Bitten – Episode 14
Chapter 14
The sound of something heavy clattering to floor jolted me from my slumber. My eyes snapped and searched around, trying to locate the source of the clamor. The first thing I noticed was that I was in my temporary room. The second thing was Sebastian, giving me a sheepish look. He held up a book- the reason for the noise. “Where’s Vincent?” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Sebastian frowned the slightest bit. “He left for court, why?”
“No reason,” I responded quickly, looking around my room again. When had I fallen asleep? Had Vincent carried me here from the living room?
“Are you hungry?” Sebastian asked, setting the book he’d been reading back on the shelf. “I’m not a good cook, but I can try…”
I shook my head, throwing the covers off me so I could get up. “Don’t worry about it. I can make myself something. Thanks though.” He frowned deeper. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to be a hassle.”
“You’re not a hassle,” he told me, crossing his arms. “I really wish you’d stop being so formal to me.”
I blinked at him. “Formal?”
“You can joke around and get angry with Vince, but you’re always so polite to me,” he explained.
“But you’re the next King…”
“But I don’t want you to act that way around me.”
Smiling, I shook my head at him. “I only act like that toward Vincent because he deserves it because he’s a jerk. It’s not something you really want…”
Sebastian’s lips twitched into a crooked smile. “I see. In that case, you’re not allowed into the kitchen to make yourself breakfast.” “Why no-”
“I’m making it and it’s final.”
“I thought you couldn’t cook?”
He shrugged. “I never said I was going to make any thing fancy. Why don’t you shower and change then meet me in the kitchen?”
I glanced down, realizing I was in my pajamas. When did I…? I didn’t. My face flamed when I realized the only other person who could have changed me was Vincent. That pervert! When he got back I was going to slap him so hard… “Emily?”
I ripped myself from my violent thoughts to wave Sebastian away. “Sounds good. See you soon.”
He left, and I went over to the duffle bag of my clothing he’d brought here a few days prior. My laptop was on top of everything. Picking it up, I brought it over to the empty desk in the corner of the room to get it out of the way. Just as I was about to walk away from it, a thought hit me. Was there Internet here? Glancing at the door to make Sebastian had shut it, I booted up my computer. It was an agonizing twenty seconds before I reached the home screen. I clicked the Firefox symbol, bringing up the Internet. To my amazement, it loaded. So Vampires used the Internet…
I clicked Facebook, going to my profile. To my surprise, my wall was covered with my friends asking how California was going. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. How many minds had Sebastian altered? The What’s On Your Mind? space was tempting me. Should I update my status? The last one was going to the movies. I hesitated a moment. What would my status be? Oh, I’m really not in California. Vampires kidnapped me a few days ago, and there’s a chance I could die, but beside all that I’m dandy? A smile broke across my face. I couldn’t write that.
After typing out It’s hot in California, I hit share, closing the Internet and shutting off my laptop again. Might as well go with the flow. I trudged back to the duffle bag, pulling out a pair of washed jeans and a tank top. For a few seconds I searched for a sweatshirt and eventually pulled out a cardigan. Shrugging, I piled it with the rest of my clothes and headed for the shower.
By the time I entered the kitchen, Sebastian was nearly finished cooking. Plates were already set out on the table, filled with burnt bacon, charred home fries, and slushy scrambled eggs. There was a small pop from behind me, causing me to start. Sebastian turned, his making a face at me. “What?” I questioned, raising a hand to my face.
He came over to me, sighing lightly. “If you let your hair dry like that you’ll catch a cold,” he warned me, taking the towel that was around my shoulders and covering my head with it.
Before I could protest he started drying my hair, running the part in it I’d made earlier. When he finished I emerged from underneath the towel, pursing my lips at him. “What are you, my father?”
“No. But I’m old enough…” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Actually, I’m old enough to be your-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I said quickly before he could continue.
He grinned, moving around me to the toaster, where he pulled out the first thing he’d cooked that didn’t look burnt. With an arrogant look, he placed the two pieces of toast on a plate, gesturing for me to sit in front of it.
“This looks… appetizing,” I said slowly, taking a seat at the place he’d indicated. “Thank you.”
“Don’t force yourself to eat it if you don’t like it,” he told me. “It might just kill you.”
I laughed, pushing the soggy pile of eggs around my plate. “I think I’ll manage.”
He sat down across from me, smiling. “Very well.”
A silence settled throughout the kitchen. Cautiously, I placed a forkful of the eggs into my mouth. He watched me intently, waiting for my reaction. I clamped my mouth down on the fork, tasting the eggs for the first time. After the initial shock of the taste of runny eggs, I managed to swallow, holding up my thumb. Relief flooded across his face.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him they were undercooked and that I could catch salmonella.
“I should probably ask Vince to teach me how to cook, but he’d probably refuse,”
Sebastian suddenly spoke up, now putting some of his own eggs into his own
mouth.
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“You think?”
“I know,” he corrected. “Vincent doesn’t exactly love me. Not that I can blame him. He is put through a lot because of me.” I frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“Whenever I do something I’m not supposed to, all the blame goes to Vincent.”
“Why-”
“Because I’m the next King,” Sebastian cut me off, looking aggravated. “I can’t do anything that will cause problems for me when I later become King. When I mess up, Vincent is held responsible.”
I gawked at Sebastian. “Wait, seriously?”
He nodded solemnly. “Which is why he hates me.”
“Why would he hate you if there’s just the chance? You haven’t done anything, right?”
The corners of his lips pulled down and he stayed silent. “I have.” His eyes met mine. “You probably don’t know the whole story behind why Fiona’s here?”
“No,” I responded quickly, hopeful that he’d elaborate on the topic. “Well-”
Suddenly the kitchen door opened, causing Sebastian to snap his mouth shut. Disappointed, I turned to glower at whoever was there. My frown dropped when I realized it was Fiona. Speak of the devil.
She stared at me curiously for a moment. “Morning, Em.”
“Good morning, Fiona,” I responded.
“Have you seen Mom, Seb?” she inquired, turning to her brother.
He dropped his gaze. “No, sorry.”
Her face fell. “Oh, it’s um, it’s okay.”
“Want some breakfast?” Sebastian offered, gesturing towards his place, his head still bowed.
“No, that’s okay. I need to find Mom,” she declined, taking slow, backward steps out the doorway. “See you later, Em. Bye, Seb.”
I glanced at Sebastian, seeing his face tightened as if he was in pain. Bewildered, I turned back to Fiona, but she was gone. Sebastian let out a deep sigh, placing his fork down on the table. With weary eyes, he stared at the floor. “Sebastian?” I said hesitantly.
His gaze snapped to mine. “Yes?”
“Can I… Is it okay if I ask what happened between you and Fiona?”
The frown on his face deepened, but he didn’t reply. After a few minutes he slowly nodded. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t tell you.”
My heart jumped in excitement. I tried to keep calm, but it was hard. Curiosity always got the best of me. For all I knew, Sebastian could have killed Fiona just for the fun of it… Was that something I really wanted to know? I already knew the answer to that.
I was dying to know.
“Why don’t you accompany me to my room?” he suggested, pushing his plate away from him. “You can bring your breakfast along if you’d like. I’ve lost my appetite.” Pushing my plate away from me as well, I shook my head. “No, I’m not that hungry anyway.”
He smiled. “Or is it you don’t want to eat my cooking?”
“It might be a little of both,” I responded playfully, trying to keep the smile on his face.
It worked. Together we made our way out of the kitchen, making kittenish banter throughout the labyrinth of halls. Obviously the story behind Fiona and Sebastian wasn’t going to be a cheery one. I wanted to keep Sebastian’s spirits up for at least a little while before he revealed probably one of his deepest secrets.
“Through here,” he suddenly spoke, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve never been to my room before, have you?”
I shook my head, following him through a door to our right. “I can’t say I have…”
“Excuse the mess, then.”
Mess? He stepped aside, allowing me to see the entirety of his room. Like almost every other room in the manor, this one was perfectly themed. The floor was made out of oak wood panels, which matched the color of the couch nestled in the corner and also the bedspread on his King sized bed. The walls were painted white, and brown curtains hung from the gigantic window on the far side of the room. There
wasn’t one thing that looked out of place. Whatever “mess” Sebastian was talking about, was obviously not in his room.
“Want to take a seat?” he offered, pushing me towards the couch. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“Sure,” I responded, awkwardly taking a seat on the leather couch. My eyes widened in surprise when I sunk just about five feet into it.
Sebastian chuckled, taking a seat next to me. “Feathers,” he told me before I could question him. “Comfortable, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” I replied, struggling to push myself into a more comfortable position. “It
must have been expensive…”
“Money is a problem.”
“Right.”
He chuckled, sinking back into the couch. “Don’t let anyone know I’m telling you this. No one is supposed to know but the immediate family.”
“I know,” I said quickly. Joel made that clear. “I’m not going to say one word.”
“Good girl,” he commented with a smile. “Now where should I start…?”
“The beginning?”
He shook his head at me, chuckling. “I should have you beheaded for your impudence.”
“You can have people beheaded?”
He stared at me, blinking his eyes. “Wait… You believed me?”
My face flushed. “You weren’t kidding?”
“You’re a funny human,” he complimented with a grin. “You remind me of Fiona when…” He trailed off, looking uncomfortable. “I guess I found the place to start.” “Please do,” I insisted, leaning closer to him.
“Fiona was studying to become a doctor when I met her,” he started, turning his head to look at the ceiling. “You know that, right?”
I nodded, but then realized he wasn’t looking at me and said, “yep.”
“Well the day I met her was one of those rare days off, like today, where I didn’t have to do anything dealing with royalty. Vince and I decided to leave the manor and go clubbing.”
My brows furrowed together. “Clubbing?”
A smile crossed his face. “We’re still young… in body and heart.”
“Did you hook up with Fiona at a club?” I joked, nudging him in the side.
“Not exactly.”
“Then…?”
The smile slipped of his face. “I don’t know if you’ll believe me or not, but Vince used to get into a lot of trouble when we went out.” “No!” I gasped sarcastically.
Solemnly, Sebastian nodded his head. “He would have got away with it too, if it
wasn’t for that meddling Fiona.”
“Fiona?”
“Vince got into this really serious fight one night. It wasn’t fair to the other guy-when pairing a vampire against of a human, there’s not even the slightest chance a human can win. He nearly killed the guy. Luckily for both of them, Fiona was there to stop the bleeding.”
I nodded. “What does that have to do with you though?”
“Well, being the gentleman I am, I offered to buy the kind, young woman who saved that guy’s life a drink.”
“You erased her memory of helping the human, right?” I guessed, figuring Fiona would have told the cops if she found someone beaten half to death in an ally way.”
He smiled slyly. “Maybe.”
“I thought so.”
“Anyway, one drink turned into four and the alcohol began to takes its affect on both of us.”
I stared at him with wide eyes. “Alcohol affects vampires?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t tell me you accidentally killed her when you were drunk…”
He shook his head. “No, no. Of course not.”
“Good.”
“But I did the one thing a vampire royalty is not allowed to do under any circumstance.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What’s that?”
“Sleeping with a human.”
“You slept with her?”
An embarrassed look crossed his face. “I was drunk…”
“What happened after that? Did she find out you were a vampire? How did she survive that? Oh my god! Did she get pregnant? Can humans become pregnant with a vampire baby? Oh! Did you accidentally-”
Sebastian covered my mouth with his hand. “Slow down. No she didn’t find out I was a vampire, no she didn’t get pregnant- vampires can’t get humans pregnant, and no, I didn’t accidentally kill her from panicking the morning after.”
Pulling his hand from my mouth, I looked at him in surprise. “How’d you know I
was going to say that?”
“Just a feeling.”
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“Well what happened then? How’d you… er, kill her?”
He grinned at my impatience. “I didn’t kill her right away. We started seeing each other.”
“You guys were involved romantically?” I questioned. That made sense. The reason why they acted so strange around each other now. He nodded. “For about a year.”
“Were you guys… in love?”
He stayed silent for a minute. “Yes, I suppose you could say that,” he admitted quietly.
“What happened?” I asked, lowering my voice to match his.
“Somehow my family found out about us. One day everything was perfectly fine, the next day, Vince was in a shitload of trouble. Our parents made him take the blame, saying it was him who was in the relationship with the human.” “What about Fiona?”
“This was before we changed the laws,” Sebastian warned me. “There was no law saying you couldn’t kill a human…”
My heart skipped a beat. “Don’t tell me…”
“Fiona was going to be killed because of me,” he said, confirming my thoughts.
“She did absolutely nothing, but still gained a death sentence. Meanwhile Vince
was banned from ever having the chance to become King- he was too troublesome.
So not only did Vince hate me from that moment on, Fiona was going to die and it
was all my fault.”
“What did you do?”
He smiled sadly. “The only thing I could do.”
“Kill her yourself?”
“No,” he responded, shaking his head. “I was going to runaway with her. I thought it’d be romantic- and it was the only way of keeping her safe.” He clenched his jaw. “But…?”
He laughed without humor. “It was no good. I couldn’t do that to Vince.”
My eyebrows furrowed together. “To Vincent?”
“If I left, everything would be on him. My faults, the kingdom, the wrath from the family… I couldn’t put Fiona over my brother.” “Sebastian…”
He shook his head. “It was my choice. However, I didn’t want Fiona to die, so my new plan was just to tell her everything and ship her off.” “How did that go?”
“She completely freaked. She tried running before I could tell her everything, so I tried to stop her but… Well I was panicking too. If she didn’t believe me and if she ran, she was going to be killed. No matter what I said couldn’t convince her so I did the only thing I could do to prove to her I was a vampire.” “You sucked her blood.”
He nodded. “I was just going to drink enough to make her weak enough so she couldn’t run away, but…”
I stayed quiet, not wanting to prod him anymore. After a few moments of silence he sighed.
“Let’s just say I got carried away.”
My heart sunk. “Is that how you killed her?”
His shoulders sagged. “Yes. But I couldn’t let it end like that. I couldn’t have a death on my shoulders. It was mostly my selfishness that decided made me turn her, but the hope that maybe she could live as a normal vampire and we could be together helped too. So I changed her.” He paused for a second, a ghost of a smile on his face. “She freaked out about it for awhile. It was actually kind of funny. When she got used to the idea of being a vampire, she seemed okay with it. I think she was more happy about the fact we could be together.” “That’s cute,” I commented, the corners of my lips turning up.
“Yeah, it was,” he agreed. “However, my father had different plans. Technically, changing humans without reason is illegal, so once again I was bringing more problems to the family. My father decided Fiona was going to become part of the family because if anyone found out she was the human I’d, or rather Vincent had been, seeing, she’d still be killed.”
I frowned. “So she became your sister?”
He laughed through his nose. “It’s strange isn’t it? Being in love with your own sister?”
“You’re in love with her again?”
“I was never out,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I don’t want to become King. I’d give anything to run away with Fiona…”
I swallowed nervously. “But you can’t.”
“No. Fiona seems to like it here enough, though. Even if there are those bastards who don’t even spare her a glance,” he added, clenching his fists.
“You said the laws were different back then,” I pointed out. “Is it legal to have a relationship with a human now?”
He shrugged. “It depends. There are plenty of vampires that do, but it’s harder when your royalty. For example, if you and I had a relationship, there would be an uproar. A turned vampire cannot rule the kingdom. You have to be pure blood.” So there relationship would have never worked out… “I’m sorry,” I apologized, setting my eyes downcast. “That must… For lack of a better word, suck.” He chuckled. “It does suck, but it’s life.”
“Do you think maybe one day you and Fiona can be together again…?”
Another sad smile crossed his face. “I’m afraid not.”
Instead of saying anything, I threw my arms around him and pulled him into a hug.
He returned in, breathing deeply.
“I’m sorry, Sebastian,” I reiterated.
“It’d be easier if she didn’t call me Seb,” he murmured into my shoulder. “It brings back a lot of memories.”
I didn’t respond; I didn’t need to. Quiet settled in again, but this time it was a comfortable one. Sebastian eventually moved away from me, looking a lot more relaxed than before. I smiled at him and he returned it, suddenly looking embarrassed.
“That was a lot to unload…”
“Everyone needs to unload,” I told him with a laugh. “I’m glad you told me. You probably don’t care, but in my opinion, but I feel that you killed Fiona more humanely than whoever else was going to kill her would.”
He laughed again. “That’s very true.” He hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Emily, can I ask you something?” “Sure.”
“Since you’re a human… Would you ever agree to, as you put it, be romantically involved with a vampire?”
My mind blanked at his question. “What?”
“Like for example if Joel or Vincent fell for you…”
“I, um… I don’t know,” I responded quickly, my heart rate increasing. “Why are you asking me?”
He held up his hands. “I’m not insinuating anything. I was just wondering how Fiona might have felt at first.”
I relaxed again, scratching the back of my head. “Well I guess it wouldn’t be a horrible thing. As long as she never found out your true age.”
“That’s good to know,” he replied softly. “But hey. Let’s stop with all this depressing talk. Want to go play video games?” “Eh…”
“I’m probably as good at playing videogames as you are.”
I grinned. “Okay, that sounds fine then.”
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I’m not sure how I feel about this chapter… I definitely didn’t convey this the way I wanted to.
TBC
