II: Curious

"Why do you always pick nightclubs?" I'm dragging my feet as Eli leads the way, father, and mother behind me to ensure that nothing "happens" to me.

Eli chuckles and tosses over his shoulder at me, approaching the neon lights of a sign around the street corner, "Hey, you don't see me complaining when it's your turn to decide."

"That's because I like the park!" I exclaim, picking up the pace as Eli walks a little faster.

Father sighs while noting, "The only reason you pick the park, is because you're a lovesick romantic."

"I'll give Wren credit here," mother stands up for me, agreeing, "it's a nostalgic beauty in human interaction."

Eli starts making kissing noises as he adds, "Only those young ones that want to sneak out from their parents' homes meet up at the park. Under the moonlight," he turns around slightly, motioning dramatically, "stealing kisses under the beams of radiant light."

I push Eli and release a huff, hearing him chuckle before turning around and reaching the alleyway next to The Loophole. It's become a routine that I know like the back of my hand. I push off the ground, flying through the short distance to the top of the two-story building. Father and mother are right behind me, landing just feet away while Eli heads inside.

It's his turn, so he gets to pick and hypnotize the humans we'll feed on. Oh, but he enjoys every second leading up to it, taking his time. He enjoys playing with the weak will of mortals, the humanity within them he finds absolutely amusing.

I sit on the edge of the roof, father and mother talking to one another a few feet from me. Gazing out across the city, I can see the observatory from the Paramount Conservatory in the distance, a homing beacon to remind me of my exact location. The lights from the school are duller at night, aside from the few classrooms that are teaching night classes.

I'd rather be learning there than sitting here.

"Wren," father's voice startles me, and I quickly turn around, crossing my legs while sitting on the ledge.

I ask him hesitantly, "Yeah, dad?"

"We think it might be a good thing for you to get a new…dress," he pauses, reminding me of the inevitable, "you know, for the Dance of the Lilies. We want you to put your best foot forward."

Great…

I pipe up while sighing, "It doesn't matter what I wear. Liliana or Jinx Myrkur have a better chance naked than me in—"

Yeah, I get cuffed upside the head at this comment, hardly able to even finish it as I grow silent.

"You forget," father chastises me, "you might not descend from the most powerful aristocratic bloodline, however, there is power in age…you descend from one of the longest living lineages. Almost as old as the royal Hárauður bloodline itself."

Yeah, yeah…I've heard this all before. Still, I'm not as attractive as the other females…well, not as mature anyway, most of them are already in their mid-late twenties…some substantially older. Some have waited just for this opportunity, hundreds of years to be selected by the prince.

Prepare.

The one word slips through all of our minds as Eli connects us all together.

Father lifts his hard gaze to state, "We'll discuss this later."

Super!

Father and mother approach the edge where I sit, overlooking the alleyway as we spot Eli with a group of four girls. Great, slutty girls who are all over him. He'd more than likely fuck them if he could, though, that's only one of two forbidden acts within our society.

Forbidden – Act One: A vampire cannot lay with a human, preventing any further copulation that could result in feelings for the mortal race. Do not weaken the bloodline.

This rule hardly applies to me, as I only see the appeal in the way they can walk under the sunlight. Their freedom has limitless bounds, except for, their mortality. It's not appealing in the end; I'd rather not bid adieu to one that hardly can withstand eighty or so years before their lifespan is diminished in the blink of an eye.

Oh, though what our society is more concerned about is the weakening of the bloodlines. Yeah, that doesn't sit too well with the royal bloodline. We must keep our numbers strong as we are outnumbered by the vast population of mortals.

While Eli gets the humans within range, father, and mother step off the roof, landing easily behind the humans. I release a sigh before following in their footsteps, landing near them while I hear Eli chuckle, "Alright, I did promise you, ladies…"

It's only moments later that his irises shift to a crimson red. The three women turn around, barely in their twenties as they are hardly legal to even venture into that club. While Eli also commands at the same time the father, mother, and I do…our voices one of unison as we wave a hand in front of their faces and command, "Slumber."

They become easy prey as they fall limply into our arms. Eli is already feasting upon the flesh of the one closest to him. Father and mother, they're lost in their own frenzy while I catch the woman who falls against me.

I move the hair from the side of her neck, brushing it away before I feel the ache in my fangs…they elongate, breaking her skin before sinking them into her flesh. The one thing I do enjoy...

…their blood memories.

I get a chance to understand them as they are. Their daily lives must seem so mundane to them in a routine of endless escape, though I do get to see them walk under the sun. I get to see the area as it is under those radiant beams of light without the consequences. It's beautiful…absolutely stunning…I relish this moment, taking what I need before my fangs dislodge from her flesh.

While I allow a few drops of my blood to pass through her parted lips, I set the human against the wall of the alley. While the rest of my family is finishing up in the same manner, I trail my gaze over the woman. She won't recollect anything within the past hour and will be utterly confused the moment she wakes within this alleyway with her friends, wondering exactly what has happened.

We don't kill to feed…

…we take what we need, nothing more, nothing less.

This is how especially our bloodline has survived as long as it has. There are wanderers and nomads that hardly care to abide by these rules, slaughtering those they feed on, taking their lives without a second thought. Perhaps, in vengeance for their deceased brothers and sisters, family members that have been killed at the hands of the humans.

We are smart.

We are safe.

That is why we are still around to this day and age.

"Well, that was absolutely fantastic," Eli grins as we all head away from the area, moving back toward our home. I'm wandering in silence behind Eli and father, drowning out the conversation they are wrapped up in. Mother walks behind me, though we pass others on the sidewalk and keep to ourselves.

As we reach home, I glance at Paramount Conservatory…their night classes will be getting out in another hour or so. If only I could try an—

"How about we open up a catalog and see about that new dress for—" I cut mother off when we enter the living room.

"I'm not really feeling well…" my voice trailing off.

Eli snorts, turning around from heading in the direction of his study, "Vampires don't get sick."

"No…but I didn't sleep either…" I try again, seeing the demeanor of my parents shift easily.

Father nods and sighs, "Your mother and you can figure things out tomorrow night. If you need to get extra rest, by all means, you're free to spend the night in your room."

A soft smile makes its way onto my lips as I nod, "Thank you."

"Get a night of good sleep, dear," mother brings me into her arms briefly before our hug ends. We don't really show much affection. My parents hardly ever show any concern for my well-being when it comes to my emotional state. They just attribute it to a phase I'm going through, that I'll get over it…still, the brief feeling of being in her arms is precious to me.

Trailing my hand up the banister as I walk the steps, I head toward my room. As I close the door behind me, two windows are clear, the drapes pulled back so that I can see the Paramount Conservatory while the other borders the side of the home. I bring the chair from my desk over to the window, looking out across the street at the lights of the few classrooms lit. The library lights are still on, always open until the last of the classes end for the evening.

I bet there are many different stories of history outside of the books my parents have accumulated through the many years they've been alive. A sly smile works its way onto my lips…

…while they think I'm asleep, this might be the only chance I get to see for myself what a bit of the world holds outside of these walls.