Without further delay: tada! I hope everything has lived up to your expectations?
Disclaimer! Mine mine all mine!
The Betrayal.
Dmitri came all too soon and we decided it was time to get some rest. Tomorrow will surely be a busy day and no one could find out about us.
So I returned David's hoodie and went to my room which had been shifted to the top floor somehow. The room reserved for the King, and in my case, the Queen.
In minutes I crashed into bed and fell asleep. It was the most peaceful sleep I had in two years.
It didn't matter who was alive, who was dead, who was responsible for the crap in my life or who was going to die.
Only David mattered.
The next morning everything was happening so fast. It was really amazing to be a royal.
With my deteriorating health, body aches, I got massages and didn't particularly have to do anything, and the maids did everything for me without me even saying anything, although I did find it awkward and embarrassing when they were dressing me.
They put a gorgeous royal blue gown that fell to the floor brilliantly with sequence on the bodice, the best silk I had ever worn, with a sweetheart shaped neck with no sleeves. *Picture of the dress on the fb page*
"Do I really need to dress up so fancy?" I asked one of the maids who had always been with me.
She nodded with a smile "you are a Queen now."
They put a cape on me as well. I rolled my eyes. "I don't think this is necessary."
"It is, especially on your first day, you can take it off once you have made your entrance. I will come get it if you like." I nodded.
After I was dressed they did my hair. They were going to put a bun on my head but I stopped them. "Don't close them, just curl them a little and let them fall behind."
They followed my order and I looked stunning with the makeup they did. They put on a very nice shade of pink while giving my eyes the smoky effect but not too overly smoky. My cheekbones and collarbones were very prominent but made me look exquisite.
I wore big sapphire earrings edged with diamonds and finally a crown adorned with diamonds was placed on my head.
When I was ready, it was very difficult to walk as the edges of the dress were on the floor flowing behind me as I walked but I managed somehow.
By the time I got down to the breakfast table it seemed half the world was there but my eyes only searched for one person who's voice I heard in my mind 'you look beautiful'. I smiled.
Everyone stood up in my honor. It seemed that the immediate families, the council and some selective few royals were there. I was conscious of the fact that all eyes were on me but it didn't matter, because I looked beautiful according to David.
With all the information in my head from last night, I hadn't had time to process any of it. How I was going to manage my throne, my personal life and my secret life with David was beyond me.
My grandfather, the one who kidnapped me and would rather have me dead than be with the son of a traitor, waked towards me to greet me.
"We want to keep your succession to the throne a secret. I hope you would understand the threats but they may be a bit beyond your level of maturity."
"We?" I questioned. "If you wanted my succession to be a secret I don't think yesterday's venue or event was the right place to do it, where half the world was present for a royal wedding."
"By 'we' I mean your REAL family."
"You mean you."
"I will not have you challenge my authority." He said, calmly but with a deadly undertone.
"And I will not have you challenge my authority as YOUR Queen." I said with equal valor. "If you wanted a puppet, I was the wrong person to place the crown on, maybe your son would've been better at it than me."
"Maybe..." he whispered devilishly. "Putting the throne on someone's head for me... is as easy as taking it away.." he smiled and kissed my cheek as if he hadn't just threatened me.
'Back off, stay calm and collected, everyone is watching, they didn't hear what he just said, stay calm.' David whispered in my head.
"Father.." said my real father.
"I think we all need to have a family chat after breakfast." I said calmly, although I was bursting from anger.
Before I took my seat on the table, the maid who promised to come to my rescue had indeed kept her word. She took my cape off and I felt a weight lifted off of me.
I felt my stomach grumble, I was hungry but the minute I took a bite I had people coming to me wanted to talk to me.
I hurriedly chewed so that I was able to speak again, unable to savor the taste I gulped it down and it remained so for the rest of the time.
I barely ate any food because people wanted to talk. David kept giving me answers in my head on how to handle them or what to say when I got stuck. He was clearly more experienced than me and he definitely did a good job because I had charmed everyone on this table. Even those who spoke to me condescendingly thinking how could a woman lead them anywhere.
My eyes met his, sitting way down on the table far away from all the important people, his family was exceptionally quite.
How times change... 'Don't worry about us.' He said in my head. 'Nothing is wrong, everyone is just excited about you, and things will get normal soon. It's also a big thing having Benjamin back from the dead. In his time, he was an excellent ruler, ever since he lost your grandmother.. Well, that's another story.'
My eyes landed on Keisha, who sat next to him, clinging to him like her life depended on it.
A spark of jealousy arose within me but bigger issues were at stake here.
By the time we were done here, I felt exhausted already, how did David manage all this?
I got up and decided it was time for that talk of ours.
I glanced one last time, hungrily at the table full of food and then walked away.
"I will meet you all in the throne room." I said to them, deciding I could sneak a croissant, the least I could, and have a snack in the kitchen.
On my way there, arms reached out and grabbed my waist pulling me into the shadows.
My heart sped but I could recognize these arms anywhere.
"David! You scared me." I said in a whisper. "What if someone saw you?"
He crashed his lips onto mine and pushed me against the pillar we hid behind.
His hands intertwined in my hair and I he pushed our bodies even closer if that was even possible.
When he pulled away I nearly collapsed because my knees were so weak.
"You need to eat." He mumbled sexily. "You barely had any breakfast."
"How could I? No one let me eat." I whispered back, unhinged at our close proximity.
"At this rate, you won't be able to sustain yourself. You have to put yourself first, everyone else can wait." He had been leaning on one arm which rested above my head and the other hand had food in it.
I was so lost in his kiss I hadn't even noticed he had gotten food for me. It was a croissant wrapped in a tissue with some jam spread in it; he had even tried to stuff it with some roasted chicken trying to make it into a sandwich.
"You're very thoughtful." I said as I hungrily started eating it.
"And you don't have to worry about Keisha." He said casually.
"I'm not worried." I mumbled.
"I saw the way you looked at her, as if you're going to eat her, just don't worry about her, I'll deal with her."
"Heartless ass." I smiled.
Halfway through I still felt hungry but I also felt sick so I decided it was time to stop eating.
"I really should go, everyone must be waiting." I said with a longingly sigh.
He gave me a light peck and let me go. "See you in a bit."
I looked back to wink at him but I bumped into my father.
"Father." I said surprised, my heart beat rising, David escaped in time.
"We're all waiting for you..." that was close.. I kept thinking.
"Let's go then" I said.
It was a quiet and long journey to the throne room; I realized there wasn't much to talk to him about.
By the time we got there everyone was already there.
I made my way to the throne, the seat David had yet to sit on and asked everyone to come closer.
"I do not appreciate being told what to do and what not to do grandfather."
"Eliza-"
"I am not done speaking." His face adorned a grave expression.
"Especially in front of my subjects. You put the crown on your head. Don't you dare threaten me again." I spoke freely in front of them because these were my supposed family. My real father, my dad and mother, my grandfather were the only people there.
"You threatened her father?" said Robert, my real father, angrily.
"Oh don't act so innocent, you and him first kidnapped me and threatened to kill me if David doesn't relinquish his title and now you're concerned about my well-being? You all betrayed me. My own family betrayed me. So never again show me any affection because I don't want any of you. Others have been more kind to me than my own family" I said calmly. I really felt like a heartless person but after everything I had been through, this was bound to happen.
That sentence caused a massive stir.
"WHAT? You both kidnapped her?" said my dad to his brother and father. "Does this mean you were behind all these killings?"
My grandfather looked at me curiously while my father and Robert were about to come down to blows.
"So he told you after all didn't he?"
I laughed and said calmly. "Oh no, your compulsion wore off. I saw Robert when I was kidnapped, the minute I saw him here again, I instantly remembered he was the one, the one who was following me around, in the café, the shadowy figure haunting me. I don't know why you bothered compelling me, I was going to eventually find out. The rest was easy to figure out, you could never have beaten David in a hand to hand combat for the throne, something had had to compel him to give up the throne and the way we broke up.. it never quite made sense."
"Father" said Robert angrily "You said she wouldn't know!"
My father responded "It doesn't matter whether she would know or not, how could you stand there and let him do that to her!? I don't believe you would've been the brain behind this plan, you may have helped him in the execution but I hold you equally accountable! What have you two become! You are no less than monsters and not the family I recall! Have you any idea what you put her through? You lost Mary-Anne and you had no choice because she died, imagine your daughter knowing the love of her life is alive but unable to have him! How can you justify yourself."
"Edward killed them." Robert said in a rage. "He killed our mother and Mary-Anne."
I had to give credit to my father's valor, it was majestic to watch him argue, I had never seen him so worked up before.
"And you think this is some kind of revenge? What did Elizabeth ever do to you? Or is your daughter just collateral damage in your plot for vengeance!?"
"She cannot be with David, it's for her own good, he's the son of a traitor!-"
"And who are you to decide what's good for her?"
Before Robert, who was beyond shocked, as if he had never considered this thought, could respond he continued "Have you ever considered that he is the grandson of Christian de Thomas, a great man! Have you ever thought that if he killed our mother and your wife he also killed his own mother and his own siblings to reach the throne! Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, he isn't even in his right mind? Have you ever seen the way he has treated his children, have you seen how great and responsible and sensible his son turned out to be despite his psychotic father? Have you seen the way your daughter has grown in our care? How beautiful, intelligent and kind she is? Have you seen how your daughter fell in love with him or how he took care of her? Have you ever seen a man, a powerful man, step down from his throne, something he has worked his whole life to get, for the woman he loves!?"
Before anyone can answer that he said loudly "No, you haven't! Because you were too busy plotting and planning instead of being there with the only family you've got left!"
Grandfather Benjamin kept looking at me as if he was trying to figure something out and when there was silence and a staring fest going on between both my fathers he said "hm. You are unfit to rule aren't you?"
"Excuse me?" I said deeply offended. "Just because I' m human doesn't mean I can't rule Vam-"
"You're no human. You're in transition."
"What?" said everyone in unison.
"Yes, she's turning into a Vampire."
If I thought I was emotionless, I sure as hell had a lot of emotions running around right now.
-Z
Whaaaaaat? Does she not get a break!?
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