Her Forbidden Alphas

5. Departure To Castle Dread

Ivy’s POV.

The sun had just set and I saw servants loading the carriage in which Charlotte and I would be riding in. I was going to miss my home, it’s all I have known for all my hundred and eighteen years. I did a whole lap of Midnight’s Keep before I made my way to the front. My mother and father were waiting at the front of the Keep with the Royals as well as Charlotte and Sir Marcus.

“Lady Ivy, we are ready for departure. If we leave now, we will get there before the sun sets.” The King said.

“My dear daughter, we will visit within a week to discuss more of the marriage details.” My father said.

I was going to miss both of my parents but I was glad that Charlotte would be by my side. Even though this is an arrangement and my father is only coming to discuss more details with the king about the arranged marriage. I knew that it was mostly because if I were to carry a child to the prince, that child was not only the heir to Dread castle but also Midnight’s Keep.

“I will miss you, my daughter, but I will see you within the week. After that, I will arrive the night before the wedding.” My mother whispered while placing a kiss on my forehead.

“Take care of each other until I arrive.” I heard my mother say as she also gave a kiss on Charlotte’s forehead. It wasn’t long until we found our way into the carriage. Just when we were about to move, the door opened and, to our surprise, Prince and Blake boarded our carriage.

“I would like to get to know my future wife on this twelve-hour trip. And since you are her best friend, I suppose I should get to know you too,” Blake said, as we felt the carriage begin to move.

I watched as we saw my parents become tiny dots in the distance. When they were out of sight, I began to turn my attention toward the prince and Charlotte. They were already chatting away like best friends. I was glad that they were getting along. It meant a lot to me. After a few hours of Charlotte telling the Prince that his ‘future wife to be’ was a full hand, she fell asleep. I was sort of glad about that, I felt embarrassed by some of the things she told him. Even though he laughed about it, I still felt embarrassed.

“So, Lady Darthe.” He said, looking at me. “You are not only known for your beauty but also known for rebelling against your father.”, he said with a sly grin.

“Prince Blake, I assure you that they were my teenage years. I’m sure you did similar things. Occasions where you would disagree with your father and demand some sort of change?” I said, questioning.

“Of course I did. My father just taught me that my kingdom and people come before my own childish needs.” He said. “Not that I’m calling your rebellious behaviour childish.” He added quickly.

“I understand, your highness,” I said.

“Please, Lady Ivy. You are to be my wife. Don’t use any form of formality to address me. It’s just Blake to you.” He said so sweetly. “unless, of course, you are addressing me in public.” He added. I nodded my head at that statement.

“It’s okay if you have trouble with that, I’m sure my mother will do a great job at training you to be queen.” He said a bit more seriously.

So, he didn’t see us as equals. That didn’t bother me as much, I was more glad that he was sweet towards me. I was, however, excited to spend time with his mother and get to know her more.

“So, lady Ivy, tell me what is your favourite colour?” He said, changing the subject, which I was thankful for.

“Blue.” My answer was quick, without hesitation, and it seemed to bring a questioning look to his face.

“Why?” He asked, sounding curious.

“Because just outside of midnight’s keep, there is a river that flows at its warmest but doesn’t move at its coldest. The colour it makes during the two stays the same, blue. Whether it’s light blue or dark blue, the colour feels so calming because it’s the colour of the water.” I said, not thinking about the fact that I said it out loud. “Sorry, you probably think that I am weird about finding the colour of water calming,” I said, feeling a bit embarrassed from my confession.

“No, not at all. If anything, I find it unique,” he replied. It caused me to feel a bit better.

“What is your favourite thing to do?” He asked, “like in your free time?” He added.

“I like to wander the woods around the Keep. There are things I find around the Keep that I don’t know about until I come across it.” I said.

“I usually do that until my father forbade it.” He said in a serious tone. “So you're a daydreamer?” He asked.

“You can tell,” I said, as I felt that I was turning red. He just let out a laugh, no doubt from my embarrassment.

All of a sudden, the carriage seemed to hit something, causing us to bounce a bit. In that split second of us bouncing, it caused me to fly up and land on Prince Blake. He and I struggled for a second before we got our imbalanced bodies in check.

“Wow, I will leave you both alone for a second and you are already trying to make a baby,” Charlotte said sarcastically as she was waking from her sleep.

Her statement caused me to blush, but the prince didn’t seem to be phased by it. Charlotte yawned and stretched as she poked her head out of the carriage window.

“So where are we about?” She asked sleepily.

“We aren’t far now, about two to three hours before we reach Castle Dread,” he answered.

I just realised that he didn’t tell me his favourite colour or the thing he likes to do in his free time. I made a mental note to ask him the next time he and I get to have some alone time to talk. We sat in silence for the last two to three hours. Charlotte, however, made weird eye signals for me to say something, but her weird behaviour was more than enough to keep me occupied.

The prince and I shared glances and smiles from time to time. But I guess we couldn’t really talk about anything else because of Charlotte’s presence. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved my best friend and was happy that I was allowed to bring her along. I was just not that comfortable talking to the prince while in front of her. He was so sweet when talking to me alone. I had noticed that when he was speaking to me and Charlotte though, he sounded different. He sounded more serious when telling his stories or answering random questions that Charlotte asked most.

Charlotte went and asked him if he had a girlfriend before. That question was embarrassing on my behalf and I don’t think Charlotte even thought of that. His answer was, however, no, the king doesn’t allow such a thing. Mostly because of the fact that Vampires could only bare one child. Even though Charlotte's question felt uncomfortable for me to know, I was pleased to know that I wasn’t the only virgin. Well, I would assume, since he says he hasn’t had a girlfriend before.

“We are here.” The prince said, taking me out of my thoughts.

Charlotte and I peeked out of the window of the carriage. We saw the castle and it was huge. It was at least five times the size of the Keep. The name of it sure did match the way it looks on the outside too.

“Lady Charlotte, Lady Ivy,” Prince Blake said, “Welcome to Castle Dread.” He said so proudly.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Castle dread Charlotte and I couldn’t stop eyeing it off... Charlotte’s mouth was literally left open as she was in awe of the size of the place. It was way bigger than my father’s Keep and it seems bigger than what I remember from my last visit.

“I don’t remember it being this big,” I said out loud.

“We have had new towers built within the last hundred and fourteen years since you and your father last visited.” The King said as we got to the top of the stairs.

“Well, I see the name of Castle Dread does indeed live up to its name,” Charlotte said.

“Indeed it does,” I added to Charlotte’s statement. We followed the King and Queen as servants began to unload our belongings.

“You must be extended from the journey. We had rooms set up for you until the wedding. Please, for now, rest, then we will get to know each other in the morning,” The queen said.

We bid the King and Prince farewell as the sun was about to set. The queen showed us to a servant who had white hair before she left for her chambers. The servant had led Charlotte to her chambers rather than me to mine. I couldn’t help but notice that she looked way too pretty to be a servant.

“Your chambers my lady.” The blond servant girl spoke. “I have been assigned as your maiden, so feel free to call on me anytime you wish, my lady.” She added with a bow.

With that, she left as I was tucked in bed and slowly drifted off to sleep within the place I would soon call home.