Sitting on the deck of the ship, slumped against the rail, is the sleeping figure of Kass Peterson. She stirs and sits up, frowning at her crushed black dress, and rubs her bloodshot eyes. As her hands trail down her face, the dried blood from her tears rubs off onto her fingers and she remembers what happened.
A strong wind blows her short blonde hair into her eyes, and she hastily brushes it back and rises, groaning softly, her deep blue eyes surveying the empty deck. Her black high heels thud softly as she stumbles across the deck and into her mom's cabin.
Squinting in the darkness, she makes her way into the bathroom and washes her face. She wearily raises her eyes to the mirror and silently stares at her reflection for several minutes. She whimpers softly and thuds her head against the mirror, letting it rest against the cold, flat surface.
A faded memory replays itself in her mind, a memory of long ago, when she was just a child, watching her mother brush her beautiful dark hair. "Momma, what's a vampire?" Asks a tiny girl with reddish gold hair. Åñgèl, her mother, turns to face her and smiles gently, "someone whose body has died, but is still there. To survive, they drink blood," she says, and the little girl wrinkles her nose. "Oh... I don't want to be one of those...
"Momma? What happens if somebody makes me a vampire?" Her mother frowns, thinking, "because of the gifts and forms you have, if you went into the sunshine, your vampire form would burn away and you would be mortal again," she smiles and returns to brushing her hair.
Kass's eyes flick open, a hint of puzzlement in their depths. She turns and walks out of the cabin, brushing her hand across the top of her mother's writing desk as she passes it, her lips curling in a smile at the feel of the smooth wood.
Out on the deck, she leans against the rail and gazes out at the sea. She blinks, startled, as she sees the touches of gold on the surface of the waves, and that the waves have become a deep green. Gazing upwards, she wonders if she has gone mad, her widens her eyes. She nearly faints when she sees the brilliant, burning, golden ball in the sky. Her mother's words flash through her mind: "your vampire form would burn away and you would be mortal again."
She draws her breath sharply, frozen for a moment, allowing the knowledge to process. Then, a smile creeps across her face, rapidly becoming a broad grin. She raises her hands, turning them over in wonder, marvelling at the dark tan that they have acquired.
She lets out a little laugh and dashes into her mother's cabin, pulling out her old clothing, thoughtlessly tossing her tight black dress and heels into the shadows. She pulls on her tight blue jeans and pink singlet top, beaming, and skips back onto the deck and settles down on a bench, closing her eyes and basking in the sunlight...
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