"Father, you cannot be serious!" Kazi exclaimed. "You cannot just give Nia away like that!" The second-eldest daughter, Kazi, was usually the most fiery and outspoken of the siblings.
Their father sighed heavily. "I am afraid. King Kiyoshi will be visiting each household himself next week to select a bride." He turned to Nia; his expression pained. "The council has...insisted you are put forth as a candidate, my dear."
Nia gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Do not worry about me, Father. This was not your doing." She took a deep breath.
Kazi shook her head angrily. "How can you accept this? Marrying a vampire - it is absurd!"
"Perhaps it is," Nia replied calmly, "but we have no choice. We must do what is best for our family, and for our kingdom. Perhaps King Kiyoshi will be kind and understanding. We cannot judge him before we have met him."
"How does a union between a vampire and a human even work?" Kazi demanded. "They're not the same kind of people!"
"When a human weds a vampire, their life becomes inextricably intertwined," Ife explained, "like the threads of a tapestry. If one should die, the other would follow. When the vampire is hurt, the human will feel weakened as well. It is a bond that runs deeper than any other, and it is mainly physical though," explained Ife.
"And how do you know so much about vampires?" Adanna asked her sister suspiciously.
"It is this little thing called reading books, you should try it," Ife shot back with a grin. "Anyway, what I am trying to say is that if Nia marries King Kiyoshi, her life will be connected with his in every way."
"Why you little-" Adanna started to retort, but was cut off by their father.
"Enough bickering!" Duke Nari scolded. "This situation is dire enough as it is!"
"I apologize, Father," said Adanna and Ife together.
Nia gave her father an encouraging smile. "Do not fret, Father. With thousands of eligible women, the chances I will be chosen are slim." She paused, considering her words. "Perhaps King Kiyoshi will be more interested in someone younger. But if it should come to pass that I am the one he chooses, I will not hesitate to do what is best for our kingdom."
Yet even as she comforted him, her own stomach churned with anxiety. Marriage was one thing - but to a dangerous vampire king? The stories she had heard of King Kiyoshi's cruelty and power sent shivers down her spine. How could she possibly hope to survive in such a world, let alone protect her family and people? She forced herself to remain strong, to not dwell on the inevitable dangers that lay ahead.
Asha piped up curiously, "Ife, how old is King Kiyoshi anyway?"
"Yeah, tell us Miss Bookworm," Adanna said mockingly.
Ife rolled her eyes but answered, "In vampire years he is around 320 years old. But for a human, he'd be considered 32." She shrugged. "That is about all I could gather from the books."
"32!" Tanisi gasped. "Why, he is ancient!"
"He is not that old," Nia assured them. Kazi shook her head, clearly not convinced. The night wore on, and each of them tried to distract themselves from the looming prospect of Nia's impending fate. They played games, told stories, and shared laughter, but the shadow of King Kiyoshi and his impending visit hung over them like a dark cloud.
Nia managed a brave face, but inside she felt a churning mixture of fear and dread. Marrying someone so far removed from her world, so much older...it was a terrifying prospect. She could only hope that her father was right, and that King Kiyoshi would be understanding and fair.
πΎππ πππππ ππππ ππππ πππ ππππ πππ πππππ πππ ππ πππ πππ ππππππππ.