The Dark King's Bride

by Janessa Anderson

  Instead of a dark ceiling, the scene instead was that of a clear blue sky with the sun shining down on her, and several birds flying overhead.

  Wait…How…How did I manage to get outside? I don’t remember coming outside…

  Curious, Lily moved herself to sit up, and found the surroundings to be that of a field of wild flowers she used to play in as a child from the time the sun rose up to when it set down behind the mountains. Her body rose up to stand on her feet, and revealed that it was dressed in a flowing, pale blue gown with sleeves running to her elbows with a white trim around the openings to match the same trim on the edges of the dress, a square neckline to give her chest a break from the more confined ones that her mother had her to wear, and a skirt hanging down to the back of her calves. Lily grabbed onto the sides of the lower part of her dress into her hands, and had it to sway with her movements, making it swish to and fro. A soft giggle escaped from her mouth as she started to move about a little more, letting herself get lost in the moment.

  “Lily…”

  Her mother’s voice caught her by surprise and brought the moment of blissful enjoyment to an abrupt stop. Lily turned her focus down the hill of the field she was in to search out the source of the sound.

  Nestled upon the smoother part of the landscape, Marigold, Lily’s mother, was standing outside of a white stoned cottage, waving to her with a smile on her face.

  Mother…

  Seeing her out in the field, waving and smiling to her, brought a smile to her own face. She let go of her skirt, and started to hurry amongst the various flowers to get to where mother was waiting for her.

  I have so much to talk to her about! She is not going to believe me when I tell her that I am going to be marrying-

  An intense pain rushed through the right side of her neck so strong that it sent her body falling down to the earth, and landing on one of her sides. A soft cry left her mouth due to the intensity of a stabbing sensation hitting her heard.

  What the…What was what?

  She slowly rose herself to sit up on the ground, and brought one of her hands up to where the vibration had come from. Lily pressed her hand to the spot for a brief moment that was long enough to dull the pain before she removed it, and looked down towards it.

  On her palm, a patch of fresh, crimson fluid was against her soft, fair complexion, glistening the sunlight from overhead.

  Oh my…I-I’m bleeding…I’m bleeding!

  Terror spread throughout her to every fiber of her being upon seeing a fraction of her like fluid being in the middle of her hand like it was. She trembled all over from the discovery before herself. Lily’s gaze moved down to the gown that was concealing her curves, and widened in a similar horror from finding it turning from the pale blue shade to one that was the same kind of red to match the blood upon her hand.

  What…What is going on?! What is happening to me?!

  No sooner had she noticed the change in her clothes that a loud thunder clap caught her full attention. Lily moved her eyes to the sky, and found it becoming flooded with black clouds containing a crimson tint to them. The sight alone made her whole spirit quiver and shake in dread.

  “Get her!”

  She jerked her eyes down from the sky, and focused back towards where she had last seen her mother. Lily noticed instead of Marigold it was her father, Radcliff, and a small group of men holding lit torches and wearing swords on their hips. Her eyes tried to see if this was an illusion or if it was really Radcliff standing like he was with others from the surrounding area near their home.

  “Father…” She whispered, softly, aloud to herself. “What is wrong? Why-“

  “Get her!” Radcliff shouted in anger to the men around him. He thrusted a sword to the direction she was in with no mercy upon his face for her. “Kill the vampire queen before it is too late, and she escapes us!”

  Oh my god…He is going to kill me…My father is wanting to murder me for running away from home, and going with Daniel to his castle home! I have to get away from this place…I have to hurry before-

  A sudden shake to her body caused her to tightly close her eyes for a moment before they flew open once more as a shot of air escaped from her mouth. Looking around the area, Lily found herself to be back in Daniel’s private chambers with no sign of her father or the men wishing to destroy her.

  Was it…Was it all just a dream? Did I just imagine seeing my father wanting to slaughter me down with the other men…or…

  Before she could finish her thought, Lily lifted her eyes up once more to find Magdalene walking into the room with a white robe on one of her arms while she smiled towards her. She focused on her while her ears listened to her gentle voice.

  “Come along now, Lily.” Magdalene said, cheerfully. “It is already reaching the middle of the day, and there is so much to do to get you prepared for the wedding tonight to Lord Willows.”

  She debated on whether or not to tell Magdalene about the strange dream she had just witnessed in her mind, but decided to stay quiet. There was no way that someone would believe what she had to say about seeing something so wonderful and sweet turn into something dark, bloody and dangerous.

  With the dream lingering on her mind, Lily managed to give a nod of her head to Daniel’s maid shortly before rising from the bed, and moving towards her to put on the robe she had brought for her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Opening up the double doors to his den and private library, Daniel moved over to the large window in the room, and grabbed onto the flowing drapes that hung down in front of it.

  “So,” he asked, “what is so urgent, Richard?” His voice harbored an annoyed sound to it as he pushed them away to in order for the midday sunlight to bright up the room they were in. “This better be damn important for you to pull me away from getting cleaned up and things in order for tonight.”

  “Daniel…” Richard said, hesitant and nervously. “There are some…troubling reports coming from the town and the surrounding countryside where the farmers dwell.”

  “What seems to be the issue?” Daniel moved himself behind a large desk, and eased his body to sit in a large, black arm chair that was waiting for him as he continued to maintain his level of annoyance in his deep voice. “Are some of them quarreling with one another for more land or-“

  “It has to deal with your impending marriage to Marigold and Radcliff’s daughter.”

  His body tightened up, and went on edge once he caught the answer Richard had for him. Daniel slowly leaned forward on his chair towards the direction of the desk, and pressed his elbows on it. Maintaining eye contact with him, his voice had took on a slightly darker, serious tone.

  “What does my union with Lily tonight have to do with the people in the countryside who work as farmers or the ones in town who make their lives as merchants or shop keepers?”

  “There are rumors…That Radcliff has been rallying together a band of men from the town and the countryside for a…purpose.”

  “What is this ‘purpose’ you are talking about?”

  “To…make an attempt at stopping or interrupting the marriage ceremony tonight between his daughter and you.”

  Damn you, Radcliff…I knew you would do something out of spite of Lily becoming my wife and queen.

  He wanted to rip off the head of the person that was responsible for bringing his woman into this world, and put it outside the walls surrounding his home on a spike. The amount of rage inside of him burned with the same heat that was coming off of the sun outside of his home, shining down across the land, and only fueled the anger growing inside.

  “That bastard…” Daniel rose to his feet in the blink of an eye, and pushed his armchair backward with the strength of his bare feet having rested against the front legs of it shortly before he stood up. His voice trembled from the intense hatred inside of him beginning to pour out. “I have shown him nothing but the utmost respect and kindness the whole time I have served as king over this region…and now
he wishes to turn on me?!”

  “These are only rumors, my lord.” Richard’s voice shook, slightly, from nervousness instead of the rage that was in his master’s tone. “We have not confirmed this to be true.”

  “How many men is there assumed to be teaming up with her father, and coming here tonight during the course of our wedding?”

  “At least around twenty men, including Radcliff, Daniel.”

  “What kind of damage are we looking at if this is not a rumor, and they actually attempt to storm the castle tonight in order to stop Lily and I from joining each other in eternal matrimony?”

  “There won’t be any damage to your home tonight, my lord. Because I have already take the necessary precaution in hiring some of your very best soldiers to stand as guards outside your home to watch for any type of rebellion, as well as extra help to watch for anything that might happen during the ritual and assist in decorating for tonight.”

  Thank you, Richard. You always are prepared for the worst case scenario…and I am grateful for that.

  Daniel moved over to the large window, and looked in the direction of where the sun had lowered in the direction of the mountains. His attention drifted down to where some of the extra servants that Richard had hired for the night’s festivities to be walking and working around with one another. His eyes lingered on them for a few more moments before he moved them towards his advisor.

  “Since it seems that things are taken care of for the moment, Richard,” Daniel said, moving out from behind the desk, “I am going to excuse myself to get bathed and dressed for tonight since it is already getting late in the day.”

  “Very well, my lord.”

  “If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to come and tell me.”

  “As you wish, my lord.”

  He moved past Richard, and across the threshold of his den and private library. His body proceeded towards the stairs with his focus being on getting himself washed and dressed for the special event that he had planned for the two of them that evening.

  * * *

  Lily walked inside of her bed chambers behind Magdalene, doing her best to keep up with her quick movements.

  “Go right into the bathroom, Lily,” Magdalene said, cheerfully, “and slip into the tub. I have already prepared the water for your bath this afternoon before you are married to King Willows this evening at midnight before the royal court.”

  Afternoon? Wait…Did she just say afternoon? Is it already that late in the day?

  She turned her attention in the direction of where the glass doors of her balcony stood, and discovered the bottom of the sun’s rim to be touching the tops of the mountains in the distance. The sight amazed her to the very core of her being while startling it at the same time.

  How is this possible? I…I couldn’t have slept for so long without realizing it. I never slept through an entire day back home…My parents wouldn’t allow me to do that. I don’t see how-

  “Miss Lily?”

  Magdalene’s voice brought her out of the conversation she was having with herself, and back to the waking world that existed around the outer part of herself. She blinked her eyes a few times before managing to focus them onto the form of the maid looking at her with a look that seemed to be a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

  “Y-Yes, Magdalene?” Lily asked before silently cursing herself for her voice coming across as nervous and shaky. She took a moment to settle her thoughts and breathing before she spoke up in a more calm and relaxed tone. “Were you wanting to ask me something?”

  “No, my lady,” Magdalene replied, sincerely, “I was just wanting to see if something was causing you to have some doubt in your mind.”

  “Doubt? About what, Magdalene?”

  “It is normal for a bride to be nervous before she is married to her soon-to-be husband, and I was only merely suggesting that you might be doubting about your marriage to King Willows…Hence you staring at the balcony doors in the manner that you were.”

  The response she got from her caused the skin on her cheeks to blush out of embarrassment. She had left Magdalene, Daniel’s head maid, thinking she was nervous about the ceremony and that her silence that only lasted for a few mere moments were the cause of her experiencing some doubt about it.

  No sooner had she let what she said soak in, Lily shook her head side to side, feverishly, while doing the same gesture with her hands after bringing them up from her sides to a degree.

  “N-No! That is not what I meant at all, Magdalene!” Lily chose to not try and contain the already intense unease she was under after the dreams, and let it come out in her already shaky voice. “I am not having any doubts at the moment about being married to Daniel.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am absolutely sure.” Lowering her hands, she walked over to the vanity, and gazed upon her reflection for a moment. Lily looked at herself with reverence and a little twinge of sadness for just a few seconds before her eyes started to drop down, as did her voice. “I suppose…that…”

  “You can tell me what is on your mind, Lily…I will do my best to help you banish whatever is plaguing your thoughts, and making things hard for you at the moment.”

  Daniel’s servant’s kind words to her brought a smile to her face. She found the attempt to make her forget about what was wrong in her mind change her mood to a more brightened one. Lily silently thanked Magdalene for what she had done just then before she lifted her head up, and spoke to her.

  “It is really nothing, Magdalene…but thank you for caring enough to be concerned about me.”

  “Are you sure that there is nothing wrong? You can tell me whatever is on your mind.”

  “I am sure…”

  “Well then…I am going to go fetch your gown for the ceremony tonight while you wash up, and get yourself sparkly clean.”

  “Very well…mom.”

  Lily softly chuckled at the look she got from Magdalene from calling her ‘mom’ before she walked out the door. She let out a contented sigh, and moved herself in the direction of the adjoined bath chamber’s doorway. Her hands slipped the sash free from where it was, and let the robe fall off of her, naturally, as she moved in the direction of the tub.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Slipping into the hot water of his bath, Daniel leaned his head back against the rim of the tub behind where he was nestled, resting it. He closed his eyes, and let out a single breath of air, relaxing all of the tension that had built up inside of his body out of it.

  Now…I can really unwind…kick back…relax…and let all of my concerns and worries go out the window.

  Daniel slipped a little further into the state he was in at the moment, as well as in the water of the tub. Everything that had plagued him earlier on in the day during his conversation with Richard seemed to disappear the moment his body reclined back against the white porcelain surface of the tub, and the hot water started working its magic on his muscles.

  Just being able to take it easy for a few moments with the entire castle in an uproar over this wedding makes a huge difference-

  His train of thought abruptly ended due to the sound of frantic footsteps moving inside of his bed chambers that the bathroom was adjoined to, and heading to where he was confined to the tub. Opening his piercing emerald green eyes, Daniel turned his focus towards the doorway of the room.

  Moving over the threshold, Magdalene huffed and puffed for breaths of air while carrying his robe into the room. Her skin on her face had a red tint to it while she spoke in a more rushed tone.

  “Your clothes for the ceremony are prepared, and waiting for you to put on in the next room, my lord.” Magdalene said. Placing the robe on a hook sticking out from one of the nearby walls made out of onyx stone, she moved over to a side of the tube, and reached inside of her pocket of her uniform to retrieve a wash cloth she had gotten for him. “The ballroom is set up for the marriage in the way you requested it to be decorated and fixed in, the guards have increased in
numbers in order to protect everyone that will be here tonight, and the hired servants for tonight are working in the kitchen at this very moment on the meals that everyone is to eat once the ritual is complete.”

  “Very good, Magdalene.” Daniel spoke to her in a calm tone as an attempt to ease the feelings of nervousness and unease that he could sense radiating off of her. “You should relax yourself…I am sure that you have heard some mortal women saying something about what stress does to your looks.”

  “No offense…but I am so far in my old age that I don’t care anymore about what a little more stress in my life will do to me.”

  “I like how you think, Magdalene.” A deep chuckle escaped out of his mouth as he spoke to her. Straightening to sit up, Daniel kept his focus on her while maintain the conversation with her. “While most mortal women your age worry about putting more wrinkles on their face or expanding their waist lines…you are just doing whatever the hell you want.”

  “It comes with old age…and being your maid.” A chuckle that matched his light hearted one he gave for a brief moment escaped from her own mouth as she spoke to him. One of her hands extended the rag in his direction while she kept a light hearted sound to her voice. “After all…when my job is being a maid to a vampire king who does whatever he wants…what’s to say that I can’t let that influence the way I live my life as well?”

  “You do have a point.” Daniel accepted the wash cloth from her, and dipped it down under the surface of the water. “What is the point of being alive if you can’t do the things you enjoy the most?”

  “It wouldn’t be much of one.”

  “Agreed.”

  “If you don’t need anything else from me…I need to get back to Lily, and check on her to see how her bath is progressing.”

  “You may go…but…”

  “Is there something wrong, my lord?”

  “How…How is Lily doing this morning?” Daniel’s curiosity got the better of him, and forced its way out. “Is she dealing with the approaching ceremony okay?"