Inside the dining hall at a long, rectangular table sat King Arius in his majestic chair observing the multi-coloured food, while on his right side sat Sophie his distant cousin, cutting the steak.
"What is it bothering you, Your Majesty?" she asked, but he remained focused on the food. "You left the party one hour after it started, it must be something urgent."
"Last night, three werewolves killed a vampire," he said, as his cousin insisted. He sometimes talked about a political matter with his cousin. They had the same mindful thoughts, and he liked to know her opinion.
"It was not the first time for something like this to happen."
"It's not, but the werewolf king requested for -" he said and stopped midway.
The two races had peace for the past five years, but attacks like this were common, so he could not understand the reason for the werewolf king to request something strange.
He should be the one dealing with the matter first because they killed a civilian in his territory, but the werewolves had their plans already. They rushed over which made it suspicious.
The werewolves' territory shared the west-south border of his kingdom. The terrain was mainly dark wastelands and mountains.
"What is the problem? Kill those who killed the civilian. It will solve the matter," Sophie said, looking at him.
"It happened as you said, but the Alpha of that pack killed the attackers," King Arius answered.
He witnessed it last night. The Alpha brought the three werewolves and slaughtered them before his eyes. He wished he could do that, but it was a magnificent scene to watch. Arius's face delighted, but he frowned soon after.
"Then why did they call for a meeting? They had already dealt with the matter," Sophie said, putting the utensil down.
"The Alpha king proposed a marriage alliance between his grandson and my daughter," Arius responded.
Sophie winded her eyes. "Are you going to agree?"
Arius looked at his plate in a trance. Knowing the hatred between the two races, requesting alliance through marriage was like putting yourself in the fire with your hands.
"It is a good idea, but Celeste…" Arius said. If the werewolves and the vampire were to unite, they would profit from it, having opportunities to trade together, exchange experiences, and avoid attacks totally thus helping the kingdom be opened on the global markets, but the risks of another war breaking out were high too.
The last thing he wished for. The kingdom could barely hold on after the last war ended five years ago.
And the king's grandson was brutal, he didn't flinch when taking the attackers' life! One of them was his friend.
He didn't want his daughter to marry such a man, although she was a strong vampiress and would never allow someone to hurt her. That if he could convince her to marry a werewolf from the start.
"Did you tell Celeste about the matter?" she asked.
"No."
He wasn't a fool. Celeste hated the word 'werewolves' and no one would dare to say it in her presence.
If his daughter knew about the proposal, she would return and make a ruckus in the palace, then he would need to renovate some part of it because of her outburst.
And if he forced her to accept or she would accept the proposal without a sound, then he was sure after getting married she would wipe as many werewolves as she could, dying in the attack.
Meanwhile, Sophie sighed. Almost everyone in the palace knew Celeste's hot temper and hatred for the enemy. Sensing Arius's gaze on her, she raised her brows, but the king was silent.
She turned to her plate, and as the spoon was about to reach her mouth, her eyes widened. "If you are thinking of using my daughter instead of Celeste, then must I say, I am not agreeing to the offer. Sorry for my direct speech, Your Majesty."
She would not let her daughter be a replacement or a scapegoat for anybody. If Arius loved his daughter and wanted to protect her, then she was no less than him.
Arius nodded. The frown on his face deepened.
"What if we find a replacement?" she suggested. "There are many choices."
....
Lucette opened her eyes, gazing at the alarm showing 6 in the morning, she groaned. She wanted to sleep more after a long day and night of hard work, but she had to wake up.
However, the time in the Valkyrie Kingdom didn't matter as all days were nights. The darkness would never go.
Lucette changed to her grey robe and held her shoulder-length hair in a short bun. The other three maids were still sleeping, Lucette grabbed a stainless steel glass and dropped it, making a loud sound. She apologized to the others for waking them up and hurried out, laughing out loud, remembering the maids' scared faces, her mood levelled up.
The maids hated her and labelled her as a troublemaker, though they were right. Growing up in the palace, her life was dull, but she refused to give in to her bad luck and made her life colourful, playing small tricks on the others.
Holding a clean towel, Lucette wiped the furniture in the hallway, then yawned and rubbed her eyes.
Eying the sheet in her hand which was clean, not a speck of dust was in it, she pursed her lips. 'Doing This is like grabbing the air with your hands.' she thought throwing the towel.
'I had no other choice, had I?' she squatted and gripped the sheet.
"Lucette, follow me to the kitchen," Miranda said, stopping behind her.
'Another task!'
Lucette dropped her head and followed quietly, she waited for a minute before a maid pushed a tray in her way.
"Take it to Madam Sophie," Miranda said.
"Why don't you take it for her?" she asked, puckering her lips.
"She requested you to do it."
Lucette tightened her grip on the tray forcefully to form her finger marks on it.
"Look at what you did," Miranda berated her and changed the tray. Lucette turned around and marched towards the Royal Vampiress' headquarter.
Lucette stared at the glasses. As the delicious scent tickled her nostrils, she gulped, her eyes darkened as she was eager to shove one of those glasses into her mouth.
Her face got closer to the glass, she snapped from her thought as the image of the royal vampiress with a wide grin displayed in her memory.
That bad woman planned to taunt her and to find a reason to punish her. But she wouldn't fall for it!
When her mother died, the maids took her to that bad woman to decide where she would go. That awful woman was about to send her to the orphanage but she slipped and said that she wanted to be a princess then… Lucette shook her head for the terrible memories to disappear.
She thought all the people were nice like her mother, but she was wrong. Since then she had become a maid. Working in that age was common in the noble society. Though she would help the older maids in their work.
Lucette arrived in the north wing of the palace where the honourable guests were supposed to stay. The vampiress room was the biggest which meant that her position was high. She was here just because of her cousin, the king.
Lucette knocked on the door, then got in after getting the permission.
The Vampiress Sophie Wright Laroka, the distant cousin of the king. She has her mansion, but she loved to visit from time to time. Many times! And she loved to boss around thinking that she was the queen.
Lucette noticed someone's presence in the room, a woman with a funny haircut and a round face. The vampiress' only friend, Lady Priscilla, and the only one allowed to visit the palace.
"Why are you still standing there?" a playful voice echoed in the vast room, she relaxed on the couch. Her reddish-brown curly hair fell from her shoulder like a waterfall, although she was over one century old, she looked like a woman in her twenties.
'The specs of being a vampire.'
Lucette put the tray on the rectangular table in front of the vampiress and retreated. Lucette stood at the corner, her eyes gazing at the floor, waiting for any order.
And like it was forever with the smell of blood raising her hunger and limiting her patience, the vampiress spoke, "Leave."
"Is the princess coming…"
Lucette closed the door. 'Princess is coming?' She put her ear on the door but she could not hear. 'Why did they make the room soundproof even as a vampire could not hear a thing!' She put her ear on the keyhole, but the sounds were faint.
'They were talking about the princess, so is she coming back?'