SOMEONE TO STAY

[03]

chapter three

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        In the ballroom, I felt out of place. Everyone here had a high-class life with a high status on the council or was apart of the royal family. The only reason I'm here if because they think I'm beautiful.

       The men here watched the women dancing with their husbands as if the women were dinner plates that they knew they could never have. I felt a few glances in my direction but I ignored them, hoping they wouldn't try to talk to me, beings though I'm with the prince.

       "Jamison, people are staring at me." I whispered to him. He chuckled.

        "Let them stare, Evangeline—You look beautiful." He said to me. "I know you hate me but I've never put my hands on you and I saved your life. All I'm asking for is a little respect."

         "Thank you." I muttered. "What exactly...are we supposed to do?" I ask shyly. He laughs quietly before holding out his hand.

       "We dance, Evangeline." He says. I take his hand and we walk toward the center of the ballroom. "Do you know how to ballroom dance?" He asked me. I nodded. He placed one of his hands on my hip and took my other hand in his. "Who taught you?" He asked.

        "No one." I answered. "I watched the women dancing earlier. It didn't seem that hard."

           "So you learned by just watching other people do it?" He asked. "You truly are something else."

        "Why are you doing this? Why are you being nice to me? I've been here for 20 years and you're the only one out of your family who hasn't tried to kill me." I sighed. "Why, Jamison?"

            "Careful how you address me, Evangeline. Vampires have more than enhanced hearing, they won't be as patient with your disrespect." He warned. "And to answer your question, you're the only one who was raised in the castle. You haven't seen the outside world, you still have your innocence." He explained.

         I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Were his death threats actual lies? Is he a lie? Vampires are supposed to be killers, monsters. Not sympathetic. He meant what was behind his words too. He looked me in my eye, he was serious. "How on earth was I so wrong about you, Prince Jamison?" I asked him. He smiled, and before he answered, I was spun and pulled in closer.

        "You weren't wrong. I am a monster, Evangeline. I just can't let myself be that person around you." He said softly. His crimson eyes met my hazel ones, and they stayed there for a second, before I looked away. "How have you been sleeping lately? Any more weird dreams?"

     "All the time. It's like I can see the world through someone else's eyes in my dreams. I just never know who it is. Last night, I was a wolf, standing over a pack of wolves on a high rock, and they looked at me as though I was their alpha." I explained, a small smile on my lips.

"You wrote this down?"

"Yes. I write down all of my dreams. I have a specific notebook strictly for my dreams."

"You'll have to let me read it one day, Evangeline." He smirked. I let out a small giggle and nodded. Suddenly, the ballroom began to clear a path, and Jamison led me into the crowd, also helping clear the path.

      "Already? How late were we?" I heard Jamison mutter. At every ball, usually towards the one-hour mark, the Queen joins the ball, and her entrance is made the most important. As she made her way through the cleared path, her beautiful gold gown dragging behind her, the men and women around her bowed to show respect for their Queen, and Jamison and I did the same when she reached us.

        "Jamison, dear, you look dashing." She complimented her son, the two exchanged a few words before Jamison was excused, and I was left in the ballroom, surrounded by blood-thirsty, vampires. Of course, things weren't going to stay that way as I discretely followed Jamison and his mother. I grabbed an empty glass before heading to the room where the two were, placed the open end of the glass on the closed door, and the other to my ear.

"Lift the spell, mother!" Jamison yelled. "It's not fair for Evangeline."

       "It's what's best for the kingdom! This spell will save us. She falls in love with you, you two marry and the kingdom has a new king and queen to rule over. And by the summer Evangeline will be one of the last human remaining so if you marry her, people will respect you even more." His mother argued.

      "Then have me marry one of my mistresses! Two of them are human and they would actually like to marry me." He yelled once again. "Don't force her to do something she doesn't want to do."

"She's your daughter, Irina. What do you think we do?"

       "What are you doing?" I jumped at the voice behind me and dropped the glass. There stood Rosita. Her long red gown dragged along the floor behind her and she crossed her arms.

       She bent down and picked up a piece of the shattered glass before cutting her wrist open, catching me by surprise. She then grabbed the bottom of the glass which didn't shatter and let her blood pour into the glass. She handed it to me, "Drink it." When I didn't take the glass she commanded again. "Drink it or I'll make you drink it."

        I sighed before taking the glass and drinking every last drop. I cringed at the taste and wiped the blood off my bottom lip. She then violently grabbed my arm, making me drop the glass once again. She pushed the door open and shoved me inside.

"Evangeline?" I looked to the woman who stood behind the queen.

"She was eavesdropping, mother." Rosita said to her mother. I looked over at Jamison who had a face full of worry. "She heard everything."

"Jamison." Angelica called. "Do you actually care for this human?" She asked him.

"No." Jamison quickly answered. I felt a pain in my chest at his words. I felt lied to.

"Then kill her." Angelica said to Jamison. The woman behind Angelica began to panic. She went to move but Rosita sped over and grabbed her. Angelica threw her wine glass on the floor and handed the largest piece of glass to Jamison.

"Angelica don't do this! Please!" The woman cried.

"Irina, shut up." Rosita growled.

"Angelica please! Please don't kill my daughter!" She screamed. My eyes widened at her words. Her what? "Please..." she begged once more.

"Jamison if you don't kill her I hand the throne over to your brother." Angelica said to her son. I looked toward Jamison who clenched the glass in his hand. When he began to walk toward me I slowly shook my head in pure disgust at him. "If you truly feel nothing for her, do it James."

Jamison didn't say a word when he grabbed me roughly and placed the glass at my neck. "I wasn't wrong about you, was I?" I asked him. Before he even thought about answering, he snatched his hand away and Irina let out a blood-curdling scream as I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I felt blood run down my chest before my body fell to the floor, and every thing went black.