You laid on your back on your bed, absentmindedly throwing a bouncy ball towards the ceiling only to catch it and repeat the process over again and again. It was currently around midnight, and you were slowly adjusting your sleeping schedule to match Luciano's as per his request. You hated it, having to sleep by day and go about your business at night. There was practically nothing to do during the late evening hours. You couldn't go outside due to the dangers of other vampires or the wolves that lurked in the shadows of the darkened forest. You couldn't walk about the halls of the castle without an escort and having to squeeze into a corset and dress. You felt like a prisoner, which you essentially were.
You threw the rubber ball again, this time causing it to hit the ceiling with such force that it bounced back to quick for you to catch it. It smashed into your forehead, leaving a red, angry mark in it's wake. You jumped slightly startled, then groaned in frustration. Anna and Lauren, who had been standing silently in the room awaiting any form of orders from you, picked up on your distress.
"What's wrong (y/n)?" Lauren asked.
"I'm bored. That's what's wrong," you brooded.
"I don't see why. There is plenty to do around the castle," Anna said in a matter of fact tone.
"Oh really? Like what exactly?"
"Well, you could... uh..."
"That's what I thought. There is nothing to do besides lie here bored. Ugh!"
"I'm sure you can think of something (y/n)! You are very smart after all!"
"Thanks," you grumbled, shoving a pillow onto your face to groan into once more.
A silence filled the air in the room you and the two girls occupied. It grew thicker and thicker as the moments passed. Anna and Lauren grew worried as you only seemed to press the pillow down harder. They swore that they could see steam coming from the sides of your head. It was as if the gears in your head were working in overtime to think of something interesting to do. Within another few moments the pillow you held against your face went sailing across the room, effectively hitting the doors with a rather loud thud.
"That's it," you sighed in defeat. "I'm going to hang out with Prince Douche-bag. Where is he?"
"He is in his personal study," Anna replied.
"Alright," you said, slipping on a white pair of flip flops to go with your white camisole and black, baggy sweatpants. You started out of the room, then back tracked to your room. "Where is his study?"
Lauren giggled and gave you directions. You thanked her and started in the direction of Luciano's study. You came back to the room one more time, telling the two girls not to follow. They hesitantly agreed and let you go alone. You jogged to the prince's study located in the East wing of the castle. A few curious looks were given to you from human servants and confused glances from the vampires roaming the halls. The doors to the study came into view after a few minutes of jogging. You raised a hand to the door and hit your knuckles against the wood a few times.
"Enter," said Luciano's muffled voice.
You opened one of the heavy doors, and closed it behind you with a slam. The prince sat unfazed by the sudden obnoxious noise, continuing to write on a piece of paper with a fountain pen. He didn't bother to look up from the desk he was seated at.
"And what business do you have with me?" he asked monotonously.
"I'm bored."
Luciano whipped his head up, his neck cracking from the speed of his movement. He looked shocked that you were standing before him, especially since you had made that one deal with him. He stood from his desk and walked over to you slowly, as if he was testing if you were just a manifestation of his imagination. He approached you with caution. This made you scoff. It should be the other way around, not the way it is as of the moment.
"What are you doing here?"
"Like I said, I'm bored."
"Yes, I got that part, but why did you come here if you were bored? I thought I was not to grace you with my presence until tomorrow."
"You're technically not "gracing" me with your presence. I'm "gracing" you with mine, and to answer your question, I figured you could entertain me in some way. It is your fault that I'm stuck here after all."
"Hm, entertain you, you say? I'm sorry (y/n), but I have work to do, letters to write, and kingly duties to attend to. By the way, are we matching today in terms of clothes?"
He was trying to change the subject, but you and him were in fact, as some of the girls back home would say, "twinning". He had on a white wife beater and a pair of loose, black sweatpants. The only true difference between your two outfits was the width of the traps of your tank tops and he was wearing sandals instead of flip flops. His sandals were white though, so you were technically still matching.
You stared him down, him doing the same to you. After a brief staring contest with the prince, you pushed past him and took a seat in one of the plush armchairs in front of his desk. You grabbed the piece of paper he had been writing on and looked over it. His hand writing was very neat and precise for not using lined paper. You weren't necessarily reading what he wrote, but one word caught your attention: War. The paper was snatched from your hands before you could read the rest of the words. You glared at Luciano from your seat, you gaze unwavering as you followed his form as he retreated back to his own chair.
Luciano resumed his previous activities. You soon raised from your seat and wondered around the spacious room. You attempted to pick up a few objects that you assumed were old antiques only to have Luciano take them from you, putting them back down and telling you not to touch them before continuing his work. You were eventually able to pick up an object without Luciano scolding you.
It was an older book judging by how old the leather binding of the cover were. You flipped through a couple of pages, skimming over the text as you did so. It sparked your interest to say the least. You found your way back to the first page and began to read while standing. Luciano had noticed where you were after about an hour of continuous letter writing. He pushed himself away from the wooden desk and strode over to you. His arms wrapped around your waist and his head sat on your shoulder. He read the page you were on in his mind. He was surprised that you hadn't pushed him from you or snapped at him for invading your personal bubble yet. You must have really been engrossed in the contents of the book's worn pages.
"Is it interesting?" he asked.
"Shh," you replied, holding up a finger to make your point of telling him to stay silent.
Luciano chuckled and kissed right below your ear. He left another at the base of your neck. His lips dragged up your neck only to stop over your jugular artery. He placed another kiss, which you ignored like you did the last two. The prince's magenta hues watched as you turned another page. You suddenly hissed in pain as your finger caught a sharp area on the paper. A few droplets of crimson liquid dribbled from the fresh paper cut on your index finger. Luciano's pupil shrunk as he smelled the oh so familiar metallic scent of blood. He plucked the book from your hand and set it down, making sure he saved your spot it in. He ushered you over to his chair behind his desk, pushing you down to sit in it. Luciano knelt before you, taking your hand in his to inspect the damage. The cut was deeper than he thought possible for a mere paper cut.
"What are you-!"
You were cut off by him taking the spot with the paper cut into his mouth. He sucked on it gently and licked at it a few times. You tried to pull your hand away, but he held it firmly in place. You kept struggling to get your finger back, but your efforts proved to be futile. He suddenly removed your finger from his mouth and glared up at you.
"Do you want another vampire to barge in here?" Luciano asked in a menacing tone.
"No..."
"Then hold the fuck still and let me finish."
You complied, ceasing your struggles and letting him suck and lick at the small yet deep wound. After another few minutes of this treatment, Luciano let your hand go. You raised your hand to eye level to inspect what he did to your finger. To your surprise, the paper cut was completely gone. There was no trace of it left.
"How did you do that?" you asked, genuinely curious.
"Royal vampiric saliva has a healing factor built into it. It's meant to speed up recovery for whatever comes into contact with it," he said, chuckling at your amazed expression.
"That. Is. So. Freaking. Cool! Can all vampires do that?"
"Like I said, royal vampiric saliva my love."
You marveled at the sight of your healed injury, poking and prodding at it to make sure it was in fact healed. You failed to notice Luciano staring at you with intrigued eyes. He noticed your mood swings. Perhaps you were bipolar like him. No, he smelled the distinct smell of increased estrogen in the air, a telltale sign of female menstruation. That was why you had been so moody since he met you. If his judgement was correct, you started the day Gilen presented you to him in the throne room. He figured you should be towards the end of your cycle. Maybe then you wouldn't act so tsundere around him. Maybe then you would express your love to him at last. Yes, he knew that you had feelings for him, you just denied them, suppressed them.
"How adorable. She's intrigued by my abilities. She acts like a child, albeit a very attractive child, but a child nonetheless," the prince thought.
Luciano then took your previously injured hand in his and gave your knuckles a soft kiss. A light pink blush dusted you cheeks. You tried not to make eye contact with the prince's magenta hues of mystery and love but failed miserably. They glowed, your eyes mimicking his eye color for a brief moment before returning to your original (e/c). He stood from his kneeling position and pulled you up from his chair and into his chest. His one hand settled on your hip while the other found itself tangling its fingers in your soft hair. He pulled your head to rest on his shoulder. His head turned so he could leave a gentle kiss on your forehead.
"(Y/n), tell me something. Why do you hate me?"
"I don't hate you Luciano."
"Then why do you act like my very existence causes you such inner turmoil?"
"It's a defensive mechanism I've developed over the years. Don't take it personally. I'm like this with anyone I don't particularly trust or have only known for a short time."
"Tell me how this "defensive mechanism" began."
"I don't have an answer to that. My parents told me I had been like that since I was brought into their care. I don't understand what that is supposed to mean though. "Brought into their care"? I don't know why they would word it so oddly. I'm their child. It's not like I was adopted."
This aroused a spirit of inquiry in Luciano. He mentally contacted Matt and told him to do some background research on you. He knew Matt and you were close, as were you and Gilen, but there seemed to be some kind of hidden history within you. It was something not even you were aware of at this point in time. He tightened his grip on you, you staying still like it didn't bother you in the slightest.
"Do you love me? I want an honest and direct answer (y/n)."
"..."
"(y/n)?"
"... Yes... I-I love you..."
"Do you mean it?"
"Yes..."
"That's all I needed to know."
You suddenly collapse into the prince's waiting arms. Your breathing was quiet, and a faint snore could be heard through your slightly parted lips. Luciano picked you up bridle style and walked back to your room. Lauren and Anna were still there, but they were tidying up the room when he arrived. He shushed them when they were about to ask questions as to why you were passed out. He laid you on your bed, covering you up with with blankets and leaving a kiss on your forehead once more. The prince exited the room without saying a word to either maid, closing the doors behind him.
Luciano was pleased with himself to say the least. He managed to keep you under his control just long enough to hear what he wanted to hear. He felt you trying to fight his invasion of your brain. You did indeed have a stronger mind than most humans he's ever encountered in the span of his life. He heard you mentally screaming at yourself, though this is impossible due to the loudness or softness of your voice in your head cannot change. Cuss words were also flying around your head left and right as you cussed yourself out, trying to regain control of your speech because what you were saying was one hundred percent true, but you didn't want him knowing any of what you were telling him. When Luciano had broken the control he had over you, you lost your consciousness, just like most people would in your situation. You had used up much of your energy trying to fight off the mental invasion. This would lead to you forgetting that the incident ever occurred, which was a very good thing in Luciano's eyes. To him, there was nothing worse than having your bride-to-be angry at you two weeks before the wedding.
~Author's Note~
DreamsForDays here! This chapter may be a little on the crappier side of my writing in my opinion. I hope you can still enjoy reading it though! I don't have much to say in this author's note really. But, um, how are you guys doing? I hope the answer to that is good or well or some other positive adjective. If you have any questions about this chapter, or the story in general, feel free to ask me! Thanks for reading! Feedback in the comments is always appreciated! Until next time!