[NOT FULLY EDITED]

Chapter 1 - Acquaintance

"But I don't want to go to court," I stomped my foot on the floor to emphasise my point. "It's boring."

My beautiful mother rolled her puppy brown eyes, arching a perfect eyebrow. "Indigo-Rose, one day you will marry and will have no choice but to attend at least one of these meetings with your husband at some point - as is customary. Therefore you will go."

I groaned. "But I'm not married yet."

The two of us were sat in my parent's bedroom - I on their very large; very plush bed, whilst my mother was sat at her dressing table, painting her nails a deep burgundy.

"I will not tell you again, Indigo-Rose. Your father has requested you attend and so you shall."

"Can't Roland attend? He always goes."

Roland was my nineteen-year-old half-brother and the son of my father. He'd been born to one of my father's mistresses just a few months before my parents had married.
Surprisingly, my mother loved him almost as much as she did me. Not that I minded.

My mother's features momentarily slackened from mentioning his name. Talk about having a soft spot."I have already told you Indigo, Roland has some important business to attend and your father has asked you to take his place."

I scowled as she held up her perfectly painted nails and blew on them gently.

"Now please stop going on, you are tiring me."

'Well there goes my chance of getting myself out of going,' I thought to myself before resting back on the bed. "How did you and dad meet?" I suddenly asked her.

I wanted a distraction from the thoughts of the meeting.

My mother gazed up at me with a soft smile on her face. "Tell me," I persisted. She knew how I loved to hear it.

"Please..."

I was brought back into the present when one of the Dukes sitting to my right spoke up. "Your Lordship, if I may mention, our blood stocks are getting low in the hospital two miles south from here and we need to restock."

My father - who was second in command - looked at the small, plump man seriously before nodding.

Did I tell you this meeting was boring? Well it was. Just as I'd thought it would be.

"Very well, I will ask someone from the county hospital to order a new stock within the next twenty four hours."

The chubby man seemed satisfied with this answer and looked down again at his notes, writing something.

Ok, let me put this straight.

We're basically a race of mortal vampires (yes, mortal) that blend in with the human world - rather deviously, if I do say so myself.

The sheer amount of time our race has spent on this earth has meant that we've managed to acquire great wealth. As a result, we're been able to maintain and run successful businesses or get high standing positions within society.

This gives us even more money, I might add.

We also live in high class suburban or countryside areas - in whole towns or villages actually - to conceal our existence. Compulsion, as well as having the ability to heal bites that we inflict, I daresay is just the icing on the cake.

It's all rather convenient, don't you think?

My father looked around the table at the various faces expectantly. "Is that it?" Everyone nodded their heads. He nodded once again."Very well. You're dismissed."

When he said that I was jumping for sheer joy - mentally, obviously.

After everyone had gone I banged my head loudly against the table.

"That," I glanced up at my father. "Was the most boring thing I have ever had the pleasure to experience. Ever."

He could at the very least value my honesty. No?

As always, my father said nothing, instead eyeing me thoughtfully.

He was a large-ish man with a gut slightly bigger than recommended (hey, no one said us vamps were always in perfect shape); with slicked back hair that sometimes reminded me of Elvis depending on how it was done.

"Did you understand what was going on in the meeting?" He asked eventually.

I nodded briefly. "Can I go now?"

"Come here." I let him envelop me in a warm embrace before kissing the top of my head. "Thank you for attending, Indigo-Rose." He smiled down at me.

I gave him a sheepish smile. "You're welcome."

"When you see Roland tell him I need to speak with him immediately." I knew better than to ask any questions. I didn't want to risk actually showing an interest in royal affairs.

Without warning he laughed, the sound booming across the room. I suppose he'd caught me not-so-subtly eyeing up the door. "You can go now, Indigo-Rose."

I gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before swiftly bounding away. Being me, I had been so eager to get out of there that I nearly bumped into Roland, the man in question.

I pointed to the room behind me. "Father wants to see you."

He walked into the room, closing the door behind him. When I noticed two human maids carrying something large between them which looked like a banner, I followed.

The banner which read, 'Happy Vamp Day' was being hung up at the entrance to the guest ballroom. Great. Seeing as I was officially old enough to attend balls, this one would be no exception. What annoyed me the most was that I was also expected to stay until they finished.

How could I have forgotten about it?

"Indigo-Rose!" From the other side of the corridor my personal maid scurried towards me, lifting up her skirts as she went. Could the day possibly get any worse? Probably not.

"It's time to get your dress fittings for the ball!" She screeched.

Feeling afraid, I almost turned and fled but thought better of it. It was hardly good manners.

"Indigo-Rose!"

"Yes?" I asked as I turned to face the music.

The fifty-year-old woman clutched at her chest and panted slightly when she reached me. "It's time to get ready for the ball, dear." Her face was an unattractive red. I had to fight the urge to pull a face.

"Ok." Reluctantly, I followed her up to my room.

When we entered my bedroom I stepped up onto the stall which was stood in the centre of the room. It wasn't even midday, and already maids were scurrying back and forth, bringing in all sorts of materials that ranged from every colour.

This was going to be a nightmare, I just knew it. And guess what? I was correct.

Part way through the process however, my curiosity was peaked when I noticed a particularly young maid carrying a black ball gown. I suddenly placed a hand on her arm causing her to flinch in surprise. "What's your name?" I asked her.

She looked up at me with pretty green eyes. I don't know why but she reminded me of me. "Eva, miss." she replied. "Eva Alias."

I nodded.

The Alias's were a particularly loyal human family towards our race and had been working for us for centuries.

As I let another maid pull my long hair up, I gave Eva an affectionate pat on the same arm."Welcome to our home." I told her. She was obviously new. I felt the urge to make her feel at ease. The young girl smiled and bowed her head before carrying on with her errand.

Needless to say, I quickly became incredibly fed up shortly after that.

Being placed in all sorts of dresses only to have them refitted and resized, was indeed a laborious task. Don't get me wrong, most of the dresses were beautiful, but none of them had really caught my eye.

That all changed when I gazed at myself in the mirror half an hour later.

"Do you like it, miss?" A shy blonde handmaid asked me, looking hopeful.

Awestruck, I nodded.

I'd found the perfect dress.

The dress was a gorgeous silky purple gown which clung to my slim body and had an off-the-shoulder sleeve. The bodice was heart-shaped and dipped in between my breasts, somehow emphasising their petite size to make them appear larger. It was also heavily sequinned with delicate crystals - each placed perfectly to reflect the light emitting from the hanging chandelier.

The maids also tied my hair back into an elegant knot which rested against my exposed left shoulder to go with it, but the piece-de-resistance was the necklace which was clipped on. Its fragile crystals matched those found on my dress exactly. When I say exactly, I mean exactly.

It was safe to say my beauty had been transformed into something mind-blowing that shocked even me and a respectful silence filled the room as I admired myself for a little while longer.

Yes, us vampires really did have reflections contrary to popular belief.

"This one." I said firmly, before stepping out of my shoes. I could have been mistaken, but right then the thought of attending the ball didn't seem quite so bad after all.

Quickly, I shut the thought away.

*

Later the next evening, intricate classical music filled my ears as I walked towards the ballroom, hidden amongst the guests.

By being concealed this way, I hoped to elude my mother who was stood guarding the entrance doors. She greeted the guests with a glass of red wine in her hands. Or maybe it was blood, I couldn't tell from the distance.

As I walked past, I expertly ducked my head and avoided her gaze until I was safely inside, and headed straight towards the buffet table.

Female maids were around, wearing matching short, silk-red dresses; handing glasses of blood to the guests. Eva was also there, I noticed. To reassure her, I gave her a small smile before hurrying to sit down in the far corner.

Twenty minutes in, my hunger got the best of me and I outrageously picked at the food with my bare hands, making sure not to get any down my dress. In front of me couples were slow dancing to the blissful music and I tried not to gaze at them in longing.

I found balls boring, but I still couldn't help feeling a small pang of envy as I watched the couples in front wrap themselves around each other tightly. I was quickly pulled from my thoughts when my mother glided towards me, gesturing for me to stand.

I did, and faced the handsome strong-boned man who was now stood in front of me.

"This," my mother purred. "Is Henry Edwards - Duke of South Cornwall." I liked the way she said his name so elegantly and by the looks of him, so did Henry who blushed deeply before kissing my hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." He bowed.

I gave a small curtsey. "Why, it is a pleasure to meet you too, Duke of South Cornwall."

My mother continued. "This is the first time in almost a decade that Henry has been able to make it to our royal ball, so naturally he was curious to see how much you and Roland have grown."

I highly doubted that seeing as my mother often made a bad habit of introducing anyone to everyone who was present at our balls. This vampire was no doubt one of her latest victims.

Nonetheless, I smiled politely at the Duke before answering. "I see."

Just then there was a small commotion at the far entrance as my father's best friend and vampire King, Miguel Orlando entered the room. Politely, I excused myself from the duo before rushing towards him. "Uncle!" I yelled.

Naturally, we went way back.

The King saw me and enveloped me in a strong hug before kissing my cheek. "Indigo-Rose," he said as he tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "It has been a while, my child."

I pouted. "Too long."

Just then Roland strode up to us. He was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. "My boy!" Miguel screeched. "How good it is to see you!"

If Miguel and I were close, then you can only imagine how close those two were. Before Miguel moved to the city, he used to spend a lot of time around us as kids. Naturally, he and Roland were as thick as thieves.

My brother beamed at him before giving him a rough pat him on the back. "I have missed you, Uncle."

"As have I!"

"How was your trip?" Roland asked him smoothly. Blame the years of training we had for 'ballroom talk' when we were kids. They began discussing his business trip plans causing me to turn away, already bored. When I did I was startled to see the vampire Prince, Carlos walking in and greeting the guests around him effortlessly.

I immediately lit up. It had been a while since I'd seen him - several years in fact - and when I say he'd changed, I mean he'd changed so much so that I could barely even recognise him.

Only his signature smirk had given him away.

Still, I was glad to see him - we'd been childhood friends after all. I was hoping nothing had changed.

When he looked at me, he beamed before heading over.

"Carlos!" Miguel beamed at his son who made his way towards us. His gait was as confident as the twinkling smile that was plastered to his face, not that I minded. He was still the same old Carlos by the looks of it.

"Father," they embraced heartily. I'd heard Carlos had come back from a long trip in Spain although I couldn't be sure. He and his father hadn't seen each other in months. Carlos broke it off to look at the two us fondly.

"Roland and Indigo. It's been a while." I grinned whilst my brother scowled. They hadn't gotten along for years.

"Carlos, nice to see you." I said.

I shook his extended hand after Roland did.

The Prince beamed at me again, dimples showing. He looked very much like he was genuinely glad to see me too. "The same could be said for you. We must catch up." I nodded. "How have you been?" He asked me.

Roland and Miguel stepped away from us to allow us some privacy. I took in his handsome chiselled features and tanned skin - no doubt from spending hours in the sun. Newsflash: vampires could (and did) go out in the sun. Regularly. "Good thanks. You?"

His grin faltered slightly when his gaze landed on something behind me. He soon perked up again. "Oh you know, peachy." I rolled my eyes and slapped his arm playfully.

"No, seriously. How was Spain, I think?"

He became more animated. "Oh, it was quite good actually - I spent the whole time partying with a few of my friends, obviously. There's only so much time of irresponsibility I have left before coming King," he winked. "I've got to make the most of it."

I laughed. This was the Carlos I remembered - always so carefree.

"Glad to see you did some honest work then." I joked playfully. "Um, would you like to spend some time tomorrow catching up? We could go to town and grab some lunch..." I trailed off. For some reason asking the question made me feel shy.

I instantly relaxed when he agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "I'd love to."

"Good."

Before we could arrange a time, someone to our left gestured for his Majesty to enter their conversation. Carlos sighed before excusing himself.

Watching him leave, I frowned as he snuck one more troubled glance in the same direction, before shaking his head softly.

Looking over to where he'd been staring, I only saw Eva who was leaning over the buffet table as she refreshed the food.

Shaking my head I decided to go to the ladies' to refresh myself.

Walking into the toilets, I stepped towards the nearest sink to apply a new layer of mascara. As I did so, I overheard a whispered conversation spoken just outside.

"-He's so cute..."

"-I know right!"

"-I could just eat him alive..."

Ignoring them, I went back to putting my mascara on before placing the stick in back in my bag. I looked passable.

I was about to head out when something I heard made me pause.

"It's a shame he's got his eye on that bitch though. It makes my toes curl. He deserves so much better." One of the girls whispered viciously.

I was confused. From their description, it was clear that they were talking about the the Prince, but I had no idea who the girl was that they were mentioning. Maybe it was Eva? He'd seemed to be staring at her earlier.

Something about that thought made me feel uneasy. I quickly pushed it aside.

"I wish he'd look at me the way he looks at her." One girl sighed dreamily. "She's such an ugly bitch." I bristled. Why did the female population have to be so cruel?

I truly felt sorry for whoever they were taking about.

When the girls went quiet before erupting into a bunch of giggles, I took that as my cue to leave. "Excuse me, ladies." Carlos.

They all giggled again.

I pushed open the door, pretending to be surprised to see the girls standing there. "Oh, excuse me." They moved.

"Carlos." I nodded at him, lips twitching when he gave the girls a secret look of exasperation. He nodded back.

The girls giggled again and I picked up the pace, walking towards the staircase that led to my room.

"Let me walk you up." Carlos said from beside me as he took my arm in his. I nodded

"Such a gentleman." I teased.

It was nearing ten o'clock and I'd barely been around long enough to be considered polite. The ball had only just begun. But I was tired and needed my bed; I could only hope that my mother wouldn't notice my absence or I would no doubt get a good scolding the next morning.

When I reached my bedroom I said goodnight to Carlos before shutting the door. Walking up to my full-length mirror, I saw that I still looked stunning through my reflection. Compared to what many other girls had worn that evening however, my dress had paled considerably in comparison, making me feel oddly insecure.

Sighing heavily, I kicked off my heels before laying back against the double bed. Against my wishes, my mind drifted to the events of the ball, of meeting Carlos again, and to one girl in particular.

She'd worn nothing but a simple dress, yet had looked almost as beautiful as I.

The girl was Eva.

OK, so if any of you don't know this is the edited version of "Tall, Dark and Arrogant" which can be found completed in my works. It's very similar to begin with here, but I assure you A LOT has changed in terms of structure, plot, character appearances, relationships, chapter structures/titles and there's even a new character added as well as a back-story (sub plot).

Let's just say there's also a new HUGE plot twist to come which will either make you love me or hate me.

Oh, and its also less clichéd! You'll see what I mean... Mwahahaha...

Enjoy!

Xoxo