Snippet #2416726

About an hour into his book, Albert heard a soft knocking on his door. "Come in!" he called out cheerily. His mother entered, a slight scowl on her face.

"Albert, love," she said, shutting the door behind her and locking it, "You can't just allow anyone to enter your room. Why didn't you bother checking? And why wasn't your door locked? Suppose it wasn't your mother who was coming in to check on you, but another vampire without loving intentions in his heart?"

"My apologies, Mother," Albert said, putting aside his book, "I'll be more careful next time."

She nodded, "Good. Now, you would not believe what that...that harlot Vontessa asked of me!"

Albert raised an eyebrow, eyes widening as his mother ranted about the letter and the spirit vampiress' request for support. "Can you believe, a blood vampire supporting a spirit vampire?" Ilse nearly shouted, her typically alabaster skin pinking from the insult she undoubtedly felt, "She even went on to suggest that she could help with my own claim! The wench! A scandal, I told her, that would only result in a scandal! You know, darling, I feel that she is only asking for my support because she lacks support from her own side. No honor, no pride, has she! Have you even seen that human of hers? Why, he always looks absolutely miserable! Not that I particularly care for humans, but Albert, don't you feel our methods are more humane? Just one bite, and they absolutely love it. Put them out of their misery with one last pleasurable experience, rather than keep them alive and hating you. I tell you, dear, that human has the evil eye set on Vontessa. If I were her, I'd finish him up now before he gets any ideas."

Although Albert was used to his mother telling him the latest vampire gossip ("It's always important to stay informed with these things!" she would always say) she rarely talked to him about this sort of thing.

"Forgive me, mother," he interrupted during a lapse, "But...I'm not entirely sure why you are telling me all this? It all seems very....adult..."

His mother laughed, "Oh, dearest. Don't you see? If I'm to get the throne, and you inherit it, you'll need to know these things. Allies, enemies, especially now. With nearly everyone here, you'll have to be more cautious than normal. Remember, sweetling," she kissed him on the forehead, "Don't trust anyone."

She left, to her own room he supposed for her usual nap. Vontessa...Lady Vontessa it would be...Albert didn't think he had ever met her. But he had to agree with his mother that it was unusual that a spirit vampire would ask for his mother's help. Or even offer support. Unless she was as tolerant as he (which he doubted, if his mothers claims about how the spirit vampire treated her bonded) she must have been truly desperate for some sort of support.

Albert tried to return to his book, but the throne and his mothers words after he let her in and Gray made things difficult. Instead, he donned his outside clothes, adding a hat now that the sun was out, and skipped down the stairs outside. A good walk would certainly help things, even if the sun did tend to give him a headache.

He opted to go into the woods, where he would find decent shade. It was still fairly early, probably around 8 o' clock, and most everyone was still asleep. Smiling and humming, he soon found himself upon a trail. Although the trees grew sparser, the excitement of a new trail helped dull out the beginnings of his head ache, although the hat did a considerable amount to help. Following the trail, he found himself at a fenced field. There was a lovely horse milling about, and Al wished he had brought some apples for it. There was also a very large oak tree near the edge of the field, yet when Albert took a closer glance, he noticed something peculiar. Walking closer, his eyes widened when he realized a girl was sleeping in it!

Some snow had fallen on her, leading Albert to believe she had been sleeping there a while. Was it for the whole night? How had she not frozen to death? That is, if...

He gulped. He hoped she was okay...he could tell she wasn't a vampire, not a blood one at least. He wondered briefly if she was a spirit vampire, but she could also be human. Al didn't have a very strong yelling voice, and instead climbed over the fence and slowly inched his way up the tree, being careful about where he climbed. When he finally reached her branch, he brushed the snow off of her before shaking her arm gently with his gloved hand. "Psst," he said softly, "Are you all right?"