Nobody is Safe

Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

I slowly opened my eyes and had to blink several times to make the picture clear again. I looked at my Mom and she took a step back, her blue eyes wide. There were gasps around the room as I slowly stood back up. “Your eyes, what have I done?!”

I looked at my mom quizzically. “What are you talking about mom?”

“She’s a Vampire?” “I thought she was a witch?” “How is this possible?” The room broke out in chatter and even the Queen lost some of her composure but the King cleared his throat and the room filled with silence.

“Rebecca?” I turned to the King and stared at him. My own eyes felt like they were going to bug out of my head. “Elena she needs a donor god only knows how ravenous she must be!”

“What is happening?” I asked and clamped my eyes shut. “Take it back, take it all back!” I groaned and clamped my hands to my head as it pounded in my ears and behind my eyes.

“I Can’t take it back, I told you that!”

Be strong! My mom’s voice was there inside my head like it would be if I was touching her. You got to be strong. We can face this together!

Someone’s hands grabbed my shoulder and started pulling me from the room. I opened my eyes and stared into the concerned eyes of the King. He led me down a hallway and into a room that was sectioned off with curtains through the curtains down another hallway to a door where he stopped.

“Taylor you can’t come in this room.”

“To hell I can’t, if you’re taking my daughter you’re taking me!” My Mom’s eyes flashed with her anger.

“Okay let me rephrase that, you don’t want to come in here! This is where the donors are, we keep a few on hand at all times. You don’t want to see what she is about to do, keep your sanity safe and let me take her!”

Mom looked like she was going to argue but another groan from me that slipped through my lips made her become quiet. I think she nodded because suddenly he was pulling me along again and then he stopped and deposited me in a chair. “Donor now it’s an emergency!” He hollered and within seconds a woman was led into the room she seemed dazed and out of it they helped her sit in the chair in front of me.

“Ok Rebecca, I know this is going to sound absurd, but I need you to show me your teeth.”

I blinked and then smiled and I felt a sharp tooth on each side of my mouth scrape at my lips he nodded to himself. “Okay that’s what I thought. Now see this wonderful woman in front of you?” I nodded and he smiled. “You need to bite into her neck with those two sharp teeth and drink a few deep swallows no more than that do you understand?” I nodded my eyes filled with fear. “Once you start drinking it's going to be hard to stop so I need you to stay focused. Just a few mouthfuls is all you need don’t take more or you can kill this woman and you don’t want to do that do you?” I shook my head in response.

“Lean forward, open your mouth and bite down not hard at all.” He encouraged and slowly I leaned forward and that’s when I saw a vein pumping blood in her neck and I went for it all thought ceased only one thing mattered getting that substance in my mouth. 

It was so hard to break free King Jared had been right. I think it was one of the hardest things I had to do but I managed to break free and then a whole rush of senses hit me. I could hear the woman’s heart beat and I could taste the metallic tang of her blood still in my mouth but it was covered by the sweetest taste I had ever tasted in all of my eighteen years, and then my hearing seemed to triple, my eyesight sharpened as did everything even my body seemed to take on a more muscle tone everything sharpened and then I noticed The King’s proud smile. “You did it like you are a pro my dear child. To have that locked away inside you for so long it must have been unbearable after it first went through your bloodstream. Yet you handled it smoother than I think anyone has ever managed their transition.”

“So what does this mean?” I asked softly as two men came and helped the woman out of the room.

“It means you are a vampire of sorts but also a witch I’m not sure what to make of it, but if you want I will personally teach you some tricks and give you some knowledge into the world you just happened to fall into.”

“Thank you.” I said honestly. “How did you know this was what I needed?”

He shrugged. “Your eyes.”

I raised one of my eyebrows. “What about my eyes?”

“Well uh they turned red and I could see the blood thirst just beyond it.”

“My eyes turned red? What color are they now?”

“Green the same color as your dress which is strange because I swore your eyes were gray when I met you.”

I blushed a light pink color and looked down at my hands. “Well yeah about that my eyes do that Mom noticed it when I was real young it grows on you.” I laughed softly and nervously.

“Don’t be shy, it's alright. Come on let’s get back to your mom before she comes tearing in here.” He smiled and held his hand out to help me up.

I took his hand and actually needed it for a minute as I adjusted. Slowly he led me out of the room and back to where my mom was standing tapping her foot anxiously. 

“There you are about time! How are you feeling baby girl? You look better.”

I nodded and smiled at her. “I’m alright I think I’m still in shock more than anything.”

“Me too, if I had known I wouldn’t have waited so long but how was I supposed to know?”

She seemed to be defending herself. “Mom relax it's okay I’m fine!” I said and hugged her gently silently begging her to be strong because I was trying my hardest to be strong for her.

“Oh Becka I was so worried!” she squeezed me tightly holding me to her.

“Mom it's okay I’m fine don’t worry everything is going to be okay.”

She finally let me go and had to wipe at her own eyes. “Okay let's go back to the party.” She said softly. “You sure you are up for it?”

I nodded and together the three of us walked back to the royal diner. The King whispered to me. “Just eat slowly everything will be new to your senses.”

We slipped in a side door and got back in our seats. Everyone was deep in conversations eating away. I looked at the food on my plate and kinda just stared at it. I wasn’t sure if I was hungry or not and I was kind of curious how that would settle with blood in my stomach. The Queen grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. I looked up at her and she smiled encouragingly. I smiled back carefully to not show my fangs. It was such a strange sensation to have the fangs in my mouth they were sharp and they seemed to graze my lips when I smiled and when I talked but it took almost no effort to keep them hidden which was a good thing. I wasn’t so lucky when I was trying to eat my lips kept slipping and one or the other of the fangs kept popping loose. Nonetheless I made slow progress trying hard to hide my discomfort. The night seemed to drag by ever so slowly but eventually dinner was dismissed and the four of us left. The King and Queen led the way and Mom and I followed them. They lead us through a maze of doorways and courtyards to end up on the palace front door step. They led us in and to a living room of sorts. This place was so grand there are no words; the walls were all shades of blue and green hues blending together perfectly the furnishing seemed decades old something you might see in a haunted house from the seventeenth century. The walls held oil paintings of nature and of course the King and Queen themselves. The chandeliers held different color candles that were slowly burning away surrounded by gems of blues and greens. “Green for my side of the family and Blue for Jared’s side.” The Queen explained when she caught me staring.

“Oh.” I remarked and blushed at being caught.

“You have such lovely skin and hair!” she reached over and twisted a strand of my hair around her finger seeming to be dazzled by it.

“Umm thanks.” I said softly biting my lip. I winced slightly as one of my fangs pierced my lip. 

“Well now we know the answers we seek.” The Queen turned from me and fixed my Mom in her gaze. “You have to call Mom and Dad before word gets to them you know how fast it travels!”

“Elena I don’t want to, I can’t! I thought we were supposed to be under wraps and you go and expose Becka like that in front of all those people prying for information and you give them the biggest news of their lives. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mom and Dad already know and it’s just a matter of that phone call!” My mom seemed to be shaking from the inside out.

“Mom just tell them the truth or whatever truth you want everyone to know. You know the truth always wins out. That’s what you taught me from a young age and I believe in it to the fullest now more so than ever before!”

“Rebecca you don’t know what you’re saying you don’t understand this world you’re too young to understand any world!” she snapped. That did it and broke the small grip I had. I burst into tears and ran from the room out the front door I didn’t stop running until I was at my room I unlocked it with my key and ran in slamming the door and locking it I also walked over to the adjoining door and locked it then I went to the bed threw myself down and gave in to the racking sobs taking over my body. And that’s when low in my stomach I felt Mother Nature grant me my monthly gift. “Are you flipping kidding me?!” I exclaimed and ran to the bathroom doing a quick assessment of the closet in the bathroom. I was thankful to find tampons. I quickly righted the situation and took a shower to make sure I was clean. I found some clothes in the closet in the bedroom and was grateful for the baggy T-shirt and sweatpants. I climbed back into the king sized bed and pulled the covers over my head. I lay in the darkness, my body shaking but no more tears would come. I was in an over shock of sensation. To many things laying on my chest the world was on top of me how would I survive? I know I would but how? You don’t understand this world, you’re too young to understand any world! My mom’s words came back to haunt me. I tossed and turned and fuzzed and fidgeted but couldn’t sleep. My mind raced with everything I had learned my heart seemed to be in shreds and I couldn’t focus. The blood I had drank coursed through my system making everything hum. It was as if someone turned on a light switch and it was stuck on and won’t turn off. 

I sighed softly and rolled over and then shortly rolled back over to finally flop on my back with a groan, my eyes leaking more tears so they ran down the sides of my face and into my hair. Why couldn’t I have a normal life? My parents together, living happily ever after, no demons, or witches, or vampires, just a normal life… but this was the life I had been given. On the run my whole life has left me little time to truly think about the meaning behind this… if he finds us something bad will happen but what? What will happen? A DNA test? Then what? Would I be forced to go live with him would my Mom? They couldn’t do that right? So many questions buzzed in my head and in my heart. None of which I had an answer for and most of the questions only brought up more questions and then my mind started unraveling everything I had heard, seen, and felt. I could feel magic coursing through my blood there was no denying that but why didn’t I feel any different? I still felt like me in mind and body. My soul feels uneasy but with time I’m sure those things will right themselves they had to right? I couldn’t be just a moody girl anymore. I was a princess one who needed to learn her place but did this world really have a place for me? Did my mom care so much about protecting me that she was slipping from me and creating her own misery all in the name to keep me safe? What could I do to make things right with her and the world? How was I going to change this never ending circus into a beautiful life when I didn’t know what this life even meant besides the whole “Creatures of the night” thing. I didn’t understand what my blood meant to anyone or why anyone would gossip about me and my Mom or why anyone would care. Why couldn’t we just live in these two rooms and never leave? Why did everything have to be so complicated? With that I fell asleep, my mind full of worry and doubt.