Chapter 3

Father walked down the pathway lined with angry people, hissing and shouting, demanding his death. He walked towards the platform where the guillotine awaited. Despite their hate filled words, he walked on with his head held high, his face showing no emotion. As he passed where mother and I were, mother picked me up and pushed her way through the crowd, until she reached him.

"Please, guards, let us say our good byes!" She shouted, tears falling down her cheeks.

"You had your chance last night, woman." The guard at father's back growled.

"Please! I beg you! Let my daughter see her father!"

The guards both looked at each other then nodded their approval. "Make it quick."

Mother put me on my feet and I ran to father. I wrapped my arms around his legs and begged him not to leave me. Being a man of few words, father still said nothing. He slowly got to his knees and wrapped his shackled arms around me, holding me close to his heart. "Don't cry, Carmen. Never show your true heart, for an open heart is an easy target." He said in a whisper.

I looked up at him in wonder as tears fell upon my forehead. For the first time in my entire life, I saw my father's mask fall away. He was crying silently. His face never changed, and yet the tears fell like rain upon me. "If you should ever need me, I'll be there." He said.

"How father? How can you be with me if your dead?" I asked.

"You may not be able to see me, but believe me, I'll be there." He placed his hand over my heart. "You and I are apart of each other. I'll always be with you, even in death."

"Okay, that's enough!" A guard growled, kicking farther in the back.

He rose to his feet in one fluid motion. The tears had all fallen away, his mask now back in place.

As they led him away, he looked back at me and called out. "Be strong, Carmen! Remember, you are a princess, despite what these fools choose to believe!" There was an uproar from the crowd. Royal guards rushed out to keep the people back, so that father would survive long enough to reach the guillotine.

They forced father down on his knees and put his neck in place, just below the blade of the guillotine. The executioner placed his hand on the lever and asked, "Do you have any final words?"

Father's lips stretched into a monstrous expression I'd never seen. "LONG LIVE THE KING!" He roared. He began to cackle sinisterly as the blade came crashing down. There was a loud clank, then all fell silent.

I jolted upright in bed, covered in a cold sweat, my breath coming in wild gasps. I wiped sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and looked up at my father's portrait. Looking at him, I remembered what Prince Dragomir had said the previous night, "Crying is something Octavian could never do."

"He was so wrong about you, father. I've seen the side of you that you kept hidden from everyone else…even mother. I've seen you cry. I've felt your tears on my skin…I've heard the sound of your heart breaking. You were not the monster that everyone thinks you were. I refuse to believe that you were evil."

I slipped from my bed and went over to touch his face. "If you were evil, you would not have loved me so dearly." I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed the cheek of my father's portrait.

Later that evening, I was sitting at my desk, writing in my diary, when mother entered the room.

"Good evening dear. I just wanted to apologize for what happened between us yesterday." She said.

"Think nothing of it, mother. I should not have spoken so harshly against you. I did enjoy myself at the soiree." I said, looking down intently on the yellowed pages of my diary.

I watched her out of the corner of my eye. She smiled brightly, "I thought you would." She said. Just as I thought she was about to leave, she went over to father's portrait and stared up at it. "I never liked this painting of him." She began, "It's almost too good to be a painting. It's so lifelike, like a photograph. Frankly, it scares me. Sometimes, I swear it's eyes move to follow me as I walk across the room. I'll never understand why you love it so much."

I turned in my chair to look directly at her. "It makes me feel protected, safe, like he's watching over me."

Mother rubbed her arms as if she were chilled. "I don't think you need a painting to feel like that, dear. I don't think your father ever left us. He promised you he'd always be with you and Octavian always kept his promises. I feel his presence around us even now. Don't you?"

"Yes." I replied. My hand reached up to touch my heart. "I always feel him with me."

There was a knock on the door, and one of the human servants appeared. "Madam, there's a visitor here for Lady Carmen." The girl squeaked.

"Who?" asked mother.

"Prince Constantin."

As she said his name, the brown haired prince manifested in the doorway. He looked finely groomed, without a hair or stitch out of place. In his hand he held a bouquet of lilies. His face was flushed and I noticed that his empty hand trembled slightly.

"Welcome, your highness." Mother greeted, in a bewildered tone. She curtsied with a huge smile on her face. "What brings you to our humble home?" She asked.

"W-well I actually came to call on Ms. Carmen, Madam." He stuttered, his cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red.

Mother went blue in the face from shock. "H-how wonderful." She flustered. "I'll just leave you two alone then." She quickly scurried from the room. As she closed the door behind herself, she turned and gave me a playful wink.

With mother gone, Constantin and I were left alone.

After a moment, he cleared his throat and presented me with the bouquet of lilies. "These are for you."

I took them with a courteous smile. "Thank you. How sweet." I said, holding them up to my face so that I could breathe in their sweet sent.

I walked over to my vanity and placed the flowers in a vase that I had sitting there.

"I…um…came to invite you to have tea at the castle tomorrow night." He said. His nervousness was evident.

I turned to give him a reassuring smile. "That sounds lovely, your highness."

"Oh no, please call me Constantin. Just Constantin." He blurted in a single breath.

I could not help but laugh a little. I'd never seen anyone so frazzled. "Why are you so nervous, Constantin? I'm sure you're well versed in the art of courting women."

He ran his hand through his hair, disheveling his once perfect hair style. "Yea, well you're different."

I tilted my head to the side, "Really? How so?" I asked.

"Well for one, you don't throw yourself at me like all the others and you act with a wisdom and elegance I've never seen before, even in the ladies of the court." His lips curved into a wry grin. "Plus, I think that you may be the most beautiful woman who's ever existed. You make my heart practically jump out of my chest when you so much as look at me."

I felt my cheeks grow hot, and quickly averted my gaze. "Thank you, Constantin. That's very kind of you to say. I'm flattered. Um…are you sure that your father will be okay with me attending your tea party?" I asked, quickly changing the question.

"Oh yes. I already got permission from him beforehand. He thinks that it's a good idea to invite you. He wants there to be no ill will between our families." He replied.

"Good, then I will most certainly come. Thank you for inviting me." I said.

He bowed handsomely, then turned to leave. When he laid his eyes on the portrait, he froze in place. Every hair on his body practically stood on end.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I-I'm fine." He said, shaking himself free of his chill. "I'll see you at the tea party." More quickly than before, he strode to the door and ducked through the doorway, disappearing around the corner.

I shot a glare at father's portrait, "Must you frighten the poor boy." I sighed. "This is what mother wants, and he's a very nice man, so leave him alone." I warned.

I laid back on my bed. My hair splayed around my head like a halo of writhing black snakes. "Is it wrong for me to wish that another brother had come to call instead?" I asked the open air. As if in answer, A violent gust of wind blew through the open window, blowing out all my candles, leaving me in total darkness. "Yes I know, you don't like any of them."

The following night, after mother finished coiling my hair onto the top of my head, and dressing me up in my best casual dress, our driver dropped me off at the castle, where the tea party was to take place. Constantin waited for me by the castle steps.

"Welcome." He greeted with a grin. He took my hand gently. "Follow me, everyone's in the garden." He said. He led me around the massive castle, to what I can only describe as a maze of rose vines and bushes. Before the opening of the maze, there was a long table, loaded with tea pots, cakes, fruit tarts, and every other conceivable treat. Although we cannot live on such things, strigoi still enjoy the taste of human delicacies.

A few yards away from the table, Victor chased around two very pretty girls, who giggled like children half their age. They had him blindfolded, but I could tell by the devilish grin on his face, that he knew exactly where they were at all times. He was merely milking the game for all it's worth. No sense in cutting the fun short. Like they say, "The fun is not in whether you win or lose, but how you play the game."

"Will you be joining us, Victor?" Constantin called out to his little brother.

"Five more minutes!" He called back with a laugh, as he grabbed the red haired girl by the waist and pulled her down to the ground with him. The night air was soon filled with the sound of muffled giggles and feverous kisses.

"I guess it's just us for a while." Constantin said, as we took our seats and began filling our plates and tea cups.

"Where's Dragomir?" I asked, discreetly looking about the yard.

"He's still at his riding lesson. Father pushes him a lot harder than us when it comes to studies. He has very little spare time." He said with a light laugh, "I feel sorry for him sometimes."

"That's too bad." I replied. I quickly took a sip of my tea, trying desperately to the drown my disappointment. I knew that a relationship with Dragomir was idiotic. He was the crown prince. One day he'd be king. Courting the daughter of a traitor wouldn't exactly help him gain favor among his subjects. It could very well put him in danger. I shook my head, trying to dismiss all my stupid thoughts about Dragomir. I was being ridiculous. Constantin was handsome, kind, and charming. He could make me very happy and better yet, he was safe. Unlike Dragomir, there was less chance of a public outcry and he wouldn't fool around behind my back like I knew Victor would. Yes, Constantin was the best choice out of the three.

"Actually, I am quite grateful that he didn't come. I like having this time alone with you." I said, flirtatiously.

"As do I." He said, breathlessly, as if his heart were about to give out.

I laid my hand over Constantin's on the table and we shared a blissful smile. He blushed violently, his lips curving into a nervous but elated smile. I, in turn, felt my cheeks grow hotter and hotter by the second. Hesitantly, Constantin leaned forward. His lips parted a little. He wanted to kiss me. I could feel it. My heart began to beat wildly. I'd never been kissed before. I wasn't sure if I new how. He was so close now. Our noses grazed each other. I parted my lips and let out a slow breath as I awaited his action. Just as our lips touched, I heard a girl let out a shier shriek.

The smell of warm blood blasted into my face, setting my whole body aflame.

Constantin and I jolted apart and turned to the origin of the screaming. Victor lay in the grass with the red head beneath him, clutched in his vice like arms. His fangs were buried deep into the girl's lower throat. He was eagerly gulping down the blood as she writhed beneath him in delight. Her grimace of pain, now replaced with a happy smile.

"Victor!" Constantin snarled. He jumped up from his chair and angrily stalked over to his brother. He grabbed Victor by his golden locks and forcefully pulled the two lovers apart.

"What is it, Con? You're ruining my fun." Victor whined, his face smeared in crimson.

"Feeding off your plaything out in the open, and in front of Carmen! Idiot!" He roared. "Have you no shame!" He threw him on the ground at my feet. "Apologize for your indecency at once!"

Victor let out an amused laugh, before looking up at me. "I'm so…" He stopped, his smile fading. " What's wrong with you, Carmen? Why are you're eyes glowing like that?" He asked, fear tensing his face.

My hand shot up to my face and I quickly turned away. "Forgive me. I'm a Pure Blood so my body reacts more violently than that of a normal strigoi. It's nothing, really."

Constantin came up to me and placed his large hands on my shuddering shoulders. "Are you alright?" He asked, tenderly.

"I'll be fine. I just have to get away from the blood. I'll be back in a moment." I said, then walked quickly towards the fields that lay just beyond the rose maze.

As I walked through the field, I took deep, heavy breaths, desperately trying to clear my head of the intoxicating scent of blood. Slowly, I felt my heart rate slow down to a crawl and I no longer felt like my body was on fire. I felt normal once again. Damn. I hadn't wanted him to see me in that state. Constantin will probably think I'm a monster now. Victor probably would. Pure bloods are a rarity these days. In the millions of years since the strigoi first appeared on earth, these families never once allowed marriages between strigoi and humans. There is not a drop of human blood in my veins. I'm purely strigoi. I should be proud of my unique and powerful heritage, but instead I'm ashamed of it. Such power can be intimidating for the opposite sex. I wouldn't be surprised if neither of them ever spoke to me again.

Suddenly, the ground shaking rumble of hoof beats, shook me out of my dismal thoughts. I looked up to see, a man on a pure black horse racing across the golden field in full gallop. I stood perfectly still as he barreled towards me. He finally stopped just inches from running me over. My eyes slowly drifted from the horse's shifting hooves, up his powerful legs and muscled chest, until they finally came to rest on the face of the rider.

Dragomir sat handsomely in his saddle, his back strait and his head held high. He smirked devilishly as he raked his hand through his wind blown hair.

"So we meet again, Princess." He said, in a playful way.

"Now why on earth are you calling me that?" I asked, rolling my head to side.

He grinned, then swiftly swung off of the saddle and dropped down onto the ground. "I've been doing some research on your family since our waltz the other night. Before we took the throne, your family ruled the strigoi race since it's beginning. Though we are in power now, by birthright, you are a princess right? That was your father's philosophy at least. He called you Princess didn't he?"

"That's right, but that does not mean I think of myself as a princess, your highness."

"You mean to say, you don't share your father's beliefs at all?" He asked, his voice holding a disbelieving tone.

"I don't. I couldn't care less who's on the throne. You can have the damn thing, as far as I'm concerned. I haven't the slightest interest in politics." I replied sharply. I spun on my heel and began to stomp away, feeling very miffed.

He ran around to block my path. "Such harsh words! Especially coming from such a beautiful and poised girl as yourself. Something tells me, Con would be horrified if he heard you just now. You'd shatter his heart to pieces."

I tried to pass him, but again he blocked my advances. "And what gives you that idea?" I demanded.

Dragomir rolled his eyes. "Oh please, the poor boy worships you! You're like a bloody goddess in his eyes! I think he'd try to catch the moon if you asked for it. Don't tell me you haven't noticed how enamored he is with you."

"I'm well aware of his interest in me. He's made his intentions quite clear. But I don't see how that's any of your business." I shot back.

Dragomir threw his head back in a deep, rumbling chuckle. "Ah yes, you and Constantin are courting now right? He told me he went to call on you. He even bought you a bouquet of lilies."

I crossed my arms over my chest, defiantly. "Yes, and they were lovely. I thought it was a very romantic gesture."

Dragomir drew closer to me. I tried to disregard the goose bumps that arose on my flesh at the touch of his cool breath. "Con's a fool. You and I both know that you favor the red rose. They're your favorite flower, are they not?"

My arms fell to my sides and my mouth went agape. "How did you know that?" I asked, amazed by his guess.

"They remind me of you. Beautiful, elegant, radiant, yet deadly." He said lowly. His hand came to lightly caress my cheek. "Looking at you ," His other arm began to stroke my back. " one cannot even begin to fathom how much power your beautiful body may disguise."

Becoming all to aware that he was touching me, I pushed him away. "Please don't." I breathed.

He grabbed my hand and forcefully pulled me back into his embrace. Suddenly our mouths connected. He kissed me roughly as I tried to pry myself free of him. Still he wouldn't release me. It went on and on for what felt like a lifetime. My heart fluttered and belly rolled with excitement. I was overcome with shame at my body's reaction to him. I was with Constantin. I should not be doing this with his elder brother. This was wrong. So why did I want this so badly? Finally, he ended the kiss and let me go. As soon as I was free, I slapped him with all my might. He went flying across the field, coming to rest in the knee high golden wheat. Slowly, he rose shakily. One hand held his injured cheek. "I can't believe you actually slapped me." He said with laughter in his voice.

"How dare you!" I roared at him, my fingers contorting to the shapes of claws.

"I didn't want to give Con the satisfaction of being the first." He replied.

"I'm Constantin's girlfriend! He's your brother! How could you betray him like that?" I hissed.

"It was easy. I just did it. You may be his girl now, but that doesn't make me desire you any less. This is the way it's always been with Constantin and I. We've been fighting over things since we were children. We've simply graduated from toys to women." He said with a chuckle. "Besides, didn't you enjoy it?"

"No!" I shouted. "How could I? You stole my first kiss! You're horrible!" I hurriedly rushed away.

"Liar." He called after me. I didn't need to look back to hear the grin in his voice.

Yes, what a horrible liar I am.

I went back to the tea party and tried to enjoy the rest of my afternoon, chatting with Constantin. Turns out, he didn't mind my monstrous reaction to blood. He knew how different Pure Bloods can be. In fact, he seemed to admire me all the more for it. He sat nearer to me, leaned in a little closer, looked at me with even more desire in his eyes.

With just three hours to spare before sunrise, my driver arrived to take me home. Constantin took my arm and walked me back to the castle gates. Just before, we rounded the corner into the driver's view, he drew me close to his side and kissed me. The kiss was merely a peck. It was soft and gentile. Quick. A far cry from the kiss I'd experienced just hours before. Still, it felt nice. Like him, it was sweet and comforting.

"Thank you for coming Carmen." He said with excited breathing. I could feel his blood rushing through him as his heart thudded away. "I really enjoy being with you."

" Me too. I had a wonderful time." I said sweetly. Then I reached up on my tip toes, offering my lips to him once more. He bent to meet me the rest of the way. He's an absurdly tall man. I kissed the corner of his mouth. I let my lips linger on his cheek a little longer than I expected to, as I savored the warm and inviting scent of him. We pulled away from each other and exchanged strangely alighted glances. Finally, he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my fingers, before taking me back to my car.

After I arrived home that night, I laid in bed awake. I stared at the beams of sunlight that escaped through the gaps in the heavy satin curtains. Absently, I touched my fingers to my lips as I contemplated the happenings of the day. How had I gotten myself into this mess, caught between two brothers. Both of them had made it clear that they loved me and yet I had no idea how I felt. Constantin was the safe choice. He was so calm and peaceful. I felt safe and comforted when I was around him. He could love me unconditionally. I really liked him, but I couldn't deny the lust I felt for Dragomir. He was beautiful and dangerous, much like a rose armed with razor sharp thorns. His sultry dark eyes drew me in, like portals to a mysterious new world, where everything was possible. However, being with me could lead to his demise. I've never been more confused in my life. They always say to follow your heart. But what if your heart is pulling you in two totally different directions?