Forbidden Love 05

Aleksander smiled to himself as he walked downstairs to the living room. It had been two weeks since he started, well he guessed he could call it a relationship, with Belle. He was sure his father suspected but he did not think anyone else had noticed anything amiss in his normal behaviour. Except he had been smiling more and he needed to stop doing that as they were used to his normal glower. He pushed the doors open and saw his mother talking to his sisters and they stopped once they saw him. Hmm, what were they cooking up now? He thought.

'Okay, what is going on? What are you cooking up? Again?' He tried but could not help smiling as he asked, sprawling on the blood red sofa next to them.

His sisters did not return his smile only his mother and hers was bright. Too bright. He did not like what he was seeing and his own smile slowly faded.

'What's going on mother?' He asked quietly.

Esmeralda, his mother smiled back, 'Well it seems the elders have decided that it is time you chose a wife.'

'What!' He exclaimed. She had got to be joking and he said as much.

'As a matter of fact dear, I'm not. I just got a letter from the elders. All male pure breds are to start courting female ones and if they could not find mates in six weeks then the elders will, ahem, assist.'

'But...why the rush?' He spluttered, 'I mean, I thought they did not care what we did as long as we did not mate non-pure breds? Why are they so anxious to pair us up now?'

'Well,' his mother started, 'It seems there is a rumour going round that one of the male pure breds is in a very serious relationship with a non-pure. Of course no one knows for sure if that is true. But the elders want to, shall we say, nip it in the bud by pairing all the pure breds as soon as possible.'

'This is preposterous. It's the twenty first century. We can't be forced against our will to mate with someone we do not like.' He grimly said.

His mother shook her head sadly. She had dropped all pretences of being happy about the news. 'I know my dear, your father is at the elders' council now trying to sway them but I don't think he will succeed. Especially with Damien being so adamant about it occurring. And you know Damien holds sway over the other elders as he is one of the oldest, if not the oldest.'

'Well I am not going to agree to this and I don't care what the elders do. They can't force me to. They sure as hell can't kill me. I'm one of their few beloved pure breds.' He stated agitatedly. He could not believe his night had been destroyed so terribly. And he was to see Belle in fifteen minutes. What could he tell her? Where would he start, for he surely had to stop spouting the same old 'it's complicated' line? He could sense that Belle had become a tad irritated and it was time to come clean. But now this.

As if his mother could read his expressions which he felt he had so carefully hidden, she quietly instructed his sisters, 'Katrina, Elena. Please leave your brother and I alone. I would like to have a few words with him.'

They stood up slowly as Elena said sadly, 'Don't worry Aleks. It's not too bad, at least the female pure breds are stunning. The male ones are the ones we should worry about. And you guys have a choice, we are stuck with whoever picks us.'

He managed a smile at that and watched them walk out, shutting the heavy oak doors quietly behind them. He looked up at his mother who in turn stared at him carefully, a little too intensely.

'My son, you are indeed my son and I know you. More than you know yourself. You cannot hide your thoughts from me and I know you are troubled. It is more than this new problem, is it not? Please tell me. I am your mother. I can help, I am fairly certain.'

'That's just it, mother.' he sighed, 'you cannot help. Except...' Oh to hell with it, He thought and blurted out, 'Except if you are prepared to tell the elders to change the rules about mating with pure breds because I have found my mate.'

His mother looked at him stunned. 'You have...but I have not seen you with anyone in the clan. Is it someone from another clan? Italy? Russia?'

'No mother it is not. She is not from another clan. She is not even...Mother she is human.'

She gasped loudly and put a trembling hand over her left breast, 'Human! Mon Dieu, Aleksander, you cannot be serious. Please tell me you are joking.'

'No mother, I am not. I am in love with a human. Her name is Belle and she is from England. She is beautiful mother and I think...no. I know that I am in love with her.' He stated simply. There was no way he could sweeten this and from the look on his mother's deathly pale face, he knew that he had made a mistake.

'Oh Aleksander Romano. A human. But you are pure bred. No one has mated with a human in the past seven centuries. It's an unwritten rule. Oh my son. What shall we do?' She moaned.

'Mother I expect you to be happy for me. You are my mother. If I can't depend on you, then who can I depend on?' The look on his face was so sad, so anguished that Esmerelda winced. This was her son. Her only son, her favourite child, truth be told. Indeed, if the elders were to find out, the human was doomed but if he was in love with her, and he clearly was, then what could she do?

She tried another tactic, 'What if you explain it to her? Tell her about this issue and ask her if she's willing to be your, how do you say it, mistress? Surely this way everything will be sorted? I mean she could hardly expect to marry you. You are a vampire. She is a human. Has she even told any of her human counterparts about your relationship?'

'Well no, we've been keeping it quiet and rightly so I might add. They do not believe we exist and I do not want to alarm them unnecessarily. Especially with this new development.' He sighed so deeply that his mother came round to hold him close to her bosom.

'There, there Môn Cheri, we shall look for a way to sort this out I hope.' She soothed.

He shook his head; he knew there was nothing he could do, except leave her. That was the only solution and to leave her was beyond torture because he did not think he could survive without her.

He stood up. He had to go see her. Explain everything at last. 'I have to go see her maman.' He said reverting to what he called her when he was younger, about two centuries ago. 'I have to go explain everything to her. I don't know what I will...I don't know maman. I love her and I don't think I can let her go.'

He walked out not seeing the devastated look on his mother's face.

Belle smiled brightly as she saw Aleksander hover by her window. She had been worried as he was supposed to have turned up thirty minutes ago but he was here now and there was no use shrieking like a fishwife wondering what had kept him. She ran to hug him and he held her tightly, perhaps too tightly as she gasped in pain. He quickly released her.

'Sorry, sometimes I forget my own strength,' he apologised ruefully.

She nodded and rubbed her sore arms. She looked up at him. He was in a mood, she could tell. She had started being able to read a few expressions on his normally inscrutable face and this was one of the periods that she was able to read him and he was definitely upset. Thank God there was no chance of Claire barging in as she had gone to Cardiff to see an ill relative.

'Aleksander,' she tentatively started, 'What's the matter? What's wrong?'

He sat down on the bed with an unusually grim expression. Belle tried her hardest not to swallow. What was he going to tell her?

'I think it's time I told you the whole truth. All the 'complicated' bits.' He began.

She slowly slumped on the chair opposite him. She did not even notice when she did that, all her attention, her focus was on the beautiful pale face staring at her fixedly.

'Annabelle, as I said before I am a pure bred and there are very few of us pure breds in our clan. It has always been standard that we are to mate with one another so as to continue the pure bred line. This would make us nigh invincible and the elders, undisputedly, happy to say the least. But no one really thought that we would be forced to mate. I mean there have been a few relationships, furtive though, between pure breds and non-pures and well, no one really said anything about it. The thing is, now they, the elders that is, want us pure breds to mate, I mean marry, and we've been given six weeks to find our mates or we would be forcefully paired up.'

Annabelle gasped at this. Oh my God, she thought. She always knew that there would be obstacles, well major ones concerning her relationship with Aleksander but, six weeks!!??

'You mean, you have to end this now? Or at least within the next six weeks?' She asked shakily.

Aleksander quickly shook his head vehemently, 'No, Belle. I am not ending this. I cannot lose you. I love you. You have no idea how much. Nothing is going to make me end this.'

She rushed to the bed and flung her arms around him sobbing. He kissed her fervently. 'Please, Belle. Please don't cry, you know how much I hate to see you upset.'

She just sobbed harder. She loved him so. But he was in a right fix. She asked in a quiet, trembling voice, 'What would happen? I mean if you were to disobey them and not marry...I mean mate, would they banish you, or kill you?'

A deep voice said behind them, 'No they will not banish him. But they will kill one of the parents.'

Both of them spun round and Belle gasped as she saw another vampire. One who looked so much like Aleksander that he could be mistaken for his almost identical twin. Only that this one had long blonde hair. She heard Aleksander gasp, 'Father!'

Father? He looked the same age as Aleksander, Belle absently thought.

Then her next thought was, what the hell was he doing here? And how? Where there going to be more vampires traipsing in? She quickly ran to her window and dragged it down in a futile attempt to keep any others from flying in.

'Father, how the hell did you get here? How did you know...?' Aleksander sputtered incredulously.

'How could I not know? You forget I am your father and by scent, I could find you. Luckily, no one but members of one's family have the ability to do so or the elders would be here as well. You have to leave now. The elders are requesting a meeting with all the pure breds and I had to come get you quickly before they noticed that you were missing.' Claudio said calmly, although there was an underlying impatience to his tone.

Aleksander started to argue then noticed the glint in his father's eyes and closed his mouth. He turned to Belle who was in throes of amazement and planted a tender kiss on her open lips. 'I'll be back my love. If not tonight, then soon. Remember, I love you. More than life itself.'

Belle clung to his lips for another second then gently disengaged herself so as to let him leave. He opened the window quickly and was out in a twinkle of an eye. She turned defiant, tear-filled eyes to his father. 'Well, what are you still here for? Should you not be with your son? Or are you here to warn me to stay away? Frighten me? Well you can't. I love him and he loves me and that is something you cannot change!' She stuck out her chin not caring if he bit her or snapped her neck.

Claudio smiled at her amusedly. He was impressed by her courage. If only she was a pure bred he would push his son her way but sadly, not only was she not pure, she was not even a vampire. He softly replied, 'I just wanted to look at the girl that could make my normally obedient son not see reason. And I am definitely impressed. If only the situation were different, alas it isn't.'

She exhaled in relief just realising how tensed she had been thinking her rude tone had nearly cost her her life.

She started to talk but he continued quietly, 'However, things are different and if you truly loved him then you would release him. Let him choose a pure bred. I do not mind being drained in order for my son to choose who he loves but even if I were killed, you would still not be allowed to mate with him. The elders will find you, and believe me they will, and you would be killed. Not just killed but tortured, then killed and that would kill my son. What shall you gain then, three people killed for a type of love that is not meant to be.' He turned to the window and flung over his shoulder before soaring out, 'You strike me as wise. So think wisely, little one.' And with that he was gone.

Belle slowly slithered to the floor dazed. This night had truly turned out exceptionally. She had seen his father at last, unfortunately under terrible circumstances.

Think wisely he had said. Easy for him to say, it wasn't his love life that was on the line. She cried for at least a solid hour. When she had possibly run out of tears as she felt drained, she thought about everything again. Aleksander's father was right. If she truly loved him she would let him go. It was the 'wise' thing to do. All of a sudden she wanted her mother. But how would she explain this to her without being branded insane? She definitely had to tell someone this though. Yes, she would tell Claire and beg her to wait with her the next night while she broke up with Aleksander. Fresh tears filled her eyes. Oh God, she had never felt this weak, this heartbroken before. Not even when she found Leo cheating on her and she had thought then that she was in pain. It definitely had nothing on how she felt now. She slowly picked up her phone and texted Claire: 'I need you. Please come back quickly tomorrow. Please.'

***

'Okay. Let me get this straight. You have err...been having a relationship with a ah a vampire!!??' Claire looked sceptically, albeit worriedly at Belle.

Belle sighed again. She had been sighing for the last ten minutes as Claire repeated her questions over and over again. Of course it was hard to believe. In fact, unbelievable. If she had been in Claire's shoes, she would have the same worried and doubtful look on her face too. However, it was true and right now she did not care for disbelief. She cared for answers as to what to do.

'Look Claire. It's bloody hard to believe. I understand that. But right now I couldn't care less if you believed or not and I'm sorry if that sounds rude. I just want you to tell me what to do. Humour me if you will, but if you had a vampire boyfriend, if, and you had to let him go 'cause of all I told you, would you?' Belle asked.

Claire still had a worried look on her face but it seemed she was willing to, as Belle said, humour her.

'Well, IF, I were in your shoes and I really truly loved him...then I'd do as his father said. Leave him be. As difficult and near on killing as it may feel, it's for the best and I'm sure, deep down, you know I'm right.'

Belle looked close to tears.

Truly, she had known that Claire had a practical streak in her flighty soul and she was a bit irritated that it had to surface now, however right she was. She looked so sorrowful that Claire rushed over to her side and put her arms around her. 'Look, Annabelle, I'm not gonna lie to you. I find it hard to believe that that dude is a vampire. He did not look anything like him and maybe he is in some cult or something.'

Belle started to say something but Claire shushed her and continued, 'However, it does not matter how twisted he may be. From what you've told me. You definitely love him. And I think he loves you too. And that's all that matters. Let him go. It hurts, I know it does. I can't imagine your exact pain but I've experienced something similar and by God it hurts. Cry. Let it out. But let him go. His cult or whatever it is, isn't just gonna kill his parents, but you too and I'd die if anything happened to you. I'd simply die. So think about me too, hunh?'

Belle smiled watery tears at this, 'I knew you didn't want me to die for selfish reasons. Selfish cow.'

Claire smiled back, relieved that she had finally put a smile on her best mate's face. 'You're dead right I'm selfish. So help this selfish cow out okay.'

Belle smiled but inside she was breaking. She knew she had to forget him and she was going to tell him to stay away from her when he came that night. If he came that night, she thought bleakly.