The Vampire Prince's Servant

I shook my head. "Julian, don't be like that." I sighed. "I have a lot of things on my plate right now." I tugged at the ends of my hair.

He stepped closer, and now we were inches apart from each other. "I could make that all go away." my heart started to beat faster, and I felt my stomach flip flop. My mouth went dry and I didn't know what to do.

I tugged at the ends of my shirt out of a nervous habit. I wiped my sweaty palms on my on my jeans and just looked at him for a moment. His eyes pierced me, and his hair was slightly in his eyes. "Could you really?"

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, his breath was hot on my neck. "I can do anything you want." he spoke slowly and precisely. His voice had an edge of danger and seduction.

My knees started to shake. I heard a car pull up beside us. Both of us whipped our heads to the side to lookat it. It was the familiar black SUV that Kyle drove. A figure stepped out of the car and approached us.

Kyle crossed his arms over his built chest. Julian backed up a step. "What's going on here Mel?" he looked between Julian and I.

I stepped toward him, his body language was hostile and unwelcoming. "Nothing. He's just an old friend from boarding school." he unfolded his arms. "Why are you here? I thought you were tired." I narrowed my eyes to him.

He put his hands in his pockets of his sweatshirt. "I was going over to see you, and your dad said you weren't back yet. So I came to see what was up."

I nodded. "If you're not going to trust me, this relationship isn't going to work out." he had constantly accused me of having eyes for other men, when I would simply look at them. He has accused me of cheating on more than one occasion, and be wouldn't believe that I was just at counseling. I was fed up with it. "And now you're making yourself look foolish. You should just leave Kyle." I turned away from him. I heard his footsteps fade away back to his car. He drove off quickly.

I turned back around to see Julian staring at me. "When I left, you didn't seem to care." my voice shook with emotions. "I wanted you to stop me, to tell me not to go, something!" I felt tears fall down my face. "But you didn't. You just let me go like I didn't matter. So I convinced myself I didn't." I wiped the tears from my face. "And now you're here, and you expect me to drop everything for you, and I don't know if I can." I sniffled.

Julian nodded. "I understand, but I'm here now. I was stupid then. I did everything I could to convince myself that I was better than you, and that I didn't love you." thunder boomed around us. A storm was coming in. "And I know that was the stupidest thing I could have done." the rain surrounded us. "I'm so sorry Melody." I didn't say anything. The raindrops padded the ground in little drops, but started to pour down on us. "I love you."

I stepped towards him, and looked up at him. He wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me. I put my hands on his face and wiped away the water from him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. It was better than the first time he kissed me. This was the real thing. It wasn't because he was drunk and had nothing better to do, this was because he loved me, and I loved him back.

I never admitted it to myself, because I was to afraid that it would ruin my life. I didn't want to go about the rest of my days wonder what would have happened if I told him. I didn't want to compare every man I met to him, knowing they would never be the same. Now I won't have to. Now, I can live knowing that he loves me back.

I pulled back. "What am I going to tell my father?" I looked at Julian.

"That you're leaving." he said in a 'duh' sort of way. I shook my head. "I know that, but he'll be heart broken." my father had just gotten used to me being back. He had been emotionally traumatized. "Everything will be fine." he brushed my wet hair from my face.

I nodded. We both got into my green Envoy and drove down to my house. My father was on the leather couch when we walked in.

He turned around. "Hey kiddo-" he stopped mid-sentence. "What's he doing here?" my father stood up and his face turned bright red.

I stepped forward. "Dad, it's alright. I promise. I have to go though." I kissed him on the cheek. Before he could start yelling I told him I loved him and ran out of the house. "Where to now?" I looked at Julian.

He took my hand in his, and he next thing I knew, we were in the middle of the castle. "Everyone will be glad that you're back." he brought my hand to his and kissed my fingertips.

I felt myself blush. "I'm glad to be back." the castle seemed to echo when I spoke. I didn't notice it before.

He took my hand and put it through his leather-clad arm. "What do you want to do?" we walked slowly down the hallway. I passed the familiar paintings of families, scenery and various items. We continued walking to nowhere in particular. "I'm not sure." we passed by the large windows that revealed the gardens and the rest of the surrounding land. "Actually, can we take a walk outisde?" I looked up at him with pleading eyes.

He smiled in ammusment. "I don't see why not." we made our way to the back and out the large glass doors that towered above us. I smelt the thousands of flowers, the fresh cut grass. I could hear the birds tweeting and the sound of a fountain in the distance.

"This is heaven." I stated. It wasn't to cold, or to warm. It was still bright enough out to see, and the path was lit up with tiny ground lights. The trees had fairy lights that twinkled in the near dark.

"I'm glad you like it. It isn't enjoyed very often." we strolled down the gravel path, our feet crunched with each step. "I would like to give them to you. As a welcome back present."

I stopped in my tracks. "What? You just 'gave' me a garden?" I was taken back. I had never had something like that given to me. I didn't know what to say past that after he nodded. I stood there with my mouth open. I wouldn't know what to do about my birthday present then if this was what I would get. "Thank you." I threw my arms around his neck. I was still a bit starstruck.

"You're welcome, darling." he said to my back. He pulled away. "We'd better get back for dinner. We can't have you going hungry." I could see his smile was genuine.

I walked into the dining hall, it was set with the finest plates, each hand painted with delicate flowers. Julian sat down at the head of the long table, and I sat to his right. I folded the napkin on my lap, and Julian indicated that we were ready.

"You've never actually gotten to dine with me, have you?" he looked over to me, a proud grin on his face.

I shook my head. "No, every time we were interrupted." that was a nice way to put it. The last time we were about to dine together, I saw his whole family massacred across the table and his brother took me away. It was a touchy subject.

I nodded slowly. "We were." he moved in his seat. "Well, I can assure you that is a treat. Do you want something to drink as well?"

I shrugged. "Water would be great." I smiled to myself. "So, is this like a date?" I beamed. He looked at me. "Yeah, I think it is." and for some strange reason, we both burst out laughing. We didn't stop until we were handed our food by a servant I didn't recognize. She was older than me, but not by much, and with mousy features.

We had salad, steak, and creme brûlée. Each course was more delicious than the last. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Before, we were stuck with crappy imitation foods that didn't taste good at all. I would see what I could do about that for the others now.

"That was amazing." I said smiling at Julian. "I never knew what we missed out on until now." that was a lie, I did, but I didn't care. Same thing.

He sighed. "I suppose you'll want to see your friends." he raised an eyebrow. I nodded. "If you don't mind." I gave him a shy smile and puppy dog eyes. He sighed again. "But I don't know if I want to give you up." he grabbed my hand and kissed it. I liked the way he treated me like I was a dainty butterfly. It made me feel special.

"I promise I won't be long." I batted my eyes at him. "Alright." he looks up at the ceiling. "I'll meet you back in my room. You still know your way around, don't you?"

I nodded vigorously. "Thanks!" I stood up and kissed him on the cheek quickly and ran out of the room to the kitchen. I spotted Kia. I ran up behind her and hugged her tightly. "What the-" she stopped. "Melody!" Kia yelled. She hugged me back. "I didn't think you would ever come back!" Kia swayed me from side to side for a good minute. I pulled away, and found Cole and hugged him. "You've been missed." he said to me. He didn't seem to know how to handle the situation.

"Where's Maddy?" I asked, after looking around the room and not being able to find her. No one said anything. "Where is she?" I repeated, much more serious and stern this time. The girl who served us our food was first to speak.

"She moved." she stated simply. "

What?" I shrieked out in shock, anger, and sadness.

Kia hesitated. "After you left, she was so depressed that she went home to her family. We have gotten a few letters from her, but not many. It doesn't sound good. " Kia looked down; she seemed somber. They all did. There was a cloud of sadness around the room.

"Oh god." Maddy didn't often tell me about her family life, but I knew she lived in a decaying house, with five brothers and sisters. Her father was a jeweler and crazy. Her mother was a stay at home mom that sat around and drank. She was sending most of the money she earned to her family to try and support them. She was only 18.

I knew that I didn't have much power, but I could talk to Julian. That would help her. A random donation could come in and help the with their house... or something like that. I hugged Kia quickly and thanked her.

I nearly ran to Julian's room. I had missed the way he smelt. Seductive and sexy. It made me dizzy just thinking about it. I had to admit, when I was a servant, that was one of the reasons I didn't mind cleaning his room, it always smelt nice.

I didn't bother to knock, I always thought that it was silly, he could hear me coming. Not to mention the fact that he could read my thoughts, so it's not like he didn't know what I was doing.

He was putting on a shirt when I walked in. "You're gone for three months, and you forget how to knock." he approached me wearing a black shirt and pajama bottoms. He looked carefree and beautiful.

I flipped my hair over my shoulder. "I wanted to surprise you." I shrugged in a flirty manner. I stood there thinking for a second. I still hadn't told him I loved him back. I wondered if he noticed.

"Well, I can assure you that I was indeed surprised." he bent down and kissed me on the forehead. I nodded.

"Well I'm glad." I stood in the middle of the room awkwardly. I didn't know exactly what to do. "There's clothes for you in the closet." Julian motioned to the door to my side. I went in and grabbed a blue satin nightgown. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and walked back into the bedroom.

"That looks much better on you." Julian met me in the middle of the room. He put his hands on either side of my bare arms.

"I have a question for you." I asked him. He raised an eyebrow in question. I looked at him with a pleading look as I spoke. "The others told me that Maddy went back home." Julian nodded as affirmation. I continued. "Her life there is awful. We need to help her."

Julian shook his head. "She left, I can't help her very much now." he spoke blatantly. I kept looking at him with sad eyes. "But as the king, don't you think it would boost your reputation if everyone knew how kind and generous you were. If you just help them, please." I grabbed onto his hand. I felt his thumb run over my hand. "Maybe you're right. We'll go down there first thing in the morning." he moved me over to the other side of the bed. I climbed into the satin sheets and watched as Julian did the same.

I laid down and looked at him while he turned off the lights. He turned around to me. "I don't think I've told you I love you." I smiled at him.

Julian smirked back at me. "No, I don't think you have." I leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you Julian." he wrapped his arm around my waist. "I've missed you so much." I fell asleep in his arms that night.

~~~~~*~~~~~

The next morning, Julian and I had breakfast and then were off through his kingdom. I was told to dress nice, apparently the press would be involved. I had on a nice black dress, it got Julian's approval. I had never seen the rest of the kingdom, only once when I went with Lillian for a dress fitting. It wasn't what I expected. It was a fairly modern place, something's were a bit out of date, like most of the cobblestone pathways. It was cute though.

We arrived at a crooked looking house, with the paint chipping off of the sides. The windows were dirty, and the yard was dead. Julian and I got out of the sleek black car and walked up the creaking porch. I knocked on the decaying wood and waited for an answer. From the outside we could hear the sounds bickering and screaming of small children. Finally, someone answered.

A middle aged woman with greying hair and a disheveled dress looked at us. "Your majesty." she bowed her head to Julian. "What are you doing here?" she looked puzzled.

I spoke. "We are here to see Maddy." Maddy's mother stared at me in bewilderment. She gestured to us to enter her home. It was just as bad as the outside. The furniture was out of date and had holes in it. They were worn out and discolored. There were children that scattered around our feet and hollered and shrieked. We walked right around them and through to a kitchen that was in the same state as the living room.

Maddy stood in the kitchen, her hair in a messy bun with bits of flour in it. She was mixing some form of batter in a bowl while a little girl tugged on her jeans. "Go to your room Kate. I'll get you when breakfast is ready." she told the child. Maddy's mom cleared her throat and she turned around. "Melody!" she shrieked. She set the bowl down on the dirty counter and raced over and hugged me. "I missed you so much. I can't believe you came to see me." she beamed and looked at me. "Why are you here?" she squinted at me.

"Well, we need to talk. Come for a walk with us." I grabbed onto her arm and we walked out the back door, Julian close behind.

"Maddy, we want you to come back and work in the castle." I told her once we made it a few paces out into the unkept yard.

She shook her head. "No, I can't. I appreciate the offer, but they need me to much here."

Julian spoke up from behind us. "We thought you'd say that. That's why we want you to let us help out your family. We can clean it up, hire a nanny, and send the other children off to school."

Maddy looked at both of us in disbelief. "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us!" she hugged me. "Come on Julian." she gestured. "Thank you all so much! I'll go pack my things right away." she ran back into the house with joy. We went back through the house. I told her a car would be back for her in an hour, she thanked us once again and we left.

~~~~~*~~~~~

Maddy started working again, and she was more gratefully than ever. Julian and I had gone on many more 'dates' and were finally getting ready to settle down. He had proposed to me in the garden on a late evening. I said yes, of course. I doubt that any other person can say that they have been queen of he same kingdom twice in their life.

We discussed me being turned into a vampire, and we decided to wait a little bit longer.
The End