The Vampire Ambassador
Chapter 4

I ran as long and as fast as I could until my surroundings became familiar. I saw Erik's castle in the distance and I slowed my pace down.

Once I came to the outskirts of the castle, I had a horrible feeling of nervousness. He thought that I had left him; abandoned him. He had been ignoring me for weeks so what would make him want to see me now?

I slowly walked to the edge of the grounds and stood looking up at the wall. I jumped and landed on top, scanning my surroundings. There weren't any guards out at the time, so I looked up to see that Erik's bedroom light was still on.

It's now or never.

I jumped off of the wall and walked to the edge of the wall of the castle, contemplating how I would get to his balcony. There were a few vines attached to the side from the rose bushes, so I figured that would be my best option.

I put each of the crowns on my arms to leave my hands free. I then used all of my energy to jump toward the balcony, praying I would be able to grab a vine and hoist myself the rest of the way up.

To my surprise, I grabbed the edge of the balcony. I used my legs to swing myself the rest of the way up, landing silently on the stones. I stared at the ground for the longest time, preparing myself to explain everything to Erik.

I looked up and noticed that the curtains were drawn closed but a sliver of light was peering out. I slowly walked to the glass doors and peeked inside.

Oh, no.

My heart shattered into a million pieces at the sight that I saw. It felt like I was dying from the inside out when I saw the blonde-haired woman lying in the bed. In MY bed.

I put a hand on my chest and balled up my shirt to try and stop the pain, but it was no use. I covered my mouth to stifle the sobs that were trying to escape. I couldn't look any more.

At that moment I knew why Erik had been ignoring me. He had broken the bond by being with someone else.

I tried to move my legs, but they felt like noodles. I turned my back and looked over the balcony.

Just jump. It doesn't matter any more.

I wanted to just end it all, but not here. I didn't want Erik to see me loose the battle. I jumped over the edge of the balcony and landed loosely on my feet, falling over with the impact. A sob escaped my mouth as the pain from the fall and the pain from my heartbreak engulfed my body. I slowly stood up as I heard footsteps approaching. I then forced myself to run and get over the wall.

I wanted to run until I couldn't run anymore, so that's exactly what I did.

I was sure I had run at least 50 miles when I reached a small country village. I stopped running and leaned against a tree to catch my breath.

Surely there was an explanation behind the woman in Erik's bed. He wouldn't be able to just be with someone else that easily, would he?

My mind raced with thoughts that made my head hurt. I had no idea where to go or what to do. All I had were the clothes on my back and my crowns. I had nobody to call or to help me.

Maybe Maya would help.

I saw there was a tiny bar open down the small highway running through the podunk town, so I figured it would be my best shot at a phone call. I walked over to the front door and straightened my shoulders before I opened the door.

Of course, everyone stared when I walked in. It's not every day a bloodied-up young female carrying two royal crowns walks into a small-town bar.

I looked around nervously until they stopped staring and went back to their conversations. I walked slowly over to the bartender and sat in a barstool with shaking legs.

"Can I get you a drink?" The bartender asked. I shook my head. "No thank you. I have no money. But I would like a phone if you have one?"

"You look oddly familiar," he replied, scanning me up and down, "What's your name?"

"Melody," I answered warily as I sat my crowns on the bar, "Melody Raines."

"Well I'll be damned," he chuckled, "I thought it was you." I balled my fists up and my eyes glowed in fear. The bartender put his hands up. "Whoa, no harm here. This little town is a big fan of yours, I can promise you." He slid a whiskey drink my way. "Here; it's on the house."

"Thank you," I whispered, embarrassed that I reacted the way that I did.

"Anytime," he replied with a smile, "Here's you a phone." He handed me his cell phone and I quickly dialed Maya's number.

"Hello?" She answered, like she had just woken up.

"Maya," I said, "It's me."

"What the fuck are you doing?" She hissed, "Why would you leave us like that?"

"Maya," I replied, putting some seriousness into my voice, "I didn't leave you. I didn't leave anybody. You really think I would do that?"

"With the way King Donovan has been acting," she said, "I wouldn't have thought anything else."

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously, knowing damn good and well what the answer was.

"Drinking like a fish," she answered, "And bringing all kinds of girls to the castle."

My stomach knotted up even tighter than before. I took a huge drink of the whiskey hoping that the burn from the alcohol would lessen the pain.

"I didn't leave anyone," I said again with tears in my eyes, "Just please come and let me explain."

"Where are you?" She asked quietly. I looked at the bartender. "What town is this?"

"Norville," he answered. I was nearly 400 miles away from Erik's castle.

"Norville," I told Maya, "I'll find somewhere to crash tonight here, and if you can come tomorrow I'll explain everything."

"Goodness, Mel," she chuckled, "I believe you. You know I always will believe you, but I hated the thought that you might have turned your back on me."

"I promise you I would never in a million years do that to you," I replied with a smile, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Deal," she said, "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight," I whispered before I hung up and gave the phone back to the bartender. He handed me another drink. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but I heard you saying you needed somewhere to crash, right?"

"I'm fine," I said, taking a drink, "I'll find a nook somewhere in the woods."

"We can't let our Queen sleep in the woods," he replied as he waved over another female bartender. She had short, curly brown hair and deep gray eyes that were almost closed they were so small. She walked over and instantly bowed when she recognized me.

"Your Majesty," she breathed. I smiled at her as she stood up, carefully avoiding eye contact with me.

"Glo," the male bartender said, "Her Majesty needs a place to stay tonight. You got any open rooms at your place?"

"Of course," she said, setting down her tray of drinks, "Are you ready for bed now or do you want to stay for another drink?" I looked at the now-empty glass and back up at the bartender. "Unfortunately I left my card at home."

"Drinks on the house tonight," the bartender replied, "You look like you need it." I nodded as he slid another glass in front of me and I began to sip on it while Glo picked her tray back up and got to work again.

I became lost in my thoughts as I was fed more liquor. The sight of that woman in Erik's bed wouldn't go away and neither did the nagging pain where my heart was.

How? How could he do this to me?

He couldn't have believed I would just up and leave like that. I told Johnathan right in front of Erik that I didn't want the crown, so why would he think I changed my mind so quickly?

Unless Johnathan put something in his drink too; something that changed our bond and Erik's feelings for me.

"That's gotta be it," I mumbled to myself as I downed whatever number drink I was on.

Well, you're definitely trying to drink him and your liver away.

I groaned as I slid the glass over to the bartender. "I think I'm done."

"You were throwing them back," he chuckled, "Hey, Glo!" The female walked over to us and took one look before she set her tray down and helped me off of the stool. "Come on, your Majesty. Let's get you in bed."

I slung the crowns over my shoulder again before she helped me outside and about one block down before we came to a quaint little hotel. She walked us through the front door and down the left hallway before coming to door number 4. She unlocked the door and helped me inside. I set the crowns on the table beside the queen sized bed and I flopped down on my stomach.

"Here," she said, handing me a set of pajamas, "I keep some extra here in case my husband comes home drunk."

"Thank you," I whispered, "For everything."

"No, your Majesty," she said, taking my hand, "I don't know what you're going through, but it must be rough for you to be like this. I'll be thinking about you and you holler if you need anything. I'll be in the room next door when my shift ends in an hour.

"And we all are thankful for you, for saving our community. Malachi was about to wipe us off of the face of the Earth before you took care of it. We will all be forever grateful for you, Queen Melody." She stroked my sweaty forehead before she began to walk out.

"Wait!" I called out.

She turned around and looked at me. "Yes?"

"I'll have a visitor tomorrow," I answered, "Maya. If I'm not awake please let her in."

"Yes ma'am," she replied. She then smiled before she left the room.

I stumbled to the bathroom and took a quick, not-so-graceful shower before I pulled on the pajamas and fell into the bed. The bedding smelled of fresh detergent and perfume, which lulled me right into a deep, drunken sleep.

I slept hard for the first few hours until my drunken state was slept off. Around six in the morning I started to toss and turn, haunted by the sight I encountered in Erik's bedroom. I was finally woken up by someone shaking me. I pulled the covers over my head to try and go back to sleep.

"Mel." I opened my eyes and yanked the covers off of me, grabbing Maya and hugging her tightly. She gently wrapped her arms around me as tears started to stream down my face.

"I'm so sorry," Maya whispered as she stroked my hair. I wiped my face and sat on the edge of the bed as she sat next to me. She put an arm around me and pulled me closer.

"Maya," I said, "I never meant for any of this to happen. I promise I would never leave you like that."

"I know you wouldn't," she replied, "But what happened?"

"We were just casually having brunch," I answered, "And Johnathan put something in my drink. I passed out and when I woke up I was strapped to this table and he was taking blood from me to figure out what gave me my powers so that he could have those powers. He wanted to rule everything; there is no doubt in my mind that him and Malachi were friends.

"I have no idea how long I was there, it seemed like forever. It was torture every day until I finally broke out. I figured out that the stones in the basement were part of the original foundation of the home, and it held the energy I could channel to get my powers back to regular levels.

"I also figured out that I could take my mind somewhere else and channel Queen Iris herself, which caused my powers to become even stronger. I killed all of the guards who got in my way." I put my face in my hands as I realized how much blood was on my hands now.

"Mel," Maya said, "It's going to be okay. You killed your uncle, right? So it's all over and you can go back." I shook my head. "You really think the council would let me off easy after I were to kill him?"

"I think they would have understood your situation," she answered, "I mean, they let you off the hook with Malachi."

"Yeah," I replied, "But they had evidence that I had reason to do what I did."

She shrugged her shoulders and then sighed. "So what are you going to do?"

I looked at my hands and shrugged. "I have no idea. I have no reason to go back to Erik, now, so I guess I could just go back and give Johnathan what he wants."

"Bullshit," Maya said, standing up, "You could go back and sweep Erik off his feet. He is absolutely heartbroken over you."

"So that makes him drink himself to death and fuck every woman that walks in front of him?" I asked, "Because I would be trying to find every way to get back to my soulmate if they decided to leave me."

"Good point," she mumbled, "Well, there is a dance coming up at King Roland's later this week. I'm sure Erik will be there, so you should show up."

I shook my head. "No, he made his decision so that's the way it will stay. I'll figure out what to do about Johnathan on my own."

"Like hell you will," Maya said, taking my face in her hands, "We all know how much you and Erik love each other. You're not letting that die out; I won't let you. You have me to help, along with Rex. You know she sent her brother to come find you."

"I know," I said with a smile, "I met him. He definitely helped me, and I got him out of there too."

"We all have your back," Maya replied, "Just let us help you, Mel." I sighed and a fire began to burn in my stomach with the thought of Erik loving me again. I looked at her with glowing eyes and a smile. "Okay, where do we start?"

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