When Darkness Meets Light

The Fates Have Been Cruel

Queen Aimee, Queen of the Vampires.

(Three weeks before the meeting)

I wake up in my bed early. Even though I have just barely awakened, the weight of my own responsibility hits me hard. I am a young queen. I’ve only had my crown for a few short weeks. The main thing on my agenda is repairing, if possible, the relationship that we had with the dragons. I don’t know why, and no one knows why, my grandfather killed their king…..but the amount of blood that has been split, both humans and vampires, is far too great.

The money that I spend on soldiers and on keeping our borders, could be spent building schools and feeding starving people.

I headed down to where I’m meeting my mother. The previous queen. Her people adore her, but she is not your average queen. She was the daughter of a league of assassins. Her target was my father…. She couldn’t follow through with her kill because the fates made them mates. As she went to kill him, his eyes stopped her. He had so much love for her, as any vampire does for his other half. She was a human and him a Young Vampire King. I believe that the only reason that he is still alive is because of her. My grandfather put a target on all of our backs that fateful day.

All of us Vampire children have been trained by her. There is myself and my three younger brothers. We can recognize traps, poisons and know how to kill more creatures than I can count. I’m heading now for more training with her. Not that I blame her. The attempts on my life have only increased as I have taken the throne.

I walked into the room and she is standing there in her all-black training outfit.

“Good morning my lovely daughter.” She says with a smile. Although she is ruthless, she is still my kind and warm mother at heart.

“Good morning, Mother.”

She hands me a fake knife. Not sharp, of course, and we spare. I manage to land a blow that would have killed her and she smiles at me. We continue to spare…I marvel at her strength and speed. She has trained her whole life, but she is still human…and I am a vampire, well, half vampire.

I see some movement out of the corner of my eye and I see my best friend and lady in waiting, Jane.

My mother uses my moment of distraction to land what would have been a kill shot.

I smiled at her and turned to my friend.

“What do we have here?”

“A confiscated painting that was meant for your cousin.” My friend says.

My cousins are not friendly. They did not agree with my parents' marriage. Fated or not.

“I fail to see why this is important.”

“Well, the painting is of his majesty and his dragon…it is rumored that they were to be betrothed…until he met her.”

I can’t help but laugh at this. My cousins are beautiful. Like my mother, like their mother, but they’re lacking in…some basic humanity. They’re cruel and calculating.

“I figured, since you were planning to meet him, you might want to see what he looks like first.”

“Not a bad idea, daughter. You can get a feel as to who he is. Maybe plan your meeting accordingly.” Suggested my mother.

I nod and my friend removes the cover and all of the air goes out of my lungs…everything in my being knows that he, in a cruel twist of fate, is my fated mate.

His grin in the painting looks to be one of someone who didn’t want to be there. His hand rested casually on a large golden dragon. His tanned skin, light hair and blue eyes…he is the light to my darkness. His tall muscled frame has probably helped him break a few hearts.

It took everything in me not to sob right then and there. Vampires rarely find their fated mates…and mine hates me. The other half of my own soul hates my family and I can’t blame him for it.

“He is very handsome..obscenely so.” Said Jane.

“He looks confident and full of mischief.” Mused my mother.

It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop as I tried to pull myself together.

“…the fates have been cruel to me….he’s my fated mate.” I say out loud and it feels like something is stabbing my heart at the admission.

Both women gasp, including the servant holding the painting.

“My lady…are you sure? To find your fated mate is rare? To find one in your enemy…” stammered out Jane.

“Well, it won’t be the first time.” Said my mother, and I couldn’t help but smile at that. She and my father are perfect together. Even though they came from different worlds. The humans and vampires alike love her. My father loves her with everything in him.

But my mother didn’t hate my father. She was simply paid to kill him. I don’t think that the Dragon King will listen to me. Let alone fall in love with me.

I look at who painted the painting and I know this artist. He is a vampire himself. They must have paid quite a penny to convince a vampire to paint a dragon King. What would take humans hours, days, vampires can do in a matter of a few minutes. This includes something like painting a portrait.

“Bring me this artist who painted this and any of our spies that know anything about this King of Dragons.”

—

It’s been a week since I saw that painting and everything that I’ve heard about finding your mate is true. That face in the painting has been all that I have seen in my dreams. Once I felt whole, now I feel like something is missing.

But I have to remind myself that it’s impossible and focus on the task at hand. Ending the war and taking care of my people is what matters most.

I’ve now written and rewritten this letter to the King. Every time it feels too formal. Or something is wrong about it. I have to remind my heart that we’re writing to someone who is still our enemy. This must be formal. Not casual and open like I want. I finally send it and went over the notes that had been sent to me by our spies.

The King of Dragon’s is like most men and occasionally goes to brothels with his men, but he is known for not taking the women there. He’s even tried to outlaw the selling of one’s body and his sister started a rehabilitation school for anyone wanting to leave that lifestyle. That seems very well thought out on both sides. So he is smart and doesn’t just think with one of his heads.

He was known as a child for enjoying his studies and liked to read. That is something that we have in common. I’m an avid reader myself, but my life was easier than his. He had to take the throne at a young age.

He likes beer, not wine. He toils alongside the fishermen to help bring in food for his people. He’s active in his own empire. He knows his people and his people know him.

My heart aches. I wonder what would have happened to us if my grandfather hadn’t murdered his grandfather. Our families would have stayed friends and we would have met on friendly terms. He wouldn’t have known that we were mates. Because he is human and they don’t feel the pull like we do, but I would have had a chance to win him over.

I go over these notes and I make a plan for our first meeting. No guards, no announcers. I want us to meet like we’re just a boy and girl meeting for the first time in a library.