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Vampires are inherently evil.
It was a simple fact to learn and absorb. An easy concept to internalize. Vampires were leeches, feeding on blood until the source runs out, running to another victim to inflict their pain. The government knew this, the contestants knew this, everyone knew this.
Cleo had done none of the above. But it was lying within her. She knew it for a fact. So surely, Pearl should know it too.
"Let me die." Cleo begged, grasping onto Pearl's arms. "This isn't how it's supposed to work, I die and you live. You win and you never have to be trapped in this hell again." Pearl shrugged them off.
"I have lived a life without choice. So please let me make this final one." Pearl pointed a pristine finger towards her own chest.
"Dears. You have less than two minutes till you have to take to the stage." A woman in a helmet reminded them before disappearing into the darkness of the backstage.
"Surely you changed your mind? Right? Right?" Cleo felt tears brimming in their eyes. "Pearl, please-"
Her mouth was silenced by a gentle black gloved hand.
"One minute till you're on." The intercom boomed. Cleo sent one last pleading look towards Pearl. They could move the hand off their face easily. Hell, they could do whatever they wanted with their cursed vampire talents.
I'll never hurt her. Not again.
For a second, Pearl's blue eyes were full of agony and despair. Fear was etched into every edge of her complexion, nearly transforming her face into a different person.
Then the switch flipped. A beautiful smile in place of a frown. A steady heartbeat instead of a rapid one.
"Cleo. You know I'm not one to change my mind. I love you."
Then she walked out onto the stage without looking back, long brown hair trailing behind her.
ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ
INTERVIEW I OF THE 50TH SEASON
TRANSCRIBED FROM AUDIO BY RENHARDT DOGMOURNE, OAKHURST PRESS
TRANSCRIBER: ANONYMOUS
REN: So, kind folks, what's ya names?
GEM: I'm Gem! And this is my friend, False. This is our first time attending Vampire Stage! Honestly, I don't even know what to expect!
FALSE: Blood, apparently. Beautiful singing and blood.
REN: Indeed! Now, do ya folks have a favorite picked out yet? One you want to see to the end, dontcha know?
GEM: Mine's Pearl. Based on the showcase rounds they aired a few months ago. Remember, False? [GEM elbows FALSE cheekily.]
FALSE: I do, and that's why I'm going with Cleo. Their voice carries so much emotion when they sing…it's inspiring.
GEM: Pearl is emotional too! But she uses her eyes, not just her voice. You can see entire worlds in those eyes…plus her style is amazing.
REN: Well, tonight is the big openin' act-Cleo versus Pearl! I'm sure you two youngins can settle with who's the best after we all see who wins. Thank you for lettin' me interview ya!
ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ
"Oh, my Clematis, hope bloomed through the abyss."
They had practiced this song for years. There was no possibility in which there could be an error in their singing. Cleo could gaze into Pearl's eyes and not miss a beat. Admire her breathtaking face before one of them lost their breath for good. It's not going to be Pearl. It's not supposed to be her.
"Oh, my Clematis, always be by my side."
Cleo nearly choked on the words. How could this song be so ironic now? Had they been influenced to pick it through the sheer cruelty of the corporation pairing them to sing against each other from practically the very start?
She wished they both could go back to their early years. Where the world faded away like how it was fading now, to make a bubble for only just the two of them. Back when there was no thought of this moment. When they could run in the Forest and laugh happily. When they had a future ahead of them.
"Even if I fall asleep for infinity, don't leave my side."
There was never a future for you. A tiny voice in the back of their brain whispered. Either you die here or suffer. There is no place in the universe for evil like you, vampire. The words their handler had whispered to them thousands of times. The man had never even seen their fangs or their bite, and yet he treated them like it. Perhaps the evil radiated off of them. Other vampires could hide it but her illegitimacy could be seen miles away.
"Oh, my Clematis, hope bloomed through the abyss."
The lights were hot. Cleo could barely see the audience through the pink light that surrounded them both. All she could hear was their singing and the points racking up. Likely for the best. Whatever the audience thought of her, it was irrelevant.
"Oh, my Clematis, always be by my side."
Pearl looked like she was glowing, the pink light shimmering behind her, the black of her dress obscuring anything else. The sunflowers in her hair were the only thing they had managed to convince the handlers to let them wear of their own. The sunflowers in Cleo's own curly hair had been itching her the entire time, but she didn't care.
All that mattered was harmonizing with her moon.
My moon. My universe. I'll miss you so much. Cleo thought as the points stopped counting. The audience had made their decision. She took a deep breath.
And felt warm blood on her face.
It wasn't her own.
ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ
"You realize I could crush you like a bug anytime I wanted to, right?"
It was just the two of them. Always just the two of them.
"You could." Pearl tilted her head from where she was cuddled up in the blankets that they had managed to pull together from each other's rooms. "You wouldn't though."
"How do you know that?" Cleo clutched onto the blankets tightly. "I'm not even human. I have more strength than you could ever comprehend."
"You may not be human, but you have humanity, y'know?" Pearl turned over on her back, staring at the fake glowing blue stars plastered all over her room. "I'll always trust you."
"It doesn't matter. I'll be even more dead in a few years anyway." Cleo laughed, the harsh sound scratching her throat. Pearl grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"No. It does matter. If not to you, then to me."
The teens were silent for a bit, content to hold hands and nothing else.
"I never asked, but…what was it like before you came here?" Pearl asked.
"It was alright, from what I can remember." Whenever they thought of home, they thought of rolling hills filled with vegetables and fruits and animals. They thought of family with a loving embrace, sisters and brothers who simply thought they were adorable and cared about them.
Then they thought of getting lost in the woods. Of getting bitten by a vampire the same age as them.
"After being turned…love didn't matter. Blood didn't matter. My family then sent me here."
"Do you miss them?"
"Always. I miss the farm, too. I always worked on it as a human."
"Well…I'm here. I'm not leaving." Pearl promised.
"You leave a lot." Cleo couldn't help but mutter. The other girl tightened her mouth.
"I have to keep preparing for the Stage. And-well-you know what I mean! Not always physically, but mentally. Spiritually."
"Spiritually…" Cleo hummed. "Do you believe in souls?"
"I mean, if vampires exist, why can't souls?" Pearl made a wild gesture to the sky above. "Our souls will all walk the same path after we are removed from this world. At least, that's what Mama likes to tell me."
"I'll wait for you." They whispered into the dim light. "I won't go on that path until you're there with me."
"I'd do the same for you." Pearl giggled. "Even if it stopped everyone else from moving on, I'd stay there until you appear."
Cleo laughed and turned away, closing their eyes. They pretended to not hear the sobbing hitch of breath coming from behind them.
ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ
The forest could go on for miles, and Pearl would never be able to know. She had tried to find out, once before, but it had only taken a little bit before she couldn't move any further beyond.
She knew they widened the border during lunch, though. That was the only way they could be able to hunt for food. Otherwise, they'd die before they even got to be proven innocent. Especially the potential vampires.
"Get her! We can't afford to let that despicable orphan child get away! It'd be a disgrace to our town!"
Gentle, warm hands cradling her. "Shh…you won't go to that hell. yet. Let's see how well you do first."
Her sisters crying as she got dolled up in red and sent into the Forest. Mama reassuring her she'd come back from time to time to dress up and practice.
ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ
Her imprisonment was so long ago. Back then, she had been barely ten years of age. Now, she was almost an adult…
Her childhood had been wasted away in the Oakhurst Forest.
There wasn't even a single bit of vampire DNA in her body. Tears slipped out from her eyes and ran down her cheeks as she sat in the grass. "Don't cry." A voice came from next to her. Pearl turned towards the voice. Cleo.
"I'm-I'm not." Pearl protested despite it sounding weak. Cleo didn't need to see her ugly crying. They needed a smiling face to wane them from preparing for their own demise. "It's just…the competition is soon. In less than a few years. They already want us to pick our songs."
"You're going to live, my moon." Cleo smiled, the lines traveling all the way up to their eyes. They only smiled like that when it was just the two of them-after all, it was the only smile that let Cleo show their fangs to the world.
I'm not. Pearl thought as she gave her brightest smile back. To save you with my feeble and meaningless life…I will do it a thousand times over.
Even if the end is my greatest fear.
ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ
One point.
As Cleo has been dragged from the stage, she caught a glimpse of the scoreboard in the air.
87 vs 86.
Pearl wasn't even at her best.
I should have lost. Cleo thought as the guards threw her into her manufactured bubble. They hadn't even bothered to clean the blood off of her, only stopping for a moment to snap her blasted collar on. Playing dress up would be for the next round. It stained her white dress like a permanent reminder.
Humans are feeble and weak.
I should have lost.