Chapter Sixteen

Spiral

"Can you make it?" asked the darkly dressed figure from his perch on the windowsill. He was watching Juliet, who stood unsteadily on the highest branch of the old tree outside her bedroom window. When hand to hand combat had failed to get them anywhere other than the bedroom, Mika suggested that Juliet learn to utilize her nimbleness for more than nearly falling off branches while climbing trees. After a few successful test jumps to her window or the balcony on the Southern side of the house, Juliet had deemed herself worthy of a challenge, and suggested she leap to the roof. She inhaled deeply and Mika watched her take a hesitant step forward onto the edge of the branch.

Before he could call out to her reassuringly, she jumped, and it was amazing. She landed with a thud on the roof near one of the three chimney stacks and stood shakily, unsure if what just happened, had actually happened. Then she began laughing, much to her own surprise and Mika's down below.

"Are you alright?" he called.

Feeling confident in her own abilities, Juliet dropped down to the ledge and caught the ledge below her, carful with her grip, she maneuvered herself over above her windowsill and dropped again, falling right before the Vampire General who gasped wide eyed.

"Juliet-" he called, watching in amazement as she hoisted herself up from the windowsill, slightly winded.

Once she had crawled onto the floor, panting, she looked up at Mika's shocked expression with a wide smile and glittering eyes. "I think I like this." She said, laughing.

The General inwardly groaned. This girl was going to give him a heart attack. He scooped her into his arms and off the floor, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead that made her blush. "Come away from the window before you jump out again." He sighed. Juliet kept smiling.

"That would do you too big a favor." She flicked his nose and he frowned as she wiggled out of his arms and over to the bedroom door. "I'll go check on the roast, stay handsome while I'm gone, okay?" she blushed at her own words as she slipped out.

Inside the kitchen, Juliet smelled cooking meat, the scent swirling and dancing around her making her smile. Though her kitchen was outdated for the times, she couldn't help but be grateful for all of the room she was allotted as she pranced around the space, giddy. Spending time with her Vampire had her smiling, cooking for him made her happy as well. On the large counter were the secret daggers, ready to be washed for the dried blood on them. She'd been meaning to do it for some time, but kept forgetting. Mika kept her up all night after work and she slept late into the day, barely willing to leave bed sometimes. She wanted to stay in the night, waking up before sunset was an annoyance.

Juliet heard a creek from behind her, sensing someone entering the kitchen with her. She stopped her casual dancing and turned, smiling, but the smile was quickly wiped from her face as she realized she had not one guest, but multiple, unknown intruders.

Mika sighed and leaned back onto the floor, gazing upwards at the ceiling. He'd had much time to think about Paris' proposal. Come to Vampire Mountain and accept his Investiture, thus becoming a Prince, or stay away, shirking responsibility and title selfishly. Alright, so he hadn't said that, but Mika knew the old Vampire well enough to catch on to the meaning behind his words. The entire time he spent in the Halls of Vampire Mountain, learning under his Sire, also a Prince, great things were expected from young Mika ver Leth. He'd been a prominent general in the army of a small nation, catching the eye of a wandering Vampire, who asked him plainly if he would like to broaden his view on war and military, and sacrifice his humanity to do so.

Naturally, he'd agreed.

He had been so young, but all soldiers were young back when he was first born. Under the guidance of his sire, Mika rose in the ranks of the Vampires quickly, spending upwards of a hundred years in the Mountain, growing more and more irritated by the lack of action with each passing decade. After the death of his sire, Mika left, eager to explore the 'new' world and find out what he'd missed (he'd always been fond of current events). Honestly he was much happier when left to his own devices, less testy and les stressed. However he missed the role of leadership.

Planning, structure, knowing one had the ability to get things done. Those were things Mika had always held in high esteem, and as a Prince he would be able to do that more than ever. Abandon all of his worldly belongings for the clan, to lead them into a better future.

Leave behind… Juliet.

The very thought made his heart thump loudly in his chest, the strength of it almost compelling him to find her and hold her close. There was no doubt that he loved her. The emotion washed over him every time he was near her, the need to make her smile was overwhelming sometimes, he often found himself falling out of his normal, irritated character, and that, to Juliet, was enough to make her laugh. She had even gone so far as to tell him that he was acting like a love-struck fool, playfully of course, and he… hadn't bothered to argue. She was completely right.

Mika smiled contentedly too himself, in the past a rare sight, but lately it had been very common, and sat up. He spent too much time thinking, a whole hour had gone by since Juliet had gone to check on their dinner. In fact, he sniffed the air, he smelled smoke. Seems the roast had burned.

He stood and walked out the door and down the grand spiraling staircase towards the parlor and adjacent kitchen. He stopped. Suddenly he didn't smell burned meat anymore. Suddenly all he could smell was blood. Worried, he stepped into the kitchen and straight into a puddle of blood that trailed to the foyer, and, he assumed, out the front door. No longer could he scent Juliet in the manor. He didn't panic; there was no time for that. There wasn't even time to formulate a plan, but in fact he already had his plan. He grabbed the roast out of the oven with his bare hands and tossed it aside. Nobody would come home to ashes this night. Slowly he followed the trail to the front doors, which had been left wide open. He scented the air and looked east into the outline of a forest against the night sky.

Then he ran.