I glanced at the clock and saw that it was a quarter after six pm. I peeped out my room window and spotted many cars lining the broad, long driveway. I could even hear light chatter going on downstairs from the many guests that had already arrived.
I pulled the curtain back in place and moved over to my dresser. I was ready for twenty minutes now but Serefina insisted that I make an entrance with Riccardo; she said I would be able to leave at six pm but I guess she was running late since Riccardo didn't knock on my door to take me downstairs. A part of me had a feeling that he didn't really want to wear me on his arm as we walked down the long staircase so all of his kind could see his mate, but another part knew him better to not do that. I knew somewhere deep down he still very much loved and cared for me.
Dabbing a little powder over my nose I wondered what was the purpose of this ball and a fancy entrance if after tonight I was going to leave, Riccardo was letting me go and I had no choice but to adhere even though I no longer wanted to go. I wanted to ask Riccardo the purpose of my introduction but I thought better of it, he was already annoyed at me and I didn't want to add to that, besides it would probably give him the impression that I didn't want to be known as his mate and that would pull us even further apart.
I put aside the powder and examined myself in the mirror, my makeup was to the minimum with just a little blusher, mascara, light shadow and red lipstick, even though I didn't have lots of makeup on I looked like I actually made an effort to look good. I had to admit that looking good was much easier now that I was a vampire, I pretty much looked fine without any makeup on too.
I looked away from the mirror when I heard a knock on the door and turned around. "Come in." I said.
The door opened revealing Riccardo, looking very handsome in a black tux; his normally unruly hair was very neatly gelled to the side making him look more mature and very, very handsome, very much like a prince. Despite just being impressed with the way I looked a minute ago, I felt the total opposite now looking at the beautiful man in front of me, I felt unworthy of him.
He stood at the doorway, looking at me with a neutral expression for a long moment before he cleared his throat. "My mother wants to know if you're ready."
His voice broke my stare, if I was still human I wouldn't blushed at being caught staring at him. I nodded. "Yes."
Riccardo firmly nodded and held out his arm for me. "Shall we?"
I half grinned and nodded as I took slow steps towards him. "Yeah." I said under my breath and looped my arm through his.
We stepped over the threshold of the door and made our way down the long hallway in silence.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this." Riccardo broke the silence.
"You don't have to be sorry for anything." I replied, knowing that I in fact was glad to be here because it meant one more night with him.
"I have a lot to be sorry for." He murmured under his breath.
I knew if it wasn't for my new vampire hearing I wouldn't have heard him say that but I did and I momentarily stopped walking. Riccardo who was a step ahead of me stopped when I did and looked at me with a frown. "What is it?"
I looked at the small frown lines covering his forehead and the deep blue in his eyes. I hated that I'd caused a lot of those frown lines numerous of times and it was then that I realized just how much I probably put him through while I was drowning myself in self-pity and blaming him for everything. He probably spent every hour of every day worrying about me and instead of assuring him I was fine, I added to that worry by withdrawing myself from him and any type of emotion, I blamed him for everything wrong in my life and it was selfish and very unfair of me to do so.
"Tiana?" he asked, breaking away my thoughts.
I wanted to let go of his arm and instead wrap my arms around him and tell him I was sorry for everything I put him through, I wanted to reassure him that I still loved him very much and I always will. I wanted to tell him that I wanted to stay and be a part of his world and life; I wanted to let him know that I really have grown in these two weeks and come to understand everything but most of all I wanted to kiss him and forget about everything bad that's ever happened.
But I held back and didn't do any of those things, instead I just said, "I'm sorry for a lot of things too."
Riccardo just stared at me for a long moment, and in that silence I felt as if everything would be alright again between us, that he could read my every thought and feelings I had towards him, hell I wanted him to do so badly but I knew he wouldn't, he made himself clear that he would give me my privacy and not invade my thoughts any longer.
Riccardo's soft expression from a minute ago hardened. "We're already late, let's go."
I was disappointed at his tone and change of mood but I didn't let the emotion slip and with my arm still in his, our feet moved together down the long hallway.
As we rounded the corner of the hallway and the staircase approached I decided to lighten the slightly tense air around us. "You didn't have to knock before entering my room you know."
Riccardo glanced at me with a hint of confusion at my spontaneous shift of topic before he answered, "It's only good manners Tiana, what if I walked in and you were still dressing?"
"So? It's not like you'd be seeing anything for the first time." I said with a small smirk.
I could see just a glint of humor in his eyes but he quickly replaced it with his normal stern demeanor as we reached the staircase.
I looked away from him when his eyes moved from mine and looked down the long staircase where there were at least one hundred people or shall I say vampires, dressed smartly in tuxedos or ballroom gowns. I couldn't help but notice just how good looking and young everyone looked, if there was one good thing about the dark world, it was their appealingly good looks and youth.
Riccardo gently tugged in my arm as I tore my eyes away from the many that were on the two of us. "Ready?" he whispered in my ear, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine.
I nodded. Somehow I wasn't nervous at all, I thought I would be but I wasn't and I assumed it was because I was one of them now, I didn't have to fear any of them looking down at me or thinking of me as food. I knew I wasn't a pureblood like Riccardo and his family but I got the feeling that no one would dare utter any offensive remark.
With Riccardo I took one slow step at a time as we descended down the staircase. I caught Serefina's gaze on the two of us, her eyes were sparkling with glee and she wore a broad smile. I felt a pang in my chest for her, she was so proud that her son finally found his mate and was ready to take his place on the throne but little did she know that after tonight I was leaving and her son wasn't going to stop me. If I left it would mean that Riccardo wouldn't have a queen to sit on the throne with him meaning that the whole purpose for this ball was meaningless. Unless of course Riccardo found someone else to sit beside him on the throne, meaning that he would have to marry someone else.
Jealousy and pain blended together creating a deep pain in my heart and knot in my stomach, just the thought of Riccardo with someone else made bile rise in my throat. No matter how mad or upset I could be with Riccardo, I would never be able to tolerate anyone with him other than me. I was feeling uneasy, I surely hoped that wasn't his plan, I hoped he wasn't planning on marrying another vampire just so he could take his place on the throne.
"Tiana, you look beautiful." I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized that we'd already reached the bottom of the stairs and Riccardo let go of me. Serefina opened her arms for an embrace and I moved forwards, hugging her.
I could hear whispers behind me with compliments, voices mentioning mine and Riccardo's name. Although most were compliments, there were some negative things said like I wasn't a good match for the handsome prince. I blocked out all the voices and smiled at Serefina when she pulled away.
"Thank you." I said. "And so do you Serefina." I added. And it was true; Serefina looked absolutely beautiful in her royal blue gown that was covered in gold sequins across the neckline.
"Thank you Caro." She smiled and took my hand. "Come, I want you to meet some people."
She looked at Riccardo for permission. "You don't mind me stealing your date for a bit?"
Riccardo shook his head as he reached for a champagne glass on one the trays that a waiter was holding. "No, please carry on."
Serefina smiled at her son and with my hand still in hers she dragged me into the crowd of beautiful people.
I walked around the room meeting many different people that were close friends of the Baberini's, some were important people in the dark world and some were distant relatives. I noticed that not only vampires were present but other creatures too, I didn't exactly know what but their scents were different. I bypassed a few witches and warlocks conversing with Greta, who looked lovely in an emerald green gown, their scents were very appealing because they had human blood after all and it took everything in me not to lose control of myself. Greta smiled at me and I returned it before walking away.
"Ah Domizio." Serefina greeted a very handsome man with dark hair and equally dark eyes. He looked to be around the age of thirty or so but I knew that he was most probably way older than that.
"Saluti Serfina." The man I learnt was named Domizio kissed each of Serefina's cheeks. "Si guarda bella."
Serefina smiled politely at him. "Grazie."
Domizio's gaze left Serefina's and fell on me. "Devi essere Tiana?" he said to me.
I bit onto my lower lip, completely baffled by what he just asked or told me, the only thing I recognized in his sentence was my name.
"Lei non capisco itlaliano ma sí, lei é Tiana." Serefina spoke on my behalf.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He spoke in a very thick accent. "I thought you might know the mother tongue of your soul mate."
Something about this man seemed to intimidating that I found myself feeling nervous for the first time tonight. "Um, no... I-"
"Domizio, stop teasing her. She's still very new to our world." Serefina said.
"Tiana dear, this Domizio, my cousin and a very old vampire. He was born in the fourteen hundreds and is very well respected in our world." She told me.
"Nice to meet you." I half smiled at him and hesitantly offered my hand for him to shake.
But instead of shaking it he took my hand in his and placed a kiss on it. "The pleasure is mine."
I had to remind myself that he was very, very old and that people in the olden days greeted women in that way. Although I was a little uncomfortable, in my age people greeted with handshakes and if they were well acquainted, they hugged.
I pulled my hand away a little too quickly and placed my hands at my sides. "So when is the big day Tiana?" Domizio asked.
"Big day?" I frowned.
"Sí, your matrimony to il principe Riccardo." He answered simply.
I could understand that much he was asking but I wished I didn't. Riccardo and I were barely sharing any words and he was asking about my marriage to Riccardo.
"Well?" he pushed when I didn't answer.
I opened my mouth to speak but another voice stopped me. "Miss Australia, I was looking all over for you."
I wanted to tackle Jason with a huge hug for saving me from this very intimidating and slightly scary man but mostly for saving me from answering his question. I smiled gratefully at him and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Hey Jason."
Jason grinned at me and I couldn't help but notice how handsome he was looking in his tuxedo and neatly brushed hair. Jason smiled at Serefina, "Hello Your Highness."
Serefina returned his smile. "Hello Jason."
"If you don't mind, may I steal Tiana away for a bit?" he politely asked her.
Yes, I mentally screamed.
"Of course, if it's alright with Tiana that is." Serefina said.
I nodded a little too enthusiastically at her and Jason.
"Thank you." Jason grinned at Serefina and in a very gentleman like manner he offered his hand for me to take.
I smiled at Serefina and Domizio, ignoring his curious gaze on me and Jason. "Enjoy your evening." I told him.
"Grazie, you too Tiana." He returned my smile with a half grin.
"Shall we?" Jason asked and I bit on my cheek to stop myself from laughing at his formality.
"Gladly." I whispered incoherently under my breath and placed my hand in his.
Jason and I walked to a corner of the room to a quieter area. I stopped a waiter that bypassed me and grabbed two glasses of champagne from his tray before waving him off.
Jason extended his hand as if to take the second glass but I shook my head. "No, both of these are mine, go get your own." I downed one glass quickly, loving the crisp and chilled taste of the sparkling liquid before gulping the next.
I placed the two glasses on another waiter's tray and grabbed one more glass as did Jason. I took a sip of my drink and sighed. "You're out of your comfort zone here huh?" Jason asked.
"You know at first I was fine, I wasn't nervous or anything but that was until I met so many of these people... or creatures. Are they all so uptight?"
Jason chuckled and took a sip of his champagne. "You're asking the wrong guy, it's the first time I'm attending a royal function too."
"Well if all of them are like Domizio then I don't want to ever attend one again."
"You mean the guy you were talking with before I came?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"But he looked like so much of fun." Jason teased.
"Hardly, he's so formal and intimidating. And get this; he's ancient, like fourteen hundreds ancient."
Jason laughed. "You must have had a ball."
"You have no idea." I replied sarcastically and took another sip of champagne.
"Well lucky for you, you'll be attending a lot of these functions once you become queen."
My light mood from a second ago dropped at his words. "I doubt that would happen any time soon if not at all." I murmured.
"What do you mean?" Jason frowned.
"You can say Riccardo and I aren't exactly the perfect, loved up couple at the moment...we haven't been for some time now."
"I thought you two worked through your problems, especially now that James is caught and everything is alright."
I shook my head. "We're drifting apart with each day."
"You'll work through it, you two always do, even before you knew what he was, you two still ended up together whether by choice or not." Jason said with a small smile.
I responded with a simple half grin and shrug.
There was a brief silence between us before Jason broke it. "So James huh? Who would've thought?"
"I know." I responded nonchalantly. "But I should've seen all the signs from the beginning; he was always a little creepy."
"Given he was creepy but I never thought he'd stoop to this level, I mean he always seemed so in love with Gabriella, which was obvious because they're mates so why would he want you for himself?"
I shrugged. "Beats me."
"Don't you want to know? Don't you want answers?"
"I did but now I just want to put everything behind me and look forward to a future, I'm tired of holding grudges and wanting to know things. I want to move on from this."
"Well cheers to that." Jason said raising his glass.
I mimicked his action and together we sipped on out champagne.
"I didn't think she'd actually turn up?" Jason said after a brief moment of silence lingered between us.
I frowned and turned around to see Gabriella, looking beautiful in an elegant, icy grey and crème, off the shoulder ball gown. She looked absolutely flawless, living up to her princess title by wearing a little tiara on her head.
"Wow." Jason breathed.
I raised a brow at him. "She's a vampire, you're a shifter, you two aren't really compatible."
"Who said anything about compatibility; I was just merely complimenting a pretty girl." He playfully rolled his eyes. "You're so narrow minded."
I was about to defend myself but he grabbed my hand. "C'mon, let's go say hello and compliment her."
I pulled my hand out of his grasp and he looked at me confused. "I would think I'm the last person Gaby would want to see. After all I'm the reason her mate is in a dungeon and awaiting a possible death sentence."
"Tia-"
"No, you go ahead and say hello. I'm fine here, really." I cut him off.
Jason nodded but just as he was about to walk off he stopped and stepped back next to me. "Looks like she's headed this way." He mumbled and when I looked where he was I noticed Gabriella make her way towards us.
I watched as Gabriella gracefully walked towards us with no expression on her face whatsoever. I finished off my drink hastily. "I think I should go, uh find Riccardo or something." I mumbled and took a step in the other direction but was stopped when Gabriella called my name.
"You look beautiful." She smiled at me when she came face to face with me.
I smiled at her. "Thank you and so do you."
"Thank you." She returned the smile.
"Jason." She nodded at Jason.
Jason grinned at her. "Gabriella."
There was a moment of awkward silence between us but I couldn't handle it and broke it. "So, I didn't expect you to turn up." I realized how insensitive my words sounded so I quickly added. "Not that I'm not glad you're here because I am. I just thought that after, you know..."
"I thought I wouldn't come either but after the chat I had with James this morning I realized he's not worth my anger or tears."
"You went to see James?" Jason asked.
She nodded. "Being the princess has its perks, I got my way around the guard. I just needed to hear everything from his mouth."
"And did you hear everything?" Jason asked curiously.
She nodded. "He told me everything; he couldn't lie to me even if he tried."
"I'm so sorry Gaby." I said sincerely. "You have to go through all of this because of me, I really am so very sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry for anything Tiana, you're the victim here. If anything, it's my family and I that should be apologizing to you for everything untoward that's happened to you. You've gone through a lot because of my family and your relationship with us."
"But still, James is your mate and I can only imagine how you feel, I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing Tia, I don't blame you for everything. In fact I'm sorry for all you've gone through, I really am."
I shrugged. "You don't have to apologize; I guess I've got some sort of bad luck spell on me."
Gabriella smiled at me and reached for my hand, giving it a small squeeze.
"Alright then." Jason said a little too loudly. "I think that was enough female emotions flying around to last me a lifetime. I need another drink."
I rolled my eyes at him and Gabriella laughed.
"Or maybe a dance would help." He added looking at Gaby.
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait for that, Tiana and Ricky has to open the dance first then you may have a dance with me, but provided you ask in an actually gentleman manner." Gaby said.
I knew Riccardo and I had to open the dance but, like when I was told a few days ago, I still wasn't so intrigued by the idea because for one I wasn't an expert at ballroom dancing, heck a few days ago I didn't have a clue about ballroom dancing and because of that Serefina got an instructor to come in and give me lessons but I still wasn't confident to dance in front of everyone, even though Riccardo would be with me.
"Speaking of your brother, I should go find him." I announced and after excusing myself I left Jason and Gabriella to themselves.
As I walked through the room, I felt many eyes on me some admiring gazes and other judging.
"She's not even a pure blood, what does Prince Riccardo see in her?" I heard a female voice say from somewhere behind me.
I chose to ignore it, people who always had negative thoughts and things to say about others were merely just mean and envious, they found comfort in criticizing others to hide behind their own insecurities. And I refused to give them the satisfaction by getting affected, instead I chose to infuriate them more by putting a deaf ear and walked away with my head held high.
I wondered just where Riccardo was, I didn't remember seeing him anywhere in the room since his mother took me away from him.
"Sorry." I mumbled as I bumped pass someone. The woman who I bumped didn't even acknowledge my apology but just looked away and walked off with her nose in the air. I seriously wondered if all vampires were so snooty, I surely thought so. Seeing their snobbish behavior made me want to be their queen even more, in that way I would be these stuck-up vampire's ruler and they'd have no choice but to be pleasant towards me - not that their unpleasantness bothered me at all.
I looked through many faces to find my mate and he was nowhere to be found, I frowned thinking just where Riccardo could be.
"Why the frown Princess?" I blinked and turned to the owner of the voice.
"Oh it's you William." I said and couldn't hold back the disappointment in my tone. For a second I thought it was Riccardo because of the name William called me. Speaking of the name William referred to me, I frowned at him. "What did you call me?"
"Tiana." He drawled.
"No, you called me Princess. Why?"
"I did?" he asked with a small frown. "It must've been because you look so much like a princess today, I'm sorry if I offended you but you are soon going to be my princess and then queen."
"The dark world's princess and queen, not only yours." I clarified, not liking how he specifically said I was his princess.
"Of course." William grinned. "You really do look lovely Tia." He added.
I half grinned at him in response.
"Is everything alright?" he asked when I didn't speak again.
I nodded. "Yeah, fine."
"Are you sure? You look a little uneasy. You should relax, this night will go perfectly now that James is caught, you don't have a thing to worry about." He reached towards my hand but I flinched away.
William pulled his hands away and placed them in his pocket and frowned at me. "I know, I'm just looking for Riccardo." I said. "It's tradition that the prince has the first dance with his mate, so Serefina asked for me to find him."
"Well if you don't find him, I'll be more than happy to fill in for him." William said with a grin.
"Unfortunately you can't, Riccardo is my mate as I am his, he's the only one I'll open the dance with." I returned his grin with a humorless smile.
"I know that Tiana." He said. "I was just kidding, why do you seem so distant around me, did I do something wrong?"
"No, I'm sorry I seem that way, it's just after... well yesterday, those things I said to Riccardo about you being a better mate and that, I just wanted to make sure you understand that I just said that to piss Riccardo off and didn't mean it."
"Well thanks." William said and I realized how that sounded.
"No, what I mean it that I don't wish my mate was like you, I'm happy with the way Riccardo is and I wouldn't want him to change. Although I am certain you will be a very good, loving soul mate one day to the right woman. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter how much Riccardo and I fight and argue and disagree, I would always love him and only him; the bond we share is just that resilient."
"You don't need to explain anything to me Tiana, I understand everything." He offered a small smile. "You're my friend, that's all, I would never even think about being anything else."
I returned his smile. "Thank you, I'm just glad we're clear."
"Crystal." He said.
"Crystal will be the blonde woman in the grape colored gown." another voice said appearing beside me.
I turned to see Riccardo standing right next to me. "Riccardo, where have you been?" I asked.
"I've been around." He nonchalantly replied.
I opened my mouth to speak again but was cut off when William spoke. "I think I should go." He mumbled and turned on his heel.
"Wait." Riccardo stopped him. William stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Riccardo again.
William looked at Riccardo blankly and I wondered why Riccardo stopped him. "I want to apologize to you." Riccardo murmured.
My jaw dropped a fraction when I heard the words leave Riccardo's lips.
"What I did yesterday was uncalled for and wrong of me. You were just being a friend and big brother figure but my ego and arrogance got in the way and I acted without thinking. For that I apologize." Riccardo extended his hand for William to shake. "I hope we can still be friends because truly speaking, I've missed having my best mate around."
William, with his hands still in his pockets looked at Riccardo's face sternly, then to his extended arm before he slowly removed his one hand from his pocket and shook Riccardo's hand. "Of course." He smiled.
Riccardo pulled his hand away from William and faintly smiled at him. "Thank you."
William waved a dismissive hand. "Friends don't thank each other, I'm just glad we're good."
They nodded at each other and I felt Riccardo's hand on my lower back. "Now if you'd excuse us, my mother has been asking for the two of us for the past fifteen minutes."
"Have fun." William smiled with a wink and walked off after taking a drink from the passing by waiter.
"That was really... unusual of you." I said to Riccardo.
Riccardo looked down at me. "Believe it or not but I'm not heartless Tiana."
I realized what my words sounded as so I quickly corrected myself. "No, no that's not that I meant, I just meant that I didn't really-"
"Save it Tia." Riccardo cut me off with a sigh. "I think I've heard enough of your criticizing and insults to last me a lifetime. Let's just get this silly dance over with so you can get your freedom quicker."
His words hurt, was he that tired of me that he wanted to get rid of me quick? I didn't argue or justify myself instead, with Riccardo's hand still on my back, I followed his lead.
"Finally, I've been looking for you two for so long." Serefina said when we reached her, on the staircase.
"Sorry mother." Riccardo mumbled.
"Never mind caro, I'm just glad you two are finally here." Massimo who was standing next to his wife said.
I watched in silence as Massimo tapped his champagne glass with a spoon that he grabbed off a tray by the waitress who was standing behind him. When the room fell silent and everyone looked our way.
Massimo cleared his throat. "Thank you my dear family and friends; I will try to keep this short and sweet. First of all I want to thank each and everyone one of you for attending and being a part of this night to celebrate the return of my one and only son Prince Riccardo and the arrival of his beautiful soul mate Tiana." Massimo paused and smiled at the two of us before he raised his glass. "I want to present this toast to the two of you, to my son for growing into an exceptional man and prince, for living up to every expectation I've ever had of you and for being a loyal son. To you my dear Tiana, for being the sweet, considerate girl who brought about a change in my son that I always thought impossible, for bring him back to me and his family. I want to wish the two of you a happy, loving and strong eternity together, may you two always keep this proud smile on my face and wish you two the very best as future king and queen of the Dark World. Cheers to that." Massimo said and after everyone raised their glass they all sipped on their drinks along with us.
I forced a smile at Massimo's sweet words despite feeling an ache in my chest; little did Massimo know that I was leaving tonight, not only this place but also his son's life.
"Now if everyone would clear up the floor for Riccardo and the lovely Tiana to open the dance." Serefina said.
Riccardo extended his hand once there was a huge gap in the middle of the floor for me to take. I glanced at his expressionless face and placed my small hand in his large one. He lightly closed his fingers over mine and led me down the stairs to the middle of the room.
A soft, melodious tune played by the orchestra began. Riccardo placed his one hand on my waist while his other hand took mine. My other hand was on his shoulder as we waltzed. I was glad for the lessons I learnt and even gladder that Riccardo was an exceptional dancer, his posture was perfect and the way he dominated our dance would blow any women's mind away.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from Riccardo's tense blue ones as we moved but I got the impression that he was looking anywhere but at me. soon enough other's joined in on the dance, I looked to my right and saw Serefina and Massimo dancing, aside them was Gaby and Jason, I even spotted William dancing with an attractive blonde but what amused me the most was Domizio dancing with dark haired woman and looked to be enjoying himself.
"Ouch." My staring around the room was stopped when I heard Riccardo curse under his breath.
I felt utterly embarrassed when I realized that I stepped on his foot with my six inch heels too. I would've blushed if I could but instead I looked apologetically at Riccardo. "I'm so sorry; I hope I didn't hurt you. I don't know where my mind was, oh gosh I'm really no good at this dancing thing, you can just find yourself ano-"
I was shut off my Riccardo's chuckle. "It's fine Tia, don't worry about it. You didn't hurt me; your heels are just a little sharp."
I bit on my lower lip in embarrassment. I should've known I would mess up our dance despite having lessons. "Sorry." I sheepishly muttered and looked down.
Riccardo let out another husky chuckle that knotted my stomach. I truly missed hearing his laughter. "I miss seeing you blush." He said in a barely audible whisper.
I looked up, ignoring the swarming butterflies in my stomach that was caused by his simple sentence. His soft gaze was boring into mine and I had to really fight the urge to press my lips against his. We just stared at each other for a long moment, not even dancing any longer but just slowly swaying to the soft music.
"You're breathtakingly beautiful if you didn't already know that." He said softly, breaking the brief silence.
My heart fluttered at his words and I couldn't stop the grin that grew onto my face. "You look yummy." I blurted.
Riccardo's eyes widened in amusement and I just realized what I said. Great Tia, is this embarrass yourself night? I asked myself.
Riccardo laughed and I found myself doing the same. Despite being embarrassed I was still giggling.
"I've missed that too." He said after his laughter died down.
I frowned but he cleared my confusion. "Your laughter has to be one of my most favorite sounds in the world."
I smiled at him. "You look very handsome Riccardo, that's what I meant to say in the first place."
He chuckled lightly and placed his mouth by my ear. "I preferred the first compliment."
I rolled my eyes at him when he pulled away. He let go of my waist and twirled me around in a graceful manner and I found myself giggling again.
I liked this, I thought to myself. This normality between us, without any baggage and problems, we were just ourselves, we were happy. But I knew too well that as of lately happiness didn't last too long with me, something or the other always went wrong to ruin my happiness.
The song changed and Riccardo and I just slowly moved together, Riccardo's playful mood seemed to have disappeared and I figured it was maybe because he realized that what we just had five minutes ago wasn't real, he withdrew himself maybe because he realized that I was going to leave tonight after the ball but what he didn't know was that all he would have to do is ask me to stay and I would do so in a heartbeat.
Riccardo turned me around again, but much slower and more gentleman-like and while he did so my eyes glanced at the doorway of the rounded ballroom. I frowned and immediately pulled away from him, my feet dead still and my eyes fixed on the two people who just entered the room, fully dressed for the current function too.
Riccardo took my hand in his but I pulled it away and looked at him squarely. "Who the hell called them here?" I asked.
"Who?" Riccardo asked but before he could answer he turned around and spotted my brother and Paige standing in the doorway, Zach in a black tux and Paige in a silver halter-neck dress.
"My brother and Paige, that's who." I stated and watched them enter the room.
"Riccardo please don't say you invited them?" I said in an almost plea.
Riccardo turned to me and sighed. "Even if I denied it you wouldn't believe it, you're under the impression that I've made it my mission to destroy you and everyone you care about."
"So you didn't?" I asked hopefully.
"Of course not." He stated. "Do I look crazy to invite two humans to an event with only creatures of the night present?"
I let out a breath of relief and said, "I have to tell them to leave, once the vampires in here get a whiff of their scent, they're doomed."
"I'll come with you." Riccardo said and together we walked through the dancing couples towards my brother and Paige.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked as soon as I was near them.
Paige offered a small smile while Zach looked at me with a hard expression but neither of them answered.
"Well?" I pursued.
"We were invited." Paige finally answered. "And hello to you too Tiana."
"Don't call her that!" Zach snapped at Paige. "How many times do I have to tell you Tiana is dead?"
His words pierced into my chest and hurt but what was worse was the hatred in his tone and eyes. Riccardo stiffened beside me and I noticed his fist clench but I wrapped him hand around his, hoping to calm him down. I understood why Zach felt this way and he had every right to say those things after what I did to Paige.
"I thought you didn't want anything to do with this world, so why would you come?" I asked.
"We didn't have a choice." Zach said between his teeth.
"Didn't have a choice?" I questioned. "You always have a choice Zach."
"Not when the lives of your loved ones are threatened." He spat.
"What?" I breathed.
"Zach got an invitation to this ball and with the invite; a letter was attached saying that if we didn't attend our family would be harmed." Paige said.
"When did you receive the invitation?" Riccardo asked.
"Last week." Paige answered.
"You don't have to worry about your family anymore; you can go home and be assured of their safety." Riccardo said.
"Why should we trust you?" Zach asked.
I heard Riccardo take in a breath; I guess he didn't like being spoken to in that tone. "Because the one who sent the invitation is now caught and about to be killed, no one is going to harm you or your family."
In the panic of seeing my brother and Paige I'd forgotten that they were human but now that I was near them for so long I could get their scent, it was affecting me. The smell of their blood was teasing me and making a raw hunger grow more and more inside of me. I gulped and took in a breath, closing my eyes briefly, blocking out their scent and ignoring the hunger inside of me.
"Tiana, are you alright?" Paige asked, concerned.
I opened my eyes and noticed her take a step closer to me but Zach grabbed her hand and pulled her back, giving her a glare. I stepped back too, glad that Zach pulled her away, I needed her to be away from me, I needed the both of them to leave at this instant.
I felt Riccardo's hand tighten around mine and when I glanced at him, he silently asked if I was alright and I answered with a reassuring nod.
I looked at the pair in front of me. "You two need to leave." I demanded. "Now."
"But they just got here." Another voice that didn't belong to me or Riccardo spoke.
I frowned at turned to my right to see the owner of the voice. "William?"
He grinned at me in response.
"How rude of you Tiana, your guests just arrived and you're asking them to leave. Where are your manners?"
William's sweet-poison tone made me uneasy and uncomfortable. I knew that tone well, a little too well.
"You don't understand William, they're human, they're literally food in this room right now." I said.
"I know." He shrugged. "And they smell lovely don't they?" He said menacingly.
I widened my eyes at him and was about to retort but was stopped when he tapped his glass with a fork.
William glanced at me with a smirk before the music stopped and everyone looked at him. "Friends, I would like to inform all of you that this ball is now over and all of you may leave."
"What the hell are you doing?" Riccardo said between gritted teeth, grasping William's arm.
William looked coldly at him then to his grasp on his arm. "Let go of me Riccardo." He said each word slowly.
"What is wrong with you?" Riccardo asked, clearly baffled with William's strange behavior.
"Let.Go." William said between gritted teeth and harshly pulled his arm away.
"Right everybody, out, leave." He said. "I'm sorry for the intrusion but we have some family matters to sort out, as a token of our repentance, I hand you all a very special main course." He gestured to Paige and Zach. "Help yourselves, first come first serve."
I watched as everyone's hungry gazed fell on Paige and Zach. Panic took over every fiber in my body and I looked desperately and Zach and Paige who was now pushed behind Zach then to Riccardo. Riccardo who was still baffled and shocked at William's behavior silently reassured me to be calm and then in a very authoritative manner said loudly, "I apologize for this... situation, maybe it will be best if all of you leave in a civilized manner without any attention to the humans in the room. I apologize for the abruptness but as you can see, we as a family have matters to attend to."
"My son's right, we sincerely apologize." Massimo added from the staircase.
There was lots of mumbling and murmurs but everyone slowly filed out of the room. Serefina stood at the doorway, utterly confused by still politely greeted the descending guests.
I gulped and feared what was to come next; I should've known that this would happen sooner or later.
Once everyone was gone, only Riccardo, me, Massimo, Serefina, Greta, Jason, William, Jeremiah, Paige and Zachary was left in the room; I noticed that Gabriella was missing.
The room was unbearably silent for a moment before Riccardo grabbed William by the collar and within seconds had him pinned against a wall. "Care to explain what the fuck this is about?" he sneered.
William looked unaffected by Riccardo's aggression. He tilted his head to the side. "I am sick and tired of you manhandling me Riccardo, so I suggest you get your fucking hands off me before I fucking kill you more mercilessly that I'd intended." He said icily, yet calm.
Riccardo's face reddened with anger and he punched William in the face numerous of times. William didn't fight back but just took each punch silently.
I heard Paige whimper and when I looked she was clutching onto my brothers arm.
"Riccardo!" Massimo bellowed. "That's enough!"
Riccardo stopped and dropped William onto the floor. "Enough?" Riccardo yelled. "Did you not just witness his strange behavior all this time?"
"Violence isn't the answer Riccardo." Massimo said sternly. "Leave him be, he needs a chance to justify himself."
Jeremiah walked over to his son and held him by the shoulders. "Are you alright son?" he asked William.
William shrugged him off and stood up, his wounds already healing. "Son?" he asked with a bitter laugh. "I would rephrase that if I were you."
Jeremiah frowned.
"What has gotten into you William?" Massimo asked. "Why are behaving this way?"
"How dare you question me Massimo?" William yelled and Riccardo moved towards me again, he raised his fist to throw a punch but someone stopped him. The movement was too fast for my naked eye; all I saw was a figure appeared and fling Riccardo. Riccardo was caught off guard and he flew a small distance away from where he initially stood.
I heard a few gasps in the room but ignored them when a head filled with blonde tresses caught my attention. "Sorry about that Ric."
Riccardo stood up and just as fast as he was tossed across the room, he moved in front of the blonde. "Vicky." Riccardo frowned.
I was shocked to see her too, she was missing for weeks and here she was back and fighting Riccardo and worse, she was allies with William.
"Miss me much?" she grinned.
"What the hell is going on here?" Riccardo yelled.
"Care to do the honors Princess?" William who was now unscathed asked with a smirk. "That's right; I called you princess because after tonight you are going to be my princess." I watched with disgust as his smirk grew into a menacing grin, "Miss me? I told you I'll come back for you."
"You." I breathed.
"Yes me." he said taking a step towards me. "And do you have any idea how happy I am to use my own voice?"
He stepped closer to me but before he could take another step closer, Riccardo appeared in front of me. "Not another step." Riccardo warned.
"Aw what happened Prince Riccardo, why so possessive? It's not like I haven't touched her before. In case you've forgotten but I've tasted her blood before and was very closer to biting into her neck but that son of a bitch James stopped me."
"What are you saying son?" Jeremiah asked with wide eyes.
"Would you stop calling me that!" William groaned.
"It wasn't James, it was you along." Riccardo said. "You're the bastard who has been harassing me and Tiana all this while."
"And we have a winner." William clapped. "Took you long enough."
"Why?" Massimo spoke. "You're supposed to be my son's best friend. How could you betray him like this?"
"That's where you're wrong Your so-called Highness." William said. "You see I never was his friend to begin with."
"I grew up around you, thought of you as an older brother, I valued our friendship, yes I got mad at you and as of recently we were at odds but I never ever thought of you any less Will. What did you get out of doing this?"
"What's rightfully mine." William stated. "Well almost anyway." He added.
"The throne?" Riccardo asked. "You betrayed our friendship for the throne?"
"Don't you dare talk about betrayal Riccardo!" William yelled. "You have insulted this so-called friendship by hating me for a mistake your precious Tiana made. You've insulted our friendship by breaking it off because of a little mistake."
"You're saying this?" Riccardo yelled. "You've been threatening me for months!"
"Yes because I've never thought of you as a friend, well not for a very long time now." William said. "You've always been the person I despised, the person who snatched everything that belonged to me."
"Have you completely lost your mind?" Riccardo asked. "What have I ever taken from you?"
William spun around with his hands outstretched. "Everything, all of this."
"This?" Riccardo asked as if what William said was absolutely absurd. "You might have been considered family but the truth is you're nothing but a servant, you, just like your father, serves my family."
"A servant?" William laughed.
"Didn't daddy ever tell you bedtime stories?" William asked tilting his head to the side. "About a young man and his lover and all about their forbidden love?"
"William!" Jeremiah warned. "You have spoken enough. Do not forget that you are muttering rubbish in front His and Her Highness."
"So what?" William spat. "I think everyone deserves to know the truth."
"What truth?" Riccardo asked.
"William." Jeremiah warned taking a step towards William.
"Riccardo raised his hand to stop Jeremiah. "I want to hear what he has to say."
Jeremiah took a step back and William looked pleased with himself.
"William, why are you doing this?" Massimo spoke in a soft tone. "How do you even know all of this?"
"Know what?" Riccardo snapped.
I wanted to ask so many questions to William, I always thought he was my friend, he was always so sweet and kind to me but at the end of the day he turned out to be my biggest enemy. I wanted to know why he did everything but by the looks of it, he had a reason that seemed to be related to Riccardo's family and I just couldn't be selfish and think only of myself and all the troubles I've been through, so instead I stood silently to myself.
"I knew for a long time now, secrets can never just remain a secret can they Massimo? The truth somehow always surfaces."
"William, I can understand what you're going through but please can we gentleman about this and discuss it privately, I don't see the need for a scene." Massimo reasoned.
"Too bad I'm no gentleman." William retorted.
"Please." Massimo literally pleaded.
"No." I was a little taken back when Serefina spoke sharply. "I think everyone; particularly my son and I are intrigued to hear what William has to say. We all have a right to know why he has been harassing my son and his mate all this time."
"Good, so are you all comfortable for story time?" William asked innocently.
He cleared his throat when no one answered. "Once upon a time on a land far, far away lived a young prince, a young vampire prince. This prince met a young, innocent girl named Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a vampire too, but a different kind from the prince. You see the prince was a pureblood, he was royalty and the highest class of his kind whiles Elizabeth was of the lowest, she was a made vampire - she was born a human and brutally changed into a vampire by some rogues who thought it was fun to mess with their food. This girl who was lost, confused and no one to turn to since she sucked the lives out of her family found refuge in a castle where the prince resided, she worked there as a servant but little did she know that she'd be attracted to the young prince and little did the prince know he'd share some sort of strange, inevitable bond with her - the soul mate bond."
"Yes the prince found his soul mate and they were unconditionally in love with each other, he taught her how to be a better vampire and she awakened his humanity side, all was well until the king found out about his son's love affair with a girl who wasn't of pureblood. The king was furious and told his son to immediately end his relationship with the servant but the son was adamant and insisted on seeing his soul mate, the king was getting anxious and thinking of ways to stop his son's relationship so he placed an ultimatum, the son had to stop seeing the servant or he would completely disown his son and at the same time get the girl killed, the prince was helpless so with a heavy heart the prince broke things off with his mate and told her to forget him and leave the county and live her life away from him. When she refused he told her he was tired of her and never loved her, it was just a game and he was now bored with her. Elizabeth went away and the prince married another woman whom his father chose. Many years passed and the prince was happy, he learnt to love his wife until one day when he had to leave the country to official purposes, he met Elizabeth again and old flames sparked, old feelings resurfaced and the prince found himself falling in love with Elizabeth all over again. Elizabeth and the prince spent a week together, they were happy until reality settled, Elizabeth found out the prince was married to another woman and she was distraught, she felt deceived and told the prince to never come back in her life again. The prince agreed but being the sneaky royal he was, he had a very close friend watch over Elizabeth to ensure her safety. The prince returned to his wife but shortly after his return his friend called, informing him that Elizabeth was ill, the prince was worried and rushed back over to Elizabeth, leaving his wife uninformed and alone in the castle to attend to his sick lover. When the prince reached Elizabeth, he was shocked to find out that Elizabeth wasn't ill at all, she was pregnant."
"It took nine months for the prince to decide what to do with his child, he was confused and he knew he could no longer lie to wife at home, telling her excuses about visiting numerous countries and cities under the name of duty, he had to decide. He had his responsibilities as future king and a husband and then he had the new responsibility as a father. The prince was scared and confused so his friend helped him out, his friend told him he would take the child as his, he would act as his father and at the same time the prince would be able to watch his son grow up in the castle. The prince gave in and so did Elizabeth so when the child was born, the prince took Elizabeth and the child to the castle, everyone believed the father of the child was the prince's friend, everyone but the king. He knew for a fact that the child was his grandchild but he refused to accept the child, he ordered for the mother and child to be executed and when the prince found out about this, it was a little too late, Elizabeth was killed but the child was spared. The prince was furious, so furious that while in a fight he staked his very own father. Shocked and distraught the prince didn't know what to do, so once again his friend came to his rescue; he handled the issue and blamed the death of the king on rogues. The prince later became king and soon had a son with his queen, they lived their lives normally. The queen was ignorant; the king got what he wanted - his family, kingdom and his illegitimate, lovechild living under his roof under the pretext of a loyal friend's son. All was well for many years until one day when his sons were grown up, the lovechild was smart and moreover so was his mother, Elizabeth kept journals and in those journals were written all her happy and woeful times, there were memories and names of people she trusted in there, the son tracked down those names and found out the whole story. He was angry and hurt, he had been living as a servant in his very own home, he was the first prince yet he wasn't treated right. He'd had enough, he wanted what was his and wanted to avenge the killing of his mother and so he set out a plan, the first step being getting rid of all of his opponents; he planned to end the younger prince, the prince who everyone knew and respected, the very prince who snatched all of his rights. He planned on snatching everything from that prince and so he almost did if it weren't for many obstacles on the way, like loyal friends for starters."
Everyone was silent in the room, listening to every single word that came out of William's mouth. Like me, I was sure everyone was wondering if whether the prince in this story was Massimo and the lovechild him.
"I would like to tell you the ending of the story but unfortunately the end hasn't arrived just as yet, however it will all be over tonight. Do you want to know the ending?"
When nobody answered William said, "I'll take that as a yes then."
"It will end pretty simple, the king and the young prince will be killed, the lovechild will get what's rightfully his and more." William smirked and eyed me. "He will get the throne that he is entitled to and the very lovely mate of his brother."
Within seconds Riccardo was in front of William, holding him by his collar. "Like hell you will!"
William looked unaffected and laughed. "Come on, is that the way you greet your brother you just found out you have?"
"You son of a bitch!" Riccardo said between his teeth and fisted William's jaw, I heard a cracking sound and I was sure William's jaw cracked or even broke.
Victoria stepped forward but William stopped her. "Don't. Let him vent out all his anger, let him have one last fight before he dies."
Riccardo flung William to the end of the room before he rushed up to him and kicked him numerous of times in the gut, he bent over and threw many, many punched until William's face was a bloody mess.
I watched as Riccardo grabbed a chair and effortlessly broke off the leg, my eyes widened and gasps filled the room when Riccardo stabbed the broken leg into William's chest. William went limb and even more pale than he normally was.
I covered my mouth with my hand and looked horror stricken at Riccardo who was slightly out of breath. Serefina had tears in her eyes, Massimo and Jeremiah stood shocked, looking wide eyed at the limp William, lying on the floor. I heard a whimper come from Paige who, when I looked, had her eyes shut and clutched onto my brother as if her life depended on it. God, I wished they would just leave but now wasn't the right time for me to speak.
"What have you done?" Massimo asked.
"Same thing you did to your father." Riccardo spat. "Looks like murdering your kin runs in the blood."
"Riccardo." Massimo warned.
"Don't give me that father!" Riccardo said venomously. "That story William just told, that was your story wasn't it?"
Massimo's gaze softened. "Riccardo, son. You need to understand-"
"Yes or no father?" Riccardo cut him off.
Massimo looked down. "Yes."
Serefina let out a sob; she covered her mouth and looked away when Massimo turned to her.
"I was young and you need to understand what my father did was wrong. He was old-fashioned and bias. He wanted a true blood as my queen and if I refused he would've killed Elizabeth." Massimo's voice sounded so vulnerable at the mention of Elizabeth's name.
"Too bad thought right father? The bitch died anyway." Riccardo scoffed.
"Watch your mouth boy!" Massimo's gaze turned cold and anger coated his features. Massimo moved towards Riccardo but Jeremiah quickly held him back.
Massimo let out a breath and calmed himself down. "You of all people should understand the soul mate principle; you should know how hard it is to tear yourself from the one who's made for you. You should understand how painful it is for one to watch their love die in front of their eyes. Put yourself in my shoes son, think if I was my father, you were me and Tiana was Elizabeth. What would you have done?"
"I would've never killed my father!"
"Even if you just witnessed me kill Tiana for no reason whatsoever?" Massimo questioned.
I waited for Riccardo's answer. I would never approve of Riccardo killing his own father for my sake, it was wrong on so many different levels but looking at Riccardo and seeing the time he took to answer sort of warmed me - as low of me to even thin this - but his silence proved just how much he loved me. I knew what Riccardo was thinking, I knew his answer and I think deep down he knew it too.
I watched as Riccardo opened his mouth to probably answer his father but my attention was averted I heard Zach's voice. "Tia, watch out!" he yelled.
Before me or anyone could even blink I felt two arms wrap around me from behind. I twisted my head slightly to see William looking triumphant. His one hand held my hands behind my back in place while the other arm around my neck. I could smell blood on him but his face was perfectly healed, the only blood present was probably the stains on his clothes.
I tried to squirm out of his hold but it was futile, William was far too strong for me, even with my vampire strength.
I looked at Riccardo and there was worry and panic written all over his features. "Thought you could kill me so quickly?" William sneered from behind me. "You seemed to forget, I have royal blood in my veins, any ordinary wood won't kill me brother. Good try though."
"Let her go!" Riccardo demanded and took a step towards us.
"I wouldn't take another step." William warned. He moved his arm from my neck and pulled onto my hands that were behind my back, hurting me slightly. I felt something smooth and slightly moist at my neck in place of his arm and when I looked down it was the wooden leg that Riccardo staked William with.
"Move any closer and I won't hesitate to stake your pretty little Tiana." William warned.
I was scared now; my heart was hammering in my chest out of fear. Looking at everyone's cared faces in the room told me that this night had just begun and something told me William was going to make sure the story he told ended just the way he wanted and that scared me even more than the stake at my throat.