A bad taste dwelt in my mouth, the clash of steel against steel rang in my ears and I wished to be away from this place. More clangs of swords meeting each other had my teeth grinding against each other in annoyance. I lifted a crystal goblet to my lips and took a deep drink of the blood wine, before turning my attention back to the battle before me. Two men were in the arena, dueling…worst of all, for me.
Father sat next to me, enjoying the show, every so often glancing over at me to make sure I was paying attention. I caught his eye when he looked over again and his frown. “Amelia…tonight is for you, my daughter. It’s your hundredth birthday, and the victor here will be your suitor,” He chided me, his eyes filled with some sort of sadness. Although I knew they weren’t. He had lost his ability to feel anything besides the thirst long ago.
“Yes, Father…and the soldiers surely will not say things behind my back whilst we are out hunting the Lycans, about how I am being courted by one of them,” My reply came back sharper then I had intended and his fist hitting the arm of his chair, hard enough to splinter it told me well enough that he had heard me well,
“It has been tradition for the last thousand years, that women of the court give birth to an heir before their one hundred fiftieth year, I will not have you playing the rebel yet again. I have been lenient and am even allowing you to choose you’re suitor instead of just sending you off into an arranged marriage. Be grateful,” He almost hissed at me.
“Then tell me father, why am I to do this if all you want is an heir of the Bloodline.” I stood, my voice echoing out across the event and everything grew quiet, the battle stopped, and both warriors respectfully drew back to wait for my father’s permission to keep fighting, “Am I not just your turned bastard daughter anyway? I wasn’t a born vampire, why am I so needed?” I could see the effect my words had on him. I was not to be deterred yet however, “I am not some breeding mare,” I hissed and his eyes grew a deep bloody red, his fangs sharpened and jaw distended just ever so slightly. I took a tentative step backwards, before sparing a glance at the rest of the chamber, every vampire had their head bowed, but stared up at the exchange with curious eyes. I turned back to my father, "I am leaving tonight with the rest of the shadow dancers, on a Lycan hunt, I pray I may see you again father," I started towards the double doors behind us, when he suddenly stood up, his face so enraged I felt my heart almost jump with terror.
