Queen of Nothing

1. Queen of Sore Losers

I thought the king would eliminate me after that disastrous date, but he didn't. Instead, he let go the one girl I was sure had actually captured his heart - my nemesis, Avery Crawford. She had been a thorn in my side ever since that first night when she walked into the hotel room we shared, all doe-eyed and innocent and completely unaware of the effect she had on the man I was trying to win over.

That's what made it so infuriating. She didn't want to be a vampire, she didn't want to be queen, she didn't even want to acknowledge whatever feelings blossomed between herself and the king. But something about her struck his fancy and no matter what I did, I couldn't sway him to my side.

So when the fateful elimination came, Avery's dismissal came as a shock to everyone, including her. I should have celebrated her departure, but after that armor piercing question of whether I'd still love him if he weren't a vampire, I had known it was over. Avery may not have won, but everyone else lost. Not bearing to keep the charade going without her, the king disbanded the competition and sent everyone home with a big fat check. As if money made up for all of the time and effort I wasted trying to please him.

But the biggest drawback was not losing the competition. It wasn't missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime, or having the chance to be an immortal vampire queen ripped from my grasp. No, it was having to return home with my tail between my legs.

When I left, I was sure my old life was over. That I'd never have to come back to my overbearing parents, overachieving brother, and the sycophants who called themselves my friends. Yet there I was, violently thrust back into the life I left behind, trying to act like everything was normal and that the king hadn't crush my hopes and dreams under his heels.

My parents had, thankfully, given me space when I arrived. In the two weeks since I got off of the plane in Richmond, my mother had kept her meddling to a minimum. My father had been away on business in New York. But now that he was back, my parents' mercy was at an end. I wasn't allowed to wallow in misery anymore. I had to suck it up and be an Ambrose again.

I sat at the dinner table, absently playing with my food while trying to drown out the conversation around me. I had no appetite, and the thought of what was to come once my mother finished asking my father about his trip made me sick.

I wished my brother Eric was here, along with his fiancee, Melissa. My parents hated her for filling Eric's head with "hippie nonsense" as Dad called it. Then the attention would be off of me and onto whatever ridiculous cause the two of them had gotten involved in. And dinner would come with a show. Alas, Eric and Melissa were away studying at Princeton and I was stuck facing my parents' expectations by myself.

They wanted me to bounce back from everything, but I couldn't. I could never be the person I was before. Not after I had life's greatest opportunity snatched away from me by someone who wasn't even worthy.

Thinking of Avery Crawford made my teeth clench painfully. How could she just throw away the chance to be queen? How could the king love someone like her? He should have felt that way about me. Granted, my feelings towards him could hardly be described as love. Hell, I barely even liked him. But for the chance to be queen, I could pretend. I'd pretend for a while and maybe eventually feelings would develop. But now they never would.

A tear trickled down my cheek and landed on my napkin. I wiped it away, flushing with embarrassment. I hoped my parents hadn't noticed before realizing how ridiculous that was. Nothing got past them.

"Sabine, now is not the time for hysterics," Mother admonished.

I raised my head and glared at her. My mother's expression didn't change. I couldn't tell whether she was really that cold, of if it was just the Botox.