Like Mother

Katharine's Point of View

A few months ago

I was the spitting image of my mother in more ways than just my looks. Her stubbornness. Her knack for bringing about chaos. The notion that no man could complete me, because I was never broken to begin with. I had it all. Even her tenacity as a young girl to go look for trouble seemed to haunt me. That was why I was here, doing this. In this moment, it felt glorious, but I knew a day would come where I grew sick of this lifestyle.

Adrenaline rushed through me as I gripped the steering wheel tighter. Mother would not approve of what I was about to do. Although I knew she had done exactly the same when she was my age. Well, younger actually. But what was the fun in waiting at home for boring nobles to arrive? Trees finally gave way to street lights as I zoomed ever closer to my destination. Cars joined me on the highway, no one realizing that a princess was amongst them. Fools. With a twitch of my wrist I could take out several cars around me if I wished. Smiling, I stepped down harder on the throttle. Richard should be expecting me by now, after all, I was a few minutes late to the party.

Stepping lightly on the brake, my smile became wide. No lights came from the looming building, but crowds were gathered at the entrance. Humans, wolves and vampires alike. My parents had made this city. Molded it in their image. Archenbow was home to all species. Even some witches had taken up residence within these streets, but none was as powerful as I was. Sadly, none of my other siblings had inherited the trait of magic either, making me the first and only witch within my family. It was rarely a burden, except for the times that I felt utterly alone.

Slowing down to a near crawl, the Impala stopped in front of the building and bouncers flocked to the beast. My door was ripped open and a hand was extended to me. I took it gently and felt the deep red chiffon shuffle against my skin as I stood. As always, paparazzi stood waiting. Upon seeing me, cameras flashed and people shouted their devotion. A few men tried breaking the line held by several vampires, urgency to meet me over-riding their good senses. We were the humans' new obsession. Like we should be. None of them knew that I was the heir to an empire. None of them even knew my name, but they knew I was different. I was supernatural and they roared their appreciation.

When the war had ended and all returned to normal, the new normal, supernatural beings became celebrities overnight. Everyone wanted to be one or bang one. Sponsorships were given to any creature who wanted it and suddenly human celebrities went on the back burner. We were their new gods and they welcomed us as such.

Richard stood waiting for me by the door, his pressed suit making him look as handsome as ever. Mother never did like him. But he had shown me a whole new world. The underbelly. How could I deny such a friendship? He smiled when he saw me, his fangs digging into his bottom lip. A few girls to my right swooned at him, but he only ever had eyes for my family. For serving his royal family.

A chauffeur scuttled off with the Impala as I took the first step up to the looming building. No windows. Only brick. Maybe four stories. Logically our destination was the top. Fans screamed from the side lines as I got closer to the building. One would assume this was a red carpet event with the way they were going on.

Heels clicked to a stop as I reached Richard. His smile was dashing, but mischief lurked beneath the surface. He took my hand gently and kissed the knuckles.

"You look breathtaking, Your Majesty," he complimented and lead me inside.

The foyer was dull. A receptionist sat in front of what seemed to be trapped angels in material, but was marble. Her smile was pleasant, yet she wasn't enough to catch my eye for too long either. Just another dull human.

"Your Majesty. Top floor as always?" She asked and stood, showing off her long legs. My eyebrow shot up. Something that could be left to the imagination later. This was the only human to ever know who I was. Until later this week, that is.

"As always," I purred and walked to the elevator to our left. The girl nodded once and pressed some button, making the elevator ping open. Richard and I stepped in quietly and waited to be delivered to the top.

As the doors slid open again, music blasted through my ears. Bodies clad in just the most expensive designers moved gracefully with the music. Mostly supernaturals crawled along the dancefloor. Designers nowadays would kill to have the supernatural wear their clothes. Thus we became a beacon of glamour and grandeur.

Humans shuffled amongst them, the top of the top. Rock stars and models who were willing donors to Vampires. Some had half lidded looks on their faces whilst others just stumbled along, alcohol clinging to their breath. This was bliss beyond comparison.

"Go to our table. It will be open. I'll be along in a second," Richard told me and sauntered away from me. Bracing my backbone, I walked to our usual spot. The VIP section. No one stopped me as I opened the cord to move inside. They knew me. How could they not? I have been coming here since my parents built this city. To be in this club every night was a right of passage only few could afford. I was one of the few.

People moved in front of me, snapping selfies that had me in the background. How pathetic. Yet I bared it. Mommy taught me better. Be kind. Be courteous. But beat anyone down who opposed you. Thus I smiled and even threw a peace sign. The girls giggled and scampered off, probably going to show their friends.

Checking my phone for the time, I felt someone stare at me, but chalked it up to another fan girl. Richard would be by my side soon enough. Then all would be well and we could go dancing. If mother knew where I was, she would surely have my head. Her disapproval of such things are biased. Wasn't it only a few years ago that she herself did this? She needed to understand that all I wanted was to be young for as long as possible. Besides. My training with the Valkyrie had ended. There was nothing they could teach me anymore.

Miranda tried to teach me about being a witch, yet I knew the old hag doesn't have the slightest idea of what power truly was. But her containment magic worked well enough. I hadn't had an outburst in over 2 years. Which was a small victory on my part as well. Although my parents tried to keep me in a stable environment as much as they possibly could to avoid such an outburst again. Last time didn't end very well. Caspian nearly lost an arm and Mikaela a head. Julian was away on business and Luciana was sulking. It was adorable to see. But I knew they feared for my well being.

Richard approached our table, two cosmos in hand. I smiled up at him and took one graciously.

"You know there is some guy watching you, right?" He asked innocently and scooted in next to me.

"Everyone always watches me. Sadly," I informed him. "It comes with being the most powerful being in the room. I can't help they all feel it, even the humans."

Richard nodded, as if knowing what I meant. But how could he ever? He wasn't always in the spotlight. Although, he was now a noble. A house of his own. Once upon a time he was just Julian's errand boy. Fetching my mother was his greatest failure. The woman had refused in going with him and father was furious enough to go fetch her himself.

"It looks like he is coming this way," Richard whispered with a smile on his face. His gay ass loved any guy worth looking at. By the looks of it, this man was worth looking at. He was a wolf. Barely in his twenties. I was far out of his league but I was out of most people's leagues.

"Hey gorgeous, do you believe in love at first sight?" The beast asked and smirked up at me from his vantage. Standing, I gulped some Cosmo and stood off of the platform we were on. He was as short as I was and I was barely covering five foot four. He might have been handsome, but I was not here to please him, nor entertain someone like him. From the looks of it, he was a rogue and not part of uncle Ezekiel's pack.

My smile was sickly sweet. I leaned in closer to him, never taking my eyes off of his. "No. But I do believe in irritation at first sight," I hissed and passed him in a flurry of wind and chiffon. I could feel his anger vibrating off of him, but refused to acknowledge it. Then the wolf did something stupid. Extremely stupid. He grabbed my arm in a staggering grip. I was going to be blue in the morning. Great.

"Listen here bitc-"

He couldn't finish his word before I twisted from his grip and rounded a leg across his head. The crowd closest to us heard the commotion and stood still long enough to watch the guy crumple to the floor. Giving my most pleasant smile, I took another step and felt Richard behind me. I could practically feel his pleasure. What could I say, I was a great source of entertainment.

"What are you looking at?" He asked a girl closest to us. She was staring at what just happened. This did not sit well with either of us. If mother saw the photos, I would surely be grounded until my coronation, much less my coming out party.

"N-n-nothing, my Lord." The girl could barely form words. Before I could ask her politely to step away, she dashed away. Another smile graced my lips.

"Tell me, Richard, does my presence really affect people so badly that they can barely think?" The question was one constructed out of my own vanity. I knew the answer. I just wanted to hear him say it. Say that I commanded rooms.

"Have you not noticed how men stop just to stare at you, your Majesty? I mean. You bewitch anyone who lays eyes on you." He was a kiss ass and that was exactly the reason why I had kept him around. My ego needed boosting from time to time.

"Let's go dance, shall we? I'm getting bored," I replied and sauntered off to the dance floor, wondering what other pleasures the night might bring us.