Catch Me If You Can (Naughty Cinderella - Vampire)

18 Catch Me

Taking my chances, I walked up to one of the guards and squared my shoulders.

"May I help you?" The guard asked, amused.

Trying to keep my temper in check, I nodded. "I'd like to be taken to the castle on the east. The nearest one," I said, referring to the castle in which Dmitri lived in.

He chuckled. "And why would we allow that, young lady?" He asked, joking with the other guard who was younger yet also seemed amused.

Frustrated, I used Austin's royalty to my benefit. "Because Austin Woods allowed it," I said, raising an eyebrow.

The guard immediately nodded and backed down, "Yes, of course."

With the help of the other guard, they opened up the gates. Satisfied, I nodded my thanks and headed inside. It smelled like hay and horse but I didn't have much of a choice. Although the castle was very sophisticated, the stable was very modern, asides from the guards and the gate.

A few men dressed in riding boots, hats, and uniform were chatting. When I walked in all conversation halted.

"You're a human," The tallest one said to me. It was weird because so far, other than Dmitri and his friends and the king and queen, no one had questioned my identity.

He inched closer but I stood my ground. The others stared at me with curious expressions.

"Come on, how could she be human?" A young one said. He seemed to be around 16.

"I know what I'm saying!" The taller one growled at him. He took a breath then looked back to me. "There's been rumour that Austin would bring one here, I guess they were right."

He smirked. I decided to keep my cool.

"I need to go to the nearest East village. I'm guessing one of you are supposed to take me there, since you're in horse riding attire," I said, bravely. They didn't scare me, especially not the tall one.

When the youngest one and the tall one didn't respond, I moved around to see the third guy. He had bronze coloured hair and brown eyes. He didn't look like a vampire, though I could tell he was. "Can you take me, please?" I asked him. He seemed startled that I was addressing him specifically. He then smiled coolly and got a carriage ready.

"Oh," I said to the tall one, "By the way, if Austin asks about me, don't tell him I was here."

I made sure that I still had my backpack on me as the bronze haired vampire helped me into the carriage.

"Thanks," I said to him gratefully. He smiled then took up the driver's seat. We passed the gates and soon enough, Austin's castle was fading away in the distance. I wanted to talk to my driver but the sound of the horse's hooves were very loud and the ride was very bumpy. My head hit the top of the carriage many times, but I ignored it and thought about what I'd do when I get there.

Hey Dmitri, I'm your new room mate!

Or,

Hey Dmitri, I'm running away from Austin, mind if I crash here for a bit?

Ugh, I'm a mess.

***

He stopped the carriage in front of the castle. After helping me out of it and securing my backpack on my back, we slowly walked the horse into a pen. He told the horse, who he'd called Rhonda, that he'd be back in a bit. I smiled at that. He was sweet.

"Alright," he said, turning to me, "We need to get inside. Who is it you were looking for? Because I don't know if you'll be safe to wander in on their on your own..."