I groan and open my eyes only to see the backside of a man as he carries me over his shoulder down the road.
Quiet, girl." He says as he continues to walk, "don't even try to run away. You ain't gettin' nowhere with me here. Just lay there obediently or else i'll have ta' knock you out again."
...I wasn't even going to fight anyways, not that I could even if I wanted too.
"Where are you taking me?" I question, my voice sounds raspy and burns with every word I say.
"Away from here. That's all you need to know. Now quiet, I don't like hitting children, but I will still do it." He says, his voice as rough and raspy as mine, except much deeper and more natural.
I sigh and turn my head to the side.
Honestly, I don't really care where he was taking me.
It couldn't have been worse than my own home, now could it?
I watch the man's rhythmic steps as he trudges along the road.
I can see the feet of others, they all wore dusty black boots that had all obviously seen better days.
The back of my head hurt. They must have given me a blow there to knock me out earlier.
I only have one question. My mother, where is she? Is she... dead? I want to ask. I really do. I only realize now just how badly I want to ask. I have been warned to keep quiet, but I just can't seem to keep my mouth shut today.
"Is she dead? My mother, I mean." I say, the anticipation evident in voice.
The man pauses for a moment. I can feel him turning around, my body swinging in the other direction so I can't see what he is looking at.
He seems to have figured out how to answer, because he says "She is still alive. We plan to take her back to the base and give her as a present to the boss."
I freeze.
She is not dead.
Why...
Why has she not died yet?
Why was this disgusting... Vampire?
Wait, that man had called her a vampire. A vampire princess, at that.
Was my mother a vampire princess? If my mother was a vampire princess, and, according to what mother said to that man about how the prince of the dragon kingdom had raped her and she was carrying his baby at the time, then does that make me a princess of the vampire kingdom? Or the dragon kingdom?
So then... Alex and I were of two royal families.
If that was true then mother would undoubtedly be charged with the murder of a royal family member on two sides, that alone would be punishable by death. Plus she would get charged for selling the body parts of a royal family member, that, in fact, was a crime worse then murder of a prince, because it was considered the reputation of the royal family.
I don't know where we could possibly be going. I assume it is to wherever this 'boss' is, that they had been referring to. Or it could possibly be to the dragon king, because the man who had fought mother had said he was sent to him.
Yes.
I have no doubt that this is exactly where we are headed.
I wonder why... I feel so certain.
---
I show no surprise on my face when they bring me to a sizable house made of bland-colored bricks and they carefully hand a crystal to me, saying to press it onto my forehead.
The man who had been lugging me all this way, as it turns out, was one of the Dragon King's royal guards.
He slams the door behind him as he walks out.
At least they give me some privacy.
I have seen crystals like these before. It stores only clothes, and to put it on you only need to press it to your forehead, and they will assemble themselves in a bright swirl of silver.
I look at the dress in the mirror before me. It is the deepest color of violet, black swirls like tangled vines as they fight to reach the top of the dress, leaving only a sparse number of them to reach my neck. The dress has no sleeves, only black satin gloves that go well past my elbows and high heel shoes of the same colors.
A tiara sits upon my head. It is the only brightly colored thing I wear, it's silver shine reflecting the light. A blood-red gem mixed with swirls of gold is carefully placed in the middle of the elegant headpiece, the bands of silver metal wind around it to keep it firmly in place.
I leave the room, and I notice that the gruff-looking man sizes me up for a moment, his eyes then are glued to the silver diamond on my forehead, though I have no idea of what this symbol might mean, his face showing his obvious emotions of astonishment.
The gem, I notice, is the same color as my eyes- red and gold- contrasts well with my long, white hair that looks slightly pink if you look real close. My horns are dyed the same color as my lips, a shocking color of red. My teeth are sharper than your average dragon, or so I have heard, and can never seem to get dirty, ever gleaming with the brightest color of white.
The man seems to pull himself together after a long time, before he says with a straight face, and a slightly more respectful tone, I notice, saying "your highness, please have your meal in the dining room."
I glance at him for a moment longer, before turning around and walking away.
Though I have never worn high-heeled shoes before, I seem to be able to walk in them just fine. They are like second nature to me. As if I was born to walk in them.
There are people who sit at the table already, eating and laughing away.
I hear one of them debating which brothel they would visit once they returned back to the kingdom, and another speaks of his longing to go home and meet his child that would have been born by now.
The room goes silent when I walk in, the diamond on my forehead seems to be like a beacon of light as they seem incapable of taking their eyes off of it.
They all seem to come to an understanding as they rise and salute me with their right arm across the chest and give me a small bow. "Greetings, your highness." They said, their voices solemn.
I don't reply, but they don't seem to mind, either.
I notice some looks of disdain, some pity, or envy and I even see a look that obviously has ill intentions.
Ignoring them, I sit down at the table and eat without a single word.
They no longer speak at the table now, although they all seem to communicate with their eyes. Though, I could care less what they think of me. I never needed to prove anything to them anyways.
would visit once they returned back to the kingdom, and another speaks of his longing to go home an meet his child that would have been born by now.
The room goes silent when I walk in, the diamond on my forehead seems to be like a beacon of light as they seem incapable with taking their eyes off of it.
They all seem to come to an understanding as they rise and salute me with their right arm across the chest and giving me a small bow. "Greetings, your highness." They said, their voices solemn.
I don't reply, but they don't seem to mind, either.
I notice some looks of disdain, some pity, some envy and I even see a look that obviously has ill intentions.
Ignoring them, I sit down at the table and eat without a single word.
They no longer speak at the table now, although they all seem to communicate with their eyes. Though, I could care less what they think of me. I never needed to prove anything to them anyways.