Gabriel stepped back, worry etched on his face. His eyes fell on Elena's lips and she was bleeding. He could still feel the taste of her blood in his mouth and the scent was doing little to keep him miles away from her. Instead, he was battling with the urge to bite!
She opened her eyes surprised and traced her fingers on her lips. Elena spotted a drop of blood on her thumb and the same on Gabriel's fangs.
"You're bleeding!" He said, guilt laced in his voice. He fled into the bathroom and came out with a piece of white cloth. The red was gone in his eyes, worry replacing the innate hunger she had seen in them a while ago.
He led her to the bed and sat beside her. Elena winced in pain when the clothing touched her lips.
"Does it hurt?" He asked withdrawing the cloth.
She found his eyes. His gaze was not spellbinding but one filled with concern and... guilt!
"A little," she admitted.
"May I?"
She nodded. He placed the clothing softly on her lips until the bleeding stopped. On withdrawing the cloth, it was painted scarlet, and the scent wasn't making it easier for him.
"I'm sorry," he said, avoiding her eyes all the while.
Judging from how he said it, Elena could tell he wasn't good at apologies. But why was he apologizing? For who he was?
"You don't have to," she said, and only then did he lift his eyes to meet with hers.
"You don't understand." He stood up. "I'll call your maid Incase you need anything." He added and left.
Elena was left alone for sometime when Jophiel walked in after knocking. She was holding a tray of steaming tea and some pancakes. She placed it on the table and greeted,
"My Lady. I made this tea specially for you."
"I don't want tea," Elena retorted.
"You can't have tea is the right statement," she corrected. "It'll help with the cuts."
Cuts! How did she know...
"Gabriel told me you've been cut by something on your lips. The herbs in the tea will help it heal faster."
Elena released a sigh she didn't know she was holding. For a moment, she had thought Gabriel had exposed their kissing. And come to think of it, she clutched the cup as she reminisced the scene.
He had opened to her a world she never knew existed. His lips on hers ignited alien feelings. Feelings that made her turn red at the mere thought of him.
"My Lady?" Jophiel called breaking her from the reverie.
"Hmm," was all she managed to say.
The maid sat beside her. "I know how you got that cut." Elena met with her eyes and just one look, he could see the truth in her green eyes.
"He kissed you," she giggled and Elena took a sip of the tea to hide her embarrassment. "I'm afraid it might be the last time it'll happen."
Elena's smile disappeared. She found the maid's eyes, questions written all over her face. Did that mean Gabriel was going to die?
"Is something bad going to happen to him?" She enquired, her heart racing at the very thought of it.
"No. What I meant is you'll not get anymore cuts whenever you kiss." The maid paused to look at El. "The king passed a judgement to have His Highness fangs removed!"
Elena went mute as she processed the news. Was that supposed to make her happy? No more cuts, she thought. No, it didn't make her happy! What then was a vampire without fangs and claws?
"When will the sentence be passed?"
"Today, My Lady. At the public square in the capital!" She could detect the dread in the maid's voice.
How much did the king despise Gabriel? A prince, bastard at that, being executed in a public square! What could be more dishonorable than that?
"I want to be there!" She declared.
"My Lady, it's too dangerous! Vampires in the capital suck human blood at will!"
"I want to be there!" She affirmed.
Left with no choice, the maid only nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll see what is left of Gabriel's guards to escort you."
With one last glance at the princess, Jophiel picked the tray and exited.
Elena placed the cup of tea on the table and lied on the bed, her hair now sprawled. According to the information she had gotten from Jophiel, the vampires in the capital were not adhering to the terms of the vampo-human treaty. She would not sit here and watch as the vampires violated it when she was the ultimate price.
She slipped in a blue dress and made for the king's study.
Thoron was having a discussion with Brandon when a knight announced Elena's presence. He gestured him to let her in. She wore a blue dress, he noticed, one that hugged her figure as if it was made for her. They had married Gabriel to her as a disgrace but she was proving to be worth the taking. He smiled, a smile he sealed as fast as he had initiated it.
"My Lady." Brandon was the first to greet her, and the king followed.
"What brings you here if I may ask?" Thoron asked and took a seat on his comfy chair. Brandon set aside the book he was reading and stole a glance at Elena's curvy back.
"A word with His Majesty, alone," she added to only earn a frown from Brandon. The king gestured Brandon to leave which he hesitantly did.
"Have a seat," Thoron said once Brandon was out of sight.
"That won't be necessary Your Majesty." She politely declined. "I came here to discuss about the treaty that we humans signed with your kind."
"What about it?" Thoron asked leaning on his desk. He took a sip of the blooded wine as if to remind Elena she was still the prey, and him the predator.
"News from the capital says that your kind still drink blood from the humans who reside here."
"Those ones are ours to torment," he replied.
"The treaty didn't make them an exception," Elena stood her ground. "You are the king."
"I am," Thoron seconded.
"A word from you and not a single human soul shall be touched."
Thoron rose from his seat and drowned his drink in one go. "Tell me My Lady. Do you give hunting terms to a cheetah when it spots a gazelle?"
"No," she replied with a frown.
The king walked at the front to meet her eyes. "Then you have your answer."