Chapter 30

Elizabeth opened her eyes and saw her maid, Lucille, dusting the top of her marble fireplace.

' Good morning, M'Lady,' she said without turning around.

Elizabeth yawned. ' Good morning, Lucille.' Then, she froze, her right hand still on her mouth. ' Lucille? What the hell are you doing here?' she gasped.

Lucille turned around, her eyes round like saucers. ' My Lady, if your dear mother heard that, we shall be in a lot of trouble. Her Ladyship Davenport absolutely hates vulgar words!' Then, she lowered her voice to a whisper, as if revealing a dark secret. ' That was why she fired that stable boy last week.'

Elizabeth was too shocked to pay any attention. Quickly, she stumbled up and pulled on her dressing gown. ' Where is my mother?'

' She is at town, accompanying Lady Lucas. They are attending the Rothschilds' party tonight.'

' They are at a party?' Why was everything so...normal?

Lucille looked alarmed. ' Her Ladyship thought it best you stayed at home, since you were ill.'

Elizabeth stopped in the act of putting her slippers on. ' I was ill.'

' Of course. Right after the ball.'

' The ball?'

' We all thought it might be the excitement from Master William's proposal.' Lucille giggled and arranged the red roses in the crystal vase by the door. ' When is the wedding?'

Elizabeth barely heard her. She was already out of the room and racing down the wide staircase. Voices drifted from the library to the hall and she stopped in her tracks.

Will. He's here.

Panicking, she quickly righted her hair and walked into the library. William was in there, with her father, in deep conversation about a hunting rifle. They both looked up when she entered. Instantly, William was at her side.

' Elizabeth.'

Elizabeth stared at him and then offered her hand, not knowing what else to do. ' Hi,' she said.

He grinned, a cute and boyish smile. ' Hi.'

Her father cleared his throat. Blushing, Elizabeth quickly pulled her hand away and hugged her father. ' Father, you're here!' she cried. When she pulled away, both the men were staring at her with a bewildered look. Then, they exchanged another bewildered look.

' I shall just leave you both, then,' said her father, clearing his throat again and walking out of the library.

' So....' Will began.

Elizabeth stared at him and then reached out to touch him. Will seemed pleased but a little surprised. ' It doesn't hurt?' she whispered.

' No,' he answered, looking puzzled.

' It doesn't,' she murmured. Everything was back to normal! Everything! William was here, there were no vampires around and best of all...she wasn't a vampire! Looking around at the familiar library, where she always spent her afternoons curled up by the window seat reading a book, Elizabeth suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. The smell of baked pie wafted into the room and she immediately walked towards the kitchen without even thinking about it.

' Elizabeth! Where are you going?' William called out behind her.

The kitchen was busy this morning, preparing a breakfast for the duke and duchess of Wakefield who was coming to visit. Elizabeth's childhood governess and very excellent cook, Mrs. Porter, looked up from the vegetables she was slicing. ' Lizzie! Finally, you're up!'

' Yeah, I'm up,' she replied dazedly.

Mrs. Porter looked up and saw Will enter the kitchen and a knowing smile lit up her face. Momentarily distracted, the knife slipped of her fingers and cut into her hand. ' Of all the-' But, she quickly broke off.

Because Elizabeth's two upper canines had grown out and her eyes had a silvery sheen to it.

The kitchen became quiet.

And then, everybody was screaming. Some were reaching for the cloves of garlic hung on the walls, some were grabbing various wooden appliances. While others, like Mrs. Porter, simply stared at her in fright.

Elizabeth wasn't aware of all that. Her head was filled with the sweet scent of blood, enticing her and pulling her closer. Then, Mrs. Porter screamed and backed away, covering her hand with her apron.

Then, Elizabeth realised something. She was still a vampire.

A small yelp escaped her lips and she backed away from the kitchen, and then ran full speed into the thick forest behind her house.

Before she was even in the forest, a small voice entered her mind.

' See Lizzie? They just hate vampires,' Danae whispered.



Elena looked at the deserted Arc catacomb before her. There was a faint metallic smell in the air, like blood. Looking down, she saw bright red spatters on the walls and the floors.

William was still looking around, checking to see if Elizabeth was here.

' You know, I may not be a vampire,' Elena began,' but it's kinda clear to me that Elizabeth isn't here. Or my brother,' she added in an angry tone.

' Danae must've taken her somewhere. She wouldn't leave her here.'

Elena groaned. ' Perfect. So we went here for no reason at all?'

' I was just checking,' he muttered as they went out.

' I hate your sister,' she said in reply.





Elizabeth looked up. Will? She had just heard his voice. He was saying,' I was just checking.' He sounded near yet so distant.

' Will?' she whispered. Receiving no reply, she just curled up against a tree trunk and buried her head in her hands, crying.


William froze when he heard the voice. It sounded so much like Elizabeth. She had said, 'Will?'

The car he was driving stopped in the middle of the road, earning several curses and angry honks from other drivers but William ignored them. He steered the car to the side of the road. Exhaling, he leaned his forehead against the steering wheel.

Again, there was her voice. But she was crying this time.

' Um..Are you..okay?' Elena asked him but he shushed her.

' Elizabeth?' he whispered tentatively.




Elizabeth looked up and quickly dried her face. It really was William's voice.

' Will? Where are you? Are you still at the kitchen?' Then, she added in a very small voice. ' Tell Mrs. Porter...I'm sorry. Tell everyone I'm sorry.'

' What? The kitchen? I'm not in the kitchen? I'm in my car.' There was a long pause. ' Isn't Mrs. Porter your governess...from way back home?'

Elizabeth froze and then quickly pushed her damp hair out of her face. ' I just saw Mrs. Porter. I don't know what's happening, Will! Everything was finally right and then...'

' What do you mean right? Where are you, Elizabeth?'

' I'm at home, Will. But, I'm not sure it is.'

' Home. You mean, England?'

' Yes, Will.'



A loud honking sound filled the car along with William's curse.

' What did I do now?' Elena asked, puzzled.

' Danae.'

' What?'

' Danae sent Elizabeth back home.'

' How? And how do you know?'

' I just talked to her.'

' You talked to her?'

He ignored her. ' They don't like anything different than humans back then.' Then, he turned to her, his eyes filled with fright. ' They burn them.'

Chapter 29: A Small World

I am not a monster.

Elizabeth repeated the sentence over and over, as if chanting a spell to change the fact that she was a vampire.

She tried to push it out of her mind and reverted her attention to Stefan who was lying helplessly beside her. His fangs were in between his lips, smothered with her own blood. She could see her reflection on Stefan's grey eyes. A reflection of a monster. A bloodsucking monster who just sucked a precious soul out of the person she loved.

" Aww. Stop whatever you're thinking. This is your fate, Elizabeth! Why can't you accept it? You're a monster. Say it! " Danae yelled, her chuckles intesifying the air even more.

Elizabeth shook her head vigorously. " This isn't happening," she whispered.

" It's already happening, " Danae grinned, ' Soon, human race will extinct and we shall rise out of the shadows that protect our secret, our existence."

The thought of every inch and ounce of an innocent human's life and many more lives taken for the sake of building an empire was just mind-boggling. A world inhabited by souless beings would be an apocalypse and it all started with... her.

She screamed, burning the once golden, elaborated room then her vision went black like it was a regular thing.

---

Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes and caught sight of a chaos. Vampires and blood everywere. A male vampire was holding Danae Vaughan in his arms. She seemed weak, contributed by the long sleep she endured. Finally realising that they were in the middle of the battlefield, Elizabeth's face was lifted by the tip of a sword. Blue eyes met her green ones. She gasped in horror, tears streaming down her face

Will...

His 'men' surrounded him in a battle position, protecting Danae and himself. She squinted her eyes and saw another party opposite them.

The vampire council?

They were here. The last time she remembered they looked like princes and princesses going to the ball but now.. they looked like warriors in their polished, shining armour. Elizabeth tried to keep her eyes open, wanting to know what was going to happen, but she couldn't resist the exhaustion that hit her.

---

The sharp bite of canines into her skin was agonisingly painful as Mike, the handsome blonde vampire closed his mouth upon her neck. Then, just like that, the pain disappeared only to be replaced by a rush of bliss and joy. It was... indescribable. Nothing mattered than the sweet sensation of the bite. The bite was the only thing she wanted everyday since she was captured to the underground palace full of the Ancient Ones. A plan to escape was the last thing she wanted to do.

Suddenly, there was a bang on the wall and all the wonderful feeling flowing through her stopped abruptly, causing her to fall limply on the bed. This irritated Elena. She tried to adjust her vision to see why the bite had stop. She glanced up and realised she wasn't looking at a blonde guy anymore but instead a tall figure with jet-black hair. He seemed familiar but she couldn't make up who he was. She didn't want to think. Her thoughts were cloudy. All she wanted was the bite.

" Salvatoire's sister?" the man asked monotonously.

The name made her froze. Salvatoire? She knew this.. Yes, it was her last name, she thought. Elena nodded.

" You're high."

" Who are you? " Elena whispered, slowly making out the words.

" William Carstairs."

The name was familiar. She heard this name before from.. Lizzie. Lizzie... the girl his brother was protecting. Elena was trying hard to remember. The bite had made her memories to be cloudy.

" C'mon. We have to get to Elizabeth. " William lifted Elena up and headed out the room.

William's fast movement was faster than a normal vampire and this made her very dizzy. Her eyes became heavy and her sight turned blurry. The last thing she saw was Mike lying on the the ground, unconscious.

---

Will drove fast to the De Arc. He didn't care about the traffic. All he wanted was to go to Elizabeth.

" Ugh. Can't you get any slower? " Elena groaned, waking up.

Will glanced at her, giving that 'Excuse me?' look and sped up the car. He took out a bottle of water under the chair and handed it to her. Elena hesistantly took it and drank the whole bottle in one gulp.

" The endorphins should disappear in a few minutes," Will exclaimed.

" My head hurts." Elena replied, slightly ignoring him.

" You're bitten everyday since you were captured. I don't find that a surprise."

" What happened? I don't remember a thing, " Elena stopped as she remembered the joyous feeling she experienced the last few days. " Wait, I do remember that I was.. "

William continued her sentence, " ... high. Yeah, it happens when human got bitten. They're like drugs. They're addictive. You were addicted too and you willingly wanted it, y'know."

Elena still felt the amazing feeling that poured into her everytime she was bitten. It was like all the happiness in the world entered her. He was right, they were addictive because she currently tried to resist the urge to offer herself to get bitten by William. It was quite embarrassing to admit so she didn't say a word after that.

Elena looked at William who was staring straight on the road.

" Hey, what were you doing in the palace with the Ancient? You're Lizzie's boyfriend, right? Stefan said you died."

Will gritted his teeth, trying to hide his anger when Stefan was mentioned.

" I live there. "

" What? You live there? What do you mean? I thought you're the good guy. " Her fear was blatant in her voice.

" I am. I just... they saved me from the council. I was going to die using my power the other night. I think I actually did die."

" How? But they are all under Danae! She wanted to kill Lizzie!''

" You don't understand, Salvatoire..."

" What the hell, boy?!Yes, I don't understand! Don't you want to save Lizzie?! She's been through a lot! How could you be under Danae?!" Elena yelled as she boiled in anger.

William instantly pulled over, held the stirring wheel tightly and glared at Elena. Elena squinted at him, but felt herself back up in her seat under his glares.

" Danae is the only family I got. That's why I'm under her. "

" Danae.. she's my half sister. "

A/N: Hey, it's Fifi here. Got a message from Izza Romzi at 5.43AM. She asked me to proofread the chapter, so I did. Well, I'm not a good proofreader, but I did try my best editing this. I hope all of you enjoyed reading Forbidden Blood because we're currently on the climax of the story and that means we're near to the end of Forbidden Blood. One of you did ask whether we planned to make a sequel. To answer that, we are still uncertain. Besides, this blog is all about being random. Hehe. See ya! =)