A/N: It's the next chapter!
The Prince's words froze me. I swallowed the rising panic. He was joking. This was his way of riling me up, I reminded myself. I had to keep calm.
"I'm sure there are some provisions for you in the fridge," I heard myself say.
Provisions? Seriously? Since when did I talk like that?
A low grin curved the Prince's lips. "I want my meal fresh," he said. "I saved your life. It's only fitting that I get something in return."
My eye twitched. "Of course," I forced out. I held out the bottle's cap. "Here, take this as a token of my appreciation."
His grip on my wrist tightened. I glanced at the water bottle. It was close to spilling all over me. I didn't think he would have an extra set of clothes for myself.
"Rin," he began.
"Why do you do this?" I asked. "Why do you always turn everything into a joke? You know I will never allow you to feed from me so stop kidding around. We've just been attacked. You were attacked and now we're here." I gestured to the cabin with my free hand. "What's the plan? Aren't those vampires going to figure out where we are? What makes this place so safe?"
The Prince's eyes darkened. Exhausted, I sighed.
"Look," I said. "Thank you for saving my life even if you didn't mean to but, as they say, we're not out of the woods just yet. I mean, my parents probably know that their daughter didn't talk at the conference and there are going to wonder where I am when I don't go home. I just want –"
The Prince covered my mouth with his free hand. A set of brooding eyes stared at me. "You talk too much," he said.
I frowned.
"The way I see it," the Prince said, "we have a couple of hours before the conference ends. I'm sure security has realized we're missing. Now all we have to do is lay low until we're rescued."
"ughm till nut – "
"What?" The Prince removed his hand.
I cleared my throat. "I'm still not letting you feed on me," I told him. "Check the freezer. I'm sure there's some blood in there. What vampire safe house wouldn't have blood? Oh, and just an update, you're not even close to having me pledge my undying loyalty to you. You're in the negative 'I'd rather die' spectrum."
The brooding look was back. I swallowed. Was he really going to force himself on me? I wouldn't be able to stop him and just the thought – I shuddered. No, he wouldn't. He couldn't. After a few moments, he released me. Some of the chilly water fell on me. I cursed and sat up straight.
I held my shirt away from me while the other hand placed the water bottle on the coffee table. The vampire Prince was nowhere in sight. I looked down at my feet. Had I been too harsh? He had been nice before, comforting even, and serious but now, he was like a completely different person. Did he think I would judge him? I could understand being two completely different people in public and in private.
After a while, I found myself walking into the kitchen. While the water on my shirt wasn't life threatening it was still cold and uncomfortable. Luckily, I found some paper towels underneath the sink and some cleaning supplies. I dabbed the water as much as I could.
"Hello?" I called out. There was no response.
Hesitant, I reached for the freezer door and opened it. A blast of freezing air hit my face. Shivering, I stepped closer and spotted the jackpot. Of course, there was blood in a vampire safe house. If there wasn't, I would recommend firing them.
Holding onto the bag, I looked at the microwave. Would that even work? I'd seen things in films before the bans and restriction laws. Sure, I would never admit that but maybe it would work. There was only one way to find out. I placed the bags on the counter and searched the cabinets for mugs. I found one in the second cabinet. Next, I searched for anything sharp but there were no knives or forks or utensils. I guess it was dumb of me to presume vampires would need utensils but why have furniture? Decorations maybe?
Well, there was only one thing to do. Find a pair of scissors. I searched through the kitchen again. Nothing. Even the living room didn't turn up anything. I found a hallway past the kitchen and a restroom but no scissors. I really didn't want to open a blood bag with my teeth.
There was one more thing I could try but would it work? That was the question. I placed myself in the kitchen and cleared my throat. This was going to be . . . difficult.
"Y-your high-ness?" I called out.
The heat rushed to my face. My heart thundered against my chest. For a few embarrassing moments, nothing happened. Then, he was suddenly there like a gust of wind. He leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed.
"Wow," I said. "I didn't think that would actually work. You didn't seem the type to appear when you're summoned."
Man, what was with me and my archaic way of talking?
The Prince turned on his heel and walked away.
"No, wait –"
He stopped.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I couldn't believe I was saying this. "I need your help."
The Prince turned around with a smirk on his face. He raised an eyebrow and I took this as a sign to continue. Here goes nothing. I gestured to the blood bags on the counter.
"Could you open these for me?"
The smirk disappeared.
"You said you were hungry so I thought I'd fix you something to ea – drink." I cleared my throat.
To my surprise, the Prince walked to the counter and grabbed a bag. I quickly joined him. He snipped at the top with his nails and handed it to me. I poured the liquid into the mug trying not to breathe. I didn't know how it would smell and I didn't want to find out.
"Do you think two minutes will be enough?" I asked.
No response. He opened the next bag and handed it to me. Then he left. Just like that. He didn't even wait.
Think nice thoughts, Rin, I told myself. You know he's rude.
Four to six minutes later, I walked into the living room with two mugs in hand. I placed both of them coffee table.
"Your meal is ready, sir," I said trying my hardest to sound as sarcastic as I could manage.
This time, however, he didn't appear. I scoffed. Oh heck no. I was not going to bring him his food. He had legs. He could get it himself. I sat down on the couch and folded my arms. Two could play at this game.
"There is no way I'm going to bring you your food so you better come get it. I'm not your maid or your butler."
It wasn't like I was hungry. Well, considering that I was in a car accident not so long ago, hunger was the least of my problems. For now, I would focus on the present and how I wasn't going to lose this match. Thinking about how I nearly died or that we were being hunted . . . that could wait.
I shook my head trying to stop the unwanted thoughts from forming but they wouldn't stop. I stood focusing on my hands. They weren't shaking but I still felt cold. The tears hadn't come yet. My eyes ached and the lump in my throat kept getting bigger and bigger. Stop.
Without thinking, I grabbed the mugs and headed to the hallway. Fine; if this was the only way to distract myself . . .
"I-I brought you your food," I forced out.
The door at the end of the hallway opened. Relieved, I headed towards it and entered the room. It was a tiny room to say the least with the bed, desk, and chair being the only furniture. The Prince was on the floor, his back rested against the bed. In his hands, he held a cellphone and I heard techno music coming from it.
He had a cellphone and didn't bother to tell me about it? Had he called for help? Would he let me call my parents? I swallowed my questions. Now wasn't the time for that. I didn't come here to argue.
"Here."
I held out one of the mugs. He didn't look up. My patience was running thin.
"Take the mug or I will dump its contents all over you." My voice was sharp and low.
The Prince glanced up. Almost reluctantly, (jerk) he took the mug from me and sniffed it. I sat beside him trying not to spill the second mug.
"Don't look at me," I told him. "I've never done this before."
Gingerly, he brought the mug to his lips and took a sip. His face remained neutral.
"If you don't like it, you don't have to drink it," I said.
The Prince took another sip. I turned away and carefully placed the second mug beside him. If he wanted to drink in privacy I wasn't going to stare at him.
"How is it?" I asked.
"Terrible."
I looked down at my hands. "I didn't know what else to try."
Suddenly, my nails became interesting. "I didn't mean to snap at you," I continued. "I am sorry about that but you just treat everything like a joke. I get that you need a different persona when you deal with people but don't use it on me. I'll say this now. I don't care that you are a prince. I have never cared and I will treat you like everyone else."
"Like it or not, I'm royalty, but my patience with your disrespect is getting thin."
I looked at him. "And I'm being patient at your outright disregard for everyone but yourself."
Sighing, I drew my legs up to my chest. "Fine," I whispered. "I'll just go back to ignoring you and hoping that you never came into my life. I'd just thought since we were in this mess together, we could extend an olive branch. I guess you were wrong."
"I was clear from the beginning," the Prince said, "I'm here for your blood and your total devotion to me."