A Minute Before Midnight

~Chapter One~

I sighed. I could feel myself building, filling...stretching and pulling to obtain so much power. My head lolled, and I collapsed to my knees. My eyes located my amulet, and I tried to pull it over my head; I knew it would stop this. I couldn't take much more power, and too much would kill me. I struggled with my half-dead, shaking hands to pull it on. It finally dropped down, the jewel reaching my chest. I gasped as it stopped. I could breathe again, and it felt amazing. I panted, on the ground for a while before I could make my legs work again.

I forced myself to stand, and met the eyes of my mentor. Oh, crap.

He gave me a scorn look. "Do you realize you could have died? How many times do I need to tell you this?"

I smiled through my pain. "You don't. You could just walk away and pretend you didn't see anything."

His eyes softened a little around the edges. Just a little. "You know why I can't do that. And even if that wasn't the case, I'd still reinforce this. You can't do this anymore. We both know perfectly well why you can't do that."

I swallowed hard and looked away. How could I look at this generous, beautiful face when I knew I wasn't allowed to care for him, in any shape or form? Not to mention the fact that I knew he was right. I had to be strong for him and everyone else in the kingdom. For some reason, I thought back to when I first came here. When I first found out all of this existed.

I'd been scared, knowing that I had the ability to wield so much power; nevermind the fact that I was supposed to rule over a whole population of supernatural beings. Ash, my mentor, was supposed to make sure I didn't use so much power. First of all, I didn't understand how he could even be my mentor, since he was only two years older than me. Second of all, I had a perfectly good reason for using so much power.

I was looking for someone.

Apparently, I had a Second. He was supposed to be the prince, just as I was to be princess. I was the First. I still didn't know exactly what that meant or what it entailed, but I didn't care. I was set on finding my Second. Because if I did, he would help me rule. I didn't know what his name was; nobody did. We had no idea where he was, either. All we knew was that he was a vampire, one of the stealthiest and sneakiest kinds of supernatural there was. Next to him, was I. I had a mix of all kinds of blood in me, apparently.

Just thinking about this gave me a headache, and I rubbed my temples. It didn't help much. I looked up at Ash, wondering if I should ask him or not. He came to stand in front of me, dipping his head so his dark eyes stared into mine. I could feel myself warming, growing more relaxed. After a moment, the headache went away. I slumped, my knees weak, and Ash wrapped his arms around me, catching me.

"Princess, are you okay?"

I tried to focus on him, but the black spots swarming my vision wouldn't let me.

"I'm fine," I insisted. But I knew that today had taken a lot out of me. Ash picked me up bridal style, and started down the path that led to the palace. I closed my eyes, thinking I'd only close them for a moment.

Just a moment.

***

"I think she's coming to."

I groaned and rolled over, only to fall off the edge of my bed. I stood up slowly, and took in my surroundings. I saw the Queen, Ash, and Tay. Tay was one of the only friends I had here. If anything ever happened to me, when I became Queen, she would have to take over. Ash, as always, was serious, but Tay didn't hide her smile. I glared at her, knowing she smiled because I'd fallen. The Queen also had a stern look on her face.

"Princess," she said. "Come along. We must discuss some things." I nodded, shaking my head to clear away my headrush.

"Do you wish for me to get changed?" I asked her, being as formal and polite as I could possibly be.

She shook her head. "No. There is no need. We are going to speak to the prisoner."

"Prisoner?" I asked, surprised. She nodded.

"Now, come. We haven't much time before the ceremony tonight."

I had a mental facepalm moment. I'd completely forgotten about my ceremony tonight. It was to make my transition from normal, ordinary supernatural being to Princess official.

I nodded my head. "Okay."

I followed her out the door, and we turned in the direction of the large, sweeping staircase. I was a bit surprised when Ash followed us all the way to the dungeon, but I didn't say anything.

The dungeon wasn't scary or anything, like they are on scary thriller movies; in fact, it was decent. The walls were painted deep red, and, instead of jail cells, there were rooms made of glass walls. The glass had been spelled by witches, so that the prisoner couldn't break it if he wanted to. There were five rooms in total, and in each, there was a queen sized bed, a mini refrigerator, and a closed in bathroom, which was the only place in the room that wasn't made of glass. Instead, the walls were made of titanium. There were two guards stationed at each occupied room. At the moment, there was only one being occupied. 

I had expected yelling, even beating on the walls, but there was none. The only noise there was came from our footsteps. The guard to the right of the door let us in, closing the door swiftly behind us, in the event the prisoner attempted to escape. But he didn't. Instead, he was lying on the bed, on top of the covers, with his arm draped over his eyes, covering half of his face. Even laying down, he seemed tall and imposing. It was almost like he had an aura that wrapped around me, inviting but dangerous.

He smiled, showing fang. Without moving, he said, "Are you here to kill me?" He sounded amused by the idea, and if it had been anyone else, I would have been narrowing my eyes. But this person caught my eye like no one else had; not even Ash. His aura pulsed around me, dark and alluring. I swallowed.

"What is your name?" The Queen asked.

"Finn."

The prisoner sat up, letting his arm fall away from his face. I sucked in a breath as I looked at him. His eyes were the most startling blue, but they constantly changed colors, reminding me of a night light I'd had as a child. But that wasn't why I was so stunned.

He was my Second.

His eyes met mine, and I could tell he was just as shocked as I. In my head, I could clearly hear the word 'Don't.' I frowned, opening my mouth, but his eyes grew hard and angry, so I quickly shut it again. He released me from his prison, moving his eyes elsewhere; they rested on the Queen. She stared at him a moment longer, before speaking.

"We are here to question you."

He smirked. "What do you want to know?"