"Please... take a seat" Aerilyn now felt timid, how did she end up seated at the Vampire Queens table, next to a vampire she had now befriended and was dependent upon.
"You are letting you're pet sit at the table, what has got into you, this is an abomination" her husband was disgusted and refused to acknowledge Aerilyn. The Queen merely ignored him and watched the human girl.
"This has got to be a joke, what will others think, I advise against this your majesty" he carried on, scowling at the girl.
Aerilyn didn't sit down after she heard him say this, she stood up and waited to be told what to do.
"Enough" The Queen's power radiating off of her, her voice commanded the room, she was cold and scary but alluring and radiant.
Her golden eyes flicked back to Aerilyn.
"You can sit" she acknowledged the girl, her intense gaze on Aerilyn. Meanwhile, General Talc was fuming that Aerilyn was being treated so well, but she didn't dare look at either of them.
The girl sat down in her seat and looked over at Nilsa to see what she was doing, her etiquette was appalling as she hadn't used cutlery in years, Nilsa seemed to notice this because she turned to Aerilyn and said "it's okay don't worry" and placed a hand on the girl's back to soothe her. The Queen sat up right at this gesture, staring down Nilsa who quickly retracted her hand, Aerilyn thought she had heard a low growl leave her throat, but brushed it off as her mind playing tricks on her.
"Eyes down pet, were you given permission to look at your Queen" Aerilyn immediately pulled her eyes down into her lap as Talc spoke.
"I give out the orders over my property not you " the Queen taking her eyes off Aerilyn to tell him.
"Yes your majesty" he quietly spoke, in disbelief that she defended the girl on two occasions. Aerilyn merely gulped, feeling awkward about the situation, now it seemed like getting out of her room was not such a good idea.
The food here was nothing like she had seen before, they had everything, eggs, beans, sausage, she was in heaven.
Aerilyn licked her lips in desperation. "Go ahead" The Queen said with a bemused look.
Nilsa helped fill Aerilyn's plate and she began to tuck in, Solenne carried on watching her, satisfied that the girl was enjoying the food, Aerilyn kept her eyes down never once meeting hers.
"Carrying on my Queen, the resistance camp can't be too far, it must be less than a day from where the attack happened" at this Aerilyn looked up in fury at her. Were they planning to slaughter them all, she was still looking back at Aerilyn, even though he was speaking to her, Aerilyn was starting to think it was just her blood that she was after.
There was a fire in the Queen's eyes at Aerilyn's defiance and she could clearly sense the girls anger towards her.
"What do you think my Queen" he pressed.
She turned to look at him breaking their eye contact.
"I think it's very plausible" she agreed before looking straight back at the human, but Aerilyn had her eyes back down towards her plate.
General Talc began huffing at the fact that he couldn't keep her attention on him, giving him one word answers since Aerilyn had arrived.
At that, he got up, bowed and stormed out the room.
Aerilyn looked up and muttered "looks like the husband isn't happy" Forgetting for a second that she was in the Queen's company, Solenne's eyes snapped to her coldly, this was it, she was about to be punished.
Then Nilsa and her both laughed, this was the first time Aerilyn had seen Solenne laugh, really laugh and it was quite the picture.
Aerilyn twisted my face in confusion at Nilsa.
"You think he is my husband?" Solenne spoke harshly, almost insulted by the prospect.
Aerilyn nodded her head slightly, she felt so small all of a sudden.
"Speak when you are spoken to pet" Solenne lightly growled.
"Well yes" Aerilyn hurried, tilting her head. Surely he was, though never once meeting her eyes.
"What makes you think I have a husband?" The Queen asked.
"All Queen's are married are they not" it was the Queen's turn to tilt her head to the side at Aerilyn.
"He is not my husband, he is one of my most trusted Generals" Aerilyn mouthed an o, how embarrassing, she didn't know at thing.
"Then where is your husband?" the girl carried on, curious to know her arrangement, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears, feeling a dose of courage.
The Queen was beginning to get fed up of the conversation and by the way the girl questioned her, she had no right to, Aerilyn was their prisoner.
Nilsa just shook her head.
"Our cultures are very different, I don't know what you learnt about us, but it is all wrong" Nilsa sighed.
How could it be wrong.
Aerilyn turned to Nilsa, "I was told how evil vampires are, blood sucking creatures with no feelings" she spoke coldly.
At this Solenne looked up at Aerilyn, a loud bang had erupted from where she had slammed her hands in the table and thrown a glass against the wall, hurt clear in her eyes, she stood up abruptly, fists clenching and walked out of the room, making Aerilyn jump.
"What you have been told is one version of the truth" she muttered, what surprised Nilsa the most was that she let Aerilyn speak this way, if it was anyone else they would have been in trouble, she could understand that allowances would be made but not this much.
"teach me then" the girl timidly pondered.
"Fine, but only a bit, because otherwise we will be here all day. Also, try not to provoke the Queen, you won't get anywhere doing so, firstly, we do not have what you call marriage, we have something entirely different" Provoke her, Aerilyn was merely telling them what she had been taught. She put her hands on her chin to listen to her. Urging her to continue.
"What do you have?" Aerilyn puzzled.
"We have mates, they are who we are destined to be with, we cannot be with out them, if they die then we might as well die because life isn't worth living without them, they are our other halves, we will do anything to protect them and make sure they do not come to harm, it has been like this since the beginning" Nilsa spoke calmly.
So that had her thinking "well where is the Queen's mate then?"
"She hasn't found them yet" Aerilyn didn't understand.
"How can she be Queen without her other half"
"She's not required to have a mate to be Queen, it doesn't have to be a male in our culture either, we are very fluid and we all have our own preferences to what we like" Nilsa smirked and raised her eye brows.
"Well do you have a mate?" Aerilyn questioned. Nilsa sighed sadly.
"No I do not, but hopefully soon" she said hopeful.
"So what is this preference thing you are on about?" the girl questioned.
"You know girls can be with girls and boys with boys" she laughed.
"And what is your preference?" Aerilyn was curious.
"What a nosy little human you are, come on lets go" The servants had already started clearing away the dishes, what surprised Aerilyn the most was that they were of a similar age and they seemed to be human too. She just stared at them.
"Come on lets go" Nilsa nudged the girl.