Chapter 1 The ball party

"This can't be. Father, please do something. Don't let him take me away." I was pleaded with a shaking voice. Tears are already pooling in my eyes. I walk to where my mother was.

"Mother, please say something." But my mother was also helpless. My sister Lyla was there beside my father, staring at me angrily.

"Please, your Highness Moira is still very young. And..."

"Enough, did you just say she's young? She is nineteen years old. And who are you to dictate for me? I will choose who I want, and that is Moira." He says, sitting on the chair facing all over the living room.

His golden eyes are still on me. I don't know what I've gotten into. Vampires are my biggest fear. I can't bear seeing them, not to mention living with them. Now the king is asking for my hand in marriage; he's not even asking; he's commanding, and we don't have a choice.

He's the same man I saw in the palace when I and Lyla went to the general ball party, drawing blood from a lady in his hand. The scene appears on my head, sending a shiver down my spine.

And I told Lyla that I dont want to go to the party, but she insisted. If I had stayed at home, this wouldn't have happened.

*****Flash Back *****

The day of the general ball party has finally come, and excitement could be seen on people's faces. The party has been the talk of the town. I was still asleep on the bed when Lyla returned from the bathroom with a towel tied around her chest down to her mid-thigh.

"Stand up, go take your bath, and let's get ready for the party," Lyla tapped me.

"I already told you I'm not going; I don't feel like it," I grumble on the bed, my eyes still closed.

"What do you mean by that? You better stand up. Mother has made a dress for us for the party. And I bet you, it's going to be fun. Now stand up, Lyla says with a smile as I try to stand up from the bed, still feeling sleepy.

Lyla hit my head softly so I could be fully awake before I walked to the bathroom to shower.

I walked out of the bathroom, done taking my bath. I wiped the water off my body with a towel. Lyla brought out a box under the bed. She opened it, bringing out two beautiful dresses.

"This is yours." Lyla handed one of the dresses to me. The dress is a long, straight gown. Its sleeves were thin and made with flowers. It has a long slit on the left side, running up to my thigh. The gown has a V-shaped neck, making my breasts pop out a little.

Lyla's dress is a blue flour-length gown with an off-shoulder sleeve. The front of the dress was made with flowers. The two gowns look elegant and beautiful.

We wore our dress, and Lyla helped me with my hair and little makeup. I am not a fan of makeup, but Lyla insisted. She did hers, and we left the house.

I don't really see a big deal in this party. The general ball party is for everyone, though. Both vampires and humans will be present at the party. The party always takes place in the palace.

We got to the junction where Mr. Clifford parked his carriage for transport. Mr. Clifford is one of the transporters in our community; he uses his carriage for transportation to earn money.

We entered the carriage and met two other people in it. With the look of their dressing, we are all heading to the same place.

In no time, we got to the palace. We paid Mr. Clifford six silver coins before getting down from his carriage. It was a nice sight, as the palace is so large and beautiful. This is the first time I have seen and will be entering the palace. The music played in the palace hall could be heard outside, where we are.

Lyla and I got to the gate entrance, and a guard led us to the palace hall. Getting to the hall, people were going in and coming out of the hall. The hall is very big, with a lot of people in it. We walked inside to a corner of the hall where there was an empty chair. I sat down to observe my surroundings before Lyla stood up. "I want to get something to drink over there; I will be right back," she said before leaving. I was still looking around the hall. Some people are dancing, some are sitting down as I am, and some are even making out openly. Then I realized it had been over thirty minutes since Lyla had returned.

My eyes scanned through the hall to find her. I'm still looking for my sister, when a man walked up to me. He asked for a dance, but I declined politely, and he left afterwards.

I felt someone staring at me, but when I turned to take a glance at the person, I saw no one. Maybe it's my imagination... I thought inwardly.

Later, I saw my sister on the dance floor with a man dancing together. I wanted to walk to her, but I decided to leave her to have fun.

I walked to where I was before I stood up. Another man approached me, but he is a vampire. He has this flirty, arrongant tone: ''Hey beauty, can I have a dance with you?'', he says as he stretches his hand forward with a smirk on his face. "I'm sorry, I am not interested in dance'', I declined, looking up. The man sat on a chair beside me. "Alright, dear, I am CODY BROOK..you look gorgeous'', he complimented while his red eyes were on my clevage. I don't even know him, and he is already informal with me. Feeling uncomfortable, I adjusted my dress.

"Thanks, I think I will be on my way now," I uttered before standing to leave. I walked out of the room to receive fresh air and to run from that man, CODY, or whatever his name is. I decided to give myself a tour of the palace. I headed towards the other side of the palace building. Fortunately for me, I didn't meet any guards on the way. I sighted a large door and knocked on it, but there was no response. I pushed the door open. I walked into a corridor. The wall was designed with different artworks. I was still checking the wall as I moved further in the corridor. I didn't realize that I had gone deep into the palace.

Then I heard a scream! I jolted in shock. "What sound was that?!". I murmured and looked around. Curiosity got the better of me, and I wanted to know where the scream came from. I moved forward and came across a man holding a lady, his mouth on the lady's neck. I stopped instantly, shocked at the scene. I was frightened, and I covered my mouth with my hands to stop me from screaming.

The man's eyes were red as blood!. Blood could be seen in the corner of the man's mouth; the man is a vampire. I've read a lot about vampires in the library. They are ruthless, arrogant, and scary creatures. I tried to run, but the man was faster and stronger than I was. The man grabbed my hand and slammed me against the wall.

"Little human, what are you doing here?" he questioned as his gaze was on me, sending strives down my spines.

"I...., I was only.... Please, let me go. I stuttered with a shaking voice. This is the first time I'm seeing a vampire drinking human blood.

"You've entered the wrong... ", Before he finished his statement, a voice from behind could be heard.

"Your highness, my king," the man said, turning his head in the direction the voice came from, and I used the opportunity to escape from the man. I ran out of the palace as fast as my legs could carry me.

"Why are you running like a madwoman? " Lyla questioned from behind. I turned to her... "Oh my, you won't believe what I saw just now! I said, breathing heavily as I put my hand on my chest.

"What did you see?" Please, let's go home; it's late already!. Lyla stated that she did not want to listen to me anymore. We sighted Mr. Clifford's carriage, which took us home.