Title: Of Vampires and Love
Author: Jus-Chan
Characters: Cassandra Blake/ Itachi Uchiha
Type: On going (In-progress)
Genre: romance/ drama
Word Count:1427
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.
Chapter 3
We walked down the stairs in a comfortable silence. Everything we needed to say to each other had already been said in the safety of my bed room. Plus I was thinking, I hadn't known my mother had been fought over and I hadn't known Itachi's had either. It sickened me in so many ways; did it mean my mother had been raped by my father? Did it mean she hadn't loved him? Did it mean she didn't love him now? I stopped on the stairs the thought making me ill. I felt Itachi's hand on my shoulder and felt his breath on my ear "I think your father won because of the love he had for your mother, I do not think she was forced"
I turned to look at him the question clear in my eyes.
"I know you, in knew you would be thinking about it" he answered.
I nodded once and carried on down the stairs. Itachi and I both walked in to the dining room and looked at our parents. Mikoto and my mother smiled at our entrance while our fathers just looked calculating. I gulped nervously and sat down; Itachi pulled out the chair next to mine and sat down as well. Once everyone was seated the maids brought the food out. I looked over the different meats, vegetables and pudding and decided that after my talk with Itachi I wasn't hungry. I pushed my plate away from me while everyone else filled there's. My father raised an eyebrow and asked "Are you not hungry princess?"
"No I feel..." I glanced at Itachi and said "Sick"
My mother immediately stood up and walked over to me "Are you coming down with something?" she asked
"No mother, I just don't feel hungry" I looked at my father again and asked "Can I be excused?"
"No, Fugaku and I need to speak with both you and Itachi first" my father said.
I stiffened up and so did Itachi. We both watched our fathers waiting for one of them to speak. Fugaku spoke first "I have no doubt my son has told you about the ball" he looked at me and waited for my nod then he continued speaking "Your father and I would just like to assure you, you will not be attending this ball" I felt all the tension drain out of me.
I looked to my right and saw Itachi was still watching our fathers with something close to UN trust on his face. I flicked my eyes back to our fathers and waited. My father leaned forward then and spoke "We have something else planned for you princess"
"What?" I choked out worry squeezing my throat shut.
"It's a mating ritual, an old one. Your mother and I where mated the same way as you will be" he said softly
"How?" I asked fear choking me.
My father sat back and looked around at Fugaku, Mikoto and my mother. He seemed to be at a loss of what to say. I swallowed and looked at Itachi, he was gripping his knife so I tight it had actually bent. He was also glaring daggers at our parents. My attention went back to our parents as my mother leaned forward. She took my hand across the table and spoke softly "On Samhain you will be taken to a room, you will change in to ceremonial robes and you will wait there until the strike of midnight. On the stroke of midnight 5 UN mated males will be let in to the room. They will fight for the chance to be your mate. The winner will be your mate and you will be mated that night" I pulled my hand out of her grasp and hissed "I will not!"
"Cassandra!" my father snapped.
My eyes flicked to his and I watched as the perfect blue bled in to black. He was upset, but so was I. He moved forward and said "It has been done like this in our family for centuries, you will do this"
"No, I won't" I said as I pushed away from the table and got to my feet.
"It is a tradition!" barked my father obviously angry.
"So you will see me raped?" I threw back at him
"It won't..."
"It will be like that, I do not want a mate and the only way any male would make me his mate would be by force"
"Cassie" came my mother's soft voice. I turned to her and waited "The men involved, you will like them, and you will meet them and have a chance to get to know them first"
"I don't care" I looked back at my father "I will not do this and you can't make me"
"Cassandra Blake, you will do as you are told!" he snapped.
Before I could answer Itachi was on his feet and stood between me and my father. I watched as he looked my father in the eyes and spoke "If you make her do this it will break her"
"It is tradition Itachi" said my father "Plus you will be going through much the same thing"
"I can handle it though, I know what to expect, I know I will lose control and I know how I will act. To put her in a room with UN mated males will break her mind. Are you willing to sacrifice your daughter for the sake of tradition?"
"She will be fine; many other girls go through this and come out fine"
I pushed past Itachi then and hissed "If you make me do this I will hate you forever!"
My father just stood up and said "It will be done, you will forgive me one day, princess" then with that he walked out of the room followed by Mikoto, my mother and Fugaku.
I just stared after them tears coming to my eyes. Itachi moved and I flicked my eyes to him. He looked so very pissed off.
"Itachi..." I said but was cut off as the chair got kicked across the room; it hit the wall with a loud crash and smashed to bits. I watched as he stood breathing his hands in fists at his side. After a few minutes he turned back to me and spoke "He can't do this"
"He has and he will" I said
"Cassie if I had known I would have told you"
"I know" I spoke; my voice was quiet and hollow.
I leaned back against the wall and looked down at the floor. I couldn't believe my father was going to let this happen. I didn't want to be fought over like a piece of meat I wanted to choose my own mate, someone I loved and who loved me in return. I wrapped my arms around my chest and didn't move, I felt Itachi lean against the wall next to me and he spoke quietly "Our parents are doing what they think is best"
"They would see me raped, how can they think that is what is best for me?"
"Perhaps when you meet these men you will find one you like, you will find one who you will grow to love"
"I doubt it, its 4 days until Samhain and I have yet to meet any of them, it takes more than 4 days to like someone Itachi"
"At least you can meet them first. I do not have that option" he said quietly.
I shook my head and leaned to the side; I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. I hated this, I hated our parents thought they could do this to us. Surely in this day and age vampires where sophisticated enough not to fall back on ancient traditions, surely we should be allowed to find our own mates? I felt Itachi move and he spoke "I am going to my room, it's going to be dawn soon" and with that he pulled away from me and left. I watched him walk away and sighed. Pushing off the wall I walked out of the room and over to the stairs. I walked up the stairs slowly making my way to my room. Once inside my bed room I closed the door and then turned to flop on my bed. Some days I hated being a vampire.