Vampire Dream

Chapter 3 - Privacy Invaded

I woke in a majestic room. A high ceiling with drapery, and the bed I was in was decorated with royal purple and blood red. It seemed a pre-dated room from the 1800s with a rustic edge to the decorations. When I finally looked all around, I found that both Kingston and Gabriel were sitting beside the bed, waiting for my attention. Madame Red was standing by the door, looking solemn and angry as ever.

“Glad to see you’ve finally awakened,” she said. “These boys have been waiting for a while.”

“How long was I out?” I inquired. I was quizzical; it felt like I was just in the groves. Or were the groves a dream?

“About seven days. And nights. We were gracious enough to lend you a room, despite most of the rooms here being filled with wedding guests.” I had lost a whole week! Kingston took my hand and stroked it, a look of worry plaguing his face.

“I feel much better. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Your parents are downstairs as well, awaiting your company. I suggest you get yourself clothed and greet your guests.” Madame Red slammed the door behind her as she left, having more important things to worry about than the girl who fainted on her property. Gabriel had a shocked look on his face, probably the “parent” comment.

“Could you guys at least leave the room so I can change?” I asked.

“There’s a bathroom beside the dresser with a change of clothes in there,” stated Gabriel. He was acting distant, but I knew he was waiting for a chance to speak with me alone: that was what I was afraid of. It took me a couple tries, but I succeeded in standing up and walking on my own. Kingston pounced on me as soon as I got up, locking me in a hug.

“I was so scared for you, I didn’t know what was happening,” he said. I put my arms around him, reminding myself that we had seen too much loss already. Making direct eye contact with Gabriel, I pulled Kingston in for a deep, deep kiss to let him know that I was taken. Kingston - taken by surprise - pulled me closer to him, and I closed my eyes until we parted so I could stop staring at another man as I kissed my boyfriend. However, I made sure to observe Gabriel once more after Kingston and I parted to see if he had any reaction: his face was blank.

I wasn’t aware what happened to me while I was unconscious, so Kingston took the pleasure of describing every detail through the bathroom door. Gabriel would chime in a comment now and then, but let Kingston be the narrator of this tale.

His voice was slowly drowned out as I stared at myself in the mirror. I was a mess once more. My hair disheveled and knotted, my eyes seemed deeper than before, and I felt a lot older. I had experienced so much in the past month that I aged from the stress I endured. It was when I realized Kingston’s voice was gone that I snapped out of my entrancement.

“Kingston, are you okay?”

“He had some business to take care of,” stated Gabriel. He opened the door and shut it behind him with a click and a lock.

“How did you know I wouldn’t be naked?” I demanded. One of my highest regards is privacy, and I hated when people intruded on mine.

“Just a hunch,” he said with a smile. “Besides, I thought you might like a glass of water to wake yourself up a little. You’ve been sleeping for a long time.” The way Gabriel stated this made me cautious of him. Behind his back, he produced a clear glass of water, seemingly harmless, but I could sense something different about it.

“What’s in it?”

“Just some minerals. Those are the perks to living in a castle, you know.” He winked at the end of the line, reaching it out to me. I took it and dumped the water out in the sink. Gabriel looked unfazed and amused. To satisfy my strange fear, I rinsed water and dumped it out about four or five times, then finally filled the cup with tap water. A headache hit then, causing me to lose balance. Gabriel caught me and the water in two separate arms, somehow catching all the water as well.

“Careful,” he said. “You’re unstable.” I raised an eyebrow at him, but ignored the comment. Taking the glass from him, I downed the water until the last drop was gone. Too late did I notice the cut on his pinky, healing of its own accord. Eyes widened, I backed away from Gabriel, unable to speak. My skin felt as if it was on fire, my senses going on edge. I had the desire to claw at myself, but Gabriel jumped to the rescue and grabbed my arms, pinning them down.

“What did you do!” I screamed at him.

“It’s just for the pain and the instability. You’ll calm down soon enough.” The weird sensations went on for another minute before they quickly subsided. I had labored breathing, sitting in the empty bathtub, trying to calm myself. Gabriel sat on the toilet, staring at me.

When I felt regular once more, I got up from the bathtub to look in the mirror. My face was flawless! Where all the premature wrinkles and sagging had been before, it was clear, and my face seemed to be glowing. Gabriel sensed my wonder at this transformation and smiled.

“It should at least make you feel better when you go to see your... Parents.” And he was right. Even at that moment, I felt energized with a strange confidence I didn’t know I had. His smile was warm and genuine. I felt it was a rare pleasure to see him this way.

“What was it?” I already knew what it was, but I needed a definite answer. His pinky didn’t have a single trace of a wound anymore.

“I’ll keep that knowledge to myself,” he said. “And you go meet with your guests. They’re worried about you.”

“And you’re not?” I challenged. I knew that this new bravery was testing my limits, but there was a strong urging that made me want - no, need - Gabriel’s attention. He felt the change of atmosphere along with me, the tension blossoming. Stepping toward me, he placed his hand on my cheek.

“I always worry about you,” he said. “I always have and always will.” I gazed into his eyes, seeing the tender brown that glistened with care, and wished I could have that. Have him. But no! I awakened myself, pulled his hand off my cheek, gave a mocking bow, and headed out the bathroom door to go see my parents.

“We were so worried about you!” My mother shrieked as she smothered me in her embrace. “We hadn’t heard from you in weeks then got calls from the doctors, police, and Mr. Backard all in one month!”

“Mom, I’m alright. I’m here now.” She hugged me until the point where I actually couldn’t breathe and I had to pry her off of me for proper oxygen intake.

“I’m sorry to hear about the catastrophe that befell your team a few weeks ago,” started my father, not one for showing emotions. “Mr. Lancaster and the police shared the news with us. Were you ever going to think of calling?”

“I was going to, sir, but I was a bit preoccupied. And I knew that Kingston would call you as soon as we got to the motel, so I wasn’t worried.” He nodded in satisfaction with my response, deeming all well in his eyes and most likely thinking of his next business venture.

“Well I think we need to do some family activities, get to be together more. Besides, it’s almost your birthday!” I shot my mother a look while the rest of the room lightened up a bit: mostly Gabriel and Kingston. I usually made it a thing of mine not to let anyone know my birthday, and I certainly didn’t want to share my age with Gabriel.

Madame Red burst into the room, intruding upon the moment.

“We have need of this room as soon as possible.”

“We were just leaving,” stated my dad. Mother and I stared at Father, confused. “Josephine is coming home with us immediately. We have much to speak about.”

Placing his hands on my shoulders, Gabriel added, “Do you think she’s in a stable enough position to travel?” Looking at him, Gabriel was composed and the good host, but I could see in his eyes the fear of my leaving.

“Actually, Gabriel darling, we have much to discuss as well.” Madame Red took Gabriel’s hands off my shoulders and held them.

“Well, we should head off then,” I said. “Thank you both for your hospitality, but we really must be going.” With a curtsy, I turned around and took Kingston’s hand in mine as we walked out of the castle. I could feel the heat from Gabriel, but I didn’t care. Mother and father followed behind as I led us to the family vehicle parked outside, and we all crowded in together. Gabriel caught up to us before the limo began to move, rapping on the window.

“We’re having a banquet tomorrow night,” Gabriel said. ” And we would be greatly honored by your presence.”

“Splendid! We will gladly join you in your celebration!” Exclaimed father.

“Perfect. It’s a ball-themed banquet, so if you need any wardrobe rentals, let me know.”

“I think we will be quite fine on that front, young man. Congratulations once again.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Driving away, I turned to see Madame Red collect him, and they began talking what seemed angrily at one another. I decided to take no note of this, but now wish I had.