Celestial Clans: The Vampire Prince's Secret

How we spoke

Camille had returned with his surprise meal and set it before him then took back her seat at the table, facing him directly again. He didn’t seem surprised by her choice of a meal for him, he even looked happy and that was what shocked her more. She looked at him intently now and asked “why do you seem so happy for steak, it’s not exactly the most exciting meal in town.” He didn’t respond he just took up his fork and knife and cut a very small portion of the steak and lifted it to her lips with the fork. He was indeed a very direct person and had a kind of confidence she had never seen in a man his age, he was a total stranger and he was trying to feed her.

“You have to remember that this is an actual date now, that’s the deal we made so just say aaa.” She laughed but then obliged, she opened her mouth slightly and he fed the steak to her. “Don’t eat it yet,” he added quickly “leave it on your tongue for a few seconds and let the flavor seep in, take a deep breath after that before u eat it. Eat slowly and tell me how it tastes.” He was looking at her with a hint of anticipation now in his grey eyes.

Her eyes were suddenly very bright “this has to be the best steak I’ve ever had” she sounded surprised and he began laughing at her, blood rushed to her face now and she was visibly embarrassed because of how she had reacted to the food. He dropped his fork and reached out to her with his hand, he tucked the strands of hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear before he started eating. He kept feeding her at intervals the whole time till the steak was done. He set his cutlery on the plate in a calm and orderly manner then looked at her for a few seconds without saying anything.

“You are someone who really appreciates their food I guess.” she said with a teasing smile.

“Well food is the basis of human survival, but humans always tend to overlook anything they have in constant supply. The only time people appreciate the actual taste and flavor of food is when they know they will not get to eat again in a long time, they normally leave just very little time to eat or try use all the time in the world to eat and that spoils the whole essence of eating good food,” he paused and took a sip of water “it’s the same with life but different in a way. No one appreciates life till they are given a specific amount of time to live or given infinite life.”

“So you have decided to enjoy every meal for as long as you live because to you it shows a form of appreciation for life?” she asked

“Yeah, something of that nature,” he replied smiling as though she said something foolish “Well miss Camille, we don’t have all night. Ask those questions I feel like you’ve wanted to ask me for a while now.”

“Has it really been that obvious this whole time?” she asked.

He nodded then answered “No one else would have noticed though, I am just more perceptive than most.”

“In that case, let’s just get straight to the point. What’s your name? You’ve been in town for weeks now and no one knows your name yet or where you live.”

“That’s two questions in one sentence,” he said while signaling to the lady on duty to come and take the plate they ate with away “I am called King by everyone who knows me, so I guess you can call me King. I have a mansion in the woods just to the west of town and I stay there because I prefer nature’s company to that of people. It’s more appealing to me. I’ll show you where I live whenever you’re free.”

“Okay that makes sense,” She said while playing with her hair “what bring you to Maine? You’re definitely not from around here, are you even American?” she asked

“That’s an easy one; Maine is still in touch with nature. Forests and rivers, plus its cold here and I like the cold. I am not of any specific nationality or continent but if I was to choose I would say I am European. I spent a lot of time near Tiber in Italy and a lot of time in Siberia, Russia. I am Russian-Italian by earthly settlement, partly Tiberian and partly Siberian.” he said laughing. “I grew up in New Orleans though, with my adopted dad.”

She looked confused now “If you grew up here, then you should be American. You are definitely not old enough to have spent more time in other countries after growing up here.”

“You’re a smart one, but don’t judge age by appearance sometimes.”

“Okay, so how old are you?” she asked looking sarcastic

“I am technically 24, but could be older than your parents in the true sense of age.” He replied with a smug look on his handsome face. He took another sip of water then continued “I have travelled a lot, and it makes me feel like I am older than I actually am. That’s the reason I only eat desserts, I’ve had tiramisu from India, pasteis de nata from Portugal, gulab jamun from India, churros from Spain and almost every foreign dessert you can think of. I haven’t had many American desserts though, and it’s like a hobby of mine. I am trying to have as many as I can now because I’ll have to leave America soon and won’t be back in years.”

The thought of not seeing him anymore felt like a prick to her heart because although this was the first conversation they were having, she had already become attached to him or at least the thought of him and feel of his presence. It was almost as if she knew him already and had been missing his presence in her life this entire time. She got her composure back quickly “I could help you out with your dessert fetish, but won’t all that sugar be bad for you?”

“Everything you say seems to be a question.” He said shaking his head in disbelief. “I am immune to most normal ailments,” he extended his hand forward for a handshake before adding “if you help me with my dessert conquering plan, I will give a very generous donation to this place before going. Plus I would really like us to be friends, and I have no friend in town at the moment. Do we have a deal?”

She pretended to think about the offer for some seconds before extending her hand and shaking him “Yes, I would also like us to be friends. I think we’ll have a lot of fun” she had a childish grin on her face now and all of a sudden they both bust into a fit of laughter. Their hands were still locked together in the deal making handshake before she realized and slowly let go.

“When you poured coffee on me that first day, I was just really happy you were the first girl I was bumping into in Augusta. A city named Augusta just sounds like the name of a city with beautiful women” he said

“Do you flirt with all girls who agree to be your friends? Is this part of what you do in all the major cities you visit? It’s like a part of your procedure, and you have a book filled with pictures and names of girls you got from all those countries.” She asked laughing now

“Not actually, you’re the first girl I’ve laughed more times than I can count with during our first conversation. You’re also the first I have liked at first sight, which never happens to me.” He looked honest

Camille was not accustomed to being shy so she quickly got off her seat feigning that she needed a glass of juice so she could leave the table for some time, the man was really charismatic along with all those good looks. With all the questions he had answered so far, there was still that enigmatic aura that surrounded him even when he was laughing and having a normal conversation. She decided to know just a little bit more and walked back to the table with her glass of juice in hand. This time, determined to not show how much of an effect he had on her she sat beside him. It was a small square table with two seats on each side, which was the café arrangement. She sat beside him and he looked at her with a kind of admiration in his eyes, Camille obviously had more she wanted to know about. He gave her a free pass to ask questions when he looked at her and said “Well I have nothing better to do at the moment and you’re not leaving yet, so feel free to ask me whatever questions still linger in that vibrant mind of yours.”

“Your clothes, wristwatches and the car you have parked outside. You are some kind of boy wonder, a young genius who receives royalties for his work and inventions or something like that?” she asked

“Basically, you want to know what I do right?” and she nodded a yes to him “I am a photographer and kind of a celebrity back where I live. Plus my family has a lot of generational wealth that hasn’t been touched yet.” He said smugly

“That’s why you are so direct with your speech, you were a spoilt kid growing up and have definitely grown into a spoiled and pompous young man. You probably also dropped out of school, which is why you’re young but living like a nomad” She was teasing him now.

“I actually didn’t know my real family till I was 18, so I actually grew up strong and smart. I am a sort of genius too, degree in Mathematics, degree in philosophy, degree in history and some other degrees. Even if I wasn’t born into royalty, I would have ended up wealthy.” He looked so proud of himself at that moment but then realization dawned on Camille, and it dawned on him too as soon as he saw the look of shock on her face. Her mind was whirring as she thought about the actual possibility of such a young man having so many degrees. She was about to ask something before the sleek jaguar parked outside the café. It was already 10pm and none of them had noticed. An equally tall and handsome man stepped out the car and was waving at Camille, it was Alistair.

Camille got up, and she was already walking towards the door because her friend turned driver had just arrived. She looked at King from across the café then called out to him over her shoulder “Hey, don’t get jealous. That’s Alistair, and he’s just a very good friend of mine. I’ll introduce you two some other time” and with that she was walking out the door. He got up quickly, took his jacket and paid for his meal. He went to his car, turned on the ignition and was about driving off when he heard a voice shouting something from the car that was driving out of the parking space in the opposite direction. It was Camille, and she was saying something from the passenger’s seat of Alistair’s car so he took his side windows down so he could pretend he wasn’t already hearing her “Hey, my shift starts from lunch tomorrow. You should come by then so we’ll have more time. Goodnight HM” she screamed from the other car. He instantly knew ‘HM’ meant ‘His Majesty’ and almost laughed. He gave her his best smile and waved as her car drove off in the opposite direction. He turned off his ignition and just sat in his car still parked outside the café, in the darkness of the car he was thinking deeply about what fate had planned for him and his scattered mind. This was new to him because for the first time in his life, Valentine felt there was someone he had a connection to, at least from all the memories in his head. He took a whiff of her scent that still lingered in the air and almost immediately the grey in his eyes had become red and his fangs were bared automatically. The future king of the vampire clan ‘Vlad Dracul Valentine’ had found a human that appealed to all his senses and for the first time he felt like fleeing from an interesting situation instead of staying. He quickly turned on the ignition and drove off, he was sure Camille was now a part of his fate and one he could not avoid even if he tried to.