Little James - Chapter Twenty One

Kristen and William throw a celebration for James. They invite many of their closest friends to celebrate his first birthday.

As James ages up to a toddler, it is apparent to all that he truly has Kristen's curse. His eyes have turned more of a red color, and his skin has a soft pale glow.

After James's nap, Kristen visits him in his nursery. When she enters his nursery, James waddles over to her. "How's my boy?" Kristen asks James. "Good, mommy!" James tells his mommy with a small voice.

"You are good with James. I am pleased with how you have served me over the years. You are a close and loyal servant and friend." Kristen tells her lady. "Thank you, my queen." the lady replies.

"I need a sip. Is it alright, my dear lady?" Kristen asks. The lady rolls up her sleeve and holds out her wrist. Kristen carefully takes as little as possible. When she finishes, she hands her a silk cloth to wipe the blood from her already healing wrist. Kristen tries to take turns with as many of her servants as possible, so no one will suffer or grow too weak.

"Mommy's going to get you!" Kristen tells James as she tickles him. He laughs over and over.

Little James bites into his teddy bear like Kristen did to her lady earlier that day. He rips through, tearing a hole through the bear's neck.

Lara comes to the nursery to love on James like she often does. She swoops him up off the floor and cuddles him into her arms.

Without warning, James bites into her neck and tears through her skin, creating a large wound. Lara bleeds heavily. James plays with and drinks her blood that has spilled onto the floor.

James tries to make Lara laugh by tickling her, but she lies limp on the floor. "Wady Lara, play with me."

One of the ladies walked in and discovered Lara lying on the floor, bleeding.  She quickly covered her wound to keep it from bleeding out more. They summon the royal physician to see if they can save Lara. "You might have got to her in time, but I can't be sure. She's lost a lot of blood and is very weak. If she makes it through the next few days, there will be hope." the physician tells Kristen. "What have I done! I should have been more careful! I shouldn't have fed in front of him. I blame myself." Kristen tells the doctor. "Keep me updated with her progress."

Kristen goes to James and picks him up. "Mommy has something to tell you. You can't bite people, no matter the temptation. You can make them die if you bite too deep or make them bleed too much." she explains to him. "I didn't mean to hurt Wady Lara, mommy. Will she be ok?" James whispers."I hope so," Kristen replies. She gets him ready for bed and places him in his crib for the night.

James finally fell asleep, and everyone had turned in for the day. From the shadows, a figure appears at his crib. She peers in and looks at James as he sleeps.

She places a toy in his crib, then turns around and walks away. She disappears into the darkness without a noise.

James wakes up and cries out for his nanny.

She comes in, lifts him out of his crib, and then places him in his high chair.

He eats the breakfast that they have prepared especially for him. He digs in and makes quite a mess.

Kristen arrives to see James after his breakfast and quickly notices the familiar toy in his crib. She's infuriated and goes into a rage. She's then overcome with fear.

Kristen hits the ground with a thud. Her lady was playing on the floor with James when Kristen fell. The lady jumps up to see if Kristen is alright. "My Queen, are you alright," the lady asks as she shakes Kristen. Kristen comes to her senses and slowly gets up off the floor. 

"Is this some kind of sick joke!? Did you put this toy in his crib?" Kristen yells at her. "No, my queen! I have never seen this toy before." the lady quickly replies with fear.

Kristen picks up the toy and looks at it carefully. "It looks just like the one she had growing up. Maybe it's similar to the one I had when I was a captive. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions," Kristen says more to convince herself than anything else.

Kristen picks up James and hugs him tight. "I will not let anything ever happen to you," Kristen whispers in his ear.

Kristen tells William what happened in the nursery and about the stuffed animal she found. "I need everyone to search the castle and the grounds. I need to know that my baby is safe!" Kristen tells William. "I will get the men together, and we will make sure nothing happens to James," William replied and left to fetch the others.

William and the others search the castle and the entire kingdom's grounds. They don't find anything peculiar.

Throughout the day, many were assigned to walk the castle corridors to make sure no one got close to James.

"We searched everywhere. The whole castle has been searched and the grounds. We have many walking the corridors to keep a check." William tells Kristen to reassure her. "I would be lost without you," she replies with a sigh.

Kristen and William climb into bed and go to sleep.

Even though there are guards in the corridor and outside the nursery with a nanny sleeping in a bed across from his crib, the same women from the previous day come back. But instead of leaving a toy behind, she picks up the sleepy toddler and leaves the nursery without anyone seeing her. 

With everyone still asleep, the strange woman carries James undetected into the night.