Part 1 " A Vampire Shouldn't Be This Weak"
Selena never liked walking through the central lobby of the academy. It was always crowded — noise, laughter, flirtations, and too many eyes. She preferred quiet paths. Hidden corridors. The lesser-known marble hallway behind the library wing had become her usual route.
This morning was no different. Books in hand, her silver hair tied in a loose ribbon, she walked with quiet steps and steady breath.
Until she heard it.
A scuffle.
Laughter.
Pain.
From the narrow passage to her left — a servants' hallway rarely used by students.
Curious, she turned.
Four boys stood cornering someone against the wall. Tall, well-dressed, bearing noble crests on their uniforms — unmistakably second-years. And in the centre, pressed against the stone wall with a bleeding lip, was a boy from her class. Pale, thin, quiet. A vampire, like her — but of low nobility.
One of the bullies sneered and said loudly:
"You bloodless rats should've stayed underground. You should've died, freak. That's all you're good for."
Selena stepped forward.
Her voice was calm, icy, and low, but it cut through the corridor like a blade.
"Does that mean I should've died too?"
The boys froze.
As they turned to look, every trace of cruelty drained from their faces.
Selena Virethorn.
The Silverblood.
The second most powerful noble in the entire academy — and the only known vampire with a pure ancestral bloodline untouched for generations.
The leader of the group stammered, "L-Lady Selena, we didn't mean—"
But her eyes silenced him.
They dropped their hands, muttered pathetic excuses, and scattered like leaves in a storm.
Selena didn't spare them another glance. She turned to leave.
But the boy she saved — still leaning against the wall — stepped forward and called out softly,
"Wait… please."
She kept walking.
Then suddenly, his hand grabbed her wrist.
"Thank you…"
She froze. Slowly, her eyes dropped to where he touched her. In an instant, her hand twisted free with precision, like a silent warning. Not a word spoken. Just that look.
Realising his mistake, he quickly bowed his head.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to—"
Selena interrupted coldly:
"A vampire shouldn't be this weak."
Then, without waiting for his response, she turned and walked away.
Her heels echoed down the corridor.
And behind her, the boy stood still — ashamed, but with a strange flicker of awe in his eyes.
---
Part 2 – "The Rumour Reaches Kaelith"
It didn't take long.
By lunch, whispers had already begun spreading across the academy halls like wildfire.
"Did you hear? Lady Selena stood up for a lowborn vampire… against second-years."
"She told them off like they were insects…"
"Apparently one of them touched her. And he's still alive?!"
Some said she nearly attacked the boys. Others swore she used her power to freeze one of them mid-air. The story changed from mouth to mouth — but one thing stayed the same:
Selena Virethorn had spoken.
And that alone was enough to stir the entire school.
In the upper wing balcony of the second-year garden, Kaelith listened in silence as his friends gossiped. His classmates — noble heirs like himself — chuckled as they passed the story around like a parlour joke.
But Kaelith wasn't smiling.
His usually calm golden eyes had darkened slightly, a flicker of storm behind their warmth. He leaned back in his chair, fingers folded, listening as one of the boys added:
"Maybe she finally grew a heart, huh? Shame it was wasted on some gutterblood."
Kaelith stood.
The boy flinched as Kaelith's shadow fell over him.
"You seem awfully brave when talking behind her back," Kaelith said, voice pleasant — too pleasant.
"Why don't you try saying that in front of her, and we'll see if you leave with your spine intact?"
The laughter died. Silence bloomed.
Kaelith's smile was sharp — the kind that made even other nobles swallow their words.
"Now get lost."
They did. Quickly.
Once alone, Kaelith ran a hand through his tousled dark hair and let out a long breath.
"Why now… Selena."
He hadn't spoken to her in days — not since she began keeping her distance. No more waiting by the garden. No more casual glances in the hallway. Always calling him "Your Highness" again. Cold. Formal.
Just like before.
And now, this…
She stepped in to protect someone else?
Let another boy touch her — even if just the wrist?
Something inside him twisted.
Kaelith wasn't foolish. He knew it wasn't love. Selena wouldn't do something out of affection. That wasn't her.
But still…
The fact that she acted for someone else, even once — and not him — lit a fire he didn't know he was capable of feeling.
He turned and looked down at the courtyard from the balcony.
There she was.
Selena.
Walking alone again, black hair catching the wind, her uniform pristine as always.
Unbothered. Unreachable.
Yet everyone was talking about her.
Everyone but him.
You're mine, he thought.
Even if you don't know it yet
---
Part 3: Fractures and Shadows
Selena walked into her classroom, her expression unreadable as always. The moment she entered, the room seemed to fall into a hush. She didn't notice or didn't care that Elias Hale had been sitting quietly at the back, eyes following her every step since the incident in the hallway.
He hadn't stopped thinking about it.
"A vampire shouldn't be this weak."
The words echoed in his head. Harsh, maybe but not cruel. In her voice was a clarity he hadn't known. Cold steel, not frost. She didn't look down on him. She simply expected more from him.
That unnerved him. It also stirred something.
As class began, Elias kept glancing her way. But Selena, true to herself, remained detached. She took notes neatly, kept to herself, and never looked back once.
---
Later that day, in the noble student wing, Kaelith was walking with two of his classmates when he overheard them whispering about something.
"Did you hear? That Hale boy was getting bullied again—"
"Yeah, but Selena Vermont stepped in and—"
"Wait, really? Why would she get involved?"
Kaelith stopped walking. His jaw clenched. Without a word, he turned and walked the other way.
---
Evening – Garden Courtyard
Selena sat under a silver willow, sketching quietly in her book. The soft wind rustled the pages.
Kaelith appeared, as if summoned by silence.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, stepping closer.
Selena didn't look up. "Tell you what, Your Highness?"
"That you stepped in today. That you defended him."
She finally lifted her gaze. "I don't report everything I do."
Kaelith's eyes darkened slightly. "He's beneath you."
"Then they were beneath me too, weren't they? For bullying someone weaker to feel strong?"
Kaelith didn't answer.
Selena stood up, dusting her skirt. "If strength means nothing without restraint, then what are we really?"
He hated how calm she was. How distant. How unreachable.
"You always act like you're above it all," he said quietly. "Like none of us matter to you."
Selena tilted her head slightly. "I never said you didn't matter. I simply know my place. And yours."
That stung.
She started to walk away.
"Why won't you call me by my name?" he asked behind her.
Selena paused. "Because I shouldn't"
Then she left.
---
Meanwhile, back in his dorm, Elias Hale stared at a faded parchment hidden in his desk — a letter from his brother warning him never to speak of "the Fenwryn incident." He clenched it in his hand, remembering Selena's words.
"A vampire shouldn't be this weak."
He would grow stronger. But strength alone wouldn't protect him. Not in a school where politics and bloodlines determined everything.
He would watch her. Learn from her. And maybe one day… protect her, too.
---