Her Vampire Prince

Chapter XVI

One week down... Faith thought to herself as she continued writing in the notepad Katherine had thoughtfully supplied to her. It had been one hell of a week, but she was slowly becoming accustomed to life in the dark. She was definitely much more relaxed, and maybe even... happy. Whether this was a good or bad thing, Faith was yet to decide. She had spent most of her time with Florence and Katherine (and of course her sister was stuck to her like a Siamese twin), and had made a new friend in the maid called Lizzie. At first Lizzie was actually scared of Faith - or more correctly of what William would do if she upset her, but she had gotten over her fear when Faith asked her for help braiding her hair. She had also met the fourth sibling; John. He was incredibly charming and flirtatious, but Faith saw through his teasing mannerisms. How different he was from his brother! Faith guessed that William had to be the more grownup, sensible one as he was the future King of his people. How weird a thought that was.

Also, with the support of Hope, Faith managed to get in contact with Sampson and end things - for good. At first he had grovelled, but then became angry when she ignored his pestering calls, so he resorted to leaving angry voicemails about how she had been a waste of his time. He also told her that he had cheated on her since she never 'put out'. Of course, Faith was understandably saddened about this, but has now realised that leaving him was one of the best things she ever did.

William always managed to pop in to see Faith at least once a day, stealing her breath and making her heart gallop in her chest. A couple of days ago he had taken her to a vast, grandiose library at the end of her floor. It was astounding in Victorian style with a tiled chessboard floor and books covering the walls like moths to a flame. The library was built on two stories, with white ladders allowing you to reach the books at the top. The shelves were all made out of magnificent marble with gold edgings, and on the second floor, there were floor cushions and comfortable armchairs, as well as tables for quiet study. William told her that not many people visit the library anymore, but it was instantly a favourite with Faith, who spent days reading in there. There were books in French, German, Greek, Arabic, and even some incredibly old ones dating back to the 14th century.

Faith enjoyed the muffled stillness in the library, away from her pestering sister who was going crazy begging for answers, only sometimes joined by Katherine or William. When William joined her, they sat for hours in silence or discussing the books they were reading. They were both great fans of Shakespeare's Hamlet, discussing their thoughts together. Twice now, Faith had fallen asleep as she lost herself in a book, only to wake up and be in her bed, the only possible culprit William, and a marker on her page. She never confronted William about it, but it made her heart soar as it showed what a keen eye he was keeping on her, and how he must care... if only a little.

That day she had woken up at six o clock when she heard Florence sneaking in to leave a note on her bedside table. She pretended to be asleep, not knowing that Florence heard her breathing change. Once the door had shut, she picked up the note and read it through.

Hey Faith and Hope!

Just to let you know that we all have to go to a very boring (yet apparently important) meeting this morning, which should finish around twelve. Help yourself to food in the kitchen, and William said you're free to go out of your room and roam the floor as he had everyone else cleared out!

Don't miss us too much!

Love Florence and William xxx

Faith was excited at the prospect of being alone to have a snoop around. She had only been in the library, kitchen and her bedroom on her own – everywhere else Florence, William or Katherine escorted her. Faith knew that Hope was going to be asleep for at least a couple more hours, so she quietly got out of bed and threw a grey fluffy dressing gown on over the top of her pyjamas. Once Hope awoke and realised they were alone, Faith had no doubt that she would try to torture the truth out of her. It was understandable, but Faith couldn't just tell Hope that they were imprisoned by vampires! She's think she had gone nuts! It was better to let her believe her mafia theory.