"You wake up every morning to fight the same demons that left you so tired the night before, and that, my love, is bravery."
______________________________________
The King's bedroom,
Crystaline Castle.
**
Soft fingers were gently caressing my brown hair away from my face as I was laying on the bed, eyes closed. I couldn't make out who they belonged to, the touch was somewhat unfamiliar, but I knew for sure the King was no where near me. That fact made me feel more relaxed but then tense up again as another thought hit me.
Who was touching my hair?
My eyes opened as pushed myself to sit up on the bed. Surprisingly, the movement didn't hurt a muscle in my body. I was expecting to feel much worse, too weak to do anything, but there was a strange adrenaline rush I was experiencing. I felt stronger as if I had just gained a couple of pounds. My senses were highlighted, making my surroundings appear sharper.
I heard some loud, head-pounding chirping sounds coming from my right side. As I turned my head, I discovered my vision was far better. Past the curtains that were pushed aside to give me a view of the balcony, I could see the waving trees which were miles away, but I could still make out the birds sitting there, flapping their wings once in a while. They were the source of the sound.
I felt like an entire different person, and I couldn't bring myself to say I didn't love every single bit of it.
"Feels amazing, huh?"
I looked towards my left to find Emma, the King's sister, sitting on the edge of the bed. She wore a striped, grey and white colored dress with a black leather jacket, her legs were covered in leggings. She must be the one touching my hair. Placing a piece of her own brown, loose strand behind her ear, she gave me a polite smile.
"What?" I asked.
She laughed, "I'm sure you must be feeling a lot better, better than you have ever felt, actually. Oh and don't be surprised if you start to notice things you've never before, like hearing stuff that are miles away from you? And you might want to stay away from foods that are too spicy for a while. It might make you want to throw up because your taste buds would be really sensitive."
My eyes widen at the new found information.
"Am I a Vampire now?" I couldn't help but ask. Who turned me? The King? Is this his way of getting back at me? Because I'm positive he knows how much I despite his species.
"No, no," Emma must have noticed the frightened look on my face because she too got worried and tried to explain.
"No you're not a Vampire. But see, what happened was..." She hesitated but I urged her to go on with my eyes.
"I really shouldn't be telling you this but I think it will take away your confusion. So, okay, um... Just don't freak out 'kay?"
I nodded my head quickly because I wanted her to hurry up and tell me already. But even though I tried to be confident, I was already freaking out about what she was about say.
"Damiengaveyousomeofhisblood." She said in one breath.
What?
I looked at her without any form of emotion on my face. I guess she must have caught the drift that I had no idea what she just said so she repeated herself in a louder, more clear voice.
"Damien gave you some of his blood."
Emma's eyes watched my face carefully as if expecting me to freak out and run around the castle like a mad person.
"... And what do you mean by that?"
I just had to confirm if what I was thinking was true, did he really made me drink his blood?
Emma answered my question, "Damien fed you some of his blood. The human doctor said that your body was becoming weak by the second since you lost too much blood. The only way to save you was if someone gave you theirs, and my idiotic brother was furious even thinking about someone else's blood in your system. So he made you drink his blood. But don't worry, that doesn't mean you're a Vampire. There needs to be a special venom presented in the blood when a Vampire turns a human, and Vampires can control that, they can choose if they're just feeding the human their blood, or actually turning them into a Vampire."
I took a few moments to take in her words, and the breath that I didn't even realize I was holding, came out in a huff. I have never felt happier to be a human. I would never want to turn into a Vampire, the deadly creatures who only care about themselves.
Emma's expression changed into a rather sad one and she awkwardly looked away. I was confused for a second but then realized what I missed earlier. She can read my mind.
I occasionally forget that Vampires can do that since the King has never been able to read mine, and no words can describe how glad I am of that fact.
I felt like I should say sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to, that was what I really thought about their kind and nothing can ever change that.
"I know you must really hate us. Believe me, if I were you, I would hate Vampires, too. I would have always held a burning hatred towards the people who took my parents away from me. I don't blame you, Alexis."
Her voice was soothing and she didn't seem to be mad at me. I smiled at her, actually glad that she understood me.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Three days, the maids cleaned you up and changed your clothes. Damien hasn't came near you, even though he would never admit it, I know it's because he was afraid you would get scared of him and your condition would worsen if he's around."
Her eyes widen as if she just realized something, "Oh! I forgot to tell you the most important, well, the most interesting part. You have Damien's blood in your system. So don't be surprised if you feel a stronger connection or even hear his thoughts. And... Hm I'll let you figure that out on your own." She winked and there was playful glint in her eyes that informed me she knew something I didn't.
I frowned and asked, "what is it?"
She shook her head.
"Nothing," she laughed, "now go shower, I want to hang out with you today."
"Really, or did your brother send you to keep an eye on me?"
Knowing the King, I wouldn't be surprised if he had cameras planted in here to keep a track of my every move. But then again, he did say that he no longer believed I was a threat to him. I shook my head, that man is more unpredictable than the weather here. He can change his mind overnight.
"Um that too, but I truly wanted to hang out with you, it's Saturday and I want to do something fun."
"Yeah? Like what?"
"I don't know, I mean we live in this huge castle, there's got to be something fun to do here. Let's go exploring." She smirked," that way I can also give you a tour and show you all the cool places."
But what's the point when I'm only living here for a couple of more months? But I decided it didn't seem like a bad idea to enjoy the last bit of life I had left so I nodded. Grabbing my clothes from the closet, I walked into the bathroom to take a shower, leaving Emma behind to wait for me.
**
"Woah," I whispered amazed as we came across a room that had hundreds of white candles lit up all around the room. There was a picture placed by each candle and I guess they must be the members of royal family who passed away.
"You're right, these are all my ancestors and the candles placed by their pic aren't just any candles, they never melt or get blown out. It's a witch's doing."
We continued walking down the hallway until I discovered a set of doors with a huge lock on them, it looked old from the outside, even the lock was covered in spider webs. There were red strings wrapped around the lock to prevent anyone from opening it.
"What's this?" This sight in front of me sparked a strange curiosity in me.
A pained expression was clearly visible on Emma's face. She seemed to be in deep thought, as if trying to find the correct words to explain what layed behind that locked door.
"Nobody's allowed to go in there. I myself really don't know what's behind that door but I've heard stories how this room, this is the place where the past Queens committed suicide."
I gasped, " they committed suicide? Why?"
"It all goes back to something tragic that took place, it's a long story."
"I don't have anything better to do anyways. Besides, I really want to know why they killed themselves."
Emma leaned against the wall next to the main door of the room and crossed her arms. Her eyes looked at the floor the entire time she talked to me.
"A long time ago, like really long ago, there was a King and a Queen who were madly in love with each other. This was a room made especially for them, it's said to be a place where they spent time with each other, away from this world, it was their own little paradise. They would sing, dance, paint together, and just enjoy each other's company. He was a Vampire King but she used to be human, an ordinary servant, so everyone was against them being together. Back then, humans were considered to be even less than a dirt on a Vampire's shoe. Putting aside the conflicts their relationship caused, the King still married her and made her his Queen. He didn't care what anyone thought of her, I guess that's what might have caused the rebellion that took place. He cared about her more than his own people. The villagers grew angrier by the day, burning down outsides of the castle. He set up a peaceful meeting to confront his citizens. While he was standing there trying to convince them, someone sneaked up from behind him. He was murdered. The Queen was devastated, she believed it was her fault. She spent days locked up in this room and eventually starved herself. Nobody seemed to care about her wellbeing, so not a single Vampire noticed her state. They all left her alone to die a slow and painful death. She starved herself because she thought an easy escape of death was not what she deserved."
Tears were streaming down my face. My chest tightened just imagining what the Queen must have gone through. Emma didn't look any better as she cleared her throat and continued.
"They found a letter in her hands as her dead body was discovered. I don't know if that letter is still here lying around or they burned it, but whatever it said, it left a hole in people's heart and made them regret what they did. But it was too late," She laughed humorlessly, "when she was alive, nobody accepted her, but after her death, she became a goddess. Some say you can still hear the melody of their voices at this part of the castle when it's a full moon,singing their love to one another. Because the last time they met, the moon was in full bloom. Now about those other Queens committing suicide, I don't know when but eventually, it became a "ritual" that Queens performed if their Kings died before them. If they were killed on the battlefield, their wives couldn't handle the grief the separation caused them. So one after the other, they opened this door, stepped in, and nobody heard from them ever again. It's funny how not a single soul tried to stop those sick events from happening."
She paused and finally met my eyes, hers were filled with unshed tears, reflecting my own.
She gulped and blinked a couple of times to get rid of the tears, "is that really what love is? Throwing away your own life to be with someone who is already gone? That's not love, that's madness."
I couldn't agree more. What happened to the human Queen was horrifying, but why did the other Queens carried the legacy? That's just wrong on so many different levels.
"I never knew this place had so many secrets, and such a haunting past." I told her.
"Everyone has a past, Alexis. Even Damien does. He's never been taught to show any form of emotions. For him, that's a sign of weakness. You would expect a person to be afraid of death or getting hurt, but death is something that comes knocking on his door everyday when he goes out. He has countless enemies watching his every move, so they can strike at any given chance. But he's not afraid of that. He's not scared of death. He's scared to feel. Ever since the Queen left him--"
"You mean, your mother?"
She shook her head, "No, not my mom, the Queen who--"
She stopped talking and her eyebrows frowned as she looked down.
"What happened?"
"We have to go, Eric said it's an emergency."
Before I could ask her any more questions, she grabbed my hand and ran up the stairs, the way which led to the King's bedroom.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
********************************
-J.S.