Inject Me Sweetly / Dusk Until Dawn

:Inject Me Sweetly: Thirteen

Seeing Vincent get yelled at by his father was one of the most horrifying and most amusing things ever. On one hand the King was a force to be reckoned with, while on the other, watching Vincent be scolded by him was worth it. Fortunately or unfortunately the worst of it was over. Saying the King was furious was an understatement. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen anyone as angry as him.  

I sunk further into the couch as Solomon raised his voice again. "Don't ignore me, Vincent!" 

Vincent waved him off. "I'm not. I just chose not to reply. You never shut up." 

I grimaced. If I ever talked to my dad like that I'd probably get my head chopped off. My heart clenched at the thought of him. How was he? How was my mom? My brother? Did they miss me? I wondered what they'd think if they found out what was really going on and I wasn't in California like they thought.  

"I'm going to the court tomorrow-" 

"Tomorrow?" I gasped, pulling myself from my thoughts. "What? But I thought that you had to wait a week to talk to them? It's only been..." Counting on my fingers, I tried to figure out how many days it'd been since I'd arrived. "Four days? I think?" 

Solomon glanced at me, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Things have changed now. Since vampires outside of the main family now know of your presence here, they've allowed us a sooner date." 

My eyes widened. "Do I have to go?" 

"Of course not," he responded immediately, shaking his head. "In fact, it's best if you don't go." 

"Oh good," I breathed in relief. "I think I would have passed out." 

He chuckled. "I wouldn't have been surprised. The court has some very... interesting people, to say the least." 

"How many people are in it?" I inquired, furrowing my eyebrows. 

"Seven total," he responded. "For this court, at least. The other courts work the same way as yours." 

I nodded my head in understanding. "So these seven are different then the rest?" 

Vincent muttered something that sounded suspiciously like duh, stupid under his breath. I ignored him. 

"Yes," the King responded, either ignoring Vincent as well, or not catching his muttering. "These vampires deal with special cases, such as yours. Having you go through the other court processes would be too much trouble, seeing as how you're not a criminal in any way." 

"I see," I responded slowly. I couldn't think of anything we had in the human world like that... "So do these guys decide my punishment too?" 

"I wouldn't call it a punishment..." 

"Do they?" 

After a second he nodded. "The will, yes." 

"Do you have any say in it? You're the King after all," I said, feeling my pulse quicken. Would the King really not be able to have his input? 

"I'll have some say, but it really depends on what they choose to do," he responded vaguely." 

I hesitated a moment before asking my next question. "What do you think is going to happen to me?" 

He pursed his lips, his emerald eyes narrowing. "I can't say for sure. The court could decide anything." 

"Do you... Do you think I could be killed?" 

He didn't reply. 

My throat constricted. "Are they going to kill me? Is it that bad? Isn't it fine if I promise to keep my mouth shut? I haven't told anyone the whole time I've been here!"