Vampire Queen

Chapter 3: Ava

            The rest of the day went by pretty fast. When lunch was over, the teachers gave all the seniors a bunch of pamphlets for us to read over; we had the week to attend an orientation of each career before we made our decision for Monday next week. As good as any first day of school could be, this was actually the best. No real classes, and I had a real conversation with James, without Jade around at least. My only problem now, I had no connection to any of these careers.

            “What pamphlet do you have?” I looked over at Jade and hers looked nothing like the ones I had in my hands. She handed hers to me and took the retail one out of my pile. “How to be a Good Queen. Is this actually a pamphlet the teachers gave you?”

            “I guess mom needed to make sure I remembered what I’m supposed to do.” Looking at my best friend, I saw how unhappy she is with her future. “Look at this, they actually have a position for someone to tell people what color and style of clothes look good on them, I could finally give everyone a proper makeover!” Her eyes lit up while she read more about the job, but slowly closed when she realizes that she could never have that career. I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to do what would possibly be my worst nightmare.

            “You can give me a makeover anytime.”

            Jade looked at me with wide eyes. “Are you serious? Don’t play games with me right now Ava, I’m in an emotional state.” I took a deep breath and nodded my head. She squealed so loud; people around us were starting to look at us. “You are THE best friend in the whole world!” She flung her arms around me and I couldn’t help but smile knowing I was able to make her happy.

            “You can start by picking out my outfit for your party this weekend.”

            “I am so glad you said that because I already have the perfect one picked out. You will come over about an hour or two before the party starts so we both have time to get ready.” With this, she gets up and walks around to talk with the other students. As future Queen, she has to show she can be there for her people when they need her. If you can’t respect your people, why should they respect you?

            The Queen pamphlet was still in my hand so I decided to look at it a bit and see what Jade would be starting next week. There was information about what duties a Queen has to do in order to support the King in his decisions, and how to communicate when you need the King’s support. Always lead your coven with a kind heart and open mind; you can’t make any rash decisions unless you know for certain it is for the greater good. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking over this thing in case there was any way I could help Jade get through her training.

            Finally, it was the end of the school day. Jade and James were nowhere to be seen, so I went to the bench where James and I sat at lunch to wait for them. Taking the time to look at the other pamphlets I had, I tried to figure out which career to test out first and it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. None of these were interesting. I kept going back to Jade’s Queen pamphlet for some reason. It was more interesting to me than anything else I’ve read over today.

            “To be a good Queen, you must always listen to the problems of your coven; you trying to overthrow Jade for the crown?” I gasped and dropped all the pamphlets on the ground. James walked around laughing. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

            “That was not funny!” I bent over to pick up the pamphlets and stuffed them all into my backpack except the one for Jade. “Where’s Jade?”

            “Impatient to get away from me?” He asks with a raised brow.

            The opposite actually, but I couldn’t really tell him that now could I? “I just really don’t want to be at school anymore.” That was a good answer…I think.

            “Worry not, the fair princess approaches.” He bows to Jade, and she smacks him on the arm. “Ow, what was that for?”

            “For being an i***t. Get in the car, lets go home.” As Jade opens the door, James and I look at each other knowing something was wrong. There were few things in life to make Jade unhappy, and my guess is that she tried to convince a teacher to let her sit in on the retail orientation this week. I don’t blame her for trying if she did, she’s good at it, and I hope one day her dreams can come true.

            The ride home was quiet. We both didn’t try and get her to talk knowing it would make the matter worse. I vowed to myself that I was going to try my best to bring a smile back to her face tomorrow, but I wasn’t sure what to do yet. We pulled up in front of my house, I told them I would see them tomorrow morning while getting out of the car. I got inside and saw Karter walking down the stairs yawning. He must have just woken up.

            “How was school?” He asks once he saw me. I threw my backpack down and went to the kitchen for a snack as Karter followed me.

            “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We don’t even have real classes this week. We just go to different orientations based on the career options so we can decide for Monday morning.” I pulled out the left-over pizza from supper last night, we had a last night of summer celebration and pigged out on so much pizza.

            “Have you made you decision yet?” He asks with hope in his eyes. It’s been difficult for him to see me struggle, and I know he wants to make sure I have my life on track before I become an adult.

            “I have not. None of the careers make any sense to me right now. They aren’t very interesting to me, but I have decided if I haven’t figured it out by my birthday I will work in the daycare, like mom did.”

            “That sounds like a great idea,” Jessica says while walking in the kitchen and wrapping her arms around my brother. “Your mom would be very proud of you for making that choice, even if it’s not what you would like to do.”

            “I figured if Karter was going to follow in dad’s footsteps, I would follow in moms.” I told them.

            “Are you sure?” Karter asks surprising me.

            “You don’t think I should?”

            “I think you should do what makes you happy, and from the look on your face, that won’t make you happy.” He always knew when I was making a sacrifice in my life, because I wanted to make others happy more than myself.

            “It’s a back-up plan. I hope to find what makes me happy before my birthday roles around.” I reassure him. He nodded his head and we all sat at the table eating our left-over pizza. After we ate, I was going to go to my room and try to find some glimmer of joy for one of these careers.

*James*

            When we got home, Jade went straight to her room. She didn’t want to talk about it as much as I tried to get something out of her after dropping Ava off. I was sitting in my game room playing God of War when my parents walked in and turned the T.V. off. They got a phone call from the school today about my anger issue, and I was about to hear the lecture about how a King shouldn’t show their emotions like that in public.

            “Would you like to tell us what happened today?” My dad was standing over me with his arms crossed in front of his chest, mom was next to him with her hands behind her back; both looked annoyed and irritated with me. I knew I couldn’t keep the truth from them, mom seemed to know when someone was lying to her, or at least when Jade and I would lie to her. After a moment, I finally decided to tell them what happened between me and Chase during the assembly in the gym.

            My mom looked at me curiously, “why would that joke bother you so much? Is it because you think of Ava as a sister?” I snarled at her question. Ava was definitely not my sister.

            “You apologize to your mother right now!” Dad yelled.

            “Clifford, he didn’t mean it,” she says after resting her hand on his arm. “James, when did you start getting protective over Ava?”

            “It started today, although I have liked her for a couple years now.” I hung my head, hoping they would leave this topic alone. It’s a little embarrassing when your parents take an interest in your love life. They waited a while knowing that there was more to say, so I mention mine and Ava’s conversation during lunch, and when I snarled again at Chase for looking at her.

            “Ava said it was a static shock?” Mom asked confused.

            “Yeah, she brushed it off saying that it happened a lot. Why?” Now I was the one getting confused. “Could the shock actually mean something different?”

            “Well son, with the way you acted towards Chase and you mother over comments about Ava, it is possible she is your destined mate.” I stared at my dad for a while to read the look on his face, was it happy or mad?

            “I’m not 18 yet, not until Saturday. How is it possible for me to know now?” I needed to find out why, and if it were true, I could be with Ava real soon.

            “Sometimes when a bond is really strong, specially for a royal, you might be able to feel it leading up to your birthday.” Mom sat next to me and grabbed my hand. “Since she obviously felt the shock as well, it means she has feelings for you also. I think that’s the only way for you to have felt it this early.”

            “Does that mean I can start my life with her on Saturday?” I asked hopeful.

            “Not necessarily, she won’t be 18 until the end of October so the bond won’t be as strong for her yet. There will be times when you’re around each other and will feel the pull to one another, but she won’t fully understand it. You might understand and want to be with her all the time; she will need come to you when she is ready.”

            I looked at my mom now after she finished telling me that I still need to wait for Ava to fully feel the bond. “What do I do until then?”

            “You be patient and stand by for when she needs you the most during the waiting time.” Dad finally spoke again. “It won’t be easy, but you need to show her that she can trust you to protect her. It will make the bond stronger knowing you have the trust already before she becomes your Queen.”

            “I guess Jade is off the hook finally, she will like that.” Realizing that Ava will be my Queen brought a warmth to my heart that I had never felt before. She will be an amazing Queen one day.

            “Let’s not tell Jade quite yet. She might spill the news to Ava before the time is right. I will however devise a plan for Ava to join Jade in her lessons this week, and for her to continue starting on Monday once the two of you are no longer there.” Mom was coming up with a plan already, I could see it in her eyes as she figured out all the details. “You might not like this part, but in order for this to work, Ava will have to be in lessons with Chase son.”

            I nodded my head while holding back my snarl. My parents left so dad could make the arrangements with the school, and mom was going to talk with Jade. Chase knew how I felt about Ava now, and we both expect her to be my mate, he won’t say or do anything to her and since he is my second, I need to trust him. I leaned back into the couch and let my head rest comfortably while closing my eyes. I imagined myself and Ava standing in front of the coven after our coronation and becoming the King and Queen of the Midknight coven. The wait until Ava’s birthday is going to be painful, but I know it will be worth it in the end.