Destined Queen

Chapter 8

Thais Pov

    Fury raced through me at Jareth’s words and I stood, glaring at his back as he left, before pacing across the kitchen. Louis remained silent as he watched me and, for some reason, the soft smile on his face was pissing me off too. I stopped to shove him away towards the door as well, pointing at it. “Out,” I said, glaring at him. 

    He stared at me with wide eyes, his hands raised in surrender. “But, princess, I’m a vampire, I’ll die when the sun comes up. It’s taken me months to find you and hiding in houses along the way.” He stammered.

    I glared at him, taking in the softness in his expression, and honestly, I was confused. He used to look at me like I was an annoying little bug, but now, it felt strange, the way he was looking at me. It made butterflies knot in my stomach and I let go of him, sighing. “I don’t have proper windows or covers to protect you from the sun, but I do have a cellar you can stay in during the day. But tomorrow night, I want you to leave.” I said carefully, walking to the edge of the kitchen. 

    I kicked the extra stools out of the way and opened the cellar door, pointing at it. “Thais, please, understand. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was sent here by my parents to warn you, to protect you, to help you. We just want you to be safe, and back on the throne where you belong.” He said, a sadness in his voice as he looked at me. 

    I frowned, chewing on the bottom of my lip as I stared at his soft honey-colored eyes. His parents sent me? Was there…more to the story? “Tell me about them, tell me what’s been going on,” I demanded of him. 

    He nodded, leaning against the wall. He was thinking, I could see it. Most likely trying to figure out where to start, and I took a moment to study him. He was exactly the same as before. Then again, vampires stopped aging when they turned twenty and Louis has been twenty for a long time, even before I met him and his parents. Back when he had a crush on my eldest sister, Lizabeth. He was so obvious about it, the way he’d stare at her and follow her around. Then again…that’s probably what was unnerving me. He was staring at me, the way he used to look at her. No, I shook my head, clearing the thoughts away. I wasn’t going to think about that. It wasn’t anything, and I didn’t really need to think about that anyway. This, the kingdom. I needed to know about that. Louis ran his fingers through his feathered hair, brushing it out of his eyes with a sigh. “When your family was murdered, princess, those of us who refused to drink human blood were considered disgusting outcasts. All of us they could find were murdered, and all of the Dhampir were murdered as well. Those of us that survived, we went underground in the tunnels, and formed the resistance. We didn’t know, until recently, what happened. Not really. We were suspicious of King Lionel who just so happened to be in the kingdom the very next day. You remember he lived outside of the kingdom in protest with his family because he wasn’t the next king. Even though he knew the rules of the throne fell down to your father’s line instead of him and his, he moved away with his wife and acted like a whiny pouty child.” He said, making me giggle for a moment. He was right, after all. 

    Louis grinned, a broad smile breaking out over his lips as his eyes twinkled in humor. It was almost like he was happy I was smiling. Maybe he was trying to cheer me up, since I was still upset over what Jareth said. “So, it’s strange that he just happened to be there, when his house was not very close at all and would have taken him at least half of nightfall to arrive. But alas, he was there right when the sun had set. It didn’t make sense to us. No, those of us that didn’t drink human blood, we immediately saw through this. I suspect he either overheard a conversation of the doubt, or he just flat out was disgusted with us, because almost immediately all of the Dhampirs were rounded up and killed. Executed, really, disgustingly to be honest. Chained up in the square and shot in the head, one right after the other. After that, my kind were caught and executed fairly close to the same way, chained up in the square and left there for the sun to kill them. My parents took a lot of us down into the tunnels during the execution of the Dhampirs. Some of us wouldn’t go though, not listening to reason, and those were the ones that died.” He sighed, staring down at his hands for a moment. 

    Finally, he looked at me, shrugging. “Mom and dad were fairly injured, they can barely walk. Despite this, they’re the leaders. We call ourselves the resistance. I was sent to spy on the royal family, every day, for years. I listened every day, mostly heard nothing of interest, but it was enough to continue my disgust for the royal family. They’re horrible, no care for anything. Then, I overheard a conversation. Most of us had our theories about what happened that night, but we didn’t know, until I heard them actually say it. The human just casually talks about there having been a fifth daughter. I think she said it absentmindedly, as if she assumed the fifth daughter was killed as well, but it was enough for your uncle and aunt to realize their mistake. Then they said it, what we all mostly already knew all along. They admitted to killing everyone, but you. Of course, the only ones in the room were your aunt, your uncle, and your cousin. By then, the human was dead, so no one else knew except…they didn’t know I was there. In the wall, the servant’s entrance, listening. I ran as fast as I could to my parents and told them what they said, what they were planning on doing.” He stared at me, moving closer to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. 

    I shuddered under the intensity of his gaze, the seriousness in his eyes. “They won’t stop until they find you, princess. It took me months to find you as it was, and only because I happened to find humans that remembered you. The little girl with the backpack filled with heirlooms. It’s hard to forget a pretty little girl with pure white hair. I stopped and made sure to wipe their minds after they directed me towards you but…I could have missed some. Surely I missed some. There was no way I was possibly able to wipe you from everyone you encountered along the way. They’re coming, Thais, and they won’t listen to your pleas. Even if you say you don’t care and you don’t want to lead, they’ll kill you anyway. They want the tattoos to decorate Chester’s arms instead. Unless you're dead, that won’t happen. You’re not safe, Thais.” He said, staring at me. 

    I closed my eyes, nodding at him. “I’ll fight them if they come, but they won’t. I didn’t approach very many people to get here, Louis. I’m sure you cleared the way. Thank you, but please, tomorrow night, I hope you’ll go. Tell your parents I said thank you for the warning. I’ll definitely be looking and watchful, but I doubt they’ll come here.” I said, feeling the certainty of my words. There was no way they’d find me, and even if they did, I was stronger than I looked. I’d start training again, get back into the rhythm of it, but I was fairly certain I could defend myself. 

    Louis sighed, letting go of my shoulders as he took a step towards the cellar stairs. “Just…please think about it? You have till tomorrow night to change your mind, it seems. Hopefully, it’s a good choice.” He muttered, turning around and walking down the stairs. I shut the door but left it uncovered and unlocked for him, knowing full well he could see in the dark and would find the candles and matches if he wanted to. I felt…exhausted. Sadness was wearing on me, and I needed a moment to think. Why was everything coming at me all at once? My family, my sisters, my father. Well, I never really was close to them, only father, honestly. Even still, they were all still my family and their deaths hurt me more than I expected they would. So horrifying, while they were sleeping without the ability to even try to defend themselves. For years afterward I had nightmares about it, despite the fact that I hadn’t actually seen the act. And now…it was all coming back. I needed…I needed air. 

    I walked outside, forgetting momentarily all about Jareth in the barn, and walked around outside. I took deep breaths, sucking in the air and sighing in relief as it cleared my mind from the despair that was slowly trickling into me. Even still, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks as I remembered. How bright and cheerful my sisters were. So happy, so giggly. They didn’t deserve any of it. I felt tears building in the corners of my eyes as I took another deep breath, my arms wrapping around myself as I stood in front of the barn. Suddenly, Jareth’s words came back to me, making me gasp out loud. ‘Coward,’ He had said. ‘You’re acting like a coward,’ He threw at me. 

    I shuddered, feeling a tear slowly slide down my cheek, as a blanket was suddenly placed around my shoulders. I jumped, but didn’t turn around. I didn’t want them to see me crying. “I’m sorry. I saw you out here shivering and went into your house, getting your blanket off of your couch. I hope you don’t mind,” Jareth’s deep and calming voice said. I remained silent, not trusting myself to speak, and simply nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said after a while. I heard the sound of scuffing and imagined he was gently kicking the ground. “I was out of line, princess. I have no excuse for my words and the harshness of them. I hope you disregard them and don’t hold it accountable. You’ve done well by yourself. I remember you came here alone as a small child. Even back then, noticing you, I thought you were brave. Venturing here by yourself, purchasing your own farm, taking care of it all by yourself. You’re not a coward, Thais. You are very brave, and now that I know what happened to your family…how you managed to move on…you’re so brave.” I pressed my hand against my mouth, my lips quivering as I tried harder to keep quiet, the tears streaming down my cheeks now, trailing hot trails in its wake. “How lonely you must have been. Bearing all of those deaths in your mind, all alone, with no one to talk to. No one to help you. If anyone is a coward, princess…it’s me.” He muttered. 

    I tried to take deep breaths, to stop the tears as I heard him turn around, walking back to the barn. No one…no one has ever cared enough about me. To try and understand anything of what I was feeling, but with just a sentence, he broke through. I fell to my knees, hugging my arms around them as I pulled the blanket over my head, silently sobbing on my knees. I knew I was alone now, but the moment I was able to call the tears I wiped them away, determination pouring through me as I shuddered. I stood, pulling the blanket closer around my body, and stared at the barn. I should just go back into the house, go to sleep. But…a part of me was drawn to the barn, and his words floating around in my mind…I couldn’t leave it like that. If I wasn’t going to see him again, I couldn't let him think this way. I gripped my fingers in the blanket and, with my back straight, I walked towards the barn.