The Bookworm's Awakening

Chapter Nine

Churbells rang in her ears from a faraway distance the moment she stepped out of the corridor, with the maids trailing behind her.

Many times she wondered how it would be for her once she met the groom. She wondered who he was.

There were long windows with purple and blue linen on all of them, making the streaming light a dimmer color. She noticed the marble wall and wondered what world she had been transported into. Was it the Roman Empire or British?

She sighed; this was Cynthia’s fiction. It might be one of the worlds she created. She did not talk much about the human world in book one, so Sarah wasn’t very familiar with this world.

Her heart began beating too fast, and her eyes darted up and down; she didn’t know what she was looking for, but she knew she was panicking.

“Water,” she said and halted.

One of the maids ran towards her and bowed her head, curtsying. “What do you need, my lady?” The maid asked.

Sarah remembered she was a princess in this book's world. “I need water,” Sarah said slowly.

The maid nodded and walked away, while the other maiden behind her said, “Please come sit in the living room while she gets the water.”

Come sit?

Did she know what kind of situation she was in? Why should she sit down? Would sitting down help her?

Omor!

She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes; this was too much.

“My lady...”

"I'm fine, dammit!" Sarah exclaimed, then she bit her lip and stared at the maid. The girl was watching her with wide eyes. "What?" Sarah snapped, wondering why the girl was looking at her like that. Then she realized it was because of her choice of words.

The maid shook her head and lowered it, staring at the floor. Good, because she didn't have the strength to explain anything.

The water arrived, and she gulped it down in one go. "Has the guest arrived?" she asked.

The maid who had fetched the water nodded, "Yes." There was pity in her eyes, but Sarah ignored it. Marrying the vampire was not the problem, getting out of here was.

"Oh Zoey, look at you, look at you," the sister of Zoey raced towards her when they continued walking and engulfed her in a tight hug. "You look so beautiful," she said, "Do not worry about anything."

Sarah nodded, surprised at how calmly she was handling the situation even though her heart was beating frantically.

If her parents in the real world were to tell her to get married, she would have freaked out.

Perhaps it was because her mind was too occupied on how to escape from here that she was still being calm over this marriage thing. However, that changed immediately once she entered the wedding hall.

The chairs were arranged in rows, and the guests were seated. There were flowers arranged at the entrance where she stood that made a pathway. It was like in one of those movies she had watched.

Most of the guests were black like her, and some were white, but they were seated on the right side of the row. She assumed them to be humans from different kingdoms.

Sarah gasped when she turned to her right; there was no doubt who they were because they all looked incredibly young and pale. The night creatures - the vampires.

Her heart started beating frantically. Don’t they feed on human blood? Will they feed on her blood once she enters their clan? Or will it be impossible since they are all fictional characters?

"Zoey," she heard a voice call out.

"Yes," she turned to the source of the voice and found an aged-looking man standing in front of her. His smile was warm, and she had no doubt that this was the king, Zoey’s father.

He extended his hand, and she placed hers in his. There was no music as he began walking her down the aisle.

She did not even notice the crowd, mostly the humans standing up and putting on forced smiles. Neither did she notice when a flower was placed into her hand, nor did she hear Zoey’s father saying, “It's going to be alright, my dear,” for her gaze was fixed ahead at the man standing with his back facing her, facing the priest.

Her heart was beating so fast, reality suddenly hit her.

She was getting married! She was getting married!.

Why did Cynthia Hall not just write her own character? Why did she drag her into this?

She kept staring at the man, at how tall he was, at how broad his shoulders were, at his clothing that was different from the humans. He was wearing a long black cloak that seemed like a suit, but the breeze was swaying it.

Her father did not go near the vampire; he paused, his eyes staring at her frantically.

Sarah took a deep breath and gave him a warm smile, the least she could do was not freak out like the rest of these humans.

She walked alone and stood beside him, refusing to look at him, even though her eyes nagged at her to steal a glance.

Her heart was beating too fast, and all she could focus on was the priest in front of her with his bald head. He was a Black man and was reading something written down on a sheet, like church words or something.

Finally, he said, “You may face each other and say your vows.”

No, no, she didn't want to look at the person she would get married to. Do vampires even take vows? Do they even believe in things like this?

Sarah bit her lip and turned slowly, her eyes downcast. She was staring at his perfect long shiny black shoe, at his hand that was hidden beneath a glove.

“Raise your head,” she heard his deep voice, and her heart skipped. Alfred’s voice was almost as deep as his own. This voice alone could cause anyone to fear, but there was also curiosity... Curiosity to see the face behind that voice, so she raised her head slowly.

The moment she saw his face, she gasped and took a step back. It was him, it had to be him.

This was... this was... Stefan