“It's because of this boy, isn't it?” my dad asked with a bitter tone.
“No dad. Not completely. Josie's here too and I started to build a new life and...I like it here, it's different. I like different,” I said honestly.
“Just so you know Josie's parents are having the same conversation with her right now.” I knew he said that hoping that maybe I'd change my mind.
“Josie's like me?” I perked up a little.
“I'm surprised your little boyfriend didn't tell you,” my dad said grunting. I knew he was holding back, I could hear it in his voice.
“He said he wasn't sure.”
“We'll talk about him later.” I rolled my eyes. “Now to a more important matter, the real reason we're here.” I looked between my dad and mom, confused. What could be bigger than finding out you're half-vampire? “Ella you need to listen to us, this is very important.” I gave him my full attention. There were certain things my dad didn't mess around with so I knew when I needed to listen and when to tune him out. This was definitely one of those times I needed to listen.
“We believe the recent killings at your school were done by one of our kind,” he said. I sat up. That definitely grabbed my attention. “That's why we hired a guardian for you and Josie. I know you think we're over reacting and being over protective, but we're not. We're just concerned for your safety.”
“Okay, I get that, but you really think I'm in danger? I mean, enough to have a body guard? I'm not completely helpless; I can take care of myself.” I knew my dad wanted to comment, but my mom shot him a warning look.
He paused, taking a breath. My mom patted him on the hand and encouraged him to continue. I had a feeling from the look on his face what he was about to tell me was big. I gripped the edge of table for extra support, preparing myself for whatever catastrophic news they were about to tell me. “Ella,” he started. “You come from a long line of royalty. The highest actually. In fact you are next in line to take over.”
Okay, that, I was not prepared for. “Whoa, wait a minute...take over what?”
“Take over my seat on the royal court,” my dad said.
“You're kidding, right?”
The look on my dad's face said he hoped it was a joke. “I wish I was, but I'm not. This is part of the reason we have been so protective of you over the years and why it is so important you go to this special school, to help prepare you for when it's your time.”
“Okay, but what's the rush? It will be like a hundred years before that happens?”
“Five years.”
“Excuse me?” I said, making sure I heard him right.
“When you're done with school, that's when you will take over,” he said.
“Well not right away. We have to make sure you are prepared and there several other things that will have to be done before she is sworn in,” my mom said, trying to make me feel better, but all it did was make me feel sick to my stomach. Tristan was right. My life is basically already planned out for me. I have no life of my own.
“What if I don't want to?” I asked, trying not to panic.
“That is your choice, but we don't want you to be too quick to dismiss it,” my mom said, jumping in before my father could say something to start another war.
“Having you take over will do great things for us, for our people. I know you're the right person to do this,” my dad said, trying to encourage me to take the position - his idea of the right choice.
“This is just too much.” I got up from the table. “I find out I'm half-vampire and a royal one at that, and I'm supposed to take your place in five years? I can't do this,” I freaked.
“I knew she wasn't ready,” my dad said, making feel small.
“Ella honey, I know it's a lot to take in and you don't have to decide anything right now. We're just letting you know what your options are.”
“What options?” I yelled. “Nobody has asked me what I thought, what I want!” I threw a scowl at my dad daring him to say something. “I want, I want to be normal. I don't want any of this. I don't care to be a princess or queen or whatever. I just want to be Ella. I want to be me. A normal girl who goes to a normal school where there are no vampires or witches or whatever.”
“I hate to break it to you, but that will never happen,” my dad said, angering me even more.
“Liam, you are not helping.”
“Would you prefer I lie? I will not do that and before you saying anything,” my dad said directing the comment at me, “I never lied to you about who you are. We just waited until the time was right.”
I bit my tongue on that one. Pick and choose your battles I told myself. “Ella, please, just have a seat. We still have much to discuss,” my mom said.
“Can I take a break? I just need a moment to process all of this.”
“Of course dear,” my mom said looking at my father.
“Take a few a minutes if you must,” my dad said.
I walked out on to the balcony to get some air. I really wished Tristan or Josie were here. I needed them now more than ever. I needed Josie's optimism and her kind heart telling me everything would be okay. I needed Tristan's arms around me, comforting me, telling me this world I've been thrown into is a blessing in disguise. For once I actually wanted someone to lie to me. At the moment I felt better about being in the dark about everything and if I knew it would work I would have Tristan compel me, to forget everything so I could go back to the way things were, before my whole life got turned upside down. I also would give anything to have Kyle here as well, to tell me there is nothing in this world that could destroy me. That he would beat up anyone who hurt me. He was always my protector.
I felt a chill and I shivered, wrapping my arms around me tight. I felt like there was someone else here with me. I looked around. I was the only one. I leaned on the balcony and stared out into the starry night. I felt the warmth of strong arms wrap around me, but I was still alone. I suddenly felt warm, safe, and protected. I felt like I could take on anything and at that moment I knew Kyle was with me. If not in flesh he was in spirit. A part of him would always be with me. “Thank you,” I whispered to the air.
I felt a drop on my shoulder and looked up into the clear night sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight. I wiped the drop from my shoulder and examined it on my finger. It shimmered, a bright gold before it completely evaporated. I took a step back not believing what I just saw. “Ella, are you okay?” my mom asked stepping out onto the balcony.
I ran into her arms almost knocking her over. “Oh honey, everything will be okay. I promise,” she said caressing my hair like she always did when I was little. I pulled back and looked up at her. “Ella, you are the strongest girl I know. You are brave, intelligent, beautiful, and more powerful than you know. I know you can handle whatever life throws at you and I believe in you. Whatever you choose to do I am certain you will know in your heart it is the right decision.” She placed a hand on my cheek. “Remember honey, I will always love you no matter what. Whatever you decide, do it because it's what you want. Never make a decision based on what others think you should do, you understand me?”
I nodded, that's the best I could do without breaking down and crying. “Okay, sweetie,” she said, bringing me in for a hug again. “You think you're ready to come back in?”
“Yeah, let's get this over with.” I sat back down at the table and faced my dad. “Okay, let's go back to you thinking one of our kind is killing people. We can deal with the other stuff later.”
My dad nodded, clearly approving of the conversation topic. “We're not one hundred percent sure, but we will be here until we find out the whole truth.”
“Wait, you're staying here, in Vermont?” They both nodded confirming. “But what about work?”
“My business partner is here and anything that needs to be taken care of back home Xander can deal with.”
This was not helping with my anxiety. “We're just taking extra precautions to ensure your safety. We want
to make sure nothing happens to you,” my mom said, patting my hand.
“What do any of the killings have to do with me?”
“We believe the killer is targeting our kind.”
“Wait, Skylar was a vampire?” That would totally explain a lot.
“Yes,” my dad confirmed.
“And Jack's roommate?”
“That one has yet to be determined, but we believe he wasn't. We want to be one hundred percent positive so that is why we had the dorms evacuated and classes canceled.”
“You did that?” I asked, shocked.
“Yes, we needed our people in there to do a thorough investigation. They can find things humans can't.”
I hadn't realized how much power my dad actually had. “Okay, so is your job real or is it just a cover story?”
“My job is legit. I am not a secret C.I.A. Agent,” he winked, getting a kick out of it. I rolled my eyes knowing he probably assumed I would think that was cool. “We're getting off topic here,” he said.
“Why do you think our kind is being targeted,” I said, getting back to the matter at hand.
“Because there were other killings, ones we've able to cover up until now.”
“Okay, this just got real serious,” I said, feeling the onset of a panic attack. I gripped my stomach, suddenly feeling sick.
“Maybe we should eat something?” my mom suggested. She always thought food was the solution to all our problems.
“I don't think I could eat anything right now,” I said.
“How about some hot chocolate instead then?” she offered, getting up to make me a cup.
I ran my fingers through my hair trying to calm my nerves. Then I remembered something. “Why didn't I think of this earlier,” I said, hitting myself in the head.
“What honey?” my mom asked.
“My friend Jack. I mean classmate, not friend. Definitely not friend anymore.”
“What about Jack?” my dad asked, annoyed with my ramblings.
“He's a vampire, rogue, I think. Well that's what Tristan said.”
“What does he have to do with any of this?” my mom asked, placing a hot steaming mug in front of me. I wrapped my cold fingers around the mug, it burned at the touched but I didn't care.
“Well, he's kind of what started all of this. There was an incident with him...” I hesitated, careful with my next words. I knew no matter how I said it this wasn't going to end well. “Tristan compelled me so I would forget what happened, but then I remembered.” I looked up at both of them.
“Wait, what incident?” “Why did he compel you to forget?” “You remembered?” Both my mom and dad came at me with questions.
I had a hard time deciphering each one. So I thought I would just explain everything. “Jack...bit me and then threatened to kill me when Tristan showed up.”
“What!” my dad yelled, standing up abruptly and knocking over his chair. His fist slammed down on the table making me jump and spill some of my hot chocolate. His face was bright red with rage. He hurried over to one of the guards outside the door, shouting demands. From the coroner of my eye I saw at least four guards run off down the hall.
“Ella honey, why didn't you tell us?” my mom asked, wiping up the spill.
“Because I didn't know, I didn't remember until the other night.”
My dad came back to the table demanding answers. “Why did he compel you to forget, what happened?” he growled, not happy with what Tristan had done. Adding another thing to include on the list of reasons of why my dad could hate Tristan.
“To protect me,” I said, hoping he'd understand.
“But you remembered?” my dad asked, puzzled.
“Yes.”
“How? That's impossible, unless…his powers aren't strong, but even then.”
I was not about let my dad in on Tristan's little drinking habit. I didn’t need to give him another reason to hate him. That list was long enough. “I don't know,” I said, shrugging. “Something just triggered it.”
“What triggered it honey?” my mom asked.
I swallowed. “Um, I'm not sure,” I said, my voice squeaking. My dad looked at me funny. I buried my face in my hot chocolate to hide my flushed cheeks. My sex life was not going to be a topic of conversation with my parents.
“Are you okay?” my mom said, feeling my forehead. “Your cheeks are all red.”
“It's the cocoa, it's hot,” I said, blowing on it and slumping down in my chair.
Two guards returned to the room escorting Tristan. “You,” my dad pointed. “Sit!”
“Dad, what are you doing?” I asked, sitting up.
“Tell me everything that happened the night my daughter was attacked,” my dad demanded.
Tristan sat down next to me. He took my hand and waited for my permission to proceed. “Go ahead, it's okay.”
He leaned in closer to me. “You sure you want to hear this? We can go somewhere else and talk if you want?”
“It's okay. As long as you're here I'll be fine.” My dad murmured something under his breath and I glared at him. Tristan smiled at me not bothered at all by my dad's rudeness. Tristan held my hand in his lap under the table and I knew it was pissing off my dad. Just out of spite I moved in closer to Tristan. I knew my dad was holding it in and wanted to rip Tristan's head off, but right now he needed him whether he wanted to admit it or not.
Tristan turned his attention to my dad and begun telling his version of the story. “The door was locked so Josie came to my room to get the key.”
“Why do you have a key?” my dad interrupted, not happy with this news.
“I'm the Resident Advisor. I have a key to everyone's room in my dorm.” My dad nodded for him to continue. “When I came back with Josie I heard Ella scream. I busted down the door and found Jack with his arm around her throat.” I could feel Tristan tense up at the memory. I squeezed his hand letting him know it was okay.
After a few seconds he continued. “I acted on instinct and jumped him, but he was quicker and got away.” He looked away, ashamed he failed. “Ella was practically catatonic from the trauma so I compelled her to forget. I knew what happened to her with the accident,” he looked up at me. “I didn't want her to suffer, to be afraid.” I kissed his hand and held it in my lap never taking my eyes off of his.
“I understand why you did what you did,” my dad said. “Thank you.” I almost fell over from shock. I thought for sure my dad would reach across the table and clobber him. “Josie was there, too?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Does she remember?”
“No, sir.”
“But Ella doesn't.” he scratched his chin, deep in thought. “And you have no idea what triggered it?”
“Nope, none,” I said quickly while Tristan shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
My dad signaled for one of the guards. “Where is this Jack now?”
“I don't know. The last I saw him was the other night,” I said.
“When you were alone with him?” Tristan asked, voice panicked.
“Yeah, when we got back from the police station, he was in my room.” Both my dad and Tristan started yelling. “Relax, nothing happened. Besides, he doesn't know that I know.”
“What do you mean?” my mom asked.
“Because at the time I didn't, I still didn't remember anything. I knew something was off with him because of how weird he was acting. I think he figured out that Tristan erased my memory.”
“That's probably better,” my dad said.
“Ella, you have no idea how dangerous he is,” Tristan said with worry in his eyes.
“I know, no matter how many times you tell me. But if he wanted to kill me don't you think he would have done it already? And didn't you say you think he might have been after my powers?”
“What?” my dad yelled. He turned to the guards and started yelling demands again. “You and you,” he pointed, handing out numbers as they ran off. Then he took out his phone
and started dialing fiercely. “You are not leaving this room until we find him,” he said to me.
“What? No way! I am not going to be held prisoner.”
“Ella you are not going to argue with me on this,” he said, turning away from me.
I looked to my mom for help. “We have like, a zillion hired guards. I'll be fine.”
“I'll talk to him honey. Best not to push it now.”
I rested my chin in my hand. “Where's Josie, I want to talk to her.”
“I'll call Jade and see if it's okay with her if you stay there for a while. At least until your father calms down.”
I turned to Tristan and he took both my hands in his. “Still want to be my boyfriend?” I joked.
“Of course I do,” he said, kissing my forehead, making me feel better.
“Ella, Jade said it was fine and Josie was asking for you, too.”
“Let's go,” I said, grabbing Tristan and running out the door while my dad was too distracted to notice.
“Just take one of the guardians with you please!” my mom called out.
“Got it,” I said, grabbing Gabe on the way out. “Come on Gabe, you're coming with us.” He nodded obediently and followed.
“How'd it go in there?” Tristan asked once we were out of the room.
“They want me to go to this special school,” I groaned.
“I think you should go,” Tristan agreed, surprising me.
“No, I'm not going.”
“Ella –”
“No, I just started school and you and Josie are here.”
“It's not safe if you stay.”
“Tristan, I'm fine. I wish everyone would stop worrying about my safety and worry more about my sanity. Weren't you the one who told me to make my own decisions?”
He stopped and stood in front of me, gripping my hands. “Ella, you know I love you and would die if anything happened to you.” I nodded. “Then please, just think about it.”
The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven Page 34