Must I Be Your Bride? - Chapter Four

I let out a shaky breath, tears stinging my eyes. I didn't want to become a vampire, yet alone marry William.

My hands turned into fists on the railing and I turned around, rushing to the doors. I was surprised that I opened it with no problem.

I walked in the big room and searched for some door that gave the slightest clue of being my way out. When I found nothing, I decided to go to two large wooden doors that resembled to the ones that led to the ballroom.

"Serene", William said, more of a warning.

I grabbed the handles of both doors and opened them outward.

I was looking at a large room with a dining table in the middle that could fit about twenty people. At the far end of the table sat a man with a red and golden robe. One each side of him sat one woman and three men. They all turned to face me, most of them shocked by the sudden disturbance.

"What is the meaning of this?" The man with the red and golden robe sat up from his chair and looked at William who just took his place beside me.

"I'm sorry father, she lost her way."

Father? His father... as the KING? I just disturbed the king. Oh no. This wasn't good.

His father seemed to tense a bit and looked over to one of the men sitting at his side. This man stood with a grin.

He was the only one out of the three men that had dark hair. He walked toward us. I was surprised. William wrapped his arm around my waist and only pulled me closer as the dark-haired man made his way.

"I guess she does have time to meet with us after all", the man said. "Allow me to introduce myself miss Serene, my name is Matthew. I work for the people who control this kingdom, and my people aren't exactly happy with you."

He wasn't much for introductions was he?

"We already spoke about this", William said, obviously not happy with Matthew's company.

"Yes, and you know that I said I must meet her. I need to make sure you 'both' know about what must be done."

"And what is that?" My voice wasn't so calm when I spoke but it was pleasant enough.

He smiled, happy to give news that obviously didn't seem good.

"My people don't want a human as their queen. You both are lucky, they're even giving you the chance of transformation because they never expected someone from the royal family to be linked with a human. They insist you do it before the wedding, and definitely before the crowning, or else William is disqualified."

I choked on my own words and remained frozen.

Transformation as in transforming into a vampire? Wasn't that exactly what I was running away from right now?

"There, you've had your fun. Now will you leave?"

Matthew smirked at William before turning around. The two other men stood up and went to his side as he headed for a door. "We expect to be invited to the wedding and see Serene completely transformed by then. If not, you know what will happen."

I glanced around, not looking at anything specifically, getting out of the grip that held my waist. Now I couldn't make the tears stop. They soaked my cheeks, giving them black stains from the mascara I was forced to wear. I quickly turned around and crashed into William. It was the first time he looked like he didn't know what to do. He just stood there looking at me with no amusement in his eyes. It was hard to tell if he was sympathetic or just frozen in shock.

I looked away from him and passed by him, following the hallway. It was the first time where I actually welcomed my prison-like room. I even felt the liberty of locking myself inside.

I locked myself in the bathroom and just sat on the lid of the toilet, wiping the tears I will always hate.

This just kept getting worse. I couldn't stay here for two days without being threatened, forced to do stuff I didn't want to do, get engaged, and cry after having a long happy life for so long. I didn't like it here and I would do anything to leave.

It wasn't long before I heard the knock on the bathroom door that I was expecting. I hope this will show William to start knocking instead of just walking in.

I remained silent.

"Serene", William said. He was a bit frustrated himself. He didn't have an excuse like mine, though.

"Can't I have time alone?" I snapped. My voice cracked and faltered as I spoke, making me seem out of breath.

"Open the door let me help you."

"You won't", I muttered under my breath.

I heard the bathroom doorknob jiggle and backed away near the bathtub. Of course he has a bathroom key. He owns this castle.

The door opened and William walked in with a smooth and calming face. He walked over to me, keeping my gaze. He kept me there, not letting me move or speak.

He wrapped one arm around me and held my head, suddenly leaning in. I felt a sharp sting in my neck, making me let out a groan.

I felt my heart quicken, my eyes having a hard time remaining open. I wanted to push him away, to make him stop, but I couldn't.

I felt him. I felt him suck the blood out of me. The rush of blood in my ears made me shiver. I felt my legs weaken, but William held me tightly so I wouldn't fall.

Soon the pain subsided and I felt so peaceful, like the worries of getting married and becoming a vampire just jumped out of my mind. I was getting so calm that I was just about ready to fall asleep. I felt my whole body go limp in William's arms, and I slowly started to feel numb starting from my neck to my left shoulder.

William's hold on me tightened, and I barley heard a moan come from his throat. He got a bit tense, like he was hesitating.

I was about ready to pass out when I felt his lips. His lips slowly moved against mine, but I was too weak to respond in any kind of way. It was just a couple of seconds after when my body shut down completely.

"You could have killed her", I heard someone say. I recognized the voice. It was Demitri.

"I wanted to calm her down." This time it was William speaking. "She was... she was just so frantic."

Demitri sighed. "What if you couldn't stop Will?"

"I knew I would be able to. All I had to do was kiss her."

"I bet you barley made it to the kiss right?"

No answer.

"She lost a lot of blood. If you didn't have me she probably wouldn't have made it."

I could feel hesitation.

"Was I doing the wrong thing, Demitri?"

"Sucking her blood was obviously not a right choice."

"Not that", William said frustrated. "It was only fair to give her a choice like every other human female out there isn't it?"

Demitri took a while to answer but when he did he sounded a bit shocked. "Are you trying to tell me you care whether she's happy or not?"

I heard footsteps near me but stop suddenly.

"Of course I do", he replied hesitantly. "She is my soulmate. If I was careless for her then she wouldn't be the one for me."

There was complete silence, and this time it remained that way.

I took this opportunity to force my eyes open. I felt a bit weak, my neck feeling slightly numb. I let out a moan in frustration, trying to open my eyes. Finally when I did, I saw a grinning Demitri and a serious William standing at the side of my bed.

"Were you trying to scare us, young lady?" Demitri's grin lightened up the mood a bit.

"I'm not much younger than you", I muttered, blinking.

"I guess you're right. But for now you'll be having the strength of a little nun. You need to eat and get your energy back on track."

"What happened?" This was a stupid question. I did have faint memories of what happened and the discussion I just heard proved I was right, but for some reason I didn't care. I didn't care about anything right now. I didn't miss my parents like I used to, I didn't miss my little brother, my home, my friends, my life. All I wanted right now was food and a cup of chocolate milk.

Demitri looked over to William who only remained silent. Without a word he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving an awkward tension behind. Demitri was all for clearing that up though.

"We'll talk about it later. What do you say pancakes for breakfast today?"

I smiled slightly. "I couldn't say anything better. Oh, but can I also have some chocolate milk?"

Demitri left me while he went to go get my breakfast. I forced myself up and stumbled over to the curtains. I opened them surprised to see it was nighttime. Either I slept for only a couple hours or I slept for a whole day.

I fell back on my bed, watching the moon glimmer the ocean. It was a nice sight, with all the beautiful stars, no street lights hiding any of them.

And I was having breakfast right now?

Demitri walked in with a tray that held a plate with a couple of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausages. I could also see the large glass of chocolate milk and grinned.

He took a seat next to me. I reached for the tray but he shook his head. "I'm serving you."

I frowned. "I think I can serve myself."

"And there's where you're wrong." He grinned. He cut my pancakes in pieces before getting the fork to get a piece. He offered it to my mouth and I hesitantly ate it.

"This is good", I muttered before swallowing.

"Thank you. It's all thanks to the chef", he smirked.

He gave me some chocolate milk and I drank it satisfied.

He fed me for a long time, making me feel like a little kid who can't handle a fork properly. I wasn't allowed to speak until I finished my plate clean. It took my about an hour and a half to finish, and by the time I did I was pretty much full.

He put the tray aside with his normal grin. "Good job!"

I scoffed. "What time is it?"

I looked outside and could see the night had gotten a bit lighter.

"I think it's about 5 right now. You missed the third day of John's celebration. The third day is the best because that's when we have our feast and have how many cups of blood we want."

He laughed at my puzzled face.

"In that case I'm glad I missed it."

It was early. I slept throughout the whole day yesterday? Wow. That's the longest time I've ever slept.

"How do you feel?"

I sat up a bit straighter. I noticed the numb feeling on my neck was no longer there.

"A bit better."

"That's good. You should still rest a bit more though. I'll come back later and check on you ok?"

I shook my head. "I've had enough sleep", I muttered.

"Not nearly enough." He smiled before walking out of the bedroom, leaving me in complete silence.

I bit my lip, feeling suddenly alone. I reached up and placed my hand on the side of my neck where William had bitten me, but all I felt was a very faint scar.

The door suddenly opened, making me jump. William walked in. He rushed over to my dresser. He took out a light blue long-sleeved dress and threw it on the bed.

"Change", he said.

"Why?"

He met my gaze and smirked. "I told you I was going to take you out to the village didn't I?"

I thought for a moment before sliding my legs off the side of the bed. I hesitantly went to my feet but almost fell. William quickly went to my side and helped me.

"Maybe not now", He muttered.

"No, it's fine." I grabbed the dress, let go of William, and walked over to the bathroom, stopping a few times on the way.

I looked at myself in the mirror a bit disgusted. My hair looked greasy and a mess. I quickly locked the door and took a shower. It was a quick one. I didn't want William walking in on me.

I changed into the dress, glad it was made out of cotton and it was comfy. I brushed my hair and walked out.

William was leaning against the wall waiting with a pair of sandals. He handed them to me and I slipped them on.

He grabbed my hand and led me out.

We walked through the long and wide hallway. We went into the large room and we walked to some wooden door I've never opened before. They led to another hallway that looked identical to the one we just went through. This went on for a while. We opened doors and ended up walking into a hallway. All the hallways looked the same. I wasn't sure if we were going in circles or this was how the castle was built.

Finally we walked towards wooden doors that were slightly bigger than the rest. When William opened them a gush of cold air hit us.

When we walked out the sun was just about to rise. Two men stood on each sides of the door and greeted William with a bow.

We walked a brick walk way. I could see the faint village from here, but what I wasn't looking forward to was the long brick bridge we had to cross. It was really long. I'm surprised it hasn't crumbled yet.

I froze right before it.

"I forgot that you hate heights", William said.

He suddenly picked me up and I gasped as he carried me in his arms. "Hold your breath and close your eyes", he said. I did, without a question.

I felt a gush of wind push us back for about three seconds, then the next thing I knew I was being placed back on my feet. I opened my eyes shocked.

I lost the bridge. How can someone lose a bridge?

I hesitantly looked back and saw the bridge. How it got behind us was a mystery to me, and I wanted to ask how William did it, but I couldn't speak.

William held my hand tightly as we started following the brick walkway again that led into the large village. Birds started to sing, warm wind started to blow, and I knew that the day was just about to begin.