The Vampire Ambassador
Chapter 20

We finished getting everything together and went down to the dock about thirty minutes after I had finished my phone call with Sir Patrick. Gael stood at the back of the ferry as everyone began to pile in with Luna at the front gathering a head count.

I looked out at the ocean as the waves glistened against the light from the moon. I had my feet dangling through the railing, barely touching the water with the tip of my shoe. I pulled my mask down to my neck and let out a long sigh.

“We will be fine,” Gael assured me as I kept my eyes on the water.

I leaned my head down and rubbed the back of my neck as anxiety filled my stomach. “I sure hope so.”

“Don’t you worry,” he said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, “We will protect our Queen and her land.”

“I’m not worried about that,” I groaned, “I’m worried about everything that will happen after. Erik will never forgive me for keeping this secret from him, uncle Harry is on his death bed basically, and now I have the weight of literally the whole world on my shoulders and I have no idea how the fuck to handle all of it.”

“Like you have handled everything else that has been thrown at you,” Gael replied. I looked up at him and saw that he was smiling from ear to ear.

“You act like I know what I’m doing,” I chuckled as I stood up and stretched.

“When you’re put into a serious situation,” he said, “There is something inside of you that changes. I saw it the moment you began to speak to Sir Patrick. I know you don’t see it, but it’s there. And I believe it’s your link to the ancestral world because you’re meant go be in the exact position you are in right now.”

“It still gives me the worst anxiety of my life,” I replied, looking up at him as I placed my right hand on my left arm, “My worst fear is failing.”

“You won’t fail,” he said sternly, “You have the ancestors on your side and Royal blood in your veins.”

I shrugged as the horn on the ferry blew, indicating it was time to leave. I felt as the engine shifted into reverse and we backed out into the ocean before turning around and heading toward the states.

Luna came up to me with a clipboard and cleared her throat. “We have exactly 236 on board prepared for battle, your Majesty.”

“First of all,” I replied with a smile, “Don’t call me that. You know I’m just Mel. And secondly, that’s a good number of people we have crammed onto this ferry. I am super optimistic about this now that we have a good number of fighters among us.”

“I agree,” Luna said, “You will need to prepare a statement for plans when we dock in the states.”

I looked at Gael who pulled out a map. He had arrows pointing straight down toward the south in gold, a line drawn on roads and highways in blue, and some green lines going around southwest.

“So we have 6 vehicles waiting for us at the dock,” he said, pointing to the start of the blue line, “Those will be for us and the rest of the front line. There will be 46 of us piled in these. We will take the vehicles through the countryside to the human territories, where we will meet and formulate the plan at the river boundary.

“The second wave of defense will head directly south. This will be the second strongest of our army. They will rush to be at the river before us so they can alert if anything happens before dawn.

“The last group will be the third line. They will be the ones assisting the humans in the back. They will round our travel and make sure no one is following us. They will be our backup in case of an emergency. They will be able to head to the river if they are needed before we get there as well.”

“Looks like we have a presentation,” I replied, taking the map and going to the small table that was set up in the front open area of the ferry. Everyone bowed once I made my appearance.

I set the map on the table and cleared my throat. “My fellow comrades, the time has come for battle. We have came up with a strategy that I have a strong feeling will work.”

I pointed to the gold arrows and looked up. “I need all second line defense to move forward, please.”

A group of about 100 men and women moved through the crowd to look at the map.

“You all will head directly south to the river border once we dock,” I stated sternly, “You will be our front lines if needed. If anything suspicious occurs, you alert immediately so our action plan can move forward.” Everyone in the group nodded and murmured around each other.

“Third line defense please move forward.” I said, watching as another group of about 85 people came forward while the others backed up.

“You great people will be our backup,” I said as I trailed my fingers along the green lines, “You will follow the convoy at a safe distance around the southwest area. If you see anyone following us or if you see anything that alerts you, you must let us know. Once we reach the river border you will be the ones to help the humans. I will need 1 of us to every two or three humans. They will need our assistance to keep them safe.”

I stood up and straightened my back. “Once we all reach the border the action plan will take place. While we travel we will get the specifics lined out. However, if you need to attack before then, you are instructed to do so. These are not friendly leaders we will be dealing with, and as I stated before, you will need to kill to defeat.

“Use your powers wisely so that you can fight to the best of your abilities as long as you are able to. Your kingdom is depending on you, and so is your Queen. I am utterly grateful for each and every one of you, and I know we can defeat these monsters who are threatening our existence.”

“Your Majesty,” one man with long, shaggy red hair and a beard stated as he moved forward, “We are all here at your command. We would not have it any other way. We are all proud to serve you.”

He bowed and the rest followed suit. I smiled and bowed back. “We will get though this. I promise you.”

I turned my back to head to the back of the boat and everyone went to their conversations amongst themselves. I sat on the floor of the boat cross-legged and looked up at the sky. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, begging to connect with Iris and my parents one last time before I threw myself into the lion’s den.

I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin as I slipped into the oasis of the afterlife. I opened my eyes and saw Iris huddled around several other powerful looking vampires.

I walked up to the crowd and scanned the faces to see I recognized some of them: King Julius, Queen Phoebe, King Dominic, and several others who were all in history books.

I circled around to the back and wedged my way through in order to listen to Iris.

“…she will need our strength,” she was saying, “This is a difficult task, with Johnathan gaining some of her powers.”

“He doesn’t have the full strength,” King Julius stated, “So she shouldn't have any problem defeating him.”

“She is young,” Iris replied, “So she will need our help still. We will have to connect with their world to create a stop to his magic for her to gain an opening for attack.”

“If I may,” my mother said, from the opposite side of where I was standing, “I think she can handle this.”

Everyone turned to face her as she slowly walked through the crowd to Iris. Iris glanced over at her and nodded, informing her it was okay to speak.

“You all don’t know my Melody as I do,” my mother continued, “The power that she holds is remarkable. Once she tapped in to what abilities she really has, it was ground-breaking. I believe that she has more control that what we are giving her credit for, and that she can defeat Johnathan easily.”

“Her mental state has faltered several times,” Queen Phoebe stated, “How can we be sure that she can accomplish this by herself?”

“To put it into lay terms,” my mother replied, “When she gets pissed off enough, she will destroy any threat in her path.”

The crowd began to murmur with ideas and thoughts on what my mother had just said. I reached out slowly and connected with Iris’s arm.

The blue mist began to swirl around the crowd, instantly silencing everyone. Iris looked around with a smile on her face, understanding that I was able to make the connection with her.

“She’s here,” Iris whispered, stretching out her other hand to the crowd, “If you wish to make the connection and assist with the task we are facing, now is the time.”

A few of the kings and queens reached out to touch Iris’s arm. The blue mist changed into a color of rainbows, flowing from her arm to mine. It eventually wrapped around my body and spread to the ground, encapsulating the group I was feeding from.

The power hit me all at once as a hum filled the air. I felt my knees begin to shake as a sudden surge of lightning struck through my body, traveling from my arm to my chest. I could feel as my eyes glowed bright and my tattoo sizzled against my skin.

“Melody,” Queen Iris whispered, “You have an extremely dangerous war ahead of you. I have no doubt in my mind that you will be able to handle this and unite the kingdoms as one, but now you have not only my powers to assist. You have those of most ancestors that died before you, sacrificing their lives for our kind. Take this power and make it yours.

“Make Johnathan understand that this power you have always held is not his for the taking. You are the one that the powers listen to; not him. You are the only one who can control them."

The electricity hummed for a few more seconds before I pulled my arm away. My bones ached with the absorption of energy I just consumed, and I was afraid if I took any more it would just make me weaker.

“See?” My mother said, “She knows when enough is enough. She is smarter than most. She will pull us through this.”

I saw as her eyes lit up with pride, and my heart swelled with the sight of her. She was standing there with that smile on her face and my heart ached to see that again in person.

I could remember when I was little and would do something like ride a bike or spell my name on paper correctly, and that smile would grow on my mother. It made my cold heart grow softer, realizing that even though she was dead she was still there for me.

“I love you mom,” I whispered, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me. Iris glanced over in the direction I was and we locked eyes. I knew she could feel my presence.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the kingdoms,” I said, looking at her, “This I promise you. I will show you all what I am capable of.”

She smiled and nodded, closing her eyes and turning to the crowd. I sighed as I looked at my mother who looked visibly shaken as the realization hit her of the battle I was about to face.

“Be strong, Mel,” she whispered. I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder, although it didn’t touch. I pushed some of my comfort to her and saw as her worried frown turned into a smile.

I watched as the scene before me began to falter as my body shook gently. I planted my feet hard as I realized something was wrong.

“Mel!”

I snapped my eyes open and stared up at Gael, ready to pounce on him for taking me out of my trance. He was holding the phone out toward me with a worried look.

“What is it?” I asked breathlessly, standing up to face him.

“The president,” he answered, “He wants to talk to you.”

“You mean like the President of the United States?” I squeaked out. He chuckled and shook his head with a smile. “Yes, that president.”

I took a deep breath and grabbed the phone slowly, putting it up to my ear. I cleared my throat to attempt to shake the nerves off, but it was no use.

“This is Melody,” I said.

“Um, your Majesty,” he spoke with a direct tone, “Or that is what I have been told to call you.”

“Mel is fine,” I said, smiling.

“Okay then, Mel,” he continued, “This is the President of the United States. I’m sure you already understand the nature of my phone call.”

“Yes sir,” I replied, “I have a good idea of what it is about.”

“It is my job to keep the relations between the humans and vampires civil,” he said, “With the pending war about to happen, I know my kind will need assistance from the army in order to help defeat the threat. I wanted to speak with you and inform you that the Lieutenant Smith will be who you can direct for any and all commands.

“I understand that most of you have special abilities that most humans cannot defeat. Our job is not to be on the offensive but the defensive. I will send a small army of about 100 men your way to help protect the human population on the river. We will be supplied with 2 tanks and all guards armed.

“As I stated before, Lieutenant Smith will be in charge so whatever you may need from him, he knows to listen to your commands. You know your kind better than we do, so I have instructed him to follow all orders he is given by you and you only. They are in route now and should arrive by three in the morning.”

“Sounds good,” I replied, exhaling the breath I was holding, “Thank you for your assistance in the matter, Mr. President. I plan to keep all humans safe and out of harms way. I do not want them to fight unless it is to defend themselves. The ones who I plan will be doing combat are the vampires in order to protect the your kind.

“I am here to keep the relationship between our two worlds civil as well, and that is why I must stop this threat. I will do everything in my power to stop Johnathan and his people to keep peace between our lands.”

“I was told you are an amazing leader,” he said, “It seems like everything I have been informed of is true. I’ll let you get back to planning. You now have my number if anything of importance comes up where I need to be invoked.”

“Thank you,” I replied, blushing a bit, “You have a good night. I will get in touch with you when this is all over, if that’s alright.”

“Sounds perfect,” he said, “We will talk soon, your Majesty.”

The phone call ended and I handed the phone back to Gael, still slightly in shock I actually talked to the president.

“You good?” Gael chuckled, seeing the astonishment on my face. I smiled and rubbed my forehead. “Never better.”

“Looks like we will be landing in about half an hour,” he said, looking at the water, “I’ll get everyone prepared for unloading.”

“Sounds good,” I replied, looking at the floor, “I have one request before this all starts, however.”

“And that is?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

“We will stop at the infirmary on council grounds,” I said, straightening my back. I meant it more of a statement rather than a request.

“We will be pushed for time,” Gael sighed, “But we can allot for 10 minutes.”

“Good,” I replied, crossing my arms, “I have to stop and check on uncle Harry.”

“I’ll let the driver know,” he said, turning to walk away.

Once I was alone again, I stared at the water glistening as the waves from the ferry pushed against the current. The horn signaled after a while, indicating that we would be docking soon.

“Ten minutes to dock!” The captain shouted over the balcony on the top control area. I took a deep breath and pulled my mask up to my nose as I saw the light from the lighthouse gleaming across the sky.

Only ten minutes until shit gets real. You better have put on your big girl panties this morning.

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