Queen of Darkness

Chapter Three

"You're incredibly foolish! Do you neglect to remember that I'm the Queen, or do you just prefer to agitate me?" My mother screamed in my face--her way of disciplining me for fleeing the tea greeting. Standing silently, tiny bits of fear began filling my chest.

"Are you deaf now, too? Answer me, you impudent child!" She screeched in my ear. We stood between the two massive, marble staircases in the grand entrance to the glorious Palace. The gold railings contrasted against the dark wood of the steps leading to the second story. The attempts I made to avoid her were futile, she had been on standby until I made an appearance.

"I needed to speak to Ettore; it was urgent," I answered calmly, my eyes downcast to look at her wide feet.

"What could possibly be more important than finding someone to vow with? A King who will someday rule this country alongside you and might actually put up with your atrocious personality?" She attacked me, clearly wanting me to fight back.

"I had a question about my lessons," I responded simply, and for an unknown reason, my response set her off. She flew towards me, grabbed a handful of my hair, and began pulling viciously. Every pair of eyes in the near vicinity was awkwardly locked on the ground in an attempt to avoid witnessing yet another outburst from the Queen.

"You are a horrendous daughter, and you will make an even worse Queen," she seethed with anger, yanking ruthlessly on my hair before letting go. Years ago I had learned that it was worse to show emotions during her outbursts, yet it didn't stop the wrenching my heart felt. "Go! Out of my sight! And have Ettore teach you some respect while he's at it!"

And with that, I rushed out of the bulky Palace doors and down to the river for the first day of my new training--whatever that meant. Ettore was sitting on a broad rock overlooking the flowing river with a stack of books clutched in his knobby hands. Dressed in a light brown tunic and darkened boots, an outfit he often wore for comfort, he also wore a smile on his face.

"Did you read last night?" He inquired as I approached, not budging from his position. I had carried the book with me, although I left the key hidden somewhere safe. He hadn't asked me to hide the key, I wasn't even sure that he knew about it's existence--but I felt in my heart that I was destined to protect the key. It was a strange feeling, one I found difficult to explain.

"How can I when it's in a different tongue?" I responded aggressively, the anger from last night never passing out of my body. After every bizarre moment last night, I retreated to my chamber and opened the dusty, ancient book. I flipped through the entire book for hours searching for something in my own language, however, since I couldn't read anything, I had given up.

"Don't fret. You will overcome that as we move through each lesson together," he comforted, his voice as sweet and soothing like honey. Considering I was seldom late, I expected him to chastise me, but instead, he showed me sympathy. Probably sensing I had just received a verbal beating from my mother, he said nothing.

"I'm still not sure I can fathom how or what any of this is, but you were right last night, Ettore. You haven't ever let me down, so even if you're being a lunatic right now, let's just do this," I sighed, calming myself down. He didn't deserve my temper just because he was present. If anyone deserved it, it was my dreadful mother.

Standing from his position, Ettore motioned for me to assume where he had been. The rock was frosty to the touch, yet Ettore's body made no imprints in the minuscule, intricate designs the frost left.

"How do you even know how to instruct me?" I asked as the question popped into my mind. Rather than answering, he held up his fingers to silence me and closed his eyes. It felt like I was stepping off an imaginary ledge, and trusting him to catch me.

"Elisabeta," his mind called to mine. My eyes shot open and I searched around us quickly, panic seizing my heart. Ettore and I were alone, however, I half-expected the Ashanti man to be standing nearby. A brief moment passed before I realized it was Ettore's voice in my head.

"Close your eyes," Ettore whispered, unwavering from his position. Regardless of being skeptical of what the hell was going on, I followed his command.

"Can you hear me?" His voice emerged through my mind again. The shock I was beginning to get used to didn't hit me this time, moreover, something within me accepted it as some type of normalcy.

"How the hell are you doing that?" I asked, disrupting the complete silence again as complete awe swept through me. Shaking my head, I laughed at how drastically my life had changed in the past 24 hours. With the key in mind, I wondered just how much more it was going to change.

"Relax Elisabeta," he said, opening his eyes and turning towards me, "this is one of the many powers you have to unlock from your bloodline."

Rolling my eyes once before closing them, I focused on reaching out to Ettore's mind. I imagined myself whispering softly into his ear, without using my voice. It was easier than I had originally thought it would be--almost like a minor barrier had been broken between us or a string between our minds had snapped. Consequently, I heard myself calling his name and in response I heard his thoughts.

"Excellent job Elisabeta! You're a natural!" He responded with an ecstatic note to his thoughts. I jumped from my seat, excitement flowing through my veins. Everything felt heightened more than usual for Vampires. The warm breeze tickled the hair on my arms and every breath I took in refreshed my entire core.

"How is that even possible? That is so unbelievable!" I shouted, adrenaline rushing through my body, fueling it with power. I knew Vampires had heightened senses, but I never knew it possible to speak through each other's minds. Ettore nodded, although he ushered me to return to my seat.

"The lesson isn't over yet Princess," he replied, "You have to learn how to close your mind off to others."

"Close my mind off to others?" I questioned him yet again. Rather than responding, he simply closed his eyes and waited for me to do the same. I stuck out my lip and pouted for a moment before following suit. Ettore was not answering any of the questions I was asking him, I wondered if he forgot he was supposed to be training me.

"Now, what I want you to do is to imagine a brick wall separating your mind from mine," he said softly. I imagined myself building a brick wall around my thoughts, protecting them from Ettore. I opened one of my eyes, peeking at him. His bushy, gray eyebrows were furrowed, I snickered at the fact that he was having difficulty getting through to my mind. Five minutes into training and I was already besting a Master. I was impressing even myself.

"You are much more advanced than I originally thought!" he finally exclaimed, throwing his hands up in polite frustration. He kicked a tuft of grass and rocks spattered out of the ground.

Despite his display of frustration, he looked up at me, a smile on his face, "Elisabeta, you are ready for bigger things." And with that, he ran behind me and pushed me off the cliff and into the vicious, black water below.

I thought, for a moment, he meant death when he said bigger things or that he really was frustrated that I was beating him and simply let his anger out from years of battling my mother and these secrets, but as I hit the water I found it to be another story, one much bigger than even death.