Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Lucas stood up suddenly. "You see this!" he exclaimed.
"This is the reason why Cassius shouldn't be King."
He turned to the Elder vampire, his anger evident. "You need to calm down, Lucas," the Elder vampire said.
"How am I supposed to remain calm when you're all going to make him King soon?" Lucas asked, his voice rising.
"If Cassius doesn't get married before the end of the month, he will be crowned King," the Elder vampire explained.
….
Anastasia let her head rest on the sofa, thinking about her life. She felt pains on both sides of her neck and wrist.
Getting up from the chair, she walked towards the mirror to stare at her reflection. Her eyes widened in surprise to see her face becoming pale. She shook her head, looking down at her wrists to see her veins turning purple. Was she about to die? She felt her heart sink, and she collapsed back on the sofa. Her body shivered with fear as she continued to stare at her wrists.
Her mind flashed back to a few years ago, when she was only fifteen years old. The memory still felt fresh in her mind. She was squatting at the corner of the house, hiding from her furious mother. When Irina finally found her, she hissed, hitting Anastasia with a wooden stick.
"You stupid child!" Irina spat, making Anastasia shiver.
"You have been a disgrace to this family! You are like a little witch! No wonder your father died!"
"Mama," Anastasia tried to hold back her tears from streaming down.
"Don't call me that," she frowned deeply. "Soon I will take you back to where you belong, and I will never have to worry about you again."
She raised the cane and struck Anastasia on her back. She screamed, scrambling on the floor with her eyes burning with tears.
"You need to know your place in this house," Irina warned.
"Don't go around pursuing the men whom I have brought here. I told you not to call me 'Mama' in front of him, yet you did. You make me regret things."
The truth is that ever since Irina's husband passed away, she has been bringing countless men to the house.
In a kingdom like this, men do not want to associate themselves with a woman who already has a child.
So Irina tries to deny Anastasia as much as she can, but somehow the men would find out and abandon her.
"I won't do it again, Mama," Anastasia whispered. Another strike landed on her back before Irina turned around and left her there to cry.
The memory faded, but the pain was still fresh. It felt like it had happened a day ago. Her back was covered with marks from her mother's strikes. No matter what she did, she found it hard to earn her mother's love. Irina would call her names, telling her she was a cursed child. But with the recent events that had happened and how her mother had left her to die, Anastasia vowed never to go back to her mother. She would never accept her again.
Walking to the cupboard, she drew out the journal and began to write again. As she continued to write, a single tear fell from her eyes onto the journal. She squeezed her eyes shut, dropping the ink on the table. The thought of dying brought an ache to her chest. She tried not to cry more, but she found herself crying harder. Anastasia hated when she was like this. It made her feel raged and overwhelmed her with anger. She would start acting subconsciously.
She could feel her hands trembling. Anastasia didn't like this. She quickly stood up from the chair and rushed to get water from the jug. Gulping the water down, she felt a little calmer. She took a deep breath before deciding to take a nap.
Waking up from sleep, she noticed the room was dark. It was midnight. Why wasn't Cassius here yet? She sat down for some time, thinking he would come. After a while, she found herself dozing off. Two days went by, and she didn't see Cassius. On one hand, she was happy that he didn't disturb her for blood. But on the other hand, she was curious to know what had kept him from coming to the tower. Then her mind drifted back to what he said to her about traveling to another kingdom. Had he gone without drawing blood from her?
She continued to look out the window, and after some time, she went to sit on the sofa. Just as Anastasia was closing her eyes to sleep, she heard the door open and saw Cassius walk in. Her eyes widened, not expecting to see him now.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you had traveled."
"I will be leaving soon," he replied, reaching out to touch her hair. "And I hope you don't try to escape before I return, because I will find you."
"I won't," she mumbled.
"Good," he nodded. "As for why I'm here…." He leaned closer, grabbing her neck, and Anastasia gasped. As he began to draw blood from her veins, she closed her eyes, feeling both pleasure and pain. She bit her bottom lip to hold herself back from screaming from the intense pain she was feeling.
Cassius continued to suck her blood, and she started to feel dizzy. Black dots began to taint her vision, and she wondered if this was her end. "Cassius…." She placed her hand on her chest. He released her, and she almost fell if he hadn't caught her in time.
"Sit here," he guided her to sit on the edge of the bed.
"I'm feeling sleepy," Anastasia said, and she lay on the bed, closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes, it was evening, and she saw a figure standing in front of her.
"Anastasia it's time," Maggie whispered.