Ruthless

Chapter 10 - Dinner Is Served

Tristan was in his room, getting ready. Last night had been the first night in a long time that he had been able to sleep well. Knowing he would see Ruth tonight made him feel so much better. He hoped everything went right tonight. He feared for his own life sometimes. The king wasn't the most patient man and he hoped Ruth would not embarrass him in front of his guests. That would trigger the most violent part of him.

He put on a record of classical music. A violin started roaring out as smooth and beautiful as possible. The first notes that hit his ears caused him great pain and sorrow. It made him long for a time he couldn't get back to. Thoughts of a different life he let slip away rushed back to him. Years had passed but the feelings hadn't gone away. He loved knowing something could have such a profound effect on him but it hurt. It hurt him a lot.

His thought process was interrupted by Ruben, another vampire Gabriël loved so much. A true confidant of the king. His white-blond hair looked orange from the fire burning in Tristan's room.

"Wake up, Tris. I have a surprise for you." He grinned. Tristan could already tell by the look on Ruben's face that tonight would be extremely difficult.

--

Ruth was being led into the room where they would dine. She looked down at her black satin gloves. It felt like she travelled back in time, to 400 years ago. The room, the guests and their attire reminded her of the 1900's. Even the two guards by her side were dressed in dapper tuxedos. 

A satin, blood red dress adorned her curves and she felt glamourous. She hadn't felt attractive in a long time but this dress was working its charm on her. And everyone else in the room. She heard music she could only imagine being played centuries ago. An entire orchestra was seated at the very back of the room. Baroque vintage curtains styled the windows of the room and oh my, were they gigantic. 

She looked at the dark wooden tables in the middle of the room. She had never seen tables so well decorated. Ruth figured the room contained about  300 guests. Her eyes searched for a pair of golden ones but she couldn't find them. The search was ended until one of the guards took hold of her hand again and lead her over to where the king would be sitting, in the center where everyone could see him. She didn't sit down just yet and she took the moment to look around the room. She couldn't deny how beautiful the room looked. Everyone stood up the moment the king walked in. Ruth didn't really care but she couldn't deny the fact she felt intimidated. But who in this room didn't?

King Gabriël introduced her to all the colourful faces. She saw a lot of different races sitting at this table, all staring at her and the handsome king. He introduced her as "Ruth de Aquila" and she turned her head to the king. A few sighs and gasps were heard here and there and she could tell her name left a lot of them content. Is that what her real name was? It sounded so unfamiliar to her and she wondered if she had ever heard of it before. It sounded like Latin. A dead language... like the rest of her family probably is.

Gabriël didn't give her much time to ponder over it and sat down after he sarcastically thanked her for her 'sacrifice'. Ruth now fully understood that this meant her life would end very soon. She came here to play the part in some freak show. Again, she searched for those brown wavy locks of hair and that familiar smile she had grown affectionate towards but he was nowhere to be found.

She was quiet and looked around. She wondered how much longer she had to live. Her eyes took a stare at the guests. They all looked frightening... Some even had  strange colour of eyes. They all had something about them that was very off. Suddenly, Ruth felt herself grow a loathing inside of her for Tristan. He was the reason she was here, wherever that was. Why couldn't he just have left her in the open air of Connecticut?