Kidnapped By The Vampire Prince

Being back in the human world was a bizarre change. Where the Rutherford Manor was- in their magical barricade, or whatever – it seemed to be always raining and gloomy. As soon as you stepped out of it (emerged from the woods, more like) the sun was shining brightly. Vincent, Sebastian, Fiona, and I all squinted our eyes as we drove into the sunny winter day. The sight of a familiar area was like a breath of fresh air to me. I sighed contently, sinking into my seat.

Saying goodbye to the King and Queen was a lot harder than I’d expected. It felt like I was saying goodbye to closer relatives I hadn’t seen in a long time. Luella had promised me we’d see each other again and Solomon gave me his word he’d see to it. Knowing I’d see them again made me feel a little better, but it also made me feel depressed. Seeing them again almost meant having to deal with vampires again- setting aside Fiona, Vincent, and Joel, who decided last minute to enroll so Vincent wouldn’t be totally alone.

A smile crossed my face when I thought Joel’s profound apology. He’d practically dropped to his knees and begged for my forgiveness. After I’d accepted it, he berated me for not running away when I had a chance. I’d countered with something along the lines of, “I didn’t know vampires existed until about a week and a half ago. How was I supposed to know you succumbed to animalistic instincts while hurt? And, if you haven’t realized it, I healed you too.” It’s safe to say that shut him up.

“So what’s the story, Emily?”

I pulled myself out of my reverie, my eyes snapping to Sebastian’s emerald ones. “Sorry, what?”

He chuckled a low, deep chuckle. “What you’re going to say if your friends ask you why Vincent is at your house?”

“My parents decided to take him in so he wouldn’t have to be sent to a correctional institute for his uncontrollably bad behavior,” I recited, trying my best to remember what Solomon told me.

“And how do your parents know him?”

“My dad’s best friend’s son…?”

He nodded his head appreciatively. “Very good, Emily.”

Fiona giggled, glancing at Vincent. “His bad behavior? Well I guess it’s partially true.”

Vincent mock laughed, giving her a flat look. “You’re hilarious, Fiona.”

“Oh, I know.”

“There’s your school,” Sebastian announced suddenly, causing everyone in the car to turn their head in the direction he pointed. My stomach lurched when my eyes landed on the familiar building. My school… It was the first time in my life I actually missed it.

“Are there a lot of cute boys there?” Fiona twittered excitedly.

I cocked an eyebrow, turning to her. “Not too many. Not compared to you vampires, at least.”

Sebastian caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “You’ve only met a few vampires who are exceptionally handsome; not all of us are good looking.”

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“Really?”

He nodded. “Just like humans, there are ugly and beautiful vampires.”

Fiona sighed wistfully. “Too bad there are more ugly vampires than handsome ones…”

“I’m actually glad I’m not going to high school with you guys now,” Sebastian declared, his mouth twisting into a frown. “Fiona is going to be hard to deal with.”

“Hey!” she protested.

“Try not to act too much like a love struck fool.”

She glowered at him. “I won’t!”

Raising a hand to my mouth to hide my smile, I gave Sebastian a knowing look. He pretended he didn’t catch my look, focusing intently on the road. A warm feeling grew inside of me- it was cute how he was jealous over Fiona. It made me wish I had someone to be jealous over… I shook my head. That would be a bad idea. It might be fun to tease jealous people, but feeling jealous wasn’t exactly a ball.

“Hey Stupid, what’s your brother’s name?”

My eyes snapped to Vincent and I frowned. “Don’t call me stupid.”

“I’ll do whatever I want, Stupid,” he drawled, gazing through the window mirror at me.

“His name is Jake,” I told him, deciding to ignore his taunting. “He’s a senior, like me, but older by a few months.”

“What’s a senior?” Sebastian inquired curiously.

I stared at him blankly. “You don’t know what a senior is…?”

“It’s what your called when you’re in your last year of high school,” Fiona explained, scooting her butt up in her seat so she could cling onto the back of Sebastian’s head rest. “You know this! I was a senior when we… We…” she trailed off, a blush crossing her face.

Sebastian cleared his throat awkwardly as Vincent shook his head, making a disgusted face. “I know, Fiona. I was just teasing Emily.”

I gave him a sarcastic look. “Oh, ha ha.”

“Sorry,” he apologized with a sad smile. “It’s just that I won’t be able to see you for a long time after I drop you off…”

My heart sunk at his words. “Oh, right…”

“Don’t look so sad. I won’t be gone forever.”

“But it won’t be the same without you around,” I mumbled, slumping back into my seat. “There’s no one who’s as easy to talk to as you.”

Vincent snorted. “Save your love talk until I’m out of the car.”

“I think of him more as an older brother, for your information,” I snapped, scowling at the back of his head.

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“And you’re telling me this why…?”

I blanked. Why was I explaining that to him? It shouldn’t have mattered what he thought… But somewhere in me, I wanted Vincent to know I didn’t like his brother like that.

“Obviously because she’s head over heels for you,” Fiona commented casually, causing me to choke on air.

“I’m not!”

Sebastian and Fiona chuckled, clearly finding my response humorous. Vincent just rolled his eyes, returning his gaze to the outside world. Embarrassed, I dropped my gaze, deciding to focus intently on my hands. What was Fiona thinking? Joking about something like that? It wasn’t even the slightest bit true! Surreptitiously, I stole a peek at Vincent. He was still gazing blankly at the green trees rolling by, evidently not affected by Fiona’s words at all.

“Emily, do I take a right here?”

My eyes shot up to Sebastian, who was looking out his window to the left. I followed his gaze, my eyes landing on a familiar street sign. A rush of an excitement swept over me as I nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one!”

He smiled at my enthusiasm. “Very well. Which house is it?”

I watched out the front window as we pulled onto my street. My gaze immediately went to number 27 on the left side of the street. A two-story, robin egg blue house met my sight, causing my stomach to flip. Using a shaky finger, I pointed toward it. “That’s my house…”

I was the first one out of the car when Sebastian parked in my driveway. Quickly following after me as Fiona, bounding to my side, her eyes open in excitement. “Ooh! Are your parents home? Can I meet them?”

My face fell when I gazed into the garage, looking for their Mitsubishi and finding it empty. “They’re not home…”

“Well, they’ll be back eventually!” Fiona chirped, laying a hand down on my shoulder.

I turned back to the car, watching as Sebastian and Vincent climbed out. Vincent’s eyes ran over my house, his mouth twisting into a smile. I knew he was thinking my house was like a teepee compared to his colossal mansion. It didn’t bother me though- my home was my home. I loved it just the way it was.

“Umm, would you guys like to come in?” I offered, itching to go through the front door and inhale the nostalgic scent of apples and cinnamon. My mom always used way too many of those air fresheners.

Sebastian shook his head. “I’m afraid I must decline. I have to return to the estate and do some…” He hesitated for a moment, looking unsure of whether he wanted to tell me what he had to do or not.

“Kingly duties?” I guessed.

He smiled. “I guess you could say that.”

We smiled at each other for a few minutes more before I ran toward him, nearly knocking him off his feet in a giant bear hug. Now that I was home, now that I was safe (okay, sort of safe), now that I didn’t have to worry about being away from my family anymore, I found new fondness of the vampires who’d once kidnapped me. They were more like best friends than enemies now. I clung to him as I forced myself to stay calm. It wasn’t like I’d never see him again.

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“Are you going to let go any time soon?” he inquired in an amused voice.

I pulled away from him, but didn’t remove my arms. “I’m going to miss you,” I confessed, feeling my chest tighten. “I don’t want to say goodbye yet…”

“We’re not saying goodbye for forever,” he pointed out. “You can come visit me whenever you want. It’s not like you’re not allowed to return to the vampire world. We’re literally five minutes away from you.”

“Absolutely hidden,” I pointed out. “I won’t know where to go.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You do realize Fiona and Joel will be coming from there to here and back almost every day right?”

I stared at him for a moment. Duh. A sheepish smile spread across my face. “Well, it still won’t be the same. I’m going from seeing you every day to… who knows?”

“At least once a week you have to come down,” he told me. “It’ll be fine, trust me.”

I bit my lip, my chest tightening again. “Okay… I’ll miss you Sebastian.”

“I’ll miss you too, Emily,” he responded, pulling me into a hug. “I’ve really got to get back though now, so say goodbye to Fiona.”

I forced myself away from his strong arms, opting for Fiona’s much more slender ones. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she told me. “Bright and early!”

A grimace crossed my face. “Erg… I like the idea of finally seeing my friends again, but I still hate waking up early.”

“You’ll get used to it!” she laughed, pulling away from me. “Bye-bye, Vivi! I’ll call later!”

Vincent shot her a dirty look. “Why can’t I just go home?”

Sebastian pursed his lips at him. “Because Emily needs protection.”

“It’s not like anything will happen,” he stated, crossing his arms.

“You never know.”

Sighing, I turned my back to Vincent, pushing Sebastian toward his car. “Come on, Sebastian. Time to go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Sure,” he responded, easily moving out of my grasp. He paused before his car, sending me one last friendly smile. “Bye, Emily. Bye, Vince.”

Vincent did a quick, one-hand wave before turning his back on his brother. I waved as Sebastian and Fiona climbed into the car again, shortly disappearing from sight. With a heavy heart, I turned back to my house. As I headed for the door, the weight began lifting of my heart, and once again I was happy. Pushing open the front door I inhaled deeply. It smelt like home. My eyes nearly watered at the familiar sight of my kitchen- it looked as normal as always, with dishes piled up like a mountain in the sink.

“Are you going to stand there like an idiot or let me in?”

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