My Heart Beats for You

I went out to pick up the mail, frowning as I saw the first letter. It had an unfamiliar print on it, along with the royal seal. I slowly walked back to the house and went inside, dropping the bills on our table for later.
I sat down then, still inspecting the letter. Why would the royal family be sending us mail? It was addressed to me specifically, only making me worry more.
The royal family was a family of vampires; the Fuentes. They were basically the rulers, and had control over both the humans and the vampires.
There was still a president, and mayor, and all of that stuff, but we mostly ignored them. Vampires were the real rulers. I finally sighed and opened the letter. I unfolded the paper inside, and looked it over quickly.

Kellin Quinn Bostwick,
You have been selected, along with nineteen other human teenagers to come to the Royal Mansion.
We have decided that a truce will be made by marrying Prince Victor to one of you. Ten boys and girls have been chosen based on their personalities and traits, and one will be selected to marry Prince Victor.
I paused for a minute and just sat there. They wanted to make a truce? I sighed and shook my head before finishing the rest of the letter.

We request your presence on February 5th at noon. There, the Prince will decide who he wishes to marry, and the selected teen will come to an agreement on a date.
The truce will be made, based on the idea that humans will no longer be killed for blood.
Instead, vampires will be punished for murdering humans, and will be forced to only take blood by donation.
We have made arrangements with the local hospitals, and will be receiving blood from them.
We cannot wait to meet you, and expect you to be punctual.
Sincerely,
The Fuentes Family

I set the letter down on the table and went to get my computer. I fell onto my bed and Googled images of Prince Victor. He was gorgeous.
I clicked on one of him and his brother Michael, and he looked phenomenal. He was laughing, making his chocolate eyes sparkle and light up beautifully.
His straight hair was a light brown color, and just brushed his shoulders. Both boys skin was a light tan color and you could easily tell they were brothers.
“What are you doing?” I looked up at my mother as she stood in the doorway with a cigarette between her fingers.
“Um, the vampires are making a truce,” I said. “What?” she made a confused face at me and then rolled her eyes. “You had better not be messing with me Kellin Quinn,” she half-scolded.
“I’m not mom, come here,” she followed me out to the kitchen, and then frowned as I handed her the letter.
“What the hell is this?” she asked and read over it quickly.
“Um, they might want me to marry their son,” I said, still not over it myself. “Why?” I sighed softly and took the paper.
“I don’t know mom, they just liked me, I guess. It’s the day after tomorrow,” I said.
“Oh and you think you’re going to go? You have work to do,” I nodded and sat down. “I know that I do, but I’m sure that my boss will understand,” My mom just rolled her eyes and went back into her room.
I wasn’t sure if I would really want to marry a vampire; even if he was really attractive. I wondered if he was a nice person at least, and if I would have to marry him immediately.
What was I thinking? He wasn’t going to pick me anyways. I mean—why would he even pick me in the first place?
I was just a skinny white kid with a drug addict mother. My dad had left the year I turned fourteen; the year I had come out.
He had never said anything about it, but I could tell that he wasn’t okay with it.
I had caught him the night he was leaving, finding him at the door with his bags packed. He had said that he was going on a business trip, although I knew that he was lying.
For some reason I didn’t stop him. I just kept thinking that it was my fault, and that he was probably happier without me in his life.
I sighed and went to get ready for work. ~

“Shit,” I said and looked up at the clock. “What?” I frowned at Justin. “I’m late,” I said. “For that vampire thing? You’re actually going to go?” I nodded.
“If they’ll even let me in; I mean, I’m gonna be so late,” I set my apron down on the counter and went head out.
“Try not to get married,” Justin called playfully. I rolled my eyes and got into my car quickly. I was so late. ~

“And you are?” someone asked. “Um, I’m supposed to be here,” I said and handed the man my letter.
He looked it over before rolling his eyes.
“So you’re the late one. I’ll have you know that the Prince has already begun. I doubt he’ll pick you,” he said, even as he was leading me inside.
I saw the Prince, and two rows of people. They were all teenagers, Victor included. He must’ve seen me, because he frowned and walked over.
“Who’s this?” he asked in the silkiest voice I had ever heard. “Kellin Bostwick. He’s late,”
Victor bit his lip in most sexy way, and smiled. “Hi. I’m Vic,” he said.
“I think you’re supposed to be over there,” he said then and pointed to the missing spot in the line of boys. I nodded a little.
Vic, which suited him wonderfully, went back to the girls’ line and took the hand of one of the last few girls. She giggled and blushed, making him sigh.
I couldn’t hear their hushed voices, but Vic didn’t appear very interested. “Okay,” he said a little louder. “Next,”
The girl looked kind of disappointed, although she went back to her spot. It went the same way for a while; Vic would talk to them for a few minutes, and then they would be sent back to their places.
A few people tried to impress him, or maybe he asked them to do things; I still couldn’t hear them very well. I was in the back, and, so far, Vic didn’t seem like a very loud person.
“Okay, the first boy please,” I was the second boy, with my last name being Bostwick.
The boy beside me walked up to Vic flirtatiously, and sat down on his lap. The guards around the room took a few steps forwards, even as Vic laughed.
“Hi,” he said obviously and looked at the boy. He leant closer to Vic, obviously flirting with him. Vic smiled a little as he spoke to him, and then sent him away for the…me.
I bit my lip and took a step forward before the guard from before caught my arm.
“You were late. That makes you last,” he said. I sighed and stepped back. Vic looked a little confused too as the boy on my other side walked up to him.
His eyes met mine, and then he looked away at the boy again. I stood there as boy after boy went up to Vic.
The guard really made me the last one. “Hiya cutie,” Vic said and smirked at me. I blushed and bit my lip as he reached for me. “What am I supposed to say?” I asked nervously, making Vic chuckle.
“You know, you’re the only who’s asked me that. Everyone else has just started talking,” I smiled a little and then waited.
“Hm…I don’t know. Surprise me, I guess? Like, do something for me that no one else would,” he said.
I chewed my lip skeptically, only one thing coming to mind. “Well?” he asked and stood up. I bit my lip and then pulled on Vic’s shirt until our lips met. He seemed a little startled and then relaxed and kissed back.
I heard all of his guards tense up and come closer, but he completely ignored them.
Vic’s lips were soft and warm, and he so were his hands. He rested them on my back and pushed my body against his. I couldn’t help moaning quietly into the kiss as his tongue glided into my mouth.
He tasted kind of sweet and bitter at the same time, like vanilla and coffee.
I gently combed my fingers through his silky hair before pulling away breathlessly. Vic blinked a few times and then grinned.
“Um, Prince?” one of the guards asked. “Hm?” Vic looked kind of out of it. “Do you, um, you were picking out a spouse?” he asked.
Vic nodded a little and touched his lips. “Mhm, I um…what was I saying?” the guard sighed and crossed his arms.
“Have you made a decision?”
I didn’t know if I should still be there. “Yeah, I think so,” he said.
“Lovely. Is it one of the girls, or boys?” the guard asked. “You,” Vic said and met my eyes.
I blinked, blushing. “Um, m-me? I don’t know if I would be a good representative for like, all humans,” Vic frowned a little.
“But, I want you. Besides, I did actually read all of the profiles, and I think you’d be great. Not to mention you’re a great kisser,”
My blush deepened at the compliment. “I’ll go get your parents,” the guard said and left the room. Vic apparently noticed the way I stiffened at the thought of his parents. He didn’t seem like a vampire, at least not right now, but I was still kind of afraid of his parents.
He touched my arm gently, a smile on his lips. “Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded, actually comforted by his touch. “You know, civilized vampires aren’t nearly as scary as you humans seen to think,” he teased.
“Victor, we were told you’ve chosen someone?” a woman’s voice called.
Two people, who I guessed were Vic’s parents came into the room, followed by the same guard.
“Yes, I have. This is Kellin,” he said and smiled at his parents slightly. I gave them a tiny wave and blushed. I was so nervous. I had never dreamed that Vic would actually pick me, and I didn’t know what to do with myself now that he had.
“Hi,” I squeaked. His parents looked me over before nodding. “And you’re sure?” his mother asked.
“Mhm, I want him,” She nodded back and then took her husband’s hand. “Welcome to the family then Kellin,” they left the room then, leaving Vic and I alone with his guards.
“Come with me,” he said and took my hand. He led me towards the same door that his parents had gone through, all of his guards moving to follow us.
“Alone,” he scolded them and glared at the first one. “But sir, what if he were to harm you and we were not there?” he asked.
“I doubt he could hurt me,” Vic said back. “You don’t know that though,” the guard said. “Are you going to hurt me?” he asked me.
“N-no,” Vic looked back at the guard before pulling me through the door. “This is the grand hall,” Vic said, leading me through a massive hallway.
The entire place was huge, the ceilings high enough to need multiple ladders. The walls were painted a deep red color that matched the gold finish around the paneling.
“It’s huge,” I said quietly. “Mhm, the whole place is basically. I could give you a tour if you want,”
I shrugged lightly. “Although maybe just the important rooms. A whole tour would take a really long time,” Vic shrugged and then met my eyes.
“Well?” I nodded, not really sure what was going on. I hadn’t expected him to be so…cheerful?
Vic led me through one of the doors in the hall that led into another hallway, only it was three times as long. “Wow,” I mumbled, looking down the length of it.
“Yeah…the ballroom is all the way down there, and we use that a lot, so I figured I would show you that first,”
I nodded a little, not sure if I wanted to walk that far. “You’ll get used to it. Besides, there are plenty of rooms to explore,” he said and pulled me along.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “Doing what?” Vic frowned, looking at me in confusion. “Marrying me. Why would you agree to marrying someone you don’t even know, just to make a point?”
Vic sighed quietly, walking a little slower than before. “I don’t know…my parents had always planned to arrange my marriage for me, even though I didn’t want it, so when they offered to make the truce I said that I would.
I figured that I could at least choose someone I was interested in, rather than someone I had never even heard of before,”
I frowned too, looking down at my shoes as we walked. “That still doesn’t seem very fair,” I said. “You should be able to marry whoever you want,”
Vic shrugged lightly. “You don’t seem so bad. Besides, you’re one of the few people I met today that can actually hold a conversation. Everyone else was either trying to get in my pants, or completely afraid of me,” he said warily.
“I’m sorry…you are attractive though, I could see why they’d want to,” Vic laughed and paused. “Kellin, are you hitting on me?” he teased, making me blush.
“Um, I—no,” Vic laughed again and led me in the large, french doorway. The room was utterly massive, with a domed gold ceiling and plush-looking velvet curtains.
The walls had elegant, floral wallpaper that looked hand-painted and absolutely gorgeous. “Do you like it?” he asked. I nodded, still scanning over it.
The room was mostly empty, save for a few red velvet couches around the walls, and the massive, silver and gold chandeliers. They were high up in the ceiling and looked stunning, even though they weren’t on.
“My parents want to have the engagement party in here,” Vic said quietly while staring up at the ceiling. “An engagement party?” He nodded and looked at me.
“They already have a lot of the things planned, minus the actual wedding. We’re supposed to pick the date,” He didn’t sound as cheery now, more quiet and reserved.
The bubbly, charming personality he had shown before seemed more like an act now that we were alone.
He just seemed like an average teenager that wasn’t ready to grow up. I squeezed his hand a little, knowing how it felt. I had started working when I was fourteen, having to support my mother and I.
I wondered who would take care of her if I wasn’t there to pay the bills. “Hm…maybe we should save the tour for later and just talk for a while?”
I nodded and smiled at him. “Okay. I’ll have the chefs make lunch for us and we can eat it outside. Wait here, okay?” I nodded and watched as he left me, heading off down the hall. He got down it faster than he had with me, although he was used to walking down them.
I walked around the ballroom for a while, noticing the table across the room. There was a picture frame on it, Vic’s family’s portrait in it.
He and his brother were both wearing suits, along with their father. His mom had on an elegant dress that flooded around the chair she was sitting on in front of her sons. Vic looked a few years younger and incredibly handsome too.
“That’s a pretty old one,” Vic said, startling me. I turned around, blushing at having been caught. “You look nice,” I said back and set the picture down.
“Thanks…I was fifteen,” Vic said. “How old are you know?” I asked. “I’ll be eighteen soon, so don’t look so startled,” I laughed a little and blushed.
“You thought we were really far apart, didn’t you?” he teased. “No! I just—I wanted to make sure. Besides, you mentioned a profile? What do you already know about me?” Vic chuckled and shrugged.
“Come here,” He pulled me out of the ballroom and through another part of the hallway before leading me out to a terrace. It was about three times the side of a normal terrace, and connected all the way down the side of the mansion.
“Pretty, huh?” Vic asked and looked out at the field. There were a lot of trees and rose bushes, and then a large fountain in the middle of it.
“Mhm…” He sat down on one of the white wicker chairs around the matching table. It had a glass cover that showed the open middle of it.
I sat down opposite him and crossed my ankles. “Hm…well, I already know that you’ll be eighteen in April, that you’re gay, and that you live with your mother. You had straight A’s until you dropped out of school to take care of you mother, and you like music, reading, and currently have two jobs. One is at a bookstore near your house, and another in a shopping mall that you always take double shifts for,”
I blinked, trying to take in the fact that he knew my whole life already. “Um…is there anything you don’t know?” I asked. “I don’t know the important things,” Vic said back and leant his elbows on the table.
“I don’t know what you mean,” He smiled a little at me. “Like, what makes you smile and why you would want to try and take care of your family when you were still just a kid. I don’t know the things that make you a good person, or how brave you must’ve been,”
I blushed and looked down at my hands. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Well, your dad left when you were so young, I can’t imagine how brave you had been to take on all the responsibilities. Kellin, you work two jobs to take care of your mother and you’re only seventeen. How could you not know what I mean?”
I shrugged and looked up at him. “Well I had to. It wasn’t like I was trying to do the noble thing; I was just trying to stay alive. My mom never cared about me, and when my dad let she just shut down. So it was either get a job or starve to death. Besides, I hated school, so it wasn’t a bog deal for me to drop out. And I got a second job so that I would actually have some money once in a while instead of being completely broke after paying bills and buying food for my mom,”
I didn’t mention that she would always steal money from my wallet for booze and drugs, and that I always let her. I was a push-over, and that was why I wanted to leave school. I didn’t care if I worked in a bookstore for the rest of my life, because I didn’t have a life to begin with.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, I just—I respect you,” Vic said and looked out at the fountain. “I’ve had everything handed to me without a second thought, I just…you’ve had such a hard life and you deserve better,”
I frowned again. “Is that why you picked me? To give me a better life?” I asked, kind of hurt.
“N-no, that isn’t what I meant! I mean—I genuinely like you. And I was just sharing my thoughts, I didn’t mean that that was why—“It’s okay. I was just making sure,”
Vic laughed a little and sighed. “Okay…so what about you? How was you life?” I asked.
“Um…kind of boring actually. I finished schooling a year ago. My parents hired tutors for my brother and I, and all we ever did was schoolwork, attend family events, and be lazy,”
I frowned at him again. “That doesn’t sound like a very exciting childhood,” Vic shrugged lightly.
“I lived in luxury, and I always had something to do, so it wasn’t that bad. Just not exciting,” I nodded and looked at the doors as people started wheeling trays out to us.
They set a glass in front of me, filled with what looked like champagne, and then a cloudy-looking glass in front of me. “Thank you,” I said quietly and watched as they set a plate of salad in front of us.
“Excuse us,” the waiter said and then left, the three of them wheeling the cart out. “What is that?” I asked Vic as he took a sip from his glass.
“Do you really want to know?” I blushed a little and looked down at my food. There was spinach and regular lettuce mixed in with strawberries, cheese, croutons, and pieces of grilled chicken.
“I didn’t know vampires ate,” I said. “Uh, yeah. We don’t really need to, but food is pretty great, so why not?” I laughed a little and nodded.
I took a sip of my drink, which in fact, was champagne. “I’ve never drank before,” Vic looked at me funny. “It’s only champagne, one glass won't hurt you,” Vic said.
“I know, I just…I never saw the appeal. My mom’s a drunk, and I never wanted to be her, so I never tried it,” Vic frowned at me. “I could get you something else,” he offered.
“No, no. I just—I’m just rambling, I really don’t mind,” His eyebrows knit together slightly. “You don’t make any sense,” he said playfully and took a bite of his salad.
“Do you mind? I wasn’t sure what you’d like,” I shook my head and speared a strawberry. “Not at all,” I said and popped it into my mouth.
Vic and I ate for a while, just small-talking.
“Does it taste good?” I asked, watching as he took a sip. “To me, it does. I doubt you would like it though,” I nodded and cringed.
“You didn’t want to try it, did you?” I wrinkled my nose, shaking my head. “No thanks,” Vic laughed at me and took another swallow.
“So…what possessed you to kiss me?” he asked and rested his hand on his chin. I blushed, noting the way his eyes darkened and his voice turned sultry. Vic seemed to be less oddly-happy and more like himself, and I found that he was naturally charming.
“Um…well you said to surprise you and do something that no one else would, and that was the only thing that I thought of…. But I liked kissing you,” I admitted.
Vic smiled and nodded. “Me too,” I smiled back and took a sip of my champagne. I liked the taste, surprisingly. It was kind of like soda, although it had a little burn to it and wasn’t half as sweet.
“So…engagement party then, huh?” Vic nodded slightly. “My parents had planned it for the end of the week…. I don’t know why they want it to be so soon,”
I shrugged lightly. “How long do you think we’ll have until we have to get married?” I asked. “Oh, don’t sound so excited,” he teased.
“Sorry, I just…I never thought that I would get married, and if I did…I just thought that I would be in love first,” Vic sighed softly and reached over to tilt my chin up.
“We can wait as long as we want. Besides, I want that too. I mean…I’ve never really dated anyone, so I’d just like to have someone I care about more than anyone else,”
I nodded my agreement. “What will happen to my mom?” I asked. “Um…we can pay to have her taken care of, or maybe rehab? Whatever you want,”
I nodded a little and watched him finish his ‘drink’. “Can I ask you something?” Vic asked. I nodded and sipped my own drink. “Are you a virgin?”
I choked on my drink, blushing as I sputtered and tried to catch my breath. “What?” I asked back. Vic laughed at me and handed me a napkin.
“I asked if you were a virgin,” I blushed and dabbed my mouth with the napkin. “Um…aren’t you?” Vic gave me a sheepish smile and shook his head.
“Um… how many…?” I asked gently, not wanting to offend him. “Two…does that matter?” I shook my head, resting my hands in my lap.
“Um, no, it doesn’t. I just—,” I shook my head again and bit my lip. “You don’t have to be embarrassed or worried or anything. I won’t make you do anything,” I nodded and smiled at him.
“I know, and I mean—I’m not like, saving myself or anything, but…all I’ve ever done is kissed,”
Vic smirked at me. “Well you’re a damn good kisser. And we really don’t have to rush. I was just wondering,”
I smiled at him and finished the rest of my drink. “So…I was thinking…” Vic started. “We could just date for now, get through the engagement, and then work our way there? We can decide the date whenever we’re ready,”
I nodded and sighed quietly. “What?” Vic asked. “I…do you think we’ll fall in love?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I mean, I hope that we will. My parents had an arranged marriage, and they did eventually…. I do like you. Isn’t that how relationships start?”
I laughed lightly and nodded. “Usually, yeah. So…” I stood up, Vic watching me as I walked over to him. He met my eyes and then smiled a little as he realized what I was doing.
I leant down and gently pressed my lips to his, enjoying the feel of them on mine. Maybe I could get used to this. ~