My Vampire King

Toralie sighed for the thousandth time, uncomfortable from standing for hours so her dress could get pinned into place. The seamstress and her workers had been pinning dresses all week, as the next few days were supposed to be the days when the new Crown Prince, Prince Ray, was visiting Toralie's small town of Thoralia. The girls Toralie was being fitted next to were busy tittering away about how they couldn't wait to see the prince, and how they were sure he'd choose them. Toralie shook her head, not understanding them. They simply wanted the prince's title, and his power. Toralie honestly couldn't care less about the entire selection process. She had heard the stories of how Prince Ray had refused to look for his mate, and how he was a cold-hearted and cruel prince. She usually wasn't inclined to listening to gossip, but the stories intrigued her. What sensible vampire wouldn't want to look for their mate? She sure didn't, but then again she wasn't sensible. She was perfectly fine with the life she had, her few friends and good school grades. She wasn't interested in becoming princess, simply content with going to school to become a veterinarian. She ultimately wanted to make enough money to give her parents the wedding ceremony they never had. They married almost as soon as they met, with almost no money. They made each other happy and Toralie wanted a romance like theirs one day. It wasn't her primary focus and she felt as though finding her mate would ruin her plans. As for this whole selection thing, Toralie was forced to participate in it. She was a young woman who hadn't found her mate yet. Toralie's mother tried to console her by saying she would simply have to stand in front of the prince for a few minutes and she could come home and relax. Toralie wanted to believe her, but her gut told her it wouldn't be that simple. And her gut was never wrong. "Okay, you're done. I just need to finish the last few stitches and it should be ready by tomorrow morning." The seamstress drew Toralie out of her thoughts, slowly helping her out of the dress. Toralie gave the seamstress an apologetic smile as another girl impatiently stormed in and stood on the stand with her hands on her hips. Toralie simply walked out of the dress shop and started on her way home. The prince would be arriving the next day and Toralie was already stressing over what would happen. She decided to try and turn her thoughts off for the rest of the day and turned into the forest lining her path. She trudged through the forest surrounding her childhood home. She knew these woods like the back of her hand and walked through them confidently. She walked through the woods without a particular destination, simply looking at the things she came across until she sat down on a mossy log. She leaned her head back, letting the sounds around her filter in through her superhuman ears. Toralie knew there was a herd of deer around somewhere, and her bloodthirst was pretty high. In the stress of the selection process, she hadn't fed in a week or so. She knew her hunger was manageable, more so than some other people who needed to feed almost every day. She was one of the lucky ones. Toralie stood slowly, the feeling of the hunt coursing through her. She crouched lowly, stalking through the grass and weeds of the forest. She inhaled the air deeply, finding the scent of a stag not too far off. She slowly stalked towards it, her fangs dropping from her gums. She came across something struggling in the dense brush and she stalked towards it. She looked around a tree to find a girl pinned against it, held in place by a man with his face buried in her neck. The girl's back was facing towards Toralie, but the man wasn't looking at the girl he had pinned. His eyes rooted her to the spot she stood, still in her hunting position. His eyes were a fiery red, deep and mystical. The girl was human who just happened to be in the forest with him. Toralie could clearly see the man was feeding, with blood slowly dripping out of his mouth. Toralie slowly stood up, still entranced by his eyes. The girl was moaning lowly, affected by the pheromones naturally present in a vampire's saliva. Humans were the most affected by these pheromones, but vampires could still get a high from it. Toralie slowly backed away, not interested in watching any more of the scene unfolding in front of her. She walked to the edge of the forest, deciding she was no longer thirsty. She headed home, simply wanting to end her day. Toralie opened her front door, remembering that no one was home. Both of her parents were working and she had no siblings. She thought about calling one of her friends over, but decided against it as tiredness washed over her. She trudged up the stairs to her room and flopped down on her bed, curling up into a comfortable position. She slowly faded into dreamworld, not caring about anything happening around her. Her dreams were filled with those fiery red eyes, the ones she had seen in the forest. When she woke up, it was the next morning. The sun shone brightly through the curtains, as her brain conjured up one last image of those eyes before they faded from her mind for the rest of the day. Toralie laid in bed for a moment before the importance of the day hit her. It was the selection day! Toralie jumped out of bed, stumbling around before rushing down the stairs. Her mother was in the kitchen, making breakfast. "Going to get my dress! Be back in a bit!" Toralie yelled out to her mother, dashing out the door. She ran down the path towards the dress shop, bursting through the door. She scanned the room quickly, finding many other girls also frantically searching for their dresses. "Toralie! Over here!" One of the seamstress' helpers yelled out towards her, holding up her dress. She dashed over to her and grabbed her dress, quickly thanking her. She dashed back out the dress shop and back up the path towards home. "Got my dress! Gonna get ready!" Toralie yelled back out, dashing up to her room. She quickly stripped and started the long process of putting on her dress, calling her mother up to help her.