Must I Be Your Bride? - Chapter Three

I sat up when I heard knock on the door. I rubbed my eyes a bit shocked. This is the first time someone actually knocked.

When I stood up I looked down to realize I still wore the red dress I was forced to wear. I forgot to change. Oh, great. I quickly rushed into the bathroom to wash my face. It was a good thing I did because all the makeup I had on was in the wrong places.

While I dried my face I heard the door open and I peeked into the bedroom. A man walked in hesitantly, glancing around until he saw me.

"I'm sorry", he said, "I knocked."

"Oh no, it's fine. You're actually the first one to knock. I think we might get a long." I folded the towel and walked into the room.

"You're still in your gown", he pointed out.

I nodded, feeling a bit awkward. He was dressed in some dark shorts and a brown T-shirt. When I met his blue eyes I knew immediately he was related to William.

"I fell asleep", I said.

He smiled. "Of course, I understand. It must've been a long night." He stretched his arm in front of him. "I'm Demitri. I'm told to keep you busy. We'll be hiking today."

I looked at him a bit shocked, shaking his hand. "Hiking?"

My eyes were wide and I didn't hide the fact I didn't want to go hiking.

He laughed. "I have a pair of clothes for you right here." I just noticed he held a backpack and handed it over to me. I took it. "I'll wait outside."

I walked into the bathroom and started tiding up. I was glad that this bathroom came with everything that would be in my bathroom. I wondered if I could take a shower and decided a quick one wouldn't kill anyone.

So I took my quick shower and changed into the shorts and t-shirt Demitri had given me. Was it just me or were all the men that I spoke to for more than a second young? They were always at least my age if not older. John was probably my age, but William was about three years older. Demitri, was like one year older.

I slipped on the red sneakers I had and brushed my hair. My hair wasn't long. I sometimes envied those women who had long beautiful hair. So beautiful, long, and wavy. Mine was about shoulder length, and never once had it ever had a curl. It was pretty sad.

As soon as I was ready I walked out of the bathroom and then stood in front of the door that was my way out. I hesitantly reached for the doorknob and I was surprised it wasn't locked.

As soon as I walked out I met Demitri. He smiled in greeting.

"Is the princess ready?"
"Oh no, don't call me that", I begged. "Just call me Serene."
He nodded. "Alright. Let's be on our way."

I followed him through the hall and realized he was carrying another backpack. I hope he came prepared. I wasn't much for hiking so he better have a ton of water in there.

"So how do you know I won't try to escape while we hike?"
"Well", he said, "I don't. I guess I'll just have to trust you." That's not so smart.
"Plus, I'm pretty sure William will be expecting that so I don't doubt he has something planned."

I frowned. Of course.

We walked into the big room that lead to the ballroom the day before, but this time Demitri led me to another door.

When he opened it my eyes widened. It was a nice sunny day but it wasn't so nice that I wanted to climb the hundreds of brick stairs before us. The stairs let to the top of a mountain, a mountain that was surrounded by the ocean. The good thing was that this mountain was large enough to give you a 60% of survival if you trip and roll down. The bad news was that this mountain was LARGE and I had to climb these steps.

"This isn't hiking", I said, already tired.
"Once we make it to the top we'll have lunch. It's a view you'd love to see."
"How much longer until lunch?"
He smirked. "A couple of hours."

Before I could proceed protesting he started walking up the stairs, his body obviously full of energy. I hesitantly followed him.

It took about 45 minutes to make it half way up the stairs. When I looked down I felt a bit wheezy. I had to clutch the railing to control myself.

"You ok?" Demitri leaned against the railing next to me. He handed me a bottle of water before drinking his. I drank more than half of my bottle in one gulp.
"Does your prince think I'm not fit enough? Why is he making me do all this exercise. I haven't even had breakfast yet."
"Well actually we'll be eating brunch instead of lunch." He grinned. I just blinked at him. "Here", he said, reaching into his backpack again. He took out a banana and handed it to me.
Oh great, healthy food. Well, it's better than nothing.
I took it and quickly took a bite after pealing it. "Thanks", I sighed.
"I promise you won't regret it. Come on."

He placed a hand on my back giving me a head start and we started going up the stairs again.

"So..." I hesitated, "Would you call yourself a vampire too?"
"I guess so." He smiled. He never once frowned or stopped smiling.
"I can tell you're related to them." He knew I was referring to the royal family. "Are you a cousin?"
"No actually I'm William's brother."

My eyes widened. "Are you serious? You don't seem like him." I also didn't know him well enough to say that.

"I'm sort of carefree", he said shrugging. "John and I have never really been into being king. The only reason why William wanted to find a wife is because if John had the chance to be king he would never put it down."

"Would you?"

He met my gaze thinking for a moment. "I probably would. Unless the kingdom really needed a king, I would never even consider it. They have William and John though so I have nothing to worry about."

It took me a while to realize that the king and queen must rule something. So what did they rule?

"King of what?"

"I was waiting for you to ask that." He sighed amused. "Well, vampires must be ruled just like humans. There are the good vampires and the bad vampires that break the law. We make sure those who break it get consequences."

"What kind of laws?"

"One of the main ones is that vampires aren't allowed to kill children or turn children. They also aren't allowed to turn someone into a vampire unless they ask the king and queen first. The top rule is something that isn't hard to guess. If you expose yourself to the world, you're dead, along with those humans who you've exposed to. We've never had anyone expose to too many people where it gets impossible to catch them all but we fear it might get there one day."

"You kill them?" I was a bit shocked.
"We have no choice but to."

Without noticing the stairs finally ended, and Demitri stopped me from walking. He turned me around and I gasped.

Before me was a white castle. It was way bigger than I imagined. Large windows lined the walls, giving me the idea that this castle had about five floors with 20 rooms for each floor. I could see the top of the castle from here. It looked like guards were walking back and forth, checking for any signs of danger.

I could very faintly see a few houses behind the castle but it was hard to tell.

I slowly looked around, looking at the beautiful water that surrounded us. A small cloud was just over us, and I knew with a jump I would be able to place my hand in it.

I sat down bewildered. The water looked so peaceful from up here that I suddenly felt the urge the jump, no matter how suicidal that sounded.

"It is beautiful", I admitted.

Demitri took a seat next to me and fumbled in his backpack. He took out two sandwiches and handed me one. "Eat up; I bet you're starving."

I ate my sandwich, enjoying every bite.

"It feels free up here", I said. "It doesn't feel like I was kidnapped. Not really. It kind of helps that you're not controlling me. Well I hope you're not anyway." I smiled slightly. "What is it that you do? Since you are from the royal family."

He smiled back. "I can heal. It's not very amazing like the abilities my brothers have but is helpful in some situations."

"It's something useful actually. I'm wondering why William didn't mention you. You're not a guy easy to forget."

He smirked. "I'm not something that he has to worry about in the competition so I leave his mind quite a lot."

He ran his hands through his sandy-colored hair shrugging.

"Would you consider him a nice guy?"
He hesitated for a moment, and hesitating was never good.
"He's nice and charming when he wants to be, but he can also be... "
"Mean?"
He laughed. "That's a nice way to put it."
"Why are you helping him with me then if he doesn't care enough to mention you?"

"Well does it matter? I've already met you and can't say I regret it."

I tried to hide a smile.

He stood up and stretched. "Well let's start heading down now. If we're not back by dinner I'm going to be murdered."

I wasn't happy that we had to head back down using the stairs again. An elevator would've been nice. The good thing is that I didn't get as tired as quickly as I did going up.

Chatting with Demitri kept my mind off the fact that I was doing exercise and helped me a little bit.

When we made it to the doors I leaned against it catching my breath.

I was led back to my room. As soon as I saw my door I was no longer in a good mood. I didn't exactly want to be locked in this room again.

"You need to get ready for dinner. The maids will be by shortly to help."

I nodded, not exactly exited to see the threatening maid again.

"I'll see you at dinner ok?" He held the door open for me and I took my time walking in.

The door shut behind me and I was waiting to hear it lock, but it didn't.

I sat down on the bed for a while, resting my aching legs. I stared out the window as I did so, remembering how free I felt when I was on top of the mountain. I wished to go back up, but had no intention of climbing those stairs again today.

The door opened, making me sit up quickly.

William walked in looking interested. He grinned over at me as he closed the door.

"It appears you've won over my brother. He left your door unlocked. I must have a word with him about that."

I wanted to defend him but wasn't sure what to say to not make William mad. I remained silent.

He walked over to the dresser and opened it. I was shocked to see so many dresses inside.

"These are the dresses you'll be wearing for every dinner. Now choose one and go take a shower. You look like a mess."

I glared at him. "Any one special coming today?"

He smirked before turning around and leaving. As soon as he shut the door I heard him lock it and again I felt like a prisoner.

I took a long warm shower, washing off the filth I felt I had. I chose a simple golden dress with white lining at the bottom. When I slipped on the dress I found that it was hard for me to zip up also. The three ladies got there just in time.

They walked in with smiles, and the threatening one offered to zip me up.

It was the same routine they did on me the night before. The makeup, the tugging and pulling, and the curling. The worst part for me was when they made me wear heels.

Again they left me, and I knew I was supposed to be expecting William by now.

I looked out the window, watching the sunset. I did have a nice view for someone who was being a prisoner.

There were knocks on the door and I was relieved immediately. That couldn't be William.

"Come in", I said hesitantly.

The door was unlocked and opened. Demitri walked in grinning. "I'm here to escort you my lady."

I gave a sly smile and took his arm. "What happened to William?"

He hesitated. "He got caught up in some business and might be late."

"What business?"

We walked out of the room and walked the familiar hallway.

"That's something William should tell you."
"But will he?"

He met my gaze in thought. "I'm not sure."

We walked into the big room once again, and Demitri led me to the doors that led to the ballroom.

"Another party?" I didn't exactly sound happy about it because I wasn't.

He gave a sly smile. "Yes, we actually spend three nights celebrating a birthday because we only celebrate it every ten years."

"What?"
"Well, you know how you guys celebrate your year of birth every year? We do every ten years since we live up to centuries at a time."

I gaped at him, not sure if believing was supposed to be any easier.

"It's something you'll get used to", he smirked.
"How old are you", I hesitantly asked.

With a grin he opened the doors and led me to the stairs. Our names were called as soon as we started descending and the stares started just like the night before.

I felt myself shaking.

William wasn't here to control me anymore so this time I tripped on our way down and yelped all because I was nervous. The good thing is that Demitri held me tightly and acted like I hadn't made a fool of us.

When the music started once again I felt a bit calmer, but I was still blushing intensely.

"You were great", he said, trying to make me feel better.

I scoffed. "Apparently you missed yesterday or else you would've noticed I did much better then."

"I was here", he smiled. "You guys left before I could introduce myself."
"Oh, I'm afraid that was my fault." I felt myself blush again.

He laughed. "Would you like to dance?"

I hesitated. "I might suck at it. William controlled me the whole dancing part of the night."

With a grin he placed a hand on my waist and held my hand in the other, making us look like we were about to waltz or tango. This wasn't as awkward as William's dancing.

He started leading by stepping side to side, but at the same time we were stepping back and forth. I followed him, hoping I wouldn't step on his foot and cause us misery again.

Suddenly he leaned in and whispered, "Don't pay attention to the people around you. You can't be embarrassed if you don't care."

Before anything else we suddenly stopped dancing and Demitri backed away. I was a bit confused but that's when I noticed William standing beside us holding onto Demitri's shoulder. Demitri grinned at him.

"You only have to ask Will, you don't have to use your power against me."
"Well you seemed too comfortable that I thought it might take some effort. I just did what was easier." William smirked back before taking my hand and leading me away.

I gave a disappointed smile at Demitri before he disappeared in the crowd.

William quickly pulled me close to him and held me securely as we danced. I didn't look at him.
"You make me seem evil", he said a bit amused.
"Well it's not like you tell me much about you so what else am I supposed to assume?"
"I am a pretty busy prince you know."
"Well Demitri is a prince too but he still had time to take me hiking. Why can't you take a break and explain stuff to your fiancé that doesn't want to marry you?"

It was a bad moment to look at him because his eyes narrowed at me.

"You don't understand the difference between us. He's careless when it comes to the kingdom. I'm just trying to do my job."

"He just wants to be free", I defended, regretting it a bit when I felt him tense.

He pulled me away to give me a twirl before he held me again. He calmed himself a bit during the twirl.

"You shouldn't trust him so much. You barley even know him."

"Speak for yourself", I muttered.

He was silent for a moment then said "Very well."

He backed away but held my hand. He led me back up the stairs into the big room that had many doors and windows.

He opened the door that led outside, the door that led to the million of stairs that I was hoping I wouldn't have to climb. The sun was still setting.

After he closed the door he walked over to me and held me close to him once again, as if we were going to dance. He swayed me side to side without any music. I wasn't sure where this was heading and felt myself blush for some reason.

He smirked. "I'm not such a bad person."

It took me a while to speak words. "That's hard to believe, considering that you kidnapped me and keep controlling me."

"It's the only way I can show you that we're perfect for each other."
"How can you know? What exactly do you know about me?"
He grinned. "I actually researched a bit on that."
He twirled me around twice.

"You suck at all sports except for volleyball. You have never missed a school spelling bee and always end up winning at least second place. You love to wear dressed but hardly have the guts to wear them in public. Both of your parents are doctors and you have a little ten year old brother who you shockingly get along with."

I pursed my lips, avoiding eye contact. "Well, you sound like a stalker to me."

He chuckled, the first time I heard him get close to a laugh.

"I still don't know anything about you", I pointed out.
"Of course you do. You know I'm a prince and your fiancé. I'm sure Demitri explained a bit about how we rule."
"That's not enough."
"What else is it that you want to know?"

I thought for a moment as he leaned his forehead against mine. "I want to know you."

He sighed. "Tomorrow I'm going to give you a tour outside the kingdom. I'm not going past the vampire's territory so don't even bother screaming for help." He smirked.

"Why bother screaming when you'll end up killing the people who listen."

I felt as his hold on my actions let go, and I was free to back away. I hesitantly turned around to watch the sunset.

"Why is it you don't burn in the sunlight?"
"That's a myth. That rumor actually started in Hollywood."
He walked to stand beside me. I was waiting for him to somehow make me do something I didn't want but I was surprised my body remained free.
"How does the blood-drinking work?"

He thought for a moment. "If we see blood it's hard to resist. Our family usually has a cup of warm human blood every other week or on special occasions. It's like this", he met my gaze "vampires who like to have their cup of blood every night hunt at least one human every week. They take all the blood from that human and store it in the fridge to keep it fresh. All they have to do is poor themselves a drink until they run out.

There are those vampires that like to bite the neck of a human and drain the blood then and there. Those are the starving vampires. They usually end up in some kind of trouble that brings them to the king and queen."

"Do you mean like they accidentally turn humans into vampires?"
"They can't do it by accident. They have to let a human drink their own blood to transform them. Biting someone is something people say to make it simpler, but that's also not how people turn into vampires. The human has to drink our blood then die."
I gulped. "Were you transformed?"
"No, I wasn't." He shrugged. "I was born one."
"But you still grow old? Well, sort of."
"A year for us is every decade. We grow a lot slower than humans, which is why we live longer."
"Wow", I muttered, then very hesitantly asked, "Are you going to turn me into a vampire?"

He looked away and remained silent for so long I thought he wouldn't answer, but finally he did. "I intend to."
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