The Queen's Forbidden Love

Chapter 13

Claudia's POV:

My head was pounding and my stomach was still very uneasy and feeling sour. I knew that the worst of the hangover wasn't over yet but I was hoping to be able to keep the aspirin down long enough to be able to get some relief from this headache before I started bringing it all back up again. It didn't help any that Bella's screaming and pounding on the door felt like my skull was going to explode each time she pounded with her fists.

When I couldn't take it anymore, no matter how hard I pushed the pillows into my ears to try to block the sound, all it did was make the dizziness worse. I threw the pillow across the room, walked over to the door, and opened it, just as she was getting ready to pound on it again with her fist high in the air. I couldn't hide the anger that had built up from her behavior along with the sickly feeling of this hangover.

"Bella, for the love of magic, stop!" I half shouted at her and instantly placed my hand on the side of my head to try to calm the sudden pounding.

"Then tell me what is going on? Why are you acting like this with Jovian?" She asked inquisitively.

I closed my eyes and shook my head as I tilted my head down to block some of the agonizing light of the room. I turned and unsteadily on my feet, walked back into my room towards the bed.

"Not now, Bella," I whispered in pain as I dropped my body on the bed and shoved my face into the pillow.

The room had started to spin and my stomach was getting very sour. If I didn't lay down and try to get my stomach calmed down, I was going to be rushing back into that bathroom, bringing up the little acid that was left in my stomach along with the aspirin that I so desperately needed right now.

"I realize you are hungover, Claudia, but all you do is avoid the subject. Every time it is brought it, you ignore it by not answering or you walk away or change the subject." I heard her say and just like she claimed, I said nothing.

I just took a deep breath to try to relax as the dizziness started to fade and my stomach started to calm down again. All I have to say, is I'm never drinking that much again! I have never let myself get so drunk that I passed out before. A few drinks here and there is about all I have ever done in all of my years. This hangover is enough for me to boycott alcohol altogether! I don't think I've ever puked so much in my life!

"Whether you want to talk about it or not, I'm not leaving and you're going to hear me out." I heard her continue to say.

I took a deep breath and sighed into the pillow, wishing quickly that I hadn't done that due to the fact that I had yet to brush my teeth and use mouthwash. It's not like I'm planning on going anywhere at all today let alone getting all that close to someone to care about my hygiene right now. I'm sure I reek of the sickly scent of a horrible hangover as well. I have no intentions of taking a shower any time soon either.

"I've seen how Jovian looks at you. The way he acted when he thought you were going to fall each time you stumbled as you tried to walk to the kitchen to get the aspirin. You should have seen how he acted that night when he thought the Enchantress was going to kill you. He risked his own life to save you. You know as well as I do, if he wasn't already dead, that would have killed him instantly when he put himself between you and her as she was absorbing your essence. Pure essence is lethal to someone with a beating heart." She told me but I just ignored her.

My head was pounding so hard that every word she said felt like my skull cracked. Now really isn't the time for this but I also knew that because of this hangover, she knew that this was the best time for this because she knew that she could say whatever she wanted to say and I would be forced to listen to her. Even if I didn't want to.

"Then! To have the Enchantress come after him, hitting him but that didn't stop him from crawling to you and grabbing you to hold you close to him. I saw it all, Claudia, and I've seen how he looks at you even now." She told me and this time, I could feel the tears filling my eyes, I knew what she was telling me was true.

"Sometimes it doesn't matter what it is you want," I mumbled in the pillow.

I pushed the pillow into my face a little more, wiping the tears away the best that I could without suffocating myself in the process. Although, suffocating would probably be less painful than the way I'm feeling now.

"You've said many similar phrases but what is it you actually mean?" She asked me.

"It means just as it sounds," I said softly as I turned my head to the side, away from her, and closed my eyes to keep the light from hurting even more.

"But, how does that pertain to Jovian and you? It confuses me and no matter what answer I try to come up with, I just can't make sense of how that is." She continued.

I was getting really tired. Very exhausted from the hangover, frustrated with my life, and tired of the feeling I have when it comes to Jovian. It made me want to give up on relationships altogether. To find the first man with the right bloodlines, get pregnant, and go back home to where I know I won't ever see Jovian again. Maybe I need a year or two or more to get over him and our time together. Maybe it was just too early after that first time to see him again.

"The same reason I've told you before. Because I'm the...." I started to say but she was quick to finish my sentence.

"The royal witch and he's just a vampire," She said with attitude and I'm sure a roll of her eyes.

"That reasoning still stands true," I told her as I pushed myself off of the bed.

"And that's bullshit!" She shouted but I kept my back to her as I carefully walked to the bathroom.

"It's the truth!" I shouted back at her as I shut the bathroom door and locked it.

At least the dizziness seemed to have left me for the time being but I was really starting to feel nauseous again so I walked over to the toilet and sat down on the floor next to it. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, trying to calm down and relax in hopes that the feeling would go away. I am never drinking like that again! Spending all day like this in the bathroom is just ruining my day altogether. I might as well not even bother thinking about going out tonight to any of the places one of those men would be at. I can't imagine I look any better right now than what I feel.

Just thinking of how I was feeling appeared to be more than enough to cause my stomach to turn again. I quickly grabbed the toilet lid and lifted it just in time for me to vomit. My stomach was already sore from how many times I had already met with the porcelain throne, and each time felt like it was going to rip me apart.

I slowly pulled away from the toilet and lowered the lid. I rested my arm and head on it and closed my eyes. I felt like I could sleep for another ten hours. I would much rather sleep in the bed than in here in the bathroom but I'm sure Bella is still in there, probably waiting for me to come back out so she can get on my case again about Jovian.

She just doesn't understand. I'm not sure I fully understand what I'm feeling but I also know what I've read in the ancient readings of my ancestors and I know for a fact that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to be with Jovian. At least, not to make the relationship official. f*****g him from time to time like I have now, twice, is one thing but to turn it into the kind of relationship that I know that he wants? That would not end well for me.

After what felt like hours of laying against the toilet, I felt pretty certain that the nausea was over. I carefully stood up, feeling every joint in my body crack and each muscle pull and stretch. I walked over to the shower and turned it on. I really needed a hot shower right now to make myself feel better.

While the water heated up, I turned to the sink and brushed my teeth. Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt horrified! I couldn't believe I had been walking around the house like this! My hair looked like a rat had tried to make a nest in it. It was so knotted and it was sticking up in areas I didn't think it would ever stick up. I put my fingers in it and felt right away how knotted it was.

Looking at my complexion was almost the worst! I had bags under my eyes and they felt so sunken in from my lack of sleep and nutrition for the last several hours. My skin made me look very dehydrated from the alcohol consumption and my eyes appeared dull instead of their normal deep emerald green color.

I took a deep breath filled with disappointment with myself and continued to brush my teeth. Once I was done, I swished mouthwash in my mouth for several seconds before I felt clean enough to spit it out. The bathroom was already starting to steam up, alerting me that the water was ready. I stripped down to nothing and stepped into the steam-filled shower. Just standing there, breathing in the steam was starting to calm my body and mind.

I took a step forward and let the hot water hit my skin, warming me instantly. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind of any thoughts. Yet, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't clear my mind completely. The only thoughts that seem to stick with me, no matter what I do to try to get rid of them, are any thoughts that involve him. The one memory that pulls at my heart the most.

"Aren't you still in pain?" He asked me softly in the kiss while I pulled him close to me, taking his lips with mine to shut him up.

I didn't want him to ruin the mood. I was in a little pain yet but after the last day and a half with only him, I couldn't take my arousal any longer and I needed him.

"Just shut up and kiss me," I whispered back in the kiss.

It only took a few minutes and I had his shirt ripped from his body. My hands were all over his sculpted chest and arms. Feeling every curve of his muscles and each scar. I wanted him so badly that I didn't care what repercussions my actions may cause by continuing to satisfy my lust and arousal for this man.

The kiss became so heated, that a growl deep in his throat had erupted along with his fangs elongating. The sharp points of them cut my lip a couple of times but he quickly made sure to heal the area right after taking a small sample of my blood. I understood the purpose of sampling the blood when the mood was as heated as ours. I've seen a vampire do it many times before. They do it to help curb their thirst, their desire to sink their teeth into their victim and drain them of their life. Not that he would ever have the power to drain me but it was still a nice thought of him to do what he could to tame the blood lust in his body.

His hands went to my legs and lifted me fast. I wrapped my hands around his neck and tightly into his hair to steady myself as he rammed my back into the wall next to the fireplace.

I felt myself choke on my cry as the tears filled my eyes. I put both of my hands over my face and stuck them directly into the stream of water from the showerhead. I no longer cared if anyone heard me, I let myself cry harder than I have since that perfect night I spent with him.

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Jezabella's POV:

I watched her as she walked slowly, a little off balance with a stumble or two as she walked into the bathroom. Claudia can be so stubborn and now isn't any different than any other time I have brought up the topic. I think I have a little bit of an idea of why she keeps acting like she wants nothing to do with him even though I know for a fact that all she does is think about him. She wants him more than she has admitted and probably more than she would ever admit.

Is it her self-image? Does she feel it would be wrong of her to feel what she feels for him all because he's a vampire and she's the closest thing to a human other than a human? Does she feel that she would be punished or looked down upon if it were to get out that she was involved with a man of the dead? Or, is she fearful of what the Grand Witch would do to her if she were to find out about her involvement with a vampire?

As far as I am aware, I don't think there is anything in the ancient readings stating that she couldn't spend her life with a vampire. I would think she would be able to choose whoever she wanted to be with even if that other person was a troll or even a demon. Well, I don't know about a demon. Can those even care for anything other than themselves? They don't produce like humans so would that mean that the male version of one would even have a d**k? Just the thought of that made me shutter and made my skin crawl. Yeah, I'm not going to let my mind go to that. The idea of that is enough to give me nightmares.

I think, more than anything, that the problem with Claudia is just the idea of her being with a vampire. Either she has a hard time letting herself be with someone that isn't human or she feels there may be a problem with the Grand Witch if she were to ever find out.