Royal Pain ~ Slave to the High Royals

Chapter Six

I had spent what felt like hours so far in the foyer, cleaning. Dusting around several priceless ornaments, being very careful not to touch them in case something were to break and as Celia had said earlier, I did not want to find out the punishments the High Royals could dish out.

The foyer was open and welcoming, I discovered. There were many different varieties of artwork strung along the walls, showing not only the wealth of the family, but the impeccable taste they had. The room was symmetrical and on either side of the spiral staircase there was a low table with a silk cloth, underneath which a beautiful blue vase balanced on top. The vases were identical, showing the obvious attention to detail the family had with their interior design. Other than a few small bookcases on the walls, there was little else in the foyer. On the plus side this meant there was less to dust, but then there was a much larger surface area of marble stone floor that I had to begin polishing.

''We were terribly worried, Aiden. You know we've lost track of the rebels for the time being and we weren't to know if you were safe travelling.'' A male voice broke through my calm state of cleaning and at the word 'rebels' my ears perked up. Typically, it was thought as a rumour that there was a small group of rebels still existing who were said to be the ancestors of those who had surrendered after the War of Blood, though this was rarely mentioned. The punisher's hated when they heard mention of being overthrown.

''I know we have, but really, what is a bunch of humans gonna be able to do to me?'' I could see Aiden's cocky smile in my mind just from his tone of voice. I found it strange that already I had subconsciously memorised some of his expressions, it made me shiver.

''You are getting overconfident, son. Do not underestimate the threat.'' I found myself creeping towards the door that led towards the living room in an attempt to hear more clearly.

At this point I probably should have realised that eavesdropping wasn't ever a good idea, especially when it involved the King and Prince of the vampires. Then again, maybe I was more of a risk-taker than I had known.

''I'm not underestimating them, I just can't imagine any human ever being able to overpower me. You need to remember that we're the frickin' High Royals and no petty human is ever going to be able to defeat us.'' Anger was seeping into Aiden's tone now and I wondered how he could have the guts to stand up to the King. From his appearance I had glimpsed earlier, he was not a man that you'd think would be accepting of Aiden's backchat.

''What are you being all sneaky spy about?'' An unfamiliar voice caught me off guard and my heart leapt into my throat as I realised somebody had seen me eavesdropping. I spun around and came face-to-face with stunning hazel eyes, staring at me as if I were a school project to be inspected.

''I-I wasn't doing a-anything.'' My hands began to tremble as I thought of all the possible outcomes of this situation. The punishments I could be submitted to were limitless. I could be thrown in the dungeon, beaten or forced to become a blood slave, and those were only a few that I could think of off of the top of my head.

Mum would be so disappointed if I was killed on day one.

''Woah, calm down. Geez, don't have a damn heart attack woman.'' The boy looked like he was beginning to panic as my breaths came out in gasps and tears stung at my eyes. His arms were extended towards me, but were frozen in mid-air as if he didn't want to touch me. It was either he was too stunned to try and comfort me, or he just didn't want human germs.

Suddenly, I was tackled by a force and fell, yet again, to the ground. Instinctively, I hid my face behind my hands in a feeble attempt at protection. I could feel hot breath fanning down onto my hands and face as tears dampened my cheeks and my gasps for air turned into pathetic sobs as my fear grew.