Vampire's Bride

#1 The Bride

"I, king of Solaris, announces that I do not have a crowned prince." King Renard said. The crowd burst into murmurs. How is this possible? In the history of Solaris, there was never a time when a crowned prince had not gotten declared on the eldest son's nineteenth birthday. But here, they were witnessing this.

"Is that even allowed?" Someone from the crowd shouted.

"Our kingdom needs a crowned prince more than ever now!" Screamed another voice.

"This is not fair!" Another groaned.

"Does the king favor the younger one?" A voice pierced through others, making an effect, as all other voices came to a standstill.

Eyes flickered between this man and the King. King Renard was sending death glares to Hedwig. But did he care? No. He was the most powerful druid in the entire realm. He was there when the great war was fought, where they pushed the wendigos back to the south and the ogres to the north. He was there when the great King Adrian created the kingdom of Solaris. Other leaders followed Adrian's pursuit and leadership to establish their settlements, seeking his guidance while doing so. He has seen it all. And yet, he was standing here, still looking like he could take out five hunks without flinching.

"When did you wake up?" King Renard beseeched.

"Something woke me up. I want to understand why!" The druid seethed.

Hedwig was the only living Druid, at least, who was known to all. All others have either died in the wars that happened over the years. Or they have naturally stopped getting born. Druids are witches, but with a life so long that it made them look immortal. Druids can live over a few hundred years, but they have the ability to hibernate to restore their powers. It enables them to live longer lives. Some tell it is a curse, while others tell it was a boon. But only Hedwig can tell what was true. But who would dare to talk to such a fiery head with immense powers?

"Why would someone wake you up? Nothing is happening that we can not handle." King Renard groaned.

The animosity between Renard and Hedwig is well known. Renard married the only girl Hedwig ever loved. The thing is, Vampires are bestowed with longer lives compared to other species, but not as long as druids. They can live over a century and still be strong while the witches and humans had the shortest lives. But with the winters becoming worse and worse with each passing year, the life span was decreasing for every species.

Hedwig grumbled. There was no reason to speak about that now. If Renard has not woken him, then it could be the queen. He looked everywhere for a while, and when he did not see the queen, he left.

"Is it true, my king, that you favor the younger son?" A voice from the council, sitting on the left side of the podium, spoke. Guinevere was the fearless Witch queen.

"No. But in the history of Solaris, there never has been a case of twins. A matter of eight minutes does not seem to be enough for me to decide on the crowned prince. Apart from those eight minutes, Damien and Vladimir are equal in every field. So tell me, is there a way I can name two crowned princes? I withhold this decision until one proves to be better than the other. And now is not the time." Kind Renard explained the reason behind his decision.

It made no sense to most of the people present there. But it divided the group into two, a majority and a minority. To this day, everyone had assumed that Damien would be the crowned prince. He was the eldest. It was the tradition for the eldest son to be the King if he was able. And Damien was. He was skilled both in the field of education and swords. He was the people's favorite too.

It was only the soldiers who cheered in support of this decision. Vladimir has spent most of his time in the field, unlike Damien, who was giving more time to matters like those of politics, forging stronger relations. Vladimir was the rebellious child of the royal couple. He did not love reading and attending hours and hours of lengthy political meetings. Whatever time Vladimir had, he spent them hunting, training, or losing some steam. He was the unpopular, hideous prince. Vladimir had thousands of scars covering his entire body because of excessive fightings. It was as if all types of trouble looked for him and vice versa.

"The younger prince is not even interested in the crown." Henry, the werewolf alpha king, reacted. He was the representative of the werewolves in the council.

"Yes, but he is young. I made mistakes when I was young. Who has not? Henry, you had a mistress when you met your mate. So what makes you think my younger son is not good enough? He is one of the best swordsmen our kingdom has." King Renard beamed.

"Is the queen agreeing to this decision? She is not even here!" Manu, the human king, scoffed.

"Yes. The queen's absence is a royal private matter to discuss here." King Renard said in a bored tone. He does not owe anybody to explain his reasons. But he was the high king, and the reason these species were tolerating each other. One wrong move and no one would mind tearing apart each other. He can not be the reason the war broke out. Also, the matter with Hedwig was bothering him even more.

"Where are the princes?" Sylvius, the Elf King, appealed. He was the most poised among everyone present there. He spoke the least and loved to observe. If anyone could match up to the vampires, it was the Elves. So Renard looked at him in high regard. It did not sit well with others.

"It is a private matter. I will make the council aware of this in more detail after lunch." King Renard affirmed.

"Thanks for this gathering. The princes will make a public appearance in the evening before the grand festival." King Renard spoke to the gathering and walked out of that dreadful place.

Renard ignored all the screeching and yelling, demanding more explanation about their future. He was wondering if it was a poor decision to announce this in public. The queen wanted it to be an affair between the royals and the council. But Renard insisted that the kingdom have every right to know it.

The princes and the queen were probably still quarreling about this. He can only imagine. His head was aching with all the fuss in the morning assembly. The continuous grunts of the council members, the constant screaming and questioning of the crowd, still echoed in his ears. But what bothered him the most was Hedwig. Why would anyone wake Hedwig up? Was something coming up that he was not aware of it yet? If yes, then not naming a crowned prince could be a terrible decision.

The thing is, it was Ursa, the queen, who wanted to give a fair chance to both of their sons. And Renard could not deny. He wanted Damien to be the next King, but Ursa believed that both of her sons were equal. She saw them from a mother's eyes and not how the world perceived them. Renard knew Damien agreed to this because of two things. He loved his mother. And because it was only another chance to admonish his younger brother. It was a golden opportunity to show everyone that he was the better prince.

But Renard could not fathom why Vladimir agreed to this. Vladimir never wanted the throne, or at least that was what Renard has believed till now. Vladimir never showed up to council meetings or had never actively taken part in politics. Vladimir would agreeably march to any war, no matter how big or small it was. Renard always thought he wanted to keep fighting for the kingdom as an army general. Pitting both of his sons was not a wise choice. But Ursa wanted Renard and her to be fair as parents.

Renard could not understand if what they were doing was right. He knew the majority wanted Damien to be the king. Even he would have decided the same. Damien was popular and amiable, while Vladimir appeared cynical. He was witty and cunning. Exceptional qualities for a war god, but not for someone to rule the kingdom. A King's duty was not only to fight wars but also to prevent them. And he believed Damien understood that nitty-gritty more. But Ursa was blind to this. She could not see his younger son had any lacuna. All she saw was that both of her sons were worthy of the crown. And they should not decide in haste.

Had it been any other king, they would have condemned his queen and called her dumb. However, it was not the case with them. Renard knew Ursa was anything but dumb. She has been his support all these years.

Renard sighed as he entered the apartment of the queen. It was the most beautiful section of the entire palace, covered with lush green creepers and flowers of all kinds. Ursa was a plant person. Renard smiled, thinking it suited the queen's colorful personality. But as he approached her chamber, an invisible weight started pressurizing him. He knew the news would have reached the queen and the princes already. So explaining the events of the morning assembly was not a problem. What worried him was the after-talk the couple would have about Hedwig.

Renard exhaled a deep breath that he was holding for quite a while now. He was unsure if the queen and the princes would have come to any conclusion as of yet. It seemed unlikely how the princes disagreed on everything. He wondered when the princes grew apart. When they were children, they were best of friends. But as they grew up, their differences only became prominent. He opened the door of Ursa's chamber to find the queen and princes discussing something. His eyes sparkled when he saw his queen. Having a queen like her could make any king invincible.

"My King! How did it go?" Ursa smiled as she walked beside him. The love between those two was quite clear.

"You know how it went, Ursa!" King smiled sheepishly. She was the only bright thing of this day.

Renard and Ursa's marriage was not a conventional one. They had to marry out of love. Ursa had inclinations towards Hedwig when they were married off out-of-blue. It took them a while before they could even see each other eye to eye. Ursa was ferocious, unlike any queen or girl Renard had seen. It was only due that he fell head over heels for her. Ursa's behavior eased after a while when she saw how Renard regarded her. He was not like any man she had seen. He gave her respect and rank. Despite being the high king, Renard did not shy away from hearing her opinions. Whenever he could, he kept her words. Eventually, they fall in love, and the twins were born.

"Father! I hope the council understood." Damien walked next to Renard and bowed while Vladimir chuckled. Damien scoffed. He was the more disciplined between both.

"Brother, you should show some respect to Father. He is the high king, after all!" Damien scorned.

Damien could not believe he has to compete with this mud head. But it was an opportunity he did not want to lose. Damien could prove for once and for all. He could shut everyone's mouth who compared them and let everyone know he was the better prince. No one should be able to question his authority and ability. But it surprised him when Vladimir did not oppose this decision of their mother. He knew Vladimir has one weakness, his mother. So it could be the reason. But no matter what drove Vladimir's will, Damien was absolute that he would use this chance well to castigate his younger brother.

"When you will become the high king, will you not bow to our father?" Vladimir smirked. He had a twisted sense of humor.

"Enough! No wonder your mother wonders about your abilities. You both are so childish!" Renard yakked. "Have you reached any conclusion? How are we going to decide? Is it a duel, a sword fight, or intellectual debate? Or are we going to have it all?" Renard demanded.

Ursa sighed as she gave a confusing look to her sons and then her husband. It was not as simple as it looked. Everyone has their abilities, and pitting the other against one's strong point would be favoritism. Being a mother, she knew too well in which quality which brother excelled. So she was indecisive about the method yet.

"Ursa, the council will demand it in the meeting after lunch. We should be able to offer them something." Renard sighed, sitting in his favorite chair.

"I know, my king. But how can we pick a method that would give away the winner even before the fight? They should have equal opportunity." Ursa sat near the King's chair. It was their favorite spot. They would spend hours discussing random things and not get bored.

Renard looked at his queen with pride. She was right. She was always right. He could not have achieved all these things if not for Ursa. The species fought between themselves more than ever. With the winter becoming longer and longer, the stocks kept decreasing, and more and more land was getting covered with snow. They can not go further south. The wendigoes would be more dreadful and strengthened now. But that was when an idea clicked him. No wonder this was their favorite spot. They made many excellent decisions and conclusions in this very place.

"I have an idea. But only if everyone seems it fits." Renard offered.

"What?" Damien and Ursa said in unison.

Vladimir was looking at them curiously. The thing is, Vladimir did not care in what competition they both have to duel. He was not even sure if he wanted to be the king. But if his mother believed in him, he would like to try! His parents did an outstanding job in changing many things, but this place had so many faults. Like, his parents should never have been forced into this marriage, to begin with, he believed. It was a good thing his father was a good husband. Otherwise, his mother would have to live a life of a lie.

"Ursa, you are the reason I am holding it all in one piece. Without you, I wonder if I would have failed a long time ago, and we would be in some kind of war already." Renard looked at his queen in admiration.

Ursa blushed a bit while it confused Damien.

"You want us to marry? Damien, you can keep the throne." Vladimir scoffed. His biggest fear was about to come true. He would never marry a random girl and wait for her to be fit enough for him. He had seen more broken marriages inside the castle than solid ones. He was not the one willing to take chances.

Renard sighed, exasperated. It was always difficult to explain his younger son. Vladimir had invariably been rebellious. He wanted to change so many things inside the palace and so fast. And when Vladimir could not, he retreated. Was it the reason why he is so aloof, Renard wondered.

"We can have a competition. We can invite all girls of age to marry. And if one of you finds a perfect fit, you can marry. No one is going to force you, I promise, Vlad. And if you both marry, we will pick the prince with the more acceptable bride." Ursa blurted out. She believed this was the best idea. Both of his sons would have a fair chance at the crown.

"Mother, do you think it's fair?" Damien insinuated.

"I do, Damien. A life partner is equally important. If you can't make a moral decision about the biggest thing of your life, how can you decide about the kingdom's future? I hope you both find your bride." Ursa smiled.

Damien did not like the idea. He did not like when his fate was in someone else's hand. But the only assurance Damien had was Vladimir's stubborn attitude. He knew Vladimir would never marry a girl brought by the royals and council members. He would romp through it.

"If you think it is wise, then I am okay with this, mother, father." Damien bowed, showing his consent.

"Vladimir, you have to agree with me. It is the only way." Ursa insisted.

"Fine. Only for you." Vladimir sighed. He was going to lose it. Maybe he was not meant for the crown. His mother was naive not to see that he can never marry a girl he doesn't love. Putting someone to compete for love was wrong. He would never pick a bride from such a selection process.

"Let's make an announcement to every nook and corner about getting the Vampire Bride for our sons," Ursa exclaimed.

Bride! Damien scoffed.

Bride! Vladimir hissed, annoyed.