ZARAMANNI (BOOK ONE)

The first thing Zara noticed as she walked into her assigned room in the manor was her phone.

The device stayed lifeless on the bed, next to a neatly arranged pile of clothes.

Recalling that she lost the new bag she got while she was with Alisha, Zara felt ecstatic that the things that reminded her of home were still around. Though she missed her hoodie, Zara was glad she had her phone and tote bag.

Zaramanni raced toward the bed and hit the power button of the device, eager to hear that familiar tone and see the image that would remind her of home.

While she waited for her phone to boot, her sight travelled to the stack of garments. A closer look at the pile and Zara could deduce that they were about her size.

The girl twisted her lips to the side as she recalled that Sham mentioned taking her to a seamstress for new clothes.

So, except the seamstress took her body measurements while she was sleeping and magically finished sewing about ten pairs of clothes within three, four days, the clothes had to be from somewhere else.

Eyeing the clothes, Zaramanni began to drum the phone’s surface. And her head bobbed as she played a tune in her mind.

“Yay!” Zara’s pitched voice exclaimed once the phone showed its homepage.

Swiftly scrolling to the music player application and selecting one of her favourites that always got her dancing, Zaramanni dropped the phone on a pillow and began to take the clothes one after the other, a huge smile on her face as she danced.

Maintaining rhythmic and slow movements, her head imagining way more energetic dance steps, Zaramanni took off the oversize shirt she had on and replaced it with the one she had just picked.

Black in colour, its insides feeling warm, Zaramanni noticed that the surface material was very smooth.

“Hmm,” she hummed while nodding her head, appreciating the quality of the garment.

Then, she reached for another one.

This one was a pair of trousers, deep blue in colour.

She put them on. They were a good fit. Not too tight and not too loose.

Zara, whose head was now bouncing to the tunes coming from her phone, rushed to the bathroom to take a look in the mirror.

Her hair a huge mess, Zaramanni recalled how she dreaded looking in the mirror when she first arrived at the manor. The thought of fully seeing what she looked like somehow scared her.

But there she was, staring at her body which was clothed fashionably.

Halting her rhythmic movements, Zara took a second to observe the girl in the mirror.

Her hands raked through her hair gently and she managed a small smile when she noticed some blemishes on her blueish face.

Then, Zaramanni noticed that her brows were already changing colours.

Its shade was approaching the off-white theme. That was a hint that her hair would soon be wearing the same colour.

Staring more and more at her image, Zara noticed her eyes. There was nothing different about them, but the more she looked, the more she could recall the crazy things they had seen over the past weeks.

“I hate you,” Zaramanni suddenly uttered with a serious tone. “Why can’t you just be a normal human? Huh?” Her voice was low yet full of pain.

The music became a background thing and her mind did the one thing she didn’t want to do.

Zaramanni, before she journeyed back to the manor with Beta Zoey, urged herself to stay clear-minded while she tries to make sure she finds a way back home.

She didn’t want to remember King Darren’s hateful gaze or the paleness of the vampire’s face.

But her mind was a disrespectful bitch. It was adamant as well.

Zaramanni wore a deep frown as her lips began to curl with disgust without her being aware.

The more she stared at her image, the more Zaramanni’s mind dug out memories. Even the memories that involved Gavin and the evil ones that made high school hell for her were not left out.

“You might break that thing if you keep staring at it,” a soft, feminine voice calmly said from the bathroom’s entrance.

Zara swiftly turned.

Dressed in a vintage-like patterned gown, her boobs well-padded and pushed to show a good portion of her cleavage, her slightly blonde hair permed delightfully and gracefully falling onto her shoulder, Zara found the lady a pretty sight.

The woman smiled as she watched Zara study her. “You must be Zaramanni,” she said, the tone of her voice melodic.

“I am,” Zara replied. Almost shyly, her hands dropped to her sides. As though reprimanded, her gaze fell to the floor as well.

“My name is Clarissa. Beta Zoey assigned me to take care of you.”

“I think I can take care of myself,” Zara quickly replied, her legs now walking past the woman who was wearing a rare fragrance.

“I don’t doubt that. But, I have to take care of you regardless.” The woman named Clarissa followed her. “I see the clothes were a good fit.”

Zara stopped in her tracks and swirled halfway, her long hair almost slapping the woman’s face who still managed to smile despite the startling stop in motion.

“Well...” Zara found herself running her hands through the smooth surface of the blouse. It felt so good to touch. “It looks pretty on me.”

“It does.” A sharp exhale from Clarissa, her eyes wearing a pondering look while they were pointed in the upward direction, she asked, “What is that sound? It is music, but I have never heard this one before.”

“Oh. It is a Blackpink song,” Zara replied. She then wondered why she sounded so excited while responding.

“Black...?” Confusion covered Clarissa’s pretty face. “Pink? Oh, is it a song about colours?”

“No.” Zara just had to laugh.

“My bad. I learned that you are not from this universe. I guess we won’t have a lot in common and a lot of things might get misinterpreted.”

Zara noticed that Clarissa had a peculiar accent that just made the words coming from her mouth more magical. Those words wore more shine thanks to the effortless smile in her coloured eyes.

Zara also observed that Clarissa’s eyes had similarities to the crystal feature of a river.

Zaramanni then smiled instantly because being able to distinguish Clarissa’s eyes was enough evidence that her eyesight was no longer tainted.

“Do you want me to get you something before you leave for the library?” Clarissa asked after moments of silence ensued.

“Library? Why would I go to the library?” Zara didn’t mind the thought of being surrounded by books all day, she did that a lot on Earth anyway. But, she didn’t like the abruptness in Clarissa’s question.

No one had told her that she would have to go to a library.

“Alpha Darren ordered it. You are to work directly under the old librarian.”

“Wait, I am going to work?”

“Well...” Clarissa’s voice lingered. “I wouldn’t say you would be working, but then, I have no idea why the king ordered such.”

“That damned King Darren. Just wait till I get the chance to punch your face. You old, annoying, murderous wolf,” Zara muttered angrily under her breath.

“Wh-what did you say?” Clarissa looked beyond confused at that point. Thankfully, Zara’s voice was really low, the woman barely heard her mumbled words.

Zara instantly changed her countenance. Smiling grandly, she faced Clarissa squarely and said, “I will need snacks if I will be working in the library. Lots of them. I don’t know what you people take as snacks, but I hope they are good.”

“We have ice cream,” Clarissa replied, her cute smile back.

“Really? You have ice cream?”

“Yes. Should I get you some?”

“Of course,” Zara replied happily, her entire face grinning.

“Alright. But, I have to get you to the library first. So, can we go now?” The woman pointed towards the exit and Zara nodded.

She raced towards the bed, killed the music, and switched off her phone.

As she walked out of the room with Clarissa, though she did not realize it, Zaramanni had successfully forgotten about the terrible events of the past weeks.

Even though it was just for a moment, it was a good thing.

~

“You must have heard,” one of the gathered sprites said to his neighbour amid the loud chatter in the room, “the wolves sent the heads of rogue vampires to the Overlord.”

“Isn’t this a sign that we should stop our plans?” the fairy spoken to replied, worry etched in the frown he had on his greenish forehead.

Before the other fairy could reply, a thick throat-clearing requested for silence and the gathering around the circular table instantly hushed their lips.

“My fellow councilmen,” Lord Haggard’s shrill voice echoed into the room, ” our efforts must not be in vain.”

“But the wolves will come charging at us soon,” someone replied, fear in his voice. “It’s only a matter of time.”

From the quiet corner he stood, Ezeman watched as Lord Haggard stood up from his high seat. The old man’s staff made thudding noises as he walked toward the individual that made that comment.

Once behind him, the aged fairy spoke, “When we decided to take this path, we had thoroughly considered the many ways we can be affected. Despite the dangers, we all agreed to start this journey.” Lord Haggard stared at the bald head in front of him. “We all agreed to use King Darren, Alpha King of Zenrada as our means of getting what we want.”

Suddenly, the creature who had spoken began to wince. He maintained a calm look, yet he was in pain. Great pain.

“We went as far as attacking Zenrada and kidnapping their queen. I sent my servant on a long journey to get the important thing we needed for the success of the ritual. He went to the human world for it. Though things might have gone wrong, we got one thing right. We made King Darren a murderous wolf and all that’s left is to make him our puppet.”

The fairy in pain suddenly dropped onto the ground. If he was dead, no one could tell.

“If the wolves decide to charge at us, no problem.” Barely wearing emotions, Lord Haggard slowly walked back to his seat. “We will use that chance to lure King Darren into our lands and this time, he won’t escape. This time, we will get what we want. We will get what we deserve.”

Apart from the thirst for King Darren’s presence Lord Haggard had, Ezeman noticed how easily his master ordered the attention of the council members. Lord Haggard uttered heavy words with a soft tone and with that tone, he carried them all along.

Soon, they were all nodding their heads in agreement.

“My fellow council members, do not fear.” The old one sat down gently, his light-blue skin looking less wrinkly. “It will all work out in the end. True, Skullis might not be able to help us anymore, but we are capable of handling Zenrada. We conquered them once, doing it a second time won’t be difficult.”

Lord Haggard smiled contentedly as he roamed his sight across the room.

“What about the Queen? She is getting suspicious,” another fairy spoke.

“The Queen is a person I can handle. I would have loved to share our plans with her, but she is not like us. She doesn’t bother to think about big things. She doesn’t have what it takes to seek more power for Amarxona. So, don’t worry, I will take care of her. All I need is a pot of honey and she’s a finished fairy.”

“She sure loves her pot of honey,” another said with humour in his voice.

“And she loves her harem of lovers,” added the fairy that sat on the right side of Lord Haggard.

“Speaking of lovers,” Lord Haggard interrupted the excited chattering, “I brought fresh ones. They are specially trained to give maximum pleasure.”

“Oh my.” One of them said with gratitude which Ezeman doubted was real. “My Lord, you are really the best.”

“Ezeman, call them in,” Lord Haggard finally acknowledged his servant’s presence.

As Ezeman walked out of the room to call the people who had been waiting outside in their skimpy outfits for quite a while, the council members’ loud talks about sex positions and special tonics reached his ears.

Ezeman then knew that he had to step up his plans. He should never be caught in the webs of Lord Haggard’s scary plan because it will never end well for him.

His mind racing, Ezeman wondered if a quick and coded trip to Zenrada would help him.

Maybe it would... Maybe not.

He would never know till he tries…