I Was Kidnapped by a Vampire Queen, and Now the Vampire Born from My Soul Wants to Take Me Back

The guard was still in front of her with the spear half-lowered, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly parted as if she wanted to ask ten questions at the same time and couldn't pick which one to let out first.

The second guard, the one who had come in through the window, didn't move either. She just looked from one side to the other. From Matt to Noxx. From Noxx to Matt.

Matt sighed and, with a slow movement, propped himself against the fallen piece of table at his back and started to get up, even though he felt exhausted.

"Clothes," Matt ordered in a serious tone.

The two guards blinked, confused.

"…Pardon?" the one with the spear asked.

"Clothes. For me. And for my sister."

Silence.

"…Your… sister?" the second guard repeated, confused.

"Are you blind?"

"…"

"Seriously. It's an honest question. Are you blind?"

"Princess Matt, we…"

"Look at her hair."

The two guards turned their heads toward Noxx.

"Look at her eyes."

The two focused their gazes better.

"Look at the aura she gives off."

Silence.

And this time, yes. Both guards went still for a different reason. Because when they stopped looking at Noxx's naked body and started actually analyzing, they felt the aura she was giving off.

The guard with the spear swallowed.

"…Royal blood," she murmured.

"Yes," Matt confirmed.

"Is she… your sister?"

"Yes."

"What's her name…?" the other one asked.

Matt looked at Noxx and she coughed lightly against her fist.

"Noxx," Noxx answered, her voice a little rough.

The two guards looked at each other.

"…Noxx?" the second one repeated.

"Noxx."

"We'd never seen her before..."

"Well, now you have," Matt let out.

"But, princess, we…"

"Clothes," Matt cut in again. "Now."

The guard with the spear snapped to attention.

"Yes, yes, yes! Right away!"

The guard turned around and ran out through the destroyed door. Her boots echoed down the hallway.

The second guard just stood there, spear slack, looking at Matt and then at Noxx, not knowing which of them to help first.

Matt raised a tired hand and pointed at Noxx.

"Her."

"…Her?"

"Yes."

"But you…"

"I'm already standing. She isn't. Help my sister."

The guard nodded and approached Noxx with short steps, hesitating every two paces as if at any moment Noxx would disappear.

When she finally arrived, she crouched down beside her.

"Miss… Noxx," the guard asked slowly. "May I…?"

Noxx nodded.

The guard slipped an arm under her shoulder and helped her sit up.

Noxx leaned against her with effort and her legs trembled a little. When she was standing, with an arm over the guard's shoulder, she turned her head toward Matt.

And there, for the first time since she had separated, Noxx really saw Matt's entire body and heat rose to her cheeks.

Matt's body in Noxx's eyes was beautiful. Only a few weeks had passed since the time they'd been reluctantly stuck together to fight the boss, but seeing Matt again in his girl form made her heart race.

'…'

Noxx lowered her gaze to the floor to avoid blushing more. Matt noticed and said nothing. He just raised an eyebrow and ran a hand through his white hair, then, inside his head, a bright and overly enthusiastic voice appeared.

"Master! I'm done!" Aurora celebrated.

Matt closed his eyes.

'Aurora, not now.'

"I'm done analyzing everything!"

'Aurora.'

"Your body. The royal blood. The residual chaotic mana. Everything."

Matt sighed inwardly and leaned again against the broken table.

'And?'

"The royal blood is pretty unstable right now," Aurora explained in the voice of a student who's just finished an exam. "It's resettling. It's normal after a division that abrupt. But…"

'But?'

"But when it stabilizes, I think I can help you go back to being a boy."

Matt opened his eyes.

'…What?'

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes. I've been looking at it carefully. The structure of the royal blood now that it's small again allows adjustments. With patience, and with the right power… I'll need a few days to calculate it better, but it's possible."

Matt closed his eyes again.

'Aurora.'

"Yes?"

'Shut up.'

"Huh?"

'Not now. Later.'

"But, master, this is good news, shouldn't I…?"

'Later, Aurora.'

Aurora made a small disappointed sound, but went quiet.

Matt opened his eyes and noticed Noxx still had her gaze down.

The guard was still holding Noxx, not really knowing where to put her eyes, but in the hallway, fast footsteps and voices could already be heard.

The destroyed door let through the first guard with her arms full of clothes, followed by three maids carrying more garments.

The three maids came in ready to bow their heads, greet, offer help, do everything maids are supposed to do when arriving at the princess's room.

The three stopped at the door.

They looked at Matt. They looked at Noxx, and looked at Matt again.

The one in the middle opened her mouth slightly and shut it all at once. The other two blinked twice and fixed their gazes forward again, with the discipline of someone who has trained for years not to react to anything.

Matt had to admit it. They were professionals.

"Leave the clothes on the table," Matt ordered, pointing to the only piece of table that wasn't broken.

"Yes, princess."

The maids obeyed.

When Matt approached the table, he noticed what they had brought him.

Almost all of it was boy's clothes. Formal suits. White shirts. Black jackets. A pair of dark pants. A belt. All black, sober, without ornaments.

But at the end of the pile there was a dress.

A black dress with dark red details. The skirt wasn't overdone. The waist was tapered. The neckline was modest.

It was the kind of dress someone puts on when they want to look elegant without drawing attention, even though drawing attention was going to be inevitable.

Matt looked at it for a second. Then he looked at Noxx.

Noxx was looking at exactly that garment.

She hadn't touched it. She hadn't taken a step toward it. She was just looking at it.

Matt also noticed that Noxx had her head slightly tilted toward him, her gaze split between the dress and him, waiting.

'…She's waiting for me to choose first.'

Matt understood immediately.

Noxx wanted to copy him. Like when she was in his head, adjusting every gesture to match his. Like when they shared a body and she learned to exist by imitating him.

Matt let out a short, dry laugh.

"Noxx."

Noxx lifted her head.

"You pick first."

"…"

"Whichever one you like most."

Noxx hesitated.

"But…"

"They're your clothes. The first clothes you choose for yourself. Pick."

Noxx looked at the pile.

She looked at the dress.

She looked at the pile again.

She took a step, two steps, and picked up the black dress with both hands, carefully, as if she could tear the fabric just by touching it.

Matt nodded slightly.

Then Matt took a boy's suit. Black jacket. White shirt. Dark pants. Almost identical to the one he'd had before the explosion. Identical, except it didn't have any red brooch at the collar.

Better that way.

Matt started getting dressed.

He didn't bother asking for a screen. He didn't bother making the maids and guards look the other way. He was already naked. They'd already seen him. And he didn't have time for that much theater.

Matt put on his underwear. The shirt. The pants. The jacket. Without rushing, but with obvious annoyance in every movement.

On the other side of the laboratory, Noxx was getting dressed much more slowly with the help of the guard, putting on each garment nervously.

Noxx was embarrassed, since this was the first time someone who wasn't Elyra, the ego-weapons or Matt had seen her like this.

Matt finished first. He adjusted his shirt cuffs, ran a hand through his hair to smooth it down a bit, and turned toward Noxx.

"Move."

Noxx gave a small jump and hurried with the last side button of the dress. The nearest maid stepped in to help her, so she accepted the help without protest.

When she finished, Noxx stood by the table, with her hands crossed in front of her, not knowing where to put them.

The dress looked good on her.

It looked too good on her.

Matt clenched his teeth.

The two guards, meanwhile, had been murmuring between themselves while the maids worked. The one with the spear took a step forward and cleared her throat.

"…Princess Matt."

Matt turned.

"What?"

"It's…" the guard hesitated. "It's getting late for the debut."

"I know."

"And I wanted to ask you…"

"Yes?"

"Are you going…?" she hesitated again. "Are you both going… together?"

Silence.

Matt looked at her. Then he looked at Noxx.

Noxx had her eyes fixed on the floor, with her hands still crossed in front of her. She didn't know if she was allowed to go. She didn't know if it was a good idea to go. She didn't know anything. She was just waiting.

Matt let out a dry laugh.

Then he took two steps, moved close to Noxx, put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side.

Noxx went rigid.

"Obviously I'm going with my sister to my debut," Matt answered. "What kind of question is that?"

The guard blinked.

"…As you say, princess."

"Let's go."

Noxx stayed still for a second under Matt's arm, as if she didn't know how to walk yet with someone on top of her. Then Matt tugged gently and Noxx let herself be led along.

They left the destroyed laboratory.

The two guards went ahead. The maids stayed behind with the leftover clothes. The hallway was empty but the echo of the orchestra could be heard in the distance, rising up the main stairs.

They went down two flights.

Before the door to the hall, in the side corridor, there were four more guards. All of them snapped to attention when they saw Matt.

And all of them broke attention when they saw Noxx.

The tallest one blinked twice.

She looked at Matt.

She looked at Noxx.

She looked at Matt.

She looked at the black suit.

She looked at the dress.

She looked at the face.

She looked at the other face.

She looked at Matt again.

Her expression froze.

"…Princess Matt," the guard asked with all the dignity she could gather. "With all due respect. What are you doing?"

Matt smiled without enthusiasm.

"Going to my debut."

"Yes. But…" the guard gestured at Noxx with a very small motion of her chin. "With…?"

"With my sister."

"…"

"Announce us together."

Silence.

The guard looked at the two who had escorted Matt from the laboratory, looking for confirmation. Looking for mockery. Looking for something that would tell her this was a joke and she could ignore it.

The two guards snapped to attention.

"It's an order from Princess Matt," the first one answered. "And we're going to obey it."

The tall guard sighed with her whole soul.

Then she quickly turned toward the small side door leading to the master of ceremonies' balcony, walked over at a fast pace and whispered something through the gap.

On the other side a cough was heard.

Then a doubt.

Then a quiet "are you sure?"

Then another whisper.

Then a second cough, more nervous.

Matt took the moment to look at Noxx.

"Breathe," Matt asked in a low voice.

Noxx breathed.

"Again."

Noxx breathed again.

"Don't look at anyone directly. Look over everyone's heads. It's easier. And don't say anything. I'll talk."

Noxx nodded slightly.

At that moment, on the other side of the door, the orchestra changed tempo.

Matt recognized the cue. They were preparing the entrance. The music was rising with that mix of horns and strings that always precedes an important announcement.

The curtain of the main hallway was opening.

The voice of the mistress of ceremonies resounded through the hall, amplified by the crystals on the ceiling.

"Ladies of the kingdom!"

Silence inside the hall.

"It is an honor to present to you the heiress and princess of the kingdom…!"

A pause.

A pause longer than usual.

On the other side of the door, the confused murmur of the mistress of ceremonies was heard as someone corrected her paper.

And then, with a voice barely less firm, she picked back up:

"…and her sister!"

Inside the hall, something froze.

"Princess Matt Nivea!"

A pause.

"And Princess Noxx Nivea!"

◇◆◇

On the main dais, Iris almost laughed.

Almost.

'…What did she just say?'

Iris blinked twice. The goblet she was holding stopped halfway to her lips.

'Sister?'

Iris looked at Elyra sideways.

Elyra hadn't blinked. The queen's goblet was still on the arm of the throne.

Elyra's expression was so calm that Iris realized, after years of knowing her, that Elyra was more surprised than she would ever let show.

'Sister? Matt? Is he making a joke?'

Iris almost let out the laugh.

This idiot.

This idiot finished destroying half a laboratory, shook the whole castle, missed the banquet for half an hour, and now he was introducing himself with a joke.

Iris could almost see it.

She could almost imagine him coming out of the hallway with that face of "hi, sorry for the delay, I brought someone else in on the joke."

Iris was about to actually smile.

But then the curtain of the main hallway opened.

And Matt walked in.

Short white hair. Red eyes. Formal black suit. White shirt.

The same "I'm here only because the queen forced me" face that was already famous among the maids of the royal wing.

Girl's body.

'Again,' Iris thought. But this time without the urge to laugh.

And behind Matt, almost pressed against his shoulder, the other one walked in.

White hair down to the shoulders. Red eyes. The same face. The same pale skin. The same fine jaw. The same features.

Everything, everything nearly identical. Except for one huge difference.

The other was dressed as a girl.

Black dress with dark red details. Modest skirt. Tapered waist. Timid posture. Slightly hunched. With her hands crossed in front of her and her gaze fixed above the crowd's heads, as if Matt had told her exactly that.

Iris felt her smile fade.

The other one's aura hit Iris before her gaze did.

Red. Dense. Familiar.

Too familiar.

'…That energy.'

Iris gripped the goblet.

'…No.'

Iris gripped the goblet a little harder.

'No, no, no, no.'

In the hall, after the initial silence, the vampires started to move. Someone clapped once.

Then twice. The orchestra, which had stopped mid-tempo when the master of ceremonies had to interrupt herself, picked back up with full force.

Trumpets. Strings. A timpani.

And the applause started to rise.

Not unanimous. Confused, rather. Some nobles clapped enthusiastically out of politeness. Others clapped slowly, looking at the other girl in the dress with their mouths open.

Others simply didn't clap and were murmuring with the one next to them.

In the corner against the column, Kaela had dropped her goblet. Nobody noticed because there was too much noise.

Kassandra, with the fan open against her mouth, was smiling.

On the dais, Elyra was smiling too. Very slowly. Very dangerously. As if she'd just been served something she'd been waiting for for years.

Matt walked toward the center of the hall, with firm steps and his annoyance well hidden.

Noxx walked behind him, looking over the heads of everyone, just as Matt had told her.

Iris didn't look at them.

Iris looked at Noxx.

Only at Noxx.

The black dress. The timid posture. The fine jaw. The red eyes. The white hair. The energy condensed inside that body.

All of that which until an hour ago had been inside Matt, where it should have been, where it made sense for it to be.

Now it was walking.

Now it had legs.

Now it was entering the hall as Matt's sister.

Iris set the goblet on the arm of the throne, very slowly, so as not to break it.

She could only think one thing.

'I'm going to kill her.'

(￣▽￣;)ゞ

I completely understand that this novel isn't going to be for everyone, and I have absolutely no problem with someone criticizing it or simply saying they didn't like it. That's totally fair.

(´･ω･`)

But I wasn't expecting the review to turn into insults toward me, you guys, and pretty much everything related to the novel LOL.

(╥﹏╥)ﾉ

But well... I guess that's just one of those things that happens when you put your work on the internet.

¯\(ツ)/¯

Anyway, you'll have a new chapter tomorrow, so we'll keep going as usual!

(ง •̀_•́)ง ✧

Seriously, thank you to everyone who's still reading and supporting the novel! I really appreciate you all.

(´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡