The Count has nearly everything: a giant castle, a son, and relative fear of the masses. However, he lost one key aspect 5 years ago. His precious countess was the only woman he truly loved. Will fate bring them back or keep them apart forever?
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Maria P.O.V Everyone was extremely excited for the wedding & was helpful in planning it. Ingrid automatically assumed the role of wedding planner while Vladdy was her assistant. Vlad was surprisingly calm but was still eager. He did have the patience to think before he made a decision.
The plan was very simple for a royal affair. The colour schemes would be white, cream & gold. My house banners would be present in the church & reception hall. The procession would include all the pageantry as I arrived. The kids & our guests would sit with my family as they watched.
Today would probably be the most stressful day. Vlad was meeting his in-laws: my siblings & parents, after dusk. They were excited to see the kids but not so much for Vlad. They always felt that he was too silly for me. But as the future queen, I had the right to choose my husband. Unlike most monarchs, I was able to marry the man I loved.
"Kids, you remember who everyone is right?" I asked them as I did last minute checks
"Grandma Alina, Grandpa Alexander, Uncle Marcus, Uncle William, Aunt Denria & Aunt Miranda. Fairy, immortal, vampire, werewolf, vampire, fairy." Ingrid & Vlad answered which made me smile
"Renfield, remember to bow & curtesy, especially with my dad, Marcus & Denria." I reminded him before going to Vlads side. "You better behave."
"Don't I always." He cheekily replied as I rolled my eyes. The sunset making the room dark. Renfield answered the door, ushering my family inside.
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My dad (far left) & mom(woman w/ pink ring) led my siblings in. Marcus (scowling, back left) was behind them with William (back right), Denria (in purple) & Miranda (far right) trailing behind. My mom & siblings aside from Denria made a beeline to me.
"Maria, mi dulcis puellae ego tam felix ad te utrumque.*" Mom congratulated me as we hugged * Maria, my sweet girl, I am so happy for you both.
"Tibi gratias ago matrem suam. Et paulo haedos est scabra lingua nostra. anglicus est optimus.*" I replied as the kids struggled to understand our language * Thank you mother. The kids are a little rusty with our language. english is best.
"Oh right, well I'd be happy to resume their lessons. Let me see my son & grandchildren." Mom said before dashing behind me. Vlad & Ingrid were happy to see her again. Vladdy remembered her despite his last visit when he was 5, before my amnesia.
"There's my twin all grown up." Marcus teased before bear-hugging me
"Can't believe that my big sister is settling down. About time, thought he would never ask." William teased before I ruffled his head as payback
"I'm so glad that you found each other. You two were always adorable." Miri complimented
"Congrats on your big day, sis." Denria sneered from outside the group
"Thank you, all of you. I'm so glad that you could make it." I replied happily ignoring Denria attempt to sour the moment
"Its good to see that you're happy." Father said as he stepped towards me. My siblings moved to stand with everyone else behind me.
"Thank you, Father." I dryly said as I knelt. The tension in the room was unbearable. Thankfully, mom noticed & rescued us.
"I believe we were promised a lovely family dinner. Show us the way?" Mom asked as she brought me up.
"Right, this way." I said as I led them to the dining room.
Vlad was surprisingly well behaved. Marcus & William kept trying to goat him. Once they saw it was pointless, they gave up. Mom & Miranda doted on the kids as they caught up. Denria stayed her normal brooding self & only spoke to make insults. Father tried to be nicer but he was still rigid & terrible at small talk.
After dinner, we lounged for a bit in the parlour. Everyone was stuffed & enjoyed the meal. I made sure that the meals were a bit more human: rare steaks, juicy meat cuts, vegetarian dishes, instead of rodents. Eventually, it got late so I sent the kids to bed. They kindly wished us goodnight before taking my siblings to their rooms.
"Now that the kids are asleep, we need to talk about some last details & expectations." Father announced
"Such as?" Vlad asked as he stood to face him, making Mom & I anxious
"The last name. Since you're marrying the future queen, our last name will remain. She can use yours as an alias only." Father explained which didn't seem bad
"That's fair. I'm fine with that." Vlad replied as he gave me a smile
"Now the titles. You will be the prince-consort for marrying into the family." Father said but suspiciously left out the kids
"I understand but what about the kids?" Vlad asked as my mom looked sad
"They will be referred as lord & lady. This is the most we can do without drawing attention." Dad explained which infuriated Vlad
"She loves them like her own. They deserve the same titles as anyone else. For goodness sakes, one of them is..." Vlad argued as he made a storm brew
"Count Dracula! That is enough. I will not tolerate more of your outbursts. You should be grateful that I'm allowing this marriage. God knows that she should be with anyone else." Father bellowed which silenced Vlad. With a touch from mum, he started to calm down. "However, I do care about her happiness so I won't separate her from her family."
"Father, thank you for allowing this match. However, I must agree with Vlad. Our kids deserve their full titles, regardless blood. Besides, we don't know if I can have kids. Ingrid & Vlad are the closest to children I have. Please, father." I begged. Father groaned a bit but mum's stern gaze made him change his tune.
"Oh fine, I will present this to the council. I will try to persuade them but can't guarantee it." Father agreed which made all of us happy
"For now, let's toast." Mum said as she passed around champagne which was fancy blood for the Vlad & I. "To one big & happy family." We clicked glasses & retired for the night.
~few weeks later~
My family was a huge help with the ceremonial details which everyone else found odd. Mum & my siblings enjoyed training the kids in our culture. They were slowly picking up the language: latin, though Ingrid was excelling. Most of their training was concentrated on court procedure for their new lives. Father was being helpful as he was petitioning the council for our request. They had been arguing the entire time before finally doing a final vote today, a few days before the wedding.
Father was away in our country to deal with the council. He had a full plate doing that while also getting the venues ready. We kept in contact with magic through the mirrors. While I was helping with the kids tutoring, Renfield rushed in with one of the mirrors. He propped it on a table in front of us so my father could see us all.
"Father, what's going on?" I asked him as everyone huddled around us
"Maria, the council has just came back from deliberations. We won the argument, 4-1. It seemed that the Pavarta clan had a change of heart." Father announced which made us all cheer. Vlad & I embraced both of the kids in sheer joy.
"Wait, the Pavarta's?! They hate us. Great, now we'll have to keep an eye on them. At least we have the other 3 families behind us no matter what. We can handle them." I realised
"Yes, but never underestimate your enemies. I'm sure that they have something else planned afterwards. I've already heightened their security threat as a precaution. I hope to see you all soon." Father said before ending the call. The rest of the day was spent celebrating the restoration of the kids titles. Per usual, Renfield was hard at work packing everyone's trunks.
