Vampire Princess

Chapter 3

I stopped when I reached the ornate double doors leading into the dining room where the guests were gathered. The rest of my family is already there waiting for me to make my grand entrance. I take a deep breath to steady myself, I hate making public appearances, when everyone's attention is on me I feel like dying. I motion for the door man to announce me and he open the doors. Might as well get this over with quickly. 

"Announcing, Princess Nicole Elizabeth Windsor," he wasn't shouting but his voice carries through the huge room and everyone stands as I walked down the staircase attempting to copy Mother's elegant movements and  try to glide down like she would. I'm going to throw up as I feel the weight of a hundred or more pairs of eyes watching my every move. 

I take a deep breath and try to convince myself that I'm acting and none of this us was real. I'm Queen Elizabeth the first walking into the room to greet my adoring subjects. Awkward tomboy Nicole vanishes as I enter my performer headspace. I become Queen Elizabeth as I gracefully descend the stairs and walk to the head of the table where my family is seated. Mother and Father match in navy blue outfits and Grandmother is wearing a light blue skirt suit and a hat with a big pink bow. Grandfather is wearing a black suit like most men in the room and Uncle Harry has on white.

As I take the place of honor reserved for me I look down at my subjects... What, no! They're my parent’s guests and my friends, not subjects. I mentally shake myself and become fully Nicole again. That's why I don't act like a perfect princess all the time. I loose myself in the characters head and totally become that person. It's scary but it makes me an amazing actress. 

I gaze around at the beautifully decorated dining room. The color scheme was red and gold but someone out put purple flowers on the tables where the gusts were seated. 

I spot a table full of my friends who are all waving and trying to get my attention. Daniel had even grabbed two of the flowers and was waving them madly. He stopped when he noticed me watching them and stifling stifled my giggles at their antics. Penelope, Jasmine, Eddie and Justin also wave at to me and mouth happy birthday. Daniel is smiling and still playing with the flowers, he mock bows when I catch his eye and the other guys salute while the girls giggle. 

Father is talking but I hardly notice until Uncle Harry prods me gently with his foot. "You have to say something now," he hisses in my ear. I stand up quickly and my chair nearly falls over but Mother steadies it from her place on my other side. 

"Thank you all for coming," I begin. "Umm, it means a lot that all of you are here to celebrate with me," I scan the crowd and immediately my eyes are drawn to Daniel, my best friend who's a much better speaker than I am. He's nodding his encouragement and motions for me to continue. "I'm eighteen today, as you know, so this is a really special event for me. Not just another party or dinner that I'm obligated to go to. I enjoy myself at those but today is a once in a lifetime thing and I'm glad that you're here to share it with me. Thank you." I sit down quickly trying to hide my blush. I don't have a way with words like most of my family so they usually never ask me to speak. Why did no one warn me about this? My friends are all clapping wildly and I smile a bit. At least someone enjoyed my embarrassment. 

The speeches continue and but  I don't pay attention as much as  and mess around with my friends . We all took sign language , Jasmine’s little brother was born deaf so she learnt it first then we all decided to, so we could talk the entire time. 

"Nice speech, birthday girl," Penny signs grinning. 

"It wasn't as bad as last time," Jasmine signs back. We all shudder at the memory. When we were thirteen the teachers thought it would be a good idea to let me host a program so I had to talk through the entire thing, introduce the acts and keep the audience entertained. It did not end well. I ran off of the stage after stuttering out the welcome and hid in a broom closet. They never let me do public speaking again. 

"You did good, Cole," Daniel signs to me smiling. "Much better than last time. I didn't have to drag you out of a closet this time so it's a definite improvement."

I can tell that we're all fighting to hold back laughter at his comment. "Never speak of it again." I sign quickly. 

Eddie signs, "Too bad. I'm never going to stop reminding you about it."

Justin, Penny's boyfriend and the latest edition to our little group signs, "It was pretty hilarious, though. I have no idea how you went from that to being the star of the Drama club."

We continue like this until dinner. Half way through the meal Eddie instigates a mini food fight by throwing corn at Justin and then Justin throws peas at Daniel. The girls squeal and duck down to protect their hair and dresses. I can't fight back my laughter this time and half the room ends up staring at me like I'm a lunatic for nearly falling off my chair while my family was discussing the economy. 

It was still a lovely meal. All my favorite dishes are served, even if it was something most normal people wouldn't eat like pig tail soup that I tried when we visited the Caribbean. I eat some of everything but made sure that I didn't get myself too bloated because I would have to dance later. Thank goodness my parents had forced me into dance class from age six. 

When the meal was over everyone moves to the ballroom for the dancing to begin. I find myself waltzing with Father first then Uncle Harry and several other people I couldn't name. Finally, after being passed around the floor countless times, I was released. I make my way discreetly to the refreshment table at the back of the room to rendezvous with my friends. 

"How was the dancing?" Jasmine asked her gray eyes looking sympathetic. 

"I didn't injure myself or anyone else so I count that as a victory," I say sitting down next to her. 

"Happy birthday, Cole," Justin says and everyone breaks out into song. 

"Happy birthday to you. Your party's a zoo. We're dressed up like monkeys. Happy birthday to you!" they chorus in perfect harmony. We all end up wiping tears away after laughing so hard. 

"I can't breathe," Penny wheezes clutching her stomach. 

"Neither can I," Eddie chokes out with while tears rolling down his pale face. His green eyes are sparkling with mirth as he laughs again. "I wonder what everyone else is thinking."

"Probably going something like what is wrong with those children? Are they mad?" Daniel says in a snobbish tone holding his head high and wrinkling his nose slightly. The laughter restarts again and I find myself on the floor clutching my side as I giggle like a maniac. 

"I have to go guys," I say eventually when I notice Father beaconing beckoning to me. "I need to mingle," I scrunch up my nose in distaste. I really don't want to leave my friends but it is my party after all. 

"Do you want to dance?" Daniel asks abruptly standing. 

"S...sure," I say internally berating myself for being so nervous. He's my friend even though I've had a crush on him for years he's still my friend, nothing more. I take his outstretched hand and let him lead me out onto the dance floor. 

A slow dance begins playing and he bows mockingly. "May I have this dance, Princess?"

"I suppose," I say reluctantly. He grins at my teasing and pulls me close as we begun to dance. He's muscular but not in a bodybuilder way. We just dance not talking at all. I see the rest of our friends are dancing as well. Penny and Justin are pressed close staring into each others eyes swaying in time to the beat looking gorgeous together. Penny was wearing a ruffled red sleevless dress and Justin's tie matched perfectly. They haven't been together for long but anyone could see how much they cared for  about each other. Eddie was dancing with Jazz twirling her around the room. They complemented each other perfectly with Jazz wearing a yellow dress that looked like it came straight out of a Disney movie and Eddie had a matching bowtie on. They'd been together for two years now and it was really serious. They even had plans to go to university together. 

I lean my head against Daniel's chest. I'm not exactly short but he's taller than I am by far a lot. The song is ending and I begin to pull away but he pulls me back quickly. I'm about to ask why when I hear a loud bang and suddenly Grandfather is lying on the floor. Covered in blood.