A Real Nightmare

Long Live the Queen

Chapter 31- Long Live the Queen

Katerina was so close to King Verda's castle she could almost taste the Royal blood on her tongue. She passed the homeless men and women of the city on the sidewalks as she walked by them, but they paid no attention to her presence. If they only knew what she really was they would scatter like roaches under a light.

They reeked of filth and booze, their rhythmic breathing came out slower —  shallower than a normal human beings would which indicated lung problems, probably from cigarettes or cigars. Their tainted blood did not tempt her in the slightest, there was only one type of blood she was after in The Royal Bloodline at King Verda's castle, and she was going to see to it that she got what she came after.

Minutes later, she found what she'd been looking for. The castle itself was enormous, it looked every bit like it could have come straight out of a fairy tale book. Katerina wasn't stupid, she knew what laid behind the towering and  imposing, wooden doors of the castle. It was anything but Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. It was something much more malicious and had an insatiable taste for human blood. Humans couldn't see the castle, it would look like an open field to their eyesight, but to Vampires, they could see every crack, every vine that snaked up the sides of the walls and could smell every Vampire that lay wait just inside the doors.

Katerina smiled smugly as she formed a plan on how she could get through those doors. Two guards stood just outside the doors, it was very similar to King Jacobs layout, two guards at every corner - except this King had three at every corner. Piece of cake! She thought to herself, grinning. If she knew one thing about Vampires it was this: They never disobeyed their Kings orders and they never questioned them.

Along the way, Katerina had broken into a clothing store named: Formal Wear, and then she changed into a corset-type dress. It screamed 'Old England Prostitute' with its black and red lace bodice, and that's exactly what she was hoping the guards would think. A high-end Prostitute (or Escort if you will.) Just for good measure she broke into another shop to grab a Masquerade mask that was laced with black and red to match the old-timey corset-type dress.

Finally ready, she picked up the sides of her hooped dress and flashed away. Standing before the castle now, she could smell the Queen's blood beckoning her inside, enticing her to come inside and take it, almost hypnotically — robotically. As she made her way to the guards located at each door, her dress swayed side to side, she sucked in a determined breath and went with her gut, her mask was slid perfectly in place only revealing the "High-End Escort."

"State your business." A muscled guard spoke in a deep masculine voice.

"Why, I'm here for the ball." Katerina smiled, her tone laced with a light southern accent so she sounded and looked the part.

"Name." The same guard spoke.

Katerina acted purely on instinct and said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Penetil, Rosabelle Penetil. I'm with Prince Viktor and King Jacob Penetil."

The guards looked Katerina over, sliding their harsh gaze up and down her body as if discreetly searching for any weaponry before the main guard looked at his clip board that listed all of the names of the guests and the guests plus one's and then spoke rather harshly towards her.

"King Jacob and Prince Viktor were not invited. So, I will ask for the last time, what is your business here?"

"I have come for the ball, sir. King Verda called King Jacob and the Crown Prince not too long ago and specifically requested their presence and so the Prince called upon me as his "plus one." I'm sorry if your King did not mention it to you, but I assure you it is so. You wouldn't want to deny what your King says now would you? Especially a guest he had invited himself. It would be a shame to lose your head over such a trivial matter, yes?"