8: A side of tension

The day began with a loud, "Phoenix!". It was a voice to which I refused to respond. Instead, I clutched at the comfortable sheets covering my body, and pulled them up and over my head to block out the noise.
"Phoenix Ackerman, you better get yourself out of this room right now!" Still, I did not respond at all.
Within the next moment, however, I began to hear the rattling of a key inside the keyhole, and in a matter of seconds, the sound of Sebastian's shoes could be heard against the carpeted floors. It stayed silent for a while, and I assumed he'd gone and left me alone. Unfortunately, I was wrong. He flung the sheets off of my body and then immediately tossed me across his shoulder.
"Sebatian," I yelled, "put me down!"
But he did not listen, and continued walking to the bathroom with me on his shouler. Once we were there, he opened the shower door, turned on the water and shoved me inside with my nightie still on.
"If you are not finished in the next five minutes, I will be forced to come in here and change you myself," he then took a glance at me, before saying, "and I cannot guarantee that I won't try to take advantage of you."
With that, he turned on his heels and then began walking out of the room. His comment, however made me blush deeply. The more I spent time with vampires, the more I realised that they were quite lustful creatures.
Once I was done with my shower, I rushed over to my cupboard and, unfortunately decided to wear the first thing my fingers clutched at. It was a low-cut, white formal blouse paired with a skirt so short I wondered if they ran out of material to complete making it. I was about to change, when Sebastian burst into my room. Immedaitly, I instead clutched at a coat hanging on a silver, wired hanger and tied it tightly around my body.
Sebastian walked quite quickly in front of me, and I broke into a sweat just trying to keep up. "I expect you to be up and ready everyday at 7 a.m. Is that clear? You have made us incredibly late for breakfast." He hissed this out. I apologised and then told him that I wouldn't sleep in so late again and made a mental note never to make him angry again.
When we arrived at the dinning room, I was relieved to find the same faces sitting at the same silver and red chairs around the grand glass table. Each person took a quick glance up at me, except Liam who probed at my exposed legs and then gave a deep, suggestive smile. I looked down immediately, allowing the embarrassment to engulf my body. He clearly had me beyond intimidated, especially with the way he had my body reacting to him. Even now, I developed a strange, warm and tingling feeling between my thighs.
The food arrived shortly after Sebastian and I took our seats next to Katherine and her husband, and I was surprised to find a plate of eggs and toast in front of me. I glanced at Sebastian and he nodded, telling me it was okay for me to eat it.
"I thought we were only supposed to consume blood in this sacred palace?" Katherine's, white haired, young looking husband commented.
Sebastian looked up at him with an uninterested look on his handsome face, and asked, "Where is Xavier? I haven't seen him yet, Michael."
The man immediately kept quiet, just as his wife had the previous night. It was quite clear that Sebastian could portray quite savage behaviour when he wanted to, and I was becomming ever so thankful that he and I were on the same team.
"Xavier is-" Katherine began, but was cut off with the sound of a pair of footsteps growing louder as they neared the dinning room.
"I heard my name?" The deep, pleasantly rough sounding voice belonged to an extremely young man about the same age as Liam and I. He had beautiful, pale, light caramel skin just like Katherine and Michael. His hair was the deepest shade of black and his eyes were just like his father's, a gorgeous blue green colour. His beauty was on par with Liam's and when he walked, he walked as though he cared for no one and nothing. He sat down, opposite Liam and then placed his feet on the table. Liam's father scruntched up his nose and said, "Excellent table manners as always, Xavier."
Xavier shrugged and relpied with an, "Excellent deduction, Lance. You should be a detective."
Xavier, it seemed was quite different compared to Liam. Whereas Liam was flirty and seductive, Xavier seemed dark, sarcastic and angry.
He looked down at the goblet in front of him, picked it up, gave it a swirl and then lifted it up towards his lips, ready to take a sip. But before th goblet even made contact with his lips, his eyes caught mine and a deep scowl formed on his face.
"What's that?" He asked, nodding towards me.
Sebastian cleared his throat and, under his breath, comanded that I introduce myself. I almost choked on a piece of toast, but recovered after drinking some water, and then began to try to form a coherent sentence. It, however, came out as follows, "Phoenix mother, father hi, am I Ackerman daughter of Denzell Athena and."
I could practically taste the disappointment in the air as Sebastian let out a deep, heavy sigh. My little mess up, did however, seem to relieve the tension at the table as both Delilah and Katherine had their hands over their mouths as they giggled and Liam looked down with a large, amused smile deocrating his face. Xavier, however was not impressed with me, and he fumed and raged. "You brought a dog to this sacred palace?"
"She is not a dog," Sebastian began, "she is a hybrid. Half vampire, and half werewolf."
Xavier rolled his eyes and folded his arms tightly around his broad chest. "She's a mutt, that's what she is. She doesn't belong here, and judging by her utter stupidity, she stands no chance against anyone here in trying to attain the crown. She's just a fucking moron."
This seemed to tick Liam off and he stood up, and pointed to Xavier. "I will not have you chasing my pet away before I have had my fun with her."
"Oh shut the fuck up, you psychotic, sex-crazed vampire. She's not some pet. She doesn't deserve to be called as much. She's just a little moronic mutt. That's what she is."
It seemed they were both ready to attack as both stood on either side of the table, hissing aggressively. But before either one could make a move, Sebastian grabbed my fork and threw it between the two of them, sinking it deep into the white wall.
"That's quite enough. There will be no shenanigans at the dinning table. I expect you both to be on your best behaviour here."
This seemed to make them both calm down enough to resume their seats at the table. Their eyes, however, never left one another.
It was clear that every meal here was going to be served with a side of tension.