The Cruel Prince || Klena

08.

"It is my duty to show you around your Kingdom, I suppose." Klaus stated plainly. He took her down a flight of stairs. "This is where our guests and other Royals sleep. The Duke, the Royal Advisor, the Court Jester. You get the idea." He turned another corner. "The Guard stays alert at all times. They also wear their armor at all times, so they can walk in the day. Silver, of course. Actual armor is unnecessary, because we are quite endurable, I assure you."

Right. Elena wasn't stupid. "Honestly, I could go one for hours about how we work. But let's start with the basics. Obviously, we cannot all walk in the sun. We make our own fun with coverage and in the places where the sun cannot reach, but the real fun begins at night." He shot her a mischievous smile. She shivered. She could only imagine what they did for fun. And truthfully, she didn't want to know.

Elena didn't know what to think of this man. This man who was said to be cruel, but had not betrayed a trace of unkindness since she'd met him. Lost in her own thoughts, Elena bumped into a subjugate. They yelped and toppled over. It was a young girl. "Sophie." Niklaus said, dismally.

She stood up, the slight tremble in her hands noticeable. "Sir." She bowed. It was then that Elena noticed two angry red marks doting her neck. Could it be? But that was a stupid question. They were in the Vampyr castle. Of course it was. Bite marks. So not only were they stealing their years of life, but they were robbing them of their life force? She could not stand it. Sophie stood up quickly and walked away.

"Don't mind her. She's one of the new ones." As he spoke, Elena swallowed carefully. What was she thinking? She couldn't stay there. Not in a place with such misery. She'd rather be locked in a dungeon with a ravenous Acerbus. Niklaus stared at her, and for a second Elena wondered if he could see what she was thinking.

But of course, he couldn't. "Shall we continue?" Elena shook her head. "Um, you know what? I'm feeling kind of dizzy." She fanned her face. He became concerned and called for a subjugate right away. "Thomas!" He appeared startlingly quickly. "Escort Elena back to her room, and see to it that she's taken care of."

Thomas nodded and tugged on Elena's arm. She began to walk but stopped again. Beside Niklaus, on the wall, was a mirror. How had she not noticed it? But that wasn't the strangest thing. Niklaus's reflection was barely there, more, translucent than anything. He noticed her line of sight and sighed. "We Vampyr do not have souls. The eye is the window into the soul. Therefore, we do not have reflections."

"But, you do?" The corners of his mouth irked up in a half-smile. "I'm special." He winked and strode off in the opposite direction.

Special? With every answer, a new question raised. A sudden wave of actual dizziness hit her. She swayed and suddenly her stomach seemed to cave in on itself. She gagged and the contents of her stomach clawed their way up and out through her mouth.  She heaved and gripped tightly onto the folds of her dress.

A low moaning sound escaped Thomas. It was clear he was not fond of the now digested food coming up in chunks. "Miss!" He gasped. "Stay right here! I'll call for Master." Not five minutes later, he returned with Niklaus, who single-handedly swung her up and into his arms. "What happened?" He hissed, stepping over the chunks. "I don't know!" Thomas moaned.

"Elena?" She could barely keep her eyes open and her surroundings began to blur together. "I....can't...see." She gritted out through clenched teeth, for fear that if she opened her mouth she would hurl some more. "Poison." He spat the word. "Thomas! Round up all the subjugates. I want to know who did this." He barked. "And fetch Josette. She'll be able to help."

Elena's vision swam one final time as her eyes slid shut and she absolved into the nothingness.