My Vampire King

Ch. 4

Toralie awoke to the sun shining in her eyes. She grumbled under her breath and sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Toralie opened her eyes and jumped at the sight of a maid bustling around her room, tidying everything up and opening curtains. Toralie cleared her throat, announcing she was awake. The maid froze in her spot, staring at Toralie as though she was going to attack her. Toralie simply raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to calm down the poor woman.

She was interrupted by the Prince slamming the door into her room. He strode in confidently, hands clasped in front of him. He gave one glance at the maid, who quickly scurried out of the room. Toralie glanced him over, admiring how his dress shirt fit him perfectly, ruffled slightly. He was wearing business slacks, which he hadn't expected of him. Although, she guessed that the attire she saw yesterday was his formal suit.

Still, an unknown feeling arose in her which she was quickly growing accustomed to feeling around the Prince. Toralie had never felt it before, but she also hadn't gotten out much when she was back home. She wondered if anybody else had felt it, but quickly snapped back to the present when she realized the Prince was speaking to her.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that Your Majesty?"

The prince's lips thinned but he spoke again.

"I'm glad you seem to have gotten used to the palace. I'm giving you 20 minutes to get dressed as my parents would like to meet you. This is an informal meeting, but try to be presentable."

He spit out the last words with something akin to... disgust? Toralie couldn't tell who it was directed to though. She shrugged internally and nodded as the Prince left. She let out a huff as soon as he left and stood out of bed. She had to catch herself on the nightstand, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her before passing. She shook her head and continued to the ensuite bathroom.

She stepped into the shower after undressing and turned the water on as hot as it could go. She always liked her showers as hot as it could get. Toralie's mind wandered as she let the water run over her body. She went through the motions of grabbing a loofah and lathering it up with soap. She scrubbed her body as images of his fiery red eyes filled her mind. The unfamiliar feeling filled her again. This time she was able to figure out what it was.

But it confused her. It didn't make sense how everytime she looked at the Prince she felt this... need? rise within her. She felt a need to be close to him at all times, to have him hold her and comfort her for the rest of their lives. Toralie was scared by this new feeling, having never felt anything so strongly. She shook her head of her thoughts and stepped out of the shower, turning it off.

She wrapped a towel around herself and walked swiftly to the walk-in closet also attached to the room. She picked out some underwear and slipped it on, the red lace of the bra matching the underwear. She walked to the sweaters on the far side of the wall and picked out an off-shoulder creamy beige one. SHe also picked out some jeans that cupped her bottom nicely and put everything on, finishing her outfit with her grandmother's hair pin.

Finding herself to be presentable, Toralie walked out of the room and down the hallway to find the Prince. She came across a door that was slightly ajar, exposing a masculine room filled with blue tones. She walked in slightly, knocking to announce her presence. The Prince popped out from his closet and frowned at her. He walked over to her and pulled up the sleeve of Toralie's shirt that was dropping. His frown deepened when it settled back into place.

He sighed and led Toralie out his room and down the stairs. Toralie realized that the Prince wasn't a fan of talking, letting his expressions speak for himself. They arrived at a sitting room, where the King and Queen were already sitting and talking. Toralie was struck by how beautiful the couple was. The Queen held this air of beauty and grace around her. Her full cheeks complemented her cupid's bow lips and her fiery eyes held the same passion as her son's. Her raven black hair flowed down her back from underneath a small golden crown. She was also wearing jeans, to Toralie's relief, but she was wearing a silk button up, colored scarlet. She didn't look a day over 20, as most vampires stopped aging around then.

The King was an entirely different story. His chocolatey brown eyes seemed endless to Toralie, while his outfit matched very closely with his son's. But he wore jeans as well, tucked into boots. His button up was unbuttoned by a few buttons, giving him a more casual look than his son. The Prince seemed to be the overdressed one here. Toralie got the impression he liked it this way. The prince dragged her into the room and was going to introduce her but got interrupted by the Queen's squeals.

"Ohhhhhhh, she's so beautiful! You made such a good choice Ray! She'll provide some beautiful heirs for the kingdom. So pretty. And those eyes! Absolutely marvelous!"

Toralie blushed at the Queen's praise, never finding herself to be particularly beautiful. The King simply smiled at her and held out a hand to shake. Toralie shook it firmly, surprised at the King's strong grip.

"Great. Now that you've seen her we shall be taking our leave."

The prince took Toralie's elbow and was about to lead her out of the room when the King stopped them.

"Now, now Ray, you can sit and talk to your parents for a while. After all, we don't even know here name. We set up this brunch here and you're just going to leave us like this?"

The Prince sighed and led Tralie back into the room. She was getting tired of being pushed around by him, literally. But she couldn't find it in herself to pull away. She sat down in a chair next to the Queen, who chattered endlessly about how excited she was about this whole selection process.

Toralie could only find the energy to nod and sip at her water. Her thirst was becoming unbearable, but Toralie tried to push it to the back of her mind for now. Toralie glanced across the table to find the Prince staring at her, deep in conversation with his dad about kingdom matters. When their eyes met, Toralie's thirst roared in the back of her throat until all she could think about was blood. Her gaze centered on the goblet of blood the Queen held in her hand. The rest of the world faded away as she watched the liquid glide in the cup, swishing and sloshing.

"Oh! Dear me, I didn't even offer you any blood! Here, I'll have the butler pour you some. O negative, the best money can buy."

The Queen held a new goblet filled with blood up to Toralie, which she greedily accepted. She took the drink and thirstily gulped it down before her eyes snapped open. She held the goblet away from her and scrunched her face up. The blood tasted rancid, as though it had been left in the sun for hours. She held her hand up to her mouth before jumping out of her seat and rushing to the nearest restroom.

She bent over the toilet and felt her stomach empty of the blood she had just drank. Her hair was pulled out of the way by soft hands that also rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"There, there. Maybe it was just a bad reaction to the blood. Don't worry sweetheart."

The Queen's words calmed Toralie. She sat back from throwing up and looked up at the Queen.

"When was the last time you drank?"

"It was almost a week ago, but I usually have 2 more days before I become this thirsty. I never have a bad reaction to blood, O negative is my favorite. I've been really thirsty these past two days, but I don't know why."

The Queen nodded to herself, sharing a glance with her husband. Both the King and Prince had rushed over with the Queen, but stayed at the doorway. The King was looking at the Queen, as though they were communicating with their thoughts. The Prince's eyes were glued to Toralie, making her blush and look away.

The Queen squeezed Toralie's arms and helped her stand. They led her back to the sitting room, clearing the room of any blood.

"How old are you, sweetheart?"

The King's question caught Toralie off guard but she answered anyway.

"Um, 17, Your Majesty. I turned 17 a little while ago, the 17th."

The King and Queen glanced at each other again. Toralie wondered what they were thinking.

"You obviously haven't found your mate yet, you were eligible for the selection process."

The Queen chewed on her lip while deep in thought, holding Toralie's hands. Toralie felt the Prince come up behind her, gripping the back of her chair. She looked up to find the Prince already staring down at her with his eyebrows drawn. A part of her wanted to smooth out the wrinkle that had formed but she refrained.

"Well, we have an idea of what might have happened. This happened to us when we first met and well... we think you've found your mate."