"Ahhh! My darling niece!" a broad smiling man strides into the entrance hall as soon as two servants open the front door for us to enter. I am surprised by how friendly and kind this vampire looks, unlike any other I've ever seen before. The corners of his eyes crinkled with lines that have formed from centuries of smiling, his face painted with wisdom. Streaks of gray and even white give depth to his hair and beard. His eyes are silver, like a royals.
"Hello Uncle," The Queen chuckles, leaving my side to walk to the older man, kissing him on both his cheeks.
"Oh Celestia, you look so much like your mother it scares me," he shakes his head, his eyes taking her in.
"You tell me that every time," she laughs.
"I have not seen you in far too long my dear," he sighs.
"That is no fault of mine," she muses, "you volunteered to take command over the construction of the ice city in the north."
"Ten years," he titters, "ten years of living in such blasted cold weather. Never again."
The Queen laughs.
I remember hearing rumors of a new city being built in the parts of the Icelands that extend from the elfin realm into the vampiric kingdom.
I feel slightly uncomfortable, increasingly so as I notice the vampire guards of the Queen's Uncle eyeing me out with their thirsting red eyes.
The Queen must sense my discomfort because she turns, her eyes shooting towards the guards who immediately bow their heads and shrink back. The Queen returns to my side, a hand resting on the small of my back, her close proximity surrounding me and making me feel safe immediately.
Her Uncle's inquisitive, intelligent silver eyes watch the subtly interaction of the Queen's protective behavior with both surprise and deep curiosity, before his gaze washes over me, taking me in. Unlike pretty much every other vampire that has laid eyes on me, his gaze is not filled with lust and hunger. Nor is it filled with hate or anger. He merely looks interested, curious.
"This," The Queen says, guiding me towards the elder man, "dear uncle, is Estrella. Estrella, this is my uncle, Prince David."
Prince David extends a hand. Hesitantly I reach out to meet it with one of my own. Gently he takes it and raises it to his lips, kissing softly and bowing slightly.
"A pleasure to meet you, Estrella," He says. I am astounded at his gentleman-like behavior, even more so that he treats me like an equal.
"A pleasure to meet you too," I manage to say.
"I never thought I'd see the day my stubbornly independent niece would bring such a beautiful young lady to my house," Prince David winks at Celestia, as if teasing her. I blush furiously, Glancing at the Queen. Her eyes are already on me, soft and gentle, molten and warm, a smile to match playing on her lips.
This feels strange, to have a vampire other than Celestia not looking down on me like a bag of meat. He's treating me as an equal, with manners. Perhaps chivalry isn't dead.
"Well do come through," David beckons us through the entrance hall. Celestia leads me through a passageway and to a dining hall.
"Where is my aunt?" Celestia asks.
"Painting, at least that is where I left her," David chuckles. I glance him up and down again. It is clear that he and Celestia are related, sharing similarities in their perfect posture and clasped hands behind the back.
"Celestia, is that you I hear, dear?" a slightly distant voice calls. The voice itself is soft and warm, not what
I'd expected in a house of high power vampires.
YOU ARE READING
The Queen of Blood
VampireCompleted. Celestia earned her title as the Queen Of Blood. She was feared, respected, and admired by all. She ruled what she believed to be a fair kingdom, and kept the peace after winning the war between the four fae. Estrella, a human girl with a...
