Her Vampire Prince

Chapter XXVII

Faith loved being in William's arms more then she cared to admit. The car pulled into a warehouse in the busy harbour, the heady scent of fish assaulting her senses as they stepped out, the fishermen taking no notice of the seemingly suspicious vehicles coming in through the back entrance and skidding to a halt. Faith flinched as she watched one man lopping the fish's heads off systematically with no remorse, but she didn't have much time to feel uneased about the amount of thick red blood as William swooped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her along. They escaped down through the basement, William stopping every few minutes for yet another retina, finger scan or password to be put in to release the door or wall from its clever locks. She had no idea how he could remember it all! Eventually they passed into a dark room with a winding metal staircase leaning against the far corner, with two guards following behind them.

They started up the staircase, Faith realising how unfit she was becoming when they reached the fourth spin of the corkscrew steps, and her breath was coming out in short puffs. William simply scooped her up in his arms and carried her the remainder of the way, much to the chagrin of Faith – although she didn't complain. When they reached the top of the stairs Faith was blushing as she could not help but admire how strong William was, and how hot his muscles were that flexed with each movement. She had always been a bit self-conscious about her weight, not fat but not necessarily thin. She had a little extra meat on her bones, which William didn't seem to mind as he carried her effortlessly up the stairs. Once they got to the top, they encountered a very real looking rock-face, sharp and wet just like the rest of the room. William placed his hand upon a piece of the rock, about level with Faith's face, and a green light hummed around it, before the rock slid open and a key pad was revealed. William typed in a long number – around 16 digits, before finally, the rock slid to the side and they found themselves in the kitchen pantry. Faith wondered how many other secret tunnels there were connecting them to the outside world.

Faith noticed a camera on the back wall, just above the shelf containing sixteen different kinds of flour, which obviously the guards were monitoring from the control room. They didn't stop for long, Faith being led by William out of the pantry, out of the kitchen, and into the hallway. Faith instantly found a sense of peace and home as she entered into the familiar candle-lit hallway with its gold decorations. They entered into a room where Hope, Duke Hartley, William's brother John and someone undisclosed were seated around a mahogany table. Hope gasped as she saw Faith, springing up from her seat and into her arms with a flurry of tears.

"Oh Faith! I was so worried about you!" Hope cried as she clung to her elder sister.

"I was worried about you too! Are you ok?" Faith asked, checking her over for damage.

"Yes I'm fine – it's you I'm worried about! Were you tortured? Did they make you do unspeakable things?"

"No Hope, calm down – I'm fine. They let me go, you see." She explained calmly.

"And why, may I ask, would they do that?" A deep voice from across the room rang out.

"Faith this is General Lorin. He is the head of our Guards." William explained.

"Oh hello, it's nice to meet you." Faith hummed; quite unnerved by the fact General Lorin looked just like her deceased father, from the haughty look in his eyes down to the curly moustache dancing upon his top lip.

"I'm glad you have been returned to us safely Miss Halsey, although I'm going to have to inform you that as General I take my role very seriously. It is my duty to protect the crown, and I will not let my guard down for a minute. It seems highly suspicious to me that the rebels would just let you go. There must have been a reason for that, perhaps a less then candid one on your part." The general announced, causing panic to flare up in Faith.