A Work in Progress
Hey all, can you believe it’s already May? Where did the year go? So what have I been up to? Working on my prequel novella and book 3. I keep wondering though does anybody even care to read this prequel? I don’t know but I’m going to finish it anyway. Book 2 is headed off to my editor so we are still on track for August 17th as release day. I was thinking that since I wasn’t sure about the prequel why not post the first chapter here? Ready for a little work in progress Wednesday?
Cannon
I walked into a trap like a lamb headed for slaughter. It was amazing how they did it, I could admit that. My parents were so good at baiting a trap you never saw it coming. Something told me to be weary when they requested my presence and I was right. There were plenty of things I could be doing instead I was at a safe house watching a monitor. On it was the live footage of my father setting me up. Obviously my parents had finally lost their damn minds.
On the screen I watched him leave her room so I counted the seconds until he would arrive. A week ago we didn’t know this girl even existed. And now she was going to be my responsibility. For years my parents had been on me about taking my life more seriously. They didn’t push as hard as they could to get me in line but I did know my days were numbered. It appeared my time had just run out because I knew what was expected of me. There was no choice to be had for me or for her.
“No,” I said turning to look at both my parents.
“You don’t have to marry her just take her as a mistress, it could—”
“Absolutely not,” my mother said. “If he agrees then they will be married there will be nothing less. The girl has already been through enough it would be cruel and insulting to put her in that position. Besides a wife has far more protection and we don’t exactly allow mistresses to live at the compound do we?” At that she glared at my father who held his hands up in surrender.
“Your mother is right about that marriage makes the most sense that way if anybody finds out about her she’s protected by our name. It would be easiest just to kill her, we don’t have to be cruel about it and her family will just have to accept that. They—”
“Those people longed for children and could not have them forcing them to seek out adoption. They will not just “get over it” do you want to kill them too? And what of the child? Is that what we are doing now murdering children because they might be inconvenient? Fredericka is 27 years old she’s practically a child herself and just like that you would condemn her for something beyond her control?” My mother interrupted, apparently she felt passionately about this subject.
“Why do I have to marry her? You can’t just give her to Gunnar or one of the others?” I asked willing to fight to the inevitable end. And was I willing to throw my cousins under the proverbial bus? Yes, I certainly was, they would do it to me too.
“If she is going to live she needs protection, more than just guards. Your position in the Family will shield her and I trust you to keep her unusual nature in line. Can you say you would trust something like her with any of your cousins aside from Gunnar?” My father asked and I couldn’t really argue that point.
Almost a week ago now a call came in about some half breed hybrid killing a full blooded vampire. The unusual occurrence meant that my father personally saw to the investigation. What he found was a vampire witch who manifested a new ability in time to save her own life. Nobody could fully explain what she did, least of all her. I saw the reports on all the testing he had done on her. A small fortune was spent on having so many tests done and analyzed. Against all odds it appeared that this girl was dangerous.
Turning back to the monitor I just stared at her. She was curled up in a chair alone just staring at the wall. Why did she have to look so small and vulnerable? I was not some white knight hero out to rescue damsels. Something about her though drew my attention, I wasn’t sure what it could be. Sure she was beautiful, even pale and worn down looking like she was now. Nothing could take away from her beauty, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Vampires tended to be attractive it was part of what made us such good predators. Her dark hair was up in a ponytail, her brown skin did look a bit dull but those eyes? Those violet eyes, so sad and haunted, part of me wanted to make sure she never looked like this again. But what was I really supposed to do here? Tie my life and future to this girl who killed vampires? When my father listed out her options she seemed ready to decline this particular offer. Which was a bit insulting, though I had to wonder if she would choose death over marriage?
“You are 105 years old you need to settle down, this is the perfect opportunity. We have allowed you to remain unattached this long mostly because we haven’t found the right bride for you, until now. Time to grow up son, no more orgies with your friends,” Mother said. The look she gave me told me I wasn’t getting out of this.
Despite what my mother thought I was not out engaging in orgies regularly. Vampires were sexual beings it was just a fact of life. Though I wasn’t stupid enough to point out that she got up to all sorts of things with my father. But of course they were married they could do whatever they wanted since they performed their duty to the family. Now it was my turn and for all I knew this innocent looking girl— no not a girl she was a woman. This innocent looking woman could be a virgin and that was definitely not something I wanted. She was young but not that young at least I hoped not.
So I was to marry the vampire killer and presumably have children with her. That was after all part of our duty to the bloodline, to keep it prospering. Marriage wasn’t ever an option it was a certainty, it was always going to happen. Was putting it off any longer really a good thing? I had other things to focus on so maybe this wasn’t too bad. At least I knew her intentions unlike other women who were desperate to be part of our family. Though other women couldn’t kill vampires with a touch so there was that. How was I supposed to sleep at night knowing she could do some shit like that? This was literally a life and death matter, her life and my potential death.
“Give her to Gunnar,” I said. For some strange reason, I was not examining, I didn’t actually like that idea.
“I already have a tentative arrangement for Gunnar, I just wanted to see you settled first,” Mother informed me. Oh my cousin was going to hate that.
While I accepted that I would eventually have to marry, my cousin wanted nothing to do with it. The clock had been ticking on our freedom since my sister got married. After many forced meetings, dates and surprise dinner guests I was tired of it all. Other than not wanting to be tied down I wasn’t sure why Gunnar was so against marriage. He never took relationships seriously but those weren’t exactly permanent. I did have relationships and I did even consider a time or two where things could go. Ultimately I never found a woman I could picture having a life with.
Looking back to the monitor I tried to picture a life with the little killer but I drew a blank. I didn’t know her and hadn’t actually met her, so I couldn’t guess how it would go. Arranged marriages were very common these days, I only heard stories of a time when that wasn’t the case. Parents chose who best suited their family structure and who would benefit the family. Love was a rare commodity and not the point of marriage to most people. Emotional decisions didn’t take into account stability and longevity. Humans tended to just marry and divorce without thought, we were not like that. While not impossible it was just very unlikely that a nonhuman would divorce. That was why arrangements were so important, nothing about marriage to us was temporary. Once you were in you were in and you made it work. We were long lived so building a solid foundation mattered most.
I wasn’t just marrying this stranger, I was agreeing to taking on responsibility for everything she did. She would be in my home, in my bed, in my life there was no escaping her. Vampires tended to be very long lived so I was tying my life to hers for the rest of my life. And I had to decide now if this was something I wanted to do. Obviously my parents wanted me to but they didn’t say I had to. The Family came first, always, this was part of that. So really what could I do? I walked into this trap and I wasn’t getting out not without a major sacrifice. Because sure they might let me get away with turning this down. But I couldn’t be responsible for what happened to her as a result of that. No she didn’t deserve to die because of something beyond her control. I wasn’t cruel enough to let her die and maybe this didn’t have to be a bad thing.
“What is your objection to this? Just your loss of freedom? Having a wife doesn’t mean you can’t find your own entertainment,” my father said with a shrug. Mother rolled her eyes, they did not at all have a monogamous relationship.
“Weren’t you 130 when you got married? Why is there a rush to get me to do it?” I asked trying a different angle. Yeah I knew I was screwed and so did they but I had to at least put an effort into getting out of it.
Looking back to her I knew there was never a choice in this. She was going to be my wife whether I wanted it or not. Why didn’t I hate this idea? Yeah she was way too young but there wasn’t an easier way to bring her into The Family. Sure non-bloodline people existed in our Family, but she wasn’t an employee or from a long standing allied family. A single 27 year old magic teacher was not a valuable asset, at least not on paper.
“Life is unpredictable, you never know what can happen or how much time you have,” Mother said. “She will make a good wife, all the information we have on her suggests this. Yes she is very young but old enough that it’s not scandalous.”
“Have you thought about what she wants? We are strangers,” I pointed out.
“I presented her with options,” Father said with a shrug. “If you really don’t want her then fine we aren’t going to force you to marry her. But you will marry, your mother is right it’s time.”
“Lucinda was never this difficult,” Mother said shaking her head.
Of course my sister wasn’t as difficult, she was a Harrington daughter. The females of the family took duty very seriously. Lucy would never tell our parents no, she was the good child. Did she want to marry Markus, her husband of 15 years? No, she only did it because that’s what they wanted. There was a whole business arrangement to it that benefited The Family. They got along and had 3 kids, so it worked out. Now here I stood being presented with a wife that needed protection and to hide what she could do.
“What if she doesn’t want to do it?” I asked because that seemed a possibility. “Will you force her so I can be stuck with a resentful wife?”
“She has the ability to choose her own fate we aren’t forcing anything,” Father said.
“Those options you gave her are cruel,” I replied. If this was going to happen that much should at least be clear. I know what they wanted me to do and what they wanted her to do that’s why it was given as an option.
“We cannot allow that girl out of our care,” he said and pointed to the screen. “That innocence isn’t an act as far as we can tell and if we don’t do something this will come back on us. Somebody will figure out what she can do and use her to do just that. What would the other Families think knowing we had her and just let her go to terrorize them? You can imagine what will be done to turn her into a weapon, we are offering an alternative. We are not using her as a weapon, we are almost not in the business of senseless torture. But really if it comes down to it who is she going to feel more grateful to? The people who took her in and shielded her from harm? Or ones that abandon her to an unpleasant fate?”
Unfortunately that made sense, if we let her go and something happened she might become vengeful. At present it didn’t look like she had the capacity for vengeance. But anybody could be pushed past what they normally might do with the right pressure. Her family was obviously important to her and would be a good way to control her. I wasn’t so cruel that I wanted to see a whole family destroyed just so I could live as a bachelor for a little longer. The moment I stepped into this house they had me and they knew it. My parents didn’t get to where they were without being very good at what they did. Whatever had to be done they did it, everything was to benefit The Family and the bloodline.
“Fine,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I’ll talk to her, maybe it can help.”
“Good, we are almost ready with a contract for her,” Mother said. That didn’t surprise me at all. “This is what’s best for The Family and for her, you are doing exactly what you are meant to.”
“If you say so,” I said and left the room heading for where she was.
My parents had their ideas about things and for the most part I went along. In this they may have done me a favor because this wasn’t a viper trying to claw her way into the family. This was a person who likely had no desire to be associated with a family like mine. Being a Harrington was very public with people always in your business. The fact that she could kill me though was an issue I couldn’t ignore. But I could likely overpower her before she completed the job.
What fun thoughts to have before meeting my future wife. The woman I was to spend the rest of my long life with, nope that thought wasn’t terrifying. With a little reluctance I knocked on her door. This was simply an arranged marriage of convenience, it didn’t need to be complicated. So why when she opened the door and looked into my eyes for the first time did it feel… complicated?
What do you think? Should I continue on with it? I’m about halfway done but I fear it’s not really going to be a novella because it’s longer than I thought it would be. That’s all for now if y’all want I could post chapter 2 next time, let me know.
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