The Head Master

  I know for a fact my mouth was gaping like nobody's business as we drove through the two arched steel gates. I could feel my jaw unhinge as we pull up in front of a beautiful building behind a huge fountain. I wasn't expecting this kind of grandeur, I knew that this was a rich kid's school, but even for them this was over the top. Grey brick buildings, white sash windows and a beautiful landscaped grass grounds. Heads turn as our old rust covered Toyota gave a cough, expelling a black cloud form the exhaust pipe. I roll my eyes, as mom looks at me apologetic as I open the door and exit the vehicle.

  By the time Elina turned off the engine, I already unloaded my bags from the trunk and backseat. Since she and Gavin admitted that they aren't my real parents, I have had a hard time calling them mom and dad. So I opted to call them by their first names and they agreed. She joined me on my side of the car as I think about an efficient way to carry everything at once without dropping anything. My dilemma is solved as a neatly dressed older looking man briskly walks up to us pushing a trolley. Placing the trolley near my bags, he bows from the waist his right hand over his heart "A great pleasure to see you Lady Chernov. Young Master Chernov will be in great hands." I snort as I lift my second bag onto the trolley, making the man turn and look at me. "And finally seeing you in person Young Master Ainsley is a great pleasure. A great pleasure indeed."

  I freeze as he calls me Ainsley, nobody but Elina knows about that. So how does he know about it? She shrugs as I glance at her in question before tilting her head to the side motioning for me to finish loading my stuff onto the trolley. "And it is good seeing you as well Alfred, I have only heard praise from the Head Master about you." The man seems the glow as mom praises him and he seems to stand a little straighter. "Where are we off to now?"

  The question seems to snap him back to the present and he snaps his white-gloved fingers, like some old style butler. A younger man in the same butler type outfit appears by his side, bowing a little. "Walter, I want you to take Young Master Ainsley's belongings up to his room. It should be ready by now." Walter bows once more in agreement before he single handily turns the heavy trolley before strutting off along the path. Alfred nods to us and signals for us to follow him to the building behind the fountain. "If you will follow me, the Head Master is expecting the both of you in his office."

  As we walk through the ordinate building, I feel majorly underdressed in my old, barley hanging by a thread jeans and my favourite Linking Park Road-To-Revolution Tour long sleeved shirt. "Is he for real Elina? Is he really a butler who has a butler in training? This is too absurd for words." I open my arms as we wait in front of a pair of double massive oak doors. Alfred knocks a series of odd knocks on the door and seemingly opens them after being told he could. How he could hear anything through those massive oak doors is beyond me.

  "Just wait until you have heard everything." She shushes me as she squeezes my shoulder in what is supposed to be a comforting gesture. I smile slightly as the double doors open and Alfred signals for us to enter.

  I let out a deep breath as I enter the lavish styled room filled with floor to ceiling bookcases crammed with all kinds of books. Elina and Alfred lead me to the massive ordinate desk in the middle of the room where a dark haired man stands looking out the floor to ceiling windows. Something must have alerted him to our presence because he suddenly turns to face us smiling widely.

  "Lady Elina, my darling! It has been far too long since I last saw you!" The man then proceeds to kiss her on both her cheeks, making her blush as he hugs her lightly but firmly. A discreet cough from Alfred has him turning in my direction and his dark eyes seem to sparkle as he walks over to me. "My god, young Ainsley," He gapes at me looking at me from all sides as he circles me. "You are just like your father when he was young." His eyes narrow a bit "Just as handsome," he mutters "hopefully not as troublesome."

  "You know my father?" I still find it odd that most of these people that I meet for the first time seem to know everything about me.

  "Of course I do Young Ainsley! Of Course I do!" He exclaims before dragging me off to the ordinate hand painted painting hanging above the unlit open fireplace. In the painting a man in his late twenties or early thirties looks down on us from his regal pose. And the scariest thing is that he looks exactly like me, only an older version. "This Young Ainsley," The man clasps my shoulder as he comes to stand beside me "this is your father; Alexandru, DĂNUŢ, Dracul Dragomir."

  I frown as I continue to look at the same face as mine and feel no connection. I have always thought that should I ever meet any of my other family members, I would feel a connection, something. As I look at his daunting emerald stare, I feel nothing. It's just like staring at a painting in a museum, nice but nothing special. Except that he looks exactly like me, or do I look exactly like him? Anyway it doesn't matter, he really isn't my father, and he is just a man with the same face as me.

  "That is where you are wrong Young Ainsley, he is more than a man with the same face." The man looks longingly up at the painting, an emotion swirling in his eyes that I can't decipher. "He is the reason we live our lives as we do today. If it wasn't for him, most of us would still be hiding in dark dank places waiting for the sun to set." With one last look he leads me back to the plush leather seat in front of the desk and sits down in the chair behind the desk.

  I glance at Elina, to see what she makes all of this babble about hiding in dark places and whatnot. She looks a little agitated and flustered as she watches the man behind the desk shuffle papers. Alfred comes by with refreshments and I accept the glass with a rosy coloured liquid. Elina ignores hers and finally seems to have pulled herself together.

  "He doesn't know Barney." She whispers, making the man look up. So this is Barney, the Head Master of Saint Vincent's. "He knows nothing." Elina wrings her hands together, "He only knows bits and pieces, not the whole thing. He doesn't know about the struggle or why he was left with me."

  What are they talking about? What do you think? A small, child like voice questions in my head. It sounds like he is talking about the times where werewolves and vampires roam the streets in the dead of night. Daddy is a vampire, the voice giggles a little and I see the figure of a little boy in breeches and a finely woven shirt. His facial features are blurred but I do see a wide toothy smile, with his incisors larger than the rest of his teeth. What the hell?!

  Barney chokes on his drink, spluttering he looks at Elina wide eyed. I am jolted back into the present as he slams his fist on the desk. " He knows nothing?! You haven't told him anything?!" Now he looks angry, pissed off even.

  Elina interrupts as he opens his mouth to say more. "He knows only that his parents left him behind in my care for his own safety. He knows he is in danger, just not what kind of danger and why. It all will come back to him, given time." She looks back at me sadly, making me lean forward and squeeze her hand softly.

  "Time is something we don't have!" Barney thunders, "We can't leave him dangling like this! I made a promise to his father that he will be in safe hands here! I can't guarantee his safety if he knows nearly nothing about himself or his family!" The windows rattle as a harsh wind blows by.

  I winch sharply as I feel a headache coming on, Barney turns to face me and I get dragged into his eyes against my will. "Barney, my dear. You have to promise me!" A deep voice rumbles from the person standing in front of the lit fireplace. "When he remembers you need to..." A force suddenly expels me from the memory, blinking I find myself looking back at Elina's worried face and the Head Master's disbelieving one.

  "How did you do that?" Barney is suddenly all business. "Not many people have that gift or the slightest inkling how to make such a connection to someone they just met." As he asks the question I could feel him slightly probing me with his own version of what I call memory connection. If I wanted I could just shove him away, just like he did with me. Yet, somehow I feel that it's okay to lower my walls a little. Somewhere in the distance I hear someone gasp as I lower a wall in my mind and we are shown my most recent uncovered memory. The medieval castle like building is huge, magnificent and contrasting to what most think when they hear about medieval castles, is that this one is cheerful and full of light.

  There are people milling about, cheerful voices call out to one and other in a language I don't speak, but it sounds familiar. There are kids chasing each other across the courtyard, two boys roughly the same age and laughing. Now that I know his name, Alexandru steps into the archway that leads to the massive courtyard where people are preparing stalls and the children playing. He smiles as he drops a kiss on Lady Elisabeth's head as he murmurs something in her ear. He smiles as one of the two boys run up to him and he lifts the boy high in the sky making him squeal in delight. Bringing the boy back to his hip he kisses his forehead and whispers "Happy fifth birthday my son."

  I don't even remember closing my eyes but as I open them I find myself in a white room, a beeping sound alerts me to the heart-monitoring machine beside the bed I am laying in. Barney's face comes into focus, smiling slightly "Welcome back Young Ainsley." Before quietly adding "Thank you for sharing that with me, we will talk more about that later when you have settled in and have had your chance to explore the school."

  "Where is Elina?" I sit up right, noticing her absence. It would be nothing for her to leave me like this. She is always such a worrywart.

  "I am afraid she had to leave as it is night now and she has a long journey ahead of her. She should be home by now so why don't you give her a call?" He motioned with his hand to someone outside of my field of vision and a wireless phone was produced on a platter.

  After typing in the numbers, I drum my fingers on the soft white sheet as the phone rings. Just when I think about just leaving a message, Elina picks up the phone. "Hello?"

  "Elina?" I don't get the chance to say much more as she rambles on and on and on about how sorry she is she had to leave like that and hopes that I will settle in just fine. Lastly she says that I shouldn't be too worried, she says I am the safest hands possible. The Head Master is a skilled barrier weaver and that I shouldn't be into much trouble as the barrier around Saint Vincent's is one of the strongest. And I shouldn't be too quick about saying that vampires and werewolves don't exist. After all, I do things normal people don't do so why couldn't there be vampires and werewolves? When I hang up, I find another person in the room, someone who wasn't there in the beginning.

  "Young Ainsley, may introduce you to your new roommate; Young Jeremy Rochester." The smallish boy with caramel coloured skin smiled and waves. The Head Master got up from his perch on my bed "We will talk over the weekend Young Ainsley, good day Young Jeremy."

  "Does he talk like that to everybody?" I get out of the bed and am surprised to find myself still fully clothed.

  "Yeah, unfortunately every teacher or older staff member speaks like that. They are still sticking to the old ways from way back when." During our walk I got to know more about Jeremy, he was bonded to someone, and bonded is their term of life long partner. But even Jeremy agreed that was out-dated and calls Vicky his girlfriend. When we finally reach our dorm building, a lot of guys our age and older are all gathered in the living room. They are crowding around something.

  "Hey guys what's up?" I hear Jeremy ask as he walks in front of me into the living room as he bends over the back of some guy to get a look at whatever it is they are so excited about.

  "Remember that rumour that the son of Alexandru Dragomir would be coming to school?" A boy with chololate coloured hair quipped up, making Jeremy nod and frown. "Apparently he has arrived and is in our dorm and our year. The guys thought we should throw him a welcome party of sorts. But they can't seem to agree as to what to do."

  "What's the guy's name?" Jeremy looked suitably impressed; my guess is whatever Alexandru did, he must have been an important guy.

  "That's the thing; nobody knows for sure what his name is. The only new student in our year is a chick called Jane Austin, but the name of the son of Alexandru is Ainsley, so we are not too sure what went wrong there. By the way Jer, why did the Head Master call you out?" Jeremy looks back at me and I can see the gears working in his head, his eyes widen and his mouth gapes.

  "That's the thing he wanted me to meet the new student, he is my new roommate" Now everybody looks at him, and he is blushing a little as he scratches the back of his neck. "And no, Jane ain't a chick, he is my roommate." The eyes snap up to my presence as I take a step forward out of the hall into the living room.

  "Hi," I lament awkwardly, feeling quite uncomfortable under their combined stares. I am pretty sure they all see the obvious resemblance to Alexandru Dragomir. "I am Jeremy's new roommate...Ainsley."