Chapter 5 - The meeting

I ran to the toilet and washed my face. I had to stop sweating and shaking. Anna knocked on my door and told me my father called me. I went to meet him, but not in the ballroom. He was waiting for me in another castle's living room. "Daughter, as I wish you no longer surprised and as your fiancé asked me, he would like to speak with you alone initially. I left him waiting for you at the library. I'll be in the other room with the guests. I hope you don't take too long."

I hurried to the door and through the library door, but I didn't see the prince. I looked at one chair with its back turned to the entrance and heard a strong voice, like a lion speaks: "Why are you shaking? Are you afraid of me?"Again, I felt a shiver, and now I could hear my heart beating louder.

The library was dark. Only a few candles illuminate the room. I couldn't see his face when he got up from his chair, but that voice... I felt I had heard it before, but where and when? I walked slowly towards him as he came toward me. I was going to yell cause I recognized him, but he quickly clamped my mouth with his icy hand, holding me against him with the other hand.

"Stay calm. Try to breathe. You can't scream or will have to explain to the king what you're doing while he sleeps, or why his little daughter was sleeping in the woods for the last two nights." He said it with a sarcastic tone.

I was angry, but he was right. And seeing my maid Anna being punished could break my heart. I stopped trying to fight him to let me. He was releasing me slowly. "You can ask." He said as I took another step back. "Who are you? Or what are you? Why were you at that crypt last night? What do you want from me?" Questions came almost in a whisper. Nobody could hear.

"Let's introduce ourselves first. My name is Phillip III. Many years ago, my parents built a kingdom of sorrow and death, far away from here. But that's not what you want to know. I always wanted you." He said, taking a step towards me. "That vault is my refuge where I hide when I come to your father's kingdom, and though you have found the house, it doesn't exist; only you can see it."

"Are you what I think you are? A vampire?" I said, taking another step back. "I'm a night being or a vampire, just how you prefer to call. But I don't want you to be afraid of me. Know that I can't hurt you." He said Coming even near me.

Anna knocked, and after I let her in, she opened the door. With a tray and two glasses of wine in hand, she said, "Your Highnesses are being awaited in the main hall. The king is calling. "