Chapter 53-New initiative

Chapter 53: 53-New initiative

An hour later, the tension had calmed down and the vampires on the bus were quiet. Hoping to end the uncomfortable feeling in her chest, Varitreya opened an official conversation with Addessa quietly.

The bus rolled steadily along the winding road, its enchanted wheels barely making a sound against the dark pavement as the academy disappeared farther behind them.

Outside the tinted windows, the scenery changed gradually from the familiar towers and walls of Veris Academy to dense stretches of ancient forest, where enormous trees rose beneath the moonlit sky.

The lamps inside the bus glowed softly overhead, illuminating the polished black leather seats and the crimson insignia of the student council embroidered into the headrests.

At the front of the bus, Varitreya sat beside Addessa, a tablet balanced across her lap. The princess had exchanged the relaxed expression she’d worn earlier with Kayden for the composed, calculating face she wore whenever matters of leadership were involved.

"We need something that actually forces interaction between bloods," Varitreya said, scrolling through the preliminary proposal sent by the palace. "Not another ceremony where everyone stands in their blood sections and pretends we’re united because we’re sharing the same courtyard."

Addessa leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. "Mixedbloods and redbloods already interact with each other."

"Not equally, Addie."

Addessa’s eyes narrowed slightly. Equally? The palace might have launched the initiative but she knew better how hard it was going to be to put aside centuries of differences in a just a little while.

Varitreya looked toward the window. "The initiative isn’t about making everyone tolerate one another for a few hours. Mother wants measurable change. Bloodline cooperation, shared activities, academic integration and omething that makes students rely on people they normally wouldn’t associate with."

Kayden, seated across from them, raised an eyebrow. "Good luck convincing a blackblood to trust a redblood with anything important."

Varitreya gave him a look that warned him to either say something positive or she won’t spare him.

Kayden lifted both hands. "I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m saying you’re going to have to make it worthwhile."

Addessa tapped her fingers against the armrest. "Mixedbloods could participate in combat teams alongside blackbloods and bluebloods. We could create mixed teams for academy competitions. What do you think?"

"Combat is too easy to manipulate," Varitreya replied. "The stronger bloodlines will dominate and the other bloods will feel bad and the aim of it all will be lost."

"Then what about the academic competitions?"

Varitreya sighed, "Same problem."

"Paired projects?"

"That’s not actually a bad idea. When forced to work together on projects, interaction will be boosted," she felt relieved they were moving somewhere positive.

Kayden leaned forward. "What about bloodline exchange programs? A week where students spend time in another bloodline’s dormitory."

Addessa immediately shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"You’d have a massacre before breakfast," she added. "And plus, it’s not like I can get you to sleep in the redblood dormitory, can I?"

Kayden chuckled. "Not even if Vonvaki rose from his grave and asked me himself," he declined the idea that he himself came up with.

Varitreya almost smiled. "She’s right. Getting blackblood to sleep in mixedblood dormitory would infuriate them and not help in convincing them to like mixedbloods."

"Fine." He leaned back. "Then something less dramatic. But don’t involve me," he shot a warning look to Addessa, the corner of his eyes moved to Luan before he closed them.

Addessa continued looking at him long after he closed his eyes. She couldn’t understand why he had so much kindness for Varitreya and only hostility for her.

They had grown up together and not once could she name an instance where she had offended or their families having a beef. She opened her mouth to ask him and put the matter to rest once and for all but Varitreya spoke first.

"What do you think about using a reward method to get more interaction from different bloods? And we can also align changing rooms together and change the sitting arrangements in classes?"

Addessa nodded along, dropping the thought of confronting Kayden.

The discussion continued. They talked about feeding hall reforms, blood archive access, mixedblood participation in leadership, dormitory separation, student clubs, combat restrictions and ways of punishing students who deliberately harassed lower-ranking bloodlines.

They discussed the possibility of opening certain advanced classes to students from every bloodline instead of restricting them based solely on status but one subject kept appearing more frequently than the others.

Redbloods, or rather, the lack of anything designed specifically to improve their lives.

At the back of the bus, Maisa had gradually stopped listening to music on her phone. She tried to talk to zolani again but ever since the vampire started pretending to sleep after that question she raised, she hadn’t moved again.

She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on the discussion ahead, the student council’s voices simply carried through the otherwise quiet bus.

Sapphire sat beside her, occasionally nudging her when she had something to say, the back had grown more quiet, the uncomfortable kind of quiet.

But slowly, Maisa’s attention shifted forward, she listened to the plans they meant to implement for feeding access, training, dormitory conditions and academic opportunities.

Every time another issue was mentioned, Maisa waited for someone to say something about redbloods. To speak up for them as they were vampires too with needs that should be considered.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of her seat when topics kept changing and no one seemed interested in speaking up for the little guys at the bottom of the blood chain.

She remembered Sapphire telling her that the redbloods had chosen her to be their voices.

"You’ll be our representative," the words suddenly felt heavier than they had in the dormitory.

At the time, she’d been terrified and now she realized why. They weren’t asking her to stand somewhere and smile. They were asking her to speak when nobody else would.

Sapphire noticed the change in her expression. She leaned closer to her and nudged her. "Say something, Maisa."

Maisa’s head snapped toward her. "What?"

Sapphire nodded toward the front. "They’re talking about everyone except us. They listen to you, why don’t you speak up for the redbloods?"

Maisa swallowed. Her heart began beating faster. She heard the request and suddenly felt like she had aged ten years older.

"I don’t think now is the best time," she said.

Sapphire frowned. "You were chosen for a reason. And if not now then when next will you have them together while discussing this?"

Maisa looked down at her hands. They were trembling, just the thought of interrupting them and raising a voice for the overlooked part of vampire nation seat shivers down her spine.

She hated that they were trembling. She had faced four blackbloods in an arena. She had survived vampire hunters. She had been poisoned by blackblood and healed by a princess. Yet somehow asking four powerful vampires to remember that redbloods existed frightened her more.

Because this time, she couldn’t fight her way out of the problem, she had to speak up and she had already promised the redbloods that she would.

Maisa slowly rose. The movement immediately caught Zolani’s attention. Even though she wasn’t in the best mood, she opened her eyes and asked her, "What are you doing?"

Maisa whispered, "What I have to."

Zolani’s expression changed. She understood that someone needed to raise the hard topics. She had been in a similar situation when she was fighting for Mixedbloods to have a voice. It had been a terrifying battle to get to sit with the others and have Mixedbloods issues heard and resolved.

"Maisa..." she called, about to warn her that the path she chose would be met with heated resistance but Maisa was already standing.

Her legs felt weak as she stood. She took one breath and then another and called out.

"Princess Varitreya?"