21: Cold shoulder

Sebastian decided to ignore me and gave me the silent treatment the entire time we waited outside of the Grand Hall- alone and awaiting our presence to be announced. The only time he seemed to be capable of giving me some form of attention was when he was staring at my dress, which was understandable given how absolutely stunning it was. It was a beautiful shade of dusty pink and had a deep, décolleté neckline which was bordered with small diamond-like gems which glittered in the dim light of the small hallway. The rest of the bodice was skin-tight, hugging the curves which I'd begun developing with my strange eating habits, but the skirt was looser with more diamond-like gems within the fabric as it flowed down and pooled even further than my silver heels. Christine, the dressmaker had been magical with her alterations on this and when I finally did get to look at myself in the mirror, at the final picture, Phoenix Ackerman with her mother's crown and necklace, I could almost feel my mother around me, smiling at the beautiful woman in the mirror.
"Stop tapping your feet." Sebastian uttered, finally managing to muster up some words to me, though I suspected they had something to do with his growing annoyance.
I obliged, nonetheless, trying not to show him how nervous I was which, honestly, I was, and now resorted to playing with my fingers and telling myself to calm the hell down over and over again.
"Why'd you do it?" Sebastian uttered out, pulling me away from my calming words. I looked down at him, confused as he placed his hands together and hunched over as he crouched down.
"I'm sorry, what are you referring to?"
He tilted his head and then said with a little mock chuckle, "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Young lady, you did not listen to me at all, not when I attempted to drag you out of that dressing room and certainly not when you were told to change out of that dress-"
"Would you like me to strip naked and change now, Sebastian. Would that be convenient for you?" I didn't know why I said it, but I admit that it felt good when it left my mouth. Unfortunately, my mouth was not the only part of my body feeling good, as Sebastian stood up swiftly, grabbed my hands and then pinned me up against the wall. Despite me being in heels, he was still taller than me and his blue eyes looked down at mine, capturing them as a smug smile appeared on his face.
"Phoenix, are you trying to get punished? Is that what you want?" And as he said that he leaned in and placed a kiss on my neck, and fuck me for thinking this, but I wanted more from him. I wanted his lips elsewhere. I wanted to taste him so badly that my toes began curling and I bit on my lip until I was tasting blood. The only thing keeping me sane though, was the sound of Sebastian's voice in my head saying over and over how this was all a game, how my feelings counted for nothing. And so, after much internal conflict between the sex-crazed vampire and the angered and furious werewolf side of me, the werewolf side won, and I pushed him away. Sebastian stared at me in deep confusion.
"What the hell is wrong, Phoenix?" He uttered.
And it was then that I exploded, saying, "You! You're a liar Sebastian!"
Sebastian looked taken aback for a moment and then asked what I meant, to which I replied, "You've never liked me... not in the way that I like... liked, you. You've been pretending this whole time, trying to get me to be your *good girl* because that's the only way you see me achieving that crown. Do you think so little of me Sebastian? Am I just a plaything to you, a pawn, a piece of clay you can just mold?" I then paused a moment to catch my breath before taking a step forward and folding my arms over my chest.
"Well, I'm done being everyone's little puppet. I'm done. So, from this day forward, Sebastian, you and I are going to keep our relationship strictly professional. I would not want to get you 'romantically involved' with me."
And when I uttered that, Sebastian's eyes widened as he realised that I had been listening in on his conversation with Xavier's father. He cleared his throat and immediately his features softened before he let out a soft, "Phoenix I..."
But before he could even continue with anything further, Erwin's familiar voice announced, "Phoenix Ackerman, daughter of Queen Athena... and Denzell Ackerman. She is escorted by Sebastian Dragović, former noble to the elite Dragović family, now advisor to the throne."
Noble? He was a noble?
I was now about to ask him about it when he gripped my arm, wrapped it around his and began walking us both through the entrance, and I assumed his hurriedness was intention. Immediately I was overwhelmed by... everything. The large room was filled with a large table made of pure silver and seated at the table were many silver, white-cushioned chairs. It seemed that not all the royals had chosen to reside in the palace as many new faces glanced back at me, some in wonder, others in complete shock and horror. To the end of the table, underneath and intense yellow light from the chandelier above their heads sat what I assumed to be the council, all dress in a deep shade of maroon, as Sebastian had said. They staired at me in neither shock nor horror, nor wonder. Instead, they eyed me curiously and some of them even began to engage in whispered conversations.
Sebastian and I made our way to the table, seated closer to the council than I thought, across from Liam who spared me a nervous wink, and next to Xavier who cast me a quick side-glance. Our presence had no doubt begun to stir about chaos at the table and as expected, much was said about how I disgraced the air these superior nobles breathed or how I did not deserve to even sit at this table. But all insults were put on hold when a member of the council, a beautiful young-looking woman with gorgeous long black hair, golden brown skin and dark brown eyes, stood up from her seat right at the head of the table. I assumed her to be the leader of the council not only by her position at the table, but because of her undeniably bold presence. Everything about her from her bright red lipstick to the hard, intense look in her eyes drew me in, and everyone else at the table.
"I am sorry, I thought we were here to talk about the problem of selecting the next ruler of the Vampire kingdom, not about the hybrid who, needs nothing but her bloodline to vouch for her presence at this table. Now, if we could all behave in a civil manner. I honestly don't need to relive my zoo experiences here, thank you very much." And with that she sat down and placed her hands together on the table before letting her eyes wander to me. They held my gaze for a moment, almost reaching into the depths of my soul before she looked away. When she did, I turned to Sebastian who leaned in closer and whispered, "Meera Balakrishnan. Leader of the Vampire Council, Sanguis." Thereafter, he returned his gaze back to the rest of the table, coldly pulling away from me. It seemed he took what I said seriously and, although I still wanted to ask him about his being a noble, I bit my tongue.
After a moment of mumbles amongst the members of the council, a man to the right of Meera began to clear his throat as he gazed around the table. He was a short, round man with a stubble in his chin and low-lying eyebrows which hovered over his light brown eyes which flickered around nervously.
"To begin, I'd like to condone my sincerest sympathies to the family of our previous king, King Dionysus. If I am not mistaken, you, Miss Ackerman are the sole survivor of Lorenzo family. So, on behalf of Sanguis, I am truly sorry for your loss."
The little gesture would have meant something, truly, if I had actually met and known my uncle. Right now, he was nothing but a name and a face on a portrait and so their sympathies were rendered ineffective to me.
The man then cleared his throat again before continuing. "Next, I would like to state the reason for this meeting. As stated by Miss Balakrishnan, we have gathered here to discuss the issue of succession. Now, the council has gathered on many occasions during the centuries to discuss this issue of succession and it has come to our attention that we have had too many deaths within the ranks of royalty. As such, we are looking for a better way of making this decision other than judging who makes the best speeches or who has the purest vampire blood. We need a method that can guarantee a ruler who can withstand the deadly challenge that is being a royal. Now, I am going to open up the table for discussion as we are served dinner." And with that he let out a little clap of his hands before he sat down.
The giant, grand doors to the back of the Grand Hall began opening up and soon dozens of servants began swarming in, each holding a golden tray, upon which stood a single, golden chalice. My stomach lurched at the sight of it and I prayed to the Moon Goddess that I would not throw up... not here, and not now. It was a prayer I kept on praying as the servant set down my own chalice in front of me. Despite Sebastian's cold attitude towards me, I saw him spare a quick glance towards myself and the chalice, watching as my fingers trembled against the gold surface of the stem of it. He hesitated a moment before wrapping his hands over mine, hiding my shaking fingers. This action was watched with apprehension and jealousy by Liam who glanced over at us above his own chalice. When he caught my eyes staring at him, he quickly glanced away, pretending as though he were not the least bit interested in me or the fact that Sebastian's hands were on mine. But I knew better.
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Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending all my love!