James

I noticed that the castle was quiet; I looked around and couldn't find Alexander or Katerina. I walked over to Amber's room and knocked.

"Who is it!?" She asked me.

"James!" I responded.

"Come in!" She said.

I entered the room and closed the door behind me.

What's up?" She asked.

"I can't find Katerina or Alexander anywhere. It's like they aren't even in the castle." I told her.

"Maybe they are in town," Amber said. She doesn't sound worried. "The castle may get boring for them, but not for me. I never leave the castle."

I turned away from her. "Right, 'cause you're not a rule-breaker," I mumbled to myself. I faced her again and said, "You know what, forget it. Forget I was ever here. I'll let you get back to whatever it was that you were doing before I interrupted you." I left her room and closed the door behind me.

The only reason I walked into her room was to see if she knew anything. Clearly, she knows nothing. Not surprised; Amber usually keeps her head down and does what she's supposed to do.

I walked back to my room.

I'm going to find out exactly what it is that they are doing. Hopefully, it costs him his privilege to rule this kingdom. Then I'll get to rule. Then it will be as it should be.

I chuckled.

You see, I play dumb, but it's only an act, so they are not worried about me. Play dumb, and they don't think you're a threat. That is what I'm doing, and I intend to do this until it's the right time to reveal my true colors.

Alexander

It's lunchtime, and the whole family is here. We always eat our meals together as a family, so everyone is expected to show up. No matter what.

"Alexander, Katerina. I couldn't help but notice that you two were not in the castle for the last two hours. Care to explain where you went?" James called us out.

I looked over at Katerina, who had no emotion on her face. Okay, I'll handle this.

I was taken aback a little and put on a fake smile. I put a hand on my chest. "James, that's the most words I've heard you ever speak." His smile disappeared. "You're late to the party; mom already saw us leave."

"It's true; they were dressed in all black," Mom mentioned.

"And you don't find that a little suspicious?" James said as he crossed his arms.

"We just went into town. What's so suspicious about that?" Katerina said; she scowled at James.

"I find it odd that we find out that there is a vampire kingdom close to here, and you guys decide to go into "town" the next day after you learn about it. Some "timing," huh?" James argued. He scowled back at Katerina.

I narrow my eyes at him. He's trying to get us in trouble. He's right, but I won't let him know that.

I glared at James and growled. "Listen here, you little shit-"

"Hey!" Dad cut me off and slammed his hand on the table.

We all turn to look at him.

"This is a family lunch. We are supposed to be bonding with each other, not fighting. You can fight anytime you want, but not when we have our family meals. So save it for later." He said.

No one said a word after that. We ate in silence. I continued to glare at James; this is new behavior from him. He's never acted like this. He's up to something. I will discuss it with Katerina later.

Ben

I thought about when they first put us in here. They took our weapons and threw us into separate cells. Dave and Matthew were both panicking, but I was able to get them to calm down. I had to stay calm to calm them.

Honestly, I was a little freaked out myself. I was also confused, terrified, and concerned.

After they questioned me, they fed us dinner. I noticed the portions are a bit small. But it makes sense; they control the food intake to ensure we don't get ideas of escaping. I'll be too hungry to try. Besides, I'm not leaving without Dave and Matthew.

"He's never going to let us out of here, is he?" Matthew asked.

"He will; wait. Although, I'm pretty sure Fortis is going to make King Henry pay for us."

"Let's hope he does," Matthew said.

"I'm going to take care of us. I'm the oldest, so it's my job to look out for you guys." I told Matthew and Dave.

Matthew nodded at that.

"Thanks, man," Dave said.

Even though we had breakfast, I'm still hungry since they feed us small meal portions.

"Is anyone else hungry?" I asked.

Dave groaned. "Don't mention it.

Just then, Fortis walked in with that usual smirk on his face.

Him being here meant terrible news; I felt anxious but hid it and greeted him anyways. "Hello, Lord Fortis, how can we assist you today?" But I didn't want to get on his bad side, so I still acted respectfully.

"Hello, Ben, Matthew, Dave." He greeted back. "I wrote a letter that needs to be delivered to Henry. So one of you gets to leave. Who will it be?"

I looked at Dave, then Matthew. They were both looking at the floor. It's my job to take care of them. But if I'm gone. Fortis may not interrogate them anymore.

"I'll do it." I volunteered.

"Ah, no. I knew you were going to do that. I read your thoughts. But no Ben. I need you here. Since your colleagues won't talk. I need to keep you around, for 'interrogation reasons."

I rolled my eyes. Of course. It's always some fucking trick with this dude.

"I'll do it then." Dave offered.

I'm glad he spoke up, but he shouldn't have to volunteer himself.

"Now, that will work. I'll give you an hour to say your goodbyes. And thank you for stepping up, Dave." He turned around and left the dungeon.

Dave looked sad.

"Hey, you'll be fine. All you have to do is walk- I mean run," I corrected myself. "back to the castle and deliver the letter to Lord Henry." I told Dave.

"I know, Ben; it's just that I feel bad about leaving you. I don't know if I'll ever see you guys again."

"I know. But I don't think Fortis has any intentions of killing us. So you will see us again. Tell Lord Henry that it would be ill-advised to storm into this castle looking for us. I'm sure Fortis is going to make him pay shillings for Matthew and I." I told Dave.

He nodded. "So, we'll just wait this out then?"

"Yes. I'm going to miss you, Dave."

"Me too," Matthew added sincerely.

"I'll miss you both too. See you in a couple of days."

"You too, Dave." I smiled.

He'll be alright, right?

Melanie

After lunch, I told James to hang back.

"Hey, mom. What did you want to talk to me about?" James asked me after everyone left the room.

"So, you think Katerina and Alexander went to get a look at the other castle?" I asked.

"Yes! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. The clothes, the timing, it all makes sense. I can't believe they would do that." James said.

"I know," I said, agreeing with his last statement. "They put themselves in danger. And on top of that, they know that the vampire king captured three of our guards."

"And they still went out there," James said.

"What if they were captured? Who knows what would happen to them?!?!"

"They need to be punished. Are you going to tell dad? He needs to know."

"I'm going to have to. And yes, they do need to be punished." I said, agreeing with James.

"Can I go with you?"

I don't see the harm in that. "Sure, come on."

We walked to Henry's office. Once we got there, I knocked on the door.

"Henry, it's James and I; we'd like to talk to you about something!" I spoke.

The door opened, revealing Henry himself. "Come in." He stepped back to let us in.

As I walked by him to enter the office, I thanked him. He closed the door behind us.

James and I stood in front of his desk while Henry took a seat behind his desk and looked up at me expectantly.

"I'll get right to it. We think Katerina and Alexander went into the forest and tried to get a look at the other castle. They lied and said they went into town, but they didn't. The evidence of the timing and the clothes they were wearing."

"If any of this is true, father, then they need to be punished," James added.

Henry nodded, then growled. "Get them in here, now."

~Dominique