Lucette swept her hand over the soft fabric of her dress. It felt nice to wear such an expensive outfit. Although its size was slightly bigger than hers, it looked beautiful when she wore it.
A v-neck, full-sleeve black dress with a golden pattern on her waist. It was long enough to touch the floor concealing the flat shoes she put on. She tried wearing high heels but could not walk with them! Her shoulder-length light brown hair was curled, and her makeup was light.
'The first time, I liked my appearance.'
Lucette smiled at her reflection. She looked like a noble and wealthy lady dressed beautifully. She raised her chin and mimicked the vampiress' way of walking.
"Look at me. I am not a maid anymore. Evil woman," Lucette said, imagining herself talking with that woman. She sighed and sat on the bed.
Now, she resembled what she wanted, but even so, her life didn't belong to her. She wore a beautiful dress because the vampiress wished for it. She would be married off as an assurance to the peace between the two races.
'And who knows what I will experience once I am out there, alone and far from home.'
How can the werewolf's kingdom accept a maid as a bride? So the vampiress planned to deceive them? Sophie said if she stayed and refused to replace the original bride, then they would punish her severely, but they threw her right into a mess.
She was an evil woman, the evilest ever.
Lucette wiped the tears from her face. She had to think of a way to run away.
Lucette pursed her lips. She tried escaping many times, but she failed every time and ended up locked without eating and drinking for weeks, and the mocking from that...
'I read a story about a princess who was locked in a tower, she used her long hair to escape from it. Why don't you try the method, maybe you will run away.' the vampiress said and tugged her long hair until she cried from the pain.
Since that time, she never tried escaping or growing her hair again.
Lucette slapped both her cheeks 'Wake up! It was all in the past' she chanted to herself. Whenever she felt depressed, the painful memories would pop up without warning!
"Ugh.. what should I do?" she said.
She wanted to change her life, but not like this! Marriage was something she hadn't thought of in her entire twenty years of living, she was still young and didn't want to be a replacement or be forced to do something against her will.
Her mistake was to help a lost soul. She regretted her actions very much because she would never find someone who would do the same for her.
Lucette walked to the window. Looking at the darkness outside, she shivered when a cold breeze caressed her skin the moment she opened the window. The extended building, the vast rustic garden and the towering wall from afar protected the palace. The kingdom swam in the dark.
Is it the farewell?
.
In the humongous hall, the wedding party started. The guests were coming, and the preparations were done perfectly. king Arius stood in his majestic black suit.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to have all of you present in this joyful event to witness the blessed union between the vampires and the werewolves. Hoping for the best cooperation, coexistence, and prosperity not only for both races but all the supernatural creatures that existed."
"In the meantime, I will take this opportunity to announce the launcher of the Artificial Light project, where the vampire kingdom will brighten up and the light will reach every corner of our kingdom, maybe it will illuminate the darkened souls also," Arius said, his voice filled with confidence echoed in the spacious hall. No one spoke as the vampires' eyes focused on their king.
After he ended his speech, Arius clicked his fingers and the dark and the eerie hall became full of life due to light.
"Enjoy the rest of the party," he said.
His eyes darted around looking at the guests in the hall. Almost all of them gasped in the hall while others winded their eyes, looking at each other, then smiled. They cheered for him making his lips curved in a smile, and some of them showed a displeased expression and he knew clearly who they were.
Two of his haters. They stood in the corner far away from other invitees, one with ashy hair, and he must have a solemn expression while the other with brown hair looked as if he didn't care but that was only a facade.
They were eying his movement. Arius's smiling and gentle face did not change, he knew his actions must have angered them, but he didn't care. He could do anything to achieve his goal!
"Greetings, King Arius."
Arius turned to his left to see an old man around seventy years old. He brushed his grey hair to the back to cover the bald in the centre. He was plump, wearing a brown three-piece suit, and glasses over his blue eyes.
"Igor Castellan, nice meeting you," Arius responded in a flat tone. The guests were not only vampires and werewolves but other races were invited too, including humans. But the nobles only.
"I see that you and Ferdinand have done a great job, proposing a way to stop the tension between you, but will it work? Ferdinand didn't show till now," the man asked.
"Of course, it will" Arius responded, receiving a curt nod from the old man as if he didn't believe him.
He was used to Igor's way of spouting nonsense in a joyous event just to ruin it, a mere human who was the head of the council. Despite being over seventy years old, he didn't want to step away from his job.
Greedy old man!
Arius excused himself and went toward a man who seemed in his fifties his brown eyes looked sharp and cold, and his strong build showed through his fitted dark blue suit.
"Greetings Alpha Ferdinand, you came with the envoy, but the groom is absent," he said, examining the Alpha's expression.
"I apologise King Arius. My grandson has an urgent matter to deal with. That's why he could not come, but the wedding will go as per the plan in the pack. Do not worry we arranged a big ceremony for the princess and would never wrong her," Alpha Ferdinand explained with a stoic face.