The Vampire King's Mortal Mate

Welcome?

"Tobias", Gildor greeted with a nod of his head. He didn't want to seem more cordial than he should for fear of coming across as friendly. He certainly wasn't a friend of these creatures.

" I trust the Journey was not as tiresome as the queen's countenance would have me believe, your grace", Tobias inquired as he looked with concern at the slender queen as she stepped down from the carriage.

" The roads of Moorhen are far more travelworthy than these treacherous roads. If it were up to me, I would spare my queen the horrors of traveling on them", Gildor retorted with a scowl on his face.

"I apologize if our lands are not suitable for my lady's comfort. I shall make the necessary arrangements to see to it that she is well rested in time for the conclave, your grace", offered Tobias.

"As you should!", Gildor stated with a tone of finality as he ushered his queen past Tobias and into the Bloodtooth castle. Tobias was careful not to meddle in the politics of the conclave past the usual pleasantries and welcome committees. The species rarely got together like this and now that they had, every precaution had to be taken to ensure it would be peaceful.

He swept his gaze away from the elven couple and towards the lycan delegation. He could only recognize one of them, Arthur. He had been in the last conclave meeting. He wondered what happened to the other members of the delegation that had visited the last conclave. Given the violent nature of lycan politics, he wouldn't be surprised to learn of their deaths.

" Good evening, Arthur ", he greeted as they approached him. They had waited for the elves to proceed past Tobias before approaching themselves.

" I wouldn't think you to be naive, Tobias. A gathering of the species under a roof seldom has the potential of anything good", Grimaced Arthur as he spoke. He rubbed his shoulder as he walked. Laying on the wooden floor of the carriage was far from suitable and his body spared no effort in making sure he recognized that.

"This is Lawrence and his brother Karl. They are here with me", continued Arthur as he introduced the other members of his party.

" Very well then. If you may, the servants will show you to your lodgings as we prepare for the conclave to begin", Tobias said as he ushered them towards the castle.

"By all means. The wooden floors of my carriage have wrecked their havoc on my hide".

The brothers chuckled as they had grown weary of Arthur's incessant complaints about the inadequacies of their traveling vehicles. They walked past Tobias and into the castle threshold while Tobias remained to give strict orders to the servants regarding the placement of property and other related instructions.

Gildor and his queen were ushered to their lodgings, as were the Lycans. Tobias wondered what fate held in store for the night ahead. It irked him to think that he wasn't in control of whatever might transpire. He prided himself on organizing the Bloodtooth family's affairs and although he wanted the conclave to proceed as planned, he knew it was never going to be as simple as drawing up a hunting attire for his lord Marcus or summoning Lady Lilith at Marcus' behest.

Tobias's thoughts were interrupted by faint scents. The other vampire covens had honored their invitations. They were now in Bloodtooth territory. Tobias stiffened himself and straightened his gait. Vampires were the most critical of all the species and he was the representation of house Bloodtooth. Whatever flaw they sensed on his person would be regarded as a bloodtooth flaw. Tobias had been trusted with this responsibility owing majorly to his attention to detail and his carriage of himself.

He had scarcely caught their scents before they phased into plain sight. Albert Finehair and his sons first, followed by the intimidating frame of Gregory Goldbane accompanied by his daughter. Tobias felt a chill creep up his spine. He had fought alongside these men in the blood wars and he knew just what they were capable of. Seeing them here again brought back memories long buried.

"My lords", gesticulated Tobias as he bowed before the men.

" The boy has no manners", hissed Gregory

"He sends his servant to bade us welcome to house Bloodtooth?"

"On the contrary, my lord. My lord Marcus has his hands full with the elven king and the Lycan delegation. He wouldn't voluntarily neglect important members of the court such as yourself", Tobias was skilled at spinning words to deflect building emotions.

" Leave him be", smiled Albert

"I have yet to see you welcome your guests personally Gregory"

"Do you compare me to the Bloodtooth boy, Albert?", inquired Gregory.

" Comparisons are for the unsure. You'd be best served focusing on the reasons for your visit and not your criticisms of etiquette".

Albert didn't wait for Gregory to come up with a response as he walked past Tobias and following the assigned servant, made his way past the castle threshold and into the castle.

A look at Gregory's face, red with aggravation and dissatisfaction nearly spurred Tobias to laughter. He restrained himself and bowed once more as Gregory made his way past him and into the castle as well. It would seem that the conclave was ready to begin.

Gildor watched his queen as she lay supine on the bed. He hoped she would fall asleep and probably sleep through the entire conclave but knowing Mandi, that would scarcely happen.

"Are the furnishings to your liking, my queen?", he inquired with an air of criticism in the way he spoke.

" I hear a lot of anger in your voice Gildor. Surely, this isn't about the furnishings or how I feel about them, is it?".

Mandi had mellowed since her outburst on their way to the castle as she was getting her much needed rest. The journey had been long and tiresome.

"Come lie with me. It would displease me to think that your mind is occupied with thoughts of the species while we're alone in a bedchamber, dear Gildor", persuaded Mandi.

The suggestion was perhaps all Gildor needed to hear as his face widened into a delightful grin. He could not stand the thoughts of these beasts with whom he shared a roof tonight but how he felt about his beloved queen was another matter entirely.

" Did you see how fast they were?", Lawrence was buzzing with excitement. He and his brother Karl had watched the vampire elders arrive earlier and were narrating the experience to a disinterested Arthur. They were young Lycans and this was probably the first time they had seen a vampire let alone an elder breed.

"There is much for the both of you to learn. I would advise you to try to remain calm and be less jovial about your stay here. Most of the species here tonight would take your life without a moment's thought if they thought you were a threat for any reason", cautioned Arthur.

The excitement which had previously rocked both Karl and Lawrence died down as they imagined what it would mean to have these creatures as foes. Fear washed over their young minds as their minds spun images of horror.

" Fear will only serve to make you more vulnerable to your enemy. You are not these hopeless idiots who now stand before me. Remember what you had to do to get here and who you represent. You are lycans and they should be the ones running scared of you".

Arthur's words ignited a flame in the heart of the young Lycans. The fear they previously felt slowly melted away to give rise to anger at themselves for being so cowardly. Arthur knew they wouldn't make the mistakes of looking down on themselves anymore.

As with all Lycans, there was the constant need to prove one's self and remain fierce in the face of adversity. Arthur liked the fire that now burned in the eyes of the young Lycans. They reminded him of his first conclave. He had fared even worse than they.

Not many lycans would come face to face with Aldrich Bloodtooth, the butcher of the blood wars and not tremble. He had attended the conclave with Ardin, one of the many fatalities of the blood wars. He had grown weary of counting how many scars the brutal wars had left on his bleeding heart. Too many good ones had been lost and for what?, to satisfy the hating hearts of the humans. Arthur gritted his teeth and turned his gaze away from the lads. The memories of the wars were too painful to relive.

"Do I smell fear in the lycan camp?", laughed Gregory. His keen ears had picked up the parts of the conversation where Arthur had warned the boys about the other species and it had excited him so.

" You would think the lycans knew the true extent of their power", he continued, trying to bring his daughter Margaret into the conversation. He was sure she had also heard the exchange between the lycans but if she did, she certainly didn't show it much to the displeasure of her strife loving father.

"Margaret?", he nudged. " Are you alright?"

"I am well father, I have no interest in discussing the affairs of dogs", she retorted, killing any hopes her father might have had of continuing that conversation. Much unlike Mandi, Margaret didn't have any desire to attend the conclave. Her father had persuaded her attendance.

Margaret was a beautiful vampire. Aided by the affluence her father commanded, she enjoyed a very comfortable life. Her beauty was second only to Lilith's, the main reason her father wanted her attendance to the conclave. Her father had always strived to encourage a rivalry of sorts between Margaret and Lilith, a facet of his grand plan of undermining the Bloodtooths.

Margaret and Lilith didn't share any bad blood between them, at least not yet. They barely even knew each other. Margaret was annoyed with the way her father coaxed her to hate someone she had barely met. She had always been a free spirit and if she was going to dislike anybody, it was going to be on her own terms and not her father's.

A knock on the door saved her from the harsh rebuke she had earned from her father.

"My Lord Gregory, I have been asked to inform you that the proceedings of the conclave will begin shortly and your presence has been demanded by Lord Marcus", Tobias announced from the other side of the door.

" We'll be with you shortly", grunted Gregory as he turned his angry eyes back to his daughter. This conversation was a long way from being over.