Chapter 5: Mocked and Marked
893 Words
The sun rose over the Academy, but it brought no warmth, only judgment.
Aria stepped out of her dormitory, and silence met her like a slap. Not peaceful silence. The kind that hid whispers behind closed doors, snickers just out of reach, and stares that burned hotter than flame.
The moment she turned the corner, the walls shimmered.
A glowing illusion shimmered across the stone walls, a cruel, mocking replay of the Blood Match Ceremony. Her own figure stepped forward in flickering red light, the prince’s voice echoing through the corridor.
“I reject her.”
“This is a mistake.”
Laughter burst out behind her.
She spun. A group of students leaned against the archway, watching with amused eyes. No one said a word, but their smirks said enough.
She clenched her teeth and walked faster. The illusion followed her for a moment before fading, leaving behind only silence and shame.
Her name was everywhere now, but not with honor.
“Bloodless Aria.”
“The Prince’s Error.”
“The Rejected Match.”
In the past, they ignored her. But now, they couldn't stop looking. She had become something worse than invisible. She was entertainment now. A walking humiliation.
She reached the dining hall and froze. Dozens of eyes turned. Forks clinked against porcelain. Then came the whispers, venomous and unrelenting.
“She really showed up?”
“She should’ve transferred after last night.”
“I heard Lucian’s magic nearly broke the Mirror just rejecting her.”
Aria moved through the room like a ghost. Present, but unwanted. She didn’t eat. Didn’t speak. Only sat quietly in the corner, her heart slowly hardening into ice.
Until Vivienne appeared.
Of course she did.
She strode in like a queen, wrapped in a cloak of deep plum velvet, flanked by two noble-born girls dripping with silver jewelry. Her smile curled as she spotted Aria.
“Well, if it isn’t the Academy’s favorite little punchline,” Vivienne cooed, her voice full of cruel delight. “Enjoying your morning, Blood Match?”
Aria didn’t flinch. She refused to give her the satisfaction.
Vivienne approached, pulling a thin wand from her sleeve. Its tip shimmered with blood-light. She twirled it between her fingers, eyes gleaming with something dangerous.
“Don’t worry, darling,” she said, voice syrup-sweet. “I brought you a little something to commemorate your special moment.”
Aria stood, spine straight.
Vivienne’s smirk widened. “You’ll love it.”
She raised her wand, muttering under her breath. And magic surged forward like a lash.
The spell hit Aria’s wrist, searing into her skin with a hiss. She gasped, clutching the spot.
A rune seared itself into her wrist. Twisting. Red. Ugly.
ᚱ — the mark of Rejection. Eternal. Undeniable.
“Consider it a souvenir,” Vivienne whispered in her ear. “That way, no one forgets.”
Laughter echoed around her as Vivienne swept away like it had all been theater.
No one stopped it. Not the professors. Not the guards. Not even Headmaster Thorne, who passed her in the corridor moments later and offered only a tight-lipped glance. Like she deserved it.
Aria stared at the mark. Her wrist throbbed with dull pain. The rune pulsed softly, as if mocking her heartbeat.
She stumbled out of the hall.
She found herself in the empty courtyard beneath the statue of the First Vampire Queen. Even stone seemed to look down on her.
She sank to the steps.
Her fingers touched the rune again. It hurt. But it was the kind of pain she could understand. Could feel. Could hold.
It reminded her she was still alive. Even if they all wished she wasn’t.
A cold breeze swept through the courtyard. The hairs on the back of her neck rose. The air shifted. Heavy. Darker now. Thick with something unspoken.
Then… a whisper.
A voice.
Soft. Ancient. Not quite spoken aloud, but heard directly in her chest.
“You are not theirs to reject.”
She turned. No one was there.
But a shadow moved along the far wall. Unnatural in shape. Too slow for the sun. A flicker. Then gone.
A raven landed on the stone ledge above her. Its feathers shimmered with oil-slick darkness, and its eyes glowed faintly red. Ancient eyes. Watching. Judging. Waiting.
Then it cawed. Once. And flew off into the dark.
Aria stood slowly.
Her breath fogged in the summer air.
Something was changing.
Inside her.
Beneath the Academy.
And she was done waiting for it to go away.
That night, when she returned to her room, the door was smeared with blood-colored ink.
REJECTED. HUMAN. UNWANTED.
She didn’t scream. Didn’t cry.
She just stared at the words, then wiped them away with her sleeve.
Inside, the room felt colder. Emptier. Like something had been taken from it. Or maybe left behind.
She stood before the mirror. Her reflection looked the same. Tired eyes. Plain features. A girl who should’ve known better.
But behind her gaze now… something different stared back.
Not just sadness.
Not just shame.
But hunger.
Something inside her stirred. Something buried deep.
She looked toward her packed bag on the bed. Tomorrow, she would leave.
One last look at this cursed place.
Then she’d vanish.
And when she returned…
They wouldn’t just regret underestimating her.
They’d beg to forget what they’d unleashed.
- Writer
