Just One Drop

Chapter 11- The Potion

Braith's POV

Late that night, I came back into my bedroom. The room was eerily quiet, as if full of tension. I shook the feeling off, telling myself that I was being stupid.

I picked the glass vial up from where I had left it on my desk, twisting and turning it in my hand. The shimmery, golden liquid inside moved slowly, leaving a shimmery golden trail behind it. I pulled the cork off of the top, inhaling to see what it's odour was like. To my surprise, it seemed as though it didn't have an odour at all.

I closed my eyes and swallowed it all in one go, feeling it run through my body, making me feel hot and cold at once. I shivered, and suddenly my body exploded in pain. It felt like I was imploding. But I gritted my teeth and forced my body to sleep.

The next morning, I awoke slowly, much later than usual. I felt... amazing. No, scratch that. I felt nothing. And that was what was amazing.

I thought back to Felicia, and realised I had been wrong. Of course I hadn't had feelings for that pathetic little human! She was vermin, no better than dirt. I could never have feelings for someone like that. That must have been Morina's warning. She must've thought I couldn't handle that I had been wrong about having feelings for that disgusting creature. What a fool!

I looked around my room, suddenly coming to the realisation that it felt rather small. Perhaps the king and queen's suite would be more suitable. Yes, that could work. My father was getting rather old, after all.

Felicia's POV

I wasn't there when it happened, but Maddie was.

I sighed as she began the story again, for Kary this time. I had heard the tale at least five times by now.

"I was carrying a tray with tea up to the king and queen's bedroom, when it happened. I heard shouting, something about not giving up the throne yet, that there were two more years left. Suddenly, the shouting turned into pleading. I knocked on the door unsurely, not knowing what to do, and entered when there was no answer. There I saw Prince Braith standing in the middle of the room, sucking the blood out of Queen Izabella, with King Alazar pleading at his feet. When she was completely drained, he simply snapped her neck with ease, like- like snapping a toothpick."

I cringed at the likeness.

"He snapped King Alazar's neck too, and then just stood there and stared at me, blood dripping down his mouth. I thought he was going to kill me, but he didn't, he just stared, and so, I ran down here as fast as I could to tell you what had happened."

By the time she had finished, Maddie was completely out of breath. She looked at Kary, expecting some great reaction, but Kary simply stared at her, looking as if she was contemplating something.

"But, what happened to the tray?" Was what she finally said.

"The... tray?" Maddie asked confusedly.

"You know, the one with the tea on it."

Maddie seemed surprised by her strange question, but I wasn't. Kary wasn't like us. She had been born and raised here, living as the slave of a vampire. This made her unnaturally submissive, a rare trait that many vampires desired, as many did not want to spend time training their humans. She had been trained since birth to be the perfect slave; of course the tray with tea would be her first priority.

They continued to stare at each other, Kary's large honey-coloured eyes growing even larger in her attempt to keep them open. Suddenly, they both burst out laughing.

"I... I might've dropped the tray in the doorway..." Maddie confessed, blushing slightly, but still laughing.

This caused Kary to laugh even more.

Unlike the two of them, who seemed to be taking the deaths of the king and queen not very seriously, I was deep in thought. With the leaders of the country dead, what would happen to trade and government? To the royal family and their estate? To the whole country? This could not be good.

Without warning, a guard ran into our quarters, interrupting my thoughts.

"The pri- king has commanded all of the household to gather in the Great Hall now."

All of the girls in the room looked around, unsure of what to do.

"What are you waiting for? GO GO GO!"

The rest of the girls, including Kary, started running immediately. Maddie and I shared a worried glance, before following them.

On our way up the stairs, we joined streams with two other groups; one going up from the kitchens, and one going up from the laundry room, as well as several lone workers, who had been working when the announcement was made. I could tell many of us were starting to tire by the fifth floor, but we kept going, eventually making it to the grand doors of the Great Hall.

We entered unsurely, greeted with the sight of Master sitting in his throne. We gathered below the throne, awaiting a command, or perhaps simply waiting for him to speak. And speak he did.

"You have been called here today to bear witness to my control over this land. Due to my father's untimely death, I am now the king. Let my father and mother's deaths be symbolic of the fate of anyone who dares oppose me. My sisters and brother are safe, locked away in their rooms for now, but your lives will continue on as normal."

Yeah, right. 'Normal' is not the word I would use to describe the events following his rise to the throne. More like, 'crazy', 'chaotic', or 'painful'.

A new era had just begun. And I wanted no part in it.