"By requested, you mean ordered, right?"
She gave me a sympathetic look and nodded yes.
I sighed and made a big show of climbing off the bed. Gracie jumped off the bed too and stood at my feet, looking up at me.
"They had Alrekur's hair cut, got him all washed up and dressed in modern clothes," she said. "He's also speaking English and a little German."
"Hopefully he smells better now," I said, completely disinterested.
She smiled and put a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. "Why don't you come and see?"
"If I must." We walked to the dining hall in silence. Karlie was great to talk to, but she also knew when silence was needed. I was glad that she was there.
When we entered the hall, my parents sat at the large table with a handsome stranger. As I neared the table, I noticed that the stranger was actually Alrekur.
He'd been gorgeous even with the long hair and old, nasty clothes. After having cleaned up, he took hot to a whole new level. I recalled Karlie having said that he was the best looking vampire who had ever walked the earth. He was definitely in a class all of his own. If I'd had a fan, I would have been fanning myself.
"When you're done staring at Alrekur, you may sit down," my mother said with a smile.
I looked away immediately and sat in the nearest chair. I hadn't realized that I had been staring. "You look nice," I said nonchalantly.
"So do you," he replied. "If I had designed the most beautiful woman, I couldn't have come up with one more stunning than you."
"Oh…thanks."
Plate after plate of delicious smelling food was brought to the table. My father, who was sitting closest to Alrekur, helped him with his utensils and explained what the foods were. He ate more than I had ever seen anyone eat in one sitting. I supposed that having been dead for a thousand years had something to do with that. I figured that he would probably be eating a lot for some time, until his body acclimated to being alive again.
I soon forgot that I was too mad to eat. I didn't eat nearly as much as Alrekur, but I did eat a lot.
"Alexis," my father said, "we were thinking that after dinner, you could show Alrekur to one of the TV rooms and let him watch some shows. We have plenty of English-speaking movies that you can stream. You can help him get more acquainted with modern society and current slang. He's already speaking the language quite well, but needs more exposure. Also, when we need to bring him around other people, it won't be such a shock for him."
I sighed. At least when watching movies I wouldn't have to talk to him too much, so I agreed. Not that I had a choice. After dinner, we went up to one of the rooms with a TV and I decided on a low-action movie, because I didn't want to give him any reason to start freaking out. My plan was to start out slowly and ease him into society. That was the plan, anyway.
I turned on the TV and an infomercial was playing. Alrekur grabbed me and dragged me behind one of the couches, screaming about the possessed box.
"Calm down! Stop!" I waited for him to finish his tirade. "Maybe I should have explained what a TV is first."
He looked at me like I was insane. I resisted the urge to return the favor.
"That box is not possessed. It's called a TV, which is short for television. It's for entertainment and for learning. You can watch the news and find out what's going on in the world. Documentaries can teach you about pretty much anything. Most shows and movies are for entertainment. People love to sit down and relax by watching TV; it's a very popular pastime. See that lady there? She's trying to sell soap."
He poked his head over the top of the couch and looked at the screen. He back down behind the couch and looked at me. "That doesn't scare people?"
I smiled. "Some of the infomercials are kind of scary, but no, the TV doesn't scare people. I don't know what most people would do if they didn't have their TV's."
He didn't look so sure. "I think that thing will harm me."
"Watch me," I said, standing up. I walked over to the table where the remotes were and picked up the one that streamed movies. I found a low-key movie and started it. "Come out here."
He poked his head above the back of the couch again, looked at me and then over at the screen which was showing a couple walking through a grassy field without speaking. Very soft music was playing.
"Look, it's not hurting me. It won't hurt you, either. Let's sit on the couch and watch the movie. You can get more adjusted to society before we need to go there." I sat down on the couch, but he didn't budge.
"I thought you were a brave warrior," I said, egging him on. "That's what I was told, but you won't even watch a movie. Come on!"
He glared at me. "I am a brave warrior. You wouldn't believe how many creatures and humans I've defeated."
"And you're afraid of this box? The images of the people aren't real. They're going to stay in the box; there's zero chance of them escaping to do any harm. Have you ever watched a play?"
"Yes, of course."
"This is just like that, only images of the plays are sent to the box so people can watch them from their homes instead of going out to a theater—or wherever you've seen plays. It's the way people like to be entertained these days. A lot has changed in the last thousand years. If you want to have any chance of success, you need to trust me and let us help you. Otherwise, you're going to have to figure things out on your own. That won't be pretty."
"I don't want to be pretty," he said with a scowl. He stood up, warily walked around the couch and sat down next to me.
"Let's watch the movie. Try to just enjoy it, while you learn about today's society. If you have any questions, don't overreact. Just ask me."
The couple on the screen got into a car.
"Is that one of those cars? It's small."
"Not everyone has a limo. In fact, most people don't. The cars that you'll mainly see are smaller, like that one."
"Why do they wear those clothes? They don't cover very much. Are those people with no morals?"
"That's just how people dress these days. Those guys are actually pretty modest."
We watched the rest of the movie without incident. He had close to a trillion questions, so it was impossible for me to relax and enjoy the movie, slow as it was. But at least he was asking, not grabbing me and throwing me down to "protect" me.
"Do you want to watch another?" I asked when the movie was over. "I can pick one with a little more action since you did so well with this one." It had been one of the slowest, most boring movies I'd ever seen, but watching him react to every little thing was entertainment enough.
"There's more?"
"There are countless movies and shows. We could watch them without stopping for years, and still never see them all."
He looked as though he was trying to wrap his mind around that concept. "Let's watch another."
I found another mellow one that had a bit more action than the first one. He continued to watch without freaking out, and we ended up watching four movies in all.
"I need to go sleep," I told him. "Did my parents set you up with a room to stay in?" I didn't want to leave him alone with the movies. I imaged him turning on an action-packed movie, freaking out and tearing the whole mansion apart.
"I want to keep watching movies," he said.
"There are millions, remember? We can probably watch more tomorrow. I don't know what's been planned, but I'm sure there will be time at some point."
"Why are there only humans and animals in the movies?"
"People today don't believe in vampires or other creatures."
"Why don't they believe in us?"
"It's all about science and what can be proven. There are actually some movies about vampires, werewolves, and other kinds of creatures. But those are called fantasy movies because humans don't believe they're real. What they do have in other movies is mostly wrong, too. I'm sure you'll be able to tell me about many of the other creatures that exist. I haven't run into too many myself."
"The world is sure a strange place now. I don't feel like sleeping. Let's find your parents. I have much to discuss with them."
"I'm sure you do. As do I," I said. I turned off the TV and listened for the sound of their voices. I led the way until we found them in the parlor room drinking wine and blood with a couple that I didn't recognize.
"Oh, you two are still up," my father said.
"He was very interested in the movies. He wanted to keep watching them, but I need some sleep. Don't let him watch any on his own. He still needs someone to explain a lot—and he hasn't seen any with any real action yet. I've only shown him slower movies so that he can adjust to the changes gradually."
"He can stay up and talk with us and our guests. Go get some sleep, daughter. We have a busy day tomorrow."
Alrekur sat down and grabbed a glass of blood. I walked back to my room and climbed into bed without even bothering to put on pajamas. I was so tired that I fell asleep right away.
When I woke up, I saw that I had slept a full six hours. I must have been more tired than I had thought! I hadn't slept that long since before I had completed my transformation. I took a shower and then went down to the dining hall. All of the vampires from the previous day were having breakfast with my parents.
"Oh, good; you're awake," my mother said. "We wanted you to get all the rest that you needed, so we ordered all of the servants to leave you alone. Are you hungry?"
I nodded yes and then sat down at the only empty chair, right next to Alrekur.
"After you eat, we'll have time to watch at least one more movie," he said, smiling.
I wondered if my parents were trying to set up romantic situations for us. Why else would they be encouraging us to watch so many movies together…alone?
A glass of blood with champagne was set in front of me and I was given a plate and silverware so that I could help myself to the massive spread on the table. I ate my fill and when I was done, I noticed that Alrekur was watching me, paying no attention to the conversation at the table.
"Are you done?" he asked. "Let's go watch a movie. I want to see one with some more of the action that you were talking about."
I hoped I wasn't creating a couch potato. As we walked to the room that we'd been in the night before, he talked the whole way about how much he'd learned about today's society. Then, he talked the whole way through the movie. I made a mental note not to watch any new movies with him. I would also have to make sure not to take him to a movie theater until he learned to watch movies without talking nonstop.
When it was over, I suggested that we find out what my parents had planned for the day. We walked back to the dining hall, where all the vampires were still sitting.
"Is the movie over already?" my father asked. "We're going to be leaving pretty soon. Alexis, you're going to need to pack whatever you want to take with you because we're flying to the castle."
My eyes lit up. We were going to the castle? That's where Cliff was! I tried to keep my voice even when I asked, "What is the plan at the castle?"
"We need to have a meeting with all of the leaders from around the world and let them know that Alrekur is back with us. Once we've awakened the rest of the Fyrsturae and Alrekur has been properly acquainted with the way things are now, he'll assume the throne. We need to let all of the vampires know about our plan to bring the Fyrsturae back. That way, we have as many vampires helping us as possible. It took this long to find Alrekur; we need to find the others more quickly than that."
"What about the curse?" I asked.
"We don't need to mention the real meaning of the Sonnast to anyone until all of them awaken," my mother said.
"Wait just a minute," I said. "We're not in the first line if you guys aren't even vampires. Is there really a curse?"
My parents looked at each other. My father said, "There is, but we're not affected by it since we're not from the first line, as you say. The vampires who told us about it suffered and then died horrible deaths. They didn't know that we'd changed shape, and therefore weren't really in the first line. We didn't know there was curse that would harm them, or we would've prevented it. The curse is alive and well."
"Then we could tell others and not be affected by the curse!"
"We can discuss this later," my father said.
I looked at all of the other vampires in the room. "You're all fine with this? That our king and queen aren't vampires!"
"We're not happy about the deception," Darek said. "But, we've known them for centuries, and they are one of the creating couples of vampires. They've ruled with kindness, always taking care of our kind and the humans as well. They want to bring back the entire line of Fyrsturae, which we want as well. We'll continue to follow them until the day you and Alrekur take over."
"Do we have to wait until the entire group has been brought back for that to happen?" I asked.
"They will only give him your hand after all of them have been brought back, so yes," Raine replied.
I sighed. I had until the other eight Fyrsturae were found and resurrected to find a way to marry Cliff instead of Alrekur.
My father turned to look at Alrekur. "Are you ready to help us find Halldor yet? The sooner we find all of them, the sooner you can marry your Sonnast and rule with her forever."
Alrekur looked from my father to me and then back to him. "Only in exchange for her hand. Do I have your word?"
"You have our word. Once all ten of you are together, you may have her hand. Can you imagine it? All ten, together at long last."
"When do we go to the castle?" I asked.
"After we finish eating, we'll board Darek and Raine's private jet since ours is at the castle," my father said. "The six of us will go to the castle, call a meeting of all of the leaders and explain to them that the number one priority is to find the resting places of the remaining Fyrsturae. Alrekur, only you know where Halldor and Dagur are located?"
"Correct. I put them there—with sincere pleasure!"
"I'm sure that with all of the leaders working on this, we can find what we need to. Halldor might know where some of them are resting, right?"
"He knows where my brother, Soren, is. He wouldn't tell me. That's part of the reason that I finished him off."
"We'll find a way to convince him. We're the strongest and brightest vampires on earth. We'll find ways to get what we want. We can refuse to find his sister until he shows us where Soren is. Obviously, we'll have to wait to awaken him since he's the seventh Fyrsturae, but at least we'll have him waiting and ready after Asdis is awoken."
Alrekur nodded. "That's true. When do we leave?"
My father instructed a servant to prepare a light meal. He turned to me and told me to pack my things and have them ready. I was more than glad to get up and remove my mind from the thought of bringing back an entire group of dead vampires. A group that I was supposed to be a part of.
Gracie followed me to my room and sat on my bed as I packed. I chose my favorite clothes and packed as tightly as I could. There were so many! I didn't know how Brooke had managed to make so many in such a short period of time. She had even designed a fancy tag with my name on it and she had sewn one onto each piece.
When I'd finished packing, I grabbed my luggage and headed down the hall. One of the servants walked by, saw me and looked appalled. He took the bags from me and said that he would see to it that they were placed in the limo. I shook my head as he walked off. I was becoming one of the strongest vampires on earth, yet I wasn't allowed to carry a couple of bags.
When I got back to the dining hall, the food was just being served.
"Are you bringing the cat?" Raine asked me. "She follows you everywhere."
I looked down at Gracie, who was right behind me. "I don't know if I can."
"You're the Sonnast. You can do what you want."
Except marry the man of my own choosing. "If she follows me, then I'll bring her to the castle."
After the meal, we all got into our limo and drove to D
arek and Raine's mansion. They kept their private jet there and we boarded, along with our feline member, and some servants. I looked around the jet and was amazed at how nice it was.
"Will Karlie be joining us?" I asked.
"Do you want her to?" my mother asked.
"It would be nice."
"She's not prepared to leave," my father said. "But we will send for her later."
I nodded. "Have you explained to Alrekur how a jet travels?" I asked, thinking of his reaction to the TV. If he tried to grab me, I was going to move out of his way.
"That's a good idea," my father said. "Why don't you explain it to him?"
I sighed. Of course. I turned to him and he looked at me expectantly. "How does this jet move?"
"It's like a car, but it flies in the air. It's a much faster way to travel."
His eyes widened. "This is going up into the air? We're going to fly inside of it?"
I braced myself, ready to run across the plane if I had to. "Yes, it's perfectly safe. Let's get you buckled in."
We settled in and I decided to keep him talking during takeoff. If he were distracted enough, he wouldn't freak out. I hoped.
"Do you have a nickname?" I asked. "Alrekur is a little hard to pronounce for me, though I am getting used to it. It's not a name that's used where I'm from."
He thought about it. "Some people called me Alre, but only call me that when speaking to me. When you talk to others, say Alrekur. Nobody else is to call me that."
"Okay, Alre," I said, trying it out. "I like it."
We talked for a while until my father said we needed to discuss a few things before arriving at the castle.
"What is it?" I asked.
"First of all, we can't let anyone know that you," he looked at Alrekur, "are one of the Fyrsturae just yet. We'll announce that when all of the leaders have arrived. I'll explain everything to them, and that's when I'll introduce you. Before that, we're going to act as if you are just another European vampire that we brought along with us. Can you two agree to that?"
I nodded and Alrekur asked, "What will we say my name is?"
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