The Vampire King's Mortal Mate

The Duchess Of Illyria

The day had breezed by rather quickly and nightfall loomed over the horizon. However the setting of the sun had little effect in swaying the celebratory spirits that were abundant in Malfrost tonight. Leah had excused herself from court. She needed to get back to her room and change to more appropriate clothes for the feast tonight. Her mother had instructed it.

It had been a tiresome day at court welcoming the lords and ladies who had responded to her father's call for festivities. It appeared the brotherhood of the northern shield was a well kept secret, as every attempt she had made to talk about it with her mother after she had briefly mentioned and educated her about it in the morning, was rebuffed rather fiercely.

She wondered why her mother had been so confident as to mention it in front of the maids without fear of gossip spreading, but then again, the gossip seemed to have the desired effect, spreading the knowledge about the existence of such an entity without really providing details about it's members or their activities. This added to the mystery of it all, it seemed.

She had spotted the Duke of Olta and his Son Rodric. The poor boy looked crestfallen, he almost always did. His father Elias always seemed to delight in expressing his disappointment in his son's manliness whenever he got the chance. Leah felt it was a method of being indirectly rude to her as he knew that the Duke's hate of his son's guts stemmed mainly from the fact that she had turned the young earl down.

The thoughts about the duke and his son never bothered her, she was merely concerned that the boy would find his happiness snatched by his father's lofty aspirations. She wondered if her father knew the real reason behind the Duke's eagerness for his son to court her and whether he could see through it as clearly as she did.

She walked through the hallway in company of her maids, deep in thought. It was hard to think that the duke would make such a power play without the blessings of her father, the most powerful ruler in the north. Could it be that her father was complicit in the Duke's schemes? Could it be that he had sanctioned them?. Leah put a hand to her head, rubbing her temples soothingly as all the smiling and loud greetings had caused a slight throbbing headache to her head. She was over thinking this, her father wouldn't betray her in such a manner.

She wished Guinevere was here to discuss this and assure her that she wasn't being overly suspicious, but she had other duties to attend to as the queen, her mother, was a very difficult woman to please and Guinevere was deemed the most competent maid on the palace grounds. It was only natural that Guinevere's service gravitated towards her mother's fastidiousness, a match of mutual satisfaction.

"My lady"

The guard posted at her doorstep always addressed her kindly whenever he was required to open her doors to allow her entry. She wished he would stop, she certainly didn't feel as important as she was being made out to be, after exploring the possibility of being used as a pawn in the power driven exchange between her father and the Duke of Olta.

Her stomach tightened at the thought of being used in that manner. She wished to lock herself up in her room and deny them the pleasure of her presence at the feast tonight but her mother had given stern instructions and she would be wise to heed them.

The maids had been instructed to help her change into a second dress which her mother had picked out and ensure she looked her best for her second appearance before the nobles tonight. She walked to her inner chambers quietly and solemnly, the night losing the excitement she had looked forward to for the better part of the day.

Her maids followed her, chatting excitedly. They were obviously buzzing with the ecstacy of being in the presence of so many young male nobles. The young earls of the north have been known to look forward to the feasts of Malfrost and as they would say, "The palace maids at Malfrost would be princesses in other kingdoms".

The thought brought a smile to her face as she stood in front of the giant mirror, she allowed the maids undress her and waited as they fetched the components of her new attire. Her mother, the queen had clearly outdone herself on this occasion.

She had no complaints however, she loved the expressions on the faces of whoever laid eyes on her, and the attention she garnered in whatever gathering she chose to grace with her presence. This was her mother's expectation of what the princess of Malfrost should act like and she was growing into this very satisfying role.

The maids worked quickly, fastening and attaching various articles of clothing onto her body. The Queen had ordered that they be quick about it and they worked as fast as they could, it was wise to keep the high queen happy. It took a little while for them to finish and when they were done, any reservations Leah might have had of returning to the throne room for tonight's feast had melted away. She looked beautiful.

She heard the door open and peered out from her inner chamber to see who it was. Guinevere had entered rather unceremoniously and flashed a big smile at her as she hurriedly walked towards the inner chamber. Leah was quite giddy upon seeing Guinevere and laughed excitedly as she exited the inner chambers and spun around for her to get a good look at her dress.

"This looks so beautiful Leah, my girls have done a good job it seems", complimented Guinevere.

She made the compliment whilst still observing her keenly, she knew the queen would be much more critical than anybody else at the feast and she needed to make sure all was in order before the princess made her appearance at the feast.

" Oh! Don't worry Gwen, I think she'll love it", remarked Leah, dissuading Guinevere from inspecting her further.

"Alright then, I do have specific instructions on how your hair should look though", Guinevere said, agreeing with the princess' growing frustration with her mother's attention to detail.

" Uuuurrrrgh!!! If mother would just let me be!!", sighed Leah as she allowed Guinevere lead her by the hand back into the room she had just come from to begin the styling of her long red hair.

Leah had never been the patient type and easily grew bored of her mother's exhausting preparations. However, she had grown to feel much more confident whenever she got into one of her mother's beautiful dresses than she normally did, so it was safe to say she loved getting dressed but didn't like the copious and rigorous methods her mother usually prescribed to achieve it.

Guinevere had begun styling her hair and as she put pin after pin into the great red bush that grew on Leah's hair, the hair took shape and increasingly looked much more organized and presentable than it usually did. She flashed a big smile at Guinevere through the mirror, she was so good at these things, a big reason why Leah and her mother, the Queen herself were so insistent on Guinevere's service.

"There now, all done", said Guinevere with her hands rested on the princess' shoulders. She beamed with smiles, proud of her work.

The door opened for the third time this evening to let in an impatient Queen.

" Guinevere, on the old gods, I asked you to hurry it up", she raised her voice, intent on scolding Guinevere as she entered.

She froze as Leah stepped out from the inner chamber, her already beautiful dress masterfully adorned by Guinevere, her hair stealing all the Queen's attention.

"Oh child!!", she exclaimed, spreading her hands invitingly towards the princess. Leah didn't need another invitation. She hurried towards her mother and they locked arms in embrace. Cilia disentangled briefly from her daughter and took a moment to fully take in the beauty of the entire ensemble.

Guinevere walked out of the inner chamber with a naughty smile on her face, she knew she was absolved of all wrongdoing with how pleased the queen looked with her daughter.

" Well come on now, the feast is starting", the Queen said, flashing a knowing look at Guinevere, she always found ways to escape her anger by being annoyingly competent, a trait the queen loved about her maid but would seldom admit.

At Guinevere's signal, the maids surrounded the princess and escorted her from the room on their way to the feast. Cilia hung back a bit, and Guinevere reading her body language, stayed with her as well. She waited till the princess was out of earshot till she spoke.

"I see how close you are with Leah. She practically loves you as much as she would love a sister if she had one. I'd ask a favor of you, put in a good word in Rodric's favor. I need this to happen", the queen said rather quietly. It sounded more like a command than a request, Guinevere being wise enough to know the difference.

She didn't wait for Guinevere to say anything, her silence being affirmation enough. Guinevere knew how desperate the queen was to see her daughter be happy and enjoy her life, unashamed of the stigma that came with her terrible nightmares. The whole court at Malfrost whispered of her affliction, a pain she wished on no mother.

If she could help ease that pain by swaying the princess in favor of Rodric, she definitely would. She owed the queen that much. She worried however if the princess would find any such happiness at the courts of Olta.

She started walking, picking up her pace to catch up with the queen and was soon walking quite close to her as they made their way to the feast. The sounds of drunk men and flirty women, the tune of rare melodies and the artistry of the most talented entertainers in the realm grew louder and louder as they approached.

The princess had gone before them and Guinevere trusted her maids should have gotten her seated and with her father by now as she had given the necessary instructions.

The hall had suddenly gone quiet and they quickened their pace partly in curiosity, to find out who or what had caused the silence.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the duchess of Illyria", a calm male voice announced.

They caught sight of her as they entered, she had flowing white hair with skin as radiant as a fleshly blossomed rose. She was beautiful and full of smiles, saluting the king and crowd of nobles as she took the stage.

The audience grew quiet as she made to speak again, her charisma seizing control of the atmosphere.

" My most benevolent king has asked me to sing here tonight as a gift to his beautiful daughter, the princess Leah Barathea", she announced, her voice clear and filled with love. She had scarcely finished speaking when the harps and the array of musical instruments behind her struck up a slow and melodious tune.

Guinevere looked up at Leah sitting close to her father, as did most of the audience. She was giddy with excitement and smiled back at Guinevere. Guinevere laughed under her breath and turned her gaze back to the duchess. They were about to find out if the tales about her carried any truth.