The Hopeless Life of a Teenage Vampire

Chapter One: Tag Along (Part Three)

 The orange, cat-like eyes that stared into mine at that moment filled me with joy. 

“Clip…” I replied, nearly in disbelief. I felt like I needed to pinch myself. 

“Hey Kal,” He chuckled. A smile broke across my face. It had been nearly 3 months since I’d seen him. Clip was one of my best friends and had been since I was 14. His name, Clypeus Fortis, had been assigned to me that year. Clip is a fairy, and I’d set him free three months prior to this moment. He had gone off on his adventures to explore the world as I protected him right under my parent's noses. I did the chores, and I took care of myself as he followed his own path. 

“Hello, Princess,” he replied with a laugh, slowly swaying us to the music. I began to study the portions of his face that were visible. His chin was scraped and his left cheek was bruised, obvious dried blood was caked on the corner of his mouth. I looked down at his hands in my wait and his knuckles were nearly blending in with the purple fabric. 

“What happened?” I gripped the fabric of his shirt tightly in my fists as not to claw his skin in frustration. 

“Nothing, I’m fine,” he was trying not to worry me and even took his hand off my waist to scrape the blood away, he was lying through his teeth, “I got roughed up on my way here, it’s nothing a healing potion can’t fix, alright?” 

“What happened exactly?” I asked him, checking for more bumps and bruises. 

“I was at a bed-and-breakfast just past D.C., and some old troll called me a skeeter-” he took a deep sharp breath and flared his nostrils before continuing, “The fact that Fairiefolk are forced to devote their lives to the service of other creatures, and they have the nerve to equate us to the wait of those useless blood-sucking pests.” He almost rambled on but caught himself. “I called him a pig, so he pummeled me, but I’m fine now. No need to worry,” his half-heartedly-happy finish ended with a terrible fake smile. 

“I’m sorry,” was all I allowed to escape my mouth, while I allowed my thoughts to run rampant in my skull. 

Trolls are the dumbest creatures on God's great earth, how dare they believe they’re above a kind species like the fairies, part of my brain screamed.

The most important thing is that Clip made it out alive. Trolls may be dumb but they’re incredibly strong, another part replied. 

Outwardly I gritted my teeth and brushed some dirt off Clip’s bruiseless cheek. 

“At least I still have you.” He leaned his head onto my hand. “That’s just how it is I guess, it makes it a lot easier to accept that when I know someone’s got my back,” He winked at me as he completed his sentence. This moment made me smile, but my mind was far from happy. 

“'That’s just how it is', is not an excuse for what they did, Clip. Just because that’s how it is doesn’t mean that’s how it should be,” I sighed and shook my head. The hatred of a group due to subtle differences had been the defining feature of the world around me my entire life, despite how high and esteemed magical beings pretend to me, they manage to fall into the same mindset of the humans they look down upon. 

He brushed a thumb across my chin and smiled at me. “So philosophical,” he laughed, causing a slight chuckle to escape my throat.  

We danced until the party was nearly over, but broke before the crowd had begun to dwindle. As we stepped out of the dancing crowd, I heard a loud clearing of someone’s throat. I spun around and tried to see over the crowd to see who was attempting to speak. The crowd began to split, making a path for whoever was trying to speak. 

I looked in between the row of people to see my father stepping gingerly towards me with a boy around my age. I looked at Clip and told him to run with my eyes; he immediately jumped into the crowd. As soon as my father reached the end he spun around to face the crowd holding a glass of what may have been wine but could’ve been something else. 

“Attention everyone,” he tapped the side of the glass with a small butter knife causing it to ring out. Every neck snapped in our direction and my father slowly walked towards me.

“I, King Onorato, would like to introduce you to this fine boy, Collin Petrova “ he took the boys arm as he spoke, “-This lovely boy from Louisiana and his family have asked my lovely wife, Eleanor, and me for our daughter's future hand in marriage, and we have gladly agreed.” I felt the happiness drain from my body as I listened, and my eyes nearly popped out of my skull when he reached a hand towards me, beckoning me to him. I reluctantly stepped in his direction, his cold hand squeezed mine when I reached him.  I was staring at the guy beside him, he was wearing a golden mask that nearly blended in with the blonde hair that was falling in his face. Suddenly a warm hand that wasn’t my father's was in mine, I looked down to see that the boy's hand was in mine, I looked up to see that Collin was staring At me, the same intense fear in his eyes that was in mine. I could barely hear the cheering crowd over my pounding heart, my mind went blank and I just stared forward with blurred vision until I heard my name. I blinked and looked in the direction of the sound, My father was the source. 

“I would like to see your footman after the hall has emptied, send him to my chambers  in 30 minutes.” He said, I barely retained any of it in my near delirious state. 

It was a custom in my family for each of the children born within the clan to be betrothed at the age of 14-16 and to marry at 18-21. All my brothers, except Rocco, had already become betrothed and were preparing to be married. 

I walked slowly back into the house and up the stairs and was greeted by Clip and Orphica sitting on my bed staring at me in horror. As the door slipped closed behind me, I began to feel the hot stream of tears falling down my cheeks.  Suddenly Clip's arms were around me and I was crying on his shoulder.