CHAPTER 10

The guard glanced at Isabella before he reluctantly left the room. Marie turned to her, “You have so much hate for him".

Isabella chuckled unamused, “I don’t know...maybe it’s because he came to an engagement ball or whatever it was and killed my parents, took me captive and made me his pet. What does that even mean?”. She shouted, “And now...for all I know he is hunting down my only brother. What is the fate of my people without a ruler?”.

“He not only destroyed my life, the life and fate of my people are destroyed. My whole life is at a standstill with no purpose whatsoever", she ranted on, “I don’t even know why I’m here, why I’m I here?”.

Marie took her hand and led her to a chair at the far end away from the servants who were scurrying around trying to prepare lunch for the occupants of the castle.

“Isabella you ever wonder why we are here? I mean humans working in the castle?”, Marie asked, “He has no malice whatsoever against our kind. This has become our home”, she explained, “Yes I know sometimes they get out of hand and do some mean things but they are good".

“You think they are good people. Vampires?”.

Marie thought for a moment, “I know".

“That’s for you to say not me". Isabella replied tears in her eyes, “I lost my parents because of them".

“They rescued me when I was just a little girl from being sold as a servant to a wicked merchant and gave me a life here", “And even though Alessandro is way much older than I am, I have looked after him like a mother would a son and I know he is not a bad person".

“Then why? Why did he do it?...”.

Marie reached for her face and wiped the tears from her cheeks, “We can never truly understand the reason for someone’s actions except they tell us why they did it. Sometimes it goes beyond what we can see".

“They ruined my whole life, there’s no justification for that". Isabella stated.

“We make hard decisions Bella, it is how we live. Surely you’d understand that you’re from a royal family”, Marie replied.

“I loved my family, every single one of them", the tears continued to flow down unabated, “It wasn’t so perfect, no family ever is. I...I... was happy, it was better than this".

Marie gently rubbed her back, “Of course you do and you should never stop loving them. I can’t ask you to suddenly forget about them but at times if you want to move forward you need to let go of the past. You need to do that for your future...”.

“There’s no future without my family", Isabella replied through tears.

“Just let it all out dear, let it all out", Marie pulled her close and smoothed her hair. She placed a kiss on her head, “I know you’re hurt anyone would be. It’s not easy to get over a loss of a family. I also lost my family at a very young age”.

“Why would they take them from me?”, Isabella sobbed more in Marie’s arms, “There has to be a good reason why...”

“Your father, King Francis killed the queen", Marie blurted out. She sighed when she realised what she had said, “Alessandro made me promise never to tell you but I feel like you deserve to know. It was simply an act of revenge the day Alessandro set foot in East Angles”

“The queen? Alessandro’s mother?”, Isabella asked, she had never thought she was murdered, Cecily had mentioned she was dead but killed by the man she had called father. For what?.

Marie nodded, “She was a fine queen, you remind me of her. Maybe that’s why you’re alive. She looked just like you, same hair and eyes". Marie stared off into space for a while, “She wasn’t just a fine queen on the outside, she was beautiful on the inside. Things were much better for us humans when she was alive”. Marie turned to Isabella, “She was like the bridge between the two worlds"

“Why would my father kill her? why?...what did he have to do with any of this?”, Isabella asked, clearly stunned by Marie’s revelations.

“That I do not know" Marie answered, “King Malcolm has never been himself afterwards. Alessandro has to bear the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders. Killing your parents was simply avenging the death of his mother”.

Isabella stood up abruptly, “I need to see Alessandro”, she wiped her eyes.

Marie grabbed her hand, “What would you say to him?”.

“I don't know...Anything!, all I know is I need to talk to him", with that, she stormed out of the kitchen.

Isabella was determined to have a word with Alessandro, the guard on her persistence had agreed to take her to his study. He went in to announce her presence but she barged in impatiently.

She looked around at the study, she was completely awed by the intricate design of the room. Papers were littered everywhere, this was where Alessandro spent his whole day. Her eyes rested on Alessandro who sat reclined in a chair, a pen twirling in his hands like he owned the world which he kind of did. The room had no windows but it was still slightly cold, she rubbed her arms.

“You know in Isles here and basically every other vampire kingdom, pets don’t seek audience with their masters", he spoke first, his eyes boring into her, “You are no different from the common servants, the only variation is that you are bound to do only my bidding. Only what I ask you to".

Isabella held his stare, “You had your revenge, what else do you want?”.

A look of understanding crossed his features, “Of course, Marie told you", he said in a bored tone

“What else do you want?”, she repeated through clenched teeth.

Alessandro smirked, “When you put it that way, many thoughts go through my head. Many of them involve you with no clothes on at my feet".

She fumed in anger, “You should never dream of things that would never happen".

He twirled the pen in his hand before facing her, “I always have what I want. I make things happen”.

“Little wonder, you’re a beloved prince after all”, she replied sarcastically, “You have taken my family and my kingdom, what else do you want?”, she shouted.

He looked at her like he was thinking, “Your sly brother is still breathing and annoyingly so are you".

“Then get it over with”, she screamed in his face.

“Of course, I will, but what’s the problem with having a little fun while at it?”, he replied calmly, “I would enjoy taming you".

“Have you not done enough damage already?”.

“No", he stated, he stood up and walked across the room towards her, “That’s the thing about taking things from the devil, you can never pay it off. He had no right to kill my mother! She was my...”.

“It was just your mother who was killed and I’m sorry she died, but you have destroyed a thousand lives, mine included!”, Isabella screamed back at him, “My people or what is left of them is without a ruler, what’s the fate of a people without a ruler?”.

“I will pull down the gates of hell and wage a war against the whole universe for my mother, mere human lives are nothing compared to her", he growled in anger.

“Wars happen, kingdoms fight. I know I have no idea how these things work. You should stop being a crybaby and get over it. It was just one woman who died" Isabella snapped.

Alessandro growled loudly, if she had not been in the room herself she would have thought there was an angry wolf in the study. His eyes blazed red and he flashed his fangs baring them at her. Isabella had not been more terrified in all her twenty years of existence.

She had seen him angry but she had never seen his feral side. He stalked her as he clenched and unclenched his fists. She glanced at the door as she calculated the distance and probability of her making it out alive. His eyes followed her and he smirked when he realised what her plans were.

Isabella was waiting for her life to flash before her like they always said it did before you died, she didn't have much time to think before she was pinned against the wall and his fangs plunged deep into her neck, she howled out in pain.