I woke to numbing pain. It pierced through my skull and made my stomach churn. A groan made its way out of my lips. It was only then that the feeling returned to my body. The tingle began from my fingertips then all the way to my toes. It was then that I realize that I was moving. Had it always been so cold?
My head rolled to one side and bile rose in my mouth. I groaned again. Please, I didn't want to throw up. The movement suddenly stopped. My head was turned away just as my stomach decided to empty itself. I heaved and felt the acid burn my throat on its way up. I coughed and spat trying to get the taste out. Faintly, I felt the rough ground underneath me.
"How bad is it?"
Weakly, I waved off the question. I didn't trust myself to speak.
"Come on, we have to get out of here. They're looking for us."
I felt myself get scooped up. Gingerly, I opened my eyes. The Prince's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. He glanced behind. Not liking what he was seeing, his eyes narrowed. He suddenly lurched forward. My stomach rolled in response and I buried my head into his shoulder. The fast movement was not helping my stomach. I kept my mouth firmly shut.
There was no way of knowing how long the Prince ran. At this point, I didn't care. All I wanted was to lie down. Perhaps it was seconds, maybe minutes, but eventually the Prince stopped. I kept my eyes closed fighting the urge to drift away.
"Rin."
The sound of my name jolted me awake. I forced my eyes opened. The Prince looked down at me.
"You're going to be fine," he told me. "I'll make sure of that."
I felt myself smile. This had to be a dream. The Prince would never be this - what was the proper word? I couldn't think. – nice?
"Could you just . . . go away?" I sighed out. "I can't even sleep in peace. Now, I have to have you in my dreams."
The Prince frowned. "This isn't a joke Rin."
"Don't," I forced out.
He arched an eyebrow.
"Don't," I repeated, "call me that."
"That is your na –"
"You're . . . not my friend," I whispered. "Stop talking like you're my friend."
"This isn't the time for this," The Prince said with a growl. His jaw was set. "We're being hunted. We need to –"
I tried sitting up but the world spun. The Prince muttered something and placed me on the floor. The coldness of the concrete brought the world back into sharp focus. At a closer look, we were in an abandoned warehouse. Most of the roof had caved in and weak moonlight shone through. From the dimness, I could make out piles of rubble all across the ground. Beside me, the Prince knelt focused on something in the distance.
"We . . . we're – we're being hunted?" I stammered out.
He turned his attention toward me. "That's what I said."
"W-why? By who?" I asked. "People . . . er . . . humans?"
"Vampires."
"What?!"
The Prince glared at me. "Scream louder, I'm sure they didn't hear you."
Feeling weak, I drew me legs up to my chest and hugged myself. I pressed my forehead against my knees. This couldn't be happening. This was a dream. It was a crazy dream. It had to be. I willed myself to wake up.
"We don't have time for this," the Prince hissed. "They are going to find us. We need to get to my safe house."
I look at him from underneath my hair. "Go away."
The Prince's eyes narrowed. "If you want to die, then stay here. This isn't some dream."
Without waiting for a reply, he scooped me up. My stomach churned. I pressed my face into his shoulder. My body trembled and the shaking wouldn't go away.
"Why are . . . vampires coming after you?" I forced out. "You're their Prince. Isn't this . . . treason?"
The wind blew against me making my ears hurt. At first, I didn't think he heard me. I peeked up at him. The cold air immediately dried my eyes and I quickly shut them.
"Can't you call someone?" I whispered.
The force of the wind eased but we were still moving. Strangely, I couldn't hear any cars in the distance or close by.
"They don't care," the Prince suddenly said. "They're stuck in a past era. They think humans are to blame."
Some of the puzzle pieces fell into place. So, even the vampires had their own issues. "They're a radical group."
"You could say that." He didn't answer my second question.
"I'm surprised you haven't left me."
"I thought I told you –" there was a hint of a sneer in his words. "- the only vampire drinking your blood is me."
What if I told him he wouldn't be the first? I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I meant they're vampires. They can easily track me."
"Foolish." The sneer was back. "I'm royalty."
Why did I think he would explain anything to me? At this point, was it even worth it to try? Even though he didn't say, I knew he was worried. Why else would he continue looking behind us? Didn't he know he was being too obvious?
"We're almost to the house."
True to his word, we arrived soon after. My stomach hadn't quite settled down and the throbbing in my head had eased but it was still there. Looking around, the night sky didn't really allow me a great view but the moonlight helped. I saw thick trees all around us. The air was fresh; crisp. The smell of petrichor was heavy. The Prince walked up a plain looking cabin. I didn't see anything special about the structure. To me it looked like a regular cabin; there was a front porch (all wood) The Prince walked as if he was taking a leisure stroll through the woods.
"Are you sure it's safe?" I asked.
The Prince didn't bother answering. Instead, he walked up to the porch.
"Please hold for identification scan."
The male automatic voice was barely a whisper but in the silence of the woods, I heard it. But why was it so silent? Where were the animals?
There was some beeping coming from the door. The Prince moved forward and almost had me pressed against the wood as a light scanned his eye.
"Identification confirmed."
The door beeped again and hissed. All around the cabin I heard metal rising and closing. It was only after the noise had faded that the Prince opened the door. The sudden brightness blinded me. Tears bubbled to the surface. The door clicked behind us and I heard a deadbolt lock in place. We were trusting our safety to a machine.
All of a sudden, the arms holding me up let go. I yelped and my butt hit something soft. Rubbing my eyes, I gingerly opened them and found myself on a couch. The Prince had already turned away and I glared at his back.
"You could have warned me," I muttered.
The inside of the cabin was cozy and expected. There was a kitchen right across the living where I was at. All the furniture was also made of wood and I spotted a fireplace too. I doubted it was ever used. Sudden movement caught my attention. The Prince stood in the kitchen looking at all the cabinets. He finally decided to look in the fridge. To my surprise, he grabbed a water bottle and walked toward me. He held it out.
Hesitant, I took it from him. "Thanks."
I turned away from him and opened the bottle. Just as I was about to take a sip, my arm stopped. Confused, I turned. The Prince knelt beside me with a strange look on his face. I moved back.
"What?" I asked impatiently.
He didn't answer and he didn't let go. I wanted to address him by name but I didn't know his name and there was no way I was going to ever call him 'Your Highness.' The Prince moved closer.
"I need to feed."
A/N: I'm sorry it took so long.