Bloodline

~ Chapter 10 ~

Gideon heard the car doors closing, and the heartbeat accompanying the footsteps let him know that Chris came with Mia. He didn't want to leave the confines of his bedroom, but he knew he couldn't ignore her knowing the dangers she could encounter. She was far too important to let anything happen to her.

Reading the letter in his hands once more, he approached the fireplace and threw it into the roaring fire. There was no point in keeping it since he memorized the letter word for word, and he didn't want to risk somebody finding it. He watched it catch fire and slowly disappear before he turned and went to join Chris and Mia. They were chatting lively on the couch, but stopped when they sensed him approaching.

"Hey," Mia greeted him enthusiastically, but then she shyly turned her head away as she remembered their encounter earlier. Her hands suddenly became very interesting and she stared at them intently, not really paying attention to what the two men were talking about.

Gideon kept glancing sideways to Mia, having difficulty tuning in at what Chris was saying. He was constantly replaying the morning and every time he would get angry for some reason – they weren't together and she can do whatever she wants.

"Gideon, did you hear me?" Chris snapped his fingers in front of his face and that finally did the trick. Gideon pulled back a little and looked at Chris surprised. "I need to talk to you, in private."

"About what?"

"In private," Chris insisted. With a nod and a quick glance in Mia's direction, Gideon followed his friend into another room. "It's about Mia." Gideon couldn't know what Chris would say but his body still tensed. He suspected it wasn't anything good if he needed to talk about it in private.   "I talked to her on our way here and something bothers me. She doesn't remember the guy she had over, his name or how he looked. That almost seems as somebody..." Chris didn't have to finish his thought.

"She was made to forget." Gideon's hands turned into fists as he realized what it could be.

"Yes, it seems like she was compelled. Do you think it was him?"

"I can't think of anybody else who would compel her into forgetting." Gideon couldn't help but think of another thing though.

"Do you think he forced himself on her?" Chris voiced Gideon's worries.

"I don't know. And she wouldn't remember. Fuck!" He hated this. He was almost sure he did, but he didn't have the guts to bring it up to Mia. "We need to find that fucker and stop this. I don't know what he's playing at, but it is with me that he has a problem with, and Mia shouldn't be the one to suffer because of it." Chris silently nodded, but then Gideon remembered that he had to leave for a few days, meaning that he had to stall the searches.

"What is it?" Chris saw the expression change on his friend's face and he knew that it bothered him.

"I got a letter. From the Council. They want me there for the next meeting."

"What for?" Chris was very confused. Gideon wasn't attending those meetings for quite some time now and he never mentioned doing it again.

"It has to do with Queen Rhea."

"She's dead. And had been for a long time. What can there be to talk about? And why do they need to summon you?"

"I don't know the whole story, but apparently, there were witches involved and they talk about her blood running in a family of mortals." Chris looked at Gideon, confusion a clear expression of his face. Gideon didn't know much either, but he knew he had to be present at that convention.

"When is it happening?" Chris finally asked.

"In two days. That means I have to leave..."

"About now." Chris stated. They locked their eyes on each other and Gideon couldn't help look apologetic. "Don't worry. I understand. I'll keep an eye on Mia and try locating that son of the bitch."

"Christopher... just don't let anything happen to her."

"Don't worry. I've got her."

~

The travel to Austria wasn't something that Gideon planned to do in the near future, but there he was, nearing Innsbruck, where all the Royals and the Council gather to discuss matters such as the one that he would with them. He still didn't know what could there possibly be to talk about concerning the deceased Queen, but he was intrigued, to say at least.

The mountains were covered in snow and the cars on the road were moving slow and Gideon was getting impatient. He checked the time, and sighed deeply. It was almost noon and the meeting was set for one p.m. He slowly followed the cars in front of him, almost nearing the city, and then made a left turn to an isolated road. It was harder to drive there as snow was thicker on those roads, so once he drove enough to hide the car from wanderers he got out and traveled on foot. That way it was much quicker and soon enough he was entering the castle hidden in the thick woods. He was greeted at the door and then led to a room further down the hall. When he entered, all eyes turned on him. He stopped for a moment, taking them all in and then moved to a spare chair at the table. He expected only the Council and the Royals to be present, but there were more vampires in the room.

"Alright. Now that everybody is present, we shall start." The Head of the Council announced and the room fell silent. "There were some rumors going around, but now we have them confirmed. Before her death, Queen Rhea contacted a witch and made an arrangement with her. Upon her death, the witch was supposed to transfer the Royal blood to a mortal, thus continuing her bloodline through the generations of that mortal."

"But shouldn't those mortals turn into vampires with the Royal blood in their veins?" somebody asked.

"No. That was the whole point – to conceal from everyone that it still exists. The mortals remained exactly that, and the possessor of the bloodline would change once a child was born."

"Why didn't Rhea tell that to anyone? If she planned that, than it was because she was supposed to be brought back." It was King Li that spoke, raising the question.

"We believe that whoever she entrusted this information with died in the Great War."

"Are you sure she did that so she could be brought back? Maybe she had other intentions."

"Why would she have other intentions besides this one, Isidora?" King Elijah questioned her with apparent anger bubbling inside him. Everyone knew that they were close, but not the true extent of their relationship, however now it seemed to become clearer.

"Elijah, let's calm down. The thing is that now we can do something with this information. We can bring her back to us."

"What information?" he exclaimed, rising suddenly from his chair. "We only know that some mortal is carrying her blood. We know nothing about that mortal, or better said the descendant that lives now."

"We do have some more facts. We know the year we should start tracing the family from, and we know that the witch made it so that the mortal and every descendant of hers had only girls. Only a female can carry the bloodline."

"Alright. That means that we have to search every continent for a family that had only females in their lineage."

"Precisely." The Head of the Council agreed.

Gideon looked at all the Kings and Queens and after a short silence, asked: "Who will do the searches?" 

A/N: Well, people, we're starting to get somewhere - it starts to get more interesting from this point and I hope that you all enjoyed this so far. Please leave a comment and press that vote button - it means a lot to me. Also, stay safe and though hard, find ways to entertain yourself at home in isolation. I personally search for books on Wattpad like crazy and tear down one after another in no time. If you know anything good, feel free to recommend. 

Be great, be good, be kind. Stay safe. Love, Chloe <3