Katie

My eyes opened, yet I couldn't see anything. I was engulfed in complete darkness. However, what I could hear was far different.

A voice that I recognised to be Chases was hushing his wife, Donna. She didn't sound too good at all. Her whimpering was so loud, all I wanted to do was go over to her and comfort her as she had done for me. I couldn't find the strength though. So instead I sat helplessly in the corner of the cold van listening to her suffering.

After a while, her weeping died down.

"Chase?" I asked solemnly, "Is she okay?"

"Not really, she hit her head. She is so scared." He sighed, "so am I."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't say that everything would be alright I just couldn't guarantee that. If I wasn't so weak then I would do everything to protect them. I couldn't see that happening though.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. All I could picture was Dan's worried face. I wish I had some way of contacting him.

Knowing we had been driving for quite a while only made me even more concerned. The longer we drove, the further away from Dan I was getting and the smaller the chance he would ever find me again.

After many long hours of travelling; we finally arrived. I could feel the van slowly come to a resting position and began to hear some muffled chatter coming from outside. I didn't quite recognise any of the voices. Readying myself for what was coming next, I stood up and took a deep breath.

I built up enough strength to move to the other side of the van where Donna lay blubbering. She was a complete mess.

"Just breathe deeply Donna, please be strong." I held her hand and she held onto me as if her life depended on it. I guess in a way it kind of did.

The door of the van opened wide and there stood four men. They were all quite flawless - vampires I presumed. They definitely didn't smell like humans.

In a way I felt relieved that I was away from those weird creatures and with a being I could in some terms, relate to. Maybe here I would be fed properly.

We all slowly stepped out of the van and stood in front of them. They didn't ask us to, it was like they were summoning our bodies and we moved.

Situated in front of us was an impressive dwelling, we all looked up in awe. Most people would call it a castle. Maybe some would rather the term palace? Whatever you want to call it, it was enormous and imposing. It was magically ornate, with spectacular gothic architecture features.

Donna whimpered and I snapped my attention back to the men in front of us. Two men had Donna and Chase, respectively, by the arms and were dragging them off into the castle.

I could walk myself, and I wished to make that clear to them, yet I really didn't want to argue and make things worse for myself.

We walked in side and I couldn't help but be amazed at my surroundings. This place was grander than I had ever even seen in movies, let alone reality.

We walked to the top of a massive staircase and down a long hallway, passing many different doors along the way. Finally they stopped and unlocked a door. Before I knew it I was being thrown with great force into the dark room and the door was being locked behind me.

In all honesty I was getting quite sick of being thrown around and treated like garbage.

I scrambled around on the ground and stood up flicking on the light switch closest to me. To my surprise I was standing in a large and luxurious bedroom. Before me was a grand, king sized bed with about 10 different throw cushions decorating it. A beautiful day bed was pushed against the wall with a window displaying the lovely 19th century gardens. There was even a lake visible in the distance.

I slumped down on the bed and waited for someone to come and tell me what the hell was going on.

Dan

"We need to think of a plan." I spoke while rummaging through the fridge in search of a few bottles of blood.

Xavier just looked out the window with his thinking face on.

"What did you say her name was again?" He asked looking at me alerted.

"Katie."

"I think I know where she is." He said. Emotion was evident on his face and he also sounded confused.

He continued, "When I was at the council meeting last week, they spoke of a young girl named Katie. They said she had the blood needed for a spell that the king was pursuing. I don't quite know what the spell was but it seemed important and they said the king was determined to get a hold of the girl. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!"

It took me a while to take it all in. The king was one man you didn't want to mess with. He was the king of all vampires. My dad was the king of our area, this man was the man in charge of all kings. No one could possibly fight him. He was too strong and powerful.

"Did you ever taste her blood?" Xavier asked curiously.

"Yeah, it was different I guess.. Okay, it was really good. I thought that was just because I was attracted to her though?"

"I guess not." He stated.

"She is a vampire though."

He looked up, "Well apparently that doesn't matter. No matter who she is the blood is still running through her system."

I got up and took a massive swig of blood and threw the other bottle towards Xavier.

"We got to get to the kingdom. We may need back up." Xavier pointed out.

"Can we just make sure she is okay first?" I knew I wouldn't be able to focus on saving her if I didn't know she was okay.

"They won't kill her if that is what you are concerned of?" He smiled reassuringly, "They will need her blood long term, she won't be leaving their site until we come up with a smart plan."

Well I guess that was good in a way. At least I knew she would be safe. But it didn't confirm that she was mentally okay.

Katie

I had found a few bottles of blood in my room which was probably the most exciting thing to happen in a long time. I skulled them down and lay back on my bed. I was way past bored now, there was even a word to describe it.

They had left me here for a whole 24 hours and I hadn't heard from anyone.

Why was I even here if they didn't want anything from me? Maybe it was Donna or Chase they were after and I was just caught in the mess?

Suddenly the door swung open and a young boy about my age flew into the room in a hurry.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting Miss." He had a beautiful dress in his hands and he lay it across the bed next to me. "There is a ball on tonight and the king requests your attendance. His son will be here at 8 to escort you there, okay?" He smiled and I just nodded. I wasn't going to ask any questions. I knew he wasn't the person I should be asking.

It was 6 so I had a fair amount of time left to get ready, so I took my time to get showered and dressed. Opening up the bathroom drawers I was amazed to find every type of makeup and heaps of hair styling tools. I smiled knowing this would keep me entertained for a couple of hours.

I smiled at my reflection, impressed in my makeup skills. I had never really liked applying much makeup.

Someone knocked on the door. For once someone had some manners, instead of barging in like normal. I quickly applied a thin layer of red lipstick and then made my way to the door to greet my guest.

Standing in the entrance as I opened the door was a young man. Handsome would definitely be an understatement. His eyes were a crystal blue and his skin was completely flawless.

"He turned towards me and smiled, "Finally I have the privilege of meeting you Katie." He knelt down and kissed my hand.

What was happening? I couldn't even talk. I was speechless.

"I am Aaron. The kings son."

"Prince?" I asked, knowing the answer. He laughed and nodded.

He smoothly moved his hand around mine and walked me out of my door and down the hallway.

"If I was you, I would stay by my side. We don't want you mixing with the wrong crowds." He spoke without diverting his gaze off the long hallway ahead of us. He seemed so calm which was completely different to how I was feeling right now.

I didn't know these people. They could be dangerous, crazy, insane.... This list went on in my head.

The man that was currently escorting me to the ball didn't seem crazy though. He seemed the perfect gentlemen. It only made me more curious.

I couldn't help but feel like royalty as we glided down the hallway, across the library and down the grand staircase. Who ever thought you could feel so many different emotions all at the same time?

We kept walking until we reached a massive door, that was more than twice my height. The muffled sounds of old style music echoed through the cracks in the door. Suddenly my nerves hit the roof and I realised I had stopped breathing. I calmed my self quickly.

"This is it." I heard Aaron whisper before the doors swung wide open.