"She was really lovely," Felix added, interrupting Jessica's train of thoughts. " She comes from one of Europe's oldest vampire families, which I wanted you to see one day. My grandparents are still alive, despite the fact that my mother -."
Felix's sentence had come to a halt. He couldn't force himself to utter whatever he wanted to say.
"Felix?" Jessica spoke gently.
"Yeah, we can go to Ireland one day. The court owns its own private plane, but if you want, we could travel by sea, I visited there a couple of times as a child," Felix began to ramble. "In Europe, I have many relatives, aunts, and uncles. My father was Swedish. He was the first vampire Prince to arrive in the United States. It was quite wild back then..."
Jessica could see Felix enjoyed talking about his family, but something was sabotaging the memory for him. When Felix talked about his parents, there was a sadness in his voice that tugged at Jessica's heart.
"Felix, why do I get the impression you're not telling me something?" Jessica asked.
Felix took a breather and said, "Jess, my family is quite messed up." he answered sternly, "I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, this is a bridge we'll have to cross shortly. Today, Hugo and I saw Ophelia, " Jessica explained.
"Ophelia is related to me. She is the wife of my brother, the King of our particular court. She has come to check the new princess and, most likely, to plan for your court debut." Felix explains elaborately.
Jessica inquired, "Do you have any other family?"
"I have a younger brother named Axel, but we never speak of him."
"Why not?" Jessica inquires.
"Axel assassinated Janathan' first wife." Felix responded.
Felix sat on the gym mat in his crumpled expensive suit, staring vacantly at the same location in the room as Jessica. The light in his brown eyes had faded into an absent sheen, and Jessica could sense that, while he was physically present in the room with her, he was mentally somewhere else- somewhere dreadful. News outlets are drawn to tales that exploit the suffering of others. It's difficult to comprehend why they find the sorrow of others attractive, but the reality is that when a story of a family murder emerges, it has a morbid kind of allure. Questions are raised about who killed whom, why they killed them, and whether the killing might have been avoided. And, while they may feel terrible for the persons involved for a few seconds, they quickly close the magazine or turn off the TV and go about their life. They get to escape the terror.
Jessica gently placed her hand on his, saying the only words she could thought of, "I am so sorry Felix, I had no idea;" Jessica stated.
Felix smiled sadly as he looked down at Jessica's hand on his "I tried to warn you that my family was messed up," he hesitated, then continued, brokenly, "No one saw it coming. No one knew about his mental illness; perhaps if I had known, she would still be alive-"
""That is one monkey you do not want on your back, Felix," Jessica replied softly. " You had no idea."
"Perhaps," Felix speculated.
A thunderclap somewhere outside sent a loud echo down into the basement, making Jessica jump. Felix's fingers clenched around hers immediately, and he hastily apologized, "Forgive me Jess, I should not offload my family troubles onto you—especially while you are in agony."
Felix was attempting to help Jessica feel better, but Felix was actually making Jessica feel worse. When compared to Felix's familial troubles, Jessica's foolish phobia paled into insignificance. Jessica didn't want him to return his attention to her when he was in pain.
Felix remarked softly as he stroked the back of Jessica's palm, "I know it seems ridiculous, but even when I was going through hell, just thinking about you brought me so much joy. You have no idea how long I've been looking forward to meeting you, Jess."
"I must be a disappointment," Jessica grumbled.
Felix remarked, shaking his head, "You could never be a letdown for me. You are everything I could have asked for and more." He stated it with such passion that Jessica's heart skipped a beat. "Finding you has been such a revelation... I can finally comprehend some of the anguish Janathan felt when Daisy was murdered," Felix explained.
"Was Daisy your brother's mate?" Jessica inquired. "Daisy was, indeed, Janathan' bride and the future Queen. It's difficult to understand why anyone would wish to hurt someone as lovely as Daisy... However, Axel did. He was obsessed with Daisy and couldn't accept the fact that she was happy with someone other than him "Felix stated. "That is terrible," Jessica said.
"Daisy and Janathan were a perfect match since they were so joyful as a couple. Daisy was a fellow human being just like you, and she was incredibly loving and compassionate. I'm sure you two would have become friends if she were still living today, "said Felix.
"How is your brother doing?" Jessica enquired.
"Janathan gave the order for Axel to be taken away and imprisoned in a concrete cell since he could not bring himself to execute his own brother." Felix took a moment to run a finger through his hair "Jess, I apologize, but could we perhaps talk about something else? I currently have too many unpleasant memories circling in my thoughts."
Jessica said, "Of course, I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Felix," as she tried to come up with a new topic of conversation. Then it hit her, Jessica exclaimed excitedly, "Ophelia." Felix squinted before grinning "Ah, Ophelia, Janathan' second wife who is in pain. Although she is a nice girl, she occasionally acts stupid. Ophelia enjoys attending royal events, and I believe she has started following you in preparation for the Winter solstice Ball."
"Oh my, I'll ought to break the news to her that I can't dance, somebody will have to tell her." said Jessica.
"Whether you can dance or not is irrelevant to Ophelia. She will have you at her ball if she wants you there. You and I are powerless to stop her," Felix scowled.
"Why not?" Jessica queried.
Felix calmly retorted, "We can do nothing since Ophelia is Queen—and believe me, because since Daisy died, my older brother has turned into a miserable bastard. Trust me when I say you do not want to be on Janathan' bad side."
"That is terrible", Jessica said.
"The connection we have with our mates is so powerful and profound that most vampires would prefer to follow them to the grave rather than continue living without them," Felix said. "That is what occurs when a vampire loses their mate," he added.
"That is absurd; your brother divorced his first wife and then got married again. He rediscovered love," said Jessica.
"Janathan does not love Ophelia, he only wedded her since he wanted to make a statement to the court," Felix stated with a sour smirk.
"Why would you tie the knot with someone you didn't really love merely to make a point?" Jessica enquired.
"The crown of Janathan was at risk. The crown would have gone to me if the court had determined that he was unfit to rule. Therefore, he married Ophelia because he needed a Queen to demonstrate to everyone that he had recovered from the death of his mate. Love was never a factor; instead, Janathan made this decision exclusively for political reasons so that he would succeed me as King, " explained Felix.
"Did you aspire to become King?" Jessica enquired.
Felix gave Jessica a serious look before saying, "No, and please stop asking that question to me. You could get into a lot of trouble if you answer those questions. Jess, you no longer reside in a democracy. The fact that Janathan is our King is final."
Jessica was alarmed by Felix's abruptness and uneasy about the kind of world she was being forced into. Felix's description of his brother and sister-in-law sounded icy and distant. Jessica questioned whether this was a new dynamic between the two brothers, or if it had always been like this.
Felix fixed his shirt after rising from the gym mat. He advised, "You ought to get some rest."
Felix was once more living up to his reputation as the Dark Prince. Felix had abruptly returned to being grumpy and reclusive. He got up from the mat and moved toward the door to the basement. Jessica could not be certain, but she believes Felix was listening for thunder.
Felix said, "The storm is still passing over, but you can take a nap on the mat until it does. As soon as it crosses over, I'll wake you, and I'll accompany you back to your dorm room." Jessica murmured, leaning back against the used gym mat, "Okay."
Jessica snuggled up on the mat and wrapped his jacket about her as Felix looked in shock. Jessica believes Felix anticipated a fight from her, but she was too worn out and experiencing unusual headaches to do so. Jessica closed her eyes and listened to the sweet sounds of her breath while snuggling into his jacket. Jessica sensed her body falling asleep.
"Jess…" In the distance, Jessica overheard a female voice.
Felix was standing over Jessica when she opened her eyes.
"What are you doing, Felix?" Jessica enquired.
Jessica made the decision to sit up as Felix remained silent and stood over her. Felix's arms suddenly move as Jessica stands up, slamming something hard into her chest. Jessica looked down in confusion and noticed a wooden stake sticking out from between her ribs. As blood drips from the wound, Jessica can feel her body deteriorating. Oh God, I'm dying, thought Jessica.
Felix apologizes profusely to Daisy, "I'm very sorry."