The kingdom of Ardenia was illuminated by the sun rising above the horizon, casting its soft glow on the castle. It was approximately half past eight in the morning when Lulu stepped into the princess's room.
She turned her head sideways, where the princess's bed was located and she noticed that the woman was still asleep. Lulu smiled, walking towards the window and pulling apart the curtains.
Feeling the sun rays on her face, Hermione lazily rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, she yawned and sat up on the bed.
It was morning already?
"Good morning, your highness" Lulu greeted with a small grin.
"How does it feel to be an adult already?" She instantly inquired, leaning to the side and placing a hand on her hips.
Hermione gazed at her with groggy eyes, where her hair had splattered across her face and was looking like a bed's nest.
"Feels same" She commented, her shoulders slumping to the side.
Lulu chuckled, "Let's get you dressed up," she said to the princess.
Hermione was helped out of the bed and led to the bath where her maid served her. She was delicately washed and dried. Her supple skin was spread with fragrant oils, and her hair was braided in two before twisted into a bun at the back of her head. She wore a bright yellow gown and her makeup was lightly done.
She headed to the dining room afterward, where she would have a hearty meal with her family. She smiled, expecting widened smiles to await her once she emerged from the door.
However, when the guards threw open the door, she was met with an empty grand-looking dining. Hermione looked from left to right and saw no one.
"Where is everyone?" She asked herself, as she walked into the room in light steps.
Her question was answered by Alistair who was entering at the same time, "Mother and father are arguing right now, it's best we just leave them to it" He spoke nonchalantly.
Hermione gasped, not expecting his sudden presence.
"Good morning beautiful sister, shall we have our seats?" He inquired. The frown on his face was suddenly replaced with a smile.
Alistair walked past her with his hands in his pocket, and when he reached the table, he waited for the servant to pull out the chair before sitting.
"M-morning" she mumbled, and added, "I hope it's nothing serious" Hermione wondered, her eyes glancing at the other part of the room before returning to her brother.
"I don't think it is" Alistair responded, drinking the soup in his bowl. "I overheard them saying something about your marriage"
Hermione who was about to sit stumbled in shock.
Marriage? What the hell?
Alistair was casual about it, "What? Were you thinking you'd live with us for the rest of your life?" He playfully asked.
But she didn't find it funny. It was sudden. Too sudden and she could never have expected it.
She was aware that clocking eighteen would various things which included getting married but she was completely unprepared. She hoped for her father to save her from this impending doom.
She still wished to spend more time with her family and wasn't prepared to part from them yet.
What's more? She was going to spend the rest of her entire life with an unknown person, an unknown family... gosh... She just wasn't ready!
"J--just how much did you eavesdrop?" Hermione inquired, her heart racing in her chest. She was restless.
Picturing herself with a pot-bellied man and wedding him, she could almost puke.
Alistair raised a brow, "Why?"
His sister wanted to know more- he could tell from the anxiousness written boldly on her face and he parted his lips to reveal all that he heard.
"I think the marriage proposal comes from Malusia; previously known as Eagle's Lane before King Benjamin changed it, which we all know. It's one of his sons... What's his name again... Lloyd... Yeah, Lloyd Walter"
Hermione felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of that name, Lloyd.
He was the same man she had fantasized about, the boy who had led her to the castle, and the boy she was besotted with.
Hold up! He never mentioned his last name to her, but simply his name.
"I-is he the brown-skinned man?"
"Yeah, him" Alistair answered. As a prince, he was acquainted with other princes from neighboring kingdoms.
"You should worry not sister, Father is going to cancel the marriage" Alistair spoke with certainty.
What? No!
'Father is doing no such thing!' She shrieked inwardly.
Alistair was stunned to have seen the apprehension on her face wash away. As he chewed on his meat, he heard his sister excuse herself from the dining room and then walk away quickly, as if she were in haste.
Alistair could've sworn that he caught a glimpse of a satisfied smirk on her lips.
Wasn't she annoyed a while ago to have heard about her marriage to some unknown person?
why did it suddenly change after she learned it was Lloyd Walter?
What is going on?
***
Hermione walked across the gallery, her shoes creating a soft clank against the polished tiles. From her heart was an erratic beat that rang in her ears as she hastened her footsteps.
She prayed that her father was yet to cancel the marriage proposal, because if he did, then there was no way to marry Lloyd, the man of her dreams. Her father's heart couldn't be changed easily after the decision had already been made.
It didn't imply that she agreed to get married and not see her parents anymore.
She still would prefer to be with them for plenty of days, but this was Lloyd, the man of her dreams, she couldn't let him slip away that easily.
She could visit her parents once they were married, she thought inwardly.
Hermione finally reached the door, where she could hear a heated conversation going on in the room. She pondered if this was serious more than it originally was.
She believed her father had the view that she should still spend more time with them because her childhood had been robbed of by her past, hence, he was reluctant to let her go even though she was of age.
Breathing inwardly, Hermione opened the door.
Her father was sitting on the couch and her mother was standing with her hands on her hips. They both had their head turned in her direction, and their voices had suddenly quietened as if they were never having a conversation.
"I want to marry him" Hermione voiced out.
"What are you talking about?" Blair was the one who asked, feigning ignorance as she glanced at her husband whose face still held an annoyed expression.
"I want to marry Lloyd Walter"
Zephyr silently chuckled when he heard her words, he arose from his seat and began to walk towards his daughter. "Hermione," He started.
"You need not marry him. Besides, this whole thing is deception and I should be heading towards Benjamin now and severing his head" He spoke, an evil glint flashing across his eyes.
Hermione noticed from his clenched teeth that this wasn't an ordinary marriage proposal. Her father began to explain briefly how a fight had ensued between them and the vampires years ago before she was born. They had won the fight but her father had been compelled to sign an agreement by the evil vampire king.
It was an agreement to keep the two kingdoms in check by tying them down through the marriage of the vampire prince, Lloyd, and Hermione.
That way, Benjamin would be rest assured that Zephyr wouldn't be planning a surprise attack on them because they were one; bounded by the marriage contract.
Zephyr was irked to the core now that he received a letter from Benjamin, it wasn't a marriage proposal anymore but a reminder that the marriage would be taking place in the next three days which was the agreed date.
He wanted to lead his army to Malusia and destroy them all, including their incompetent king for deceiving him.
If Zephyr didn't want to consent to the marriage, there was nothing Benjamin could do to stop him. They could be planning a marriage and Zephyr would be planning a surprise attack to wipe the vampires out once and for all, even though it would result in a massive shed of blood.
"L-loyd is my mate" She proceeded to reveal to him. "And I'm in love with him, please Father, it's for my happiness"
Blair touched Zephyr's arm from the side and he turned to look at her with an inquisitive brow, "If they are mates, there's no use breaking off the marriage" She said.
He glanced at his daughter who pleaded with him to allow the marriage.
Zephyr was worried for her. He wasn't rest assured to leave his daughter under Benjamin's hands.
His evil deeds were something known far and wide and Zephyr wasn't certain to leave his daughter in a family like that.
"Judging from how humble his mother is" Blair continued, "She must have raised him to be a good man and I trust that he'd keep Hermione safe and happy"
She wanted to convince him, and possibly stop him from waging a war against the vampires. She was worried for Hermione but to put everyone at stake was a greater worry for a queen like her.
Zephyr questioned Hermione, "Does he feel the same way?"
"H--he does... He kissed me" She recalled, her cheeks turning red at the mention of the kiss they had shared on the balcony.
She still tasted his soft lips on hers, and she wished to feel that sensation again when he pulled her closer to himself.
Zephyr on the other hand wasn't impressed, that son of a bastard kissed his daughter right under his nose!