F I F T Y -F O U R

"Alright," Iris said, "let's talk."

Zoe nodded frantically and straightened out her dress. It was a tan color fading into a soft pink. Her torso was beige and as it went down to her skirt the color shaded pink. The dress had a flounce design and as she sat the dress appeared to make a puddle around her, so Iris couldn't tell exactly how she was sitting.

"I will tell you everything you wish to know. Where would you like to start?" Zoe laid her hands in her lap and attempted to look at Iris with a friendly, honest expression, but she came off and anxious and fidgety.

Not due to the fact that her answers might sound false to the prince, but that he wouldn't believe her.

Iris looked around the room and brought an old looking wooden chair where he was standing. He sat down and crossed his arms, a sigh leaving his mouth.

"I want to know why you want my help."

Zoe nodded and cleared her throat, ready to dive right in.

"I've heard a lot of rumors about this kingdom. The good and the bad, but the good always seemed to trump the others. I liked what your kingdom had to offer even before I became this," she said it like it was poison in her mouth. "Some of the rumors I heard was that the vampires here were treated kindly. The King saw them as loyal workers rather than slaves. And then your reputation came to light.

"I didn't know if any of them were true. When all this happened to me, I was desperate and angry and alone. I eventually found my way here in hopes that the kindness they say you share to the vampires was true. I came here because I thought you could help me, and that maybe you would get the King on my side. It might sound selfish, but I wanted to get your help because you had ties with a strong army."

Iris didn't move from his position, but his eyebrows gradually lowered, making a crease on the forehead, an expression he had on when he was focusing hard on something. There were thousands of thoughts running through his mind, but he had to take a step back from his plan when she said something that caught his interest.

"I see.." His frown deepened. "You said before you became this. Were you not always this type of vampire?"

"No." Zoe shook her head and balled her dress into her fists. "No, I wasn't. My sister changed me. She's the evil threatening the balance between vampires and humans. She turned everyone in our village into the sickening monster she calls the "new generation". Once she declared her plans, the ones she turned agreed to fight beside her, I didn't. I had no problem with the life we were living; it wasn't perfect, because vampires and humans would never live in perfect harmony, but at least it was stable. My sister was fed up with the treatment. She–"

"Wait, your sister is the leader of these new vampires? I thought you were?"

"Klaus said that, didn't he?" Zoe referred to the vampire Kai and the guards captured in the village. Zoe talked to him briefly after they threw her into a cell of her own.

Iris nodded.

"I am a leader, but not for the new generations. I lead a smaller group, one filled with vampires like me that were forcefully turned, and who don't want to engage in the war my sister is trying to start."

"Where are they?"

"The kingdom I came from has already been captured by the vampires. Well, I took over the kingdom. All of it."

Iris frowned and leaned back in his chair. Zoe sighed before shuffling in her spot.

"Now you should really listen," she said and narrowed her eyes. "I invaded the kingdom with my group and threatened the King. Out of fear, he allowed us to take over. It's currently our base; that's part of why I never talked about it, but anyway, I took over the kingdom for multiple reasons.

"First of all, it had the second best defense and attack record, your kingdom being the first. I convinced the guards to fight by my side before I began my next plan. I had the King send a messenger to your father saying how he'll like to hold a meeting. That meeting was only a few weeks ago, and Hyde went with them. He explained everything to your father, but I was desperate and worried, I needed him to allow us into your kingdom, so the only thing I knew would work was if we threatened him.

"He worked out a plan with Hyde and a few other of my subordinates. He arranged a fake marriage that allowed me into your kingdom–"

"Wait." Iris held out his hand to stop Zoe. He exhaled slowly as if it would help him process it all better. "Just, let me stop you there. My dad knew who you were? He knows you're not human? That you're a vampire?"

"Not me, but the "bodyguards" I came with."

"That–that doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't he know you were one of them?"

"Well, my kingdom is very far from here. Your father hardly stays in contact with kingdoms other than the small respected circle he created. He didn't particularly message with the kingdom, so he was unaware that the royals there didn't actually have a daughter. If he did, he wouldn't have agreed to our plan. Hyde lied and said they did, and part of the small treaty was that you had to be involved, so an arranged marriage was perfect. He doesn't know I'm a vampire, but rather someone who does revolves around them."

Zoe stopped shortly when Iris sighed and dropped his head in his hands.

Her information was undebatably harder to process than believe. The connections made sense to Iris, he just didn't know how to let it all settle. His brain was throbbing from a headache and trying to wrap his head around what Zoe was telling him. He looked up and studied her.

She sat with a straight back, confident but nervous. Self-assured with her facts but wary of how the prince might accept them. Her expression hardly change and so far, Iris was buying all her words.

He stopped narrowing his eyes and signed once more. He sat up and stood, making Zoe slowly follow his actions.

"Okay, before you continue let me summarize what I've learned. You are not like the othes, you don't wish for conflict, unlike that sister of yours. You lead a–a rebellion, in which you think will benefit from my kingdom's help. And as kindly as I could say it, you are a deceiver. Yes?"

Zoe blinked a few times before nodding her head. "Um, yes," she said. "To put it simply. I may be a liar, but I did it–did this all for a good reason."

"For our help."

"Yes. Will you–"

"Who's your sister?"

"Uh, she's...her name's Annesa."

"Why would she want to do something like this?"

"Well, where we lived, let's just say we weren't treated very kindly. It was every vampire for themselves, except me and my sister. We stuck together, we got through the storms, the scarce food, and the hate, together. She's more than blood, Iris, she was all I had. So...so when she changed and forced that change onto me, I couldn't even look her in the eye anymore."

"If she was so important to you, why would you be so willing to go against her beliefs? With such a strong bond, it's understandable to suppress your disagreement and go along with them. Why didn't you? Better yet, that makes me suspicious."

"Iris, Annesa was my sister. My everything. Of course it was hard to betray her wish, I still have guilt linger in me.." Zoe laid a hand over her heart. "But–" she clenched that hand into a fist. "Despite her once being the only thing I cared about, her actions showed me that she did not feel the same. She hurt the others we stayed with, children! And she hurt me. I couldn't forgive her actions and I never will. I don't care if it was out of anger, her ignorance blinded her. The war she wants is unnecessary, and I'll do everything to stop it. But I need your help."

Iris shook his head and moved around. The light flickered and the stuffiness in the room thickened the stench of dirt. Iris felt out of breath and almost claustrophobic. He wouldn't last long in room like this.

The silenced ticked until Iris looked up. He was visibly deciding on what to say, as he had a lot on his mind, but he didn't want to spew out words and bombard Zoe. Though he could've asked something more useful, he stuck with the thought that has been stalking his mind.

"Zoe, if you wanted our kingdom's help, why didn't you contact my dad first? Why go through all this?"

Iris expected Zoe to stall, fumble for a reasonable answer, but instead he watched her smile lightly and link her fingers together.

"One of the first things your father told me was: you might have my respect, but you won't have my trust until you earned my son's."

"What?"

"It was strange to my ears as well. He sounded confident that you'd be able to tell if I was trust worthy or not."

She smiled larger.

"Seems like you fulfilled his test."

††

Kai paused his pacing and looked up when the heavy metal door opened with a croak. He stopped himself from walking towards Iris when he noticed the pale, petite hand he was holding.

He and Zoe excited out of the hellish cell and Kai crossed his arms with a frown.

"Well?" he said in a flat tone.  Voice aggravating, low and almost seething.

Iris and Zoe glance at each other before Iris focused on Kai, hazel eyes piercing into navy ones.

"You're going to need to sit down."

††

I'm. So. Sorry!!!!!!

(I should probably stop apologizing every time I update super late, but again...I'm sorry!!)

I recently started school and with the schedule I have I'm definitely going to have limited time to write and update regularly. I'm one hundred percent, absolutely, most positively going to write as fast (and best) as I can! I swear I will try but I guarantee nothing. Updates will be random, a little less frequent, but the story's not going anywhere!

I'm also in the process of planning out my next book....aHH. It will be a bxb story, but this means....you know....this story is, yes, coming to an end!

~Nikky