Her face shown with excitement as she bid a goodbye to the bachelor she was dancing with and made her way into the corner of the ballroom to cool off. The charcoal dress her body wore, hugged every curve making it impossible for her body to breath. She realized it was no cooler in the corner of the room then in the center and whizzed through the crowd of people who were slow dancing with the bachelors, right out the side door. She sat down legs crossed in the damp grass looking out towards the garden.

Tristan’s eyes followed her as she finished dancing with bachelor Prince Alcove. He watched her closely as she moved through the crowd, tugging at her black dress, making her way outside. He followed her out, and watched from the door.

She sat there in the grass for what could only possibly be described as the longest moments of her life. She stood up, wiping any remnants of grass and dirt off the back of her one-of-a-kind dress.
"If my father sent you here to get me, you can go back and tell him I'm not going back in any time soon." Her voice rang with authority, as she squinted to see which bachelor her father had in fact sent to get her.

She waited impatiently for the boy to move out of the shadows, or at least say something to her, and when he didn't, it only made her anger rise some more. She took a step forward and he moved more into the shadows as if expecting that move from her. She was completely boggled now, was he toying with her mind? Maybe my father didn't send him out to get me, she thought as she began walking back into the ballroom.

He reached out and grabbed her wrist making her freeze on the spot. His cold hand seemed to cool her flustered skin. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as he stepped out of the shadows allowing her to see him. Her eyes moved feverishly, trying to consume his unnatural beauty.
"Who are you?" Her voice shook as she found herself unable to look away from his enticing eyes. He smiled revealing pearly white teeth—some pointier than others—that were aligned perfectly, behind pink plump lips. She pulled her head away from his stare and took interest in the ivy vines growing on the side of her mega-mansion.

Tristan stuck one pale, slender finger under her chin and lifted it back up to his gaze. She with drew from his touch backing up a step. She looked down at his cold hand that was cutting the circulation off to her wrist then looked back up again.
"Who are you?" She asked once more with a little more integrity.
He smirked, letting go of her wrist, and started circling her like a predator would to his prey.
"I am Prince Tristan Van Ramirez—"
She cut him off hotly. "And what are you the Prince of—"
He cut her off with a brief hand signal. "And I'm the Prince of Vampires."
To be sure she believed him; he flashed a toothy grin allowing her to fully see two sparkling pointy teeth. She gasped; she didn't want to believe it, but thinking back to what her grandfather said, she did believe him.

She remembered that day like it was only last week, and partially because she had very good memory. She was six years of age, and was sitting in her grandfather's lap in his study. She could hear the classical music from the ballroom, where her mother—the queen—and her father—the king—we're holding their party. She wasn't yet allowed to go to these parties so she was with her grandfather. He had finished telling her why she was royalty, which he explained was because her mother and father we're the king and queen of New England and that she was the heir to the thrown, and when they stepped down, she'd become queen. Then everything got quiet in the room, as she sat there in his hold, with her head placed against his chest listening to his steady heart beat. Her grandfather lifted her chin and looked her straight in the eye and said:
"Sweetheart, when you turn sixteen you're going to have a ball—similar to the one your parents are having now—and there are going to be princesses—just like you—and princes, who will be looking for a princess. You are going to be faced with the choice of who you'd like to marry, to help you rule." This she had already known since her mother had elaborated on this when she was younger. "I know you know this already, but there is something else, that is very important and I want you to remember this and keep this in mind from when you turn thirteen till the day you're married." She took a gulp, scared of what he was getting at. "There are things outside of our land; things you'd never thought existed. And you need to be careful, because those things want princesses just like you to be their princess. These things drink blood, and are evil creatures, and I want you to be aware of this. Be careful out in the real world my darling. These things have no mercy; they will take you and turn you into what they are. They need humans, like me and you, to survive, and the only way a prince of their kind can become a King is to take a princess and marry her. The only way she can be married to these things though, is if she is in love with it. Never fall in love with one of these things."
"Don't worry poppa, I wont." She whispered to him.
"Child those are only words, these things are extremely beautiful, and hypnotic. They will make you fall in love with them with their charm, and wit, and looks, devilish ways, and cocky conceitedness."
"What are they poppa?" She had asked.
"These things, my dear, these things are…vampires."

She shook herself out of her flashback as she looked over Tristan again.
"I should be going, my father will be worrying." She said quickly pulling her wrist out of his hand and turning towards the door. Tristan was in front of her before she could place her left foot back on the ground.
"As you already know, I need you in order to take the thrown."
She thought back to something else her grandfather told her.

She was kneeling beside her grandfather's bed in the hospital room.
"Poppa?" She asked him her voice hardly audible under all the machines and things that were beeping.
"Yes, my dear?" He turned to look at her.
"What do I do, if I'm ever confronted with a vampire?" She had never stopped thinking about them, but suddenly now at the age of twelve, she was more aware of them than before.
"You run, you keep running." He had answered.
She knew why he had said run, and not scream; it was because she was a fast runner. Her built long legs could carry her for miles on end. And she also knew because, one she hated screaming, and two she didn't have a loud voice.
"Alright, poppa, I'll run." She whispered to him.

She looked Tristan in the eyes, then turned on her heel, and took off in no particular direction. She wasn't running at her full ability since she was afraid she'd break her ankle in the heels, and she knew if she did she'd be s*** out of luck. She didn't look back for the sake she'd see him on her tail and stop running completely. The ground was wet underneath her feet, but that didn't slow her down.

Dead end, she searched for somewhere, anywhere to run.
"I was wondering when you'd get here." She looked up and there Tristan was leaning against the rock cave that was surrounding one side of the forest. That was why I didn't see him behind me, she thought stupidly, the whole time he was ahead of me. She turned ready to run the other way, but she only hit Tristan’s chest—more like a brick wall—and fell to the ground.

"You don't want me," She started trying to think up a good debate, as she stood back up. Her grandfather always said she was such a good debater and if she couldn't out-run a vampire, then she could surely second guess his ways. "I will never love you. I wouldn't be a good wife, I'm disobedient, I hate being royalty, I don't like affection, I don't like to be touched. You'll pretty much think I'm a lesbian, which by the way I'm not. You should go after…Becky Leckonson."
"Yes, but I don't want Becky Leckonson, I want you. And what makes you think I don't like disobedient? And with my charm, you'll be more affectionate than you ever thought possible." Tristan smirked at her, and she took a nice healthy step back.
"Yeah I doubt that. And plus Becky Leckonson is easy, and falls in love quickly and is sure to love you since you're gorgeous and she—"
Tristan cut her off. "You think I'm gorgeous?"
"I think nothing of you, if anything I think you're very annoying and if you'll excuse me I'll be going back to my ball now. I'll make sure to tell Becky to come outside for you." She was already making her way back the way she had came but he again stopped her this time placing his hand on her bare shoulder.
"You're coming with me whether you like it or not." Tristan grabbed her arm and threw her over his back and took off light-speed into the forest.

She was scared out of her wits as the wind that his body created from moving so fast whipped through her hair. She wrapped her legs around his waist to be sure she wouldn't fall, and grabbed onto a patch of his hair. If she was going down, she was going to hurt him doing it. She didn't like surrendering like this but she knew she was a goner; she was as good as dead.