Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 13:54:10 -0700
From: Joey Romero <shyboyjoey@gmail.com>
Subject: The Awaking chapter 4

For Disclaimer read chapter one


Chapter 4: The past is Past part 1

Adrian found himself in a place he did not know, but this time he was not
in Kai's body instead he was like a soul floating in the air and could
hear Kai speaking to him.

"Do not be afraid , I'm going to tell you your past life as I relive it.
No harm will be done to you like the past dream."

"But was it your going to tell me?, and where is Dorian?" Adrian asked
with a faint of fear in his voice.

"Aw you speak of the vampire prince Ran, do not worry he will be reliving
the past life with me.

"Now Adrian will you let me start my story?" Kai said in a soft voice.

"Yes prince Kai" Adrian said going silent waiting for Kai to tell his
story.

" If I said I met my vampire price at a ball at the king's palace, would
you believe me? Of course, it is easier by far to believe it now. But
then it seemed an impossibility. The king was my father and the queen, my
mother, or so I thought. I was merely the fourth son and sixth child of
the king and queen's eight children, with no hope of the throne. When
have you heard a story about the fourth prince before? I flatter myself
that this may be the first".

At least my status meant that the courtiers and servants did not trouble
themselves to hide their thoughts from me. I learned much of what
happened in my father's kingdom from them, most important, that none of
my father's subjects had any reason to love him. I also heard the
whispers before Prince Ran arrived.

"Did you hear? One of Princess Aura's suitors, he's a real vampire! From
beyond the mountains of the Western Wall, I heard." And so it went until
I might have pitied the fellow were not so intend on pitying myself.

Still, something about him intrigued me and I imagined what he might be
like before he arrived. I wondered, along with the court, why on of the
vampire princes would aim so low as one of my sisters. Not merely because
I loathed each and every one of them, mind, but because the vampire
kingdom beyond the mountains was rumored to be full of beautiful women
and men alike.

It was also said that the vampires were rich beyond the dreams of mortal
men, and deathless in the bargain. They seldom intruded on the lands of
men since their infatuated victims often gave themselves up by choice.
Why bother with a living bride, especially one like Aura who was neither
beautiful nor kind? True, there were other tales that said that the
vampire's powers were fading and that they could no longer hold their
lands as they once had. But I had no way to judge the truth of any of
these rumors and gave them small consideration.

On the night that the vampire prince arrived, I sat sulking in my usual
corner of my father's banquet hall with Kirin the jester. Kirin, like me,
was short and blond, slender and elfin in the court of dark giants that
ruled over the peasants who looked like us. That was one reason I liked
him so much, the other being that, as the butt of all the jokes that
weren't directed at me, he was my companion in suffering.

Not that he saw in as such. "Fine fish, tonight, lad. Eat up! We may not
eat so well again tomorrow." He belched contentedly as the last of the
fish he had purloined from the kitchens cashed into his gullet, then
scowled at the door. The scowl made the scar on his cheek twist into
something fierce and harsh for a moment before his face lapsed into his
usual foolish smile.

I turned to see what he was looking at and saw that the vampires had
arrived. The word does no justice to the way they appeared, their eyes
old and full of secrets, their faces perfect in their weird splendor.
They cam in, silent as cats but fro the clink of their armor, trailing in
the wake of their prince.

To see a score of them in company, shining in my fathers court like small
suns, was a magnificent sight. And yet there was something about them
that sent shivers down my spine, as if they might turn and begin to hunt
amongst us without warning. There was a bit of the monster about them
still, despite their wisdom and beauty. Then it was that I caught my
first glimpse of my sister's suitor. He was tall and slim like the others
but somehow gave the impression of a speed and strength that would be
hard to match in battle. His face was pale, white and beautiful, and his
hair flowed long and black in a queue down his back. But it was his eyes
that me believe that he was the creature of the rumors. Their silver-gray
gaze swept the court with a could, hungry look like a hawk newly
unhooded.

He caught my own star in their grasp from across the room and I gasped,
struggling like a fish on a line. There was something in his gaze that
felt as though a single black gloved hand held my soul and saw all that I
thought and felt. I blushed and tried to look away, afraid of having been
caught gawking. The strange prince smiled a thin smile with no hint of
fangs and slowly, oh so slowly released me from his eyes. When I was able
to breath again, Kirin was giving me a strange look.

"Don't look at him directly again, lad. He can command your soul if he's
all the say he is. The king would kill you with his own sword if he saw
even a hint of that come about. Let Aura lie down with the living corpse
and have whatever good there is of it."

He spoke the truth. The king, my father, had wished me left to the mercy
of the wolves when I was a child a thousand times. I could not have said
why he hated me so, other than I was the only one of his children that
resemble my slim, golden mother. Perhaps it was more that he could bear
to see her in my face. Whatever the cause, any infraction, real or
imagined, could spark his rage and give him the reason he craved to be
free of his least-loved offspring. I glanced at the scar on Kirin's face,
a relic of time when he stepped between the king and the object of his
wrath, my ten-year-old self. It took no effort to nod my agreement. What
was he to me, this vampire prince from beyond the Western Wall who
desired the hand of my most hated sister? I turned away.

Once the pleasantries were complete and the prince had been presented to
Aura and the important folk of the court, the evening began in truth. My
father had not stinted the flood of gold necessary to bring about the
most magnificent feast I ever seen or heard of. If all manner of
delicacies and gallons of sheep's blood alone were enough to sway the
heart of the prince, then Aura was as good as wed. idly, I wondered if
the blood had truly come from sheep or if my father was bleeding the
unfortunates in the dungeons. I spared a small thought for their agonies,
poor souls. The cold distance of my father's face as he sat on his throne
brought me no more comfort than usual. In fact, the vampires looked
almost likely in comparison. I shuddered and turned to the small plate of
food that Kirin had seized from the main table.

The banquet went on around us, turning from food to entertainment and
from thence to dancing. I would have sat on in my corner at peace were it
not for my sister Erika. When the dancing began, nothing would please her
more than that her ugly brother would stand up to dance with her,
painting her as a beauty in comparison. Erika simpered and pretended to
smile down at me, her eyes cold as the prince's, withholding all her
usual taunts behind closed lips. Yet her face spoke volumes and it was as
if she spoke aloud, so her silence was no boon. By the time we finally
danced in a pairing with Aura and her prince, I would have given anything
to be forgotten. He glanced at me again, eyes burning through me with a
mocking stare. Aura whispered something to him and he looked deliberately
away, contempt written all over his features. At that moment, I hated him
more than my entire family, were such a thing possible. Had I any skill
with a sword, I might have challenged him at once but since I had none, I
finished the dance with what dignity I could muster. Then I turned on my
heel without a word to Erika and left the hall to begin the long, weary
climb to my half ruined tower room. I was done with feasting. I seized a
flagon of my father's finest wine as I sipped it as I walked, remembering
the prince's eyes. He had looked at me as though I were nothing, as
though I could never be worthy of his notice. The realization made my
heart raced with anger. I stormed along the passage, paying little
attention to my surroundings. That was why I didn't see Aura's vampire
when he appeared in the corridor before me so suddenly that we nose at
me.

"Are you always so rude, dwarf prince of the Northern kingdom? You leave
your sister unpartnered and unescorted, you smash your unwanted self into
your father's guests these things don bode well if we are to be one
clan."

He towered above me, as did all at the court except Kirin, and blocked my
passage so that I could not ignore him. "Move aside, sir. My sister may
barter her body and soul to you but you will never be a brother to me as
long as I draw breath." I was shaking with fury now, glaring at him as if
I could force my was past. With a speed that made me gasp, he spun me
back against the stone wall and braced his hands against the frock at
either of my shoulders so I could not flee. His face was inches from mine
as he hissed, "You are quick to assume that your sister is good enough
for one whose lineage stretches back to the Elder Kings, foolish brat. I
see that the blood of your kingdom's Old Ones runs true in your veins,
yet even they are children compared to the years of my people."

What Old Ones did he mean? I had heard the tales of the ones who lived
here before my great-grandfather conquered the kingdom but all of those
folk had been destroyed or enslaved. There was nothing left of them but
me. I nearly shrugged as I dismissed my thoughts. Who knew how the
vampires entertained themselves? Perhaps he simply lied. His eyes burn
into me as if he read my doubts. I was wrenched back from my thoughts to
find myself still held captive by a being I despised. I found the words
to say as much. "What do you want with her, then? Our lineage is as good
as yours, creature of the night . My sister can marry any on of a dozen
lords."

"You were simpleminded farmers when my people took the Western lands.
Your sister is worth nothing more or less than the alliance she brings
and the lands that will be linked to mine. As her husband, I will occupy
the throne of this sty and this kingdom will be mine, or have you
forgotten that?"

The blood burned in my veins. "Sty? I wonder that you bother to soil your
hands with us then, great Prince! Or are the tales true? Do your powers
fade with time and your lands slip from your fingers?" I did not expect
an answer and he did not grant me one. "As for you ^Å.." he bared his
fangs as hi hissed, Do you think I could not command you to love me if I
wanted to? You would beg for the honor of my notice then." I could see
his fangs when he spoke and I knew that some of what I heard was true. He
might control me or even kill me in an instant and I was powerless before
him. I looked deep into his eyes, forgetting Kirin's warning and took a
long breath. He smelled of wild magic and something else, something I
could not name but it pierced me so that I found my anger again. "Oh, all
powerful Prince! Now I see the error of my ways and prepare myself to
adore you in any way you see fit! How weak do you think I am, monster?
Save your powers to bend men or your will for my father and my sister and
let me pass." His eyes darkened at my sarcasm and for a moment my knees
trembled. I could feel the cordlike strength of the muscles in his arms
on either side of mine and I knew I could not defeat him in battle. So we
remained for an eternity until he dropped his arm and turned from me with
a curl of his lip. He stalked away before I could demand to know what he
was doing in that corridor so far from the quest quarters.

I opened my mouth to call after him, to demand an accounting of his
actions but no words came. Instead I, too, turned and continued toward my
tower, trying to ignore the shaking of my hands and knees. I reached my
room without further incident and bolted the door behind me before I
collapsed on my hard bed. There I lay, wrapped in my threadbare blankets
and tried to forget what I had just seen.

________________________________________________________________________

Writers notes: tell me what you guys think of this chapter I hope you
guys like it. There will be more of Adrian's and Dorian's past life
together soon so let me know if you guys have any ideas for the next
chapter write me at

shyboyjoey@gmail.com or you can post here
http://www.quicktopic.com/39/H/qx58BJrqyT2E6