The Kiss of Death

Chapter 2

Eleanor's POV:

    I stare straight ahead, watching the light posts that line the street pass by as the carriage makes its way further into town, no doubt heading towards the Inn. Town people line the streets, watching the carriage roll by, giving me looks of pity that I try to ignore. Humans don't tie each other up and throw each other into luggage carts so I'm sure they understand the situation I'm in if they have half a mind to. If any of them were paying attention this morning when Ed and I passed through, they'll no doubt recognize me and may be wondering how my sister and I got separated. I lean my head back and start looking for constellations as I pray that no one mentions Ed if one of these vampires decide to inquire about me. It'd suck if letting myself get caught was all for nothing.

    The carriage stops abruptly as we pull up to the Inn and I hear a door slam shut as my captors step out into the night, no doubt to fetch a room for the night. A few mumbled words are exchanged and only retreating footsteps are enough to alert me that one of them have left inside the Inn. I sit up straight, clasping my hands together to pack more force behind any blow I may land, expecting tall, dark, and creepy to come back for me. As the footsteps draw nearer, I tense, ready to pounce at first chance.

    "I wouldn't try that if I were you." The footsteps stop just before they reach the luggage cart and I'm surprised to see Will take one step out from behind the carriage. "You might hurt yourself. I wouldn't want to bring home damaged goods." He smirks. "You'd be stupid to think you can win a battle against me. Considering your wares and the position we discovered you in, you don't strike me as stupid." He looks pointedly down at my clenched fists and waits patiently until I reluctantly loosen them.

    "Don't pretend to understand me. You don't understand anything but your own selfish desires and whims." I spit out at him, turning my head away, refusing to look at him or even acknowledge his presence. "And I'm stronger than I look. I bet I could take you. Especially when its clear that you aren't at your strongest." I glance back at him, making eye contact for a brief second before looking away again. Everyone knows that a vampire that hasn't fed on a human isn't as strong as one that has. Something about our blood activates something in them. Hence their reasoning for taking over and herding the humans like cattle. 

    "Yeah." He murmurs, barely loud enough for my human ears to pick up. "Not stupid." Standing still for a moment, he watches me silently, seemingly debating something. Without much warning he hops up onto the cart and kneels down in front of me so we are eye to eye. He gives me a serious look for a few seconds too long and I look away just before he rips the rope from my feet. Shocked, I look back to him quickly. "W-what..?" I stutter, not sure if I should say anything. Is this guy stupid or something?

    He reaches his hand down to help me up and I hesitate for several long minutes but eventually grab hold and pull myself up to stand. 

    "No I'm not stupid. You can't exactly walk with your feet tied and I don't feel like carrying you around all night. So if you can agree not to try anything stupid, I'll agree to help make this transition as easy as possible." He turns his back to me, this guy really must be dense, and jumps down from the cart. He turns back to me and holds his hands out to catch me when I jump down. "Deal?"

    I glare down at him. What does he think this is? Two people born into warring races meet and become unlikely friends? This isn't some fairytale where s**t's easy. This is life and death for me, not some game. He's stolen me from my life, from my sister, and expects me to jump into his arms as if I'm happy to be here. Taking a few steps to the left, I get up on the edge of the cart and jump down right beside him, ignoring his offered help and sidestepping him completely.

    "I'd rather bite off my own tongue than make deals with vampires." I mutter angrily as I move to walk around him towards the Inn. "Don't think that I plan on making this any easier for you." I think about possibly making a run for it just before I step over the threshold into the Inn but quickly decide against it. It'd be smarter to wait this out and let them get comfortable.  Sneaking away while they sleep seems like the best and safest bet.  I want to take the shot that will get me out of here, not waste my time trying to execute a plan that will obviously fail.

    The second I make it to the desk, a rush of wind and incredibly strong, invisible hands turn me to my left and shove me against the wall face first so hard I don't even have time to brace myself or catch my breath. 

    "I'd watch my tongue if I were you little girl." A voice sounds in my ear as I try without success to push off from the wall, only to find that I'm pinned in place by an incredibly strong pair of arms. "You do know you were just disrespecting the prince of the five kingdoms, right? I could tear your head off for that offense, no questions asked." Matt whispers into my ear, his teeth scraping against the spot just below my lobe. 

    Prince? I mean I knew he was of noble blood but it never crossed my mind that he was that important. I know it's in my best interest to be on my best behavior now or risk quite literally losing my head so I don't move or say anything. I stand perfectly still as I wait for this ass hat to finish his display of dominance over me.

    "Matthias." I hear Will call his friend sternly, placing an arm on his shoulder and pushing with the lightest pressure in a clear gesture that says 'enough'. Without a second thought, Matt steps away from me entirely and gives a slight head bow, crossing an arm across his chest.

    "My apologies sir. The human-"

    "Does not need looked after by you. She's mine now, I'll punish her as I see fit. Leave me my room key and take my things to my room. I want to be alone for now." Will interrupts him before he can finish, holding his hand out for the key. Matt looks shocked for a moment but quickly recovers and drops the key into his hand. "Sir." He nods again and speeds away to do as he was told.

    I pull back from the wall, reaching up to place my head in my hands as my head begins to pound. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a welt where my head smacked the wall. Am I bleeding? I press my finger tips to the spot that aches and pull them away to have a look. Sure enough there's some blood on my fingers and I groan as I press my hand back up to my head.

    "You're bleeding." Will states the obvious as he grabs my arm, pulling my hands away from my face to inspect the wound. 

    "Thanks Sherlock. Why are you so interested? Need a snack?" I grill him, holding my fingers out as a dare. "Go ahead. Try it. I promise this snack will bite back." I grin as he and I make eye contact and I know he remembers the same moment in the woods as I do. "I've done it before." I add, just to prove my point.

    He laughs once, very lightly, and shakes his head. "Nah, I much prefer mine straight from the tap." He mutters, pressing a finger up to my neck. I'm sure he can hear my pulse beating wildly in my chest but having him feel it makes me feel strangely uneasy so I step back out of range and watch as his hand drops back down to his side. I'm tough but I'm not an i***t. I know when to be afraid and right now, tied up and injured, I know I'm not strong enough to fend off an attack.

    He tilts his head and watches me for a moment, that same easy smile from before never leaving his face as he studies me a little longer. Too quickly for me to react, he reaches out and rips the ropes from my hands, letting them fall to the floor at my feet. "For someone who talks such a big game, I wouldn't think you were afraid of anything." He challenges me, moving to walk down the hall to the master suite that no doubt he has booked for the night, not bothering to look behind him to make sure I'm following. Like he knows I will so he doesn't need to pretend to keep tabs. I hesitate for a split second before glancing back at the door one last time and walking after him.

    "Who says I'm afraid of you? My heart rate could spike for any number of reasons. Adrenaline from being attacked by your lackey just now, for one." I challenge back, keeping a safe distance between us as he uses his key to open the door and steps into the room, leaving the door open for me to follow. I step inside and close the door behind me, standing just in front of it, unsure of what to do now that I'm here. I watch him as he disappears into the bathroom and reemerges with a wet cloth and a first aid kit.

    He shakes his head and smiles wide, fighting off a laugh as he tilts his head towards the couch in a silent request for me to come sit as he settles on his own cushion, placing the stuff down on the coffee table and opening the med kit up to fish around for what he'd need. Slowly, I make my way over to him and sit down, pressed up against the opposite arm of the couch in an obvious attempt to let him know he needs to keep his distance. He pulls out some disinfectant spray and large cotton bandages but appears to think better of it after eyeing my wound and pulls out smaller bandages instead.

    "I didn't say what you were afraid of, I was just noticing that you are afraid. My senses are heightened remember? I can smell your fear. It's been coming off of you in waves since we discovered you in the forest. You can act tough all you want, but I know the truth before you even open your mouth to spew out more lies."

    I blanch back at the insult and shake my head vehemently. "Who are you to call me a liar? You know nothing about me. You may be able to smell fear but you can't sniff out a lie so drop the act." I pause and look back down at his hands and watch as he grabs the wet cloth and slowly presses it to my wound, gently dabbing at it to get it clean. "Anyways I haven't lied. Putting your fear aside in order to survive isn't lying, you'd think you of all people would know that. What they left that out of your royal lessons?" 

    "No lessons are given in the ways of common sense. You either have it or you don't. Believe me, I'm not confused about the definition of a lie." Will tosses his words back at me as he wipes the cloth a little harder to remove the rest of the blood and I wince. 

    "Ouch." I mutter, reflexively drawing back from the pain and lifting my hand to the side of my head. I watch as he sprays enough disinfectant spray onto a cotton to soak it before he applies it gingerly to my head and places it against my skin. I hiss as the chemical begins to sting and burn and glare at him for having caused me more pain. Yes, I know he's only trying to help, but it still hurts. If I was really horrible I'd have some smart remark but I keep my mouth shut in silent thanks for his help instead.

    "Sorry." He says, watching me silently for a moment, his eyes searching mine. I can almost feel his understanding as he acknowledges my silent gratefulness without saying a word. As if he knows that if he acknowledged it out loud that I'd deny having ever given it. Smarter than I thought, I think to myself as I turn my head to examine my surroundings.

    The room is pretty big, probably twice the size as my old room at least, with a huge master bed, canopy and all to adorn it. Though I can tell just by looking at the bedding that although the sheets are considered fine for this area, these are not of royal caliber and are probably not close to what this royal pain was used to sleeping in. My eyes continue to wander across the room, taking in the cheesy pictures and decorations hung on the walls. Whoever decorated this room reminds me of my grandmother. Definitely not my, or likely anyone's, taste in décor. Aside from the couch and the table we are sitting at now, there are two end tables on either side of the bed and a dresser on the far wall beside the bathroom door. A great big area rug sits under my feet that looks incredibly warm and soft. Even sleeping on this floor would be more comfortable than what I'm used to. I roll my eyes and turn towards the window, taking in the dark, floor length curtains before my eyes wander out to stare up at the moon. 

    It's been several hours now and my heart and mind go out to my sister as I try to imagine how scared she must be. By now she must know that something has happened to me. For all she knows, I may never come back, though I hope she doesn't believe that and I silently will her to be strong and to believe in me as I shiver at the thought of being separated from her forever. No. Not going to happen. Hopefully she did what I said and followed the green markers back to the last safe city and will be waiting for me there when I find my way back to her. Or maybe she decided to sleep in the tree and snack on the berries, waiting for the sun to come up to make the journey easier. That's what I would have done.

    The cities of light are usually about three to five towns apart and it can take anywhere from a week or even two to get from one to the other. I hope she remembers enough about traps to catch a few squirrels since I'm no longer there to keep her fed. I hope that she makes it back to the city safely and doesn't let her fear consume her. What if she gets lost? Or what if she meets the same fate as mine? Or worse? I shake my head hard, terrified at the thought, and regret it immediately as the room begins to spin and I look away from the window, momentarily distracted from my train of thought as I meet eyes with Will again.

    He looks, strangely worried, as he reaches out a hand to steady me. "You may have a concussion, it might be best to take it easy for a while, so avoid any more head shaking so you don't hit the deck next time." He nods once, rubbing the cotton across my head for good measure before removing it completely and placing a bandage over my wound, effectively finishing the job and moving to clean up the mess he'd made in the process. 

    "You stink." He wrinkles his nose and jerks his head towards the bathroom. "Go shower before bed. I won't be able to sleep all night with the room smelling like this." He comments rudely before standing and moving towards the bed, pulling his shirt off as he goes, giving me a perfect view of his creamy skin and gorgeously sculpted back. Ew. I did not just call a vampire gorgeous. Especially not after a rude comment like that. I know I stink but have some class dude. I shrug as I stand and walk to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and locking it as I start the water and wait for it to warm up. 

    "I must have hit my head harder than I thought." I giggle to myself as I strip and move to stand beneath the spray. I don't exactly need my stench to hide any longer since I've already been caught so I don't bother evading getting clean. It's been so long since I've had a shower that I just stand like that for long minutes, enjoying the heat on my skin before I begin to soap up my body and watch the dirt rinse down the drain. I don't feel clean until I wash my hair twice and shave all of my unwanted hair with the complimentary razor I find next to the soap. I debate even lathering a third time, but decide that this is the best this cheap stuff is going to do and shut the water off finally. I step out into the slightly less warm fog of the bathroom and grab a towel, drying off quickly and wrapping it around myself as I search for something to comb through my hair with.

    I find a complimentary bag of toiletries and fish out the comb, tooth brush and toothpaste, and some deodorant. He said he wanted me clean so I'm not going to think twice about saving him the tooth brush. If he wants his fangs clean he can suck on that. I laugh out loud as I finish detangling my hair and brushing the crap out of my teeth before adding the deodorant to my pits and placing all of my tools back into their drawer. I leave the toothbrush out, sitting on the sink because I'm still proud of my little joke and I want him to see it and maybe think of it too. I'm so busy laughing to myself that I don't even remember to be cautious or think twice about my lack of apparel as I step out from the bathroom and into the master suite.

    "Wow." Will comments, catching me off guard and I pull my towel up over my chest a bit more in a vain attempt to hide more of my skin. "That's a good look for you. You actually smell good too. What is that smell? Some kind of flower?" He laughs, reaching his arms up behind his head and lifting one leg up to cross over the other from his spot on the bed.

    I feel myself blush violently and struggle hard not to shuffle awkwardly as he continues with his assault. "Lavender. The soap is lavender." I mutter almost under my breath. "Can I get some clothes or something or aren't you going to buy me dinner before you ask me to walk around naked?" I take a stab at him as I watch him bounce up off of the bed and walk over to his bags by the door. He bends down and grabs a shirt and some sweatpants out of one of the bags, walking back to stand in front of me and holding them out as an offering.

    He leans in close so that his lips graze my ear and he nibbles lightly on my earlobe, causing me to shiver for more reasons than I'd care to admit. Refusing to show him any more weakness, I force myself to stand still as he whispers softly in my ear, the heat spreading through me and exciting the nerve endings along my neck, traveling all the way down my spine, causing me to shiver once again. "Trust me baby, you'd have no problem walking around here naked if I had half a mind to show you what you're missing." 

    I launch back this time, appalled that he would say such a thing to me and pissed at myself for not being more disgusted as the idea causes heat to settle in some very unfamiliar areas and my skin flames once again in embarrassment. "Dream on blood sucker. You couldn't convince me to touch you with a ten foot pole if you tried. Keep away from me." I hurl the words at him as I snatch the clothes from his hands and retreat to the bathroom, locking the door behind me in another attempt to create some space between us. Some space was all I needed to clear my head and shake off this sudden feeling of need he instilled in me. It would've worked too, if I couldn't still hear him through the door, laughing louder than before. 

    Never in a million years would I sleep with a vampire. 

    Especially not that one, I think to myself, as I drop the towel to get dressed and try to tune out the sounds of his laughter.