The room where the hearing would take place looked more like a mausoleum than a courtroom. The ceiling was high, held up by cold stone pillars, and the walls were covered in tapestries showing the long lineage of vampires. In the center, a semicircular table waited for the founders. The air was heavy, soaked in a seriousness that felt suffocating.
Alice and Kara were led into the hall by Albert, who stayed rigid and silent. Their footsteps echoed across the dark marble until the Council members finally revealed themselves.
Vlad IV stood in the center, his presence imposing, an aura of authority that seemed to bend the air around him. To his right, Baronesa Crowell, aristocratic face, eyes as cold as shards of ice. Further down, TaliaDun, dressed severely, the most calculating of the group, her barely visible smile looking like she already knew every answer she'd hear. On the other side sat Sir Benjamin Pierce, the oldest and most traditional, his eyes dripping with constant judgment. And at the edge, JamesButcher, with a brutal, almost feral aura, his fingers tapping impatiently on the table like claws waiting for flesh.
Albert announced,
"I brought them, as ordered."
Silence fell. Vlad tilted his head slightly.
"Alice von Richter. Kara Sullivan. Step forward."
Alice held herself steady, even as the weight of the Council's presence pressed down like a boulder. Kara, brave as she was, felt her heart racing out of control.
The Baronesa spoke first:
"A vampire intertwined with a mortal. A risk we cannot ignore."
Talia added, her voice sharp as a blade:
"The secrecy of our existence depends on clear boundaries. And you crossed them."
Alice kept her eyes firm.
"I never exposed the secret. I never put the Council at risk. Kara knows, but she's trustworthy."
James Butcher let out a low laugh, almost a growl.
"Humans are never trustworthy. Affection blinds, and blindness ends our race."
Kara, who had been silent until then, finally spoke, her voice steady but emotional:
"You talk about risk, but forget that you're also… people." She hesitated only for a second.
"Alice doesn't manipulate me. I choose her. If that threatens you, maybe what you call order is just fear."
The words cracked through the hall like thunder. The Baronesa narrowed her eyes, and Sir Benjamin slammed his hand on the table.
"Insolence!" he barked.
"A mortal dares judge this council?"
Vlad raised a hand, and silence returned. His tone was deep, unyielding:
"Alice, your devotion is clear. But the code is unchanging. If you wish to remain together, there are only two paths."
The hall darkened, as if even the torches feared what came next. Vlad continued:
"First: transform Kara. Then there is no secret to protect. Two vampires may share their eternity without threatening us."
Alice clenched her fists, looking at Kara with pain and hesitation.
"Second: erase all of Kara's memories. Your love, your time together, everything she learned about us. She will return to the mortal world with no memory of you."
The words dropped like stones. Alice's heart swung between an eternity with Kara and the possibility of sparing her from a fate she might not want.
Kara, stunned, took a deep breath, staring at each Council member with indignation.
"You talk like my life is some bargaining chip. Like I don't get a say in what happens to me. I didn't ask to be here, but I am, and I won't be treated like a burden or someone else's decision."
James Butcher shot to his feet, rage flashing in his eyes.
"Insolent mortal!"
The tension exploded in the room. Every gaze turned sharp like a blade aimed at Kara, and even Alice felt the atmosphere shift toward chaos. But Vlad raised his hand again, his voice echoing dark and commanding:
"Enough. The final choice does not belong to the Council… but to Kara and Alice."
Alice looked at Kara, the dilemma written painfully in her eyes. Kara, breathing unsteadily, whispered:
"I… I don't want to lose you, but I never thought about being turned."
The night closed with Alice silent, the weight of the decision crushing her chest, while the Council watched like predators waiting for their prey's final move.