Chapter 35

§ Lucy §

My eyes were trained on him, despite the fact that to his left the other two figures were the ones who truly dominated the attention of the room. But seeing him up there felt surreal. I felt like I was reliving the day when I entered my house and found my mother's new husband decapitated and the little note from my father. It all seemed too vile to be true, but more than that, almost too farfetched to be true.

But there he was, standing next to the man who wanted to use my best friend to gain power. I was the scorpion surrounded by fire on all ends. There he stood, protecting us from Tatiana's crazy whims, but to what end? The many different scenarios were all bad. I was a scorpion surrounded by a ring of fire, only the scorpion would have the option to end its misery and kill itself. I did not.

My mind was reeling and the more I struggled to think of what could be the least damaging scenario, the more frozen I was. Anyway, trying to predict the best outcome was a futile exercise. There was nothing I could do to make things play out in my favour. The helplessness was killing me.

And as I stared at him, wide eyed, the very same helplessness I felt for the current situation morphed into an ugly monster, because I was nine once again, and my mum was in bed crying because she picked us up from school and conversation hushed when she approached, and as she walked, people whispered poisonously "killed himself" and "left her" and "a younger woman" behind her back but just loud enough to hear.

Now, standing in front of him, my only hope of surviving Tatiana, I was feeling everything and nothing at the same time. Part of me wished that he had killed himself or truly abandoned us for another woman. Another part wanted to drive a stake right through his ribs that concealed his concrete heart.

"Now then," Tatiana's shrill gleeful voice filled the room once more. "Shall we begin the trial?" My gaze returned back to her, and she was looking up at the man by her right side with the most loving eyes. He smiled back at her, a short, yet dashing smile which was obviously desolate of any of the warm feelings hers had shown, yet she did not seem to notice one bit.

"I'm glad you've taken this decision, very wise and just of you my love. You're a ruler of unparalleled beauty but unwavering fairness." He cooed. Child's talk. He talked to her the way you talked to a disobedient child, making her think she was the one pulling the strings when in reality he was the puppet master.

Montmartre.

"My love, as I see the facts here, I see no other just route then for them to die. Not only have they infringed a sacred ancient law and brought that abominable blood whore into my court, he's part of a traitorous family who has been plotting to overthrow my reign for years. They must die, along with that entire treacherous family!" Tatania insisted, her voice getting shrill to the point of becoming whiney.

Montmarte's smile never faltered. "Now, now, sweetheart. I think we could find less harmful solutions. After all, the Drake family is still an old and prestigious one. There is no use throwing away all that potential when we could use it to out advantage."

"How?!" Her voice shrieked. She breathily added "You know about the prophesy." Her tone was forlorn, and her face betrayed a hint of uncertainty for only a split second before anger marred her expressions.

"No, Montmarte. They must die. The law is the law." she said rather firmly.

Montmarte was not one to give up. I'd always painted him as a maniacal monster but in reality he was suave and had a certain compelling way of talking that went over and beyond the capabilities of your average vampire.

"You are right, as always, but love I must point out that the particular law we're speaking of here is extremely old, dare I say, out-dated. Our ancestors were afraid of this bond because it created specimen of unparalleled strength and cunning. Imagine such people in your guard, protecting their rightful queen." he trailed on.

I was well aware his argument was trying to save my behind, but it was implying so many bad things for us I felt as though I was going to projectile vomit all over this crazy bitch's fancy court.

"That is a very farfetched plan Montmarte, the only way I'll allow them to live is if the girl may never procreate, if it means that much to you. I have no idea why it would anyways.

I felt a wave of panic surge within me and it wasn't even mine. "You will not touch her." Nick's voice boomed. He was a generally serious person but the way his voice thundered made everybody's eyes zero in on us. I tried to walk towards him as I'd momentarily forgotten I was being restrained but I was pulled back into position.

"Mind your tongue, boy. You should be grateful I'm considering sparing your disgusting lives."

"Your highness, if I may," a voice piqued. Dad. "The bond holds so much potential. Employed in your service, Lucy and Nick could be the best body guards imaginable, employing their bond in the service of the queen. Moreover we have only scratched the surface. Once Lucy is fully converted into a vampire from her half human, half vampire state, the bond will change once again become more potent. We can study their DNA and their children to find ways to make our race stronger."

"He has a point, love. Our race is becoming weak. The same blood has been running through our veins for too long; our gene pools are weakened. We must evolve or we will regress." Montmarte added.

Tatiana scoffed. "Our race is more than fine. And what you're saying only makes me more hesitant. They are a traitorous bunch. I know that as soon as I allow leniency they shall rise against me and put that little weakling, the younger sister, in my stead. I will not sign my own death warrant. Either they die, or they willingly give her up."

I looked at Nick but his eyes were fixed on Natasha, a look of pure hate on his face. I felt as if my insides had rotting away inside me and turned into liquid acid sloshing lazily in my stomach.

"Nathasha, love, be reasonab-"

"STOP! I love you but I know what's best for me. The Drakes have been mocking me and the crown for too long." Tatiana bellowed, her voice filling up the huge hall. Even Montmarte couldn't fully conceal he was taken aback.

"However," she continued, her voice once again sounding like a caress, "I am not cruel. I'll confess however, I am very very mad. Your family has enjoyed for too much leniency, boy." Her cat-like eyes were once again on Nick. She was probably the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen but her eyes were the stuff of nightmares.

"Nicholas, Nicholas. Today you are going to have to make a decision. A difficult one indeed but if I were you, I'd consider myself lucky because I'll spare you. And I'll even spare your little human slut here. Of course, she will never bear you children, I'll make sure of it, but she'll be alive and well. If of course, you swear allegiance to me before my court, on your knees. And if you bring me your sister. Dead or alive, as you please. She will die either way."

"No!"

The word echoed and I hadn't realised I'd shouted it and lunged at the monstrous queen before her thug pulled me back. "Nick, don't even think about it, you goddamn selfish monster." I fought against my captor and he kept pulling me back in till I freed my arm and took it as an opportunity to sucker punch the fucker.

Days of training all out of the window. This was when I realised how badly I'd been kidding myself. This vampire wasn't Nick, he wasn't even Logan. They'd been holding back. Big time.

My captor managed to catch my small first into his larger, beefy hand, which fit mine like a baseball glove. Then he tightened his grip and squeezed. Hard. I felt the bones in my hand ache so bad and heard a sickening crack before I was jerked towards my captor with a jolt. A distinct popping sound filled the air and an intense pain shoot up my arm as he pulled it behind my back to make me face the queen.

I'd dislocated it.

But none of it mattered, I had to do something, kill Tatiana, anything, I had to help Nick. Shouting at the top of my lungs, I begged Nick not to oblige her, not to bow down. Diplomacy was out of the window as I screamed obscenities.

I could see Nick fighting against his captors as well, but three of them had restrained him well and kept him from moving, obscuring my view so I couldn't see him.

"Oh shut her up, will you?"

That's the last thing I heard before I felt a dull thud and my skull quake and blackness consumed me whole.

xxx

It must have been years since I updated but I really didn't want to leave this story without an ending. I started this in secondary, and now I'm in my second year studying law at university and I have gained a job at a law firm at 19 because I used to write when I was younger. I owe my writing a lot and I owe you guys even more because you were my encouragement to write. Expect the last chapter very very soon ;) Love, Sarah.