Her King, His Slave

2- Rogue

Merylle's POV

"Ouch!" Kriza squeals as Arnia presses the leaves on her freshly wounded elbow.

"That's what you get for messing with the Bathory family!" Arnia scolds. "You just turned for about what? Three days ago? Brave of you to do that. Even members of the council won't stand against the Royal Family," she adds.

Luther is leaning on the thick branch of a high tree. He is feet high from us while I lay freely on the trimmed grass on the ground beside the calmly flowing waters of the river. I decided to join their conversation.

"I beg to disagree," I meddle. I remove my handkerchief that covers my face and sits up. "Not all members of the council are afraid of the Royal family," I smirk.

Luther jumps beside me and grins wider than mine. "And not all humans are afraid of the Bathory." My smirk fades and I gulp. I just hope they won’t remember me. Ido did not know what I was thinking earlier. Instinct maybe? They were laughing at my friend!

"I-It's not that I chose to s-stand earlier!" I take a deep breath. I hope the Bathory won't recognize me. Standing against their way also means surrendering your life. They can kill me in a snap of a finger.

"But come to think of it... Why does the Royal family don't hypnotize vampires and humans even if they can freely do so?" Arnia asks while wrapping the leaves on Kriza's wound. Her brown long hair swayed along with the whispers of the wind and her naturally fair skin matched perfectly with her golden brown eye color.

"It's their unspoken rule." Luther sits beside me and languidly pulls the grass around him. "Hypnotizing humans and vampires also mean they agree that their authority means nothing without their powers. Effective leadership can be seen if your constituents follow you without coercing them."

"I agree. Not that they have to use their power for humans and vampires to follow them. One word from their lips; one glare, and just by their presence, everyone will fear them." Kriza states while caressing her new b*****e wound.

"I really thought Blade will kill me," she whispers.

"He won't. You're not a slave. You know how the Royal Family respects the Verlice law," Arnia replies.

Kriza rolls her eyes and stands in her seat. "I can't be a slave. I'm already a vampire. Vampires can't be slaves," she faces me. Since she's standing, I look up at her, waiting for what she'll say, even though I already had an idea what it is.

“But they can kill you if you disobeyed a law,” I answers.

That’s how it is. Humans will either be a slave or a lump of dead meat when caught, but vampires have no other option but to be buried six feet under.

"Do you not want to turn? You're already 18! Why not mate with Luther?" I almost shoot an eyebrow at her. It's a question I always receive not only from her, but also from Arnia, Luther, and my family.

"Goodness!" I grimace at her suggestion. How many times do I have to tell them that I am not into it?

"I'll be glad," Luther smirks at me. I look at him with pure disgust on my face. I shook my head and ignore their teases. Luther is a friend of mine. If there are vampires that I am comfortable being with, it’s only Luther and Arnia.

"I have to go now. My boyfriend will soon search for me," Kriza proudly announces. She flips her short hair and faces back at us.

"She's enjoying her life being a vampire, huh..." Arnia states as we watch Kriza jump from one branch of a tall tree to the other.

"Oh, sh*t!" I curse.

I remove my gold watch necklace hanging on my neck to check the time. My eyes widen and I aggressively stand on my sit. The sky already turns orange a while ago. Why I haven't thought of it?

"I have to go," I wear back my necklace. I inserted it inside my dress to hide it from someone’s view. I don't want to lose it since it was given to me by my late mother.

"Need help?" Luther arches his brow up.

I shook my head, grips the side of my dress, and pulls it up so I won't be having a hard time running.

"Bye!" I shout to my two vampire friends as I cross the bridge and run toward the woods.

Good thing that this time, they let me. They probably realized I have no time to argue with them. They know my parents pretty well since we grew up together.

Our house is located in the front part of the Kingdom. We literally live in the woods. Unlike the small forest where Arnia lives, our place is more dangerous. We are near the gate of the Verlice Kingdom. If there are intruders or someone who decided to go out of the Kingdom, they have to pass through our forest and none of them is brave enough to do so. Wild bears, snakes, and even rouge vampires were said to live in the seemingly endless forest.

We once lived in a small town where most humans lived. However, when my mom died and my father married a vampire, we transferred to the forest.

I don't understand Livda, my stepmom and why she doesn't want to live in the small forest where most vampire lives... and I don't dare to question her. The last time I talk back at her, she nearly choked me to death and threatened to drink my blood until I'm drained.

“Sh*t!” I cuss to myself when I realize I won’t be able to make it on time.

I may not be knowledgeable about the world outside the Kingdom since it is not being studied in school, still, all of us here are aware that the Verlice Kingdom is the most powerful of all. Our Kingdom is the only kingdom that has vampires and humans living together. In some Kingdoms, if not vampires, all our humans.

No one dares to enter the Kingdom without the Royal family's permission and none of the people inside the Kingdom wanted to go out.

I paused from running, giving myself a rest when my eyes already see our small barn feet away from us. I take my time to catch my breath. When I regained my energy, I ran the distance. I ignored the small branches of trees hitting my arms and shoulders as I shove them behind me. I tripped countless times due to the uneven and large roots of the trees blocking my way, but I do not care. That is not my primary concern right now. I'm late! I should be already at our house at this hour.

From the past years that I live here in the most dangerous forest in the Kingdom, I haven't seen anything they've mentioned. Although I sometimes see snakes, it's not as scary as they say. Snakes hate being seen. They tend to hide whenever they feel someone approaching them.

What I am frightened about is not the snakes, the bears, or even the rouge vampires—which by the way I am not sure if they still exist. What made my heart pound this loud is my pure vampire stepmother.

"WHAT TIME IS IT ALREADY?!" she screams at the top of her lungs as I slam the door open, hoping I made it. But seeing her reaction, I bet it was the otherwise.

I am certain the bats and the birds flew away from our house due to the disturbance made by her voice.

"I... I didn't n-notice the t-time..." my voice quivers as she advances towards me.

The necklace that I hid behind my dress was swiftly pulled from my neck. Its string was torn and my watch detaches from its lock. I can still feel the pang of pain in my neck.

As I watch her raise my necklace from her hand, I notice that the string is once again cut off. I stopped using its original chain and replaced it with soft strings since Livda always tends to harshly remove it from my neck. She hates it when I wore it. That is why I hid it under my dress but, she always seems to notice.

"You have this with you but you still forgot to check the time?" she sarcastically says.

I quickly duck when she throws my watch in my direction. It hit our concrete wall. I immediately went to where my watch fell but before I can pick it up on the floor, Livda pulls my hair and cups my cheeks with one hand. Her long nails dug dip on my cheeks as I tried to free myself from her.

Her eyes turn red and her fangs showed as she smirks devilishly at me.

"L-Let me g-go..." I clung my hands to her arm and tries to remove them. She did let go of me, only that, she slammed my head on the floor.

I felt dizzy and my vision went blurry. I shut my eyes close in an attempt to compose myself. Our door opens. I don't have to check who it was. Based on its footsteps, it's definitely my dad.

"What's happening here?"

"I disciplined her, Hon. It was nearly six in the evening and she was not at home yet. I'm only worried she might encounter rogues on the road." Livda's voice suddenly turned soft. I lift my head and open my eyes to have a view of my father, however, his eyes are all on her.

Livda advances toward my father. She caresses my father's cheek and kisses him.

It made me want to puke so I avoided my gaze at them. Instead, I focus my eyes on my watch necklace.

'If only mom is still alive...'

"Merylle, next time, don't go home late, okay?" My father, who does not care about how his wife treats me, goes to me and gently pulls me up.

'At least he helps me,' I said in my mind, not wanting to paint my father as bad.

I face him. All I can feel is disgust as I stare at his eyes darker than before. His natural golden brown skin is now white as paper. His eyes... his soft brown eyes... the only feature that I got from him, doesn't look soft now. They scream aggressiveness, danger, and... evil.

"Merylle, honey..." I face my evil stepmother. "Can you hunt a rabbit in the forest? It's for our dinner. You can cook egg for you if you want," she smiles sweetly—as if she did not slam my head on the wall earlier.

Tss. I thought they want me home before dark. Then why are they asking me to hunt in the middle of the day and night fighting for their position in the sky?

I am expecting my father to meddle, but just like in most cases, he didn’t.

"Sure," I simply answer, losing hope in the family I once loved.

There's no point in arguing with her. My father will always side with her. If I'll be stubborn, in the end, maybe I won't get to have dinner and our conversation will go down to them urging me to turn myself into a blood-sucking, merciless, and forever young vampire.

I grab the bow and arrow hanging at the corner. I also choose to bring a dagger with me. I may look prim and timid but I know how to swing a knife and use a bow and arrow.

I walk out of our house without glancing at the two.

"Take care!" Livda's annoying voice said before I completely entered the remote part of the forest.

I pull out my watch necklace. I press the top button and the locket opens. It is a picture of my mom. We look exactly the same. I got her red-colored hair with big wavy curls at its tip. Her perfectly trimmed brows, her pointed small nose, and thin pinkish lips... all of them were copied by me. Except for her green eyes. Mine is soft brown... just like the former eye color of my father. When he turned into a vampire, his eye color became deep black.

I heard a rustling sound from afar and saw a bush move. I positioned my bow and pulls out an arrow from my back. I quietly made several steps forward for my shot to be more accurate. The white rabbit's head peeked behind the bush. I smirk when it looked in the opposite direction, making it easy for me to draw my arrow.

I silently stretch the string of my bow, ready to release my arrow. However, a sudden voice creaks from behind, making the rabbit jumped away from its place.

Argh! Whoever it is, I will certainly draw my arrow to them!

"Hi, human..." a deep, cold voice sent a shiver to my whole body and small strands of my hair on my legs up to the back of my neck stands. My body tenses and feel cold when I sense him getting nearer.

I took a deep breath and bravely face him.

'Blade.' My mind screams. What is he doing here?!

"Prince Blade," I mutter softly.

The scene of what happened earlier crosses my mind. Is he here because of what I did?

My eyes dart at him. His messy blond hair complements his white skin. He is tall as Luther and his body physique is perfectly proportioned to his head. Not too lean; not too bulky.

'Why is he here?'

"You're hunting?" he asks. His eyes landed on the bow and arrow that I am holding.

My lips went dry and I don't feel like talking. I nod in response.

I grip my bow tightly when he starts walking slowly toward me. I did not dare to step back nor to do the slightest move.

One side of his lips rose up. "I'm hunting too," he said under his devilish grin.

I gulp. My legs go weak and I feel like they couldn't support my weight. His eyes narrow at me but his smirk is still plastered on his face. I reach for the dagger at my back and hold tight to it. His smirk grew wider and a chuckle escaped from his lips.

"Even the weakest vampire can't be killed by a knife," he reminds me.

He positioned himself, ready to attack me. I closed my eyes as I wait for him to suck the blood out of me. My whole body trembled in fear while waiting for the pain to happen. However, all I felt was a swift blow of the cold wind.

He ran past me.

I slowly open my eyes. He is not in front of me anymore!

I face the direction where he went. I crane my neck when I couldn't find any traces of him.

"Looking for me?" I jump in my place when a cold voice breathed against the back of my neck.

When I turn to face my back, a dead rabbit welcomes me.

“Ahh!” I squeal in surprise.

He levels it right in front and closes to my face. I almost kiss it!

Due to shock, I made an unconscious step backward and fell on my bottom cheeks. “Ouch!” I wince in pain.

My bottom cheek collides with the rough hard ground. Blade tosses the dead rabbit in front of me. I look up at him.

"If you were going to strike it with your arrow, there will be no blood left before you can go home."

I eyed the white rabbit... still white as snow. But I notice that its neck is a bit formless. My eyes widen and stare back at him.

He strangled it to death!

The leaves of the tall trees made a sound after they were swayed by the wind. My brows suddenly furrow. It is not just a simple wind. That is the sound of the leaves when a vampire passed through them.

"Got some business here?" Blade asks. I confusingly face him since he threw a random and irrelevant question while looking straight at me

Out of a sudden, a figure appears from above, making me look at it.

'Prince Enzo.'

I shake my head in my mind. I thought Blade was talking to me.

"What are you doing here, Blade?" I look up at Prince Enzo who is standing at one of the large branches of the tree. His eyes did not even land on me. As if I am not here and my presence doesn’t matter.

"I asked first," Blade replies but his eyes are still on me.

Enzo jumps to the ground. He looks at us. This time, his eyes darts at me.

Just like Blade, he also has blond hair. His eyes are hooded and emotionless. His lips are in their usual thin line, unlike Blade who I always see smirking.

"I am looking for any signs of rouges," Enzo's eyes remain on me as he answers his cousin’s question. I avoid his gaze and slowly stand from the ground as I pull the dead rabbit with me.

"Is it already confirmed?" Blade's voice turns serious. This time, he faces his cousin.

"Not yet. But there is an increasing number of humans getting killed."

I assume they were talking about the possible existence of rouges. There are news recently about humans getting killed in this forest. I once asked my parents about it, but as usual, they brushed it off and act as if we are living in the safest part of the kingdom.

"And that means there are rouges?" Blade retorted—not believing that the number of dead humans is caused by rouges.

It was studied in my class that rouges are now non-existent. They go extinct after the Great Rouge War.

"If they were killed by their co-human, then why are their bodies drained out of blood?"

Silence envelops the place. I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping, but I don't want to move into my place and awkwardly stand there, waiting for any of them to dismiss me.

"Have you talked this out with Venz?" Blade asks. I thought they will continue with their conversation and completely forgot my presence until Prince Enzo throw glances at me.

"Let's talk about this privately. There is still a human in here."

"I-I'll go n-now... Princes," I utter and slightly bow at the two princes. Just then, I realize, I m still on the ground.

I quickly stand on my feet and turn my back on them. I walk faster than my usual pace. However, I notice something. My eyes drop to my hand and realize I forgot to grab the rabbit with me.

Ugh! I do not want to go back but I will definitely be the dead meat if I go home empty-handed.

Even if it is against my will, I face my back and walk towards the dead rabbit lying on the floor. The Princes are still in their place, talking quietly. When they felt my presence, they both turn their gazes in my direction.

I quickly grab the rabbit and bow my head at them before turning my back and jogging away from them. I can feel their stares at me but I ignore them until I made it out of their sight.

“Finally!” I sigh. My free hand went to my chest. I just realized I did not breathe the whole time I'm walking out of their sight.

I turn my head back to where I came from. I couldn't see them anymore... guess I made it that far huh?

I am walking with my head still looking at my back when suddenly, I stumbled on my way which made me fall.

“Ouch!” I grimace in pain. I look at the reason why I fell and my eyes widen. I thought it was just a large root from a tree but… my body stiffens and my hands tremble.

"Ahhh!" I scream. The dead rabbit from my hand flew meters away from me and I lost grip on my bow.

I scream louder than earlier.

I-It's not roots that tripped me! It's a d-dead human! His eyes are left open and his lips are widely parted—as if he gasped for air before he died. His body is also paled white and dull.

Before I can continuously scream, the two princes appear in front of me.

Prince Enzo gazes at me with his cold-looking eyes. He lends a hand to me, and still trembling in fear, I accepted it. I felt a sudden crawl of electricity when our hands touch. My eyes bore at him but I immediately divert my sight in another direction when he stare back.

He easily pulls me up, but due to my shaking legs, I was out of balance. Luckily, he is swift enough to snake his arm on my waist to support my weight.

"Are you okay?" he asks with no tone of concern in his voice... pure coldness.

"Y-Yes..." I pull away from him. "T-thank you," I utter. He did not answer me. Instead, both he and Blade stare at the dead human in front of us.

"Drained with blood. Definitely rouge," Blade commented.

-----

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

-----

Her King, His Slave

by: Joanne Cristel

©2021