The day has finally arrived. Bella Benevolent will age up to a young adult.
Joining her in blowing out candles of his own, is best friend Holden McGlum.
“Holden and I have been celebrating our birthdays together since we were kids,” Bella explains. “I know we’e not in the best place right now but there’s no one else I’d rather share this with.”
Also included in the celebration is Edwin Straud, who after spending the last couple of days obsesing about Vlad’s threat, is now confident that he is only bluffing.
“I’ve been doing some thinking and I realize that Vlad is just a big coward!” Edwin states. “He absolutely hates to be the center of attention, so he would never publicly come here and demand that I turn Bella into a vampire.”
Meanwhile Holden did some pre-birthday reflecting before he blew out his candles. “I have to say that I’m ready to turn 18. “The last couple of weeks of being 17 have been bumpy to say the least,” he laughs.
“I always make a a silly wish before I blow out the candles, but this time my wish had to do with just being happy and being a good person,” Holden adds.
Seconds later, Holden blew out the candles and turned into a dashing young adult.
“Everyone says that you feel the same when you age up, but I can say I feel profoundly–different. I have clarity. Not only do I know what’s important to me, but now won’t hesitate to go after it,” he states looking in Bella’s direction.
“It was finally my turn,” Bella states. “I had to take a quick last selfie as a teen!”
“As Bella blew out her candles, I knew what I was going to do the minutes after she transformed,” Holden states. “I would tell her how I felt, once and for all. I was fully prepared for her to tell me that she’s with Edwin now, but I would fight for her.”
“I feel amazing!” Bella exclaimed after blowing out the candles. “I literally feel like I can conquer the world.”
“Happy birthday, darling!” Lucy said, being the first to give Bella a hug as a young adult.
“I’m so proud of everything you’ve accomplished, everything you stand for,” Bruce boasted.
Suddenly, there was a eerie pause in the air.
“Happy birthday, Bella. Are you ready to become one of us now?”
“I’m such a fool!” Edwin exclaimed. “I should have known Vlad would stop at nothing to get what he wants!”
“Uh, excuse me?” Bella asked in confusion to Vlad’s question.
“I can tell by your confusion that Edwin hasn’t prepared you for what’s to come,” Vlad said matter-of-factly changing into his swim trunks. “I’ll just give you two a few minutes to prepare yourselves while I go for a little swim.”
“I knew I had to keep my cool,” Edwin states. “If I panicked, everyone else would, too.”
“Please excuse Bella and I for a few minutes. We need to clear up a quick misunderstanding,”
“So I told Bella about the night she followed me to the mansion, how Holden followed her without her knowing, how Vlad spelled them , and how he threatened to harm them both unless I agreed to turn her into a vampire.”
“H-Holden was there?” Bella asked in a small, panic-stricken voice.
“I’m sorry, Bella, but the only way for me to protect you is for us to be apart. You’ll be away safely at college and I can go into hiding.”
As Edwin walked away, Bella quickly caught up to him.
“When I said I love you, I meant it,” Bella gushed breathlessly. “Where you go, I go. There is no discussion.”
“I don’t know what’s going on here, “Holden interrupted, “but you’re not taking Bella anywhere.”
“Please,” Edwin said to Holden. “If you care for Bella, care anything at all, you’ll go distract Vlad while we make a run for it.”
“I had been keeping a secret. I remembered exactly what happened that night I followed Bella to Vlad’s mansion. Vlad’s forgetting spell hadn’t worked on me. As much as it pained me, I did what Edwin asked of me.”
“There is one safe place we can go to,” Edwin told Bella after Holden left. “Until we can figure out a way to stop Vlad. He won’t follow us there. I’m sure of it.”
“There was no question that wherever Edwin went, I would follow. Still, I didn’t know what we would be getting ourselves into, and worse, we didn’t have a real plan. Would we even be returning to Oasis Springs at all?”
Where will Bella and Edwin go? Will they truly be safe from Vlad’s wrath? Will leaving take Bella and Edwin’s relationship to a new level or will it destroy it beyond repair?
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