OKAY, SO WHOEVER HAS READ MY BOOK KNOWS BY NOW THAT I DON'T REALLY WRITE ANY AUTHOR NOTES BEFORE OR AFTER THE STORY BUT I JUST HAD TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE SOME PEOPLE HAVE WITH AMELIA'S CHARACTER, SHE MAY COME OF AS CHILDISH AND IGNORANT AT TIMES BECAUSE THAT IS HOW I WANT HER TO BE, HER CHARACTER WILL BE DEVELOPING THROUGHOUT THE STORY SO NO ONE NEEDS TO WORRY ABOUT HER BEING ONE OF THOSE DENSE PROTAGONISTS, SHE WILL DEFINITELY GROW OUT OF THIS STAGE...
WILLIAM
"What exactly do you mean?" I questioned with a threatening glare. The young vampire before me began trembling with utter fear. Rage, that's all I felt when the boy in front of me delivered a message from Dimitri Roosevelt.
"Y-your highness, L-lord D-Dimitri is requesting a meeting w-with you," he stuttered out once more.
"That bastard expects me to meet him in a civil manner and not take his head off?" I questioned with a smirk as I began stalking towards the boy with a predatory gaze.
"Y-Your Highness L-lord Dimitri wanted me to inform you that he and his men have taken over the northern territory and they are threatening to e-execute the p-people there if lord Dimitri isn't a-allocated s-some time with you in your c-castle without any harm towards him," the boy explained with a nervous gulp.
"Thomson!" I bellowed. In an instant, Thomson arrived in front of me and bowed down whilst shooting the young boy a confused look.
"I want information on the northern territory immediately!" I announced, "If I find out you lied, you are not leaving this castle alive," I declared to the boy with a stoic expression. He gulped once again before nodding hesitantly in reply.
After a few more minutes of waiting, Thomson approached me with a forlorn appearance. "Your highness, I regret to inform you that the northern territory has been claimed by Dimitri's men," his voice sombre.
I took a deep breath, "how long before he starts executing my people?", No reply.
"How long!" I roared whilst grabbing the boy in a chock hold.
"T-three h-hours," he gurgled out; I let him go and his body slumped down at that very second.
"Tell your lord I grant him entry to my castle; he will be unharmed here and we can discuss his proposition but this all will not happen at the expense of my subjects; tell him I promise his protection here if no harm comes to my people," I acquiesced. The boy nodded in a rush before scampering away.
"Should I announce to the advisory panel of Dimitri's arrival?" Thomson inquired after a few seconds of silence.
"Yes, go ahead," I sighed out before running a hand through my dishevelled hair; thoughts began swarming through my head. Dimitri was a true bastard to threaten his own people for the inferior humans, I knew once he arrived at the castle he'd try to find my weakness and as of now, my only weakness was Amelia.
I had to protect her somehow even if that meant locking her up in a room until that scoundrel was killed. I was sure one thing Dimitri wouldn't leave my castle alive but as long as he had his men on the north territory I was bound to play the perfect host.
A slow smile began making it's way to my face as an idea formed in my brain. Dimitri Roosevelt was as good as dead!
A few hours had passed and I had discussed my plan with my advisors who were all very eager to implement it; we had all finally come to a mutual agreement and all was clear about what was about to go down once Dimitri arrived here.
I walked to my room with two reasons to be jovial about. First, Dimitri wouldn't be a problem for longer and second, the beautiful girl waiting for me inside my room. I swung the doors open to see my room uninhabited by my love. This little girl had caused me to worry more in an hour than I had in the one hundred and fifty years of my life prior to her!
I beckoned one of the maids and questioned her about my little mate's whereabouts and she answered saying that Amelia had left to the kitchen a few minutes ago as she was hungry; I nodded in reply before making my way to the kitchen.
I had expected to see Amelia perched up on the dining room chair waiting for her food to arrive but I was shocked to see my tiny angel gliding across the kitchen and performing all sorts of activities including stirring pots, cutting up different items. I had no idea that Amelia could cook! Whatever it was she was making, it smelled delicious. As a vampire, I had no need for food but I didn't mind indulging in a few 'human' activities such as eating.
My gaze stilled on her lithe frame and I continued to watch her move swiftly from one position to the other; her hips swaying in a rhythmic manner whilst she hummed obscure tunes. A grin spread across my face when I realized she did not notice my presence, I began taking slow steps towards her before wrapping my arms around her tiny waist and planting a kiss in the nape of her neck. She tensed because of my actions but almost instantly melted inside my embrace as soon as she felt the gentle kiss.
"What are you doing?" I whispered in her ear causing her to shiver slightly in response.
"Nothing much, just whipping up a small snack for us," she hummed out.
"For us?" I questioned with a smirk.
"Yeah, I just assumed that you might be hungry because honestly, I am famished..." she began before her expression turned to one of horror, "Oh lord! I am so sorry I forgot that you were a vampire! I didn't even think of asking you if you eat or ugh. I am so ignorant!" she continued to ramble with a forlorn tone.
I kissed her into silence before gazing into her cocoa-brown eyes with an intense look of devotion, "You are not ignorant, in fact, Vampires can eat food too. It's true we don't necessarily need it but I particularly enjoy it so when will you be done?"
A huge smile came up to her face which instantly brightened my mood as well, "Only a few more minutes," she answered cheerily before pecking my cheek softly and slipping out of my grasp to continue cooking. I found it a bit bizarre that only mere hours ago my little mate was trying to avoid me as much as possible but now she seemed fairly comfortable and happy around me.
I hated the sense of doubt that crept up to within me; I knew no one could change that fast so she definitely had a plan but now the question was what exactly did she have in store for me? No longer than five minutes later Amelia had finished and served me with a good proportion of bolognese before taking a seat next to me with her plate of spaghetti. Taking the first bite I looked up at my angel to see her eyes fixated on me with an anxious expression.
"It's absolutely divine," I complimented and was awarded one of her gorgeous smiles.
"So William, I was wondering if you could tell me more about being a vampire and this whole mate thing?" her inquisitive voice penetrated the silence of the room.
"Of course, what do you want to know love?" I was happy to know she was eager to know about me, it meant she was begging to accept me or perhaps my prior thoughts were right and she was putting up an act.
"Okay, my first question would be how exactly are vampires created? I always thought it was because of a bite," she stated with her eyebrows scrunched up.
A gruff chuckle left my throat; I gave her an amused look which was returned with a pout, "No, there is no bite involved in the changing process. The truth is only a vampire's mate is eligible for the change and if attempted on another it would inevitably lead to their death. As for me, I am one of the few elders, meaning that I was born as a vampire," I explained.
She looked thoughtful for a moment before she scooped up a forkful of spaghetti and stuffed it into her mouth, "What does the changing process involve?" she questioned after she finished swallowing her food.
"Well, basically the process involves the mates having intercourse and after that a kiss at midnight to seal the bond and officially begin the change," I uttered with a nonchalant tone even though the desire within me was sweltering at the thought of my little mate in my arms.
As soon as I finished my sentence Amelia went into a choking fit, I moved up in my quickest speed and began rubbing her back in a soothing manner. She began calming down and when I asked if she was fine, she moved her head up and down in reply indicating that she was indeed okay.
"W-What happens then?" she asked once she regained her breath.
"After the midnight kiss which is known as 'The Death Kiss', the non-vampire individual's heart stops beating and they die..." I stopped when an audible gasp came from my mate's side, "They remain dead for three to four days as their body gets accustomed to the change subsequently they awake from their death and then all that's left to do is experience their newfound abilities whilst spending an eternity with their mate," I unravelled.
The quietened ambience frightened me and I was not a man who was frightened! "If you know about all of this information then that means there were more human and vampire mating, correct?" her eyes filled with expectancy.
"One," I answered as I recalled the tragic story of my former acquaintance.
"Okay," she sighed out, "I am going to wash these up," she announced before attempting to grab our plates however I stopped her mid-action.
"Leave that for the servants, you've already done enough besides I need to speak about something," I declared before grabbing her hand and leading her to the bedroom so that we could speak in private.
Once we reached the room I told her to take a seat on the bed and began explaining to her about Dimitri's arrival; I left out the parts about him being a rebel leader who was trying to win back freedom for the humans on purpose so that she didn't get too fond of him.
"So when is your guest arriving?" she murmured.
"Mayhap by nightfall," I replied insouciantly.
"That's fine, what should I wear when I greet him?" She mused innocently, unaware of the rage I was feeling at the notion of my little mate getting acquainted with that bastard.
"You are not meeting Dimitri, in fact, you will stay away from him at all times during the period of his stay at this castle. Understood?" I bellowed in utter furiousness. Her eyes widened in surprise and her meek voice answered a yes in reply.
"Why don't we head to the library, we can read together as it's still early evening," I suggested with a small smile trying to make her forget about my outburst.
"Okay," she answered returning my smile but I could see the glimmer of fear that shone in her glossy eyes; I sighed in defeat but let it go and grabbed her hand before making our way to the library.
We spent hours in the library, I read my favourite stories to her whilst she rested in my lap and listened intently. Sooner than I would've liked the sun went down and night came. Amelia's eyes began fluttering close, it was evident that she was fighting to stay awake, that's when I got up with my sleepy angel locked in my embrace and headed to our room.
I tucked the now sleeping Amelia in bed whilst planting a gentle kiss on her forehead before heading out to my study. I was about to open the study doors but then all of a sudden a strangely familiar scent invaded my surrounding; I snarled as soon as I recognized the scent. Bursting through the doors I was not surprised to see him sitting on my throne.
"Dimitri!" I growled out. His blond hair was longer than I remembered, it reached the end of his neck whereas his azure eyes were still the same, full of misery.
"It's nice to see you again your highness," he smirked wryly and I let out a scoff, I guess in some ways he was still the same Dimitri I knew a hundred years ago...