I examined myself in the mirror. I looked beautiful like always. I felt beautiful. My golden blonde curls fell perfectly against my bare shoulders. I was wearing a light pink ball gown with golden bodice ties. Golden roses lined my belt. I wore golden heels and I had a pink rose in my hair.

I looked gorgeous.

My little sister, Charity, ran into the room. She looked gorgeous. She wore a pink dress with a skirt that reached her ankles. It had a gold mess skirt overtop. The silk, pink sleeves went past her fingertips and hung down. Her light brown hair was done in two braids. She looked absolutely adorable.

Her twin, Prudence, ran in after her. She wore the same dress but opposite colors. Her dress was gold with a pink mesh skirt. Her hair was stop braided and she looked just as cute.

“Vessie! Vessie!” My sisters cried as they ran over to me. “Have you heard what I heard? I thought I was gonna ask her! No! I was!”

I laughed at them. “Ok. Ok. Charity, tell me what you heard.” I said.

Charity’s face erupted in a smug smile. “I heard that the House of Vampire is gonna be here. Is that true?”

A shiver ran down my spine. Just thinking about it freaked me out. I nodded. “It’s gonna be ok though. I promise. They won’t hurt us.” I said.

They looked at each other. “Really?”

I nodded again. “I promise. I’ll protect you.” I promised.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

The two girls started giggling and hugged me. “I love you.” They both said.

I smiled. “I love you too. Now, we have a ball to go to.”

Their smiles brightened and they giddily skipped out of my room. I smiled at them. They were so cute and sweet. I just hoped I could protect them from the monsters that awaited us.

I walked down the hall. There was a smell of cinnamon and other rare spices, fresh air, happiness, excitement, and the sun in the air. It was delightful. I always loved the opening ball because it felt so magical. Everything about it held magic.

I took a deep breath as I approached the ballroom doors. Everyone would already be in there. They would be taking and chatting and making my nervous. There would be a family of dangerous people here tonight. I had to be ready to face them with a smile and a sword.

I had strapped a dagger to my thigh for safety. To be honest, I had no idea how to use it, but I didn’t need to know how to use a dagger to stab someone in the heart. If things got out of hand, it would only take one motion to stab someone.

I opened the doors and was instantly hit with an overwhelming sense of excitement. The ballroom was lit by the golden chandelier in the center and the windows pouring in moonlight. Everyone was dressed in their native colors and they all looked fabulous. They all were talking and socializing, enjoying themselves.

A few heads turned to look at me as I sauntered in. There were a few whisperers. “That’s Princess Vesper.” “Princess Vesper looks gorgeous tonight.” “I’m going to marry her.” “What a show off.”

I never let these things bother me. I was a princess. Of course people noticed me. Of course people wanted to marry me. Of course people were jealous of me. It came with the job.

I found myself over by my parents. My sisters were dancing with a few boys their age. You wouldn’t believe how many younger boys there were. People loved children.

I stayed close to my parents because I honestly didn’t have that many friends. As a princess, nobody ever wanted to truly be my friend. They either wanted status or to hurt me. It never ended well.

“Go socialize.” My mother told me.

I shook my head. “I’m good.” I replied.

“Vesper-“ She was about to scold me for not being social enough when a group of bleakly dressed people made their way over to my father. My heart began to pound. The House of the Vampire.

My mother and I exchanged a glance. We walked over to them. We couldn’t leave my father to handle them by himself.

The room adjusted as we got closer. I felt a bit colder and the guards looked tenser. Everyone had a nervous look on their faces and were giving worried glances in our direction. I knew that they should be worried. This was dangerous and unsafe, but I didn’t like the attention. It already made me nervous.

My mother gave my father a dazzling smile as she approached him. He smiled back. “Lord William, this is my wife, Queen Elizabeth, and my daughter, Princess Vesper.” He said.

The children looked in my direction. Four demonically black eyes stared at me. They each sized me up in their own way. I pretended not to notice it, but it was distracting. They looked like the night itself.

They all looked very similar. It was easy to tell that they were related. They each hard dark brown, almost black, hair, paler skin, and dark brown eyes. The differences were in the eyes though. They had different shades of brown.

The youngest, Aspen, had light brown eyes that were filled with wonder. The middle, Lucian, had eyes the color of coal and they were filled with intelligent ideas and schemes. Adrielle’s eyes were a reddish brown, not quite amber and not quite brown, and she carried a polite smile. Damian was the one that made her stop. He had onyx eyes and they were unreadable. The eyes were the windows to the soul and yet, his eyes didn’t betray him.

“It’s a pleasure to be here.” Lord William said. “Thank you for inviting us into your home.”

My father smiled. “We’re honored to have you here. It’s my pleasure.” He replied.

Lady Vanessa, Lord William’s wife, smiled brightly. She seemed excited for something. “I do believe we have some business to discuss. Is there somewhere I can have my children go?” She asked.

Why not keep them in the ballroom? I guess they didn’t like the idea. I didn’t know.

My father turned to me with an idea in his eyes. No. No. No. This wasn’t good. I could already tell.

“Vesper, why don’t you show the Vampires around the grounds. I would hate for them to get lost because they have never been here before.” He said.

No. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

I put on my forced smile that I usually reserved for rich nobles and Heirs. “Of course. It would be a pleasure.” I said. Lies. The words tasted bad against my tongue, but I wanted to be polite.

“Children, go with the princess.” Their mother instructed.

They nodded and turned to me. Lovely. My eyes met Damian’s. He gave me a smirk and it was like a spell broke around me. These people weren’t exactly harmless, but they didn’t mean any harm. Just like that, the spell broke and I looked at the world around me with fresh eyes.

I led them out of the ballroom.