Chapter Two

Celsus

I stared on in boredom as I listened to my father speak to the servants. We had a coven gathering in a few days and he wanted to make sure everything was perfect. I only had to be here because it was important for me to see my father work. After all, I was supposed to take over the coven in a few years after I settled down and married a nice woman of high status.

It was my mother who suggested that I now start following my dad around to get the hang of being the leader. It was also my mother who seemed more eager for me to find a wife than anything else and which was why she was also pushing for the coven meeting to be perfect. She was hoping one of the ladies there would catch my eye and she was hoping they were from one of the top five families beneath us.

The five top families didn't all live on the Island, two of them lived off the Island and one of them was only here half of the year. It was because my family owned the Island that we stayed here unless vacationing. Although we only vacationed every hundred years or so because royalty shouldn't be away from their kingdom for too long. That's what my father believed.

"Alright! Everyone is dismissed!" I tuned back in and watched as all the servants bowed before leaving out one by one to do their jobs.

My father turned to smile at me, "I think that went well."

I nodded, "They seem excited about the coven meeting."

My father hummed, "Most humans are eager to try and become dhampirs for a vampire so they can climb up in status."

"Or maybe they fall in love and want to spend forever together," I said dryly but I was a romantic at heart and the idea wasn't that bad.

Father laughed, "It's okay to get along with humans and even turn them if you see fit but falling in love with one is very low class. No one in our family has ever been with a human and for good reason."

I bit my cheek and gave a small smile, "Right, so since I'm done following you around for the day I'm gonna head out."

"Ah, if you see your sister tell her to come find me."

"I will, father," I left the room and headed down the long hallway.

I used my speed to get to my room faster and shut and locked the door behind me. I had made sure my room was on the top floor and wasn't close to any other rooms. I liked my privacy and as the oldest of seven it was rare for me to get that growing up, so once I was old enough to present a convincing argument to my mom I was able to relocate and have more space.

I flopped down on my back on the bed, wrinkling the covers as I tossed my arm over my eyes. You would think being five-hundred years old would give me enough time to get used to the way we lived our life and the views we held but as the years passed I seemed to dislike it more and more. Although my siblings thrived in the lifestyle and often my mother would tell me they looked up to me so I had to be a perfect role model for them.

That often meant I wasn't allowed to do other things vampires my age did or anything I wanted. I remember for my hundredth birthday I wanted to go out and party with my friends but my mother shot the plans down without even letting me know. Imagine my surprise when my father was handing me a suit and telling me that all our "closest" friends/family were downstairs waiting for me that night.

Then there was the time I had my first girlfriend. I remember hiding her for a few years before introducing her to my mother and father, but my father made quick with getting rid of her a few months later. She didn't fit the Adelmund family values of being from a high-class vampire family or super-wealthy. I still don't know what he did to have her break things off with me but even when I had seen her later on she completely disregarded me. Therefore I spent my first heartbreak crying in the shower for months.

My second heartbreak was when I had given up. My parents didn't even have to intervene in that one. I had met this fella when I snuck out at three-hundred and ended up attending a mini party/festival the humans were throwing on the island. There weren't any full-bloods and half-bloods didn't know what the top five families looked like or my royal family looked like, and if they did it was before they were executed.

I hand found myself sipping something out of a dingy cup and standing back and watching them all have fun. It was during my scanning of the crowd that I had caught sight of a very beautiful guy who I could tell was a halfbreed; they had a certain scent to them. He had caught me watching him dance and had flashed me a smile before looking away and I took that as an invitation to join him. I had tossed my cup into the trash bin and took up residence behind him as we both began to sway to the music.

Which had resulted in us going behind one of the buildings and making out. Vampires were naturally sexual beings and so there were no qualms and us grabbing a room at an Inn and spending the night. That night went down as one of the best nights I've ever had and for the next few months, it was just as perfect. I had laughed and finally relaxed around someone as we did things from just walking side by side to seeing films together.

It was around the one year mark that he found out who I was and everything ended. I can still recall the scared expression on his face as he dropped my hand and stepped away from me. He went on rambling about how he couldn't be with me because if my family found out he might be hurt or his family might be in danger. He even told me that since he was half-human it would be better if I found someone else because he wasn't cut out to handle all the drama and extra stuff that came with being with me.

Meanwhile, I was ready to fight for him with my family.

I watched as he walked away not being able to stop him as I held in my anger and pain. I had made my way back home and locked myself in my room for weeks with the excuse that I wasn't feeling well and that I had some bad blood. I ended up muffling my cries into my pillow every night as red puffy eyes became normal. I also couldn't seem to shake the migraine that came from crying so much.

I had given up after that. I didn't think I could handle another heartbreak. I had to come to terms that a romantic vampire of my status wasn't cut out for real love. I would just wait until my mother found some snotty vampire for me to marry and then pop out like three kids and give them my love instead. At least my kids would love me as unconditionally as I loved them and I wouldn't treat them the way I was raised. I wanted them to be happy and free.

A knock sounded at my door.

"Yes," I dropped my arm beside me and sat up.

"Dad wants me to tell you that tomorrow there will be interviews to hire more human servants and maybe some low-class vampires. He wants you to be in the throne room by noon and dressed appropriately," My sister, Annabelle, voice rang out.

"Okay," I said and waited until her footsteps faded before sitting up and sighing.

I looked at the time before looking out my window and seeing the darkening sky. I got off my bed and went over to my window, pushing it open and jumping down. I landed safely on my feet before quickly leaving the grounds of our house, using my abilities to jump the fencing fast and swiftly without a guard noticing. If they saw me they would alert my parents and then I would have to answer a thousand questions.

I slowed down to a steady walk when I reached the town and walked around, looking at the different things. Whenever we came out to town we were surrounded by guards and so no one could see us and most averted their eyes anyway out of respect. It was nice to walk around without any of the formalities and I often did it just to get away and live in my own little world. It was like being a completely different person and made it easier to cope when I got back home.

I took note of the little kids running in and out of the candy shop. The candy shop was able to cater to both human treats and vampire treats, which wasn't easy to do. I pondered if I should go in for a while before deciding too. I hadn't had anything sweet in a year because I wasn't allowed to. In fact, it'd be a miracle to find treats in the house besides when it was a special occasion.

I entered the shop and the lady there greeted me, "Hello."

"Hello, wonderful shop you have," I said as I looked at all the different things.

"Thank you! Please, take your time to look around," She waved her hand out and I smiled, giving her a smile.

I crossed my arms behind my back as I walked down an aisle that was dedicated to vampire treats. I stared at the different prepackaged goods and even some of the fresh ones that held cake, cupcakes, cookies, and more. I felt my fangs start to press against my gums as I stared at all the different things, making me hungry to try them all.

I decided on some prepackaged candy and grabbed a muffin and cookie from the fresh section. I headed back to the front and sat the items down for her. She smiled and carefully bagged everything in a paper brown bag. I dropped a thirty down to pay and grabbed my bag, telling her to keep the change. The total was only eleven dollars but making vampire edible vampire goods took a lot of work and the shop was nicely organized. I would have to come back sometime.

As I Iet the door close behind me someone ran into me, I watched as they stumbled back and their friend caught them, steadying their balance.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, even though he was the one to run into me.

He looked up, "It's fine, no damage done."

His eyes were stunning as they seemed to be a light green color that reminded me of the island forest. I couldn't help staring at him as I began to take notice of his other futures and felt my heart do that funny thing and I ignored it. I was not going down that path again, it was always the eyes that reeled you in before you were broken.

"Farewell," I nodded before quickly walking past them and I felt his stare on my back.

"Sebastian, come on! I want candy! You can stare after hot guys later!" I heard his friend complain as the distance grew between us.

I could help the little laugh that slipped out my mouth, followed by a small smile. Vampire hearing was very enlightening sometimes.