‘One moment while I verify, please.’ The man murmured into the Bluetooth, ‘Ivy Vega is here, Countess Lazar. May she enter?’ Then to Ivy: ‘Very sorry, Miss Vega. Please, come right in. Welcome back.’
‘Thanks.’ Ivy smoothed her face into a serious expression. ‘I’ll try my best to behave.’
She hurried into the house, wanting to catch up with Olivia right away, and find out why their grandparents’ house had suddenly become Fort Knox. She was in need of some serious sisterly venting time. Stuck-up vamps, a pathetic duel and a long walk home – there was a lot to get through. As she looked for Olivia, Ivy passed the Countess’s study. The door was half open so she peeked inside.
‘No, no, no!’
The Queen was pacing the room, her posture as straight as a chopstick. So that’s why the mansion has turned into an army camp, she realised. The Queen is an ultra-stressed Mother of the Groom!
‘Everything is wrong.’ She adjusted her jewelled crown. ‘The forest-green aisle runner clashes completely with the emerald necklace you will be wearing. Surely you don’t want to walk down the aisle to the “Bridal Chorus” surrounded by colour clashes! No, we absolutely cannot have that. It must be perfect. This is my only son’s wedding we’re talking about.’
As Ivy hovered at the door, she saw Tessa sitting in a chair, taking notes in the corner. Tessa’s eyes had shadows under them and her hair fell lankly around her face. She looks worn out.
‘Maybe it’s better to keep things simple then,’ suggested Tessa in a meek voice that sounded nothing like that of a soon-to-be princess. ‘Alex and I could get married in a quiet ceremony somewhere else and return here for the reception.’
The hope in Tessa’s suggestion floated like a bubble in the air and, sure enough, the Queen popped it with one dismissive flourish of her ringed hand. ‘That is not tradition.’
Ivy rolled her eyes. She was beginning to wonder about all these vampire customs. They seemed so rigid. Maybe she would be better off in Franklin Grove, where the most serious tradition was singing embarrassing Christmas carols at the school’s Winter Assembly. As far as she could tell, the Transylvania vamps needed to take a chill pill!
Before the Queen or Tessa noticed her, Ivy snuck up to the second floor and slipped into the bedchamber she shared with Olivia. The room was empty, but right now Ivy was too tired to worry about it. The events of the day had suddenly caught up with her and all she wanted was a nice, long nap – preferably before she got roped into any party-planning.
She opened her coffin lid and was about to climb in when she noticed it was already occupied!
‘Olivia?’ She shook her sister. Olivia was lying in the coffin with her arms folded across her chest. ‘What are you doing ?’
Olivia sat up, shielding her eyes from the light. ‘Huh?’ She squinted at Ivy almost as if she didn’t recognise her.
‘What are you doing in my coffin?’ Ivy cocked her head, a little worried now. Her twin looked pasty and pale – but, then again, Transylvania wasn’t quite as sunny as Franklin Grove.
‘I’m sorry.’ Olivia spoke as if it was an effort. ‘I didn’t have the energy to climb into my own bunk. I figured you wouldn’t mind if I took a nap in yours.’
Ivy smiled. ‘Of course not. It just gave me a scare seeing you in my coffin like that. You were sleeping like the dead!’
‘It’s surprisingly comfortable,’ said Olivia, nestling back into the red velour cushioning. She closed her eyes. ‘Would you mind shutting the lid?’
Wow, the jet lag must have really caught up with her, thought Ivy as she gently closed the lid on her human twin. Bunnies were more vulnerable to that sort of thing, Ivy knew. There was probably no need to worry. Olivia just needed a good nap and maybe a cup of coffee to jump-start her into Transylvania time.
The bedroom door was flung open, making Ivy jump. ‘Shhh! Olivia’s going to sleep!’ Then she saw it was Tessa.
‘Sorry!’ Tessa whispered. ‘Can I hide out here for a bit?’
‘Yeah, no problem.’ Ivy offered her the swivel chair at the desk. Tessa’s hair was in tangles and her mascara was smudged under her eyes. Suddenly, Ivy wished Olivia could be more . . . well, awake. Her sister watched every one of those wedding shows. She would be much better at comforting a clearly stressed-out bride.
Ivy sat on the floor, playing with her shoelaces. What if she said the wrong thing? ‘Um, is everything OK, Tessa? You seem, sort of, all over the place?’ She cringed. That hadn’t come out right.
‘Huh? Me?’ Tessa’s eyes flicked up. She’d been staring into space. ‘I’m fine. Just typical wedding craziness.’
‘I guess that’s to be expected when you’re planning the wedding of the century.’ Ivy tried to smile before she became tongue-tied again. The two sat in uncomfortable silence.
Ivy glanced up and saw Olivia’s camera on the desk by the computer. Olivia had been diligently snapping pictures ever since they’d arrived. It reminded Ivy that she should be doing more for her article. It wasn’t going to write itself! But now hardly seemed like the right time to interview Tessa.
Then Ivy had another idea. She stood up and picked the camera off the desk. ‘Do you want to check out Olivia’s pictures? Maybe it will take your mind off all the crazy wedding stuff for a bit.’
Tessa gave a tired smile. ‘OK.’
‘Great.’ Ivy pushed the power button and the screen lit up. ‘If I know my sister, she’ll have taken some killer shots.’
Sitting together on the narrow swivel chair, Ivy scrolled through the photos. There was a stunning picture of the rose meadow, and one of the mansion reflected in the glinting glass of the greenhouse. Olivia really did have an eye for this sort of thing. She had used different camera features to brighten the colours and the natural lighting to highlight certain parts of the scenery. If anything, Olivia had made the house and grounds look even more spectacular than they appeared in real life.