The Queen of the Night

Chapter 5

I watched the lights that lit up the place behind the orchards. When I woke up I was alone and I could hear the servants talking about how much disruption I had caused and how much trouble I was causing Matthew. I didn't try breathing because I didn't really want to speak to anybody and I silently watched people dart in and out and laugh, drunk of off the bloodshed.

After a long while I moved away from the windowsill and away from the bed. The halls had been quiet for hours. Was anybody even out in the hall anymore? No. Nothing moved except the mouse that found it was discovered and ran back into its hole. The only sound in the hall was the sound of a violin. It played a sad, slow sound that sounded much like Beethoven but I knew the song wasn't Beethoven's.

I followed it down the hall, past the stairs, into a set of mahogany doors that was left half open. Matthew played with the violin held against his cheek and shoulder. He stood out on the balcony with the glass doors open.

The room was filled with all kinds of instruments! There was a trumpet, a beautiful black grand piano, cellos, violas, every classical instrument I could imagine. They were all taken care of extremely well.

I hid behind the doors. I couldn't get myself to approach him after the night he had.

The violin's sad song came to an end. "You can come in, Amelia." His voice startled me. I wanted to run off into my room and hide but I forced myself into the room instead. Matthew put the violin back into its case. "The other representatives were very upset with you, my dear. Not to worry, though, Alec defended your actions, as did your nurse. Everyone else is letting it go for now because you are young and haven't learned your manners but you will not be able to show your face to them for a very long while." My heart fell into my stomach. I shouldn't have expected him to defend me. "And the fact that you were able to break away from Jillian means your strength is coming back much faster than expected so tomorrow we will try to put you on a combination of solid foods and blood."

"I'm sorry about your son. I didn't know," I finally said.

He propped the case next to the cello stand. "Don't apologize for that. This is not your fault."

"But you shouldn't have to kill your son, Matthew!" I couldn't stop myself from yelling. "That was horrible!"

Nothing came over his face. I hated that about him, he seemed so cold hearted and I couldn't read his expression! "That is my punishment. I am his father and I allowed him too many passes."

I wanted to ask more about what kind of passes but I bit my lip to keep myself from asking. "Still, you shouldn't have had to do that."

He cleaned the bow of the violin. "What's done is done."

I stomped my foot. "How heartless can you be? He was your son! Didn't you love him?"

Matthew's face finally changed but I didn't like it. He made himself look taller and broader and, in the moonlight, he looked a lot scarier. I tried to mimic him but I imagined I only looked silly and I felt twice as small. "Do not accuse me of not loving my son, girl. You may have been turned by him, I may have taken you in, but I will not hesitate to throw you out on the streets. You're not even the rightful heir to my throne unless I say you are."

I didn't break eye contact with him, as much as I wanted to. "I don't even want your throne so take it away if you want. See if I care."

He was only inches away from my face. It felt like forever before he moved toward the door but then stopped. "I will not make the same mistakes with you that I made with Nexus. Tomorrow Alexander will tutor you again. You shall have one lesson with me every day at 3 am just before the sun rises. As your punishment for challenging me today and embarrassing both of us you will not leave your room unless accompanied by my staff for the remainder of the week. Do not challenge me like that again, Amelia."

Hot anger swelled within my stopped heart as I watched him walk away. "My name is Naomi!" I screamed after him. As soon as I thought he was gone I kicked the wall leaving a small hole and I stalked to my room and slammed the door shut. Why couldn't I have been bitten by a nicer group of vampires? Why didn't I just stay home and sulk about Ky like I did at least once every year?

I hadn't thought of that place in a while. The neighborhood I once grew up in was very cold toward my father but when it concerned Ky or me they were actually quite nice. They bought all of my Girl Scout cookies and they enjoyed watching Ky play with their kids. So why would they want to hurt such innocent children?

"You were never supposed to have been turned..." Nexus' words rang through my head. What Order was he talking about? Everyone was quick to dismiss his words except one.

Jillian knocked before entering and started to pull the heavy dark curtains tightly before dawn. "Jillian," my voice was small and quiet, "what is the Order?"

"It is just a fairy tale told to young child vampires such as yourself. However, it has no point, kind of like Humpty Dumpty." She sat on my bed next to me.

"Can you tell me about it?" I held my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them.

"Fine, but do not tell Master Matthew I've been filling your head with stories." She looked to the wall, scanning it like it could tell her the story, then turned to me and spoke, "A long time ago, before the Judges like Alec and Azalea, a group of vampires who called themselves the Order kept the order between vampires and humans. However, they were a strategic lot and only turned those who could prove valuable in assets. The human counterpart to them, The Jury, found out that they were building an army of vampires to take over and enslave the human race so they put an end. Oh but they still did nasty things like human sacrifices and kept humans as cattle much in the way humans keep cows, which it sounds like was what Nexus planned to do at first. Anyway, the story varies region to region because each time the story is more and more twisted. They say, however, that in the end the Order and the Jury is what makes up the Judges of today. Those that were able to escape the Order are said to have gone underground and any human that upsets us is said to be dealt with."

I could feel my stomach churn uneasily. "Oh..." I whispered. Is that what happened to Ky? Did the Order take him?