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The door opens revealing my distress-looking parents. Bags under their eyes age their faces. Their eyes grow wide when they see me and their chests heave. "Adara." My father says my name with relief in his voice, then both he and my mom hug me.

"We were worried sick. Where were you?" My mother asks. Her long blonde hair is in a loose bun on top of her head. Her reading glasses hang onto the edge of her nose. My father looks tired, and he frowns as he looks at my attire.

I'm still in my pajamas. My father wouldn't want me outside in these clothes. I wouldn't want myself outside in these clothes. I'm only in a hoodie and tennis shorts. It's not all that cold but still, these aren't exactly the clothes I want to wear outside. Were they waiting up for me all night? They look as if they have been.

"I'm okay. Were you waiting for me, this entire time?" I ask them.

They nod, "We phoned the police but they said to wait a full twenty-four hours." My mother feels my forehead and then pulls her hand away.

She pulls me inside the house and my father shuts the door behind me. Guilt smashes down upon my shoulders. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stress you out." I look away from them.

I look around the living room to see papers thrown around on the coffee table. My lips part to ask some questions. "Why are your papers thrown around like this?" I ask.

They look at the clutter in the living room, then rush over to clean up. "Oh, this? It's only our work. We received word that the Prince has a few lawsuits. We're trying to deal with them." My mother says as she places the papers inside their folders.

"Can you believe that the Kennedys are suing the Prince? It's over him allegedly getting their daughter pregnant. That's a scandal I never thought would happen." My father joins in on the conversation.

My mother gives him a look, "Why? You think that she's lying?" Placing her hands on her hips, she gives him an accusatory look.

"Yes, I do. But not in the way you think. Who on earth would want to be involved with him? That's a stupid thing to do." He says.

My eyes grow wide a little. From the way my dad is talking about the Prince, I don't think he'd approve of him dropping me off at home. Much less taking me to his home last night after the vampire attack.

"What happened, Adara? Why did you leave?" My father moves away from our conversation and back to our original one.

I fiddle with my fingers. A vampire has never bitten me before in my entire life. Talking about it is no easy thing. Me thinking about it raises my anxiety at the thought of it happening again. I don't want it to.

Oh right, the card the Prince gave me is still in my hand. I place both my hands behind my back, concealing it. "I got scared last night, being home alone, so I went to Via's." Lying to my parents is no easy thing. I have lied to them before but I hated it every time.

They nod, "Oh okay. I'm sorry we came home late. I knew you could get scared." My mother comes to me and caresses my cheek.

"I'm sorry, Adara. How about telling us before you leave, alright?" My father places his arm around my mother's waist.

I nod as I try my best to keep my lie. "Okay."

They smile at me then they kiss my head and walk away. I walk up the stairs to my room. Looking back down to the living room, my parents sit on the couch as they go through their papers.

I continue walking to my room. The long carpeted hallway is evident of my parents' hefty salary. This contributes to their frequent absences. I push open my room door to see my haven. The one place I'd go to whenever I felt unsafe. It's funny how it's now turned into the opposite.

This is where the vampire attacked me. How can I ever feel safe here knowing that? This bed I slept in was where it touched my neck. My head turns to the wall. It pushed me against this wall and bit me. My hand grazes the small bite marks at the side of my neck.

The bite marks are to the back of my neck so my hair conceals it. My fingers brush over the sensitive skin and I immediately pull away.

I'm not sure if I want them to know that it was the Prince. How would they react? I know that they are his lawyers, but they only became his lawyers recently. Four months ago they had other people as their clients. Would they be okay with what had happened? How will they react when I tell them that a vampire attacked me and the Prince saved me? I'm gonna wait on that.

My mind wanders back to the deal the Prince had proposed. He wants us to fake-date so that the pregnancy allegations can go away. But I don't think that was all. My parents said the 'Kennedys' were suing them. This pregnancy allegation is somehow more important than many of the other scandals.

There's something that he didn't tell me and there is no way I can make a good decision without all the information.

I turn around and I close my door, locking it. My feet scurry to my nightstand and I unplug my phone. I need to call or text Via. I'm not sure if my parents will call her or her parents to confirm my story, but I won't take any chances.

I dial her number and I place the phone to my ears. I relax as the cold surface of the phone touches my burning ears. I did tell the Prince the truth when he asked if I was okay. I didn't say I was completely healed, but okay enough. My body is a bit hot, though.

The call rings out. I remove my phone from my ears letting out a sigh. It is pretty early, it makes sense why she hasn't answered. She must still be sleeping. I send her a text instead.

Good morning my sweet platonic soulmate.

I'm sorry to do this but if anyone asks, I was at your place last night. Please, please, cover for me. I love youuuu. Also, I'll buy you all the chocolates in the world <3

I send the two separate texts. She must see this before it's too late for me. As I lay on my bed, someone knocks on my door. I jerk up. They know. I know they know that I lied. Oh my goodness, here it comes, here comes the lecture. I'm gonna have to tell them the truth. I don't want to lie to them anymore. I've been doing it way too many times this year.

"Come in." My voice waivers. I take deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. I repeat my action and my door's knob turns, revealing my parents. When they see me their brows furrow.

"What are you doing in bed, darling? It's time for school. You can't be late for the second day of your junior year." My mother says.

Oh my goodness, I completely forgot about school. There's no way I can go to school today. I'm exhausted and still not completely better.

I decide to play the sick card. "But mom, I'm not feeling too well," I say.

My father gives me the 'I know you're lying' look. He walks to me, "Come on, sweetheart, I know you're lying―" He stops talking once he places his hand on my forehead.

"My goodness, Adara. You're burning up. What happened? You were fine yesterday." He says.

I shrug my shoulders, "It could be the dew when I was walking home. I'm not too sure."

My father sighs, "Alright, you can stay home today. Your mother and I are going to the Palace to discuss some things."

I jump up off my bed, "No! I don't want to stay here alone. Please let me come with you. The Palace has a doctor, right? They can check on me. Please don't make me stay here alone."

I plead with my father and he looks at me, deciding what to do. He lets out a sigh then he takes out his phone. "I'll have to phone the King and Queen. I'll need to see if it's fine with them."

He places his phone to his ear then he starts speaking with the King. It's weird how something as simple as talking makes my father look so intimidating. He is a lawyer and his job is to intimidate people instead he's the one intimidated.

"Yes, your majesty, thank you." The call ends and he places the phone inside his pocket.

Hope raises inside of me. From the sound of the conversation, I'm guessing it went well. "So?" I ask my dad.

He looks at my mother, "Could you please call the school, telling them she's not coming in, dear?"

My mother nods then she fishes out her phone, leaving the room. A smile graces its way onto my face. "So I'm coming with you guys?"

He nods, "Yes, the Queen will lead you to the nurse, and we'll be in the meeting room. If you need anything, the maids will be there to assist you."

My heart beats faster at the mention of the Queen. She's the one person in the world I've always wanted to meet. I know that my parents work with her and everything, but that doesn't mean it's easy for me to meet her.

"Okay," I answer. I don't want to make it seem as if I'm a crazed-out fan. My father gives me a small side-smile. He knows how much I love the Queen. Out of everyone, she seems like the nicest.

"Come on, kiddo, get dressed. We're leaving in ten." My dad then leaves the room.

I take a deep breath then I walk over to my closet. My fingers graze my clothes then I start shoving them to the back, trying to find something nice but simple. I don't want it to seem as if I'm trying too hard to impress the Queen. I want to look good.

I find a floral puff sleeve lace chiffon mini dress. I change into it then I leave my room. I hop down the stairs and my parents look at me.

A smile washes over their lips. "You look wonderful, darling." My mother says to me.

"Thanks, mom. Ready?" I ask.

They nod, then we leave the house. Stepping outside, the cool summer air hits me. I'm so thankful that it's not as humid today. My hair is out so if it was humid then it would be so frizzy. It's so difficult to deal with curly hair. I love it, but it frustrates me from time to time.

We all get into my dad's car then we drive off for the Palace. The Prince said his home was twenty minutes away and is close to the Palace. So it should take that amount of time to get there.

As I assumed, it does take twenty minutes to get to the Palace. My head lifts as I try to look to the top. This is a gigantic Palace. It is the biggest Palace in the world, after all. It's weird knowing that the most important family in this world lives twenty minutes from me. And my parents work for them. They work closely with them. It's so weird.

My parents always worked for the Royal Family but only recently have they had the Prince as their client. Before this, they were going around with different clients. One week they would be dealing with a Duke, the next a regular businessman, and the other it's a Princess. It was chaotic and I hardly saw them.

They didn't get the schedule change until my report card came out before summer started. They found out I failed three classes: Vampire History, Art II, and Biology I. It's the reason why I'm still doing them.

They couldn't believe that I failed three classes so they requested a schedule change. They're still gone a lot but still not as much as it was before.

We walk into the Palace and the moment the guards open those big, golden doors, my eyes grow wide. Right before us is the Queen. Queen Flora. She stands right in front of us with her hands clasped in front of her. She's wearing a wonderful blue ballgown. Her outfits are always impressive.

"Good morning, Bruno, Freya." She greets my parents and they bow before her.

"Good day, your majesty." They say.

Her eyes then rest on me and my entire body freezes. "You must be Adara. It's nice to meet you, dear. Come, let me carry you to the doctor. Oh, before we leave, the King is in his Throne Room, he'll meet you in the Meeting Room in a few minutes. He's having a counsel with the Prince." She tells my parents.

At the mention of the Prince, I look at the Queen. What is the King talking to him about? The allegations? Lawsuit? What is it?

Ugh, calm down, Adara. He could be having a regular conversation with his son.

"Come, sweetheart." The Queen holds out her hand to me and I place my hand in it. We walk off in the opposite direction of my parents. We walk past portraits and maids as we go to the doctor. We pass a gigantic door that's cracked open a little on our way.

Inside are the King and the Prince. Red fills the King's face as he accuses and curses the Prince. "How could you?! No!" He puts his hand up, preventing the Prince from speaking.

"You need to be quiet! You will not be King until this is resolved!" That's all I hear before Queen Flora drags me away.

The King had to have been arguing about the allegation. The Prince doesn't say anything as his father yells at him. His mouth is set in a frown with squared shoulders. He has a perfect posture and gives nothing away about how he feels. The last time he looked like that was when he was holding back how he felt.

Goodness, he does need my help.