Living Hearts, Dead Hearts and Love Hearts

APRIL

My name is Princess April. Stupid name, it makes me sound like I’m some bossy, arrogant and annoying person, which I am most definitely not. I would love to be one of my maids, getting to cook and sew. I adore helping them when my father, King Leofric, is away on ‘kingly duties’. Otherwise know as condemning innocent people to death, knighting pathetic men and trying to find me a husband so when he dies there will not be a Queen but a King. He is definitely the most sexist creature you will ever hear of.

One day Father took me out in the carriage to met Warner. The sun shone in the windows blinding me. I could not move; my corset dug into my sides and back. I could not tell my father to draw the curtain; a woman can not speak out of place. All I could do was listen to my father go on about some ‘handsome man’ that I was going to marry. Apparently Warner would rule the country as well as him and reminded my father of himself. Joy I was going to marry my father. But the next thing I knew he was going on about how stupid and feeble women are and I was not going to listen to him any longer. I talked across him complaining about how he undermines the female population, especially me. As I had talked out of place he slapped me. My cheek was burning, like the sun was burning my eyes. I stood up. It rocked the carriage I opened the door, my father still shouting at me. I never heard the actual words he said just a gruff moan. Sounds strung together made no sense. I jumped out of the carriage. The movement rocked the carriage again; making it hit a rut in the road. It toppled over, crushing my stomach. The world went black.

EDWARD

We are nearly there, I kept telling myself. I had not drunk in weeks. I could smell drink. A heavenly sweet drink. I ran over to find a carriage with a human inside. Dead. Normally I would have carried on and go pass. A dead human. Where is the fun in that? However I was thirsty. I swept in through the window. Not making a sound as I stood on the glass from a broken window. I pressed my lips to his neck. I drunk, but it was foul blood, poison would have been better. Then I realised I could smell a sweet rich living blood. Pulling myself out of the carriage and I saw a tender girl trapped. Shame I could not chase her. Adrenaline always makes a drink taste nicer. Slowly I walked over to her.

“Help,” she whispered her breathing irregular. Standing there I had no idea what to do.
“Please, good man help me,” she whispered. No one in my whole existence had called me a good man. I bent down to touch her. This time louder she said,
“Oh dear lord you are bleeding and you are so cold.” She cared about me. No one had ever been kind to me. I turned around and lifted the carriage of her. There was silence. Neither of us talked. The girl laid there, breathing deeper. Slowly she stood up. I could only hope she would not look in the carriage and see the man, most likely her father, lying inside, drained of his foul blood.

APRIL

After the man pulled the carriage off of me I realised he was not human. The carriage was heavy it would take five strong men to lift it. I did not want to look in side it, knowing that my father would be in there dead. But I had to get the man a blanket or my shawl. I reached in the carriage through the window and picked up a shawl. As I turned to the man I studied his features. His eyes wide with apologies, his black hair contrasting with his pale skin, his features very pronounced and his lips formed a perfect curve. However I could have sworn they were, a minute ago, covered in blood.

“Miss…” he took a deep breathe, “…you should now that…” he said as I cut across him smiling as he did not reconise me,

“…your not human, it is obvious, that is all I need to know apart from what is your name?”

“Edward.” I handed him my shawl. He looked at it. “April, nice name, you should also know I don’t get cold however you do. If you’ve not noticed you’re shivering,” I had not noticed anything else apart from the fact he knew my name. As if he could read my mind he said “your name is stitched on to the shawl.” He wrapped it around me, “and Princess lets get you out of the forest. It is always watching and listening.”

EDWARD

We had been walking along time when April thought what does he eat? And when?When I replied aloud, “I don’t eat.” Her reaction was hysterical, her thoughts never finished what? He doesn’t … drink? How is he living… but… how… can he hear my thoughts?
“Yes,” I stated loudly, “I drink though, and define living.” The look of bemusement on her perfect face, covered in dirt though, made me laugh.

“To live is living? You know a heart pumps and you are like there living. Huh I don’t know,” she stammered not sure of what she was saying. I was about to say I was not living, no heart you see, when an annoying silvery white unicorn prances out of the woods. I walked away. Unicorns blood is so pure and sweet it is sickly and unbearably. Their personalities are the same. April looked up into the unicorn’s eyes. A stupid mistake,

“Ah, young Princess April, last time I saw you were a baby with your father. He had come to me to see the future. Ah yes. I told him you would be come Queen if you met your true loved but you could not be queen if you married a man.” April looked as though she had stopped breathing. I ran over trying not to make eye contact with the unicorn. If you make contact they can tell what and who a creature is and know every little detail about them with out ever having met them before. Many questions built up in April’s mind,

“Who are you?” the unicorn asked me. Keeping my head bowed down I replied, “Her servant.” I hoped the unicorn would shut up. It did not.

“April I must warn you, a terrible fate awaits your country, a dead heart shall rule it one day soon.
“You must have the heart of a creature which has no heart; to prove you are worthy to be queen, also beware there is a vampire on the loose.” I put my arm around April’s waste to distract her. The unicorn would only speak ill of me, also the smell was unbearable. The unicorn pranced off.