Raindrops rolled down the crystal clear window, crisscrossing and making winding trails of water. I stared mindlessly into the dark forest splayed out before me, resting my head on my hand. The trees gave off an ominous feeling, like something was going to pop out of them and scare me, but I couldn't pull my gaze away. As if I was waiting for something to appear.
A yawn escaped my lips and I rubbed my eyes warily. I was told to feel at home and feel free to explore the place but how could I do either when I was terrified to leave my room? Somehow Joel and the others forgot to mention that there were others here. Others as in other vampires that gave me the look a starving person would give any morsel of food.
My stomach rumbled and I rested my forehead against the cool glass of the window, wishing I were at home where I could eat whenever I wanted to. Canned soup was definitely not enough to keep me, let alone any human, sedated for more than six hours. I didn't know what time it was exactly, but since it was dark out now, it had to be late.
I turned away from the window for a second, surveying the room that was set up for me. For a guest, this room was rather fancy. It had the same Victorian style as the rest of the house and a large four-poster bed with a canopy. Earlier I had flopped down onto its maroon and chocolate covered comforters to test its softness. It had passed my standards by flying colors. I was beginning to feel less like a captive and more like a guest more and more.
A gust of wind hitting the window pain caused my head to snap back towards it. The branches of the trees were waving around in the sudden breeze. I chuckled quietly; amused that such a silly thing had caused my heart to skip a beat.
"Hey, Em."
This time I blenched, shoving myself away from the window in surprise. Fiona appeared in the window's reflection. She looked highly amused. My heart thumped wildly in my chest and I turned around to face her, trying to calm myself down.
"You okay?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.
I shook my head, placing my hand over my heart. "D-don't scare me like that!"
A small smile slipped onto her face. "Er, right. Sorry. You're not used to vampires yet."
"Yeah," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. I wasn't even used to the word vampires yet.
"Anyway, Vincent and Joel are about to play a match of billiards. Are you interested in watching them? They play a pretty awesome game."
I hesitated, dropping my gaze. So far these guys had been trust worthy. There was no reason to be scared of them. And playing pool sounded pretty normal- my friends and I played it all the time. Maybe vampires were more similar to humans than I thought. "Okay," I finally responded, offering Fiona a smile.
She grinned back. "Good! I was about to slap you silly if you made up an excuse about being afraid of vampires again!"
"It... It's not an excuse," I told her, giving her a wry look. "I really am afraid of vampires. Since I was little. Fears don't go away over night."
"You don't seem afraid of me."
"Which is weird since I was afraid of a cardboard cut out yesterday," I mused, following Fiona out of my temporary room.
She let out a loud bark of laughter, surprising me. She was such a tiny and lithe thing; I would have never imagined her making such a loud sound. "You're ridiculous! A cardboard cut out?"
"It's not my fault!"
She smirked. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll come to like us."
I frowned. "It's not that I don't like you..."
"That's good!" she responded brightly. "I want us to be friends! I don't really have a lot of friends because..." She trailed off, suddenly losing her cheerfulness. "Never mind. I just hope we can be friends!"
I stared at her curiously. She definitely didn't seem like the type of person- er, vampire, that would be a loner. She was royalty, wasn't that a straight shot to popularity? Or was the vampire world different?
"But Emily..."
"Yeah?" I asked, pulling myself from my thoughts.
Fiona glanced at me from over her shoulder. "You'd do well to remember that not all vampires are your friends. Having fear might keep you alive."
Goosebumps spread over my skin. That made me feel safe.
"Emily! You finally decided to emerge from your cave?" Joel called, grinning as Fiona and I descended the steps into the mansion's basement.
I gave Joel a small smile. "Um, yep."
Vincent spared me a quick glance, rolling his eyes at me before looking away. In his left hand was a cue, which he was chalking with a small, blue chalk box in his right hand. My eyes switched back to Joel, who was also holding a cue. Behind him was the large pool table, the balls already set up in the triangle.
"Do you know how to play? I can teach you if you don't," Joel offered, moving towards me. He stopped a good three feet away. "Or would you rather I not come near you?"
A frown flitted across my face and I dropped my gaze. I felt guilty because Joel felt like he couldn't come near me. Guilty. Never in my life would I have guessed I'd feel guilty for a vampire. "Well I already know how to play, but I wouldn't mind some tips," I finally responded, taking a step forward. After a moment of hesitation, I put my hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."
A look of shock passed his face, and then a grin appeared on it. "Any time, Em."
"Sorry to ruin your fun, but Joel and I are playing a game," Vincent interjected, sending me an impatient look. "You'll have to wait."
"Will do," I replied quickly, turning my head away from him.
"Joel."
"Coming, Vivi!"
"Don't call me that!"
Joel held up his hands defensively. "Yes of course, Your Majesty."
Fiona beckoned me over towards a black, leather couch that rested against the wall of the basement. I sat next to her, my back rigid. It was still awkward to be in the presence of vampires. As much as I wanted to relax, there was a voice in the back of my head that constantly reminded me of I was in danger.
"Hey," Fiona started, gaining my attention. "It's in the human nature to feel always intimidated while you're in the presence of a vampire," she continued, as if she was reading my mind. "Trust me, I know. I got that feeling all the time when I was human. But you'll get used to it. Just try to relax."
I forced myself to relax my shoulders and lean against the back of the couch more comfortably. If I was going to be here for a week, I wanted to get used to it. Fast. "Where's Sebastian?" I asked, now noticing his absence.
Fiona shrugged. "Doing his princely duties I guess."
"Huh? But isn't Vincent a prince too?"
"Yes," she told me, "but Vincent isn't the heir to the throne so he doesn't have to do all that."
Vincent looked over at us when his name was mentioned. Instead of looking upset like I expected, he looked nonchalant. He caught my gaze. "What?" he demanded. "What's that look for?"
I was giving him a look? Shaking my head, I quickly wiped any expression on my face that could mislead him. "Nothing! I didn't mean to..."
"If you think I care that I'm not going to become the king, I don't."
"I didn't-"
Vincent cut me off again. "That goody two-shoes brother of mine is more than willing to do such a tedious job. I'm perfectly happy enjoying the easy life of wealth and not having to do anything in return."
Fiona sighed quietly as I stared at Vincent, all protests gone. It was a good thing he wasn't going to be come the king. He was just a spoiled brat!
"Vivi, pay attention," Joel ordered. "I just pocketed a ball."
"How do I know you didn't cheat?" he snapped, turning back to Joel. "My back was turned!"
"Please. I don't cheat."
Vincent scowled. "Whatever. Just go before-"
"Vince? Fiona? Joel? Are you down there?"
My eyes snapped towards the basement stairs, where Sebastian descended. His eyes widened when they landed on me. Joel immediately dropped into a bow, murmuring a polite greeting.
"Don't do that," Sebastian pleaded. "I'm not king yet."
Joel straightened up, grinning sheepishly. "Right, sorry Sebastian. It's just reflex."
"No worries. Now, Emily," he started, turning to me, "I didn't realize you were done hibernating."
Joel and Fiona both grinned while I flushed. "I wasn't hibernating!"
He chuckled. "I was joking."
"What do you want?" Vincent asked sounding irritated. "We're in the middle of a game."
"It's dinner time," Sebastian announced. "Mother wants everyone to the dinning room."
Fiona's mouth dropped instantly. "Dinner this early? It's not..."
"It's one of those dinner, Fiona," Vincent scowled. "Perfect."
"I'm not eating dinner tonight. Please tell Mother that, Seb," Fiona declared, pulling at the hem of her shirt.
Sebastian shook his head. "You have to go, Fiona. Vince isn't coming, so you must."
"Why doesn't Vince have to go?" she demanded in outrage.
Sebastian's eyes flickered to me. Fiona also turned to me, a frown appearing on her face. I looked back at them in confusion. "What?"
"Vincent is eating dinner with Emily after us since Emily can't come to the family dinner," Sebastian clarified. "You know how everyone is if all of us don't show..."
Fiona huffed angrily, pushing up from the couch. "Fine."
"Sorry," Vincent apologized quietly.
My eyes widened. Vincent didn't seem like the type to apologize. I barely knew him and it seemed out of character.
"It's fine," Fiona told him in a flat voice. "Next week though, if Emily is still here you are going to dinner and I'm eating with her."
"Of course," he responded smoothly.
"See you later, Em," she said to me before heading towards the stairs.
Joel bid me adieu too, heading up the stairs after Fiona. Now I was left alone with Sebastian and Vincent. I silently prayed Sebastian not to leave me alone with Vincent.
"Stay down here until I come back," Sebastian ordered. "Tonight Mother is going to tell everyone about Emily's presence, so it's best to keep her away. At least until everyone settled down."
I stared at him with wide eyes. What did he mean by settled down? Before I could ask, he swiftly disappeared up the stairs, leaving Vincent and I to ourselves. An awkward silence settled in.
"Do you want to play?" Vincent abruptly asked, breaking it. "I hate not playing a game all the way through."
Once again caught off guard, it took me a moment to respond. "Uh, sure." When did he become so amiable?
"I don't consider you much of a threat, so we're just playing so I can have a sense of closure for this game," he informed me. "You have no chance of winning."
I grimaced. Okay. Maybe amiable wasn't the right word. "Right..."
Vincent thrust Joel's cue into my hand. "You're solids."
We started the game and I promptly realized I really didn't have a chance at winning. Vincent nearly got all the balls on one try- he would have too, but he obviously missed some on purpose. Growing more and more irritated, I finally smacked the ball with cue so hard it bounced off the table. Vincent smirked.
"Getting frustrated?"
"Why are you so good?" I demanded.
He gave me a complacent look. "I've had many years of practice."
Many years... Of course. He was a vampire. I glanced back up at him, frowning. "I heard you were a good cook."
"And?"
"Were you practicing to become a chef when you were human?"
Vincent gave me a look that clearly stated, are you stupid? "I'm a vampire, stupid. I wasn't ever a human."
"Eh?"
"What eh?" he responded, raising his voice a few octaves to mimic mine. "There is no eh. You looked stupid, but I didn't realize you were stupid enough to think I was human when I clearly stated before that I was a vampire."
I scowled at him. "You don't have to be a jerk about it!"
"Too bad."
Instead of arguing with him, I let it drop. It didn't make sense. If humans didn't become vampires, how come Fiona had said she was human once? Was she tricking me? I'd have to ask her about it later.
"So what's this dinner Fiona and Sebastian just went to?" I questioned, changing the subject as Vincent set up the balls again.
"Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just- I'm curious!"
He laughed through his nose. "Calm down. It's just a family dinner."
"Is it a big deal?"
"This one is, kind of," Vincent responded vaguely. He continued after seeing my annoyed expression. "Everyone in the immediate family gathers once a week to eat a human dinner together."
I cocked my head to the side. "How come?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. It was my father's idea."
"Why is Fiona so reluctant to go?"
"Because Fiona isn't well liked in the family," he responded in a hard voice. I knew not to press any further.
I cleared my throat, rolling the cue in my hand. "So, um... Did I cause you any trouble?"
Vincent glanced at me. "Fortunately, no. Accidents happen."
I smiled wryly. I was an accident? That was awesome. "So how come-"
"No more questions," he interjected in an annoyed voice. "It's getting irritating. Let's play another game."
"I don't want to."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why not?"
"Because it's obvious you're going to win!"
"So you're a sore loser?"
I scowled at him. "Play by yourself!"
"If I could, I would. Obviously. Now play with me.
"No!"
Before I could blink he was in front of me, his face inches away from mine. My breath caught in my throat. He cocked his head to the side. "You going to play now?"
"No," I breathed confidently.
"Maybe I can convince you otherwise..." He inhaled deeply, pressing his nose to my neck. "It'll hurt."
I shoved on his chest as hard as I could, pushing myself away from him. "S-stop!"
"Hmm?"
"I'll play," I snapped at him, feeling color rise to my cheeks. "Stupid narcissist," I muttered.
"Heard that."
Of course.
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Wow my internet was stupid tonight. I'm on my home computer, with the dial-up. And it kept freezing and ugh! It's so annoying. I'm missing The Office to update ); So I'm keeping this short.
Watch this video to see my brother's reaction to the scary maze game! It's soo funny xD Click on the youtube video to the right! Click on external link to get to my fanpage! :D