Post by Ninmast on Mar 18, 2007 15:23:35 GMT -5
Valentine’s Day with My Vampire
Theme: Love
It had been a long day, checking package after package as they came in, all of them from men proclaiming their undying love for her, and still more poured in. Valentine’s Day was bad for her before she became princess, but now that the entire world not only knew who she was, but knew that she was young and single, they wouldn’t leave her alone!
She went over to her assistant, and her most trusted advisor, Iara. “Look at all of them! There must be hundreds of them!”
Iara grinned over her paper at her. “Actually, Princess, we past the hundreds up a few hours ago. We’re in the thousands now.”
Star threw her arms up. “Great! What are we supposed to do with all of this stuff?” She looked around at the assorted packages, wrapped in pink paper with red ribbons. Flowers, stuffed dolls, and boxes of chocolate were piled high in the corners of the great room, and it seemed like the new walls of boxes were moving steadily inward.
Iara moved out of the way of one of the movers as he came through with a trolley. “Redecorate your room and proclaim you the most sought-after date in the world?”
“Funny, Iara,” Star scowled. “Really funny.”
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t be such a bad idea, except you never use your palace room. You are always insisting that you sleep away from everyone else, out in that secluded little cabin of yours.”
Star shot the woman another look before deciding to let it slide that she hadn’t mentioned anything about the second half of her idea. “I stay out in that cabin to avoid situations like this!”
“But you travel halfway across the world just to go to bed at night! I don’t know how you are able to do it fast enough to get any sleep in before turning around and coming back.”
“Iara,” Star sighed, “we’ve gone over this before, haven’t we? I don’t like being in the public’s eye any more than I have to.”
The older woman went over to Star and set her hand on her shoulder. “I understand, Princess. You were raised as just another person among so many others, and that’s the way you will always see yourself. But you’re not just another person anymore. You’re the princess of a great nation, and you are going to have admirers. The only time that will stop is when you find someone to spend the rest of your life with.”
Star’s hand went to the bloodstone ruby on her necklace. “But I already have someone, Iara.”
Iara noticed the gesture, and knew what she meant. “A vampire. You have given your heart to a beast of the night, that will never be able to return your sentiments for fear of death, from the rays of the sun during the day, and from the flaming torches and crackling guns of angry citizens at night. You waste your time holding on to a shadow, Princess, a shadow that won’t allow you to move on. You need to find a real man, someone who can take the proper place as king.”
Star refused to look at her. “That’s what this is all about, then? Are these just more responsibilities, more expectations that I have to conform to? Is it not enough to guide and protect the people to the best of my abilities, that I must foul up what little part of me still belongs to myself?”
Iara went to her side again. “Princess, you know you must always put what is best for the nation before yourself.”
Star nodded, fighting the tears to keep them from coming to her eyes. Darn, why was she always so emotional during times like these? “I know, Iara, and as soon as I find a man that can do a better job than me taking care of these people, I’ll gladly hand power over to him. The throne is open to whoever can do the best job, but my heart is already taken, and he is the greatest king this nation will never get the opportunity to see.”
Iara’s face was disbelieving. “I know you always speak so highly of him, Your Highness, but a vampire? Surely there are more trustworthy suitors out there than a demon such as that!”
Star turned to scowl at her as they walked away from the shipment area. “He’s not just a vampire, Iara! He’s a king!”
“Excellent,” she shouted sarcastically. “Not only is he a bloodsucking monster, but he is the ruler of all of the other bloodsucking monsters!
Star’s face was set. “I used to be one of those bloodsucking monsters,” she said, her voice an angry monotone.
Iara’s anger faded immediately. “Princess, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was only trying to point out that you’re not anymore, praise be to He on high, and such a relationship does not make good sense!”
“He is a perfectly good and noble man, and I would trust him with my life! You know that, Iara! I’ve told you that before!”
Iara’s voice softened. “Yes, I know. I know because you have told me, and I trust your perceptions of people because you have abilities I could only dream of, but this is not about what I know. It is about what people know. You and your Vampire King cannot be together!”
They came to a great bay window, and a sweet gentle breeze flowed through the open shutters as the sun set in a blazing glory. The princess’s gown and tiara disappeared and a simple tee shirt and jeans appeared to take their place, but neither of them appeared to notice. It was an everyday occurrence, and didn’t strike either of them as odd.
Star stepped into the window as if to step out. “Regardless of what we can or cannot be, Iara, it remains that we already are in love. If we have to wait a century for each other, then we will. Time matters little to either of us, and you know it. Good night, Iara. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Star,” Iara sighed. “May you rest easy.”
“You, too, my friend.” With a push of her foot, she sent herself out the window, and flew off out of sight like an eagle on the wind.
* * *
Dinner that night consisted of a can of soup and a salad from a bag in front of a television in her four-room cabin, and at least for a little while, she felt like a normal person again, watching comedy reruns over a canned substitute for food. There were no rules to obey, no manners to stick to, and no people to impress. It was just her, a soup and a salad, and the remote. She could slouch in the sofa, she could slurp from her spoon and, heck, she could tip the bowl up and drink the last drips of soup from it if she felt like it! At times like this, she wasn’t Star, the Chosen One, or Star, the Princess. She was just Star, and it was a wonderful feeling, one she looked forward to every night.
Except for this one. Tonight, when the stupid stations were showing romance specials on every channel, all she could think about was him, and how he wasn’t with her now. She went to bed that night, thinking about what they would do if he wasn’t a vampire, how they would have spent Valentine’s Day at a coffee shop, or a restaurant, or watching the sun set on the top of a hill. But he was a vampire, she reminded herself as she pulled the covers over her head, and nothing could change that, not even her.
She was awakened that night by the wind stirring her window curtains, though she had been sure to lock the window tight before she went to bed. She wasn’t worried, though.
“You’re here!” she groaned happily, still half asleep as she rolled over to look in his direction, recognizing him before she saw him.
He walked over and sat beside her on the bed, the moonlight reflecting off of his long, blue hair. “Eet ez Valentine’s Day, ez eet note? Vere else vould I ve?”
She smiled as she let his voice roll over her. She had forgotten how much she loved his accent. It was enough to make a girl forget that it was caused by a potentially lethal overbite.
“So, Your Majesty, am I the only reason for your surprise visit?”
She felt the bed shift beneath her as he shrugged. “Vat can I say? My advisors, zey are nothing but stuck-up deadbeats. Who vouldn’t vant a chance to get away?”
“Un-deadbeats,” she corrected as a smirk tickled her lips, enjoying their old joke. She pulled herself up in bed. “So, what did you have in mind?”
He scooted closer to her, putting an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close as he gestured out the window with the other. “A moonlit vlight over ze land, vinally ending in a view of ze vestern ocean. I saw zis perveect cleef on my vay over. I think you vould love it.”
She squeezed closer to him under his arm. “Sounds nice, but how about you take me to a nice restaurant, instead? That’s all I’ve been able to picture all night.”
He looked down at her in surprise. “Iv zat iz vhat you really vant, zen zat is vhat you will get. I just thought zat you would vant to spend ze night avay vrom others, just you and me.”
They stood together, as if both were afraid to let go of the other for fear of them disappearing. As they stood, her pajamas disappeared, replaced with her gown again, to match his splendid suit. “I didn’t mean around here, where everyone would recognize me. I heard of this great restaurant, with a wonderful orchestra, and we could sit there together without anyone bothering us.”
They stepped out the window as if the air below them was as solid as the ground, his arms wrapped snuggly around her waist, and hers around his shoulders. “Zat zounds lovely. Vhere is it?”
“Paris.”
“Pervect.”
She felt his hold on her shift slightly as he lifted the two of them up and they took off.
* * *
It was just as she had pictured it, just the two of them, alone in the middle of the city of love, though she thought his powers of hypnotism might have had something to do with it. There were perks to being engaged to a vampire, she thought as she sipped gently at the wine, admiring him while he was looking away, fully immersed in the sound of the orchestra. His hair lay loose over his shoulders, and one arm was draped over the back of his chair while the other one tapped the side of his glass. He tried hard not to show his teeth, but a light smile played at the sides of his lips, anyway. He was so relaxed, so at ease, away from all of the troubles of his kingdom. Here, with her, if even just for the night, he seemed a true prince among kings.
They got their view of the moonlit ocean, after all, as she leaned against him, feeling the effects of the wine and the late night far more than he. He looked down at her, pulling her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.
“You are so beautiful. An ageless gem untouched by time.”
She smiled as she snuggled closer to him. “You’re too kind.”
He returned her smile as he shook his head. “No, I vear I am not kind enough. There are many times I vish you had never vound a vay to heal yourself, so you would still be with me back at the castle.”
She nodded. “Ditto.”
His smile widened, the light of the moon shining off of his white teeth. “And I never grow tired of learning of all ov
ze particulars of your strange language.”
“It’s not strange. You’re just running on an out-dated format.”
He laughed at that, but he could feel her mind drifting toward unconsciousness. Though he loathed the idea of ending this moment, he knew that the night had come to an end. “Come, my princess. Let me take you home.”
He even tucked her into bed when they got back to her cabin. He kissed her once, lightly, on the lips. “Good day, my love.”
She smiled at his habit of referring to time backwards. “Good night, my king.”
* * *
The next morning, she yawned as she woke up, the night’s events vague in her mind. “Had it all been a dream?” she wondered as she got up. “Was it all just images summoned by my wishes to see him?”
Her eyes landed on a single red rose laying on her vanity. No, it hadn’t been a dream, she realized as she brought it up to her nose and absently rubbed the only scar on her entire body, two healed-over puncture wounds at the base of her neck. She carefully put the rose in a vase before leaving out the window, the door forgotten. Her heart felt as light as she seemed, soaring through the air like the most skilled of birds.
She really had gotten to spend Valentine’s Day with her vampire.
Theme: Love
It had been a long day, checking package after package as they came in, all of them from men proclaiming their undying love for her, and still more poured in. Valentine’s Day was bad for her before she became princess, but now that the entire world not only knew who she was, but knew that she was young and single, they wouldn’t leave her alone!
She went over to her assistant, and her most trusted advisor, Iara. “Look at all of them! There must be hundreds of them!”
Iara grinned over her paper at her. “Actually, Princess, we past the hundreds up a few hours ago. We’re in the thousands now.”
Star threw her arms up. “Great! What are we supposed to do with all of this stuff?” She looked around at the assorted packages, wrapped in pink paper with red ribbons. Flowers, stuffed dolls, and boxes of chocolate were piled high in the corners of the great room, and it seemed like the new walls of boxes were moving steadily inward.
Iara moved out of the way of one of the movers as he came through with a trolley. “Redecorate your room and proclaim you the most sought-after date in the world?”
“Funny, Iara,” Star scowled. “Really funny.”
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t be such a bad idea, except you never use your palace room. You are always insisting that you sleep away from everyone else, out in that secluded little cabin of yours.”
Star shot the woman another look before deciding to let it slide that she hadn’t mentioned anything about the second half of her idea. “I stay out in that cabin to avoid situations like this!”
“But you travel halfway across the world just to go to bed at night! I don’t know how you are able to do it fast enough to get any sleep in before turning around and coming back.”
“Iara,” Star sighed, “we’ve gone over this before, haven’t we? I don’t like being in the public’s eye any more than I have to.”
The older woman went over to Star and set her hand on her shoulder. “I understand, Princess. You were raised as just another person among so many others, and that’s the way you will always see yourself. But you’re not just another person anymore. You’re the princess of a great nation, and you are going to have admirers. The only time that will stop is when you find someone to spend the rest of your life with.”
Star’s hand went to the bloodstone ruby on her necklace. “But I already have someone, Iara.”
Iara noticed the gesture, and knew what she meant. “A vampire. You have given your heart to a beast of the night, that will never be able to return your sentiments for fear of death, from the rays of the sun during the day, and from the flaming torches and crackling guns of angry citizens at night. You waste your time holding on to a shadow, Princess, a shadow that won’t allow you to move on. You need to find a real man, someone who can take the proper place as king.”
Star refused to look at her. “That’s what this is all about, then? Are these just more responsibilities, more expectations that I have to conform to? Is it not enough to guide and protect the people to the best of my abilities, that I must foul up what little part of me still belongs to myself?”
Iara went to her side again. “Princess, you know you must always put what is best for the nation before yourself.”
Star nodded, fighting the tears to keep them from coming to her eyes. Darn, why was she always so emotional during times like these? “I know, Iara, and as soon as I find a man that can do a better job than me taking care of these people, I’ll gladly hand power over to him. The throne is open to whoever can do the best job, but my heart is already taken, and he is the greatest king this nation will never get the opportunity to see.”
Iara’s face was disbelieving. “I know you always speak so highly of him, Your Highness, but a vampire? Surely there are more trustworthy suitors out there than a demon such as that!”
Star turned to scowl at her as they walked away from the shipment area. “He’s not just a vampire, Iara! He’s a king!”
“Excellent,” she shouted sarcastically. “Not only is he a bloodsucking monster, but he is the ruler of all of the other bloodsucking monsters!
Star’s face was set. “I used to be one of those bloodsucking monsters,” she said, her voice an angry monotone.
Iara’s anger faded immediately. “Princess, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was only trying to point out that you’re not anymore, praise be to He on high, and such a relationship does not make good sense!”
“He is a perfectly good and noble man, and I would trust him with my life! You know that, Iara! I’ve told you that before!”
Iara’s voice softened. “Yes, I know. I know because you have told me, and I trust your perceptions of people because you have abilities I could only dream of, but this is not about what I know. It is about what people know. You and your Vampire King cannot be together!”
They came to a great bay window, and a sweet gentle breeze flowed through the open shutters as the sun set in a blazing glory. The princess’s gown and tiara disappeared and a simple tee shirt and jeans appeared to take their place, but neither of them appeared to notice. It was an everyday occurrence, and didn’t strike either of them as odd.
Star stepped into the window as if to step out. “Regardless of what we can or cannot be, Iara, it remains that we already are in love. If we have to wait a century for each other, then we will. Time matters little to either of us, and you know it. Good night, Iara. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Star,” Iara sighed. “May you rest easy.”
“You, too, my friend.” With a push of her foot, she sent herself out the window, and flew off out of sight like an eagle on the wind.
* * *
Dinner that night consisted of a can of soup and a salad from a bag in front of a television in her four-room cabin, and at least for a little while, she felt like a normal person again, watching comedy reruns over a canned substitute for food. There were no rules to obey, no manners to stick to, and no people to impress. It was just her, a soup and a salad, and the remote. She could slouch in the sofa, she could slurp from her spoon and, heck, she could tip the bowl up and drink the last drips of soup from it if she felt like it! At times like this, she wasn’t Star, the Chosen One, or Star, the Princess. She was just Star, and it was a wonderful feeling, one she looked forward to every night.
Except for this one. Tonight, when the stupid stations were showing romance specials on every channel, all she could think about was him, and how he wasn’t with her now. She went to bed that night, thinking about what they would do if he wasn’t a vampire, how they would have spent Valentine’s Day at a coffee shop, or a restaurant, or watching the sun set on the top of a hill. But he was a vampire, she reminded herself as she pulled the covers over her head, and nothing could change that, not even her.
She was awakened that night by the wind stirring her window curtains, though she had been sure to lock the window tight before she went to bed. She wasn’t worried, though.
“You’re here!” she groaned happily, still half asleep as she rolled over to look in his direction, recognizing him before she saw him.
He walked over and sat beside her on the bed, the moonlight reflecting off of his long, blue hair. “Eet ez Valentine’s Day, ez eet note? Vere else vould I ve?”
She smiled as she let his voice roll over her. She had forgotten how much she loved his accent. It was enough to make a girl forget that it was caused by a potentially lethal overbite.
“So, Your Majesty, am I the only reason for your surprise visit?”
She felt the bed shift beneath her as he shrugged. “Vat can I say? My advisors, zey are nothing but stuck-up deadbeats. Who vouldn’t vant a chance to get away?”
“Un-deadbeats,” she corrected as a smirk tickled her lips, enjoying their old joke. She pulled herself up in bed. “So, what did you have in mind?”
He scooted closer to her, putting an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close as he gestured out the window with the other. “A moonlit vlight over ze land, vinally ending in a view of ze vestern ocean. I saw zis perveect cleef on my vay over. I think you vould love it.”
She squeezed closer to him under his arm. “Sounds nice, but how about you take me to a nice restaurant, instead? That’s all I’ve been able to picture all night.”
He looked down at her in surprise. “Iv zat iz vhat you really vant, zen zat is vhat you will get. I just thought zat you would vant to spend ze night avay vrom others, just you and me.”
They stood together, as if both were afraid to let go of the other for fear of them disappearing. As they stood, her pajamas disappeared, replaced with her gown again, to match his splendid suit. “I didn’t mean around here, where everyone would recognize me. I heard of this great restaurant, with a wonderful orchestra, and we could sit there together without anyone bothering us.”
They stepped out the window as if the air below them was as solid as the ground, his arms wrapped snuggly around her waist, and hers around his shoulders. “Zat zounds lovely. Vhere is it?”
“Paris.”
“Pervect.”
She felt his hold on her shift slightly as he lifted the two of them up and they took off.
* * *
It was just as she had pictured it, just the two of them, alone in the middle of the city of love, though she thought his powers of hypnotism might have had something to do with it. There were perks to being engaged to a vampire, she thought as she sipped gently at the wine, admiring him while he was looking away, fully immersed in the sound of the orchestra. His hair lay loose over his shoulders, and one arm was draped over the back of his chair while the other one tapped the side of his glass. He tried hard not to show his teeth, but a light smile played at the sides of his lips, anyway. He was so relaxed, so at ease, away from all of the troubles of his kingdom. Here, with her, if even just for the night, he seemed a true prince among kings.
They got their view of the moonlit ocean, after all, as she leaned against him, feeling the effects of the wine and the late night far more than he. He looked down at her, pulling her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.
“You are so beautiful. An ageless gem untouched by time.”
She smiled as she snuggled closer to him. “You’re too kind.”
He returned her smile as he shook his head. “No, I vear I am not kind enough. There are many times I vish you had never vound a vay to heal yourself, so you would still be with me back at the castle.”
She nodded. “Ditto.”
His smile widened, the light of the moon shining off of his white teeth. “And I never grow tired of learning of all ov
ze particulars of your strange language.”
“It’s not strange. You’re just running on an out-dated format.”
He laughed at that, but he could feel her mind drifting toward unconsciousness. Though he loathed the idea of ending this moment, he knew that the night had come to an end. “Come, my princess. Let me take you home.”
He even tucked her into bed when they got back to her cabin. He kissed her once, lightly, on the lips. “Good day, my love.”
She smiled at his habit of referring to time backwards. “Good night, my king.”
* * *
The next morning, she yawned as she woke up, the night’s events vague in her mind. “Had it all been a dream?” she wondered as she got up. “Was it all just images summoned by my wishes to see him?”
Her eyes landed on a single red rose laying on her vanity. No, it hadn’t been a dream, she realized as she brought it up to her nose and absently rubbed the only scar on her entire body, two healed-over puncture wounds at the base of her neck. She carefully put the rose in a vase before leaving out the window, the door forgotten. Her heart felt as light as she seemed, soaring through the air like the most skilled of birds.
She really had gotten to spend Valentine’s Day with her vampire.
