Divergence: The Vampire Queen

The Storm

If this was all true, then Sienna had crossed a line. It was absolutely inappropriate to say any of those things and downright rude. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug that he was sure she needed. "I don't like her either. She's pushing boundaries she should not even be near."

He had never heard Natalia swear before. For her to do so, this had clearly shaken her. He rubbed her back in an effort to calm her down. "I don't know how she knew about the twins—But you know full well she's wrong! You are not a waste, and you will not die. At this point, she's more likely to die than you are." It was barbaric of him to say such a thing. Nevertheless, if Sienna behaved this way toward himself or his parents, she'd be burned... or worse.

"What does Sienna matter, anyway? All that matters is you, me, Dante and Sibella. We are the entire world now." He tried to make her smile. If he achieved that, he knew her anger would abate. If not? It might be a grudge brewing that would need to be dealt with.

He was hesitant to address the Sienna issue. In truth, he'd been too close with her. She knew too much, and he also felt a little guilty for all that had happened to her. He would never confess this to Natalia. She would blow his guilt and mercy out of proportion, but he could not help the way he felt.

"And I'd actually pitied her!" She spat back. "I felt badly that I took you. Though it was through no fault of my own. I've been nothing but kind to her! She's a maid! And I've been stepping on eggshells around her so that she had a little more time to adjust to this..." clearly his trying to calm her had not succeeded. She was still fuming.

"She thinks just because I'm kind that she can talk to me that way? She cannot! I will not allow that!" She tried to steady her breathing, fist clenched until the nails dug into her skin. "I didn't say a thing to her! I didn't say a single thing besides 'thank you,' but I wanted to. Marcello, I wanted to!"

Natalia stood up and started pacing, not realizing she was moving at a much faster speed than she should've been able, still ranting. "And she looked at me—like she was so happy to say those things. Like she was just daring me to say something about it. Or say something to you...." she stopped pacing and looked at him, steadying herself against the bedpost. "I hate her...."

He had to act quickly and calm her. "If she is that much of a problem, maybe we can work something out. Get her moved to a different part of the palace, somewhere we won't see her often?" He hoped that would appease her.

She needed to calm down. She was moving much too fast for her body, and if she continued, he was afraid she might hurt herself. Moreover, she seemed like she was out for blood. His light punishment idea would likely not satisfy her anger. Or worse, she might question him for wanting to let her off so lightly.

"Calm down, Nat, please. We will find the appropriate course of action and take it. She is clearly angry at you and hurt because of me. We can at least respect that to some level..." He spoke quieter, trailing off as he realised how dangerous those words might have been.

When he said she should calm down, those fiery green orbs lit once again. The boiling rage she'd felt for Sienna sparking now toward her husband as well, but as she stared at him, the small tug in her heart kept her from yelling at him. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. This wasn't her. This wasn't how she behaved.

The anger melted from her face as she realized that this was not something she wanted. Who was this stranger? She loved her husband! "I'm so sorry..." she said, embracing him. "I'm so sorry I don't know what came over me... I'm so, so sorry..." Tears streamed down her face and onto his shirt. "I'm sorry..." she kept mumbling over and over.