Almost Lovers

by Cassidy Raindance

  Prussia let out a whimper as I pulled up to the house.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  I made a motion to put a hand on her shoulder but pulled my hand back after remembering how she had pulled away from my hand before. I thought it better to give her some space after everything that had happened.

  “You brought me here before,” she said, “You really think this place is safe?”

  “No one would think to kidnap you from here,” I said, “…not a second time,”

  I realized that didn’t sound as assuring as I had meant it. And the track record for the guards in protecting Prussia had been continually lacking at best. This gave me all the more motivation to take it over myself. This time, to make sure our defenses were as good as or better than I had left them years ago when I had followed Lydia into her banishment. I never should have left.

  “I’m not holding my breath,” said Prussia.

  I couldn’t blame her for her skepticism. I would be too in her position. But looking at her face I could see the night had taken a deep toll on her. Her eyes were sunken in, her complexion had a sickly dullness to it and the tone of her voice rang of defeat.

  I came around and collected her from the car as carefully as I could. She motioned as though she wanted to walk but after a few steps she faltered and began to collapse. I caught her as she began to fall and picked her up. I cradled her as I had before and carried her up the steps of the castle. She closed her eyes as I reached the door and I knew that those few steps had been too much.

  I could feel the faint moving of the air from her breath as the door opened for me. I walked in with Prussia in my arms, covered from matted head to tattered toe in blood. She looked more dead than alive and a sea of vampires parted from the entrance to the Queen’s ceremonial podium on the grand staircase.

  I walked slowly so as not to jostle Prussia. Each vampire we passed turned to stare. I could see that much had happened during my short mission to save Prussia. It looked as though the entire court had shown up in the middle of the night. To an unaccustomed visitor, the dress and mood of the room would appear as a very formal wake for a dearly departed relative. It wasn’t.

  I passed some familiar faces and some not-so-familiar faces. All of them parted to make way for me and to murmur comments to their right and left at what I carried.

  I could hear the sound of voices in the heat of argument as I approached the Queen’s podium at the landing of the grand marble staircase that graced the center of the castle. I knew one voice particularly well, and another I knew better than I wanted to admit anymore.

  “I cannot be tried for merely knowing a vampire that brought harm to your pet,” slithered Lydia’s high pitched and aristocratic drawl as she stood in front of an audience, as well as the Queen, “And while I don’t know that vampire outside of casual acquaintance the thought that she could be put to death when she had no way to know that your precious Prussia had the protection of the Queen...it’s preposterous!”

  “She knew very well as I had told her in your very presence,” I boomed at Lydia, standing in all her theatrical display of wounded and wronged dame on the steps much lower than the Queen on the platform, “And as I told her I would before, I killed her when I found her after she had kidnapped Prussia from the Queen’s very room and tortured her in a warehouse. The exact location you told me I could find her, and I did,”

  Lydia gasped in shock and horror at what I said. I took several steps up the staircase to the platform and turned so that the court could see the damage done to Prussia, covered in injuries and blood.

  “You see,” cried out Lydia, she regained her posture and pointed to Prussia in my arms, “He admits he has murdered a vampire-”

  “We performed a clean sweep and a total of 34 vampires were given the eternal death,” I said, cutting her off, feeling obligated to correct her.

  A loud gasp went up throughout the court. A look of shock and outrage appeared on many faces though when I looked out into the crowd, some were merely intrigued. Perhaps they were the oldest and less inclined to feel sentiment over loss of vampire life.

  “This is genocide of our very species,” proclaimed Lydia, “I think I speak for the court when I demand that you give a fair and just sentence as Queen to your grandson for the genocide he has committed against our species and our laws,”

  “I ordered it,” said the Queen, loudly and unwavering, “And I’m pretty sure you, with your past indiscretions, don’t adequately represent the voice of the court let alone the voice of our…species,” the Queen said in a condescending and silky tone.

  I had to hide my surprise as I climbed the remainder of the steps to stand on the platform with the Queen. I heard a slow roll of chuckles bounced around the court at the Queen poking fun at Lydia’s past shames.

  It didn’t do anything for Lydia’s temper though and it looked as though she had actually bit down on her tongue to keep her temper in check. I looked for blood to start dribbling out of the corner of her mouth. She had turned red in the face but I didn’t see a single drop before she spoke again.

  “Genocide by the Queen herself is still genocide,” Lydia said with defiance, pointing at the Queen.

  The room went still with only a murmur or two coming from the court as they watched to see how the Queen would react. The Queen stood relaxed. She had always been a master of her emotions long before I had ever been an inkling of an idea in her daughter’s mind. I stood holding my own breath, waiting to see how the Queen would react.

  “And what is a good Queen to do, then, Lydia?” asked the Queen with a calm voice.

  I knew that voice. The tone the Queen used now had always been and would always be one of calculation. Whatever the Queen had decided to walk Lydia into – Lydia would no doubt be blind to it until it was too late.

  “Select a new Chancellor immediately to oversee the rule of law once more. Relinquish the throne as you are unfit to rule, unable to separate personal gains and pleasures from rule and justice,” said Lydia, her noise pointed stiffly up and her arms crossed with a solid nod that dropped every few words as she looked out at the court.

  “And what of your treason,” said the Queen, “Shall I hand over your case to the new Chancellor that you might manipulate the law in your favor per your usual …skill sets.”

  This time there were decidedly female voices that rolled with laughter at the insinuation. The Queen had decided to continue to poke fun at Lydia – making a show of the entire ordeal and it looked like Victoria had the court in the palm of her hand.

  “A female Chancellor would be a breath of fresh air,” said a woman toward the front, one I recognized from one of the Queen’s counsels but not sure which.

  “Name a Chancellor, choose a successor and relinquish the throne?” mused the Queen aloud, “Such an interesting proposition – hardly a King or Queen in their right mind could refuse!”

  Now the lords and ladies of the court openly laughed as it sounded absolutely absurd when repeated. I let a chuckle out as well, though mindful not to shake Prussia as she lay still unconscious in my arms.

  “I will take your suggestions under advisement,” said the Queen in amusement, letting a hand wave out over the court and hearing the roll of laughter once more, “And as I consider it-,”

  “And what of your grandson?” asked Lydia.

  Lydia had become beyond angry. From her stance I could tell that her patience had been spent. She had never enjoyed being laughed at. She must really be trying to dig her heels in. She had managed to fail miserably thus far. I began to lose interest as the circus act dragged on. I needed Prussia to be seen by the doctor sooner rather than later and nothing would come of it until this entire ordeal dissipated.

  “My grandson,” the Queen’s smile faded slowly as she looked down the steps at Lydia, “Yes, I gave him commands to kill any in his path in order to secure Prussia. She is the human you so informally refer to her as though I hadn’t instructed her tit
le firmly as Lady to you first and foremost. There will be no judgment or sentence to oversee now or in the future,”

  This time I didn’t expect to hear the unrest and unhappiness come from the court but I should have. Vampires had always viewed humanity as a sort of breeding, roaming, free-range cow farm. The idea of a pet had always been tolerated but killing over a vampire, especially in vengeance, had been established as illegal even before my time.

  “This is blasphemy,” shouted someone from the back, “Vampire before Human,”

  I watched as one of the counsel leaned forward and whispered to the Queen. It seemed the court unrest couldn’t be ignored. Even with Lydia as a mouthpiece, the court stood behind her on it. The Queen nodded her head and the counsel member, one I hadn’t seen before, stepped up to the podium to speak.

  “Councilwoman Plurth, if the court shall have me,” she said in a very ceremonious and mundane way.

  “We shall,” murmured the court as a staggered whole.

  “The Queen had been in her jurisdiction and right, as she had previously given warning to all those in proximity to the throne, of the boundaries concerning Lady Prussia,” began Councilwoman Plurth, though with audible whispering and comments in the crowd, “with death a reasonable and expected result for anyone found to attack a member of the Royal family,”

  Even I didn’t by that line. Prussia wasn’t part of our family. It seemed like a really big stretch to give family title to pets and property which is where this could easily head and become a giant mess.

  “What are you saying,” Lydia laughed at the Councilwoman’s explanation, “That our pets are family? Shall every vampire that attacks a random human owned by another vampire be held accountable as though they attacked the owner instead?”

  The Councilwoman looked to the Queen. The Queen nodded and the counsel woman returned to her spot among the other counsel. The Queen returned to the podium.

  “I am delighted to publicly announce the engagement of Prince Sebastian to Lady Prussia,” said the Queen, looking directly at Lydia, “And with this announcement finally made after much preparation though not a time or occasion I would have liked to have highlight it, I believe the court will see the significance of Lady Prussia to my family and the protection that provides.”

  I looked to the Queen and tried my best not to let my complete and utter shock show on my face. But I almost dropped Prussia right where I stood. The Queen gave me a glance and a smile but I had no idea what she had been thinking. I didn’t know if it would even work but if I knew this court at all, and Lydia, no one would be thrilled at a Prince marrying a human. It had been a serious legal stretch that wouldn’t stand up in our court.

  “Only a vampire may marry a Royal, You know this my Queen, better than anyone,” said Duke Rutledge, a face I knew to often grace the court. He had been off to the side listening intently to the entire proceeding.

  “No such specifications or requirements are made for engagement,” said the Queen, “And attack on one engaged to a royal is the same as attacking the Royal himself,”

  The court became a loud roar as the Queen’s words fell on the crowd. I saw some confusion, some anger, even some amusement though I knew a few feminine faces with disappointment. One of those faces in particular that caught my attention stood closer than any other. Lydia looked as though the Queen had lined up everyone in the room to slap her one after another.

  I had never known Lydia to be speechless but she didn’t have a single word while the room talked loudly at a mile a minute. I no sooner got over the shock of the announcement myself than wondered how Lydia would take it when her eyes found mine. I felt a small shiver down my spine at the hate that burned in her eyes, her fists balled up and her teeth clenched tightly. The thing she had wanted most, for us to be wed, had just been given to a human in front of the entire court as she stood there on the steps for all of their eyes to see. For any lady in the court, the insult didn’t get any greater than that.

  “As her status is secured as a future member of the royal family, Lady Prussia will henceforth hold position and title of her Royal Chancellor as she has been prepared over the course of several weeks to assume this role,” announced the Queen, “And Lydia…”

  Lydia looked up at the Queen, hatred still burning in her eyes. I could feel the waves of anger rolling off of her. She could snap at any moment and it would not be good for her – it could mean her death.

  “I’ve taken your suggestions under advisement. I’ll let you know when I get around to relinquishing my thrown to my heir and his new bride,” said the Queen.

  I couldn’t believe Lydia had held her tongue as long as she had. I felt as though I watched a bomb ticking, ready to go off.

  “Genocide, betrothals and now a seat overlooking the entire Royal Court all for a human, your pet?” yelled Lydia at the Queen, “Could there be any more manipulation and bending of the rules of your own court for your personal satisfaction?”

  “I’ll remind you why the position is open to begin with,” said the Queen in a low but booming voice dripping with warning and challenge, “As you bed my son while wed to the late Chancellor and were coward enough to let your maker take a stake for you after you murdered your own husband, my dear friend, in an attempt climb to a seat of power, the same seat Prussia is poised to sit. Please expand on your own personal experiences in manipulation of this court as they are all gathered here at your very hand, are they not?”

  The room fell completely silent. After a moment a voice could be heard from the back of the room.

  “Let us hear it from the human herself,” suggested the voice, a man, “so that we might know the face of the human that might one day sit in your very seat, my Queen,”

  Diplomacy at it’s best. The Queen hesitated and then turned to me, still standing just behind her holding Prussia in my arms.

  “Can she stand?” asked the Queen in a whisper.

  “She cannot,” I whispered in return, “I don’t think she’s even conscious,”

  “For the best…but you must still bring her forward,” said the Queen quietly as she stepped aside.

  I walked forward and I heard as noses began to sniff the air. Her blood still coated her thickly and a scent could be a fingerprint in a room like this.

  “She has been here before,” a man said from somewhere in the crowd, “I know her smell,”

  And then I heard a light smack and the same voice said, “What?!” as though having been reprimanded for something they hadn’t realized had been inappropriate. Probably a jealous lover or spouse hadn’t liked that he had known her scent so well and identified it so fast.

  “I’ve seen her in the Chancellor’s office,” said another more quiet voice, “in passing,” the voice added quickly.

  “What do you say to this, Lady Prussia?” asked the Duke that had spoken before.

  “My betrothed has been tortured throughout the entire evening in an attempt to hurt the Royal family,” I said, addressing the court, “She has been drained almost entirely of blood and must be given immediate medical attention. She is unconscious and has been this entire time,”

  “When can we expect to hear from her?” asked the Duke, thoughtfully petting a dark goatee with white streaks.

  “Shortly, but not tonight,” I said.

  “I still demand a trial!” said Lydia.

  “Certainly,” said the Queen, “Would you like your own?”

  A final wave of laughter went up throughout the room.

  “If any members of the court, forming the majority, motions for a trial to oversee the legality of my orders this evening please state your motion now or forever hold your peace,” said the Queen.

  “I motion for a trial,” said Lydia, who then turned to the room and looked for a second to her motion. She was met with a cold silence in the room. A cough from the back could be heard and nothing more. I watched as she stomped down the steps and headed towards the door.