The Race (Contest Entry)

The Race

“I’m sorry, princess, but it’s your brother’s orders…” Ethan explained, bowing in respect. He heard her grumbling under her breath.

“First off, if you’re really going to be my body guard, none of this “princess” business. Ebony is just fine. I’m not even heir to the throne,” Ebony paced back and forth in her black gala gown, arms folded tightly and face stuck in a permanent frown.

Ethan straightened, adjusting the sleeves on his suit, “As you wish, Ebony, now we really must be going—“

Ebony tipped backwards, landing on her bed and stared at the ceiling, “Just because I’m the first female natural born vampiress doesn’t make me some precious thing to protect. I’m just as fast and powerful as any other vampire; even more so!” Ebony propped herself up on her elbows when she heard Ethan burst into arrogant laughter and stared at him.

“I may be a mere Noir vampire, but no one, not even Derek has ever bested me in a race. It’s quite embarrassing, actually.” Ethan casually leaned against the door way, feeling pretty confident. Ebony’s interest was piqued.

“You’re not serious, are you? My brother is so perfect it’s annoying. There’s no way you’re telling the truth.”

Ethan shrugged, “There’s only one way to know for sure.”

“But the party…” Ebony complained, crestfallen.

“Darling, this is a race to the party. If you’re as fast as you think you are, we’ll be there with fifteen minutes to spare…well in my case twenty minutes, easily.”

Ebony kicked off her black heels then stood up and faced him, looking him right into his green eyes. She stuck her hand out to shake, “If I win, you have to do anything I ask no matter how humiliating for a decade. If you win—“

“--I get to dance with you at the party,” Ethan finished the sentence for her. He smiled as he shook her hand. Ebony smirked, pulled him in a circle and let him go before dashing out of her room and down the hall. Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle, chasing after her. The two were neck in neck at their fastest, weaving through the vampire servants and finding the fastest route outside.

Ebony slipped outside the front door and kept running down the dirt path leading to the dance, confident that there was no way Ethan could keep up. She was an Albino vampire, the rarest and most powerful of all vampires. This was an easy win for her. Moonlight colored the trees and plants in a silver glaze. Chilled wind danced across her skin and the only sound she could hear was her heart pounding from adrenaline. It was nice not following the proper rules of royalty, plus winning against Ethan’s arrogance and rubbing it in his face was just too good of an opportunity to waste.

“Slowing down a bit are we, Ebony?”

Ethan’s form strode past her, nothing more than a dark blur. Cursing under her breath, she sped up. Both of them were now racing in sync with each other, jumping over logs, ducking under low hanging branches and slicing through bushes effortlessly. Ethan started to gain again, even looking back at her with a smug wink. Ebony frowned at him, ruby eyes glowing in the night. Exerting the rest of her strength, she rushed through his lead and effectively left him in the dust. The light from the party’s side door was her homing beacon and with hardly a moment to spare, she slid to a stop with her hand just touching the door. Panting, she looked around and was satisfied to see no sign of Ethan. She grinned with her fangs, making a small fist pump to herself. Just as she reached to enter, the door swung open to reveal a very unhappy Derek dressed in a fancy white and red suit to match his hair and eyes.

“Ebony, what on earth happened to you?” His sharp voice made Ebony visibly wince, “You’re missing your shoes, your hair is disheveled…There’s only fifteen minutes before the party starts. Did mother tell you nothing about the importance of this party?” Ebony fiddled with her hands, looking down and away.

“Your highness, I have Ebony’s shoes here,” Ethan’s voice drew Ebony’s eyes to see him standing by the door and holding up her black heels. She stared at him with a startled and somewhat angry expression. Derek sighed, plucking a leaf from his sister’s snow white hair.

“Don’t gawk; it makes you look like a goldfish,” Derek passed Ebony’s heels to her, “now hurry and make yourself presentable.”

Ebony glared at Ethan over Derek’s shoulder, but took her heels. Ethan grinned at her and mouthed the words “see you on the dance floor”. Ebony rolled her eyes at him and marched off to the restroom. Derek turned around and started to head back inside but paused and faced Ethan.

He plucked a twig from the collar of Ethan’s suit and smiled knowingly, “what did you wager?”

       Ethan shrugged sheepishly, “If she won I would have to do anything she asked for a decade. If she lost, I could dance with her tonight…as you can see, I had to win. You know me better than anyone else does; it would be humiliating to be considered a personal slave.”

Derek twirled the small stick between his fingers and chuckled, “I do know you better than anyone else does. Let me know how the dance goes, Ethan.”