I blushed slightly at her compliment and took a deep breath, “I think so… I mean yes I am ready.”
Mara walked so gracefully toward me it was if she was floating and clasped my hand between hers and she looked me deeply in the eyes, “Just allow your emotions to relax. Tonight is a celebration for you, enjoy it.” She smiled at me then, revealing her perfect fangs that I no longer found menacing in any way. In fact I was starting to think I preferred vampire smiles over human smiles, there was just something so dangerously beautiful about them that I couldn’t help but love.
“Okay, let’s get going. The King will be making the announcement soon and we need to be certain that we are all in our places. Follow me,” Mara said sounding much like she did the night of my transformation, her voice taking on a mechanical tone.
I followed behind Mara as she speedily walked through the hallways, I did my best to keep up but was cautious not to go too fast that I might tear my dress. Robin kept pace with me holding up her dress in large handfuls as we marched steadily through the hallways to the second level entrance of the ballroom.
Mara led us to a small staging room that connected to the grand staircase that led into the crowd of vampires that awaited me. “This is it. Robin and I must leave you here and join the crowd while the King makes his announcement. When he does, that is when you will make your entrance. Do your best to evoke confidence and pride. There are many old vampires eagerly awaiting your arrival and they will be able to sense any hesitation. We don’t want them to get the wrong impression.”
“Yes Mara, I understand,” I smiled in reassurance. My confidence was building with the excitement I had for this night and I felt my resolve overcome any remaining fear. I can do this, I know I can.
“You are going to do great Claire. I will be there in the front row,” Robin said as she smiled and embraced me fiercely before taking her mom’s hand and rushing out of the room.
As the door shut behind them I walked toward it and could clearly hear the crowd of voices from the ballroom being carried up to me. The tones and inflections were excited and jubilant which made me that much more eager to make my debut. They had all come to see me, the new vampire Princess. The title still blew my mind, but in a good way.
The sudden boom of Nicolae’s voice over the crowd nearly startled me as he commanded them to silence. I drew closer to the door and placed my head against it to listen in on his announcement.
“The Queen and I want to thank you all for joining us tonight on this most joyous occasion. It is with both honor and great excitement that I include you all in the celebration of a new family member. We have chosen a daughter among our people. Her display of exceptional strength, wisdom and purity make her perfect as our heir. It is true that just days ago she was a human,” as he said this a wave of murmuring erupted from the crowd, but Nicolae continued seemingly without having noticed, “but this did not hinder her in her sense of duty to her people or to her King and Queen. She accepted our proposal with great respect and confidence. We have no doubt that she can conquer the responsibilities we have bestowed upon her.”
Applause rushed through the crowd then like waves crashing on a shore and I could feel my lips spread into a wide smile as a tear trickled down my cheek. The love and pride in Nicolae’s voice as he spoke of me to the vampire dignitaries was overwhelming. It made me happy to make him happy, it gave me a sense of purpose that I never had before. As the clapping died down I heard Nicolae continue, his tone more eager and excited clearly pleased by the reaction of the crowd.
“With great pride I wish to formally present to you, my daughter Claire Noire, vampire Princess.”
The vampires erupted in an explosion of applause and cheers. A small twinge of nervousness hit me but I pushed it away as I took a deep breath and opened the door. The sight of the ballroom was breathtaking, but I forced myself not to let it distract me as I made my way toward the staircase.
The crowd hushed as I made it to the stairs and paused as I took in the magnitude of the evening. There were hundreds of vampires packed into the enormous ballroom, all of their dark eyes watching me expectantly. I returned their gazes, doing my best to exude an unwavering confidence. I took another deep breath and lifted my dress in one hand as I took my first step down the staircase. My eyes traveled over the crowd, scanning the faces as I made my slow descent.
Half way down I made it to a small landing where the King and Queen stood waiting for me. Their faces were filled with unmasked pride as their dark eyes looked upon me. I gave a small smile, not revealing my fangs and bowed deeply to them. As I did so, the crowd joined me. In near unison all of them copied my bow and directed it to the King and Queen. When Nicolae raised his hand we all rose from our bows.
The Queen then walked to my side while the King remained on the other as we turned to face the crowd directly. As we moved I noticed camera crews on the edges of the room, their bright lights shining on us. I stood up even straighter and tried to express a small smile, hoping that at that very moment my human mom or Liz might be looking at me.
As we made our way down the last set of stairs the crowd separated giving us sapce to walk toward the center of the room and a band started playing as the singer started her chorus in a deep soulful tune that thrummed methodically inside my ears.
We came to a stop in the center of the room and vampires took turns approaching us, each bowing before expressing their excitement and commenting on my poise or beauty. Not knowing what to say I simply thanked them or smiled in appreciation.
I was happy to see the crowd slowly dissipate as vampires broke off into dancing or small groups in deep discussion. I watched as an abnormally plump vampire had a rather animated discussion with Nicolae and kept pointing toward the door. “What are they talking about?” I asked Evilyn when I noticed that she was watching them like a hawk.
“He is complaining about the protestors outside. Nothing for you to worry about. Do not let it ruin your night,” she smiled down at me and made her way over to them leaving me alone to greet the remaining vampires who still wanted to welcome me to the family.
As the last vampire bowed, a wrinkly old man, who I wondered whether he hated spending eternity being such an old age, Robin popped up at my side out of thin air. “You were gorgeous Princess. Did you see the look on Dmitry’s face?”
“Robin you don’t have to call me that, and no I didn’t see him at all. Where is he?”
“Well… tonight I have to. I think he is directing the camera crews out of the palace and then I am sure he will come searching for you.”
“They aren’t going to tape the entire ball?” I was a little saddened by this fact. I was hoping that my human mom and Liz would in some way get to celebrate the entire event with me. Watching me as I danced and greeted vampire dignitaries.
“No, they are only allowed to record the announcement and then they must leave because the rest of the ball is not permitted to be viewed by humans. It is vampire tradition.”
“That’s a little disappointing,” I sighed and tried searching the seemingly endless crowd of faces looking for a specific one. Dmitry.
Dark eyes glanced at me from hundreds of faces as I walked through the crowd with Robin at my side. Many nodding their heads as I passed and several younger male vampires smiling at me like I was a prized piece of meat, their fangs flashing as if it were some way to draw me in and portray their importance or superiority. I couldn’t help but think of them as peacocks spreading their feathers to impress a female, but sadly for them I wasn’t the least bit interested. Their expressions made Robin squeal with delight, but it only made me feel uncomfortable. There was only one vampire that I wanted to have look at me like that and he was nowhere to be found.
A younger vampire approached us looking nervous as he adjusted the thick tie at his neckline. I could hear him gulp loudly as he stood before me and bowed deeply. Without even thinking to do so, I instinctively stiffened and my head raised, as if my body disappr
oved of him. His eyes flashed with uncertainty and against my body’s protests I smiled at him, this time revealing my fangs slightly.
“Good evening, Princess,” he almost whispered.
“Good evening,” I returned as I eyed the enormous smile on Robin’s face and realized who this vampire was.
“I… I was hoping I might request a dance with your highness,” he bowed his head.
“Thank you for the offer…” I couldn’t remember his name, “but I am already weary from the excitement of the night, but I would be most pleased to see you dance with Robin. She is an incredible dancer.”
Without looking the slightest bit disappointed he offered his hand to Robin and she took it excitedly as he led her toward the dance floor. She turned back to me with pure excitement showing on her face and mouthed the words “thank you” before disappearing into the crowd of dancing bodies and sparkling fabrics.
I felt a longing build within me as I watched the crowd writhe and twirl, their pale faces unnaturally full of delighted expressions. A whirlwind of blissful emotions emitted from them and pulled at my heart as I desired so greatly to join them.
My new body and my new being came with a heightened sense of awareness, but I was quickly discovering that that awareness had needs, it wanted stimulation and right now that stimulation was dancing.
Chapter 12
“You will need to better disguise your desires for the future Princess,” Dmitry whispered slyly in my ear. His breath crept across my skin like a warm embrace. I attempted to hide my smile as my heart began to pound in my chest.
Dmitry twirled around me like a snake as he lovingly tortured me, allowing his emotions to wrap around me. I could feel his excitement for the evening, his delight in teasing me and his strong desire to dance with me. There was a hint of something more but just as my senses started to grasp and understand it, he pulled away.
“I hide them perfectly well. You just know me too well,” I raised my nose at him while maintaining a smile and tried to give my best portrayal of an unamused Princess.
“Oh, dear Claire,” Dmitry said as his face drew into a more solemn expression losing all happiness he so willingly showed. “I feel like I could know you a hundred years and you would still surprise me.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I didn’t want to sound so disappointed but my emotions were taking over me.
Dmitry raised his hand and hesitated for only an instant before placing it on my cheek. “It is not a bad thing.” He looked deep into my eyes, not blinking and I felt completely exposed and open. “Dance with me?”
I took his hand as he led me into the middle of the dance floor. The wave of emotions was even stronger there and I fed off it as if it were blood. Our bodies hummed with the beat of the music and passion of the dance. With every turn and every spin, I fell deeper into the animal within and gave into the vampire I was becoming.
Dmitry smiled brilliantly as he twirled me in his arms. A ribbon of great desire rippled from him, yet he remained a perfect gentleman, unlike many of the vampire men who danced around us. His chivalry made my yearning for him grow.
As a slower song began to play Dmitry drew me away from the dance floor and onto a small chair. The look of concern on his face brought me quickly back to reality and out of the trance I had fallen into. “What’s the matter?”
“When was the last time you fed?”
I tried to think and my mind was still clouded from the tremendous emotions of so many vampires. “I can sense your hunger, Claire. Stay here and I will get you something.” He squeezed my hand for a moment and flashed through crowd as if it were an empty room.
I rested back into the chair not caring about posture and watched the vampires around the room. Nearly half were dancing, but there were many couples seated around the room, while smaller groups stood and spoke with typical expressionless faces. I realized then why vampires didn’t express their feelings through their face as humans did. They did it through their feelings, emitting them outward like invisible ribbons for a nearby vampire to sense.
I spotted Robin across the room sitting with the young vampire whom she had left to dance with. I didn’t need to sense her feelings as she always showed her feelings in her expressions. I supposed it was the fact that she hadn’t been a vampire for very long and got to live as a human, or perhaps that was just a characteristic of her personality that never went away when she was turned. She was an animated person that didn’t hide anything about herself and I loved that about her.
I sat up and scanned the crowd for Dmitry’s face and didn’t see him anywhere. As fast as he was I was starting to wonder what was taking him so long. I decided I would go find something to eat myself when a familiar sensation wrapped around my arm and around my fingers. I could sense a ribbon of emotion holding my hand. Every emotion was different, but they were also connected to their owner and I knew without a doubt who was on the other end of this ribbon, my mystery man.
I scanned the crowd again in an almost frantic state as I searched for him. I tried to send out my own ribbon of emotion to search him out but it seemed impossible for someone I had never met. I took two steps into the throng of vampires and the ribbon yanked at my hand pulling me back.
“Stay,” It whispered sternly to me in its deep soothing voice.
“Why?” I asked feeling silly to be talking to an invisible sensation on my hand.
“Not safe.”
In that instant, the ballroom doors burst open and a mob of angry protesters flooded into the room. They didn’t look the least bit afraid to be breaking into a private party full of ancient vampires. They shouted profanities and shook their signs at us.
I shook off the invisible hold on me as I marched toward the crowd. I saw Fox shouting at the protestors, ordering them to leave. I knew things needed to be handled gently. I couldn’t let a human or vampire get injured this night or I would never be able to achieve the goals that Nicolae had set for me. A sense of duty filled me and I wanted to be the one to sway this mob of protestors to either leave or change their feelings.
“Butchers!” A woman with wild frizzy hair shouted as she spit on Fox. I walked past him and felt the heat radiating from him. It was hard to believe he wasn’t ablaze by the intensity of it.
The mob of people quieted and pointed as I approached and just as I opened my mouth to speak Nicolae’s voice boomed throughout the room. My ears detected the rattle of picture frames and crystals on chandeliers from its force.
“Silence!” The crowd remained silent for a moment longer before they started shouting again, yelling their hateful words. “You will depart from these premises now or you will be removed! You have been warned humans!”
“You can’t do anything to us!” A man shouted.
“Yeah, or you will be breaking your treaty!” shouted another.
“There is no such treaty with trespassers,” Fox interjected. “The King, your King can eliminate you in any way he sees fit.”
I thought Fox’s words were a little dramatic, but they got the point across and the mob started to shrink back. If he had one thing going for him, Fox was intimidating and right now it was working in our favor.
“There she is!” The wild haired woman pointed at me frantically. “Look what they did to her!”
I looked to Nicolae, confused about what I should do. When he said nothing I knew he wanted to see me handle the situation. To step up as the Princess I said I would be.
I took a steady step toward the woman and allowed a ribbon of determination and strength to wrap around me. My body stiffened and straightened as I stared down at her. I could sense that she thought she was rescuing me by coming here, but as she realized I was a vampire a wave of disgust was building inside her.
“They did not do anything to me that I did not welcome with open arms,” I said proudly, trying not to smile too widely as I feared seeing my fangs might scare her and any reaction might cause an entire room of upset vampires to c
ome crashing down on her and her small mob of protestors.
“But… but… you were a human girl,” her eyes darted around the room as more vampires gathered closer to see the cause for the disturbance in their celebration. “Why would you choose to be one of them?” she practically spat the last word at me.
I took another step closer to her, not intending to be intimidating, but I wanted her to sense the sincerity in my words. “Everyone is free to choose the life they want for themselves. As you are free to express the hatred you have for my family and the ones I love, I am free to live as I wish to, loving them,” I waved my hand to include the entirety of the vampire crowd, “those that you so coldly hate for distance deeds of that past that you have neither suffered nor seen.”
I could see that my logic was breaking into her ignorance, but as the realization came into her eyes, it was quickly replaced with fear and anger. “You’re just trying to use those vampire tricks on me!”
The restraint on my temper was loosening as the crowd again broke out into a rhythmic chant of vampire hate. “The soulless shall not reign!”
I could feel the heat of the angry vampires flourishing into an expanding inferno of rage. I had seen protestors spout their hateful judgments before, but having it directed toward me was a feeling I could have never comprehended before. The word soulless struck a particularly sensitive nerve that seemed to have an effect on every other vampire equally.
If I couldn’t get this situation under control soon, there wouldn’t be anything else that could prevent a massacre of epic proportions happening on the night of my coronation.
Ana and her parents flashed to my side their fangs bared, devilish smiles plastered on their faces. “Nicolae,” Ana’s Dad Samael spoke, “we cannot allow them to taint the evening. Such disrespect cannot go unpunished, nor can it be handled by a child.” He looked to me then with hate aflame in his eyes.
I yanked the hem of my gown into a tight fist and took two incredibly quick steps toward the mass of ignorant humans. I couldn’t let Ana and her Dad steal away my chance at proving myself or cause any human or vampire to have any doubts in me. It was obvious that kindness wasn’t going to sway them, so perhaps I should give them a reason to fear vampires as they so obviously desired to see.
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