Her Vampire Prince

Chapter XII

"Faith! What's wrong? Please, calm down." William cooed to the broken girl in front of him.

She was having a panic attack. Her little human heart was pounding in her chest, and she was gasping for breath through her choked sobs, with a torrential downpour raining upon her cheeks, shaking violently. She hadn't been in his world for more then an hour and a half, yet already she was close to a break down. William inwardly chastised himself for his earlier actions. What had he expected really? He told the girl blood-sucking nightmares were all around her, and then informed her that she was his prisoner for two whole weeks, before proceeding to lock her up alone in her bedroom.

"Mi angioletto... please calm down." He pleaded as he held her close to his chest.

"N-no..." She choked out, still trying to fight him, although lacking the strength to push him away.

As if she were a baby, he rocked her in her arms tenderly, trying to bring her back to peace. He stroked her soft brown curls away from her face, loving the softness of the long lengths. He hadn't held a human so close for centuries, but with Faith, he seemed to always do the unexpected. Her skin was so warm and soft, a strange concept to him, and her face flushed with the colour of life. Even though she was sobbing, she was still ethereally beautiful to him. After a couple of moments of being in William's arms, Faith found her body relaxing into him against her better judgement and her pounding heart calming.

There was something about him that enabled her to breathe again.

As her sobs turned into sniffles Faith remained silent, not entirely sure how she should act, and also not wanting to disrupt the peace.

"We're deep below the ground in the caves by the beach. This is the castle of my coven – a pack of vampire's essentially, led by my father, and where all affairs of state are dealt with. A few of the nobility live here along with servants and the royal family, and it would also serve as a fort if we were attacked. Vampires who want to live as normal a life as possible live in the town above or close by." William explains in a soft voice to an anxious Faith, who would rather bury her head in the sand then find out more about vampires.

Shivering, Faith realises that she has been living among and walking on top of a vampire fort for the last couple of weeks.

"The caves go on for miles into the cliffs, and we have a market, hospital and ballroom built here. It is a civilisation and place where we can truly be ourselves. My father... is King. He wants me to be King after him... but I'm not sure I'll ever really be ready." Faith keeps silent as she feels that William needs to get this off his chest. "Anyway, there's no need to panic Faith. You are safe and I won't let anyone hurt you, ok?"

"But you're keeping me a prisoner, locked up like a criminal." She sniffles, hating being the damsel in distress.

"That's mostly to keep other people out as opposed to keeping you in." William starts nervously. "Although most vampires are vegetarians these days, able to eat normal food with animal blood, there are still a... minimal few that drink from humans. Anyone caught harming a human or consuming human blood is imprisoned in the dungeons, a further mile under the castle. They are starved of food and blood so are very weak and go into coma-like states, but there is always a very, very thin chance someone will escape, or a vampire will go into a bloodlust and try to drink from a human. After a hundred years of rotting in the cells, some of the imprisoned are taken out and given another chance, having to undergo intense reconditioning and being monitored back to health. There is always a chance of someone relapsing, even if they trace the slightest smell of blood in the air, which will cause them to go into a blood craze, unable to see or hear reason. I don't want anything to happen to you, and locking the door - it is heavily enforced by the way - just reassures me that no one can get in without my say so." William explains.

"I guess that makes sense..." Faith's stubborn heart warms at the thought of William caring so much about her safety. "Do any humans at all know about your existence?" Faith quickly tries to change the subject, her cheeks heating inappropriately.

"Well... the government and top officials of the world know about us – some are even vampires. We have an arrangement with them, which allows our existence as long as no humans are harmed. Vampires only exist in Europe, as in other areas of the world the climates are too extreme for us, meaning we are able to keep our existence limited to just a few countries."

"How do... do you deal with the craving f-for... humans?" Faith asks, stuttering slightly.

"Well... it's always there... but after you've been around for as long as me you learn to ignore it." William chuckles.

"Oh... and you said your father is the King of your... your... coven, right? Does that make you a prince?"

"Yes. I cannot say I love it though. It is a lot of responsibility. There's always unrest between the human and vampire world, and trying to contain the situation is exhausting. Vampire hunters are also causing a tumult at the moment, adding extra strain to the equation." William sighs as Faith shifts in his lap. "I'm sorry, are you ok now?" He asks earnestly.

"Y-yes. Thank you. I'm sorry about... that."

"It's fine... I'm sorry I left you on your own after revealing such a revelation to you. Tomorrow I will introduce you to my littlest sister, Florence. She can look after you and keep you out of trouble whilst I'm busy." William muses aloud.

"Ok... that sounds nice. Don't go yet though? I'm... a little... anxious still." Faith admits nervously.

"Of course Faith. I will always be here when you need me."

The flutters in Faith's stomach had her blushing and chastising herself for such a cliché reaction, but she couldn't help it. William made her feel things she never knew even existed.

Hi guys hope you enjoy this chapter!

Love Maddie xoxo

Edited