Bloody Chains that Bind

James (4)

The iron gates of the castle opened to reveal a stony, beautiful building. It looked like something out of a movie, but no, this was my father's home in all its glory.

Victoria rushed me through several ruby corridors of the castle in my room which was apparently in the west wing. I guess word got around about me being here because almost every guard and servant stopped and either stared, gave me a curt bow, or a mixture of both. 

Since Victoria is my personal guard, her room is adjoined with mine. In case of emergencies or something. I don't know how I feel knowing that she could walk into my room at any given moment for any reason.

Right after Victoria basically launched my bag across the room and ordered some servant to unload everything, I realized just how high-ranking Victoria was. She wasn't just any guard; it seemed like she was treated with respect similar to a king. The servant didn't question anything, didn't even spare a glance at Victoria to acknowledge she was listening. The servant just...did it. 

Victoria must have read the confusion on my face because when I looked back over to her, she simply shrugged. She also said that it's already pretty late, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to meet my father.

I showered, changed into a fresh set of clothes that Victoria laid out for me, and plopped down onto the California king size bed. It was definitely nicer than my full back home. It was probably nicer than any bed I had ever seen, much less slept on.  

Isn't this crazy? Tomorrow I'm going to meet a father I never even knew existed until today, who's a king, which makes me a prince. A prince, who's going to become king. King. As in rule over the entire eastern hemisphere, king. Me, James, an eighteen-year-old from Chicago. 

What?

I thought my parents were dead. I guess that's half true. My mother is, but I have an alive father. I've always wanted a father, but he clearly didn't want me. He didn't contact me for eighteen years. I wonder if he asked my grandma about me. I wonder if he even knows what I look like. I mean, it seems that he's only interested now because he's dying. It's funny; no one really cares about the things they've swept under the rug until they're on their death bed. 

Why the hell am I even here?  

I was going to graduate high school, then go to veterinary school, help animals, all that jazz. But no, a bad ass vampire guard shows up in my living room and tells me I have to go to France and rule as king in the middle of a species war.

I wanted a girlfriend. Probably in college. All the high school girls were too immature. Something tells me that I won't be getting my bachelors here, or a girlfriend for that matter. Based on everything I've seen in history textbooks, royalty never married for love. Just for monetary gain, status, or forging alliances. I'm not even sure I want to be married. Was my parents' marriage forced? Grandma said that King Uther grieved Arabella's loss, so maybe they truly did love each other.

Kids. Would I be forced to have an heir with some strange woman I barely know? If I were to die, someone would have to take over. So, there must be an heir.

Holy shit, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I need to calm down and prepare myself for tomorrow. Not looking forward to the prospect of drinking blood whatsoever. I'm guessing I'll have to drink a lot of it to be strong like Victoria. She could probably kick my ass.

I rolled over and grabbed my phone off the marble nightstand. Two a.m. Great. I should stop thinking about everything and go to sleep. As I was setting my phone back, it buzzed.

"Go to sleep James." Victoria had texted me. How did she already make herself a contact?

As I drifted off, I thought, the only person I'd trust to run this place is her. Victoria's ambitious and level-headed enough to manage two billion vampires and win a war.

She's so cold towards me, but hopefully that'll change soon. After all, she's the closest thing I have to a friend in here.