Now that Alexander had returned to being a vampire, there was no rest. I often saw him and Noah on the evening news stating the obvious - that vampirism didn't need to be cured. Vampires were not a disease. It's who they were.
Alexander urged everyone to band together to expel those who would sow discourse and hate. He even promoted the charity ball in November to celebrate years of co-existence. I knew from past charity balls a portion of that money went to scholarships and improving infrastructure.
With the renewed advertisement for the charity ball, Royal Prints worked non-stop every day. Rachel and I ran around verifying orders and sending print orders to (almost) everyone. On my days off, I caught up on school work. There were days when I had to stay up late finishing everything before the break.
Alexander tended to join me on those days. We sat side-by-side, typing away at our computers. Yawning, I looked at Alexander's computer.
"We haven't done that yet," I said.
"It's in the second semester," he said. "I want to finish a few classes now to have more time for my crown prince duties."
That woke me up. "Since when?"
"First day of school," he answered. "I figured the fast-track program was better for me." He shrugged. "Fell a bit behind due to being human, but I'm almost caught up."
I frowned. "Are you trying to graduate early?"
He shrugged again. "Not sure. Just felt the regular classes were slow. Plus, now more than ever, the public needs to see me. Being at school for 8 hours a day is less than ideal."
"We got to school half a day," I reminded him.
He flashed me a smile. "True."
"Well, I know where to go if I need a tutor."
"You're doing great on your own. You don't need my help."
"Then, study buddies?"
He bumped my shoulder with his. "Someone is eager to spend with me," he teased.
"Maybe." I sighed. "Sometimes it feels if I blink, you'll disappear."
"I'm not going anywhere, okay?"
I nodded. "I know. It's just a feeling."
"Why don't you call it a night?" he asked. "Aren't you meeting Mr. Adams tomorrow?"
I groaned. "Yeah. There's so much to learn and remember."
Alexander kissed me. "Go to sleep. I'll stick around."
Sleepily, I nodded. "Okay."
Unfortunately, time didn't stand still.
In a blink of an eye, the charity ball was upon us. This time isn't wasn't just me attending. As ambassadors, my parents were also required to attend.
It was 5 am, and my parents rushed around the house. I was in the living room, flipping through Saturday morning cartoons. In one hand, I had the remote. On the other hand, I had French toast sticks smothered in syrup.
"Rin," Mom said, rushing into the living room. "Why aren't you dressed yet? They want us at the ballroom in an hour. The limousine is on its way."
I glanced at her. She wore a jewel neckline dress and looked like she was working on her hair.
"Mom, they'll dress us there. There's no need to dress fancy now."
"What's going on?" Dad asked. He wore a white dress shirt and black trousers.
"You can go in your pajamas," I told them. "They got everything ready for us."
I ate the rest of my food as the information dawned on them. Syrup dripped from my mouth.
"I wished they had told us," Mom muttered.
I swallowed thickly. "Uh, I might have forgotten to mention it."
If looks could kill, I would be a pile of goo. Wordlessly, they walked back upstairs. Feeling guilty, I went into the kitchen and washed my breakfast plate before heading upstairs to get ready. By ready, I meant washing the syrup off and changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
When Joseph texted me, my parents and I donned our thick coats and headed outside. Joseph quickly opened the limousine's door for us. Shivering, we piled into the warmness. I ended up sleeping on the way.
One moment, I closed my eyes. The next, the limousine had slowed in front of the Royal Hotel. When the limousine stopped, the hotel staff opened the door. Mom dragged me out into the cold.
"Welcome," the manager said. "My name is Aaron. It's a pleasure to welcome you to Royal Hotel. If there's anything you require, don't hesitate to ask. Maya will show you to your rooms."
Using my parents as a wind shield, I followed them into the hotel. We took the elevator to the top floor, where Maya took us to the room. Inside, our stylists were ready for us. They sat us in the chairs and got to work.
As my stylist pulled and tugged at my hair, I lamented my lost sleep. As I went through familiar motions, I realized this - getting ready for a big event - would be a common occurrence. I wasn't looking forward to the lack of sleep, but my sleep schedule could be adjusted. No. The biggest issue I had was feeling like an imposter.
I didn't belong here. I didn't deserve to be here. I was only here because I was dating Alexander. What did I have to offer?
I glanced at my mom - Dad was in his room getting ready. She chatted with her stylist, smiling and giggling. She caught me staring and smiled at me.
"You okay, sweat heart?" Jayla, my stylist, asked.
"You think I can convince everyone I know what I'm doing?" I asked.
"Judging by the ring on your finger, you won't be standing around looking pretty," she replied.
"I'll be greeting the guests," I told her.
"Seems to me like they want you to mingle. But I'm not the expert."
"What if I mess up?"
"Aren't you going to say hi and thank you for coming?"
When Jayla put it that way, I was overthinking this.
"Did you have to memorize everyone's names?"
"No. I think they'll give me an earpiece and tell me who everyone is."
"There you go."
During my tutoring lessons with Mr. Adams, he'd told me not to get too comfortable with relying on someone else to tell me VIP names. I needed to learn their names and know their current information about them.
"Maybe I'm just nervous."
"If you are nervous then, I'll make sure no one can say you don't look the part."
When Jayla finished with my hair, the hotel supplied us with a light breakfast. I devoured the fruit and yogurt and fruit granola parfaits. It was gone all too soon. I rested a bit before I was back in the chair for make-up. This time around, one of the event planners walked into the room, clipboard in hand.
According to the RSVPs, we had almost three hundred guests attending. It was by invitation only, and I would always have two guards with me. I doubled checked the seating arrangements, refreshments, and menu. Musicians would play throughout the event, and the royal family would make a toast before dinner. Dancing was later tonight when the drinks started flowing.
I sat through the info dump, trying not to let my thoughts on my face. Most of which was panic and confusion.
"Thanks," I said. "Let me know if any issues come up."
A few hours later, I was dressed in a dark turquoise A-line strapless satin fabric gown that reached the floor. The heels were a little taller than I would like, and the jewelry weighed heavily on me.
The event planners separated my parents and me. They put me at the door as the first guests started arriving. My parents were in charge of greeting the guests at their tables. They had a small speech to give as well. Cocktail hour had begun.
As the sun began to set, more guests started arriving. My parents had to divide and conquer. I, on the other hand, had to meet everyone personally. The train of guests became a blur. All I knew and felt were the throbbing of my feet. By the time the last few guests walked into the banquet hall.
As the doors to the banquet halls closed, I sighed and leaned against the wall.
"How about a break?" I asked aloud.
Without waiting for a reply, I started hobbling toward an employee rest area. By rest area, I meant the royal family's resting rooms with comfortable furniture and hospital vibes. Entering the room, I sat on the couch and took my heels off. My legs breathed a sigh of relief.
I leaned back as much as I dared and closed my eyes.
"Wake me up in ten minutes," I said. "I need ten minutes."
I needed to be there for dinner. My parents were meant to give a speech and present a few awards like top donations, community service, etc. I had told them about that. Luckily, the script was already written, so all they needed to do was practice. They wouldn't start until everyone had settled in. Yeah, I had time.
***
"Rin, wake up!"
I sat up, looking around. Was I late for school? Looking around, I saw Noah. What was he doing in my room?
It took me a moment to realize I wasn't at home. I was in the resting lounge. Shoot. What time was it?
"What's going on?" I asked.
At a closer look, Noah had a laptop. He quickly walked over and sat on the couch next to me.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the banquet?" I asked.
"Aren't you?"
I frowned. "I took a ten-minute break."
"Rin, it's been two hours. Dinner is almost over."
I gaped at him. "I asked my guards to wake me up."
He shrugged. "My brother might have had something to do with that."
I crossed my arms. He should have woken me up.
Sighing, I focused on Noah again. "What's going on?"
He opened the laptop and showed me the screen. It was a Readit post. The post had images of medical records and charts, but there was some redacted information.
"This is Dr. Daniels's research data on Alexander's mutation," Noah said.
My jaw dropped. "What?"
I grabbed the laptop from him and scrolled through the images. I was no expert, but I think there were blood samples here too.
"How did this happen? Did someone break into Dr. Daniels's lab?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out now. I'm working with our security to take these posts down, but they keep popping up."
"Who posted them?"
"Also trying to figure that out."
"Who else knows?"
Noah grabbed the computer and typed for a few moments. "Well, everyone. Everyone knows my brother was turned into a human."
I was glad to be sitting down. Feeling weak, I leaned back. This was the worst-case scenario.