by Dawn
I examine the gift. It is a lovely oval shape ice blue stone with a miniscule lily somehow trapped inside the stone. I turn it over and peer ever rather closely. It appears the flower grew inside the stone. I feel a strange flow of protection run though my hands and up to my heart. I drop it from fright. Father picks it up and drapes it around my neck.
“This necklace is exceptionally special to Isolde. I am pleasantly surprised she gifted it to you. It is said to have come from the deepest darkest mountain range of her Realm. Many knights gave up their lives to retrieve it. It is positively one of a kind. As are you my sweet. It is time to feed.” And with that he leads me back to my bed where fresh sanguine awaited.
***********************************************
Tonight’s is La Fête de Premières. As tradition in the Fleur Realm demands, each new Royal coronation is to be celebrated for five consecutive nights. This practice began with King Rolland of Volterra, who loved celebrations and festivals. He created most of the traditions we keep true until today. The first coronation festival was for Queen Fleur, to whom King Rolland named this Realm after. It is said he wanted to honor her Grace, Beauty, Wisdom, Vitality and heart for all beings. He never liked the pomp and circum for himself, but enjoyed watching his people celebrate. He created the coronation festival to show Queen Fleur the vampryic ways and each night is a reflection of one of those traits.
One spring King Rolland was surveying the lands he had recently inherited, when Fleur stumbled into his vision, bloody and weeping. He reached for her and in a flash pulled her up onto his stead, just as the garous came charging out from the tree line. It was four to one and these were odds he was not willing to chance with this particular pack of garous, whom are known to be utterly heinous. But his horse was a mighty stead and as the story goes, he outran them and back to his newly built keep before they caught up.
He leaves Fleur in the care of his mages to try and heal her wounds. Her leg was badly mauled and she was losing fluids rapidly. He summoned his best knights to his side and with him, the nine rode back to the field, where it did not take long for the four garous to show themselves. However, they have back up as six other garous step out with them.
A gruesome battle ensued. King Rolland and his men barely had time to get off their horses before the garou leap into action. The visceral sound of bones snapping and crunching beneath the strength of the pack leader’s fist hitting Rolland in the jaw, leaves him dazed for a moment. But the moment was brief and Rolland was immediately back on his feet, sword in hand, slicing and stabbing the garou with skill and experience. He loses 2 men in the battle, though many say one was protecting King Rolland at the last second and took a fiendish clawing. This also allowed Rolland the time to get in the final killing blow.
They carry the dead back with them. Rolland rushes to Fleur, to show her that her attackers were stricken down. This gave her peace. The mages were unable to do much other than stop the bleeding. But she had lost too much blood and was finally ready to allow death to come, knowing her death had been avenged. But Rolland had become too deeply enamored with her to allow her soul leave this earth forever. He fed on the last of her sanguine fluid then fed her his. The later in the night she awoke with new strength and beauty. Her wounds had completely healed. Grateful for awakening her, she agreed to be his queen.
On the following full moon, her celebration began. The first night was entitled La fête de premières. During this jubilous occasion, he asked the guests to provide Fleur with a genuinely singular gift that shows the guest of honor a glimpse of our society’s powers, gifts and culture. The blood and liquor flow freely, loosening the morals of most of those attending on this night.
The Masquerade on the third night is my personal favorite, though I have always been too young to attend, until now that is. Everyone must don masks and not reveal their true self to me all night. I am to spend the evening guessing each guest’s identity, through clues and mannerisms. It is altogether a fun game. If you guess their identity correctly, they must remove their mask for the rest of the night. They tell me there is a special reward for the one who can guess all of them. It has only been completed once and that was Queen Fleur. I feel up to the challenge, finally a chance put all my years studying all the noted beings in our history to proper use.
It is time to finish preparing myself. Arthur soon arrive to escort me to the main tent. This is going to be a wonderful evening.
***************************************************************
Twentieth of May, 1208
Thymesage Gardens
Half a night’s travel
Northwest of Fleur Castle
I am officially Princess Lady Elizabeth Isabella Rainia Augustus Demonte of the Fleur Realm.
The last five nights have been such a whirlwind of events. My mind is still processing everything that has happened. I guess I should start at the beginning.
“Such a shame, Isobel could not be a part of all this”. Duchess Ingrid said to me. She is the first person to greet me during the inaugurate reception line.
Why, yes, you horrible old hag. It is an atrocity that my twin sister had to be banished for what was an attack on her grace and be unable to share this celebration with me. The bastard deserved what she gave him and Iso was unfairly punished but I must play the game and put on my royal mask as I have been trained to do. I hate having to lie and fake my way through conversations with these horrible judgmental sanctimonious ancients, who must be bestowed respect simply by virtue that they are some of the oldest known vampires not in temporal sleep. Thus I smile and mask my condemnation for this horrible old woman and the lies slip off my tongue with practiced ease.
“Why yes, Duchess, I mourn each day without my sister. But the darkness was consuming her. It was for the best.” I dab the diminutive tear the escapes my eye on cue. I bow as she presses the gift in my hand and moves on.
Her gift was entirely unimpressive. It was nothing more than pair of violet silk handkerchiefs embroidered with my initials in silver dragon thread. It is an adequate gift, but they strongly failed in the rare category as I had already received several other pairs. But I accept it most graciously, and then move on too much more appealing gifts that spread throughout the evening.
Most of my evening was spent in my specially made throne that will take its place in the Fleur castle throne room after my coronation. I received many gifts, it would take me too much time to catalogue them all. I gave that task to Marie, thus I was free to concentrate on the festivities at hand. I believe she is still on this task, as we speak.
One of my favorite gifts I received was a purple silk cloak, dyed to match my eyes. It is from Princess Sereleth of the Draconian Realm. It is made from dragon spider silk and is embroidered with over 1000 crystals and gems. The candlelight sent prisms flying through the room as I twirled over and over again. It is a flawless complement to my dress. The simplicity of my dress was accented by the ornateness of the cloak. I refused to take it off the rest of the night.
King Jack and King Kile of the Svarog Realm performed an marvelous magical mystical medley it is rare for them to perform since taking control of the Svarog Realm during the fourth age. But for me they dusted off their instruments and performed for possibly the last time.
They are my favorite rulers. They personally have come to all of our festivals and every holiday we have celebrated for as long as I can remember. They even come to just visit me twice during the year. Their performance was astonishing. They performed a medley of songs, enchanting the audience with an enchanting blend of high and low points. Their music is energetic and melodic. It was all together singular; all of the beings in attendance gave them a rousing applause.
Even as exceptional
and positvely spectacular as that performance was the most extraordinary gift of the evening came from The Mages of the Ursa Realm. They performed a ritual that allowed each vampire within the tent to be immune from the effects of sunlight for two hours. To watch the sunrise, feel the warmth on my face, was a true treat. It has been ten days since I last felt the sun warm my skin. I had no idea how much I would miss that. Night can be utterly cold. The older vampires were skeptical at first, but when the fledglings did not catch fire, they began their way out into the light. The sunlight made their eyes sparkle as the tears flow free. The warmth of sunlight cannot be described to a human. No human could ever understand how much power sunlight contains.
Though I received many gifts, which I will treasure and remember, I could never possibly keep them all, the rest will be distributed to my human goules as tokens of my appreciation for their devotion. I have a rather meager group right now. The number of vassels you are allowed is determined by your status, resources, and the number of total humans that live within your borders. These limits are set to protect the human population and to make sure we have a clean, well fed food source. It is of the utmost importance to treat them well. You must keep them well fed, clean, and feeling loved. They provide me with blood as I need it, make my clothing and accessories, as well as provide me with security during the day. Father had to limit the number of goules I was allowed, for in my current station, I only have enough resources to support 20. In comparison, Max has 112 goules tending to his every need. He has garnered his own resources from various trips and missions. This is on top of the royal stipend he receives each new moon from our royal coffers. He has received many titles and rankings through his travels and Samaritan deeds. Lady Jesica looks overwhelmed by the number of goules caring for Max. They are almost always around except when he wants his privacy in his chambers and that there is always someone waiting outside his door to meet any need he might have. They all have their own specific duties and it looks to me like Jesica feels a bit in the way. She wants take care of her luv as she did in Lorechester Castle. He was all hers and I have deduced that she misses that intimacy they shared.
On the second night, Nuit de la magie du sang, I am lead out to a clearing in the garou woods and using the power of the stars we begin a spell that will bestow protection on me for the 100 years. Everyone proceeded to create a pentagram as they began chanting.
A single atheme is passed around for each person to spill 10 drops of blood onto the earth. I am blindfolded and placed in the center of said pentagram. I receive the atheme last. I slice each of my palms open, then with one swift movement I thrust my hands into the earth. The fluid spilled by my guests began to absorb into my flesh. It is a strangely intoxicating feeling.
From this point on, no sanguine fluid is to be spilled after the completion of the spell until after my coronation. The next couple of nights are spent dry. If anyone is caught spilling, even a drop of blood, they are sent to the Tomb for one year. For some, a single year in the Tomb is no big feat and worth the risk to slate their thirst, but for most, the box is not a place anyone ever wants to see the inside of. It is located somewhere in the southernmost region of this planet. It is a large tower with no windows or doors. The only way in or out is through a mirror in the Justininus Realm.
After the spell is complete, we wander through the woods back to the castle where we spend a quiet evening in the courtyard with minstrels and dancing ladies. The Svarog Realm has provided us with performers for the evening. Their skill and grace is unmatched. They swing from the trees on long sheets of glimmering fabrics. This is a true spectacle to watch.
I first caught a glimpse of him as we were wandering back to the castle. I was walking with Marie, as I caught him gazing at me with this piercing stare. He has deep sapphire eyes that catch the gleam of the moonlight. I could feel him watching me, but each time I looked his way he was looking in a different direction. I began to feel as mad as a hatter. I tried to get closer to him but each of my attempts was laughably thwarted. My first attempt to get closer, Father pulled me away to meet Queen Dolores from the Urus Realm. When I was properly able to pull away, I spotted him near the front talking with King Jack and I begin to make my way casually, but I feel that was my downfall as Arthur pulled me back to be introduced to the Emperor and Empress of the Zhang Realm. After a proper greeting, I tried to make my way back over, but he had disappeared into the crowd. Just as I spotted him talking with Pierre, Marie pulled me away to head back to my tent. I had to change dresses; this one had been stained in earth and blood. I caught his piercing eyes watching me, just as Marie pulls me into the tent. I ducked out one last time, but he had already disappeared again. It would not be until the following night that I would finally get the chance to speak with him.
***********************************************
The third evening began magnificently. I was doing fairly well, that by the second hour I had guessed almost everyone’s identity….
Everyone’s except for his and oh how I tried…
I ran through the entire lineage of all known vampires and yet I could not place him. That only left the ancients who are older than known word, but they are all supposedly in final slumber or perished in one of the ancient wars. I searched my limited knowledge but his identity continued to allude me.
He swiftly approached me to ask me to dance. I mean yes, I was the Guest of Honor, but I could feel everyone in attendance following our every movement and for the first moment, I can recall, I felt shy. My years of social etiquette had not prepared me for this, for the way that he looked at me. The intensity in his eyes made me feel like he knew my darkest secrets without me speaking a word. There was an aura of passion flowing around him.
I eagerly accept his offer and he gracefully leads me to the dance floor. Time was running out to guess his identity; I needed to make the best use of this moment. The guests parted way for us to take the center floor and then just stood back, as if memorized by our every movement.
I immediately lost my composure and forgot everything but being in his presence. I wish I could remember more of our first conversation. He had me intoxicated by his manly smell and his skills at the art of dance. He swept me off my feet and had me dizzy. I honestly believe he wanted to keep me slightly dazed therefore I could not guess his identity, yet. He twirls me around and around; everyone’s faces begin to blur. I hear his words but cannot remember anything he said. Only the musicality of his voice.
The bells began to chime to signify the midnight hour… How had time gone by that swiftly? Had we not just begun to dance? I know I have disappointed Father. He was expecting me to be flawless tonight. I had studied earnestly; I knew all of the guest that had been invited. I turn and begin to walk away but this mysteriously handsome man sees and pulls me back in for another dance, during which he asks if I would like to walk in the gardens. “I shall reveal my identity by the light of the morning if you agree to allow me to steal the rest of your night…”
I know my duty was to stay, mingle and wassail with my guests but as I looked around at it all…
All at once, the appeal was gone. All I can hear is chatter and noise. Every interaction felt hollow somehow. It made no sense yet all I wanted was nothing more than to spend as much time as possible with this magnificent stranger, who has captivated me thus far.
I signal to Marie and let her know of my intentions. She gives me her most disapproving look then turns and as we leave I see her running over to speak with Arthur. He quietly converses with Father then hastily follows behind us… acting as my forever faithful guardian, never giving me any time alone.
It was an excellent night for a stroll in the gardens. There was just a slight breeze, which kept the loose hairs that had broken away from my braid, tickling my cheek. I can only half
listen to him speak. His melodic voice blending his words together into a wonderful melody. His eyes kept teasing me with this glint and gleam which only I could see. I know if Arthur saw it…. well, he would definitely not approve. He would feel that I was being too suggestive, but the mystery did not scary me and the man made me feel safe.
He still is wearing his amber dragon mask. It is designed to mask his face and make his steely blue eyes pierce through the eyeholes and speak of his experience and mystery. As we gaze further into one another’s eyes, I see how the edge of his eyes have a firestorm circling the darkness of his pupils. The way he gazes tells me that he sees me as a woman, not as a young girl, like Arthur, Father, and most others in my life do.
“Huh?” I say, startled as I had not heard his question
“I was asking you of your time here as a child. Did you play out here often?”
“Oh yes… Hide and seek was our favorite game.”
“Our?” he asks innocently.
“Umm yes… I once had a twin sister who was taken away when we were 12…”
Hastily trying to change the subject, I pointed to a narrow nook inside the bushes, “That was my favorite hiding spot. You could see anyone coming in all directions… Iso always found me though…”
A brief image of Iso chasing me through the gardens floats across my vision. A few tears well up in my eyes, unsure where the sadness is coming from, I attempt to cover it up with a smile, as I blink away the tears.
“I am sorry for bringing up painful memories” he says gently offering me his handkerchief.
I smile gently at his thoughtfulness, dabbing my eyes then placing the handkerchief back in his gloved hand. As I do our fingers intertwine and it is as if the entire world has slipped away and all that is left is the two of us right here, holding hands.