The Vampire Prince and Me

The Vampire Prince and Me - Part 21

I woke up with a pleasant feeling warming my heart. I sighed and kept my eyes closed. Damon's proposal was still clear in my mind and I couldn't help but smile. Last night everything was perfect. But something felt wrong. There was something I needed to remember, but was a fuzzy memory in the back of my mind.

Pushing the thought away, I turned over on my back and inhaled. The scent of cinnamon filled my nose and I gasped, sitting upright and opening my eyes.

Glass breaking. Noise piercing. Xavier smiling.

Damon unconscious.

I could remember every detail from last night. Right now, I really wished I didn't. Everything had been going perfectly until those last moments from the previous night.

I slid of the huge, white bed and ran for the door. I had to get out of here and get to Damon. He could still be on the floor bleeding, or in pain...or dead. I shook my head, shoving the idea of Damon being dead away. I didn't have time to think horrible thoughts. I needed to get out of here.

I was about to yank the door open when I realized Xavier could be near. I opened the door slowly and, almost silently, peered out carefully. I glanced out and saw that the room I was brought in was probably in a tower of some sort. The stairs leading down were almost right in front of me and they circled down and out of sight.

Taking a deep breath, I began to tiptoe down the solid, yet carpeted steps. A window to my right told me that it was night, and a full moon shone through. The stairway was lit up with candles on the walls, giving an ominous, orange glow. I finally reached the bottom and looked to my left and right. The dark hallway seemed to go on forever and, trusting my instinct, I started walking to the left. I passed multiple closed doors and windows with beautiful curtians covering them. I came to a stop in front of a turn. I took another left and hoped I was going towards the exit.

A shadow jumped across the wall beside me and I whirled around, my heart thudding wildly, my hair whipping my face, and my eyes wide. To my surprise, there was nothing behind me, except the dark, silent hallway. But then the candles around me began to flicker and the shadow seemed to be mocking me as it danced around. Everytime I turned towards it, the shadow would leap away just as my eyes landed on the moving blur. In an act of fear, I ran down the hallway blindly. My feet pounded on the floor as I picked up speed, and my breath came in short gasps. I continued running down the hall until a grabs staircase came into view. And at the end was the exit. I almost sobbed in relief as I hurried down the steps, taking two at a time. With my hand outstretched for the door, I was to about to be on my way out of here when something crashed into me, pushing me down onto my back. I was too shocked to scream, but when I got a look at what pushed me down, I did. A large, black panther. Or tiger. Or something. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was big, angry, and its face was inches from mine. I realized this is what had been following me down the hallway.

The creature's paws were holding down my shoulders as I stared up in it's grey eyes, and I winced as its claws scraped my skin.

"Bad kitty. You do not jump on the guest," A voice scolded from above. I could hear footsteps coming closer and then the pressure of the giant cat was gone. I was then being helped to my feet my strong, warm hands. As soon as I was upright, I turned to get a look at my savior. Or better yet, my kidnapper.

Xavier.

He looked different than the last time I saw him. His hair was cut shorter, so instead of hanging over his eyes, it barely touched his forehead and was brushed smoothly forward. The color seemed a darker brown than Vincent's, and almost like chocolate. His eyes were no longer a shocking red, but a soft red, almost purple or brown. He looked almost like a model you found in pictures at the mall.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say he changed to look nicer...which I had to admit, he did.

At the moment, he seemed concerned. The cat creature lurked away, but I was still shaken up. "Are you okay? I think you're shoulders are bleeding. Come on, let's get that cleaned up and - "

"How can you act like that?" I asked accusingly. Xavier frowned, confused at my outburst. "What do you mean?" He asked.

I narrowed my eyes. "How can you act like nothing has happened? Like you didn't break into Damon's house, like you didn't knock him unconscious, like you didn't kidnap me. How?"

Xavier shrugged. "It's not very hard. Can we talk later? You need to get those shoulders bandaged." He reached forward to take my arm but I slapped it away.

Anger boiled up inside me and I had to fight to stay in control of myself. "Take me home," I commanded.

"You are home," He replied, gesturing to the dark castle. I shook my head. "No, it's not. My home is wherever Damon is."

Xavier's eyes flashed dangerously and I almost flinched at the glare he gave me. "Damon? This is his fault anyway."

I was surprised at my reaction to his words. "His fault? HIS FAULT?" I was shouting now. "How is this his fault? Did he kidnap me and bring me here? Did he allow a giant cat thing to jump me? Did he beat himself up and break all the windows just for dramatic effect? This is all your fault! Don't you try and blame anyone else except yourself."

I expected Xavier to yell back at me but he replied in a scary, calm voice, "If Damon hadn't kidnapped you in the first place, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be bleeding, and you wouldn't be so mad at me. You wouldn't even know me. So don't dare say this is my fault." He turned around and, in a flash, was gone.

I stood for a moment, staring at the empty space where he used to be before turning towards the door. I opened it but instead of seeing the outside, all I saw was a giant, black wall preventing me from leaving. I pressed my fingers to it, sighing. Would I be stuck here forever?

No. Of course not. Damon will wake up, find out I'm gone, then come and rescue me. But for now, all I could do was wait.