The Dark Prince

Chapter seven

The rabbits were adorable and Anica had the time of her life playing with them. She desperately wanted to pull them out of the pen and cuddle them, but then they would jump out of her hands and run away.

"You can take them out if you want too." Drake said, sensing that she wanted to play with them.

"But then they'd run away."

"I'll catch them." He assured her.

"Rabbits are really fast. You couldn't possibly chase after them."

Rabbits may be really fast, Drake thought, but they were not faster than Vampires. Drake would have spoken his mind but he did not want to remind Anica of what he was.

"I promise I'll catch them. Each and every one."

"If you can't, then don't blame me." Anica said picking one up and snuggling it. The rabbit smelled sweet and its soft fur rubbed against her chin. She stroked it lovingly. She had always wanted a rabbit. And a dog, and a cat and a Unicorn. But her mom was allergic so her pet was a goldfish. He was quite boring and when Anica was little she would actually dip her hands in the water and pet it. He died a few years ago. It was quite sad. She never knew one could miss a fish!

"Do you'll have Unicorns here?" Anica asked suddenly, her eyes filled with hope.

"No. I'm afraid we don't" Drake said, clearly amused by her question.

"I always wanted a unicorn"

"Whatever were you going to do with one?"

"Sit on it and fly!"

"But those are Pegasus. Unicorns don't fly!"

"Of course they do!"

“I personally prefer black stallions. They’re beautiful creatures.”

“You keep horses here?”

“Yes. I do. I have a race course too. We could go there next if you wish.”

“What else do you keep here?”

“Pigs, goats, rabbits, pigeons, chicken, sheep, horses, you name it.”

“Have you ever ridden an Ostrich?”

“No. Never. Have you?”

“Of course! My granddad has an Ostrich farm. I can ride them, but with great difficulty. They’re really fast and they shake their bums when they run.”

“What about Camels?”

“Yes. Once. In Dubai. I was really small. Around eight. It was rather frightening. Especially when they are getting up and sitting down. And to add to it the hot sand was going into my sneakers so I wasn’t really in the best of moods that day.”

“So you did not enjoy it?”

“Not really. Do you have camels here?”

“I’m trying to get some. But the climatic conditions aren’t ideal so I don’t think they’ll survive.”

“How does this pace even exist?”

“A really, really long time some humans possessed powers. Powers, that connected them to the earth.  Slowly they began to lose these powers due to development in the field of ‘science’ and very few of them were still in touch with their powers. Those people were called witches and warlocks and during the Elizabethan era they were burnt to ashes. Vampires and Witches together used to walk to the Earth as kings and Queens. My great great great great great grandfather, Lord Gardon married a witch so that the two races could rule as one. His wife Helen foresaw the reign of man and along with four other powerful witches of that time she created this Kingdom. So that our race does not get destroyed.”

“But then where are the other Vampires?”

“After the death of my father, most of them migrated to the human world. Very few remained. Those who did have died off over the past couple of years.”

“Hmm.But if your great great great great grandmother is a witch shouldn’t you have magical powers too?”

“Only the royal family possessed magical powers with which they controlled who entered and who left this Kingdom. They controlled the weather and the time. They could speed things up or slow things down. But… After my father died his magic kinda died with him. In our family the power would get passed on only after the death on the father, but for some strange reason my father’s powers never came to me. “

“So then you can’t control who comes and goes?”  Anica asked. Pleased that she had managed to get this information from him.

“No. I cannot. But I have a great security system and excellent guards who make it rather difficult for anyone to enter or leave without my permission.

Dammit! Anica thought, extremely disappointed. She was going to have to plan an escape route.  And she needed to plan one fast.

 "The rabbit she was hollding jumped out of her hand and hopped away.

"Its getting away!" Anica yelled.

"Relax." Drake told her. "I told you I'd catch it."

Saying this he ran after the rabbit. He was surprisingly, or not surprisingly really fast.

He had followed the rabbit into the woods and Anica couldn't see the two of them.

This is my chance. She thought. She turned around and headed towards the palace gate, running as fast as she could.

 Her legs were begging to hurt. The long dress she had on kept getting caught in the branches and shrubs on the ground, slowing her down. She could practically hear her heart beating in her ears.

Almost there she told herself. She had reached the back of the palace. A few more steps and she would reach the gate. Just as she stepped on the first step that led to the palace backdoor, strong arms grabbed her.

She let out the loudest scream she could manage, hoping someone would come to her aid. No one did.

With great courage she turned around to face her captor. A very angry Drake.

His eyes were red and his fangs had elongated. Anica had never been more afraid in her life.

"Why are you so predictable." He growled as he carried her back to her original room, the Dungeons.