Her King, His Slave

3- Bumped Into Him

Merylle's POV

"Y-You don't have to worry about me, Princes. I can walk myself home," I said in a low voice. Prince Enzo ignored me. On the other hand, Blade turned to me and smirks. I avoid my gaze at him.

"Tell that to us if you don't scream in fear over a dead human," he chuckles. I press my lips together. I can feel my face heat due to embarrassment.

I heard a lot of news in the past few days about dead humans drained with blood. It was the talk of the whole kingdom. Others claimed that most of the dead human was found in the thick endless forest where we live nearby. Yet, this is the first time I saw a dead human in front of me.

I shut my mouth—stopping myself to talk back to him even though I am pissed by his mocks. He is still a Prince. I do not want to see myself standing in front of the council and getting punished for disrespecting them.

I hate it when others are telling me I'm weak. Not because I'm human, but because I can't protect myself from this vampire-dominated world. I already poured out all my courage earlier when I yelled at him in the school. I don't dare to do it again.

I was just shocked earlier, okay? Tss.

Blade is walking ahead of me. It gave me a chance to glare at him.

‘If you aren’t a Prince, I will definitely kick your ass!’

"Stop throwing dagger-look at me, human..."

Coldness wraps my whole being. My eyes widen. I turn pale and I feel like blood left my body.

Blade did not even throw a glance at me when he spoke. Can he already read minds? My eyes widen at the realization. Can they?!

I glance at Prince Enzo who is casually walking beside me. His eyes are straight on the road and he seems to not care about me and Blade.

I look again at Blade and slightly bow my head as a sign of apology even though he couldn’t see it.

“Princess, thank you for your efforts, but I can handle myself. You may now leave.”

I am not certain if what I said was right. But it’s true, our house is near. It would be weird for them if they will know I live here in the forest.

I bow my head and distanced myself from them, thinking that they understand my goodbye.

“It is our responsibility to make sure you’re safe,” Prince Enzo says.

Both of them follow me, ignoring what I said. I did not argue with them. They are Princes. I do not want to get in trouble just because I do not want them to know I live here.

“There’s a possibility that a murderer is lurking in the area,” he adds even though he doesn’t need to explain himself.

I thought of it. Maybe he is right. What if the murderer is still here? I can be his or her next victim!

We are walking side by side as I guide them on the way to our house.

“Uhuh…” I hear Blade whisper to himself. Even though he is not facing me, I can sense his lopsided grin while Prince Enzo did not say a word. It gave me relief.

Prince Enzo is the leader of the council. The council serves as the law in the Kingdom. I thought I will be punished for glaring at a Prince. Luckily, he did not take my disrespectful acts seriously.

We walk silently. Prince Enzo walked calmly with his head held up high and his hands both placed at his back. While Blade keeps on giving me side glances with his smirk not leaving his face.

"Thank you, Princes," I uttered when we reach our house. I face the two and bow my head as a sign of respect.

Our wooden door suddenly opens. Since I am facing the two Princes, I didn't notice it. The door hit my back and I silently wince in pain.

‘What the?!’

I turn to face my back. My face grimaced when I saw who it was.

"OH MY!" My stepmother exaggeratingly reacts, but not because she hit me. Her hand flies on her mouth to cover it. her eyes widen and her lips parted as she stares at the two Princes standing in front of our door house.

"Mother..." I call when I realize she's staring at the Princes longer than she should. I don't usually call her 'mother' but I have no other idea how I can snap her back into her senses.

Livda faces me. Curiosity plasters on her face as her eyes darts at the men and back to me, asking me for an explanation.

"They w-walked me home. We saw a dead human while I'm hunting," I explain. I am in no mood to explain the details to her. Not that she cares about it since her attention is all poured on the two Princes.

"Good evening, Miss." The Prince greets in unison.

My stepmother's hand went to her chest and the other is on the side of her long skirt. She crosses her legs and lowers her upper body to the two Princes as a sign of courtesy. She’s in all smiles—completely opposite of how she is when it’s only the two of us.

"Thank you, Princes, for making sure my daughter went home safe. It is an honor."

I make face at what she says. ‘Daughter my a*s!’ I roll my eyes and land at Prince Enzo who is staring at me. I silently clear my throat and straightens my back. ‘Sh*t!’.

"It is our responsibility," Prince Enzo darts her gaze to Livda and replies formally.

My stepmother's eyes sparkle as she stares at the Princes. I want to puke at the sight of it but I did my best for my face to remain calm.

"Who's that?" asked the voice from her back.

My father appeared from her behind. Livda stepped to the side to present my father to the Princes.

"The Princes are here! They walked our daughter home!" I want to roll my eyes. My stepmother's voice annoys the hell out of me.

"Thank you, Princes." My father bows his head as a sign of respect and gratefulness.

Silence enveloped the place. I turn to face the Princes. Blade stares at my father. I do not know if what I saw was right, but I think his eyes changes red. Vampire's eyes are changing colors when they are using their vampire abilities.

None of them greets my father back... not until Prince Enzo lends his hand.

The surprise was evident on my face.

'Who wouldn't be? A Prince lends a hand to a commoner!'

On the other hand, my stepmother looks thrilled at the sight. Prince Enzo’s hand is still hanging in the air, waiting for my father to accept it.

“Ehem… Father?” I call. It is disrespectful to make the Prince wait!

I watch the scene in front of me. Blade does not look surprised. His eyes are directed at my father as if he is scrutinizing him.

"P-Prince..." My father utters and bows his head—refusing to accept Prince's offer.

I saw how Livda secretly taps my father's arm, urging him to accept the hand of the Prince.

My father slowly held up his head. He stares at Prince Enzo and back to his hand. With one tap of Livda to my father, he raises his hand and held it with Prince Enzo.

"Good evening," Prince Enzo stated as they both shook each other's hands.

"G-Good evening too, Prince!" My father greets back.

"Why not the both of you dine in? I can prepare the dinner in just a matter of seconds!"

Livda grabs the dead rabbit in my hand and showed it to the Princes. That is the moment I wished the ground will open up and eat me alive!

What is this woman thinking?! Inviting the prince over for dinner inside our tiny and unwelcomed house?! Not to mention that our only food is the dead rabbit on which Blade hunt for me!

Our wooden house can pass to a nipa hut. Only that, a nipa hut is prettier! Ours is made up of patched woods! The Princes will surely be disgusted!

"It's fine," Blade turned the offer down. Just like what I expected.

Livda's smile fades.

Does she really think the Princess will eat with us? I shake my head. She’s delusional.

"We saw a dead human near the premises. We need to address it quickly,” Prince Enzo explains.

"Y-Yeah... sure! Thank you again, Princes!" Livda replies and bows her head to the Princes. I and my father did the same.

The two Princes bid their formal goodbyes. Before facing their backs, Blade winks at me.

“Blade…” Prince Enzo calls him in a warning tone, which I do not know what for. He faces me and nods his head, saying his final goodbye.

When the two fade out of our sight, Livda grabs my arm. Surprisingly, her hold isn't tight, unlike the usual where she digs her nails into my skin.

"The Princes saved you?"

"I don't call it as 'saving'. They just walked me home."

Which is partly a lie. They did save me from a possible rouge attack, but of course, I do not want her to know how the prince ran to aid me when they hear me scream. It is a natural instinct, especially since they are the royals and they are responsible for every life here in the kingdom.

But I doubt Livda will understand it. She will only think that the princess did it for me alone.

The sight of a dead man suddenly entered my mind. I shook my head to erase the image.

"There are a lot of humans dying in the forest. They say it's probably rouge," I said.

My father went to our small round table and grabs a newspaper. While Livda went to the sink to prepare their dinner. They both ignored what I said.

She pulls out a knife and cut the rabbit open. She then poured its blood on the cup. I faced the other direction. Poor rabbit.

"So, what will you wear on the coronation night?"

I ignore her question and went to the corner of our house where the small kitchen is placed. I grab an egg resting on the tray and stare at it for a second, contemplating what kind of cook will I do to it after eating eggs for a straight week.

'I'll just boil it.'

I went to the backside of our house to light the wood with fire. I put the egg in our one and only stainless pot and filled it with water.

"I'm asking you."

I didn't notice that Livda followed me outside. I glance at her while waiting for my egg to get cooked.

"Not gonna attend," I simply answer.

Why would I? This place annoys every part of my body. Imagine passing the crown to someone simply because he is your eldest son. Shouldn't the crown be passed to someone who can truly serve the Kingdom?

‘Like Prince Enzo!’

I don't believe Venz deserves the crown. If it is Prince Enzo, then I'll definitely attend the coronation. Out of all the members of the Bathory family, he deserves to be the next King! I can only call Blade and Venz without their title in my head. Prince Enzo is the only one I call 'Prince'.

"You should! I prepared your dress. Don't let it go to waste!"

I face her. "What?" Why would she? As far as I remember, we do not play the role of a mother and daughter. If not for my father, we would literally treat each other as strangers.

"I did not tell you to buy me a dress," I reply.

Where did she get the money for it?

"You'll go." She said with finality.

My brows furrow but I straighten them when I face her. She doesn't want it when I make face at her.

"Why do you badly want me to go to the coronation?"

"For you to meet the Princes and the King!"

"I always see them in school." I stop myself from rolling my eyes inwardly. What’s so special about the coronation? Ugh! Why would I go to the celebration of a not deserving crowned King?

"Your dress is ready. I'll go with you. I'll make sure you'll dance with them." She said and turns her back, not letting me answer.

I was about to follow her inside to argue but I hear the pot boiling. My shoulders slump down and I harshly sigh.

“Yeah, right. Silly of me to think I have a voice here in our own house,” I whisper to myself. I do not care f she’ll hears it. I hope she hears it.

I grab the rug near me and used it as a potholder. I strained the water and transfer the egg to another plate.

"Go on a diet for a week. Make sure the dress will fit!" I hear Livda shout from the inside.

I eat an egg almost every day for dinner and she's gonna say I have to lessen what I eat? Goodness!

*****

"Is this necessary?" Livda braided the side of my hair and let the rest fall on my back.

I am wearing a dark blue royal dress which according to her, complimented my red—almost copper-colored hair. The curled tips perfectly sway three inches above my hips.

"You have to be gorgeous. There will be a number of plenty of girls out there. You have to stand out!"

"Why are you so obsessed with this?" I ask in a low voice. Even though I'm annoyed by her, I never raised my voice.

"All done!" Her high-pitched voice made me squeak, ignoring my question. She's a pure-blooded vampire, she definitely heard what I said but chose to not acknowledge it.

She motioned me to rise. We both stared into the full-length mirror glued to the wall of her room.

Livda is wearing a dark red dress. Her long straight jet black hair is now in a crown braid. It emphasizes her seductive collared bone and highlighted her height.

"We should go before the palace turn crowded," she says while dragging me out of the room.

When we stepped out, I roamed my eyes to our small house but I can see no traces of father. I sighed.

"Did father go hunting?" I ask when I notice that he’s not in his usual seat in our small living room.

"Obviously, dear..." she scornfully answer and rolled her eyes at me.

It's already dark. The coronation starts at 7 in the evening. I know my father is already a vampire but a rouge does not care whether or not you are.

"You should tell him to stop hunting at night."

I hate to admit it, but my father only listens to Livda. Never to me. At least when mom is still alive, he did.

"If I tell him to not hunt, then we will eat no food."

"Not my problem," I whisper.

Wrong move. I forgot I'm talking to a vampire.

Livda's nail dug onto my neck. Her dark eyes pierce into mine. I opened my mouth to gasp for air. I tried to remove her hand on my neck but as a powerless human, I couldn't even lift a single finger of hers!

"L-let go o-of me!"

Instead of listening to my plea, she pulls me closer to her by my neck.

“Talkback again and I will crush every bone in your body.” She pulls me closer to her and leans forward to my ear. “Lucky for you... you have to attend the coronation. I can't let your neck bleed," she whispers and slams me down on the cold floor.

I am wearing a pair of shoes with heels that I am not used to. Due to her force, my body kissed the ground. I wince in pain when I feel my ankles were forced against the ground.

‘Godd*mn!I think I am sprained.’

Livda didn't give me an opportunity to check it.

“Ouch!”

She harshly pulls me up by my arm and drags me out of our house. I barely manage to keep up with her steps.

*****

"Try to have a dance with the King! I'll go talk with my friends. I will be watching you." Livda let go of my arm. Her hands marked on it, leaving red spots on my white-paled skin.

The coronation went well. I stand in the middle of the crowd with my stepmother the whole time while Venz is being crowned. The whole Bathory is present. Even the members of the council are here. Almost all the people in the Kingdom went to witness how Vurther Bathory transferred his crown to his eldest, leaving the small town and the forests, empty.

Livda went somewhere. I did not bother asking her whose friend will she talking to. I don't care about what she does and I don't have any plans on following her order.

I roam my eyes to check for any signs of my friends. I'm sure they are here. I crane my neck, trying to search for Arnia or Luther.

But as a 5 flat girl in the middle of the crowd of most vampires, it is impossible for me to—'Oh, there he is!’

Wearing his tux, I saw Luther, and he's with Arnia! They are meters away from me. I try to wave my hand to catch their attention, but none of them notices.

If I have the courage, I will shout their name so their vampire powers can hear my voice. But I am too shy to do that. In the end, I gave up on frantically waving my hands and decides to walk toward them.

My foot still hurts so I tried to walk slower. The coronation is done and the after-party is up. We are all in the palace garden. Some are drinking and chitchatting while the others are dancing... just like the two of my friends!

"It's the King!" I hear someone whispers but I ignored it. I'm too focused to go to my friends' location.

"He's so handsome!"

"He's walking in our direction. I will ask him for a dance!"

I wave my hand, trying to catch Arnia’s attention. When she slightly faces my direction. However, since she is dancing, she did not notice me.

'Ugh! Seriously?'

I tried to walk faster by pulling up my dress but my foot and my shoe don't go well with each other. Plus, the damp and soft ground of the soil did not help at all.

My bad luck suddenly knocks on me when I step on the small rock, making me fall to the ground... almost...

A hand snakes around my waist and a pair of cold brown eyes welcome me.

I blink, still contemplating whether what I am seeing is real. I instantly fix my stance and push him away... and that's the worst decision that I made.

My foot is not yet in a good state. The only support I have that time to balance myself is the hand on my waist. Since I forcefully pulled my body away from him, my bottom cheeks are now kissing the ground… again.

"Aw!" I grimace.

My eyes crawl up to the man in front of me. My eyes widens when his pair of cold gaze bore into me.

‘Prince Enzo!’

I easily divert my attention to the presence of someone approaching us. I turn to face it, breaking my eye contact with Prince Enzo. A pair of black boots stopped in front of me. I am still on the ground and struggling to stand due to my foot.

"Is this the girl?"

My body tenses. The voice is very familiar to me. I shut my eyes tightly. I hope I’m wrong.

I look up to confirm its owner. A cold shiver crawls up my spine. It’s him.

‘Prince—King Venz!’

With his gold cloak and a crown on his head, he offers a hand to help me. I hesitated at first but when I realize some guests are already watching us, I did not think of rejecting him.

My shaky hand accepted his. He pulled me up and I tried my very best to not look like I'm having a hard time standing. I immediately let go of him as if I held a hot pot with my bare hands.

"Greetings, Prince Enzo and K-King Venz," I bow my head to the two. I glue my eyes to the ground, refusing to meet their gazes.

I shut my eyes for a second and utter a short prayer... wishing for him to not recognize me as the girl who yelled at their cousin in the school's hallway.

"A human...?" he asks.

I immediately open my eyes and frown. Why does he sound disappointed when he realizes I am a human? Don’t tell me that the next King is a racist?!

I lift my head to look at him. His thick brows furrow as our eyes lock each other.

"Her mother and father are vampires." Prince Enzo answers.

I have no idea why they are talking about Livda and my father. But that is not my top concern. What bothers me the most is the fact that a prince and a king are both in front of me while I look like a worn-out rug due to some grass and mud on my dress.

"How come you're a human if both of your parents are vampires?" He asks me. This time, I stand on my feet.

His dark eyes match his black hair. In their generation of the Bathory, he's the only one that has black hair. All of his cousins are blond and blonde.

"M-My parents were both humans. When my mother died, my father married a vampire," I explain.

I don't know what my family got to do with this, but one thing I know, is I have no right to not answer his questions.

"So, you don't drink blood..."

"W-What? No!" What made him think that I do?!

I immediately zip my mouth and bow my head when I realize what I did.

Sh*t! Why did I raise my voice?

He made a step forward. His feet almost touched mine and I can feel his coldness. He leans closer to my ear. What he whispers next makes me want to run out of there.

"I remember you. Brave enough for a human to do that... see you again."

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Unedited. English is not the author's first language so expect grammatical errors.

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Her King, His Slave

by: Joanne Cristel

©2021