The Alpha Prince's Witch Bride

CHAPTER 1

*THIRD PERSON'S POV*

In the year 1488, the high-ranking witches and wizards are gathering in the throne room as the Witch Queen has something important to announce.

“Tonight is the first full moon night of the year, and we all know that this night is very special for our kind,” the Witch Queen said with a clear and loud voice as she stood on stage. Inside the throne room, where most of her high-ranking witches and wizards are gathered, while the rest of the Majiro Kingdom's population are simply staying at their houses and watching from their magic crystals as the sceneries inside the throne room are being broadcasted live through clairvoyance magic, any witch or wizard can enchant this magic but only Queen Wazanea, the Witch Queen, can use this magic and show it to all of her citizens without sweating. The elemental witches and wizards use the element of water to show the concurrent events, as they happily wait for the announcement that their beloved Queen will say.

“Tonight, all witches and wizards, apprentices of the most powerful Nature Dragon, Draco, we will offer a drop of blood from all members of the royal Blackwood family!” The Queen announced, which was soon followed by loud cheers and applauses by her citizens.

“The blood of the royal family is very powerful, it is a kind of blood that shares with the Nature Dragon himself,” a witch who is wearing three green crescent moon pins on her right sleeve.

Each of these green crescent moons represents the rank of a witch or a wizard in the Majiro Kingdom. The lowest is one pin, which means a servant; two pins mean a small business owner or merchant: three pins mean someone who is working as a normal employee in the Majiro Academy, for example, a professor; four pins means that the citizen is someone who is from the kingdom’s monarchy. An example of this is the Duke or Baron; and five pins mean that an individual is a member of the royal Blackwood family.

“So they’re going to extract blood from me too?” A young maiden whispered as she looked down at her right hand. Her thoughts are a bit over-exaggerated, which scares her, then, suddenly, someone holds her trembling right hand.

“Don’t worry Firea, it’s just a small amount of blood,” the eldest child, the prince, spoke as he looked down at his youngest sister and smiled at her.

“Really? Is it going to hurt big brother Falco?” The innocent Firea asked.

“No, it doesn’t hurt at all,” Prince Falcon replied as he gave her a reassuring smile.

“Doesn’t hurt you say, but last time you almost wet yourself, big brother,” the second child and the first princess, commented as she remembered the last time that their mother, the Queen, asked them to offer their blood.

“Hey, I never wet myself, and besides, it was you who was about to cry that night, Felecity” the prince rebutted.

“How dare you!? I didn’t cry!” Princess Felecity answered as she glared at their older brother while Firea just laughed at them.

“Hahaha I bet you two were so scared,” Firea said while laughing.

“Shut up, Firea, I’m sure you will cry tonight because mom’s going to cut your hand and feed it to the dragon,” Princess Felecity bluffed, so Firea quickly hid her hands and buried her face with her older brother.

“Hey stop scaring her, Felecity,” Prince Falco warned Princess Felecity, who simply shrugged her shoulders and switched her focus to their mother, who was still talking in front of everyone.

“Firea, don’t believe what Felecity said, that’s not true. Mother will never do that to you,” Prince Falco uttered as he gently patted Firea’s head, who immediately looked up at him with teary eyes.

“Really?” The young maiden asked and Prince Falco simply nodded his head as a reply.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my duty as your Queen to ensure everyone’s safety, which is why, before we leave for the Orationibus Nocte (Night of Prayers), we have to make sure that those measly dogs will not interfere with our ritual!” the Queen sternly said as her facial expressions became cold and strict.

“Dogs? Big brother, I want a dog,” Firea happily said as she pulled the hem of her brother's clothes.

“Uhm let's ask mother about that later, okay?” the prince uttered as he awkwardly smiled at Firea.

“Okay,” the young Firea replied and listened to her mother once more.

“My Queen, I would like to suggest that we should start our ritual earlier than those stinky pups,” a wizard with four pins on his right sleeve raised his right hand and spoke.

“I’m sorry but the time for our ritual is still the same. We will start at eleven-thirty in the evening, and the ritual will end at exactly one minute before midnight. Then for two minutes, even though I despise doing it, the leader of the elemental witches and wizards, which is me, and the Alpha King of those pups, must hold each other's hands as we stood around Draco's heart and chant the Moon Goddess's two passages, after that, the rest of you could go back here and rest,” the Queen declined the suggestion of the wizard.

“No, we will never leave you with those rascal werewolves, our Queen Wazanea,” a royal knight said as he looked at the Queen with worry.

“Thank you, that is very reassuring,” the Queen replied and was about to say something again when she noticed the moonlight slowly creeping inside the throne room through the huge open window.

“It’s time. All of you, prepare to gather in the forest of Draco. We will start the ritual at exactly eleven-thirty,” the Queen announced, and started walking away from the stage. She walked past her children who simply bowed their heads to her.

“Come on, Firea, let’s get you ready,” the prince said as he and the youngest princess walked their way towards Firea's chambers.

“Your highness, we will take care of the princess's preparations for the ritual, you must prepare yourself too,” a black haired witch with one pin on her right sleeve said while bowing her head.

“Right,” the princess replied and looked at his sister.

“Well, your servants are here, they will take care of you before the ritual starts,” the prince said, so Firea pouted her lips.

“But you said you'll help me prepare,” the young princess replied.

“Haha I'm sorry little sister, I too, have to prepare myself for the ritual,” the prince explained while scratching his nape.

“Your highness, Prince Falco,” another servant came and called the attention of the prince.

“Yes? What is it?” the prince questioned. “The queen is asking for your presence in her bed chamber,” the servant responded. “Alright, I'll be there,” the prince said and looked at Princess Firea again as he messes her hair.

“Sorry, Firea, mom is looking for me so I have to go now,” the prince said and started walking towards their mother's bedroom.

“Your highness, let’s get you cleaned up,” the black haired servant said and sweetly smiled at the princess.

“Aww, okay,” the princess replied with a frown.

“Don't worry, your highness, from now on, I will accompany you all the time,” the black haired witch said so Princess Firea looked up to her. Firea saw the sweetest smile someone had given to her which touched her heart.

“Yehey! That's a promise okay?” The young princess said and the witch nodded her head as a response.

“What is your name?” Princess Firea asked as she looked up to the black haired servant in front of her.

“I am called Suta, and I am your personal servant,” Suta answered with another smile.

“Hello Suta, I am Princess Firea Blackwood,” the young princess sweetly introduced herself and made a small bow, then the servant bowed her head towards the princess as sign of courtesy.

“It's nice to meet you, Princess Firea,” Suta said.

“Shall we proceed with your bath?” Suta implored and hand out her left hand. Princess Firea grabbed Suta's hand and nodded at the servant. As the two of them walked towards the Princess's bedroom, they were having conversations about each other's likes and favorites. Princess Firea liked Suta so much. That's why she doesn’t feel any awkwardness or shyness towards the servant, while Suta feels the same way about the princess too, since the child is very sweet and innocent. As soon as they entered Firea's bedroom, Suta started to prepare the princess's clothing for tonight’s ritual: a black dress, a black robe with a hood, and a pair of black doll shoes.

“Wait here princess, I will prepare your bath,” Suta said and left Princess Firea on her bed as she went to the bathroom to run the water and prepare a warm bath for the princess since tonight is quite cold outside. While waiting for Suta, Firea went to the balcony and grabbed the railings to hold on to. Then she looked up into the sky and saw a big and bright star twinkling, as if saying hi to her, and on cue, Firea waved her hand at the star.

“Hello big star!” the young princess greeted. Then she saw some movements in the forest. From her balcony she can see the lake's beauty as its water reflects the stars in the sky.

“Pretty,” Firea could not stop herself from admiring and complimenting the beauty of the shallow lake. Then, an idea popped up into the young princess's mind. She quickly went back inside her room and checked if Suta was done already. Firea peeked inside the bathroom and saw Suta pouring drops of pink rose scent into her bathtub. Knowing that Suta is not done yet, Firea quickly and quietly runs out of her bedroom. With her small figure, it was easy for her to slip past the guards and servants blocking her way towards the lake. Inside the Empire of Darakota, guards from both the Majiro kingdom and the Eatocastle Kingdom, the home for the Frostbane pack werewolves, are scattered around the forest and it is their duty to guard the heart of Draco, but Firea is also a wise young witch, so by using her unique ideas, she was able to reach the lake without getting caught by anyone.

As soon as Firea was standing near the lake, she couldn’t stop her excited self from dipping her feet in the lake's cold water. Slowly, Firea walked towards the water and as soon as her feet touched the water, she squealed in delight but quickly covered her lips with her hands as she heard her voice echoing in the forest.

“Wow, this is so pretty,” Firea commented as she looked around the lake. She was smiling all the time as she splashed some water around her using her hands. She was enjoying herself when she heard a branch snap, so she looked around the lake again. This time, she was a bit scared and cautious. She looked over at the other side of the lake and saw something moving in the shadows, so she slowly took her step back while keeping her eyes in contact with the tree where she saw someone or something.

“There you are!” Firea suddenly heard Suta's voice, so she turned around and saw Suta walking towards her. Firea quickly ran up to her servant and hugged the woman.

“What's wrong?” Suta asked the young princess.

“I thought I saw someone there,” Firea said and pointed towards the tree she was looking at before Suta arrived. The tree was located on the other side of the lake, which means it doesn’t belong to their kingdom anymore, but to the werewolves. Suta wanted to check the place that Firea was talking about but then she remembered that the ritual would soon start.

“Don’t mind that, for now, we should go back and finish your preparations, your brother is waiting for you,” Suta said and decided to just carry the princess. Firea was surprised when Suta suddenly lifted her up and carried her, but then she never complained about it and simply held on to Suta and leaned her head on the servant's shoulder.

“Are you tired?” Suta asked and Firea just nodded her head.

“Oh, I see, but you see, you still have to attend the ritual,” Suta reminded the princess, but it was useless because Firea had fallen asleep already.

“Princess?” Suta called out, but there was no response and Firea's breathing was calm and deep already, which meant she was fast asleep now.

“Oh well, I guess I'll just inform the Queen then,” Suta whispered as she hugged the princess and let her sleep while Suta was carrying her back to the palace.