The Vampire Vigilante
Chapter 3

"Good, you've finished eating," said his Majesty, "My study-now." Suddenly a very tall, gruff guard stomped over and snatched me up by the arm that the nurse wasn't linked into.

"Well that's not very nice," I mumbled. The guard glared at me, and I instantly grew silent. I peeked over my shoulder at the nurse with pleading eyes.

"Your Majesty," she started, "Is that really necessary? She means no harm to us."

"And how are you sure so about that?" he spat, "For all we know she could be a vampire huntress." I glared back at him as the guard pushed us through the doors and to the right of a long corridor. He then took me up a side staircase, where we took the third door on the right. He pushed me into the room and immediately slammed and locked the door behind me. I stood in the middle of a circular room holding bookshelves on either wall with a large desk and chair in the middle.

Exactly what a King's office should look like-go figure.

The wooden desk was huge, with the chair behind it almost 10 feet tall. The ceilings in this place were enormous; a goliath could walk around with ease. There was a large window behind the desk with a little sitting nook edged into it, decorated with pillows and a few throw blankets. It was almost cozy.

I walked around the desk to look out the window to see gardens upon gardens of flowers. Not something I would expect the King to be into, after what little conversation we had, but whatever floats his boat I guess. There were so many kinds of flowers; rose bushes, dandelions, tiger lilies, and so many more.

After looking out of the window for a bit, I began walking along the shelves of books. There was a rolling ladder on either side, since the shelves went nearly all the way to the top of the ceiling. I ran my fingers along the spines until a book stopped me in my tracks.

The Royal Family Journals.

Not just any 'Royal Family', but MY family. The whole damn reason I'm in the mess I'm in: because I am direct Royal descendant. I had seen several excerpts from the journals that my father showed me over the short 13 years I spent with him, but I had never seen the whole composite book. I didn't even know it was owned by someone outside of the family.

I started to grab it and begin to flip through it, but I was stopped short when I heard the lock begin to click at the door. I quickly went back to the middle of the rug in front of the desk and turned to face my new enemy.

He opened the door with ease, and closed it right behind him. It took him exactly 13 steps to scale across the room and sit down in his chair with a heave, where he opened his laptop. He then motioned to the chair on my right for me to take a seat.

"No thank you," I said through gritted teeth, "I prefer to stand." He shrugged his shoulders. "As you wish, Melody." The way he said my name sent shivers down my spine, and glued me to the floor. He began clicking away on his laptop while I just stood there.

"Are you going to throw me in the dungeon, or shackle me in a cell, or just kill me?" I asked, "Because if you're going to do it just get it over with." He threw his head back in laughter, and it boiled my blood.

What the hell is wrong with this guy?

I sat down in the chair that he motioned for me to sit in earlier, and crossed my arms over my chest. "So what do you want?"

He closed his laptop and placed his hands in a praying position with the tips of his fingers against his lips, leaning back in the chair. He sat like that for a few moments, looking me up and down. I glared my eyes at him, trying to figure out what kinds of wheels were turning in his mind.

"I talked to Malachi, and what he informed me is not the story you are giving me my dear," he said, "So I am only trying to figure out why, and how, you ended up here." I threw my hands up in disgust. "Of course his story isn't the same as mine, because I'm the victim." He leaned forward in the chair and stared at me. His eyes felt like lightening piercing into my skull.

"Well then, what is your story?" he asked, "Because I am slightly intrigued as to what it might be." I turned my lip up at him and leaned forward in my chair. "It doesn't matter, nor does it pertain to you. So if you don't mind I will keep it to myself and be on my way out." With that I stood up and started for the door.

"Wait." he said, stopping me in my tracks. I turned half of a turn to face him slightly. I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Just stay for a while," he responded, "I have already had our maids get you a room ready with everything you may need in case you decided to rest up for your journey."

Oh, so he can be nice sometimes.

I turned all the way around to face him and see that he had what appeared to be the start of a smile peeking at the corners of his lips. I bit down on my bottom lip and glanced at the floor, thinking about what I should do. "Only if I won't be a burden to you. And it won't be more than 2 days." He looked at my wrists to see the bruises and marks on them. I quickly put my arms behind my back to hide my shame.

"Stay as long as you need," he replied, "Because whatever the story may be on either side you need to rest and recover. The maid is out in the hallway waiting for you; her name is Maya." I nodded my head and turned to leave the room.

I opened the door and looked to the left to see a young girl, maybe 20 years old, smiling brightly at me.

"Oh, you must be Melody!" she exclaimed, "The whole castle has been buzzing with your name. Please, follow me to your room." She began walking down the stairs and I followed. I had to walk quick to keep up with this girl, she was full of energy.

When we got to the end of the stairs she took a right down another hallway, where it opened up into the largest ballroom I had ever seen. The ceilings were even taller in this room than the rest of the castle I had seen so far, probably close to 40 feet tall. I stood in amazement as I looked up at the ceiling to see the top was mosaic glass of some sort of picture; vampire gods and goddesses maybe?

There was a large crystal, or maybe even diamond, chandelier that was smack in the center hanging down. In the far right corner was a medium-sized bar area, and two thrones on the right side between staircases that went up and around each side. The chairs were wooden, tall, and decorated with jewels and intricate designs etched into the wood. The upholstery was bright red fabric and it draped around the edges of the seats.

Looks like blood dripping down to me.

There were several small windows on each side of the ballroom up high. They were mosaic as well, but without any pictures or designs; just colorful pieces of glass. To the far left was another large staircase, but it went straight up into what seemed to be large doors leading to outside. There were guards at the tops and bottoms of each set of staircases in the ballroom, so apparently his Majesty likes security in his home.

After coming into the ballroom, we went up the staircase around the thrones to the left. After getting to the top, we made another left down a dim hallway and took the last door on the right. There were about 3 doors on each side, which I assume were more bedrooms for workers.

Maya opened the door to the room and I was hit with a smell of fresh linens and flowers. There was a large 4-post bed in the back of the room with night stands on both sides each holding a vase of flowers. There was a TV to my left mounted on the wall, with a large bookshelf on either side. I looked up to see that there was another chandelier in the middle of the room that was gold with crystal accents hanging down. The walls weren't the normal grey stone of the rest of the castle; they had been painted an off-white color to brighten up the room. The quilt on the bed was a light emerald color with white sheets. There was a sheer canopy pinned to the bedposts as well, which gave the room a feeling of delicacy.

To the right was a doorway to what I presumed was a bathroom, which I would be needing soon. A hot shower was calling my name. It had been so long since I felt hot water; all Malachi would allow me was a 5-minute rinse under the outside faucet.

On the left of the room was a few steps up to an area with a small chaise lounge and large balcony doors. The curtains had been pulled out of the way and I could see a small balcony with flower beds on the edge.

A tear streaked down my face as I felt comfort in being here. I wasn't sure what the King's plan was for me yet, but for now I would soak all of this in and enjoy it.

"Do you like it?" Maya asked, pulling me away from my own mind. I nodded, scared that if I spoke the dam would break and I would begin another crying fit. Maya clapped her hands. "Oh, I'm so glad! I told his Majesty he had nothing to worry about me decorating for you." I smiled at her and mouthed a 'thank you'. She then smiled back. "You are very welcome. If you need anything, the number to the maid's office in on the nightstand. The phone is in the drawer. You can ask for me personally." She put a hand on my shoulder and then left, quietly shutting the door behind her.

This feels amazing.

I shook from the hot water pouring all over me in the shower. It had been 12 years since I had the chance to take a long, hot shower. The shower itself was a huge, marble walk-in shower with a bench on one side and a rainfall showerhead build into the ceiling. I had been just standing in the water for almost an hour when I decided to actually wash up.

I lathered up the sponge sitting on the bench and began to scrub. The marks and bruises on my legs were much worse than I thought. I could only imagine what my back looked like since that was the main area of beatings.

I scrubbed each and every inch of my body, only taking it easy around my ribcage that was still sore from ribs healing at different stages. Then I moved on to my hair. There was shampoo and conditioner that had a rose petal scent to them, so I lathered and rinsed twice with each to make sure I could actually brush my hair once I finished. When I finally decided that my skin might peel off from the scalding water if I stayed any longer, I got out.

There was a towel rack to my left when I got out, and I dried myself off with one of the most plush towels I have ever felt in my life. I pulled it up to my nose and took a big inhale.

I wonder what they wash these in to make them smell so good?

There were scents of lilac, lavender, and cotton. I gently took the towel to my face and began massaging. I smiled a big smile, enjoying the pure bliss of just being clean.

I walked up to the sink on the left, since it was a marbled double-vanity, and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes had deep, dark circles around them. My bones stuck out everywhere. Then I dropped the towel.

Oh, god. Nobody will ever want to see you naked.

The bruises started at my neck and went all the way to my ankles. Several deep and purple, but some were yellow that showed some healing. My collarbone was protruding so badly it looked like you could pinch and pull it away from the rest of my body. My sternum was so visible you could count each bone; ribs the same way. You could grab the bones of my hips as well; absolutely no curves like I used to have.

I turned around to glimpse at my back and I instantly put my hand to my mouth to suffocate the sobs that were beginning to seep out. There were so many scars from the chains, sticks, and whatever else I could be hit with. They went in different directions; up, down, across, and some spots where I was burned. You could count each individual vertebrae sticking out of my spine as well. I then pulled my hair away from my neck to see my tattoo still there.

At least that will never go away.

My tattoo was a symbol of my inheritance. It was simple but had powerful meaning. It was the emblem of my family; an upside down arrow with swirls and lines around it. Each member of the Royal family was born with it, and it makes its presence known when you first 'change'.

Vampires can be changed if you are born human. It's a fairly simple process: a vampire makes you drink from them. A lot of vampires in the early 1900s made armies of vampires this way because without the right guidance and counseling you can become destructive. We have to learn how to hone our abilities and curb our appetites for blood in order to live like functional, normal beings.

Vampires that are born as vampires don't show their vampiricy until they hit the age of 13. That's the 'Chosen Age'. At this time you begin your fang growth, your strength begins to increase, and if you have any special abilities they begin to form as well. Normally, vampires don't have any powers or abilities unless you are born into a powerful family or the Royal family. There are some branches of the family tree I am from that are not direct descendants but they still carry some of the powers from the Original family.

I pulled my towel back around my waist and began to brush my hair. After doing so, I blow dried it and brushed my teeth. I let my fangs slide out for a moment to examine them and make sure there was not any decay. Yes, we do have dentists just for our fangs.

I walked out of the bathroom to see a box on the bed with a note:

Please join me for dinner. Maya will be waiting to escort you to the dining hall. Be ready by 7pm.

-King Donavan

What the actual hell?

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