The Vampire Prince’s Bride

Chapter 3

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"Mother?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Are there really trolls in the forest?"

"Indeed. And they are over ten feet tall, with monstrous eyes and hideous, blackened teeth with breath that smells like the stable boy's socks. They lurk in dark caves all day and wait for the sun to set before they sneak out and snatch away innocent travelers, ready to cook them into human soup."

Adaria paused as the tug of the comb pulled her entire head back. She was staring out the window, over the rooftops of the many dignitaries of Hyland and far beyond the lower districts. She stared beyond the wall, and far to the east where the tips of the birch and maple trees could be spotted.

It might have seemed odd, but something in the forest called to her; a voice she thought she was supposed to know. It’d haunted her for weeks now, and she hadn’t spoken to anyone about it.

“Why the sudden interest in trolls?” Queen Regan asked as she smoothed Adaria’s red locks. “Are you planning on getting one for your birthday next week?”

“I hardly think father will agree to me getting a troll for my sixteenth birthday,” she said, laughing. “Don’t tell him I know, but Sir Randall told me that he’s getting me a horse from Castamore.”

“How rude of him to ruin your surprise,” the Queen said, placing the comb down on the drawer. “That’ll do,” she said. “You may go on. Ophelia will be waiting for you in the study.”

“Can we have lunch in the garden afterwards, mother?” Adaria asked.

“I’ll tell the servants to set it up,” Queen Regan said.

Adaria rose from her seat slowly, turning towards the mirror to study her mother’s handiwork. Queen Regan had formed a single braid of her hair so that it fell over her right shoulder. Her hair had grown tremendously over the last sixteen years of her life, and getting it to act the way it was expected had always been a hassle. Adaria didn’t help that as well, seeing how she always seemed to return with a branch or two in her hair. Queen Regan had once removed twelve leaves from her hair, a record which she was yet to top.

Adaria curtsied before leaving the room. As she headed for the door, both guards who’d been stationed right there turned around and followed her. No one thought this was unusual, since she had never been alone for longer than a minute her entire life. For as long as Adaria could remember, she had always been followed wherever she went. And the guards would remain where she went, to keep an eye on her until she needed to leave.

This time, they followed her out of the room and down the corridor, where they met up with two more guards.

Adaria’s thoughts wandered back to her dream from the previous night. She didn’t remember all the details, but she knew it had been at a cliff, with the smell of seawater filling her nose. The sun had been setting, and she’d stood there and gazed into the eyes of someone who looked exactly like her.

Perhaps it had just been a reflection of herself. But Adaria felt the person was different; she felt different. Most of what they’d said was forgotten, but in the end she distinctly remembered the girl saying, “You know where to find me. I’m always close to you.”

She thought about speaking to Ophelia about it, but knew it would yield nothing but more problems. Ophelia would have to tell her father. And God forbid, they would actually think something was wrong with her. King Nazar would not rest until he was sure that there wasn’t any hidden meaning to the dreams.

And it hadn’t been just one dream indeed. Later on, perhaps after a minute or maybe an hour, Adaria found herself in a forest, dangling from a tree branch while a man stood over her and laughed. His eyes were flaming red, and his sharp teeth glistened as he smirked at her.

“Do you want me to help you?” he’d asked. And in his voice, Adaria found a familiarity she knew shouldn’t exist.

They arrived at the study finally, where Ophelia was sitting in the middle of the room with several tomes placed on the table before her.

“You’re late,” she said as Adaria walked in, leaving the guards at the door.

“Mother was braiding my hair,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“Were there any branches between your locks?” Ophelia asked with a sneer.

“Just one,” Adaria said. “I was out for a stroll in the garden this morning.”

Ophelia laughed as she pulled out the seat beside her and gestured for Adaria to sit.

“We’ll be discussing an interesting topic today,” she said, pulling the first book towards them. “Today, we will be learning about magic.”

Adaria’s eyes lit up at her words, and she sat up straighter in her seat. She’d been waiting for this lesson ever since she knew that magic existed in their kingdom, and Ophelia could teach her about it. She’d been fascinated the day she saw her bending water in the fountain to create different animals which leapt at each other. Another time, she’d set fire to a tree and yet it never burned. The flames seemed to simply dance around the bark.

“First,” Ophelia said, “how much do you know about magic?”

Adaria scrunched her nose.

“Absolutely nothing,” she said.

“Naturally,” Ophelia said with a careful nod. “Your father has been very particular about what you should and shouldn’t be allowed to learn. But he thinks you’re ready, and I hope you won’t disappoint him.”

“I won’t,” Adaria said firmly. Ophelia c****d her head as she stared at her, and then she nodded.

“Magic,” she began while opening the first book, “is something that is woven into the very fabric of our existence. We cannot trace its origin, for that would be like trying to trace the origin of the sun. Our ancestors, several hundreds of years ago, discovered magic in different corners of the kingdom, and learnt to harness it for their own use. These were the First Men, whose pictures you see here.”

There were nine of them, each as shaggy and terrifying as the last. Adaria found it hard to believe that these were her great ancestors.

“King Brutus,” Ophelia continued, “was chosen as the first ruler of Dridell by the rest of the men, since he was the most powerful and the wisest of them all. The others broke off to create the four factions which you know today as Castamore, Dallin, Clarion and Daramount. King Brutus was left to rule the entire kingdom from right here in Hyland, where he built this very castle and named it after his son. His magic is sown into the very bricks, which is why I’m able to do this.”

With a snap of her fingers, Ophelia created a small hall of light which hovered over her fingertips. It seemed to pulse with a life of its own, and Adaria was mesmerized as the ball floated midair, slowly bobbing up and down.

“You see?” Ophelia continued. “Magic creates life. Some might even say magic is life itself. But in the wrong hands, if you fail to control it...,”

She pushed the ball away, and it shot straight past Adaria and struck a pillar with a loud bang. A second later, the pillar was blackened by the force of the impact.

“What is used to create can also be used to destroy,” Ophelia said. “There are some who use magic for good, and they focus on how to harness their powers and serve humanity the right way. The coven where I was trained is an example of that. But there are always two sides to the coin. And that means there are others who want nothing more than to destroy life itself. These people use their magic to destroy everything in their path. They are the evil of this world, and your grandfather was famous for the war he waged against these wicked entities.”

Adaria was barely listening to her. The voice was calling again, this time louder than before.

“Are you listening to me?” Ophelia asked, snapping her fingers in front of Adaria.

“Sorry,” the latter said. “I got distracted.”

“I can see that,” she said. “You’re wondering how you will be able to do what I just did. All in due time, princess.”

“That’s not it,” Adaria said. “And I hardly think creating a ball of light is all there is to magic.”

Ophelia c****d her head, the corner of her lips curling in a sneer. “I see,” she said. “You want something a little bit more impressive.”

This time, when she snapped her fingers, the windows in the study slammed shut, and the entire room was plunged into darkness. A powerful gust of wind blew past, and it sent shivers down Adaria’s spine as she couldn’t see anything around her anymore. Suddenly the ball of light from earlier appeared in front of her. Except this time, it seemed to bend the light around her. The darkness shivered, and before she could blink again, Adaria found herself standing in the middle of a forest between two large oak trees. A bed of grass rolled of into a hill beneath her feet, and a river flowed merrily behind her. The forest was alive with the sound of several creatures both big and small, with the sweet twittering of a songbird above them. Sunlight was blocked by the canopy of trees overhead, but even so the forest seemed beautiful in its majesty.

“You see?” Ophelia said, suddenly appearing beside her. “Magic can be used to distort reality. I can make you see what I want you to see, and I can trick your mind into thinking something is real when it isn’t. Mind you, we are still in the study of Castle Donovan. But will you tell me now that you don’t truly believe we are in the middle of a forest?”

Adaria looked around slowly. Everything seemed convincing, from the green color of the leaves to the brown of the bark. The earth felt soft underneath her, and even the humidity was just as if she was truly in a forest. The sound of the water flowing seemed too real to be an illusion.

“No,” she said. “In my mind, I truly believe we are in a forest.”

“Good,” Ophelia said, smiling. Quickly, she wiped the trail of blood from her nostrils. The illusion was taking its toll on her, as she’d known it would.

If only he’d held up his own end of the deal.

It had been sixteen years, and yet the sting of betrayal never left her. It consumed her soul, seeping into every corner of her aching heart until she thought she would drown in the pain.

How was she to know that things wouldn’t go as they’d planned? How was she to know that everything would fall apart at the moment when she thought the worst was behind her?

She sent Adaria off soon afterwards, after explaining the basic principles of magic a bit further to her. She’d felt the burn in her arm, and she knew he was coming. It would be best if he didn’t come while Adaria was nearby.

Sure enough, barely a minute had passed since the guards escorted Adaria out of the study before he made his appearance.

“Enchantress,” he said, the shadow settling in the middle of the room. She would have much preferred his previous form, but since their failed attempt to bring him back, he’d taken on the form of a shadow; neither alive nor dead.

“I thought you were still in Danestia,” she said, avoiding his gaze as she bowed.

“There’s been a change in plans,” he whispered, his voice high and dry.

“How so?”

“You will know when I want you to know,” he said. “Is the girl ready?”

“We just started learning about magic today,” she said. “It will take a few weeks or maybe a few months. But I’m sure she’ll be ready soon enough.”

“Your delay infuriates me, enchantress,” he said. “Look what you did to me because of your stupidity last time.”

“I didn’t know that you would need both girls,” she said. “I thought one would be enough.”

“You thought,” he spat, sneering at the last word. “Just look what you did to me now. I am neither a part of this world nor the next. I exist, but merely as a shadow. The blood of one Royal isn’t enough. You will make sure the other one is as powerful as anyone can imagine before you bring her to me. That way, I can reverse the effect of this half-curse. And then-only then- will you get what you wanted.”

“As you wish, master,” Ophelia said, bowing.

“I will need access to the King’s chambers tonight,” he said. “Remove any enchantments you’ve put in place. And I will see you tomorrow when the work is done.”

With that he disappeared, and light finally returned to the room. Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be rid of him.

At least for now.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles to the east, a vampire Prince stared out of the window of a tower, enchanted by the voice in his head.

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