Throne of Burden

Chapter One

There were two hardest moments in my life; when my sister got married and went I lost her forever. I thought her getting married to a faraway land was bad, I could not endure not seeing her for a day talk more of not seeing her for years, but my Carlotta had been so happy, her forest green eyes had shun like prairies and the joy of being with her beloved was far too great that it overshadowed kinship love. I feared for Lota; for the crown she would bear and the burden that came with it.

Her happy day was the day I dreaded the most, not only because I feared for the life she would live outside father's castle that sheltered us but for the secret I sure would carry for eternity. I thought it over, that I needn't relive it.

The last I saw my sister she looked so beautiful, not for the diamond that adorned her but for the happiness that shun from within. I was genuinely happy yet undoubtfully heartbroken. There was a myriad of emotions that threatened to tumble me over, but I was stronger. That was half a century ago.

News reached Vesta Noir that Carlotta; my sister had perished. How, how possible was that. She had barely sat on her throne, and barely enjoyed the joy of marriage and the privilege it brought. We knew that something had happened; the heart-wrenching pain of one's soul being split apart and the gaping hole that remained afterward had signified the loss of a loved one. My twin sister Loisa had fainted from the loss, while the remaining light I didn't know was left in my eyes had flickered out. I thought I was in pain, this was heart-splitting; I was numb.

It was said to be from childbirth. The death of our kind from childbirth was very rare and I found it very hard to believe that my strong sister could not withstand pain from the birth of a royal child especially when the child was her beloved's.

We held onto the hope that it was our Carlotta's heart breaking from the loss of a loved one, but the pain never did go away. It was already half a year by the time the news got to Vesta Noir, there was no use investigating. Lota and her child were gone. We didn't even know she was with a child. She had broken us all completely, not even a part of her was left behind. Carlotta is the pain we can never recover from.

The self-resentment began; I should have visited her when she missed home, I should have been by her side when she was birthing her child. I should have at least done something. I was powerless against my own fear. I lived my life in numbness; there was no longer color to it, it was bleak. I seemed to have lost the meaning of my being, and I told myself that I would be okay, that it was now my responsibility to ensure my family, my mother was okay; that we would come to live with the pain but I knew I would never be okay. Carlotta was my mother, and our mother was theirs.

Each time I walk through the corridors of our castle, they call out to me, reminiscing with me the sound of my sister's laughter, the grassland reminds me of her eyes and her blond hair I see when I close my eyes. I can always hear her calling my name; waking me from sleep, calling my attention, scolding me, cajoling me to give in to her. I could hear her footsteps outside my door at midnight and when I opened the door, not even her shadow I saw. Somewhere I knew my sister was alive, but what was the neverending pain.

There were three of us, now it's two; my twin sister and I.

I stood atop the stairs and stared down at my family dining below, and I thought to myself that it used to have Carlotta. She was like a nucleus holding us together, it seemed what was left of our bond was fragile.

"Good morning", I muttered, as I pulled a chair to sit opposite Loisa.

" Sleep well", Mother glanced up at me with her green eyes, those eyes haunt me and at the same time remind me that Carlotta once existed.

Mother needn't ask, she knew that since the death of Carlotta, I had barely gotten any sleep.

"I did", I muttered thanks as the help placed a plate of Casserole and a glass of blood before me.

I could feel mother's gaze as she tried to probe my thoughts, but I refused to give her the chance. She sighed softly before looking away.

" You've never been easy to read" " she tutted as she wiped her lips.

I would not allow myself to fall into her trap. That circle that makes one emotionally vulnerable was not my thing.

"If only...", She stopped short knowing that she had ruined the moment. She always does this, repeatedly reminding us of our loss when things get better. It was as if she was the only one grieving and we had moved on leaving her behind.

The air was stagnant; it was suffocating.

" Benita", Father warned.

"They had always been close and I would not need to worry about her if only she was here", Her throat clogged and she was barely able to get the words out. When would this cycle end?

Even if Carlotta and I had never been close, Mother would not have bothered herself with my affairs. I was used to her leaving me behind and this sudden attention was doing me no good.

Loisa's hand clenched around her cutleries. As her twin sister, I could feel the pain slowly radiating through her heart like poison, I could always feel her pain and I wondered if she ever felt the bone-chilling numbness that I felt. I would not let her go through such pain, so I always prevent it from getting to her. I wonder if it was that same barrier that exhausted our bond.

" But she isn't here anymore", Loisa raised her brows in rhetoric. Paying no attention to the damage her words had caused, she forked some of her food before putting it back in distaste.

"Lothan", Mother called out to Father as if to come to her aid, but Mother had never really needed anyone to come to her aid. That woman can very well own her ground.

Mother's green orbs thinned into red slits, but I guess they had both reached their limits; Loisa due to mother's inconsiderate attitude and mother for Loisa's insolence.

Loisa cared not for mother's anger as she nonchalantly sipped from her glass of blood.

Mother's canine elongated and she leaned forward waiting for something that would never come; an apology.

"It's been over a century, we don't need any reminder of our loss, not anymore. Carlotta is gone, it is us that is left, and do not project your expectations of Carlotta onto Thysera. Nobody wants to wear the skin someone else shed", She looked her in the eyes as she reprimanded her.

Mother's eyes glint dangerously "Oh you speak for her now?

" No, I speak for myself. I've had enough of this", Her green eyes ; window to her soul burned in indignation. I envied her. Unlike my grey stagnant orbs, hers burn like flourishing greens.

I knew what My mother would say in the next seconds

"If only Lotta was here", Her red eyes were quick to fade, and in those green eyes were unshed tears.

" Not again", Loisa flung her serviette into the plate.

As she tried to take her leave, the butler rushed into the dining hall.

"Sorry to disturb you, but a letter has just arrived", He paused to get our attention.

Mother raised her left brow in question, there had never been a shortage of letters what made this one special.

" From Tenebrous", Josef sighed for dramatic effect.

Subconsciously, we sat right after all it was where the Vampire King; my late sister's husband lived.

We haven't heard of that place in a century and we all tacitly tried to avoid mentioning it.

What could have made the King of all covens remember us?

"What is it about? I guess Father would rather he be told than read it.

As much as he tried to hide it, he dreaded it and there was resentment too.

" It's a call to holy matrimony",

Loisa gently sat back and Mother gasped in response. I could feel Loisa's eyes boring holes into the side of my head.

It didn't take long for my brain to decipher it even though the last I heard of it was when Carlotta was betrothed.

I didn't know what to feel, Carlotta was gone and he had to continue his life:he was tied to his responsibilities. I thought a century was a long time but it now felt barely enough for my sister's husband to get over his dead wife.

I wish he would stay single and honor her for the rest of his life, but how long was the rest of his life; one can't tell.

But a call to holy matrimony with whom, and why here?