"I need you to marry me." Malik said, straight faced as if it were a simple request like asking somebody to put their shoes away. But it wasn't.
"What? B-but that's not right. I can't do that, I don't love you! You can't marry a person that you don't love!" I said, shocked that he'd ever ask me to do that.
"No please just hear me out-"
"What is there to hear out? I can't marry you if I don't love you, it's just lying to everybody, lying to myself. If I swear to marry you and that I love you then it's not true!"
"No, please just hear me out, it's not what you think-"
"It better not be! I can't marry a person I don't love!"
"Yes! Yes, I know." he said and then sighed, "Please, just let me explain."
"Fine." I said, not wanting to hear what he had to say.
"Okay. The slayers have been attacking often because of my fathers track record with humans, they think that humans and vampire's can't exist and that I'm only creating a bunch of blood thirsty vampires by not letting them drink from humans. They want me to give up because it's a risk waiting to happen and if all of the vampires do go crazy then the whole town will be effected, most of the people here are related to humans that live in the town and so their lives would be destroyed as well, all because I'm apparently depriving them of what's natural to their instinct. I need something to show the slayers that vampires and humans can live together naturally. The slayers will believe how much self restraint that my family, let alone a vampire can have."
I sat thinking about what he'd just said for several minutes.
If I married him then it wouldn't be morally right, it would be lying to everybody that didn't knowabout our deal that I loved him and then I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
Decieving is wrong, that's what I was always taught by my mother.
What would my mother say aswell?
She would see it as lying to god and a sin.
But I want to see my mother!
I will never get to see her again if I don't do this, I'll never get to hug her or apologize for arguing with her. I'll never get to tell her how much I love her.
But how will it work?
If I marry him then I can't divorce him and leave straight away, the slayers will know that it's all just a plot to get their faith.
I don't want to stay here much more longer and if I get married then it not sure how long I have to stay here.
"What will happen? Once I marry you? I can't stay married to you forever." I asked.
"Oh yeah. Well I want to just say that we can bring you home and that's the end of it, but it's not. The slayers won't just accept that you are married to me and that's it, they'd want us to prove it even more."irst
"How do we do that?" I asked, hoping that it wasn't anything much worse then getting married.
He looked at me and then stood up, pacing back and forth in the room. "Did you know that there is such thing as spirits? I'm not talking about when you die and your spirit runs free, I'm talking about proper spirits. They are what some people might refer to as being God. They can give create life, take it away as long as you have a genuine reason for it. They ask you questions and then look at the way you have behaved in your life, if your good, they'll grant you your wish, but if your bad then they'll reject it and punish you for behaving badly and wasting their time...Do you know that people say they're responsible for us supernatural creatures? The spirits can help people so much.." Malik said and then a little bit more quietly, "I know that more then anybody."
"How can this help me? I don't know what you're talking about." I said, confused.
Malik's thoughts were somewhere else when I spoke to him but he snapped his head towards me as if realising something for the first time, "It doesn't matter at the moment, we'll sort it when we get married, okay? So do we have a deal?"
"Ermm....I don't know....Can I think about it first? I can't make this decision lightly." I said, unsure about what to do.
"Yeah sure, take all the time you want but remember, the quicker that you agree, the quicker you can leave." Malik said.
I shivered at that thought, it almost as if saying 'the quicker you throw your life away, the quicker you go home'. It's not a decision that I can make lightly, if I chose to then I don't know what I'm getting myself in for, I won't be able to leave straight away. If I do say yes, I'll be lying to myself, the only good thing about it is that some day, I'll be allowed to leave.
"By the way, Sedrick and Serena are moving in for a while, I need them to be able to take you place's during the day time. Unfortunately I can't go in the sun so it's up to them to look after you when you leave the house. The town needs to know that you're here before we can get married so I'm throwing a welcome party for you this Saturday. Serena's gonna take you shopping and Sedrick's there for protection. Get something that you wanna wear, not what Serena makes you wear, her taste is very...dark." Malik said, sitting back on the seat beside me.
"What if I chose not to marry you?" I replied.
"You will eventually, when you dream you dream about your mother and you apologize for not being there and you promise that you're going to get home." Malik said, smug.
"Well then why give me the choice? Why not force me to marry you?"
"Because if I force you to marry me then you aren't doing anything to convince me to let you leave, are you? Also if you say no then you get to remain here with me anyway so it makes no difference to me, I don't want you to leave anyway."
I stared down at the patch of floor that I have been looking at every time I enter the room, I stared at the knots in the wood and how the tree was cut.
If my eyes could bore holes in the floor then this piece would have been long gone.
"Hey Malik! Where's Candice? Oh there you are! I can't wait 'til we go shopping! I am so gonna make you look like a princess!" she Selena shouted, getting too excited.
Sedrick walked in behind her and he just nodded at Malik, no verbal form of communtication.
"Speak of the devil and it's sure to appear." Malik murmered.
"You call me a devil brother and yet you ask me to protect your soulmate." Sedrick replied, annoyed. He slouched against the door, giving a death stare to Malik, he practically spat the word 'soulmate' telling me how much he actually didn't like me. Feeling's mutual.
"It was a joke Sedrick, lighten up." Malik replied, the room was full of tension making it awquard to be stuck in the middle of their feud, whatever they had between them I hoped they would just put it aside them and take me home, that's all I want.
"You say that know brother. I have an idea how we can really lighten up, lets open a curtain in here? See how 'light' it really gets." Sedrick threatened, really annoyed.
"Sedrick. Stop." Serena warned.
"Stop what Serena? Your just as annoyed with him as I am, putting our family in this position. If the slayers find out his plan then they'll rip our world apart! And that's forgetting what will happen if Candice doesn't follow through with it! We'll be stuck in this position for the rest of the we can manage to keep our sinking heads above the poisonous water you call the slayers wrath! If they get even a tiny inkling then our lives are ended." Sedrick spat.
"Yes but Sedrick, what choice do we have? If you must blame anybody then blame our father, he's the one that had to be an enemy to all humans he met. Malik is only trying to repair his damage and save our skins which is something I don't see you doing! Now come on, we want to get out whilst it's still daytime otherwise we'll be fending off hungry vampires." Serena said and then turned to Malik and me, "I'll meet you down in the garage Candice. Bye Malik!" she said and waved.
"Sorry about my brother, he likes to worry people. After you." he said and then gestured for me to leave the room.
As I walked down through the halls with Malik, I couldn't help thinking to myself all of the things that Sedrick had said.
They were relying on me to help them to survive, they were relying on me to save them...
I was relying on other people to save me, to come and find me, tell my mother and brother what happened to me, tell them that I'm okay...Maybe it's time for me to save myself.
Malik is only trying to protect his family, protect his life...Sedrick protected my life from Julian, twice, and I never got to thank him or his family.
Sedrick was the one who made me realise how much is at stake, the slayers probably won't just let me leave, they'll probably won't take kindly to me being the 'soulamte' of a vampire. Once all of the vampires are dead, there will be nobody there to protect me, I'll be at the hands of the slayers...
If I let that happen, I'll never get home.
Atleast with what Malik is promising, there is a chance, even if it is small, that I'll get to leave, alive and unharmed.
I want to take that chance. I need to.
"Malik." I said as we came close to the garage door.
"Yes Candice?" he said, kindness in his voice. We slowed down our speed that we were walking at so that I could talk to him before we got into the garage.
"If I said yes, do you promise on your own life, on everybody else's life that I will make it home as soon as I can, unharmed and won't get bothered by the vampire's again?" I asked with caution.
"Candice, I promise on everything I have that I will do everything in my power to make sure that you get home as soon as you can, no harm will come to you from me or at my power. I will make sure that you will live the rest of your life, vampire free. I can even make sure that you go home with no recolection of this place, me or anybody else if you agree to helping me. Are you saying yes?"
I hesitated for several seconds, making us stop in the middle of the hallway.
If I said yes then I was possibly sealing my fate with the vampires.
If I say no, I seal my fate with death, at least with the vampires my death will come much quicker and I can blame it on them, not evil humans that call them slayers who kill for a living.
"Yes. I am saying yes." I spoke, quietly, still not sure if I was making the right decision
"Candice, you won't believe how happy this actually makes me. I am gobsmacked that after everything you can find it in your heart to help vampires, the people who kidnapped you! You have so much love inside you it makes me jealous that I could not say that you are marrying me with it, you are marrying me because of it! I wish I were as good as a soul as yours, you have so much love inside you, so much giving and accepting, I will find it easy to call you my wife, even if it is for a very short time and as a matter of convenience." he said and then kissed my cheek.
I blushed from ear to ear, not even sure why.
Malik's face looked gleaming, he looked some what relieved and awake.
"Malik! congratulations!" Serena shouted, using vampire to get to us.
Serena hugged and kissed her brother and then pulled me into a tight hug that could have broken bones if she held any tighter.
Sedrick lwas leaning against a wall a couple of metres away, in the shadows, a look of anger and despise on his face.
He looked over at Malik and Serena, getting angrier by the seconds; and then looked over at me, catching my eye, a look of betrayl on his face.
He looked hurt, almost as if he had been cheated or lied to but it wasn't like that, in fact he should be pleased that he doesn't have a death sentance.
"Okay Serena, let go of Candice before you brake her bones!" Malik joked.
Serena released me and ran to Malik, hugging him briefly again, "You're right Malik, I've gotta go and take her shopping before all of the shops close!" she shouted and grabbed my hand, dragging me down the hallway.
I forced a smile onto my face but it was more of a grimace, was I really making the right decision?
Serena basically dragged me the rest of the way, Sedrick had already used vamp speed to get to leave and when we got to the car I realised that Sedrick was already sat in the drivers seat.
"Time to go shopping!" Serena shouted, giggling.
She got into the back seat with me and began talking about weddings and how we were going to be related.
I blocked it out, let her ramble on and on.
I felt sick inside.
My body was telling me what I was doing was wrong, but my mind was telling me that I was doing it so that I could get home, so that I could be with the people I love.
I felt like I could heave my guts up, get rid of everything that agreed to marrying Malik.
My cheek felt like it was burning from where Malik pecked my cheek, it felt wrong and sick but it also felt strange.
It felt like I was lying to myself.
I suppose I better get used to it though, for the nexr however long I lived in this horrible monster kindgom I was going to have to pretend to love Malik for everybody, just so they wouldn't suspect anything.
The performance of my life.
I never was good at acting.
A.N. - Okay guys, I really do need to know now if people are actually still reading this, I've got exams starting in about a month so I could really do with spending my time on something that is actually worth while instead of posting a story that nobody is reading. It would be great if people do let me know, I didn't bother to update for a whole month because I just felt that nobody was reading it because of the lack of writing quality or maybe the storyline was bad...can peoplle please give me feedback? the feedback that I have recieved so far has been amazing and I thank the people that actually took their time to give me amazing feedback but it would be great if everybody else does give feedback. ANYWAY, thanks for reading (if you did) and please comment/vote/(i'm not gonna even bother writing fan, i just want feedback!) <33