Hail White

Chapter 1

It’s 6 am. And I have to get up to start the chores for today. I’m so exited tomorrow is going to be my 17 birthday and at last I’m going to be crowned queen. My mother was human and my dad was the king of vampires. She was just a plain human, but was my fathers destined one and he was just smothered with her. She died when I was 3 years old, some rare disease that they couldn’t find the cure, she just simply fell asleep until her body started shutdown little by little.

My dad remarried the witch that treated my mother when I was 5 he said that I needed a woman in my life to get me through all the important stages and to have someone to talk to. She has always been nice to me. She told me that humility was most important to be a good queen and to know how to treat my people. She also makes me work around the castle helping the maids and doing chores around. She said that it was important to know how to do stuff in order to be able to have people actually listen to what you said.

Dad died when I was 10, he died in an attack that we think was our neighboring kingdom, but we were never able to have actual evidence it was them and we never got any more attacks. Our kingdom is like a safe haven to different species we have witches, warlocks, werewolves, vampires, elf and any other supernatural creatures you might think of. On the contrary our neighbors kingdom is strictly for vampires and they are very straight with ancient beliefs and traditions. Other than that I do not know what else lies beyond our borders.

My father was King Alaric White, and he built the kingdom from scratch fighting for his beliefs and to help others, the land he took as his was some unclaimed territory near the ocean, so our boundaries are the ocean on the west, on the east and north the vampire kingdom and on the south there’s a forest that its just as uninviting as inhabited, it gives me the creeps when ever I wonder that far. Of course I’m not allowed to go there.

I’m done changing and I’m going late because of all the fantasizing I like to do in my head. I run down to the kitchen and its already busy with work I immediately get to my post and start working on the desserts for dinner tonight, they love my apple pies, and this is the last time I will be working here so I wanna make some treats for them before I leave.

“Hello sweetie” I hear Miss Lirika shout from across the kitchen, she is a fairy, she is the head kitchen and she is in charge of giving the finishing touches to everything that is done here. I watch her as she flies around the kitchen throwing spices to different pots.

“Hello Miss Lirika” I greet back and get my self busy.

I have been given pity looks all my life so by now I just tune them out and do not pay attention to them. I really do not have friends here I’m busy all the time, and when I’m done with my chores I’m sent back to my room.

By the time I’m done in the kitchen it’s almost midday and time to clean up the ball room so tomorrow they can decorate it for my ceremony. Im so excited and nervous at the same time, my stepmother said she would be there by my side if I needed anything.

When I enter the room The grand ballroom lies as a majestic sight to behold, its soaring ceiling lost in a haze of glittering candles and shimmering stardust. The room's walls were adorned with intricate, gilded mirrors that seemed to stretch on forever, reflecting the dazzling chandeliers. A polished, marble floor gleamed like a still lake. Tall, arched windows lined the room's perimeter, their delicate, stained-glass panes filtering the moonlight and casting kaleidoscopic patterns across the floor. Velvet drapes, embroidered with glittering silver thread, cascaded down the walls like waterfalls of night. The room began to shimmer and glow, as if the very walls were infused with a soft, ethereal light. At the end of the ballroom a portrait of my father hung, and beside it, were my mothers portrait used to hang, a portrait of my stepmother now replaces it.

While I get to cleaning, swiping and mopping I can recall my father’s features by memory, his black eyes, like deep wells stare back at me, but they shimmer and hold piercing stare, fringed with thick eyelashes that add to the allure, expressive and emotive, conveying a sense of sensitivity. Blond hair, stylishly messy and perfectly imperfect, his skin is porcelain smooth, with a subtle radiant glow, chiseled jawline, high cheekbones

Strong and elegantly refined features. He was always lean and athletic, broad shoulders and a strong physique. Approximately 6” tall and he is dressed in a dark attire that accentuates his mysterious nature.

By the time I’m done with my internal monologue I’m almost done cleaning, I like to work fast so I can go to my room early and watch the ocean from my window.

As I’m finishing up can’t help but remember my mothers portrait, I don’t know it by memory but I like to go see it. My stepmother ordered it to be destroyed but some of the servants stored it into a spare room. So I tidy up and hurry to the storage room to leave all of the cleaning supplies, I can at leas have an hour before its dark and I need to be in my room. I go to the kitchen to get some of the days scraps so I can eat while in my mothers portrait room. There are some left overs on the counter grasped and I know miss Lyrika most have saved them form me as she always does, I only get one meal a day part of my stepmothers teachings “the people in our town come first and we should be able to sacrifice for them”. I hide in the secret passageway that lead to the room containing my mothers portrait, I really want to see it. Working around the castle has its perks, I’ve been working since my father passed and I know all of it by heart. As I reach the door I make sure nobody sees me entering and quickly close the door behind me.

The walls were lined with towering, Gothic windows that filtered the light, casting eerie, silver shadows across the floor. A magnificent, stone fireplace dominated one wall, its hearth cold and dark. Above the fireplace, a delicate, golden clock ticked away the seconds, its gentle chime echoing through the room like a reminder of the passing hours. The room was sparse, with little furniture beyond a massive, four-poster bed, its velvet hangings a deep, rich red that seemed to glow in the dim light. A small, ornate table stood beside the bed, bearing a single, leather-bound book, its pages yellowed with age. Despite the room's somber atmosphere, there was a sense of faded elegance. On the opposite side of the fireplace hidden between the curtains there laid the portrait, if you didn’t know were to look it would be unnoticed. I uncover it an wipe it down with my brown skirt, giving me a reminder that I need to go to the lake and wash my clothes tomorrow as its my day off. She has a distinctive and striking appearance. She has pale skin, with a freckled complexion. Her facial features are angular, with a sharp jawline and high cheekbones. Her mouth is small and red as blood, they say it was her natural color. She has deep-set eyes that are a striking green or hazel, depending on how the light hits on her portrait and are accentuated by her dark eyebrows and eyelashes. Her hair is naturally black you can almost see blue hues its long and wavy.

I’m a mix of them both, black hair as the color of a raven, but I like to keep it short its easier to keep clean, pale skin almost porcelain like my father’s. I’ve got his eyes, dark as the bottom of a well and they are fringed by thick eyelashes, and my mothers mouth small pouty and red as blood. I think I’m not beautiful not like the other human girls with a soft glow on their skin or colorful eyes, even though I’m a hybrid, my vampire side never seemed so show so we assumed I was completely human, I never had super strength or speed or healing abilities. Im just hopping my people don’t see me as weak if so I might lose the kingdom to the first person that decides to challenge me. And physically I’m no match for no one, I’m too skinny and about 5’5” so not very tall either.

I reach my room and open the door as I’m greeted by this space that I’ve been accustomed to, my room was a small, cozy space tucked away in a quiet corner of the castle. The walls were made of cold, grey stone, and the floor creaked beneath the worn, wooden boards. A narrow bed, dressed in plain, white linens, stood against one wall, with a small, wooden chest at its foot. A simple, candles-only chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting flickering shadows around the room. A small, wooden desk stood in the corner, with a chair tucked beneath it. A basin and pitcher sat on a nearby shelf, with a small, ornate mirror hanging above. The room's sole window was a small, barred opening that let in a sliver of daylight, illuminating the dust motes that danced in the air. A faded, tapestry curtain hung over the window, filtering the light and casting the room in a warm, golden glow. Despite its simplicity, this room felt cozy and welcoming, I sit down by the window and look out to the small path that leads away from the castle. I see my stepmother like every night walk away from the castle and into the darkness that lead to a nearby pond. I once snuck around and followed her..