vampires; an option, I’m afraid, is not viable for those in power. He tried to rule by love of his people, and while that is a noble path, there are lines. And you must draw them. Second, you have a good heart, Princess, but you must learn not to use it when making decisions about members of our society that cannot fit in.”
“ That’s all very well, Arthur, but what Drake deems punishable, and what my kind do, are very different things.” I thought about Pepper. “Look, fact remains, I want to free the prisoners. Now, are you going to help me with that, or not?”
“ I guess I have little choice,” he said to the ground.
My eyes narrowed. “Arthur, I understand how you feel—”
“ No, Princess—” he looked right at me, “—you do not. You cannot possibly fathom the nightmarish ordeals it took to gain control over the vampires, or the devastation they infected upon this earth in a time before Lilithians were even a thought in God’s mind. I was there; I witnessed the terror—I helped write many of the laws that see vampires punished and, yes, our methods are cruel, harsh, but if you could only see what I have seen, you would realise why, by freeing those depraved brutes, you are about to make your first big mistake.”
“ Well, I disagree. It’s a difference in opinion.” I folded my arms.
“ No, it’s that you, my dear, are not listening.”
“ I am. I’ve heard everything you, Morgaine and everyone else has had to say. But this is my decision.”
“ Not entirely,” he said. “Not right now. Until you have made your oath, all your decisions must be approved by the House.”
“ Fine then. Once I’m queen, I’ll free them. You can’t stop me.”
“ I would not seek to stop you, but I would hope, after many conversations, you would see my point.”
I slumped in my seat a little then took a deep breath and looked at the starry sky. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I don’t mean to argue with you. It’s just that…I just don’t like people telling me what to do—telling me I know nothing.”
He reached across and patted my hand. “You remind me of my nephew, in that sense.”
“ Which one?”
“ David.”
I looked down at his hand on mine, softening away from spoiled-princess mode. “So, the imprisoned vampires are really that bad, huh?”
“ Contemptible.”
“ I just never imagined there’d be vampires that did things like that—horrible things.”
“ They’re not so very different to human’s, Ara. If a human is capable of violence, then of course a vampire is.”
“ Well, I was only planning to free the ones I thought were punished unfairly.”
“ How will you determine that?”
“ Go through each case, I guess. Maybe bring their lawyer back in, discuss each one with him.”
Arthur shuffled in his seat, clearing his throat. “That would be impossible.”
“ Why?”
“ Because the vampire who sentenced the prisoners we keep here is…dead.”
My stomach dropped. “David?”
“ Yes.”
“ Then—” Ouch. I hadn’t expected that. “Then, I guess I’ll have to assign someone else I can trust.”
“ The Loslilian director of penalty would perhaps be best.”
“ Who’s that? I thought Morgaine was head of, like, everything Lilithian.”
“ No,” Arthur said with a smile. “Only in Paris. She was brought here purely to torture David. She would not know the finer details of Loslilian prisoners or punishment schedules.”
“ Oh. So, who’s this director of penalty, then?”
“ Bernard.”
“ Bernard?” I said it quietly to myself. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll speak to him.”
“ Very well. But not alone.”
“ Why not?”
“ He’s spent far too long trolling those dark corridors, my dear. He has little respect for anything or anyone. I’d not put it past him to be rude.”
“ I can handle a person being rude.”
“ That may be so, but I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting our princess.”
“ Aw, how sweet,” I said, my
“ That’s all very well, Arthur, but what Drake deems punishable, and what my kind do, are very different things.” I thought about Pepper. “Look, fact remains, I want to free the prisoners. Now, are you going to help me with that, or not?”
“ I guess I have little choice,” he said to the ground.
My eyes narrowed. “Arthur, I understand how you feel—”
“ No, Princess—” he looked right at me, “—you do not. You cannot possibly fathom the nightmarish ordeals it took to gain control over the vampires, or the devastation they infected upon this earth in a time before Lilithians were even a thought in God’s mind. I was there; I witnessed the terror—I helped write many of the laws that see vampires punished and, yes, our methods are cruel, harsh, but if you could only see what I have seen, you would realise why, by freeing those depraved brutes, you are about to make your first big mistake.”
“ Well, I disagree. It’s a difference in opinion.” I folded my arms.
“ No, it’s that you, my dear, are not listening.”
“ I am. I’ve heard everything you, Morgaine and everyone else has had to say. But this is my decision.”
“ Not entirely,” he said. “Not right now. Until you have made your oath, all your decisions must be approved by the House.”
“ Fine then. Once I’m queen, I’ll free them. You can’t stop me.”
“ I would not seek to stop you, but I would hope, after many conversations, you would see my point.”
I slumped in my seat a little then took a deep breath and looked at the starry sky. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I don’t mean to argue with you. It’s just that…I just don’t like people telling me what to do—telling me I know nothing.”
He reached across and patted my hand. “You remind me of my nephew, in that sense.”
“ Which one?”
“ David.”
I looked down at his hand on mine, softening away from spoiled-princess mode. “So, the imprisoned vampires are really that bad, huh?”
“ Contemptible.”
“ I just never imagined there’d be vampires that did things like that—horrible things.”
“ They’re not so very different to human’s, Ara. If a human is capable of violence, then of course a vampire is.”
“ Well, I was only planning to free the ones I thought were punished unfairly.”
“ How will you determine that?”
“ Go through each case, I guess. Maybe bring their lawyer back in, discuss each one with him.”
Arthur shuffled in his seat, clearing his throat. “That would be impossible.”
“ Why?”
“ Because the vampire who sentenced the prisoners we keep here is…dead.”
My stomach dropped. “David?”
“ Yes.”
“ Then—” Ouch. I hadn’t expected that. “Then, I guess I’ll have to assign someone else I can trust.”
“ The Loslilian director of penalty would perhaps be best.”
“ Who’s that? I thought Morgaine was head of, like, everything Lilithian.”
“ No,” Arthur said with a smile. “Only in Paris. She was brought here purely to torture David. She would not know the finer details of Loslilian prisoners or punishment schedules.”
“ Oh. So, who’s this director of penalty, then?”
“ Bernard.”
“ Bernard?” I said it quietly to myself. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll speak to him.”
“ Very well. But not alone.”
“ Why not?”
“ He’s spent far too long trolling those dark corridors, my dear. He has little respect for anything or anyone. I’d not put it past him to be rude.”
“ I can handle a person being rude.”
“ That may be so, but I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting our princess.”
“ Aw, how sweet,” I said, my
Similar Books
