The Price I Paid

6: Alcohol Education: The Class I Should've Payed Attention In.

*I added onto chapter 5 :D*

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 Evidently, I was much more valuable in the world than I imagined. "A demand higher for diamonds" was Roman's way of putting it. It took Roman a small bit of time and effort to uncover "every record" about me throughtout the 19 years of my existence; the foster families, the boarding school...

My adoptive mother...

That bit of information really hit home for me, fueling the dying flame. The one person who cared about me, the most peaceful and forgiving woman to walk this eath just gone. I put that subject to rest by slamming my hand down on the table of the restaurant we were seated in.

Roman had sought me out "on his own," but I was positive I wasn't the only one feeling a gaping hole in my chest-- thing was, I knew for a fact I was the sole one capable of dealing with it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent werewolf after werewolf to stalk me through the night.

"He doesn't come here himself because he doesn't want you to run even farther away," Roman uttered, just barely audible under his breath before he took a swig of his beer. I shook my head, ignoring Roman's comment to find humor in the fact that a vampire is drinking alcohol.

"You wouldn't expect to see a vampire so casually drinking something that isn't blood," I admitted, and Roman looked around us warily. Thing was, I didn't truly believe that anyone here spoke English.

"You know, we are in public..."

"So? Hiding the truth is just as bad as lying, Roman--"

"There should be a "king" somewhere in that sentence," Roman reprimanded teasingly, then slowly pushing the bottle towards me with his fingertips, "Drink up, snipps, let loose."

I looked at the bottle, faintly seeing it was half full by the light hitting the stained glass. I slowly shook my head, trying to ignore the broken feeling pitted in my stomach. I hadn't been eating, only walking around and trying to distract myself from the now faint throbbing of the mark and the need to run back to him and have him hold me close for eternity.

"C'mon, snipps, I promise you it'll help--"

"Please stop calling me snipps," I grumbled, my eyes narrowing to slits as I glowered at his victorious grin. I could already put together how he conjured the nickname, and I didn't like how my intolerance only proved him to be correct.

"Just drink before I force you to," Roman spoke teasingly, but the spark of challenge in his eyes told me that he would hold up to that promise. He was a king, and they were generally quick to rile up.

Drink, drink, drink my mind suddenly demanded. I did want to drink... I should let loose...

I did my best not to think about it, just letting the pain run free as I grabbed the bottle and forced the disgusting ale down my throat. It did seem to help a bit, and I could feel the pain blurring out just the slightest bit when there wasn't even the slightest drop lingering in the bottle. I set it down, almost feeling proud at the small 'clank' it made when it hit the wooden pub table.

"You do realize you just broke the law--"

"You're 19 and this is Europe, snipps," Roman quickly dismissed that argument with a small wave of his hand during that sentence, then flagged down a waitress with one of his brilliant smiles. I couldn't help but smile with him, resting my face in my hands. Roman looked at me and the smile wiped from my expression, shaking my head from side to side to try and sharpen my senses.