Princess of the Underworld

Chapter 7 - Having Fun

As Livana and Ellerosé walked down the stairs of the apartments and out to the sidewalk, they passed all the brightly lit shops that were still open until reaching a building with big neon letters that read 'Karaoke Palace.' Upon entering, a staff member at the front desk warmly welcomed them. Ellerosé and Livana smiled and stated, "We would like to book a karaoke room, please." Livana glanced over at Ellerosé, who was continuing the conversation with the person behind the desk to see if they could secure a karaoke room. Once everything was arranged, the staff member led them down the long hallway to the room at the end, which had an arched door with the number twenty in bold black font.

When the two entered the room, Ellerosé went to the small computer near the door to look for songs for them to sing. Meanwhile, Livana stopped near the doorway after closing the door. The room was small and spaced out, with red wallpaper, red sofa chairs, and a small table in the middle. There was a TV on one of the walls for them to watch the lyrics of the songs they picked. Singing in this room could not be heard by anyone outside. Ellerosé handed Livana a microphone with a smile, and Livana held it firmly before walking towards the computer to choose a song.

Livana looked up a song called "Personal Hell" by Kim Petras, and hit play, Livana stood in the middle of the room and waited for the lyrics to light up. When the song started, Livana put her all into it, holding the microphone up to her face and began singing the words, forgetting about her surroundings, and feeling the song while singing.

Ellerosé sat down on one of the sofas and watched Livana sing, cheering her on. As the song was coming to an end, Livana gave it her all, finishing by holding the microphone and bowing her head with her eyes closed. Livana was interrupted by applause from Ellerosé. Livana opened her eyes, looked in her best friends' direction, and smiled. Livana then did a quick slight bow and said, "Thank you, thank you, you're too kind," before giggling and trading spots with Ellerosé to hear her sing.

Ellerosé had chosen a fast song to sing, and once she began, Livana's eyes shot wide open hearing her sing the fast song to perfection. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, and they still sang their hearts out and continued having fun. After their little karaoke night was over, Livana and Ellerosé walked out onto the main sidewalk to see what other fun things they could do. After what seemed like a while of walking, they stopped at an arcade; they both looked at each other and smiled before heading in to play some arcade games.

The two played a few fun games, and then Ellerosé found a fun one for them to try. When Livana saw what it was, she smiled and said, "Of course, you would, Ellerosé, of course, you would." Ellerosé stopped and looked at Livana with a big grin on her face. It was a dance game; it seemed like she wanted a rematch from the time we danced at the nightclub. Without any hesitation, Livana went to stand on the big light-up dance floor and waited for Ellerosé to start the game.

After the game started, Livana and Ellerosé followed the movements shown on the screen on the dance floor. It did not take long for a few people to start crowding around to watch the two dance to the most challenging dance and cheered them on as they smashed the high score and beat the game. After winning the game and claiming the high score, one of the workers came over and handed them a prize – two unique limited edition key chains. Livana and Ellerosé thanked the worker with big smiles before taking their leave as it was almost time for the sun to come up.

Once they arrived at their apartment, just in time before the sun came up, they plopped down on the comfy chairs near the kitchen. "That was so fun," Livana began to say, with Ellerosé looking up and smiling while nodding in agreement. "Yes, yes it was," Livana smiled, while holding up the key chain. "And this is just so cute! I'm going to put it on my bag." Livana then grabbed her bag and placed the key chain onto it; Ellerosé did the same. "Smart idea, Liv! Ah, the keychains make the bags even better," she said with a more giant smile forming on her face.

Ellerosé excused herself and headed towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Livana then stood up from the table, leaving her purse on the table, and walked over to the window. Livana has always been curious as to why someone like her could never go out when the sun was at its peak. Once she was close enough to the curtain, she slightly cracked open it to see the sun. Livana had then heard her father's words play out, and the image of him explaining appeared in her head back when she was little.

"We must never go out in direct sunlight, as it is dangerous to us. We had the horrific sight of watching your great-great-great-grandfather perish in sunlight, and the sight was very unsettling. So, you must promise and make sure you never go out when the sun is at its peak."

Livana understood why vampires prefer to explore at night, but she could not help but wonder what it would be like to experience the daytime for a change herself. Livana glanced back at the bathroom to see if Ellerosé had finished, but still heard the shower running. Then, Livana turned to look outside the window. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes tightly, tightening her grip on the curtain. In one swift movement, she drew back the curtain to let the sunlight in. Livana stood there for a moment. If she were not a vampire, she would have held her breath, waiting for something to happen.

When Livana finally opened her eyes after what felt like ages, she looked around and checked her hands and arms. Everything seemed fine until she suddenly felt a very uncomfortable sensation on her right arm. It started tingling as if it was beginning to burn, she quickly closed the curtain to prevent any damage. The burning sensation subsided, and Livana let out a sigh of relief while leaning against the curtain. She made a mental note never to do anything like that again, knowing that if anyone, especially her father, found out, there would be severe consequences.

After returning to the kitchen, Livana grabbed one of my blood bags, sat back down at the table, lost in thought as she drank it. Livana heard the bathroom door open, and Ellerosé walked out, saying, "The bathroom is free if you want to use it." Livana quickly nodded, finishing off the blood bag before throwing it away. She then headed to the bathroom to shower. After turning on the water and placing her clothes on the bench, she hopped into the shower. Livana just stood underneath the warm water, replaying the scene in her head from just a few seconds ago.

Livana stood there silently, holding her forearm wide-eyed as the water ran down and swirled down the drain. Livana did not know how long she had been standing there until she heard Ellerosé's voice from the other side of the door, "Livana?! Are you okay in there?" Livana shook her head, snapping out of her trance, and looked toward the closed door. Livana took a deep breath before replying, "I'm fine. Sorry, I was just lost in my own thoughts. I'll be out in a minute." With that, she heard Ellerosé say, "Okay, no worries. I was making sure you are 'alive' in there." Livana laughed a bit at the pun she made.

After turning off the shower, Livana stepped out and grabbed a towel to dry herself off. Then, she wrapped the towel around her body, picked up her clothes, and headed to the room she stayed in to change. Once dressed, Livana came out with her hair still wrapped in the towel, letting it dry. When she entered the living room, she saw Ellerosé asleep on the lounge with the TV on. Livana checked the time, and it was 6:30pm.

Livana glanced back at Ellerosé, who was still fast asleep on the couch. A thought crossed her mind, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I went out for a bit on my own, right?" Livana quietly picked up her shoes, carefully walked to the door, and opened it, ensuring that she did not wake Ellerosé. Knowing she is a deep sleeper; Livana was confident that nothing would disturb her. After closing the door, Livana put on her shoes and headed downstairs and out onto the sidewalk to browse the shops.