3 Chapter three

I was shocked after hearing that. I vaguely knew about the Prince they were talking about, and I was absolutely terrified of him. Even his name was enough to give me a sleepless night.

Why?

My grandpa had warned me against him when I was a teenager—

I had been chewing potato chips, cheeks bulging as I looked at my grandfather's face with a bored expression. He was going to make me repeat the subjects alone in the school. How boring!

"I know you're tired, but I just have one question." Grandpa paused and glanced at the fireplace. "Do you know who's the father of Prince Liam?"

I tilted my head, staring at him in confusion. I didn't even know who prince Liam was. What to speak of his father? I only remembered hearing the name Liam in the school.

Sensing my curiosity, Gramps smiled. "Like humans have a president, the vampires have a prince, who will be the vampire king in America. Didn't they tell you this in school?"

"Well..." How can I tell my Gramps that I would fall asleep during the lectures at school? Pursing my lips, I decided to tell a lie, averting my eyes. "I don't think they did."

Grandpa frowned and went silent for a while. That silence made my heart beat faster. Did he realize I had lied? Would I be caught for sleeping at school? I panicked. Should I admit my mistakes? That would perhaps reduce my punishment. Taking a deep breath, I glanced at him.

Just as I opened my mouth, Gramps said, "Let's continue, alright?"

I let out a relieved breath. He didn't find out about it. What I didn't know was, Grandpa had discovered my lie and deliberately ignored it. But I was too small to understand that.

"Derrick Barlos had been the king of humans around the 17th century when he turned into a vampire. Vampire history says that he was the first person to be turned into a vampire. After that, he fed something to his people that made his public vampires too.'

I gasped at that. Derrick really seemed like a cruel person!

'Do you know how Derrick became a vampire?'

I was curious about that! I looked at Grandpa with shining eyes.

Grandpa laughed at my reaction and patted my head affectionately. "Yes, my dear. Don’t be excited. I’ll tell you." Then he paused as if he was trying to think how to say it. 'It is said that Derrick was sick to the point of taking a last breath, and a servant fed him something. Nothing in the history says what it was, but after that, Derrick was turned into a vampire. Rumors even say that it was a devil’s blood.'

"And what about Liam, the prince?"

"Him? Well, let's just say he's following his father's footsteps."

I narrowed my eyes and pouted. That was a very vague description. I was curious!

"Is he rude too?"

"Yes, yes. He's very rude to others, especially humans."

"How do you know?"

Grandpa made a thoughtful expression. "I haven't seen him yet, but I've heard many things about him."

"Like what?" My ears perked up at that.

"There's a rumor. A spy vampire was caught by the guards attacking the old king deliberately. Derrick was injured so much so that he couldn't even get up from his bed. He's still suffering from the injury."

I snorted, thinking that's what should have happened to such a cruel person.

"No one knows who sent that spy, but Liam was furious. He did something that shocked the entire human population."

"What?"

"He declared war against the enemy kingdom assuming they were behind it." Grandpa pursed his lips as he remembered something cruel. "Many people were killed." I had an inclination that he was not telling me the full story, but I was too small to focus on my feelings. "It all happened when you were about two years old."

My eyes widened at that. "Really?" Wasn't that when my parents died in an accident? It was really a coincidence, but I didn't dwell on the thought.

"Yes. It was nothing but a waste of vampire resources." Grandpa made a thoughtful expression as he lowered his head as if remembering a terrible memory. 'It wasn’t a very good era.'

But I was confused..."Gramps, he did nothing wrong, did he? I mean, that was a spy from the enemy, right?"

"I thought the same when I heard it for the first time. But then..." Grandpa paused and sighed, shaking his head. "He called his entire family, tied them with the rope beneath the sun, and let them die a slow and painful death. I heard they screamed for ten days, but no one dared to send a helping hand."

I shuddered and hugged myself.

Grandpa's eyes softened at my frightened appearance. It took me and placed me gently on his lap, caressing my head. "Do you know why I am telling you this?"

I shook my head.

"Because I want you to stay away from him."

I nodded and hugged him tightly, trying to get rid of the horrific images of torture.

...

My nose went sour at the memory. By the time I laid on the bed, the maids cleaned the room and left, shutting off the light. In the darkness, I could only lay silently, gazing at the moon and stars with tear-filled eyes.

What I feared the most happened.

Throughout my life, I heard cruel rumors about this Prince. The rumors were both blood churning and frightening. Every time I would listen, my face would go pale in fear. I couldn't even sleep at night properly when I heard of his cruel deeds for the first time. Whether the rumor was real or fake, no one knew.

In a decade, he will be crowned as the second Vampire King after his father.

And now, I was sleeping on his bed. What can possibly be worse than this? Was this supposed to be a live version of 'Beauty and the Beast?' Sadly, the Prince wasn't really a beast waiting for his princess. Liam was a cruel monster, wanting to suck me dry.

Even the thought itself was enough to make me shiver from head to toe.

Every girl entering the boundary of vampires never returned. It was natural to assume that they died.

I was going to die too. What would happen to grandpa after I died? Tears poured out of my eyes at the thought of him sitting alone in a big house, staring sadly at the fireplace.

I sobbed as that image formed in my mind.

Why did they have to select both the sisters? At least Lucy could've taken care of him. But now, how would he survive all alone?

I was already going to die, and I had accepted this fact. But I should at least see my loved ones before giving myself to this blood-sucking monster.

With millions of thoughts in the head, I drifted off to my sleep.

...

The next morning, I woke up and stayed in bed in a daze.

I had a horrible nightmare where I went to the party with Lucy, and the Prince captured me. And I slept imagining the worst. I rubbed my eyes, wondering why I would have this stupid dream.

Just as I was about to open my eyes, I heard a familiar voice that brought me back to reality.

"So, you're up, I see. Let's talk about how you'll serve me."

My eyes shot open at that only to see Liam's sharp eyes gazing straight at my form covered in the quilt. I tightened my grip against the blanket as my heartbeat sped up. My lips quivered, but I couldn't utter a single word.

It was okay if I hadn't thought of the rude rumors about this prince. Now when all those stories surfaced, I was having a hard time seeing his face. I just wanted to jump out of the window and die. It would be better than to face this Hitler.

I closed my eyes and shrank back in the covers.

A few seconds later, I heard his footsteps coming closer, making me tremble. Before I could even think of an escape, Liam removed the covers. My eyes opened only to see his angry face.

"I said something, and you dare to ignore me?"

"N-No..." A word slipped out of my tongue, seeing his expressions.

"Do you want me to repeat last night?" He walked closer and squinted his eyes, grabbing my jaw roughly.

"N-No, I-I'm sorry. I'll listen to you." I said hurriedly before he could act.

His hands relaxed and released my aching jaw. With trembling hands, I rubbed the area softly. "I will do as you said, but..." I wanted to see my Grandpa one last time before I die in your hands.

"Hmm?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

I parted my lips and closed again and again, but I couldn't build up the courage to say those words. Five minutes later, Liam's patience ended. "Are you going to say anything?" He sneered.

"I want to see my Gramps." The words blurted out of my mouth before I could even think. As soon as I realized what I said, I covered my mouth and stared at the Prince with widened eyes.

Would he get even angrier?

Would he suck me dry just because of my wish?

His face was expressionless. Was he angry?

My hands trembled as sweat formed on my forehead. Before I could make things even worse, I opened my mouth. "I-"

"Alright."

Huh?

Did he just say alright?

My widened eyes stared at his face. But he didn't wait to see my reaction. He turned around and walked straight toward the door. Stopping for a movement, I saw him turning around, squinting his eyes at me.

"We'll leave in 30 minutes." He paused and turned around to stare at my pale face with narrowed eyes. "If you dare to run away, I'll find you and suck you dry."

A shiver traveled down my spine at that cold threat. But that wasn't what shocked me the most.

I just heard him agreeing with an absurd wish. This had never happened before. No girl was allowed to leave the vampire's province after being selected. This seemed to be a hidden truth or something.

Why did he break that rule for me?

This reality and all the past rumors mixed and crumbled to make me even more confused. A few minutes later, I finally closed my mouth and woke up from my daze, getting ready in a hurry.

There was a trace of joy in my heart that healed the sadness of my missing sister.

Perhaps after meeting Gramps, he could help me find Lucy.

Thinking like that, I hurried my pace and entered the bathroom.

Half an hour later, I found myself sitting in the back seat of a dark blue Audi with Liam sticking to my side. I hurried away, trying to distance myself from this cold guy.

As soon as I moved toward the window, he glanced at me sharply. Holding my waist, he pulled me closer. I thought he would take his hand away, but to my dismay, his hand kept circling my small waist, making me shiver. But I didn't dare to move.

My body was stiff as I kept my hands on my knees and stared out of the window. At the same time, his fingers moved to touch the exposed skin on my waist. Perspiration droplets formed on my forehead, and I couldn't help but tremble. Damn it! Why did I have to wear this stupid top? It was all the maid's fault.

Why won't this guy remove his cold hand? Did he want to use his sharp nails and dug it in my skin deeper to take out blood? My lower lips quivered at that, but I controlled myself. This guy was already fulfilling my last wish. If I did anything to displease him, perhaps I wouldn't be allowed to see my Gramps anymore.

"Where to, master?" The driver's emotionless voice echoed in the car.

"Take us to Brown's house in the human's district."

The entire time I was stiff, stunned, frightened, and shocked by what was happening. Thankfully, half an hour of the ride gave me a chance to digest whatever had happened to me in 24 hours.

First, me and my sister were invited to the eclipse party. Second, Lucy was thoroughly taken away by someone who loves to wear dark clothes. And third, the vampire prince who was famous for being rude and cruel suddenly agreed to my wish.

These turns and twists made my heart jump from one emotion to another without any pause in between. And now, I found it mentally tiring. So tiring, in fact, that I ended up dozing off in the last ten minutes.

I didn't notice where my head drifted off to after I fell asleep.

"Wake up. We're here." Liam's voice sounded in my ear, making me a jerk. I wiped the saliva from the corner of my lips and stared at the window only to find that we had already stopped.

But that wasn't what made me shocked. I had been sleeping on his head. I could see traces of saliva on his shoulders, making me freeze.

Why the hell did I have to fall asleep on his shoulders? I had the urge to time travel in the past and shake my body awake the moment I drifted off to sleep.

I opened my mouth and closed. Words stuck in my throat, unwilling to come out.

Liam spared a glance at me and opened the door without caring about his wet shoulders. But I stayed inside the car, staring at the empty seat in a trance.

"Are you going to sit there all day?" He said in an impatient voice. I could hear him opening the trunk, taking out several plastic bags.

When I got out of the car, I found myself staring at the prince with multiple bags at hand. But I couldn't voice out my question. Only could see him ignoring my presence, entering the front door of a double-story house.

He was carrying bags! I had never realized this man was humble enough to carry stuff around.

When I was in college, I had heard that the Vampire Prince was both cold and heartless. Don't even talk about carrying stuff. He would never touch his own bags.

But now that I was watching the life version of this Prince, all of the assumptions that I had carried for years turned into dust. Was I wrong just to believe the rumors?

Pursing my lips, I headed inside and stood beside the prince, glancing at the living room door in anticipation. It didn't take time for my Grandpa to open the door. But when he did, he stood frozen in the middle at the door, gazing at the two of us in shock. His wide eyes opened and closed multiple times as he rubbed them twice. It was as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"E-Emily..." He softly whispered as tears formed in his eyes.

My nose went sour at that, and I ran to hug him with all my heart. "Gramps."

"Wh-Why are you here?"

I didn't reply. I couldn't. My tears poured out of my eyes as if someone had opened the tap, allowing the water to flow smoothly.

"She wanted to see you," Liam answered for me, surprisingly.

Grandpa didn't say anything. He just looked at the man standing before him and nodded stiffly. He knew that the man was a vampire, but he didn't realize Liam's identity.

Wiping my tears, I stepped back. Glancing at Liam with hesitation, I said, "Gramps, this is Liam. You know about him, don't you?"

The shock of knowing that the prince chose me was better than I imagined. My grandpa stumbled back, with widened eyes, staring at the man behind me without blinking.

"Yo-You..." He didn't seem to find any words to speak, speechlessly standing at the door. I could see him trembling. Seeing his old trembling form, I bit my lips and lowered my head. It would have been better if I hadn't wished to see him. At least this vampire wouldn't have frightened my Grandpa.

To my surprise, Liam interrupted us. "I'll wait outside."

At his cold voice, my body went stiff, and I turned to see him leaving the room. Only then I released the breath I was holding.

As soon as he left, Gramps grabbed my arms. "The prince? I told you to stay away from him!"

I trembled and fell on my knees as soon as I was alone with Grandpa, pouring all my fluctuating emotions into my tears. Covering my face, I cried aloud. I didn't even care about Liam hearing my voice.

A few seconds later, Grandpa's hands patted my back. "It's okay, Emy. You're home." He said softly.

"Gramps, Lucy-" I let out a sob. "-someone took her away. I don't know how to find her."

"It's okay." He continued patting my back. "She'll be fine. Just save yourself first. If you aren't in good condition, how will you find her?"

A hiccup came making me jump. I wiped my tears and stared at my Grandpa's face. "Grandpa, what should I do? How can Prince choose me?"

"Shh..." He patted my back. "It's alright. I'm here, don't worry."