The Gift

Chapter Eleven

Rose woke up with an itchy feeling in her throat probably from all the spices in the soup, she looked at the clock on the TV it was one in the morning. Vladimir was not in the room, she needed some water. She put on the red fuzzy robe that was carefully laid out for her on the armchair next to the bed.

She walked over to the door and twisted the knob. The door would not budge. Her shoulders slouched, "Wonderful," she said ironically to herself. She really needed a glass of water, she moved towards the window and pushed the curtains aside.

"Of course Mr. Vampiros room would be on the top floor," she sighed. She stood still thinking what to do next, she hated the being trapped in a room.

Mr. Vampirooos, oh Mr. Royal Vampiroooooos. This is your conscience talking. You have been a bad, bad boy.

Rose's laughter echoed off the stone walls of the bedroom.

Oh Mr. Vampiroooo...

A silent click was heard from the door.

"Having fun, my cerise?" He said with a smirk on his lips.

The cheeky smile that was forged upon Rose's face dropped as soon as she took in his appearance. Vladimir was only wearing black pyjama bottoms leaving his torso uncovered. His lean smooth muscles, his eight pack, his dishevelled black hair made him look devilishly delicious.

"Are you done swooning?" He asked.

"Give me a second." She said raising her hand to shush him, after she was satisfied she took it all in, "now I'm done."

"You called me?"

"Yeah, I wanted to get a glass of water." She said.

"Go back to bed, I'll go down to the kitchen and bring you a glass."

"No, I wanted to go by myself. I really need to stretch out my legs a bit and leave this room even if it is for ten minutes," she pleaded him.

"We'll go together. It will take more time but at least you won't get lost on the way," he told her.

He opened the door and she started following him through the complex path his was taking to get to the kitchen. Rose kept bumping into him because she was having difficulty seeing clearly, since the lights were turned off in the corridors he chose to lead her through. With lightning speed Vladimir took her in his arms and pushed the both of them in a dark room.

"Be quiet," he whispered gravely in her ear before she had a chance to open her mouth in protest.

Fine, but if you try anything funny mister..

"I won't. Now behave." He said under his breath drawing her deeper in his embrace. Rose was finding hard not to think, the closeness of their bodies made her insides burst into flames.

She did not know how long they had stayed in their hiding place but she was thankful when Vladimir picked her up and within seconds had her back into bed. Her muscles ached from standing still for so long.

"We need to go," he stated.

"Go? We? Why?" She looked at him as if he was going crazy.

"You were right. You were pushed over," he told her.

"I know I was right." She answered as a matter of fact.

"Teo pushed you."

"Teo?" She asked.

"Teo, the trusted emissary of the royal family," Vladimir informed her.

"Why would he do that? I don't even know the guy," she said.

"Apparently, my dear twin brother did not know who you were when he ordered Teo to eliminate you. It seems odd for him to go to such trouble to kill someone on our grounds. It draws too much attention to our kind. Unless, he wanted the attention..," he trailed off and started pacing back and forth in the bedroom.

"Vlad," she said to snap him out of his thoughts, "why would he want the attention?"

"To break the treaty we are trying to sign with the werewolves," he swiftly came to her side. His fists clenched as if he was restraining himself from breaking everything in his way, with flaming eyes he asked, "Rose, my cerise, I need you to trust me and do as I say. Will you do that for me?"

"I do...I mean I do trust you," she whispered not scared by his fierce reaction. His brother had tried to kill her but her gut told her that she could trust Vladimir.

"Good. Your clothes are in the closet, you don't need anything else. I'll take care of everything." He said as he unlocked a small vault and shoved five stacks of five hundred euro bill notes in a backpack.

◇◇◇◇

Jackson was anxiously waiting for everyone to get back to the Kingdom. Luc had sent a soldier ahead to inform them of the situation. Three dead and five fatally wounded, they would need a blood transfusion if they were going to make it.

He knew that Maila was alive before the news had reached them, but there was a shift in their bond that had him on edge from the moment he sensed it. He pushed his hand through his unruly hair and glanced over the gates for the millionth time, hoping this time would be the one he saw them arriving. The guards were giving him curious looks but he didn't care, he was not moving until they reached the Kingdom.

After about an hour the beat down search party stepped foot through the gates of the Kingdom. They had done their best to cover up the wounds on the dead but he saw the gruesome sight. Their skin was prickled as if they had collided with a needle filled wall. A gooey mixture of neon green and crimson red dripping from their flesh.

Jackson's eyes locked with Maila's. She appeared to be fine, more than just fine when compared to the others who looked as if they had been through hell and back. Her eyes held a sadness he had only seen once before, when her father had died. Nonetheless, the energy radiating off of her was more vibrant than it had ever been.