Royal shuffle: Vampire's mate

ANDREA

I woke up the sound of heavy knocking on our door. I groggily opened my eyes, heavily irritated, and wondering who would be knocking like that at such early hours. I picked up my phone, and saw that I had several calls from Leo. I sighed and got out of bed as the shouting got louder. I opened the door a crack, and listened.

"She's not home!!!" My mother screamed.

"Ma'am, move out of the way," a strange voice said.

I took a step into the doorway, and craned my neck to see what was going on. My mother was at the front door, stopping two royal guards from coming in. My eyes widened in panic, and I quickly went back into my room. I picked up the phone, and put a call across to Leo. He didn't answer the phone. I swore, and sent him a text about the situation, citing that some help would be most appreciated as soon as possible. I took a deep breath, and decided to go to my mother before they resorted to force. As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I heard a gunshot and a dull thud. And then silence...

"Search the house. Bring the girl. Don't kill her, the prince wants her alive."

I quickly ran into the kitchen, and looked around frantically for a place to hide. I scurried under the kitchen counter, facing away from the door and quickly fired another text to Leo. I heard them go into my room, and I could hear things being thrown around. I looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon, and I picked up one of the knives, holding it close to my chest as tears fell from my eyes.

They shot my mother. My lips quivered, and my hand went over my mouth to muffle the sound of my pain. Fear gripped my body when the kitchen door opened. They just stood at the door for a while, looking around. "There isn't anyone here..."

"I mean, the place is quite small. I wonder where she ran to."

"For all we know, she might have gone to that demon spawn."

I could hear the anger and venom in the tone. I heard their footsteps begin to fade as they left the kitchen, and hopefully, the house. And then the unexpected happened.

My phone rang.

I gasped in shock and quickly ended the call, but it was already too late. The footsteps stopped. I quickly fired another text to Leo to hurry up. This time, he replied saying he's already on his way. I held the knife closer to my chest, and tears were flowing freely down my eyes.

"Get her!!!"

I heard one say to the other. The kitchen door was kicked down, and in no time, my hiding spot was discovered.

"There she is..." They said mockingly as they drew me out from under the counter by my hair.

I swung the knife and it slashed my captor across the face. He was upset before, but now? Now, he looked like he wanted to kill me and have my body roasted over an open fire. He growled loudly, and swung his fist, my head was knocked into he ground, and I momentarily saw stars.

"Take that knife from her."

The second man pulled me to him by my leg, and began to wrestle the knife from me. I bit down on his hand, and as soon as my hand was free, I sent the knife deep into his chest. His eyes widened in shock, and surprise, as he slumped forward. Blood flowing from the side of his mouth. My mouth was open in shock. I couldn't believe that I had just...killed someone. "You stupid bitch!!!"

The second came at me with full force, punching and kicking. Several punches landed on my face, and I instinctively dropped the knife, and raised both hands to protect my face. I curled up the rest of my body, and just lay there, screaming and crying as I felt his hands and legs hit all parts of my body. All of a sudden, the punches stopped, and then I heard a dull thud. I waited for a few moments, refusing to open my eyes.

"Andrea..."

I opened my eyes, and saw Leo standing over me, the body of the guard laying lifeless in the corner. I tried to get up, but I screamed and lay back down as the excruciating pain threatened to paralyze me. "I'm so sorry, my love," Leo said.

"My...my mother...is she..."

The words caught on my throat, my mind refusing to accept the possibility of the obvious. He looked away from me, and slowly shook his head. My heart broke afresh. I had known that she was shot, but a part of me was holding on to hope that she survived the bullet. How do I tell the girls that our mother was dead? And what's more she died trying to protect me?

I gasped loudly. The girls!!!

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"The girls...my sisters!!!"

"Once I got your first text this morning, I sent people to fetch them. They're on their way to my place on the vampire territory as we speak," Leo replied.

I nodded and relaxed a bit. Wallowing in the pain in both my body, and my heart.

"We need to go. There might be more on the way as we speak."

I nodded, and stretched out a hand to him. I groaned as he gently gathered me into his arms, and lifted me off the floor. I looked down, and saw that Leo had broken the other man's neck. Broken might be putting it lightly because the head was hanging on to the body by a thread. I looked away quickly, as the image made me want to throw up.

He walked us out of the kitchen, into the hallway, and finally into the living room where my mother lay lifeless. Her eyes open, and a hole in her forehead where the bullet made contact. I broke down in tears afresh. I fought against Leo, and lay on the floor, hugging my mother's body to mine. I cried and screamed, and apologized. If I hadn't gone on that date, this wouldn't have happened. If I had maybe given Prince William what he wanted, this wouldn't have happened. This was all my fault.

"I'm sorry, mama. I'm so sorry..." I whispered to her.

"Andrea..."

"No!!!" I said sternly. I wouldn't rush my mourning process. "I want to bury my mother."

"I will have people..."

"She will be buried here. Now. In the garden," I said.

I took off the necklace my father had given her, and wore it around my neck. A constant reminder for me that I had failed her as a daughter.

"Okay. I'll get to it."

"You'll find a shovel in the backyard."

Leo nodded, and went to work, while I withstood the pain, and went into my mother's room, bringing out her prettiest dress, and the most colorful blanket I could find. As well as a towel, and a small basin of water. The pain in my body as I performed these actions was nothing compared to the pain in my heart and soul. I stripped her down, and wore her her favorite dress, and slowly wiped her down. And then I wrapped her up in the blanket, and stayed by her side, crying. Leo eventually came back, his body covered in dirt, and sweat. He had taken his shirt off, and his skin shone with perspiration.

"It's ready..." he said.

I nodded and struggled to my feet. He moved to help me, but I held out my hand and pointed to my mother. He nodded and sighed, and carefully lifted my mother's body into his arms. We both walked slowly and solemnly to the backyard, where I saw that he had dug a grave right in the middle of my mother's rose, tulips and sunflower garden.

I sat on the muddy floor and watched as he slowly lowered my mother into the dug grave, and began to cover it up. Tears flowed through the whole process, I couldn't help it. It was as though a floodgate was opened in my soul, and the river wouldn't stop flowing. He sighed and stabbed the shovel into the Earth when he was done, and then stood, silently watching me. I struggled to my feet, and then began to move around the garden, uprooting flowers, and then replanted them over her grave. I lowered my head, and said a little prayer to the moon goddess, asking her to forgive and give her peace and paradise. "Andrea..."

"One more thing..." I said.

"What's that?"

"I want you to burn the house down."

Leo nodded, and set himself to the task. Soon enough, I was watching the flames rise as Leo ran through the woods with me strapped to his back. There I was, uselessly watching the fire consume the only home I had ever known. A sign that everything I had was being left behind, and an uncertain future was what lay ahead for me.