Bride of the Vampire Prince

CHAPTER: 8

Vienna took another staggering step forward and made it to the gate. She looked up at the sky and saw the stars twinkling peacefully. Though she knew she should climb back out, towards safety, she thought she had already come so far. She did not feel it right to back out now, at this juncture. She touched the boards of the fence and traced them down into the water, checking where they ended. The current ran stronger underneath. That was where she had to swim. 

This is absolutely crazy, she thought! Suddenly, her pitifully terrible existence did not seem so bad anymore. It actually seemed downright cozy, in comparison. Vienna hesitated, not knowing what to do. She thought about the boy again, and the letter with her name on it.

She finally decided she would just have a look. Or else, she would go crazy just wondering. But, she decided she would give it a try for two seconds underwater. She would then climb back to the safety and warmth of her jacket on the edge of the bank and then run back to the Davies' without looking back.

She took a deep breath and went all the way under, all at once. Keeping her hands on the bottom of the fence, she used them to move beneath the surface. She opened her eyes underwater and saw nothing except for a confusing blur of darkness. 

With a hand still firmly clutching the fence, she swam a little farther in. The top of her head rasped against something hard, probably it must have been the concrete of the tunnel. Vienna stretched out her free hand but only felt water rushing swiftly through the tunnel. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could barely make out some light on the other side, which was where the pond was, exposed to the open sky.

The light from the other side was close enough that she could make it in one stroke, and a second. She let go of the fence and dived through the short tunnel. The color of the water lightened here, and she swam up again, fully expecting to break through the surface on the other side.

And she did. Gasping for breath, she was flooded with relief as her feet found firm ground again, and she stood, realizing the water was only waist-high again. But as she wiped her eyes, her jaw dropped open. She was not where she was supposed to be!

It was daybreak here, not the middle of the night. The sun peeked just above the horizon. The pond was not a pond. She was standing in the shallow area of a large lake with mountains as the backdrop. When she stirred around, neither the embankment nor the gate was behind her. Her puffer coat was gone. The drainage ditch had disappeared too. A gray, sandy beach dotted with pebbles and a forest farther up the bank had replaced them.

Vienna turned around in a circle, blinking. She had no idea where she was. She could not even begin to wrap her head around the questions that her befuddled brain was trying to formulate.

"What, are you just going to stand there?" a boy with an American accent called.

Vienna jumped, her whole body twitching convulsively.

"Sorry." He laughed and stepped out onto the beach. "But I love doing that. It never gets old."

The boy was about six feet tall, with pale skin, a smatter of blotches across his rather large nose, and he had dark red hair. He had an athletic build, with a broad chest and large, square shoulders. He wore a sage-green woolen vest and trousers with tall leather boots and had a brown leather bag slung over his shoulder. It was actually a rather funny-looking outfit, and as if he was an extra in a movie shoot. He walked down to the water's edge with his hand outstretched. As he got closer, Vienna could see that he was about her age, or maybe a year or two older. "Come on now. We do not want you to fall sick again," he said.

Vienna opened her mouth then closed it.

The boy rocked back on his heels, shaking his head. "You do not remember anything, do you?"

"What?" Vienna rasped. 

He cursed under his breath and looked up at the sky, in frustration. "Every time, I think this is going to get easier..." Then he sighed and faced Vienna again. "I am Alex."

Vienna just stared at him.

"I am a friend. I am friendly. I am not going to hurt you, Vienna." He held out his hand for her.

"How do you know my name?" Vienna's voice was cracked and was echoing across the lake.

"That is a long story. But come on, we need to get you out of those clothes before someone sees you," he said.

"I am not going to come near you," Vienna stated adamantly.

He swore again. "Fine. Stay there and get pneumonia, then. Serves you right." Taking a step back, he tilted his head. "I hear galloping horses. You better bloody get out of that lake with those clothes on. If they catch you looking like that, the guards will lock you up and throw away the key, they will. Or worst come worst, they will bring you to the queen."

Vienna looked around wildly. "What guards?"

But Alex put a finger to his lips to indicate her to be quiet, and she heard hooves thundering in the distance. He motioned for her to follow him, but she still hesitated.

"For, God's sake, come on!" Alex said through clenched teeth. "They are almost here!"

He started to run towards the tree cover. Vienna did not know what else to do, so she followed him. Once she made it to the woods, he reached out and grabbed her, his hand encircling painfully around her wrist.

"Do not say a word, and don't beat me up for this later," he told her.

"What on earth are you..." 

He covered his other hand over her mouth stopping her mid-sentence and dragged her behind the tree. "Just stay still," Alex commanded. 

Vienna struggled against him, but he was unusually strong. She could barely move.

"I think they are heading back to the castle." Alex kept his voice barely audible.

A/N: To be continued...