The Princess and the Two Dukes

Found Her

“I hope I can see you again.”  

“Don’t be a stranger and find me.”She told him in a hush voice and then she leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips

  Demetrio woke up with the same dream of the dark haired woman; the very same dream that plagued his mind for the past decades. The dream that he recently found out was actually a memory. It was a memory that somehow happened centuries ago.

  He let out a sigh of frustration as he tried to get out of bed. He felt really lethargic the past weeks and he doesn’t have any idea why. Once he’s finally out of the bed, he went towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.

  Demetrio showered and changed his clothes into just plain jeans, moss green button up shirt and white sneakers. He likes this get up more unlike his clothes centuries ago wherein he has to wear layers of clothes with an annoying ascot.

  Once he’s all ready, he went towards his office where his second in command, Roko is waiting.

“Good morning, my lord.”Roko greeted the vampire Duke.

“Morning.”Demetrio mumbled as he took a seat behind his desk.

  Roko observed the vampire Duke and he too can tell that he recently looked really exhausted. It made him wonder what makes him so tired when he doesn’t do much for the past weeks.

  Roko sighed and then he clapped his palms together and then the door opened and a servant came in with a warm mug of blood. The servant leaves immediately after placing the mug on the desk.

“Drink, you need to feed more and more so you won’t look like you are going to pass out any minute.”Roko scolds Demetrio who gave him a look before grabbing the mug and took a sip of its contents.

“What’s our agenda for today?”Demetrio asked.

“Well, nothing. But I am here to tell you that you have a convention that you need to attend in Sydney. It’s a must; you cannot skip that for there are a lot of prospect investors there.”Roko told him.

“Can’t you go instead?”

“Nope. I went last year and now it’s your turn to go. And while you’re at it, you can ask the Queen for help to ease your frustrations regarding your recurring dream.”Roko said and Demetrio sighed.

“That’s too much hassle don’t you think? From Sydney to Stone Castle.”Demetrio whined and Roko rolled his eyes.

“First of all, the Queen can help you. She can dive into your mind and fix your messed up head. And if you want to find the girl, you can ask the Elites to find her for you. “Roko paused and smirked.

“And second, the Royal family is in Hobart as the youngest princess is getting married to the high Alpha of Oceana continent.”He added.

  Demetrio looked at his second in command and thought about what he just said. He really wanted those dreams to stop, as it just frustrates him. He sees her face every time he closes his eyes and it only made him long for her.

  It really makes him wonder if he really met her or all of those dreams were just a vision sent to him as his guilt gnaws him. Demetrio groaned and rubbed his temples as a sharp pain shot up in his head.

“You were thinking about her, aren’t you?”Roko asked while Demetrio gulped the whole content of his mug.

“Yes.”

“Come on Trey. I know you are suffering and you wanted answers. Please, as your friend I’m telling you, ask her majesty for help.”Roko told Demetrio who leaned back to his chair.

  He heaved a deep sigh before he looked at Roko.

“Only if you come with me.”Demetrio said.

  Roko sighed and gave his friend a small smile.

“I’ll think of it as a vacation.”

******************************.

  As planned, Roko accompanied Demetrio in the trip going to Sydney. The pair went to a business convention which gave them opportunity to gain more investors for their hotel in Croatia.

  In the past no one pays particular attention in their country, but as time passed and the world progressed, tourists flood in and it gave them huge opportunity to boost their business.

  On the last day of the convention, Demetrio took courage to call the Queen to request an audience with her. And the Queen did not disappoint him as she invited him to the wedding to talk.

  So they are set to fly to Hobart early in the morning. And while Roko is busy packing their stuff, Demetrio stepped out of their hotel room into the pool area where the night sky is like a masterpiece.

  Demetrio stuffed his hands inside his pants and looked up in the sky. But as he looks in the sparkling stars, an image flashed in his mind.

  It was the girl and she had her back against the stone wall that looked like a cellar. Her blue round eyes were looking at him and it soon turned to glare. Her glares are what makes her even more beautiful and he can feel his heart hammer against his chest. It’s a powerful feeling that is all so foreign to him and yet all so familiar at the same time.

  The vision disappeared with the last scene of him kissing the girl. Demetrio heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. He wanted to understand that vision. Was it really a vision telling him of what could happen with him and his beloved or a memory of what happened to him with his beloved?

  Demetrio was really confused. He ran his fingers through his hair, and then he paused when he remembered something. In the vision, he felt as though his hair was long and tied in a low ponytail. Does that mean it was a memory?

  He doesn’t know but it felt like his mind was messed up. If it was a memory then why does it was so distorted? And why does he have no proper recollection of things?

  Demetrio sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Are you okay?”

  Demetrio turned around and he saw Roko standing behind him, looking at him with worry.

“Don’t tell me you were sleepwalking and you had a dream?”He asked and Demetrio shook his head.

“I did not sleepwalk, but somehow my kind of dream flashed before my eyes while wide awake.”Demetrio told Roko.

“What? As in like a vision?”Roko asked and Demetrio nodded.

  Roko was taken back and then he approaches his friend and held him by his shoulders in arms length.

“You really need to see the Queen.”

******************************.

  The next morning, the two of them carried their packed stuff and went towards the airport. The flight from Sydney took approximately one hour and forty-three minutes to get to Hobart.

  Roko and Demetrio grabbed their bags and hailed a cab towards the nearest hotel. They chose Macquarie Manor Hotel, it was a small old building made up of bricks.

  When they were checking in, they noticed that the only scents they can get are from humans and mostly werewolves. Then they took their bags and climbed the stairs to go to their room. They chose a separate room, two of the Macquarie King Suite. They went in their own rooms after opening it using their keys.

   The room has a king size bed, a living room, desk, fridge, coffeemaker and the whole room was covered with royal blue carpet. The bathroom was simple, and it has a shower and bathtub. Roko unpacked his stuff first and put it in the closet, before he went to take a shower. While in the other room, Demetrio decided to take a nap first after he unpacked his things.

  It was after lunch time when Demetrio woke up and took a shower. Then he changed to his dark gray suit and black leather shoes. Then he put wax on his hair and combed them towards the back.

  While Demetrio was looking at his reflection on the mirror, he cannot help but feel excited; it’s something he cannot explain. Then he heard a knock on his door and Roko came in.

“My lord, I received a message from her majesty that we should come now to the princess and the Alpha’s wedding reception.”Roko told him.

“Roko, how come I never smelled one single vampire since we arrived?”Demetrio suddenly asked and then Roko shrugged.

“Maybe because the whole Tasmania Island belongs to the High Alpha?” Roko answered that sounded like a question.

  Then Demetrio looked at Roko.

“Do you know how we’re going to get to where they are?”Demetrio asked.

“Her majesty sent a car for us.”Roko answered and then Demetrio nodded.

 “Let’s go then.”

   The two of them left the hotel and rode the car that the Queen sent for them. The car then drove them towards the pack grounds of the River Ash Pack. When they got there, they were greeted by the festive atmosphere of the place.

  As they walk further into the pack grounds, they were greeted by Henry; one of three main council members of the current Queen.

“Lord Demetrio, it’s good to see you.” Henry greeted the Vampire Duke and shook his hand.

“Lord Henry.”

“Her majesty mentioned that you are coming, I will escort you to her.”Henry said and then he led them towards where the Queen was.

  They immediately bowed once they are in front of the Queen and Alpha Lord Liam.

“Greetings your majesty, Alpha Lord.”Demetrio said.

“Hello Lord Demetrio. Good to see you.” Queen Camilla said.

  Demetrio immediately remembered the former Queen once his eyes fell on the current Queen’s face. The current Queen was indeed looked like a splitting image of her mother.

“Why don’t I introduce you to the rest of the family before we talk about the reason you are here.” The Queen said and Demetrio has no choice but to nod.

  Then they follow the Queen, but then Roko stayed behind when his phone rings and he has to take the call.

  When they went towards one of the tables, everyone there stood up. They all looked curious to know who the vampire with the Queen and Alpha Lord is.

“Everyone I would like you to meet Lord Demetrio Petrovak. He’s the master of the Braeden House from Croatia.”Camilla introduced.

“He’s one of the pioneer members of the vampire council.”Henry added.

  They gave Demetrio a curt nod, smiled and waved at him. The vampire Lord bowed his head and smiled back at them showing off his fangs. Now that he can see them clearly, he recognized the people in the table as the Queen’s children, and the pair that looked like the newlyweds.

“Your highnesses, please call me Trey. Demetrio is so old fashioned.”The vampire Duke said.

“Well, what can I say... we’re really old?”The crown princess joked, and Demetrio chuckled.

  Then he turned towards the newlyweds, the youngest princess and the High Alpha of the island.

“Congratulations and best wishes to the newlyweds.” he said.

“Thank you.”Alpha Zeke and the princess said in unison.

“I may have heard of you Lord Petrovak. You ruled the richest coven in the southeast Europe.”Alex, the crown princess’ husband said, and Demetrio chuckled.

“Just properly invested your highness.”Demetrio said.

“What brings you here in Hobart, milord?”Alpha Zeke asked.

“Ah curious Alpha. Actually I’m in a quest. You see I dreamt of something, no someone. It’s really hard to explain that dream of mine. But to make it short, I am looking for my beloved.”Demetrio answered and it caught everyone’s attention.

“He called me for help. And since he’s in Sydney I told him to meet me here, if you don’t mind Alpha.”Camilla said.

“No it’s fine your majesty.”Alpha Zeke said.

“About this beloved of yours that you are looking for, are you going to request my team to look for her?”The youngest princess, Calie asked.

“Yes princess if you could be so kind to help me. The informants really have the greatest reputation when it comes to gathering information.” Demetrio answered.

“We’ll I see nothing wrong with it. I’ll tell the team about your request, but for now please join us in our celebration.”Calie said.

“My mate is right, please come celebrate with us.”Alpha Zeke said.

“It’ll be an honor.”Demetrio said, bowing his head.

  They were about to take a seat when two more people came to the table. Demetrio noticed the young man narrowed his eyes on him while the young woman has her head down and was busy texting. Somehow, he felt drawn towards the young woman.

“Trey, this is my son Ivan.”Calie said.

“And that is my daughter Zarina.”Zab said.

  Demetrio smiled at the young man named Ivan, but when he looked intently towards the young woman, his body stiffened and his eyes were wide. Somehow his heart and soul knew the young woman. And then everything he dreamt of for the past years flashes in his mind. There the face of the woman is the one standing in front of him.

“Zari...”Demetrio uttered a name that somehow foreign and familiar at the same time.

  The young woman looked up from her phone, but it immediately slipped out of her hand when her eyes fell on Demetrio.

 “Demetrio.”