"We're, here," James said as the rental car pulled to a stop. Téa was surprised to find that the place looked like a hotel…
"James, why is the..." she looked around to see if anyone could hear here, "hide out located in a hotel?"
"Vampires from all over the world come here on business. It is only natural that they would need a place to stay during their visit," Kaiba answered, "The actual meeting place will be across the street at Dracula's castle. Humans are too afraid to approach the castle. Those foolish enough to try, are never seen again. We'll be heading there as soon as we get dressed."
"Great," Téa mumbled as she followed the boys into the hotel. A chipper looking hotel clerk greeted
them at the desk, "Hello there Mr. Kaiba, your 3 rooms: two singles and a double, are ready."
He took the keys and without so much as a thank you walked away from the desk.
…
As Téa entered her room she looked around and thought to herself, this looks…eerie. The walls were red with black velvet curtains hanging on the window across from her. The bed had silky black sheets and a velvet comforter. There was a small desk to the right of the room with a lamp and a note pad. To the left a dresser with a TV on top sat near the bed.
Mokuba followed her in and placed her luggage on the bed. He took in her reaction to the place and knew that she was scared. "Don't worry Téa, my brother will protect you. He wouldn't have saved you in that alley, if he wasn't willing to protect you now," Mokuba said reassuringly.
Téa nodded and said, "Thank you Mokuba, I need to get dressed now. I will see you guys in a half an hour."
Mokuba was waiting in the hallway when she finished getting dressed. He looked up to see her wearing a red floor length satin gown. It was had a built-in corset that further enhanced her tiny waist and a peplum tail in the back. (Look up the red gown from the Moulin Rouge for an idea of the dress.) She wore black gloves with the dress and her heart shaped jewelry set. Her Hair was pulled back into a bun and had a hair piece adorning it. "Wow, You look incredible Téa."
"Thank you, Mokuba. Where are James and Kai…Seto?" She asked.
"They are both downstairs. Remember, when we meet with members of the council, you are going to have to act like newlyweds. But seriously, when my brother sees you in this, he is going to wish you would marry him," Mokuba said excitedly.
Téa laughed and said, "Alright Mokuba lets go before your brother catches you talking about him like that."
Téa and Mokuba walked down the corridor until they reached the front of the hotel. She saw Kaiba and James talking to another person. The person they were talking to looked in their direction and suddenly stopped talking. His silence caused the other guys to turn and look. Mokuba beamed when he saw his older brothers face. It was a mixture shock and desire. He knew that his older brother wanted her and that made him happy…after all he wanted to be an uncle!
Téa approached the group with the biggest smile she could muster, "I am sorry I took so long Seto." She gave him a peck on the cheek and asked, "Who's your friend?"
Kaiba's face turned red out of shock and the gentleman next to him started to laugh. "There is no need to be embarrassed Mr. Kaiba. My name is Lauden, I am one of the Elders who is going to be at your trial today." Téa leaned slightly into Kaiba out of fear. Kaiba unconsciously wrapped his arms around her when she did. They were completely unaware of their position at the moment, but to the untrained eye, the gesture looked endearing.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lauden. I hope that the other elders are as kind as you are." She said as she held out her hand for him to shake.
Instead of shaking her hand, he kissed it and said, "Well then, the Elders are waiting. Let's go."
Téa placed her gloved hand into Kaiba's. He assumed she was playing the role as his bride, but in reality she was terrified.
Inside the building there was a staircase. They climbed the staircase until they reached two wooden doors. Téa wrapped her arm around Seto's arm and looked up at him. He looked down at her and felt his heart skip a beat. Suddenly, it started to feel like they could sense what the other person was feeling.
"Enter!" a voice called out from behind the doors.
They stepped in and looked around. The room looked like a throne room. There were 2 large chairs in the middle and several people on each side of a carpet leading to the two chairs. Sitting in the 2 chairs up front was an older looking gentleman she assumed was Vlad, and a woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties to his left.
"Seto Kaiba," the older man greeted, "I haven't gazed upon your face since your father was alive. Is this your beautiful bride?"
"Yes sir, this is my wife Téa," Kaiba replied.
One of the men in the court said, "I sense deception, my lord." Several people in the room gasped. Kaiba's eyes narrowed and Vlad stood up. Vlad walked toward the couple and stopped right in front of them. Instinctually Kaiba wrapped his arm around Téa's waist to protect her. Vlad spoke again, "She is beautiful Kaiba, but I am having a hard time believing that she fell in love with a stickler like you. Téa my dear, what is it that initially attracted you to Kaiba?"
"He's protective of those he loves," Téa replied simply.
Vlad looked over to the man who initially detected a lie, and the man said, "No deception detected." Vlad raised a surprised eyebrow and turned back to Kaiba, "And what about you Mr. Kaiba, what made you select her to be your bride?"
Kaiba didn't know what to say, he doubted that saying 'sheer dumb luck' was going to go over well. "I don't know," Kaiba replied.
"Also, no deception detected sir," The man called out.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe you two are truly married. I can obviously see that you turned her, but my question is why? What did you get out of this Mr. Kaiba?" Vlad asked.
Kaiba looked down because he felt Téa start to shake. He knew that there was no point in lying anymore, "I received nothing from this. When I found her, she was about to die a gruesome death. I had known her prior to the incident and I knew what kind of person she was. I just couldn't deal with the thought of her dying when there was something I could do to help. She is a benevolent individual and is more worthy of eternal life than most of the people in this room."
"And you Ms. Téa… Do you want to be a vampire?" Vlad asked.
A tear rolled down Téa's cheek and she tried to speak, but her mouth refused to move.
Finally the woman who was sitting in the chair next to Vlad previously stood up and said, "That's enough Vlad! Can't you see that you are terrifying the poor girl?"
Vlad then turned his attention back to Kaiba, "Has she discovered any of her powers yet?" Kaiba shook his head no and Vlad continued, "So you mean to tell me that you turned a girl who is weak with no powers or even desire to be a vampire. Then you don't even have the courage to marry her. Tell me Mr. Kaiba, give me one reason why I should not completely drain this girl of her blood right now."
Before Kaiba could answer Téa said, "Because he is merciful." Her outburst surprised Vlad but signaled for her to continue. "He found me beaten within an inch of death in an alley a few nights ago. He could have just walked away, but instead he chose to save me. I am nothing in my home town. I have no money or family. I can never pay him back for what he has done for me but I appreciate it with every piece of my heart. If you want to kill me because I don't want to be a vampire, fine. I surrender myself." She held out her wrist, "Do it. I deserve it… Just please don't make Seto or his family suffer. I could not bear it." She finished as she closed her eyes.
Vlad was stunned by her response but ultimately decided to push her hand back down to her side. He then turned to Kaiba and said, "I will allow her to live on one condition. You must officially claim her as your bride. You two might not know each other well, but I insist upon a marriage. This is a 10,000-year-old tradition and I will not tolerate disobedience. You will have the wedding here in a week's time. Don't you dare defy me. All of you are dismissed except for you Kaiba."
The entire court left the room except for Téa and Kaiba. Téa was technically dismissed, but she didn't want to leave Kaiba alone with Vlad. Kaiba moved her hand and said, "I will be fine, go with Mokuba." Hesitantly, she left. When they were alone Kaiba asked, "What do you want Vlad?"
"I am disappointed in you Kaiba. I had been initially been planning to choose you for a successor, since I never had any children of my own. But then you go and choose this weakling for a bride. What were you thinking?" Vlad said.
Kaiba was stunned to say the least but asked, "Why would you choose me? We don't even like being in the same room together."
Vlad laughed, "I initially chose you because you don't put up with nonsense. But, then you go and choose this beautiful but pathetic excuse for a …"
A loud boom interrupted his train of thought. Vlad quickly stormed out the room to investigate and when he did, he saw Téa standing in the middle of the room with her hands shaking. A man was lying unconscious with a hole in the shape of his body on the wall across from her. People were staring in awe of what just happened.
"You were saying?" Kaiba said smugly. Téa quickly turned and ran out the doors of the castle to the hotel across the street.
"What the hell happened?" Vlad asked angrily.
"Ferguson here said that she would make a good bitch, but not a bride. He then tried to kiss her, but she pushed him off of her. When he tried again, wind shot out from the palms of her hands... It was like she summoned a storm." Queen Sophie, Vlad's wife answered excitedly.
Vlad scratched his chin and said, "Maybe she isn't as useless as I initially thought."
Vlad's wife said, "You have been pretty rude to her today. I am going to see if she is alright." She then left in a cloud of smoke.
He turned to Kaiba and said, "We will discuss this further at a later date. For now, focus on organizing your wedding. We will hold it in the here in the castle ballroom."
Kaiba bowed and replied, "Yes, Sir." He then started to head back to the hotel room.
When he returned to the hotel, he found Mokuba and James standing outside her room. "What are you doing out here?" He asked?
"Queen Sophie, came to visit Téa. We just wanted to make sure she wasn't here to harm Téa." Mokuba answered.
"She is not here to hurt Téa. Now come on, I am going to need your help." He said as he entered his hotel room.
"I normally have a plan for all situations," Kaiba said, "but, for once I am utterly clueless. How am I going to get out of marrying Téa?"
James and Mokuba fidgeted, before Mokuba asked, "Would it really be so bad marrying Téa? I mean she is pretty, kind, and fun to be around. Even you said that to Vlad that you couldn't bear the thought of being without her in this world."
"Stop twisting my words Mokuba," Kaiba corrected, "James do you have any ideas?"
James cringed and said, "Invite her friends to the wedding." Kaiba deadpanned to the response and finally accepted that he was doomed to be with Téa.
….
Téa heard a knock on the door and wiped a tear off her face. "Go away," she called out thinking it was James or one of the Kaiba brothers. The door opened and she whispered, "Please, just let me be. I didn't mean to hurt anyone."
"I know you didn't want to hurt anyone sweetie," she heard a feminine voice say. Téa turned around and saw the vampire queen standing in the door. The woman continued, "My name is Sophia Lynn. But, you can just call me Sophie. I am Vlad's wife."
"Are you here to hurt me?" Téa asked with a blank expression
Sophie shook her head no and replied, "Actually, I was hoping to become your friend."
"With all due respect, Ms. Sophie, your husband sees me as a speck of dirt in his precious blood line. Why would you want to be friends with me?" Téa asked irritably.
Sophie sighed and answered, "He dislikes you, because you are just like me... You see when Vlad was younger, he was more open to change. I was visiting Romania with my family. My youthful face and silver hair caused people to believe that I was a witch. In Romania, there is a special holiday where a beautiful girl is offered as a sacrifice to the gods in exchange for protection from the vampires. They chose me as the sacrifice and I was strapped to a marble alter. As the executioner approached Vlad saw me and instantly fell in love. He swooped down to save me and once I was out of harm's way, he offered me the curse. The reason he dislikes that Kaiba chose you, is because of his decision to marry me. When he married me, other vampires questioned his leadership. It caused controversy among the clan and almost started a war." She then paused and said, "Téa if something should go down because of your change, I would like to be on your side. I didn't have anyone other than my husband to fight for me and it hurt. I would like you to have several people to turn to for support if things go bad."
Téa looked down at her lap and thought for a moment. She then looked into Sophia's eyes and said, "I would like that."
Sophia smiled and gave her a hug, she then continued, "Before I leave, I also came to warn you. Many of the younger vampires like to haze new vampires. While I doubt the Kaiba brothers would participate in such activity, you will need to watch out for others. It is not like traditional college life hazing, it is generally excruciatingly painful and demoralizing."
Téa rubbed her arms nervously and said, "Okay, I will keep that in mind."
Sophia then walked out the door. She passed Seto Kaiba as she exited and whispered, "Take care of her."
…
Seto Kaiba entered her room and looked at her staring out of the balcony. He walked next to her and she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Since we are going to be living together, I came to discuss guidelines." Kaiba explained.
"Be still my heart," Téa mumbled sarcastically.
"Look, this isn't exactly my idea of a fun time either. But, if we are going to have to live together, we have to find a way to not step on each other's toes." Kaiba replied logically.
"I just have three rules, 1. You don't own me. Don't think that you can just use me. 2. be nice to my friends and…" she stopped not knowing how to approach the question."
"And what?" Kaiba asked.
"And… 3. be honest with me. We probably will never love each other, but I want to at least become close to you. After all, we are going to be sharing our after life together, so a level of trust towards each other would be good.." Téa asked.
Kaiba grunted and replied, "Fine, I only have one rule. Don't embarrass me by going out with other men. It looks bad on me in business and here."
"I would never dishonor you like that Seto," she said in response, "You have my word."
Kaiba nodded and was about to leave, "One more thing Seto," He turned and looked to see what she wanted, "The coffee here taste like crap, let's go to the Coffee Bean or something."
Kaiba rolled his eyes and gestured to her to follow. She hopped off the bed and happily followed. As they walked down the road Téa asked, "Seto, you were born a vampire…Have you ever wanted to be a normal human?"
Kaiba was taken back by the question at first, but he remembered that he promised to be honest with her. He answered, "If I wanted to be a vampire, I wouldn't be drinking only animal blood. My father was murdered because of the curse. I would do just about anything to be normal."
Téa became silent, she wanted to know more but she knew that he would probably leave if she went any further.
Téa smiled as she saw the coffee shop come into view. The scent of coffee beans, cinnamon, and vanilla was overwhelming to her senses. She ordered a cappuccino and waited for Kaiba to make his order. As they sat in the booth Téa took a sip and frowned, "I don't understand, I know this is my favorite cup of coffee, but it just doesn't taste the same?" Tea said more to herself than anyone else.
"It's because of the curse," Kaiba looked around before he explained, "Things you liked to eat and drink as a human, become less appealing as a vampire. The only reason I drink coffee is because it gives me energy and makes me look human."
Téa nodded in understanding, then apologized, "I'm sorry for dragging you out here then. I just thought maybe we could get to know each other over a nice cup of coffee."
Kaiba took a sip from his cup and answered, "It's fine, after dealing with Vlad today, I needed an escape." He left a tip and was about to purchase 2 cups to bring back to Mokuba and James when he saw a familiar face.
"Vlad, what are you doing here?" he asked.
Vlad answered, "I tracked you and I would like to speak with you back at the…" A waitress passed by. "office…" Kaiba knew what Vlad meant and signaled for Téa to come.
Kaiba replied, "Fine, we'll be there in a few minutes." Vlad waited a few seconds for the waitress to turn around and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
When they entered the castle, Kaiba got a bad feeling. He sensed danger, but he didn't know what was the cause. Regardless, he placed his hand on Téa's back in order to keep her close.
He entered Vlad's throne room and was surprised to see a second man in there.
Téa watched Seto close she knew something was wrong as she listened to his heart beat.
The man turned towards Kaiba and said, "Hello Seto."
Suddenly, Seto flew into a deep and terrifying rage, attacking the strange man. "I thought you were dead," He screamed at the man he just pinned to the ground.
The man just laughed and said, "It's nice to see you too." The heavyset man disappeared causing Kaiba to hit the ground. When the man reappeared, he was standing next to Téa, "You know Seto, that fiancé of yours vaguely of resembles your mother," he said before he grabbed her face and looked into her eyes, "Do you remember me?"
Suddenly a scene flooded back into her memory and she stuttered, "It was you… you killed that man…didn't you?"
Kaiba pushed Gozaburo's hand away from her face and turned to Vlad, "He murdered my father, why have you allowed him to live?"
"He worked his whole life to become one of us. He earned the right to carry the curse. Besides, I figured he would become useful to me. It appears I was right." Vlad explained.
Vlad then stepped forward and said, "Since you changed this weakling, you are going to have to prove that you're strong enough to take over."
"I don't want to rule over vampires. I have enough to deal with in my day trying to run my business," Seto continued, "and what does he have to do with this?"
Gozaburo spoke up, "That's simple, if Vlad deems you unfit to rule, I am his second choice."
Kaiba turned to Vlad and asked, "Is this true?"
Vlad nodded, "After you marry Téa, you will have a year to prepare for a battle against Gozaburo."
"Why don't we just get this over with right now?" Kaiba asked as he was about to attack
Vlad stopped him and said, "Because I want you to have something worth fighting for. I don't want you to go into this fight distracted by your hatred towards Gozaburo."
"And if you fail, I am sure you can figure out what I am going to do to what's left of your family," Gozaburo said with a smirk.
"So, I have no choice," Kaiba confirmed.
"Essentially, but don't worry Seto. If you do fail, I have other plans for your blushing bride." Gozaburo replied.
Kaiba grabbed Téa's wrist and said, "Let's go." He was livid at this point, but Vlad was right about one thing. He had to keep his mind clear of hatred. If he let his anger distract him, he probably wouldn't get his revenge.
…
