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It should be illegal to wake up this early. She was on vacation for fuck sake! But unfortunately her alarm didn’t really seem to take that fact into consideration. So after hitting snooze an appropriate amount of times Blaine decided that perhaps, on this very last day of vacation, she properly shouldn’t waste all the time in the very nice warm comfy bed and maybe instead be a living functioning human join the rest of life outside. That and the intense growling of her stomach. Groaning loudly she finally shook the covers off herself and got up. Deciding to skip a morning shower in favor of finding the largest amount of caffeine possible, she shrugged on a clean shirt and her jacket. The only one she let close enough to notice anyway was Rutherland. On second thought maybe a bit of perfume wouldn’t hurt.
Weirdly enough she didn’t meet any of her classmates in the hallway, she had thought that at least she would have seen Alexei stumbling out of his or Henris’ room, probably hungover or shirtless. Honestly both were likely. But it was strangely quiet this morning. Maybe she had hit the snooze button a few too many times. The smell of bacon, waffles and coffee shook her from her thought and dragged her downstairs. As she reached the dinning room a low muttering reached her ears. Words like Rutherlands name and some kind of lake kept being repeated. Blaine rolled her eyes. Could a bunch of overgrown pampered royals and politicians children really not find anything actually interesting to talk about?
Blaine quickly searched the room for Rutherland and then Dionne, finding neither she instead went straight for the extravagant expresso machine. If she couldn’t spend her time teasing Rutherland or having an actual intellectual conversation with anyone, she could at least plan to spend the next 10 minutes drowning herself in a cup of coffee and hopefully avoid any kind of social interaction with any dimwits. And her plan was a success, she got her coffee, even a couple of waffles. Everything was going according to plan, until she recognized another word being mumbled and repeated around her.
Attack.
Rutherland, attack and lake.
And suddenly they were the only words she could hear.
Rutherland, attack and lake.
Rutherland and lake.
Rutherland, attack.
Rutherland.
She didn’t really know how it or what had happened around her the next five minutes. All she could remember was something falling from her hand, a splash of something warm hitting her leg, a crocked yelp and then she found herself in the reception, then outside and then she was running.
Her heartbeat drowning out the wind and the startled looks from tourists she rushed down the well used path. She knew that lake. She had been there yesterday. Just yesterday. Watching Dionne Ice skate like the actual princess she was. Today it looked so much different. The snow had been trodden down and pushed around. Like a lot of people had just walked there, just a second ago. But when she reached the clearing and the lake, there was nobody.
And for a moment Blaine nearly laughed out loud. With relief or scorn of her classmates stupid gossip she did not know. Then she noticed it. A red liquid had frozen on top of the snow, seeped into part of the ground. Then Blaine couldn’t breathe, couldn’t feel, couldn’t see anything but the red stain on the ground, couldn’t hear anything but her classmates words. Rutherland, attack.
Her brain kept spinning but her heartbeat had stopped. At least she felt that way. In fact it was probably the opposite. She didn’t know how long she stood staring at the red spot. It felt like hours. But all at once everything snapped back into focus. She had to find somebody. Someone that could explain why the snow had turned red. Somebody that knew more than idle gossip and whispered words. But she couldn’t do that here.
So instead she turned around and ran back to the resort. Skipping past the now nearly empty dinning area. Up the stairs and down the hall. Moving until she slammed her fist against the door. Again and again. “Rutherland, open that door.” She pulled at the door knob. “Now Rutherland. Please! You have to open that door now!” She knocked harder, pulled harder. Pushed and shoved. Yelled and whispered.
Then a door opened.
“She isn’t in there.”
Dionne face was showing from the next room over. Her face was bare and her eyes red.
“Then where is she.” Blaine spoke harshly. “If she isn’t in there, and she isn’t outside, or in the hotel, then where is she?!” Dionne shook her head and moved further back into her room. Blaine followed. Closing the door behind her.
Dionne opened and closed her mouth. Tugging at her hair.
Finally she sighed. “She’s okay. Physically at least.” Dionne sad down on the end of her bed before speaking again. “I don’t know exactly what happened, or maybe I do. When Tatum took her back to the school it didn’t even seem like they really knew everything.” Tears had started to glide down Dionne cheeks again. Blaine steeped closer, tears starting to crawl up her own eyes.
“Please Dionne, tell me what you know. All I heard was attack and Rutherlands name and then I saw the red splashes and now she isn’t here, and now you’re sayi—“ “It’s paint.” Dionne said interrupting Blains ramble words. “It’s just paint Blaine, she’s okay, physically okay.”
“But what happened?” Blaines voice was unusually small. “Why did they say attack and why is there red paint on the ground?”
Diones jaw tensed. “Some creeps attacked her with the paint. Poured it on her and then ran like cowards. Tatum took her back to the school afterwards. Said it was for safety. Didn’t tell me anything else.” The room grew quite after that. Both Blain and Dionne staring at the floor. “So she’s at the school then?” Blaine asked in the end, already fishing up her phone. “Yeah she is.” Dionne answered, the furrowed her brow. “What are you doing Blaine?”
“Getting a ride back.” Blaine typed in the last word of her text and hit send. “I’m going to back to Vancross now.” For an instant Dionne just starred at her, then she stood and walked to her suitcase. Pulling something up and handing it to Blaine. “You’re gonna need the key to the room, I doubt they’ll let you in without.” Blaine took the key, hugged Dionne and over her shoulder on the way out said “please pack my stuff for me”. She didn’t wait for an answer but allowed herself a tiny smile picturing Dionnes scowling face.
The helicopter p ride back was short. Blaine refused to look out the windows, or answer her mother’s growing pile of texts, demanding to know why Blaine had taken a chopper and where she was going.
When the helicopter finally landed Blaine jumped out, waved quick to the pilot and quickly walked towards the room. Bypassing a bodyguard by showing him the key and unlocking the door herself. Inside the living room Tatum sat on the couch, halfway risen and turned towards the door. At Blaines face he sat back down. “She’s in her room.” Were the only thing he said. The only thing he really could say before Blaine had walked past him, knocked and opened the door.
“Hi.”