Awaken

The Council

Nemesio hadn't been joking when he said I wouldn't be sleeping and the results were bite marks and hickies littered across my body. He had some visible ones, but not as many as me. I looked like cattle, and I was not pleased, however, when night came and I had to go buy him some clothes because of me ripping them off I ended up laughing in the end.

Once we were both ready, we walked to the castle, the streets glowing from every vampire's eyes and the occasional street lamp with moonlight. Not many were out though because of how early it was. The doors to the castle automatically opened and we went up the charcoal marble stairs that lead to a rose-colored hallway with dark chocolate colored wooden accents. The wall lamps in the shape of human skulls carved out, with flames in their mouths, flickered creating an eerie feeling. It was beautiful.

We continued on, finding the occasional wooden door until we came to the end where the door was black with a pointed arch and a bat head sticking out, a ring in its mouth for knocking. Nemesio knocked once and it opened to a giant room. A long glass table with thirteen seats, one at the head for a royal, and the other twelve for the representatives of the Noble families. The carpet was pure white, in contrast to the pitch black walls and ceiling, and to the back of the table was a sculpture of the goddess Nyx, our patron and my nickname's namesake. It was painted so lifelike.

Her skin was the night sky, with the full moon for one eye and the new moon for the other. Small white specs, representing the stars decorated her, and her hair was frozen in the air as if she had just cast a powerful spell, her face was stuck in a glamorous glare and her lips formed a sneer. Her toga faded from black to navy blue to violet and she held up a skull. She stood on an alicorn and seemed to demand everyone's attention.

To the sides of the room stood the cattle, or humans, who sat patiently or offered their wrists out to a Noble that walked by. Nocturna was feeding now, her blonde hair covering her face, but I knew she was wearing red lipstick and golden eyeshadow that complimented her own light brown eyes that would glow topaz at times. She resembled an elf with her tall height and pointed features, and the white, casual dress helped aid in that misinterpretation, as a Dracula, the right hand to the Royals, she was to always look her best. It had nothing to do with who was more powerful, but to which family was created first.

My family was created after the Dracula, so I sat to the left, and next came Bastet's family, the Succuba, but her father sat on the council, not her. He was a dark-skinned man with coal-colored eyes and short hair. He stood the tallest in the room and the most built. He wore washed out jeans and a white shirt with a leather jacket. His name was Igneous, and he sat next to Nocturna.

Dracula, Dragona, Succuba, then Serpexia, the fourth family's representative was another man. He was a dark golden color with green, iridescent colored eyes and silver hair. He stood the shortest, but the oldest, next to Nemesio. His business suit was blue and crisp and he only went by Ali, forever remember the story of the Arabian Nights and the movie Aladin. Ali loved a good story and he showed it when you got to talk to him casually. He sat next to me. 

Next came the Lee family's representative. A fresh-faced girl with light skin and rose quartz, phoenix eyes. Her hair was in a bun and she was only two inches taller than Ali. Her name was Tsunami and she wore a pink sundress. 

Then came Javen Magnus, who had olive skin and forest colored eyes. He looked like a twig and was always watchful. Javen's curly hair was just long enough for two curls to be prominent and he had a five o'clock shadow on his face.

After that, it was Natasha Necross, with unbelievably dark skin and braids with gold and blue intertwined. Her eyes were completely white and she was one of the wisest at the table. She looked strong and resembled the model of patience. She wore bright red clothes that framed her perfectly. 

Xerxes with his tan-tinted skin and purple eyes, from the Conver family, was next and he looked tired of everything. He always dressed in gold and purple and seemed to look the oldest, even though he was barely older than I.

Rosa from the Ramir family had sunkissed skin with warm doe eyes and long, beautiful hair. She looked like the mother of the group and dressed sweetly. Rosa was a master spy and able to infiltrate anywhere she wanted. Her deep amber eyes made her quite the catch before she had a mate. 

The final three of the twelve of us were the newest: Meridia, Tatianna, and Bella. Meridia had red, curly hair, Tatianna had black short hair, and Bella had Blue straight hair. All of them had mixed colored skin with neutral undertones and they had become best friends ever since they had been picked when I was a little one. Bella had no eyes, and actually was blind, but belonged to the Singh family who was known for their gift of sight, ironically. Tatianna had gray eyes without any pupils and hailed the Benellia family, who were known for their presence in politics and way of whispers. Meridia's eyes were completely black and represented the Conjeress family, known for their ability to summon their own familiars and other such creatures.

We all sat down at once, and I met their disapproving gazes by grabbing Nemesio's hand in front of them, to which Nocturna raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I take it you all know why we are here," Nemesio stood while still holding my hand. "You all wished for me to wait before claiming my mate, but as you can see, I did not." Many of them cleared their throats, avoiding looking at the parts of my body that showed outside of my black jeans and tank top. 

Ali just shook his head at me disapprovingly, but it was Tsunami that spoke up, "And you were quite loud about it, I think the whole coven heard you."

"Not the whole coven," Igneous chuckled, "Just the upper half, try not to exaggerate dear."

"Whatever," Tsunami rolled her eyes, "The point was, we asked you to wait, Your Highness, and you just went off and did whatever you pleased."

"In all fairness," Rosa spoke softly, "He has waited quite a long time. . ."

"Thank you, Rosa," Nemesio smiled at her gratefully.

However, they all soon started squabbling and arguing over whether or not it was excusable or not. And I stood up, irritated, "Perhaps you all should remember that he is the Prince and this council is a politeness to us, not a right. The Queen didn't put this into practice, the Prince did, and it has been in order since before I was born because of his kindness."

Natasha agreed, after the time of silence, "That is true. . ."

Tatiana then snapped her head at me, "And perhaps you already overstep because of your mate."

Bella growled, "I feel like we should focus more on this age gap between the two. They are from separate generations and-"

"And we are vampires are you really using that as an argument?" I snapped back. "As for you,  Tatiana, perhaps you have forgotten, that even if I were not his mate, I still hold power over most of you do to my own position. None of you get a say in who I mate, and therefore none of you get a say in who the Prince mates."

I was frustrated already, and really hated these meetings, which is why I refused to do so many things with the council, like at the party with their uniformity. I looked at Nemesio and he nodded in my direction. "Now, since that is all cleared up," he smiled, "Is there anything else we all should discuss, like perhaps, my mother's awakening?

DUH DUH DUH DUUUUHH Oh, yes, things are different but they are coming together yay! PLEASE RATE, COMMENT, AND LIKE!!! Thank you for reading! x3

                                                                                                    -EmpressLilith