Page 15 of Mad Hatter Vampire Prince

When the Fox Rattled the Chicken Coop

Had my brother known my clever ways of escaping the wall of Grand Klaus, I imagined I would’ve had a welcoming committee sooner. Instead, a few vampire guards were aimlessly searching for us outside the walls and even more throughout the city. I swept past them undetected with ease. I jumped back through our open panel that no one had yet come across. That was fault on my brother for building such a big wall. The moment someone escaped, they had no idea where to begin searching for the tiny little hole.

“Take me home,” Sasha had said on more than one occasion. I ignored her. After our act of defiance against my brother, she was best kept by my side hidden in my private chambers where no one would dare venture. My wounds had already healed as expected. Sasha’s however was very slowly knitting together. Despite insisting that she healed faster than other humans, it wasn’t fast enough for me. I offered her some of my blood to help the healing process, but she immediately refused it. I could force it down her throat, but I anticipated she wouldn’t talk to me for days. The array and temptation of her blood was pushing me over the edge. If I hadn’t had years of learning to curve my appetite when necessary, she would’ve been ravished already.

For now, her wounds had begun to clot and I doubted at the current rate it’d take her a few days to heal. She was limp in my arms on the way back, exhausted from the fight. As expected, it was a novelty to have a pet to take care of. She was so fragile yet fierce at the same time. I believed in her ability to fight but knew that she still needed my protection. Never did I consider protecting something or someone other than myself. I’d rather kill the thing that would jeopardize my thought process in such a way. And yet as I held her tightly, I never wanted to let my possession go.

I dashed through the city and then onto the castle grounds. Guards had noticed my arrival and I knew it was only a short matter of time before my brother would be banging on my door. As soon as we reached my private living quarters, I sat Sasha gently down on the wooden armchair in my bathroom. It was glorious in size. A large inground bathtub occupied the center. Gold trimmings lavished the ceiling and floor edges. The entire room was encircled by glass windows, so I had a view of the gardens and natural river that passed through Grand Klaus. I did not shy away when the old woman who managed the gardens saw me naked on regular occasion. Or when she saw me fucking violently against the glass windows.

“Let’s wash up before our guests arrive,” I said suggesting the empty bath. She scoffed at my proposition and I laughed.

“As if they would have any doubt it was you. You’re just trying to mock your brother’s intelligence now,” she chastised. “I need to go back to my apartment.”

I began stripping off my clothes and walked over to the shower in the corner of the room. Dry blood stained the entirety of my body. It was rarer to find the pale of my skin amongst the black blood that colored me.

“Do you mind?” She said looking in the other direction as I proudly passed her.

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, Sasha Darling,” I said. I began to wash myself under the scalding hot water. It was a refreshing sensation after my victory. I wanted to look squeaky clean before my brother arrived so I could pretend to be innocent. I would mock my brother to only antagonize the situation further. After a few minutes I could smell him before he had reached the entrance to my abode. “Stay in here,” I said to Sasha.

I clicked the door behind me and locked her in from the outside. She seethed my name inside. I charmed a smile at my little bird I’d now caged. I put on some loose fitted pants and opened the door before my brother burst in. He slammed me up against the wall, his fists pinning my shoulders. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” He growled. I knitted my eyebrows in confusion.

“Whatever do you mean?” I replied with innocent expression. He slammed me hard again. I placed my hand on his. “I would be careful if you are thinking of trying that a third time, brother. If I recall correctly, it was always you who ended up hurt when we were kids.”

Galador was standing behind him with a few guards that were nothing but decor. His expression was filthy with intent. It was satisfying to see. Job well done to me. A smashing noise came from the bathroom. I sighed. I could smell my beautiful captive breaking free from the window she had just broken. Why won’t she ever do what I say? Now I had to make this entertaining conversation quick. To piss her off, I wanted to reach her fortress of an apartment before she did. My little mouse was obsessed with her ‘home.’ Even she was smart enough to admit the safest place for her was by my side. She was in danger walking throughout a city of vampires with unwashed and scented blood on her. I could only beg the question as to why she was so desperate to return to her abode. It dawned on me that perhaps my little mouse had a secret that she wasn’t willing to share. Maybe she was hiding something or someone.

“Okay, okay, okay,” I said shrugging my brother off. Though he didn’t seem to want to let go. I brushed him aside and pushed off the wall. “You weren’t doing anything about Oppollo’s silence on our treaty, so I acted on your behalf.”

“You retaliated because I went after your dog!” He snapped. I pressed him up against the wall, my hand firm around his throat. He snarled at me, not even attempting to defend himself. My response was all he needed for an answer. He wanted to verify how much Sasha Darling had got under my skin. After the massacre, my temper hadn’t yet entirely simmered. I would’ve brushed such a comment off in playful gesture. But now I reconsidered what it would be like to kill my only living family member. The soldiers pulled out their weapons and stood before Galador in protection. They surrounded me. I scoffed. Such imbeciles. I just wiped out a small arsenal. What would these aloof idiots do? And these were the guards who would protect my brother, the oh so noble King. Pathetic.

“What will you do,” Galador calmly said. “Kill another King? Your brother of all people for a defect human?” Already the smell of Sasha’s floral and steely scent was vanishing in the distance. I couldn’t let her run any further out of my reach.

“No, because that would be ridiculous,” I said releasing my brother. “We needed to act. Oppollo will either step down or step up to the war. Enough waiting around. It was only a matter of time.” I stepped back and put my hands in my loose pockets. I looked at the pathetic vampires who would dare raise a sword towards me in my own home. I would’ve killed them already if I hadn’t wanted my white carpet to be replaced once again. I wanted it to be beautiful for when I returned Sasha to her new cage.

“That wasn’t your choice to make!” My brother snarled as he paced back and forth in the room.

“But it was, Brother. We all make choices and mine was to act when you didn’t. You should’ve acted first if you wanted a different outcome.”

“You are not King!” My brother snapped. I charmed a wicked smile at his outburst. How very rare of him to lose control. His mind must’ve been reeling over for him to be so frazzled. What a delightful sight.

“I don’t want your toy Kingdom,” I scoffed. It was the last thing on my mind.

“Then what do you want, Kyran?” Galador intervened still hiding behind Amell’s pointless guards. “What does a vampire who desires nothing live for?” Amell and I stared at him. Now I might not be a very sane person, but asking such a philosophical question right now, was not the time.

“Your dog continues to yap,” I said to my brother ignoring Galador. “You left me no choice brother. I gave you an option and you chose wrong. You denied me. So I will deny you and your ability to avoid this war.” I tapped him on the shoulder. “Let me know when Oppollo is near. I will stand by your side. Like always. Until then, I have somewhere else to be.”

“Kyran!” My brother shouted at me, but I had already left the room. I stepped into the bathroom and looked at my showerhead that had been broken off the wall and used as a weapon to smash out my window. My God, she was determined to race back to her apartment. That had me curious beyond measure. I was certain that my little mouse was definitely hiding something because she wouldn’t run into danger so knowingly. I caught the wave of her beautiful scent and located her in a backroad within the city. She was weak and slow. Instead of scoping her up in assistance of her fragile state, I ran past her, eager to break into her apartment before she arrived. I would find out what my little mouse was hiding. She screamed out my name as she felt the air of my existence dash past her. Let’s see what trouble this little vixen was truly about.

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