Bloodrose

by Cassidy Raindance

  “Take it back,” she said in a hushed voice, the anger so great it made her quiet, “You could never love that doormat over me,”

  “I happen to agree with the Queen,” I said in a lulled whispered, only loud enough for her ears to hear, “Prussia would make a much more agreeable wife…than you ever could have,”

  I think if I wanted I could pick her up at the shoulders and move her like a statue. That’s how rigid with anger she looked. I laughed and that did it. I saw her hand come hard and fast, the claws out and she gave me one solid slap across the face. The blood streaked down the claw marks and made it to my chin by the time the wounds healed.

  “I don’t want to see you,” said Lydia, “ever again. And I hope you know what you’re doing. I’m a force…,” she sucked in a staggered breath that almost seemed like crying, “as an enemy.”

  She stormed off down to where the Queen still worked into the night. I thought I could hear the echoes of tears hit the plush carpet and the sound of footsteps turn into running. At least she was in a place that loved to roll around in the misery and drama of others. The court would welcome her with open arms. The only thing missing was a door being slammed. Perhaps Charlie had followed her through the house.

  Chapter 16

  I hadn't said anything to Sebastian in days. I had avoided him at all costs, imagining different ways to tell him off. I settled for simply ignoring him. I had already agreed to the job Victoria had offered so I couldn't bail and I needed the money now that I had no job. But that didn't mean that I needed to talk to or see Sebastian.

  Most of the time, when I saw him, I simply glared at him and kept walking. Today was no different. I saw him in the halls of Castle Vecny, as I came to call Victoria beautiful family home, most days but I kept my lips pressed together and my eyes pretended never to see him.

  The first day of this I had been very hostile. I couldn't have talked to him if I had wanted to. The second day I had calmed down a lot but I still wasn't ready to confront him. And while I still felt furious now on the third day of ignoring him and not talking to him, I did sympathize.

  I had trusted him. I had thought that he had been genuinely interested in me. And it turned out he had been lying since day one. Just like me. The realization had been heavy when it hit. He had been doing the exact same thing I had been doing - maybe.

  I didn't really know because I didn't give him a chance to explain. Heck, I didn't even tell him why I was mad at him. I just stopped talking and taking his calls altogether. At least he had been calm and given me a chance to explain. It made me realize that I wasn't as perfect and blameless as I made myself out to be.

  But it didn't stop me from being angry at him. The hurt still felt real and the wound fresh. And of all people, to find that he had dated Lydia...it had cut even deeper. I imagine he must have realized it would have been painful knowledge. I wanted to think he had kept it from me for that reason and not some other motivating factor.

  I had to hope. I wiggled the house key in the front door of the Vecny home and found Charlie, the doorman, opening it from the other side. He smiled at me and gave a gracious bow.

  "Lady Prussia," he said.

  "Oh you don't have to do that," I said, "There is no one to see. I feel so silly with all this formality,"

  He smiled at me and opened the door wide, standing tall to let me enter.

  "If anyone besides the Q-" he coughed, "Lady Victoria herself deserves a lady's entrance; it is you, Madame,"

  I liked that Charlie was so playful. As a fellow early riser, I enjoyed the chipper attitude to greet a morning filled with work and doldrums.

  "Well, I will simply take that as a compliment and stop bothering you then," I said, trying my best at what I thought of as a curtsy.

  If I had curtsied incorrectly Charlie didn't laugh. He just kept his amused smile and wished me a well morning. Mornings starting out with whimsy had a nice feeling to them. I could get used to this kind of work. I wandered down the hall toward the office Victoria had set aside for me. It was a bit dingy and needed some sprucing up but it was close conveniently close to Victoria's own office.

  So close, in fact, that Victoria had spent most of the week pretending not to notice that Sebastian and I were not getting along. She had me working out of some old office by someone named Chancellor that was close to her own office. It was perfect for what she had me doing which at the moment was a lot of mindless filing and packing, really. Chancellor hadn't kept the best records and the notations and log books all looked like they were in some sort of code.

  Victoria assured me that they were a dry read and a different language, not an encryption. She had me focus on filing by dates and sometimes locations and then box up the records to move into storage so I had a place to work. While I hadn't expected a consultation position to turn into a filing position, I didn't mind what she had me doing.

  As long as I had a nice salary and a few benefits, I didn't see any reason at all to go back to being a cashier. What she would have me do after the office was cleared out that required a giant desk and a well cushioned chair, I had no idea but it looked promising.

  By the fifth time that Sebastian walked by the office as I was placing records in boxes, I was ready to take one of the boxes to the front of the house for storage. I wasn't even to the door with the box yet and Sebastian appeared, ready to take the box from me.

  "Can I carry that for you?" he asked.

  "I am perfectly able," I said, "It's hardly heavy," which was a complete lie.

  The log books felt like they weighed a ton but I kept my composure, kept a straight face and did my best not to wince or hunch at the weight.

  "I insist," he said.

  If the great nobleman really insisted I wouldn’t deprive him of a heavy box. I went to set the box down and he took it out of my arms. I was relieved. I didn't really know how much longer I could have held it. I rubbed my arms where the box had been digging in and cast my eyes downward, waiting for him to leave with the box.

  "I had hoped that we would talk," he said, taking a step down the hall that led to the entrance of the house.

  I still tried not to look at him. It was hard when I was trying not to scream the word 'hypocrite' in my own head. If I didn't give him a chance to talk, I couldn't be mad at him. It wasn't fair.

  "Five minutes," I said, stepping into the hall with him and beginning to walk down the hall along side him.

  He didn't need five minutes. He set the box down and grabbed my arm, spun me around and gave me a hug. He pulled me close and held me close to the curve of him. Caught off guard, I first tried to resist and then let go. I let him hold me and let go of my anger, even for just a few minutes.

  "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Prussia," he said to me, stroking my hair gently, "I never wanted to hurt you, which is why I didn't tell you,"

  "You could have told me," I said, "You could have told me when I asked you, that day at the bistro when I told you everything about me,"

  "By the time I got the courage to tell you," he said, pulling me away and looking at my face, "I felt like I had missed the moment and you wouldn't have forgiven me. I didn't want to throw my chance with you away, not over Lydia,"

  "You lied," I said, chin turned upwards. My anger started seeping in and I could feel my chest heaving a bit, upset and hurt, "You lectured me on trust, on honesty,"

  "Even?" he asked.

  His half smile and charm weren't going to win me over. Not entirely at least. I softened my look for a minute and then let my eyebrows and nose go up just a touch.

  "Not even close," I said, pulling even farther away from him and crossing my arms over my chest.

  "What can I do?" he asked with his hands open and pleading for a solution, "Tell me and I'll do it. Anything,"

  And in that moment, I had a flash of brilliance. It was a rush of anger, a spot of embarrassment and a cup full of jealousy all mixed together to make a lovely little mean cake. Lydia had just popped her head in the
door and it looked like she would be heading our direction any minute. With Sebastian's back to her, he had no idea and I had a perfect opportunity so long as I took advantage before she realized what had happened. I had the drop on her for once. I didn't know if it would work but I had to try.

  "Kiss me," I said, my chest rising and falling with the adrenaline racing through my veins at the thought of finally getting back at Lydia with her own game.

  "What?" he asked, his face full of shock and hesitation, not sure what to make of my demand.

  I knew I wouldn't get another chance at this and it had to be now. Lydia had closed the front door and would see us standing in the hallway any second now. It was now or never. I looked at him intently.

  "Kiss me like you've never kissed anyone in your life," I said, with a dead serious look and no-second-chances tone, "Now!"

  He didn't wait another second. He pulled my close to him, one hand on my neck and his other at the small of my back working his way down to my thigh and lifting my leg to wrap partially around him as he leaned in to kiss me. His lips hit mine with force and his tongue parted my lips with urgency and demand.

  Only as I melted into his kiss and my body responded to his impatient touch did I realize that what I had actually asked him to do, to me, in broad daylight in his grandmother's home. By the time our lips parted and I opened my eyes I knew what I had done.

  I had opened my eyes to the possibility of him for the first time. His eyes captivated me as he stared, breathless, face full of bewilderment. And with that first look into his eyes as a woman full of desire looks at a man with equal passion, I turned my face sharply to find myself nose to nose with his ex and her furious, seething gaze on me.

  "PRUSSIA!" She screamed less than an inch from my face.

  "Hello, Lydia," I purred.

  Chapter 17

  I watched as Prussia and Sebastian started down the hallway. I knew Lydia would be here any minute but I couldn't have counted on the timing being so perfect. A few moments later I could hear Lydia's chalkboard voice yell.

  "PRUSSIA!" screamed Lydia, echoing down the hall and into my office.

  If I could just get rid of this girl my life would be much easier, simpler. I resisted the urge to run out of my office to see what was happening. Good thing I had stayed seated because Lydia came bounding into my office huffing and puffing. I put a hand up and kept looking at the document on my desk, pretending to read it.

  "Slam my door and I'll have your hands cut off," I said, knowing her hand was on the door already.

  Her hand dropped from the door and she stomped over to the chair across from my desk and plopped down. She wasn't the most graceful. After a few seconds I looked up and smiled at her, wanting to know what had happened more than anything. I hadn't had this much excitement since her banishment and this proved to be much more entertaining and enjoyable.

  "Tell me, Lydia," I said, face as sincere as I could make it, "What seems to be the matter?"

  Lydia was still huffing and puffing. She was slouched down in the chair and I half expected her to put one leg across the arm of it.

  "Your grandson," she said, emphasizing the word, "That's the problem! He's out there tearing the clothes off of that human, Prussia."

  "I see," I tried to look as though I took her concerns seriously, but I was thrilled that he was moving things along even if it wasn't the best time or place for recreation, "I'm not sure I can do anything about that,"

  Her eyes went wide with fury and she jumped up out of her chair.

  "You tried to put me to DEATH over sleeping with your grandson," she shouted, pointing her long painted finger nail at me.

  I stood slowly and Lydia put her hand down and her huffing and puffing slowed.

  "I might listen," I said, "But if you want to keep your body parts attached you'll remember who I am and what I am,"

  She didn't say anything as I knew she wouldn't, not if she wanted to keep her tongue in her mouth and her heart from being staked. I motioned to the chair she had jumped out of.

  "It's just not fair," she wailed after sitting, "I just can't believe you would approve of him marrying her, a human, over me. Am I so bad?"

  I gave her a less than veiled look and she crossed her arms and sunk deep into the chair, a proverbial pout on her lips forgetting the current audience didn't play to those charms.

  "Marry?" I asked, realizing I had missed a beat somewhere, "Are you placing the cart before the horse?"

  "You don't know?" asked Lydia, "Sebastian told me you would prefer Prussia over me, can you believe that?"

  "No," I said, slowly taking in the idea, "I am as surprised as you are,"

  I leaned back in my chair and tried to think of the possibility. It hadn't been done often and when it had been done it had been outside of the court. There might be arbitrary case law of some type that I hadn't found that would clarify how it would be handled.

  "Could you imagine?" asked Lydia, her voice inflecting with her emotional outrage, "A human and the Prince? What would that even mean? What would that make her?"

  "I don't know," I said, thinking out loud, "I suppose that would make her your Princess,"

  I hadn't meant to say that out loud. Lydia's face went wild with repulsion. I needed to keep my tongue in better check around this court gossip. She might be a non-issue at the moment and a mild nuisance but I certainly didn't need to throw gasoline on top of the flames. She would have the grape vines assuming a wedding would be taking place this week if I let her wag her tongue all over the place.

  "I'd appreciate it if you'd not mention this to anyone," I said.

  Lydia seemed to draw herself up in pride, as if she couldn't possibly keep something like this from the court.

  "I need time to talk to Sebastian and see if there are any merits in these claims,” I said, "After all, he could be talking from a place of anger and hurt,"

  I gave her a sympathetic and pleading look. Lydia kept her prideful posture for a few seconds more and then melted.

  "We have had a lot of back and forth lately," said Lydia, "I suppose it wouldn't be impossible for him to be trying to taunt me. I did...I did wreck his car earlier this week,"

  I pursed my lips and nodded, trying not to say anything.

  "Give me the week?" I asked.

  She nodded.

  "I couldn't believe it before," said Lydia, "But I saw him in your own house, not twenty feet from your office door and I just flew into a rage,"

  Lydia's wore her surprise fresh on her face still. If Lydia had wrecked his car he could have been trying to get back at her. But he may have given me exactly the playing card I needed to protect Prussia from the court without even realizing it. It wasn't certain but with a little research it was possible that simply being engaged to Prussia could save her life.

  "You said you had wanted to see me?" said Lydia, still sitting, waiting patiently.

  I had forgotten entirely what excuse I had planned to use to get her to the office.

  "I'm such a tired old bat," I said, drawing a blank, "I can't remember, for the life of me, what I needed,"

  I smiled at her then and tried to look a bit tired. Lydia nodded her head, smiling back at me.

  "That's okay, your Majesty," said Lydia, "I can wander around until you think of it,"

  "No, that's alright," I said, "If I remember I'll write a note and fill you in tomorrow,"

  Lydia walked out of my office still flustered from whatever she had seen of Prussia and Sebastian. Whatever they had been doing had been enough to get under Lydia's skin and that meant it was more than just physical. She was losing her grip on Sebastian if she hadn't already and I couldn't have asked for more.

  I called in my legal team and let them know my interest in the engagement and marriage laws pertaining to Vampyrs and humans. While initially confused, once they were on the right path they began sending up a flurry of dust from legal books. The great thing about being the Queen, you get to delegate the crappy parts of the
job - like reviewing ancient legal texts from archaic times.

  I just needed one law, one case that I could use to keep Prussia safe in the court. And if it rubbed Lydia the wrong way on top of it then it was just sugar on top.

  Chapter 18

  The best part of waking up is when someone else is making breakfast. Unless you live with your ex-boyfriend and you have a worry that his sluty, home-wrecking girlfriend might be the one making breakfast, possibly naked in your shared kitchen. At least I had snagged the bed first last night. We had to do something about the sleeping arrangement. It sucked. I rolled out of bed and sauntered into the kitchen, un-brushed hair and sleep shirt paired expertly together. I also had a single sock on and no intention of looking for the missing one.