*EDITED VERSION AS OF 5TH JANUARY*

Dedicated to RobThier for being such an amazing; inspiring writer! I particularly love storm and silence :3

Also, can you spot the foreshadowing..? ;D

Chapter 3 ~ An Unpleasant Surprise

The next morning I woke up feeling refreshed which was a nice surprise and hopped out of bed feeling slightly cheerful.

After getting ready with the help of a few maids (notEva), I went downstairs and passed the ballroom. It seemed to be cleared up of all of last night's mess.

When I entered the large dining room everyone was already sat down, including Roland who actually looked quite cheerful. That was probably because he'd spent the whole of last night catching up with Uncle Miguel.

'Morning,' I said to no one in particular as I sat down and picked up the jug of orange juice. I helped myself to some sausages, eggs and cooked tomatoes before eating. I'd already had a bag of blood in my room before I'd come down so I was refreshed enough to eat normal food.

My mother, who looked extremely glamorous in her long-sleeved; tight black turtle-neck dress smiled across the table at me. 'Darling, how did you find last night?'

I almost choked on my orange juice as I remembered that I hadn't stayed up very long at all. My father, as if reading my thoughts, gave me a cheerful wink. 'I, um...' I desperately tried to remember the details of last night. 'I had fun,' I managed at last. 'And the music was great.'

Seeming pleased with this, she gave a small nod before opening her mouth to say something else. Before she was able to, Uncle Miguel walked in to sit at the opposite end of the table next to my father.

I brightened as I remembered that he usually stayed with us for a few weeks after we celebrated each holiday and my mood, if possible, reached a new peak. 'Hi Uncle!' I yelled at him from across the table.

He looked at me and gave me a fond wave. 'It's good to see you up so early Indigo-Rose. It certainly is unusual.' My father and he shared a chuckle at the reference to my habit of staying in bed until mid-afternoon and I pouted playfully.

'Meanie.' I said. He winked back at me.

Contrary to popular belief, vampires are actually allowed to stay out in the sun and we do in fact go to bed at regular times like everyone else, so it had always confused me when humans thought that we could only come out at night.

Just as I grinned at the fact that my Uncle was here to stay, I remembered something crucial. If my Uncle was here to stay then that could only mean that so was someone else. Swallowing a piece of sausage, I fought back a scowl.

It could only mean that...

'Good morning, everyone.' The familiar sultry voice echoed throughout the dining room as Carlos came to sit by his father, coincidently sitting across from my brother who gave him a silent death glare.

Right then, I just knew that these next few weeks were about to get extremely painful.

***********

'Faster, Crystal!' I yelled as my beautiful white stallion galloped across the estate, causing my hair to be whipped viciously by the wind.

Pressing my legs together I squeezed her sides, cueing her to gallop even faster.

We sped through the forest that surrounded our estate and jumped over the stream that was laced among the hidden thick trees. When we eventually left the forest, I felt the sun shining brightly on my face which also caused Crystal's mane to shimmer in the breeze.

As we neared the manor house I relaxed my legs and slowed her speed from a canter to a trot before stopping completely and jumping off. Tying her reigns loosely to a large tree which shielded us both from the sun, I pulled the blanket from her seat before placing it on the ground for me to sit on.

I was wearing a light cream dress which rested mid-thigh and long frilly white socks which stopped at my knees. My shoes were in fact white sandals with tiny brass buckles attached to them of which I adored. They matched my golden-bronze ribbon which had long since fallen from my hair and was currently resting in my lap.

Slowly, I lay back against the large blanket, feeling soothed by the sound of Crystal munching on apples from the tree. The wind was actually a small breeze and I could still hear the faint sounds of the stream with my sensitive hearing as it passed through our estate and into the woods.

Breathing in deeply, I absently fingered the grass beneath me before frowning when the sun was suddenly blocked by a shadow. Looking up, I saw who it was and had to restrain myself from sighing loudly.

'Hello, Indigo.'

Very, very loudly in fact.

I didn't even bother to greet him. 'What do you want?' I asked him bitterly, silently begging him to go away.

'May I?' I opened my eyes again to see him gesturing towards the blanket.

'No.'

Chuckling, he sat beside me - managing to avoid sitting on the blanket - and admired the view with me.

At the bottom of the hill the faint outline of the manor house along with its magnificent drive could be seen and we both stared at it for quite some time.

Eventually I decided to break the silence.

'What do you want?' I asked him again more forcefully, and tried to ignore the images of him pressed up against Eva's willing body which were flashing through my mind.

He carried on looking at the manor house as he spoke. 'I saw you riding on your horse from my bedroom window and decided to come out and see you.' He looked up at the sky. 'It's a beautiful day.'

I tried to hide my surprise. And my annoyance.

'It's also been a while since we've last properly spoken.' He added. I supposed I couldn't really disagree with that, even though I wanted to disagree with everything he said.

'Well, hello.' I said stiffly and began pulling at the grass again beside me. He laughed.

'Hello.'

I suddenly remembered the summers he used to spend here with us when we were children and my heart ached just a bit. We'd always go adventuring through the woods or splashing in the stream, or sometimes we'd even play hide and seek - both indoors and outdoors.

He seemed to be thinking about the same thing as he said, 'I remember the games we used to play when we were kids. We used to have a lot of fun back then.'

I nodded in agreement. 'Yeah, I remember.'

'Roland still doesn't like me I've noticed.' He chuckled again.

I had to hide my triumphant smirk at that. 'Well you stole the girl he used to fancy so what did you expect?'

He quirked an eyebrow at me. 'We were thirteen.' He said pointedly.

Carlos and Roland were the same age and I was two years younger than them both at seventeen - probably the same age as Eva, I thought bitterly.

My brother was handsome, don't get me wrong, and he had many female admirers but Carlos was in another league entirely.

He was well-built with broad shoulders and muscular arms; his hair rested just above his shoulders in soft waves. It was in fact a dark-ish brown but amazingly, went a dark blonde in the sun (as it was now), and his skin was always a beautiful light shade of brown that came with his Spanish heritage.

To me he permanently looked to me like he had a tan which was just as attractive.

It was why he'd always had so many girls chasing after him - including the girl Roland had used to fancy, and those previously mentioned features along with his strong jaw and cheeky dimpled smile made him absolutely irresistible to most females - myself included. Fortunately, I had more self-restraint. I'd hoped.

'Yeah well you were an arrogant son of a bitch even then, so I'm not surprised he still doesn't like you.' I replied hotly. After regarding him closely with pursed lips I added, 'And you still are, which probably explains why I don't like you either.'

At this, he let out a roaring laugh. With his head tilted back I was free to admire the shape of his jaw and even his laughter, which was so mind-numbingly beautiful that it brought out goosebumps across my flesh. Carefully I folded my arms away.

'You always were feisty.' He told me solemnly.

I turned to him and scoffed. 'Look, you're a player and a womanizer - I know that, you know that and so does everyone else, so don't think you can start playing that game with me - especially after the way you disgraced yourself and that maid the other night.

You're on thin enough ice as it is and the only reason why I haven't disgraced you already is because Uncle Miguel would get disgraced right along with you - not that you've even bothered to try to keep your name clean,' I added.

There was a pointed silence as Carlos looked at me carefully. 'I'm sorry,' he said at last. I blew out a breath that I hadn't even realised I'd been holding and looked him straight in the eye.

'Just don't forget who I am,' I told him sternly. 'And don't forget who that maid works for.'

I gave him a sweet smile just as another painful twitch jabbed cruelly at my stomach. 'We can't have you whoring the princess's maids now, can we?' I said just as I got up to leave.

Smirking in satisfaction at the shocked expression that covered Carlos's face, I climbed back onto my horse leaving him to sit there and think about what he'd done.

***********

My body swayed to the rhythm of the beat as a slow, melodic song passed through the speakers. Dancing was my weakness; my pride and joy.

I'd never told anyone that I could dance and kept the secret to myself as I often practised in the spare room on the second floor - the floor that my room was also coincidently on.

The room itself was never used and was very spacious with very little furniture, so I could often practice for hours doing leaps and all sorts of complicated jumps without being disturbed. It also had very large windows looking out over the estate so I always had more than enough light filling the room.

I finished my routine just as my brother walked in.

He was the only one other than me who knew my secret and I wanted it to stay that way. 'It's time for lunch,' he announced just as I brushed back a few loose strands of my hair.

He leaned against the door and I inspected him closely. Within the last year or so he'd shot up much to everyone's surprise and had a very muscular; lean body due to how frequently he'd been working out in the gym. He was an eye sore and not in a bad way at all.

Nodding once, I picked up my towel from the floor and wiped my forehead with it.

'New dance?' He asked me.

I gave a small nod again and drank from my water bottle. As vampires, we didn't get tired easily but I always loved to push my body to the limit when I danced which is what I'd done for the past hour.

'I'd like to see it some time.' He said.

I beamed. Ever since he'd caught me practising four years ago he'd dutifully kept my secret when I'd asked him to, and had even agreed to watch whenever I'd completed a routine. He was always really supportive of which I constantly thanked him for, and I knew that not all siblings would've behaved in the same way.

It just made me thankful that it was Roland who was my sibling and not anyone else.

'Tell everyone I'll be down soon. I need to get a shower.' He nodded and left, giving me the chance to skip out of the room and into my own before anyone could see me.

Dancing always put me in a good mood.

When I'd changed into my favourite black skinny jeans and white crop top, I pulled my thick hair into a fish tail plait that hung and thinned out over my left shoulder.

Once I'd finally made it to the table I was thankful to see that only my father remained as he sat reading the newspaper. 'Hi dad.' I skipped up to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek before tucking into my lukewarm tomato soup and French baguette on the side.

A waiter passed me a large glass of blood which I drank from greedily.

Usually we only needed to feed twice a day - once in the morning and once late at night, but at home we were spoiled and allowed to drink as much as we wanted as long as it was in reason.

In my case that was about three to four times a day.

My father carried on flipping through the paper. 'Hi, sweetie,' he said. I loved it when he called me affectionate names as usually he only saved them for my mother.

'Did you have any business to attend to this morning?' I asked as I bit into my small baguette. He sighed and put down his paper before taking a sip from his black coffee.

'Not this morning, but I have a meeting with the royal court officials in London tomorrow.'

I pouted. Whenever he had business away he had to travel overnight - sometimes for days at a time, and I hated it. 'When will you be back?' I asked.

He looked up at me from over the mug's rim and smiled. 'Tuesday.'

I nodded. It was a Saturday so at least he would only be gone for a couple of days. 'Roland's coming too.' He added.

I looked over at him in surprise. 'Why?'

'As heir to the throne he needs to be familiar with all royal and court proceedings - including meetings down with the Big One's down in London.'

I smiled at his casual reference and nodded. Fair enough. 'Will Uncle Miguel be going with you?' Although Miguel wasn't king, he was second in command which still made him really important in the vampire world. My father nodded and hope bloomed in my chest at the thought.

'But Carlos is staying here. There's nothing for him to do down there so there's no point in him travelling all the way there just to come back.'

I grimaced and my father looked at me curiously. Hurriedly, I finished my meal before he could question me. 'I'm going off to see Stacey if that's alright.' I announced.

Stacey was my best friend and lived just across our estate in her own manor house which was marginally smaller than mine. She was human, but her family were loyal towards our kind and we'd been best friends since forever as we currently went to the same private sixth form.

He simply nodded. 'Very well. Get your maids to dress you in something more suitable for your walk over - I don't want you going out looking like that.' He looked at my crop top in disapproval before returning back to his paper. I knew better than to argue, especially if I was to stand a chance of sneaking out with her tonight and hid my pout.

'Yes, father.' With that, I stood from the table and practically ran up the stairs. Instead of asking maids for help that I didn't need, I simply took off my crop top and replaced it with an off-the-shoulder white jumper. It wasn't too much better but at least only my shoulder was revealed.

Quickly, I ran down the stairs and left through the French doors in the drawing room which led out into our massive estate garden. Heading East, I kept on walking and sometimes running, until I reached Stacey's house.

Picking up the large brass knocker, I waited patiently until I faced a butler who'd opened the door to look down at me. He gave me a small bow before speaking. 'Good afternoon, Indigo. Stacey is just in her room upstairs.' Without saying anything else, he stepped aside to let me past where I speedily raced into Stacey's room.

'Oh my... you scared me!' Stacey's large blue eyes glared up at me accusingly as I entered without knocking and plonked myself on her bed.

When I just shrugged, she went back to painting her nails as she sat on her window seat, humming quietly to herself.

'What time are we going out tonight?' I asked her.

Since Stacey's older cousin had managed to get us both fake ID's we'd decided just a few weeks ago to sneak out into the hottest local nightclub, 'Sweet Seduction,' to go dancing and get drunk.

Tonight was that night.

As she looked up at me I recognised the familiar twinkle in her eyes that always guaranteed mischief. 'Why don't you come over at seven? We can get the bus into town.' I nodded.

In order for us to sneak off we had to be quiet, meaning cars were out of the question. Not that I had one, but Stacey did.

I'd volunteered to carry her back if necessary - after all I was a vampire who could easily out strengthen and out run any grown man, so I would have no problem carrying her back. To hide what we were planning to do, we'd agreed to say that I'd fallen asleep at hers after going over in the evening which is why I would be going back to mine early in the morning.

No harm done. Or so we thought.

'Agreed.' I said to clarify. She squealed and almost got up to hug me when I reminded her that she still had wet nail varnish on her toes and she immediately sat back down.

'This is going to be so exciting!' She screeched again and began to do a little dance as I laughed and tried to shush her.

'If you don't be quiet then your parents will know that we're up to something and we won't be able to go.' She looked at me sheepishly before pretending to zip her mouth shut.

'Fine. I won't say a word.'

I watched her finish painting her nails and then 'oohed' and 'ahed' at her small skimpy dress that she'd decided she would be wearing tonight, and squealed with her when she tried it on. 'It's beautiful,' I told her honestly as she did a mini twirl.

The dress was almost fully backless and clung to her perfect shape in a way that made my eyes water. It was a dark blue and had ripples of fabric that overlapped each other down the front.

I squealed again when I saw she had matching pearl earrings and dark blue stilettos to go with it. 'You're going to look gorgeous!' I told her feeling only a tiny bit envious. Ok, a lot envious.

And it was true. With curly blonde hair that fell mid-waist and her large, almond shaped eyes and plush pink lips Stacey really was a looker in a kind of 'cute' way. Laughing, she waved her hands before gesturing to me.

'Oh pur-lease. We all know who the stunner is here.'

I didn't want to refute her, but being a vampire actually came with certain advantages (cue on the sighs). I had very thick, very dark brunette hair that also reached mid-waist and a small nose with really round hazel eyes.

My lips weren't as thick as my best friend's but they were quite red and my eyelashes were naturally really long and dark, bringing out my eyes at all times. On their own, a single one of my features would make an individual look fairly attractive, but combined; they really did have a startling effect.

Not that I would ever admit it, of course. It already pissed a lot of people off that I was the vampire king's daughter - the last thing they needed was me bragging about my looks.

My friend continued to examine me and pursed her lips thoughtfully. 'You look just like your mother.'

I laughed loudly. 'Trust you to say that - you look exactly like yours!' Apart from her blue eyes (Stacey's mother's eyes were green); they looked identical to one another.

We continued to mess around for another hour or so before I decided to leave. 'I don't want to be late otherwise it will complicate things,' I explained as I stood.

She seemed to nod in agreement and reluctantly waved me off as I left her room and then her house. As I skipped along the grass and crossed my estate only one thought came to mind: I had approximately three hours to get ready for the night of my life.

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