Must I Be Your Bride? - Chapter Six

Okay, so if you guys want a quick review of the characters here it is. John is the youngest of three brothers (we celebrated his birthday in the beginning), followed by Demitri (the brother who took out Serene to that tiring hike) and William (the oldest brother who wants to marry Serene). Oh, and Serene is the main character just in case you forgot her name. (I do that sometimes). Today I'll be introducing Athela, the queen, and the king who doesn't give out his name. There's also Matthew, the one who is making sure a human won't be a part of the royal family and insists to turn Serene into a vampire soon, or for her to leave. I think that's it so far.

Hope you enjoy!

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We walked out of the house with full bellies and I was about ready to sleep. Nancy and George gave William and I goodbye hugs and we said our farewells.

Now, when we walked through the village, it was almost empty. I would notice a few people here and there but they seemed ready to end the day.

"They're nice", I hesitantly said, trying to break the silence.

"George has always been a good guy. It was pretty sad to see him leave."

"Do you do disagree with his choice?"

I looked over to him and he shrugged.

He seemed to be choosing his words carefully but all I got was a plain "No."

"Neither do I", I agreed. Then I reluctantly added, "Do you really think I'm going to stay and become a vampire?"

He tensed up. "I only want you to consider it."

"I mean, how do I know if you wouldn't use your powers on me right now if you had the chance? This can all be an act and - " William stopped my rambling by getting a hold of my hand and stopped walking abruptly.

"No", he says, his blue eyes meeting mine. "Don't jump to conclusions."

I cleared my throat, let go of his hand, and kept on walking.

"You have your kingdom, I have my family", I said.

We walked silently through the dim little town, the moon shining brightly in the dark sky. Occasionally we'd hear rambling and yelling - from enjoyment - coming from some wooden houses.

In the dim darkness, I noticed two figures coming our way, and it wasn't until they were feet away that I was able to make them out. There was a man holding a terrified woman by the arm tightly. She was young - older than me, though - and beautiful. Long glimmering strawberry-blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect body, face, lips - she was just perfect.

I found myself actually glancing at William, suspecting him to react by her beauty. He seemed to keep his gaze elsewhere.

When I looked back at the woman she met my gaze with begging eyes, and suddenly she started to scream.

She tried pulling away from this man but this man wouldn't let her go. She tugged, pulled, screamed, yelled for help, but nobody except me seemed to notice.

I hadn't realized that I had frozen in place, staring at this woman. I wanted to understand what was going on, why was she horrified?

Then I realized it.

She had no necklace.

This woman knew she was going to die.

William wrapped his arm on my waist and led me forward, ignoring my attempts to halt; to look at this woman. I wanted to do something.

"Save her", I demanded.

He didn't answer. Instead, he looked grimly into the distance.

I tried pulling from his arm but he held me tightly.

"Do something", I snapped.

He says nothing.

As the woman disappears behind us I notice that her frantic screams stopped abruptly, and got this queasy feeling.

I gasped when he lifted me up in his arms. With no warning I felt that intense breeze - sort of like being on a roller-coaster, except worse - and I was soon being placed in front of the two large doors that led into the castle.

I gladly pushed myself out of William's arms and walked inside.

I had to be the follower instead of the leader since I knew I'd get lost. We walked up and down, right and left, until finally we made it to my room.

I opened the door and tried to shut it behind me, but it didn't exactly make the shutting sound. It wasn't until William stepped in that I heard it close.

I sat on my bed and looked out the window. That's when I realized my sight was a bit fuzzy, and when I reached up to rub my eyes I noticed that I was crying. I hesitantly wiped the tears away.

The room was dark, other than the moonlight shining through my window. It was a nice view of the light reflecting on the ocean, and I did feel a bit better. But that only happened when I didn't think about that woman.

William took a seat by me, and I turned away from him.

Yes, I was infuriated. He didn't do anything to help that helpless woman. They don't do anything to help humans. And that was just getting to me now?

"It's how they live, Serene", William said.

I knew that. I wasn't merely scared of becoming a vampire because of longer years, but the murder, and the satisfying taste you get afterwords. I couldn't kill people. I didn't want that.

"I know", I croaked.

I felt his hand cup my chin and force me to look at him. I was surprised at how close he was getting, and his hesitation. He stopped about an inch away, searching my eyes for some type of answer. I didn't understand what he was trying to do. All I knew was that I could feel his breath on my skin, and it was strangely warm.

Suddenly, he seemed like he got the answer he least wanted and backed away with a sigh. "I couldn't help her; I'm no king, which means I have no right. And if a king were to make such an order, then they'd be called by the kingdom of kingdoms, and surely be punished. Nothing could've been done."

Still a bit numb in shock and distress, I don't answer or move. He seems to notice and gets to his feet. His hand reaches out to me and wipes a tear with one of his thumbs before he walks out, leaving me with completely different thoughts of William than I had the first nights being with him.

Then I realized why he was so close. He wanted me to give him permission to kiss me.

Without bothering to change, I swiftly get under my covers and keep my gaze out the window. I couldn't understand why some of the humans here were more special than others. Why did some have to die while others lived happily with their soulmate? I have a choice. Those brought by their own will, to get eaten, don't.

I couldn't sleep for hours, and it wasn't until I saw the faint light in the sky that I was finally able to drift to sleep.

Before I could even get into the dream world, I heard my room door jiggle, but I didn't move. I wanted to avoid it. Pretend I was in my own room. Maybe today they'll give me, yet, another break.

Footsteps neared me but stopped right at the foot of my bed. I hear some shuffling, more steps, and then complete silence.

I tried to fall asleep, but the eyes on me only made that impossible. Finally, after what seemed like hours of failure, I groaned under my covers to give a sign that I was waking up. I try rubbing off the morning filth off my face, sit up, and open my eyes.

"Good morning", Demitri chimes.

I'm about to smile, but then I remember what happened the night before. This prohibits - any smile or any signs of me being in a good mood.

"Good morning", I mutter. I'm exhausted, and my eyes have a hard time opening themselves.

"I lost you yesterday", he frowns. "You weren't supposed to get out of bed."

I blinked at him, not sure how to answer. "I'm sorry?"

"No, William should be. How are you feeling?" Thankfully, his smile was back.

"Like I haven't slept", I murmur. Which was true.

"I'm sorry to hear that. That's why I let you sleep yesterday. I'm afraid right now you have to get up. We're going to have a family breakfast."

I suddenly felt sick.

Demitri stood up from the chair he was sitting and walked over to my dresser. He opened it, fumbled through the dresses, and seemed to find one that he liked. He flung it off the hanger and onto my bed, but he did it in a careful way.

All I could tell was that it was a dark green glimmering, sort of, short dress with lots of ruffles at the bottom.

"This dress was my mother's. Might give you a good head start. Now start getting ready. The maids should be here shortly."

I nodded solemnly. "Thanks", I say.

He studies me for a moment, but before he could say more, the door opens, and of course, it's the maids. They got here quicker than Demitri expected. He greets them, and without a word, he leaves.

I was told to wash up before they started the makeup. This time there wasn't much tugging and pulling except when they brushed my hair; instead they slipped on a silver headband - it matched the silver buttons that trailed down in the middle of the top of my dress - and started with the curling. Another relief of this was that I got to wear flat silver shoes.

Once ready, the maid left me, and I sat on my bed waiting for either William or Demitri. I didn't feel like looking at myself in the mirror, but not that I ever did.

The knocks on my door let me know it was Demitri, but I was surprised when William walking in instead. I never expected he'd get so close to a tap.

He held his hand out and I hesitantly took it, my stomach churning at the thought of eating with the king and queen. William seemed to read my mind and pushed back one of my curls. "You'll win them over with that dress", he said.

We slowly made our way through the hallway, my heart racing. The first time I met the king I ran out sobbing over not wanting to become a vampire.

We stood in front of the doors that I had hoped was the exit a couple of days ago before I had to find out the hard way that it wasn't. I found myself clutching onto William's arm, actually wishing he had control over my body just so I wouldn't make a fool of myself. His hold on me was comforting enough to breathe.

We walked in, the king sitting on exactly the same place - at the end of the table - where I remembered him. Beside him was the same woman that accompanied him that night, both of them cloaked with their golden robes. Demitri and John took the nearest seats by them, all of them in a pleasant conversation before we stepped inside. Their silent stares only made me tighten my grip on William.

"Nice of you to join us, Serene", the woman, that I supposed was the queen, said with a sincere smile.

William led me to the open chairs that were on the empty side of the table, pulling out a chair for me. I was hesitant in letting him go, but as soon as he took his seat next to the king, he found my shaking hand under the table.

"I must say", the queen says, "that the dress just may look better on you than it ever did on me."

I wasn't sure if this compliment was supposed to sooth me, but it did no such thing. "Thank you, Your Highness", I force.

"Oh please", she laughs, "No need to be so formal. Call me Athela."

Her saying that did make things a bit better. I met Demitri's gaze and he gave me a going good smile.

The familiar maids walked in, along with three others, each of them placing a bowl of, what looked like, oatmeal before us. As everyone started to eat, I closed my eyes and made a quick silent prayer, knowing giving up on my beliefs was the furthest from being the right thing.

"I hear that you're having complaints about joining this family", the king says a bit strained, making any relief I had fly away.

"Father", William says, his hand tightening around mine. "She has a fair choice."

"I know", the king sighs, "But it's about time one of you get a wife."

There's a long silence, and it's when I start to eat that I realize William has to eat too. I glanced at him to see he was trying to manage with his left hand, but eating soup like that was obviously more complicated then it looked. I hesitantly let him go, and when he met my gaze, I forced a slight smile, letting him know it was okay. He smiled back, but only took my hand again. For some reason, this set my heart anew.

"Have you come to a conclusion, Serene?" Athela had a way of making the tension go calm, which is why I felt more relaxed in answering her question. Then I realized I wasn't quite sure how to answer it.

"I've been too distracted to think about it", I stuttered.

She gave me a warm smile. "It's ok, everyone is nervous at first."

"This oatmeal is absolutely delicious", Demitri said, changing the subject. I made a mental note to thank him. "Is Darwin the cook today?"

"No, I think it's Matilda", John played along. Demitri grunted, pleased.

I haven't actually tasted the food yet. I was too busy trying to place the spoon in my mouth, as a formal lady would, to even notice the sweet melting creamy liquid.

We finished off our oatmeal with simple chatter that mostly stayed between the men; Athela sending me a few questions here and there. Afterward the maids came in with plates for us, something you would order at a breakfast diner - pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon. I was sure that this would be when William and I would have to part hands, but he gives no sign of ever coming close to that. He never let me go. Not through the uncomfortable chatter, nor when he had to use a spoon, fork, or drink from his cup. This merely made me think that I probably wouldn't mind holding his hand forever.

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Hey guys, sorry for the delay! I've written up to chapter ten (I think) so I should be writing on schedule again. I'll be giving you two chapters this time in hope that I'm forgiven! Thanks for the wonderful comments!