shuhaige
19
Fiona!” Joel hissed, looking alarmed.
Fiona looked at him, looking confused. “What?”
“You aren’t supposed to tell her!”
“Why not?”
He sent me apologetic look. “Nothing against you, Em, but Fiona, she’s human. She’s not part of the immediate family. No one is supposed to know out of it. I’m not even supposed to know. You know that.”
“But Emily-”
“Can’t know! Shit. What are we supposed to do now?” Joel inquired, running a hand through his messy blonde hair.
I stared at both of them, eyes wide. “Sebastian killed you, Fiona?”
She nodded. “Yeah. That’s why it’s kind of awkward between us. And also why most of the family doesn’t like me- because I’m not a pure blood, but I’m still part of the royal family.”
“Why did he kill you?” I asked, feeling my stomach twist uncomfortably. Sebastian was a killer? That was impossible…
“He-”
“Fiona!”
She glared at Joel. “I can tell her if I want to!”
“No you can’t!”
“Yes I can!”
“No, you can’t Fiona. You could put Emily in danger.”
I blanked at Joel. “Danger? Why?”
“Because Sebastian is going to be the next king. If someone ever found out he murdered a human, that’s the end of it. Then the crown would move to a different relative since neither Fiona nor Vincent can become the heir.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Why can’t Vincent become heir?”
“He’s not qualified,” Fiona and Joel told me simultaneously.
“Oh.”
Joel nodded. “So no one can know what Sebastian did. However, now that Fiona has opened her back mouth…”
She huffed at him. “It’s just Emily!”
“A human! Who’s not even the slightest bit related to us!”
I held up my hands defensively. “I won’t tell anyone!”
“And we won’t tell anyone you know either,” he stated firmly, his gaze switching to Fiona. “Right?”
She pouted at him. “Fine. But-”
“No buts.”
“What if… What if someone finds out I know?” I asked quietly. “Then what?”
Joel pulled his eyebrows together. “It’s hard to say. Just like how we’ve never ran into a human whose memory we can’t erase, no one has found out about our little royal problem. You’re a really troublesome human, huh?”
I smiled wryly. “I guess so.”
“And she’s super anemic. Almost like…” Fiona paused, a curious expression crossing her face. “Em, when was the last time you took your iron supplements?”
“Yesterday at breakfast,” I responded slowly. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Just wondering. You know, it’s best to take them at the same time so you can grow accustomed to-”
“Stop trying to change the subject, Fiona.”
She pouted, turning to Joel with a petulant mien. “Emily already said she wouldn’t tell anyone…”
“I think we have to tell the King and Queen.”
“No!”
“Fiona.”
“If they find out then Sebastian finds out! I don’t want him to know!” she cried, a hint of urgency to her voice. “Please Joel!”
He dropped his head back, heaving a heavy sigh. “Fiona, Sebastian has the right to know. It’s his secret too, you know.”
She shook her head vigorously. “Don’t tell him! Em, tell Joel not to tell him!”
“Um…” I hesitated, my wide eyes moving from Fiona to Joel. He had a good point. It was Sebastian’s secret too. Would he be angry if he knew I found out? Would he do something if he found out that I knew? Like try to silence me…
I bit the inside of my cheek as hard as I could. Sebastian wouldn’t do that. How could I even think that? He was one of the nicest people I’d met, killer or not. There was no way I’d think of him badly now. I didn’t know the whole story behind it.
“He should be allowed to know,” Joel insisted.
Fiona glared at him. “No, Joel! He’ll be angry.”
“He’ll be angrier if you wait to tell him.”
“Joel!”
“Fiona.”
“Don’t be unreasonable,” she pouted.
He pursed his lips. “Either you’re telling him, Em’s telling him, or I am.”
I held up my hands. “Not me.”
“He’s going to be angry,” Fiona moaned, her face twisting into a grimace. “I don’t want him to be mad.” With a heavy sigh, she collapsed onto the sofa dramatically. “The King will be angry too.”
I blinked. How could I not have realized Fiona didn’t call the King Father? The gears in my mind started turning. “Fiona… You’re not related to Vincent and Sebastian, are you?”
“Nope,” she responded simply, a sad smile flashing across her face. “Not even the slightest. It’s just coincidence I look similar to them.”
My eyebrows pulled together, creating a cease on my forehead. “I don’t get it. Does anyone know you’re not related?”
“That would be the immediate family and me,” Joel interjected, falling onto the couch besides Fiona. “The King made some cock-and-bull story about having a hidden heiress and everyone else believed him. Well, almost everyone. There are the few skeptics; including the would-be heir.”
“Would-be heir?”
“You met Phillip, yes?”
Memories from the previous Wal-Mart flashed by my eyes, a certain dark-haired man springing forth. “Right.”
“Phillip’s younger brother.”
“Younger brother?”
Joel nodded. “By the time the King steps down from the thrown Phillip will be too old. Besides, Phillip hasn’t had any training to be King like his brother has.”
“I hate his brother,” Fiona muttered darkly.
I glanced at her, my eyes widening in surprise. Could Fiona even feel hate? “Why?”
She sighed lightly. “You know in all those books you read in grade school when there’s the evil brother or cousin that wants to become King for reasons that won’t benefit his kingdom?”
“Yes…”
“That’s Ashton for you.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “I thought that only happened in movies.”
“A lot of things that people think only happen in movies happen in real life,” Joel interjected with a laugh. “For example… Vampires?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Yeah but those shouldn’t exist. Ah…” My smile faltered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”
.
.Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.
“No worries,” Joel and Fiona chorused.
“Sorry,” I apologized again, scratching my neck sheepishly. “I sometimes forget you guys are, you know, not human…”
Fiona smiled gently at me. “Sometimes I forget you’re not a vampire.” She gestured to my abdomen. “Example A.”
A small chuckle of relief left my lips. She really knew how to make people feel better about themselves. “That’s fine.”
Suddenly there was the sound of a door being slammed and heavy footsteps coming down the basement stairs. Three pairs of eyes snapped towards the back of the room, where Vincent was storming towards us- or more precisely, me. He stopped about a foot away, scowling deeply.
“You’re back already, Vivi?” Joel inquired, cocking his head to the side.
Vincent ignored his friend, his eyes never leaving mine. “Did you say anything to Claire?”
“Who?”
“Claire,” he snapped, an expression of irateness crossing his face. “The one with my cousin at the store the other day.”
I slowly turned my head from side-to-side. “No, why?”
“Because she knows.”
“She knows?” Fiona repeated, her voice colored with incredulity. “She knows about Emily? How?”
Vincent threw up his hands in frustration. “I don’t know! But someone she found out Emily is staying with us and that we can’t erase her memory.”
My heart began to pound a little faster in my chest. Why was Vincent so anxious about this? His agitation was seeping into me and I didn’t even know what was going on. Joel beat me to asking the one question that popped into my head. “What does that mean?”
“It means we’re in deep shit.”
“We? As in you and me?” I asked.
“As in you and my whole family,” Vincent snapped. “You’ll have to go in front of the court and they’ll decide what to do with you.”
My mouth felt dry. “Decide? What do you mean, Vincent?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. This hasn’t ever happened before. I can’t say for sure what will happen to you.”
“I’m not going to be killed am I? It’s illegal right? Right?” I repeated, turning to Joel when Vincent refused to respond.
He gave me an uncomfortable look. “I can’t say, Em…”
My mouth opened, but no words came out. Sebastian assured me I wouldn’t be killed! Was he lying then? Wasn’t it illegal to kill a human? I clutched the front of my shirt, trying to calm myself down.
“Vincent, you’re scaring her!” Fiona accused, putting a slender arm around me. “Emily, you won’t be killed.”
Joel nodded. “Yeah. The courts wouldn’t kill a human.”
“You can’t be too sure about that.”
“Vincent!”
“It’s true!” he argued, looking frustrated. “Damn Claire… Phillip will never hear the end of this from Sebastian.”
My ears perked up. “Sebastian? Where is he?”
“Why do you want to know?”
I scowled at him. “I just do.”
“He’s not here.”
“Obviously,” I said, slowly enunciating every syllable. “I need to talk to him.”
Joel and Fiona gave me cautious sidelong glances. I tried to surreptitious shake my head at them to signal it wasn’t anything they should worry about. Vincent didn’t miss the sly gesture. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What happened down here?”
“Nothing,” Fiona, Joel, and I all said quickly, adverting our gazes.
Suddenly I was forcibly lifted off the couch. A gasp of shock escaped my mouth as Vincent yanked me towards the stairs. “Let go of me!”
“No.”
“Vincent!”
“Vivi, where are you going?”
Vincent turned his head to glare at Joel. “Don’t call me Vivi!”
“Sure, Vivi.”
Ignoring the other blonde in the room, Vincent jerked me up the stairs. I stumbled after him, doing my best to liberate myself. After a few moments I realized it was impossible and settled for being dragged along. “Where are we going?”
“Kitchen.”
“Why?”
“Food.”
“I’m not hungry,” I told him.
He shrugged. “Whatever. I am.”
“What does that have to do with me then? I was having fun with Joel and Fiona!”
“You guys were obviously arguing about something before I came in. Fiona had her stubborn face on. And knowing you, you’re in trouble about something. I can guess it’s got to do with Sebastian.”
I blanked at him. “How did you know that?”
“That was the biggest secret our family has. I figured you’d find out, seeing as you like to cause trouble for us.”
“It’s not like I mean to.”
“Whatever.”
I scowled. “Why do you have to be a jerk all the time? It gets old!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. You want me to be nice?” he asked mockingly.
“Yes!”
He nodded. “Alright. Ready for it?”
I watched him curiously. “Yes?”
“Prepare to be amazed.” He stopped, opening the kitchen door for me. “Ladies first.”
A smile slipped onto my face before I could stop it. “How sweet of you.”
“Get in before I close the door.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, walking into the kitchen. To my surprise, it was filled with a bunch of people I didn’t recognize.
“That’s the kitchen help,” Vincent informed me, pushing me forward. “They won’t bother you. Hurry up.”
I shrugged out from under his hands. “Why do I have to come with you?”
He ignored me.
“Vincent!”
Once again, he disregarded me. Half of me was tempted to escape while he wasn’t paying attention and return to Joel and Fiona, but the other half figured it’d be safer just to stay with him. Not to mention I was curious as to why he wanted me around so badly anyway.
“Want some ice cream?” he offered flatly. “I’m going to make a sundae.”
“Er… Sure,” I replied, growing more confused. Vincent eating ice cream? That was also on my list of things I would never imagine seeing in my lifetime.
Ten minutes later we were both seated in what I assumed to be one of the living rooms, bowls of ice cream in our hands. He had turned on the television, flipping it to some food show I didn’t know. It was almost amusing how interested in the show he was. I was half-expecting him to miss his mouth while taking a spoonful of his sundae.
“So… Is there a reason we’re eating ice cream together?”
He shot an annoyed look at me. “Does there have to be a reason?”
“Well since you’re usually a jerk, yes.”
“Well there isn’t.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
I frowned at him, but let it drop. Maybe he was having one of his personable moments- like the night he stayed with me during the thunderstorm. The thought made my frown flip upside down. The more amiable he was, the more I could see myself liking him.
I blinked.
Liking him? Like a friend, I told myself firmly. It was almost laughable. Me liking a vampire more than a friend, especially one I hardly knew? Yeah, okay. I returned my attention back to my ice cream, shoving more than I could handle into my mouth so it would take my mind off things I didn’t want to think about.
“Vincent!”
The sudden, thundering voice startled me, causing the bowl of ice cream to drop from my hands. It landed on the floor with a raucous crash as I choked, regretting consuming so much of the freezing treat. Vincent spared a quick, amused glance at me before turning toward the door, where the owner of the voice stood.
And he did not look happy.
Immediately I understood why Vincent wanted me to stay with him. I shot him an accusing look. He needed me here so his father wouldn’t go so hard on him. His mouth quirked into a crooked smirk as he caught onto my gaze.
“Emily?”
I turned towards the King, offering him a polite smile. When I caught his facial expression, my smile almost faded, but I held it. He looked pissed. “Good afternoon.”
“Afternoon,” he responded, nodding tersely. “Vincent, could I talk to you for a moment? Alone?”
Vincent shrugged, slinging an arm around my shoulder. “You can talk to me. Just not alone. I wouldn’t want Emily getting into any more trouble, Father.”
My head snapped towards him. Since when did he call me Emily instead of Stupid?
The King let out a heavy sigh, running a hand down his face. “Very well, Vivi. You’ll have to excuse me though, Emily. I may make you uncomfortable.”
I almost smirked. Guess Vincent wasn’t getting off scot free.