Sweet Blood

Chapter 4

“Thank you, Herald. I am truly in your debt,” said a woman’s voice as I began waking up.

“There is too much debt going around, princess,” my father laughed.

“You’re right. But the royal family owes her. Aidan and I owe her everything,” stated Princess Lauren after a good chuckle. Their frivolous tones scraped against my eardrums. My eyes finally opened revealing my family and the royal family talking pleasantly. I had been in the presence of the king before, but never in such a common setting. I sank back in my chair a bit.

“She’s finally awake!” Ava exclaimed, rushing towards me. Sebastian’s arm dropped from her delicate waist as she gave me a hug. She regarded the needles carefully, though.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” smiled my dad. There were plenty of smiles to go around. Plenty of “thank you’s” from the royal family. Plenty of hugs and kisses from my family. By the end, I was exhausted. Ava looked at me, my tired eyes and slouched form.

“I think we should let the princess and Michelle get some rest.” My family murmured their agreements and goodbyes and left the room with the king. My eyes closed gently.

“We’ll have to bring in a bed for her, Aidan.”

“Lauren, she hasn’t even agreed yet.”

“But she will. She has too. Its for her kingdom.” Princess Lauren’s voice got more demanding.

“Lauren, we can’t force her into something she doesn’t want to do. This is a free kingdom. What about the Event?”

“The Event is much less important than our children.”

“Yes, I know. But the kingdom, hell the council, won’t see it that way.” Aidan sounded tired, as if he knew he wouldn’t win this battle against his wife.

“They’ll have to learn to accept it. Ask her now so we can begin planning.”

“Lauren, why wake her up now? I know you have a lot of energy, but she doesn’t. Let her sleep.”

“She’s not asleep, Aidan. Michelle, honey, open your eyes.” Lauren’s voice got incredibly sweet after saying my name, as if talking to a child. I opened my eyes and turned my face to the floor.

“What?” I asked irritation flooding my mouth. Lauren laughed a little at my teenager attitude.

“Michelle, we need you to remain at Lauren’s side throughout the rest of the pregnancy. Please agree,” Aidan pleaded.

“Why? Couldn’t another human do it?” I looked up at the two royals who now held my simple life in the palm of their hands.

“Michelle, very few humans have blood that allow a vampire to heal faster than usual. Vampires already have fast healing, but sometimes that isn’t enough for a dying vampire. Your blood could bring back one of us from the brink of death. More importantly, it would ensure that our babies would live,” Lauren reasoned.

            “I have to think about it.”

            “Of course,” Aidan reassured quickly.

            “But we need you to decide rather quickly for the twins safety,” Lauren added.

            “I’ll try.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. She was worried for the sake of her family. Though I understood her concerns, the future I was looking at would not be my own. Well, it wasn’t my own. It never had been. My father loved a woman named Meredith, my stepmother. They were not married when they had Ava. The kingdom, or rather, council, was rather angry at the rash actions of their prized blood donor, my father. To try and gain control over him, they brought in my mother, Annabeth. Annabeth was a prized donor from another kingdom and the cost was incredible. My mother and father were forced into wedlock. They came to love each other. Meredith ignored the marriage, as raising Ava and trying to raise her status in the castle distracted her. Then, my parents had me.

At that time, most humans, even most of the servants lived in the village near the castle. There was no need for blood donors in the castle and living in the village meant the vampires would be confronted less with bloodlust. One day, someone poisoned the well water, making over half the village ill, including my mother. My father was not there that day. When he returned he decided to have himself and my mother turned. He spent months trying to convince the council, as my mother got sicker and sicker.

My mom wasn't turned in good health. Normally when one is turned, their body fights off the vampire mutations and you end up with a mixed cell. But when someone's immune system is fighting a particularly bad disease, it can’t worry about the vampire blood. It consumed her. Now she's a crazy bloodsucking vampire. The mother that bore me might as well have died. Afraid that Meredith or Ava would be sold off, my father married Meredith.

The payment the council received for turning my parents was all blood donors would live in the castle and that I would start donating before the usual age. Instead of waiting until I was at least twenty, I would begin at age sixteen. I had just turned sixteen and the Event was near. I don’t know how the council would react to me being Princess Lauren’s personal blood bank, but it probably would not be readily accepted.

I lay there, my mind half-asleep, just barely registering the soft tones of Aiden and Lauren. My eyes were closed, lights dancing on the black of my eyelids.