside new kids was going on here. She wondered if any of them were young, maybe a boy just a year above her. It would be so romantic to fall in love with a foreigner someone who didn’t know her family all that well. She smiled swooning in her own mind at the thought. At the mention of their grades her interest decreased a tiny bit; they were both too old.

There were a few more moments of silence before Mia said something that almost made Dara stumble. This was about a boy – her sister was intrigued by a boy. She smiled wanting to grab Mia and make her explain every detail. Instead she tried to keep her calm managing to stay almost exactly the same excluding the large smile that framed her face. “Oh – what’s his name?” she asked instead of the million questions she was bursting at the seams with.

Mia was finally beginning to act like a sister and Dara was determined to do whatever it took to not screw it up. Even if it meant biting her tongue until it bled.

Word Count: 330 || Clothes

[Mihaela Reveka Vladescu]

"They probably did it to escape the purge," Mia said simply, still not looking at her sister. "Remember Father was talking about it to the governors. There was a purge in France last month." Mia stopped there. She knew the foreigners probably thought they were safe in Romania. The humans didn't hate vampires so much in Sighişoara. There were only a few that believed the vampires were evil. But for Mia, one was too many.

Mia vaguely remembered a time when she loved humans as much as her vampire family. She had friends, she even had a crush on a human in kindergarten. But that one child who tried to beat her to death, he had changed her views on humans. Her friends had stood there, watching, not even going to get help. After that, Mia hated humans with a passion.

The high school senior was brought from her thoughts of hatred and pain by her sister's words. Looking to her Mia replied, "His name is Sebastian. Sebastien Fortescue." There was no smile on Mia's face, but then again, a smile hadn't crossed her lips since she was five. "Her name is Gabrielle. I don't know her last name. I assume they're brother and sister."

dara and mia || 212 words || clothes

[Dara Nhadala Vladescu]

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.

Dara’s ears perked up at this news; the purge was something she had only read about and heard about. Her parents tried to shield her from the nastier details of humans but this was definitely something she had read about. “I do remember – it’s tragic to think of evil humans can harbor. Odd too seeing as how they’re so fragile. “ she couldn’t imagine death. She knew she wasn’t immortal and could be killed but it was different to know that she would never die otherwise. It made her wonder if this is why humans were so volatile and passionate – but she was passionate. Thinking philosophically always made her head hurt with the possibilities.

Dara couldn’t imagine hating humans, instead she saw them as lab experiments. Their lives were so short that they hardly played a role and each life while precious was sort of dispensable; there were so many of them. “Do you think that’s why Pappa and Momma are at those meetings today? “ she wondered. “Do you think they’re important?” she asked almost immediately. She knew there were other Kingdoms very important ones and knew that the French Royalty had moved – but to Romania where another Royal family already lived. She was sure that something like that couldn’t be good.

Her thoughts of up rise and war were cancelled out by the boy’s name. “He sounds like a Prince” she said happily. It sounded so charming, so handsome exactly the type of boy that Mia should be with. No doubt he would be nice to her too – maybe he would have a cousin or a brother that they could be introduced to. Dara’s thoughts flowed freely into her mind before she was once again brought back by the girl’s name. Her name she did not like, it sounded mundane and boring. “Oh – her name isn’t interesting at all.” she told her sister a bit disappointed. “Is he handsome?” she asked just as the shop was coming into view.

Word Count: 330 || Clothes

[Mihaela Reveka Vladescu]

"Humans aren't fragile, Dara. They're evil. They want to hurt you and they want to kill you. Eventually, you'll learn that. If not, I don't think you'll be around very long. I admire your child like innocence. I miss being that way, but to be honest, that may also be your cause of death. Remember, Dara, humans are not to be trusted," said Mia before she could stop herself. She hated humans. She hated them with a passion. She knew she always would, that, it seemed, was why her servants and friends were vampires.

Mia waited, then nodded to her sister. "Yes, I believe that's why they're having the meetings. The Elders, they don't like that the French are here for an assumed permanent stay," said the older sister. "Of course they're important. The Fortescues are Vampire Royalty. They're like us. Only French." Mia didn't elaborate much more on the subject. Lucius and Antanasia had tried hard to make sure Dara enjoyed her childhood. Valeriu and Mia were raised as heirs to the proverbial throne. Val would take control, but if anything were to happen to the eldest of Vladescu children, Mia would take over. Almost no one wanted this to happen, but it was the laws of succession. Dara was never groomed for leadership, no one ever thought anything would happen to both Val and Mia.

"He is a Prince, Dara," said Mihaela. "His parents are royalty. Just like Mother and Father. They're King and Queen, we are the Princesses and Valeriu is the Prince. Same thing for the Fortescues. Sebastien's parents are King and Queen of French vampires, he is their Prince." Mia knew a decent amount about vampire Royalty, she was royalty herself. But she didn't know as much as Val, she knew more than Dara though. "There are books on lineage in Father's Library. Why not ask him about it of go find one of the books yourself."

Mia opened the door to the shop for her little sister and waited as the younger girl entered before letting the door close behind her. Going to the counter she asked for their desserts and two coffees. She didn't say anything to her sister during their wait, when the food and drinks came, she took her cake-like dessert and coffee before heading over to an abandoned booth in the corner.

dara and mia || 409 words || clothes