Upon request of the Queen, Lily was to go straight to the Queen's quarters after dinner instead of her own.
It was a bit of an unusual request, but upon remembrance that she had spent the previous night sleeping in Rose's arms on her giant King-sized bed, a soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips and a spark instilled itself in her step. She also remembered that the conference was to be held that night, and a bit of that spark faded.
Lily was absolutely dreading the social event. She knew it was an important factor in her life—if the Queen acquired allies, she could win the war and possibly set humans free, including herself and her parents. Strangely enough, though, freedom to Lily was feeling Rose's lips glide across her body as they twisted into an elated smile against her skin. If her race was to be set free, which was something she ought not to put her hopes in, she doubted she would leave the castle. Something in her gut pulled her like a magnet to that vivacious brunette with glistening fangs and sparkling, supernatural eyes.
But it was her duty to ensure the rest of her kind was set free, that her parents would live a better life if they were even still alive, and so that Peter could go find his little sister again, and so that no human would have to live in fear of being found by the greedy creatures that stomped across all the lands of the earth.
These thoughts spun around her head as she made her way to the third floor, her bottom lip being taken between her teeth. She was not the only one whose mind was riddled with thoughts of the present and the future, the worries of war and the beginnings of battles soon to set foot on their lives. The Queen had not been fearful, so to speak, but she made every move with caution. Never had she fought a war against her own kind, and never had her throne been threatened.
She was confident that things would turn out alright, since she was the strongest, most powerful, most superior vampire of them all. There was a reason she was given the crown, and it was because her brain thought smarter, her body moved faster, her eyes saw more, her ears heard more, and her instinctual senses picked up more than anyone in the world. Her intuition was keen and so was her leadership.
Lily thought about these virtues of Rose as she gently pushed open the vampire's bedroom door, peeking in slowly as her eyes laid upon the image of Rose sitting at her vanity, holding a mascara brush up to her eyelashes and stroking upwards, not needing very much of the pasty liquid due to her immortality making her naturally beautiful in every sense. But everyone, alive or dead, could enjoy a touch of makeup even if it was unnecessary.
"Come in," said that gentle voice, like a bird softly chirping to its love in a beckoning manner. Lily's brain could not register her words at first, for she was way too focused on how Rose looked.
Although she could only see the side of her face, she was struck by how elegant and sharp her jawline looked as her head poked slightly outwards to brush the mascara onto her lashes more precisely. Her neck, like a wide, calm river, led to her jawline which dispensed out of it like a trailing river, meandering around to form her chin and then perfectly shaping out the rest of her side profile, connecting around at her chestnut hair which was pulled up into a sleek and elegant French twist. Her lips were painted crimson red, her cheekbones even further defined, looking like a raised plot of land in the middle of that river that was her silhouette. She was a work of art, the most masterfully painted painting known to man and vampire.
Her silver, slightly metallic dress made her ooze grace and majesty even more. The fabric at the chest was folded at intervals, making it look like a jagged knife had sifted through melted steel and left swift lines in its trail. The fabric straightened out towards the waist, fitting close against her skin and accentuating the deep dips in the middle of her sides, expanding outwards to form the delicious silhouette of her hips, running down like melting metal and becoming much looser as it dropped to her ankles, the fabric returning to its folded look. The open V of her chest was decorated with several golden necklaces that shimmered, the diamond, ruby, and emerald stones placed in them glinting the light that filled the mirror in front of them from the window on the adjacent wall. It was a sight to see—the different lights casting in different directions of the room, bouncing particularly off items of great wealth and luxury, all heading to a final destination which was the Queen herself.
Rose let Lily stare for a few minutes, her crimson lips tightening and tilting into a smirk as she finished off her mascara. Pulling down her wide sleeves that had been pushed up, she set her mascara down and stood from the chair, suddenly 6 feet tall because of the large heels she wore. She glanced over to the girl, her eyes tainted with the self-awareness she had of her beauty, a humble confidence that made her beauty shine even more. She noticed how the blonde was completely dazed, her lips ajar and her eyes widened.
Her red lips breaking into a wide smile, she turned and walked towards the bed, feeling the girl's eyes follow hers. She let her hand rest upon something red against the black duvet, causing Lily's eyes to fall there, too. And on the bed sat a red dress, one that was a deep and dark maroon from the chest to the thighs where it stopped rather shortly, but there was a see-through lace that encompassed the entire dress and cast down pretty far, sequined with dark red flowers and pieces of dark red glitter. It was absolutely magnificent.
"This is for you," Rose purred, returning her eyes to the girl. She then raised her hand and motioned for her to come closer, so Lily closed the door behind her which she had forgotten to do when she walked in, then made her way to the bed.
"For me?" she repeated softly, feeling her breath be taken away from her from how pretty Rose looked up close. She was such a sight for sore eyes, and Lily felt a sort of pride swell up inside her at the fact that her mate was the most fetching woman she had ever seen.
"Yes," Rose softly answered her with a smile. Tilting her head, she surprised Lily when her fingers suddenly found the hem of the girl's shirt, her eyes never leaving hers as she tugged it upwards.
Lily hesitated, a bit thrown off-guard, but she raised her arms and let the vampire slip her white shirt over her head, revealing that she did not wear a bra underneath. Rose's throat clenched as her eyes dropped down to the girl's bare chest, and she ached to take her again right then and there, but there were prior appointments to attend to, unfortunately.
Rose then nodded her head towards the white pants that the girl wore (she had persuaded the vampire to allow her to wear pants instead of those blasted dresses), indicating that she slide them down herself.
Reading her eyes, Lily reached down to the hem of her white sweatpants and pushed them down, a small smirk playing on her lips as she enjoyed the vampire watching her undress with such a darkness in her yellow-green irises, the same darkness that had been there when she was thrusting so mercilessly inside of her.
The vampire also smirked, watching the beloved blonde intently as she slipped her pants down and let them pool at her ankles, carelessly kicking them away with her foot. She let her eyes roll downwards, to the girl's pale stomach and down her hips, but her eyes jolted to a halt as she noticed distinct bruises lining the girl's pale hips.
She flew forward and gently took the girl by her waist, her eyes trained on the dark marks scattered across her hips, disappearing under the hem of her white underwear. "What are those?" she firmly asked, her eyes full of alarm and worry as she tried to reel her mind with where the bruises could have come from.
Upon hearing a devilish little giggle emanate from the girl's mouth, her eyes flashed up towards her. The blonde slung her arms around the vampire's neck, grinning up at her with her rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes. "You," the girl answered her, biting her lip and slowly releasing it. Upon seeing the confused and further alarmed look on the vampire's face, she reached very far up on her tip-toes and hovered her lips as close to the vampire's ear as she could, sultrily whispering, "When you were fucking the life out of me."
Rose felt heat soar across her like a roaring flame igniting in the deepest depths of herself. Her grip on the girl's bare waist tightened, and she leaned forward into her, turning her face to inhale against her hair. Her hands slid upwards, taking the girl's breasts into them without warning, her dark lips smirking when she heard a small gasp against her ear. "Bad girl," she mumbled, her own breaths growing heavier as she wished to throw the naked girl onto the bed and make violent love to her. But they were already going to be late to the conference.
So she leaned her face away and turned it to the bed, taking the dress in her hand and holding it out to the girl. Lily glanced down at it, that lustful impishness still tracing her eyes, but she leaned away from the vampire and took the dress with a smirk.
"Do I have to wear makeup?" Lily asked as she began slipping into the dress.
Watching the girl pull the dress up over her hips, easily sliding it over her slender body, Rose answered, "Of course not."
The girl pushed her arms through the long sleeves, reveling in how soft the fabric felt on her. The underpart was silky and smooth, only covering a couple inches of her thigh, while the outside part was coarse but still heavenly.
"It looks beautiful," Rose huskily whispered as she stepped around the girl and took hold of the zipper on her back, sliding it upwards. "You look beautiful," she corrected, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders and sliding them down her arms slowly, knowing that she was leaving a trail of heat behind them.
Lily's breath hitched as Rose's words whispered themselves right against her ear, her soft hands grazing down her shoulders. She could feel her behind her, the heat that formed between them wherever they went, the thick air that always enveloped them when they were together. She was constantly breathless at the way Rose made her feel.
The vampire removed her hands from the girl who was the aim of all her lustrous desires that seemed to be growing more unbearable by the second. Lily watched as she walked over to her vanity and leaned forward, picking something up that sounded like metal against the wooden surface.
Rose turned around slowly, revealing that in her hands rested a golden crown, one that was encrusted with several diamonds and rubies and emeralds, dazzling extraordinarily bright. "Will you do me the honors?" she asked with a playful smile, holding the crown out towards the girl.
Lily nervously stepped forward in awe at the majesty of the crown. "I didn't know you had an actual crown." She carefully reached her hands out and took the crown, lips parting in shock at how heavy it was.
"I don't really care for wearing it," Rose said as she watched the girl turn it around carefully in her hands as she admired it. "But I think perhaps I've been too humble, and it's time I remind my people of who I am."
Lily's blue eyes flickered up to her, the strident tone of her smooth voice turning her on. She loved when Rose seemed to shift into Queen mode, always standing taller and talking more authoritatively. Blushing at how spellbinding the tall vampire looked, Lily held the crown up and got on her tip-toes.
Rose leaned downwards to aid the girl, bending at her knees and lowering her head as she felt Lily place the crown on her head. She knew she could trust the girl to be careful and to place it on right, which she did.
"There," Lily said after adjusting the crown, leaning away and watching Rose rise to her tallest stance, straightening her back and lifting her chin. The girl was breathless at the sight, at her deep red lips, her chartreuse eyes that were achingly vivid, her perfect and chiseled bone structure, and the way the golden crown looked sitting atop her head of chocolate hair.
She had to take another step back to get a full view of the vampire who was in her truest Queen form. She wore silver and gold like a goddess, her height which was even furthered by the tall crown on her head being very intimidating. She glittered and glowed like any Queen would. Ultimately, Rose was the ruler of the entire world. The land was her dominion, the world her kingdom. She ruled every corner of it, East to West, North to South, ocean to continent, country to state. She was not only Queen of the Vampires, but Queen of the world. And, if they won the war, she would prove to be the most powerful leader the world had ever known because of her ability to feel empathy for those beneath her, to be able to see the cruelty her kind has inflicted on humans. If they won the war, she would rule over both the freed humans and the vampires, her rule kind and merciful, thoughtful and just.
Queen Rose III, ruler of the world.
✞
There would be no socializing, for that was not what she was there for. There would be no mingling around the room with her glass of blood or wine, and there would be no small talk before or after the main point of the conference. She was there to inform them of her decision to free humans, and she was there to attain allies. No other objectives weighed her mission.
That's why the moment that she walked in, her hand rather tightly clasped around Lily's, she wasted no time in making her and the girl's way to the very front of the room where Holden had broken out her golden throne with a red, velvet seat that bulged out from its gold frame. There was also a seat next to the throne, on the right, that was a bit smaller and cushioned by black velvet instead of red. She ignored the collective bow that everyone in the room made upon sight of their Queen.
Lily glanced around the room as they walked in, careful to not miss a step because of how fast Rose was dragging her to the front. She wanted to tell the hasty vampire to slow down, but she knew she was in "the zone" where she was straightforward and efficient in doing what needed to be done. But as they made their way to the front, she noticed that every head of the royals who stood in the middle of the room snapped right towards her as they came back up from their bow, eyes of red and gold all staring upon her, some snarls of thirst being heard throughout the room. Since Rose had learned to control her thirst around her, and the only other vampire she was around was Holden who was the goofiest little demon she ever heard of, she had sort of forgotten that she was human and had, apparently, the sweetest blood in all lands.
Rose was seemingly unaware of their voracious stares, for her eyes were solely trained on the thrones as she ran over in her mind everything she was going to say. Her earrings, which were thin strings of pearls, dangled over her flexed jaw as she stepped up the stairs that led to the chairs. A large wave of mumbles and gasps crashed over the room as she did not sit down, but rather gestured to the smaller throne beside hers expectantly and watched the girl nervously sit down in it, her baby blue eyes darting across the room with apprehension. Then the Queen elegantly sat down in her throne, turning her head to the left to see Holden appear from the crowd and step up the steps, standing right to her left with his arms crossed over his chest.
The three stared out into the crowd, Lily's humanly blue eyes to the right avoiding the royal vampires' stares, the Queen's yellow-green eyes in the middle looking out over the crowd with her chin lifted and her chest swollen with authority, and Holden's obsidian eyes observing every red and golden stare, ensuring there were no malicious intentions or secretively rebel eyes hiding out in the crowd. Goofy Holden looked like quite a frightening guard, for once.
"Your Majesty, I find it quite amusing how you brought your food to a business meeting," a Duke called out from the front of the crowd, a roar of laughter filling the room after his words. He stared at the human girl with a twisted grin that harbored thirst behind it.
"Do say, Your Majesty, that she is here as a gift to us for our allegiance," called out a Duchess. Lily was beginning to pick up that Dukes and Duchesses were a bit more discourteous than Lords and Ladies.
"The vampire equivalent of a fruit basket, yes?" called out another Duke, the vampire crowd erupting in more laughter.
Lily hesitantly looked over to the Queen, and instead of seeing a furious stare, she saw something much more disquieting—an eerily calm stare, a petrifying smile that shadowed her lips. She knew that was worse than Rose actually lashing out.
The laughter began to die down once the vampires began to realize that their Queen was oddly silent, her entire body completely still and her eyes holding a strange glint that was off-putting. Maybe some of them, too, had known the Queen well enough to realize that her placid stare held the upmost violence and murder in it.
The room then fell silent, completely silent. There was not a single sound, a single breath, a single shuffle. It was almost as if no one was even in the room, although the girl was looking out at a crowd of probably a hundred vampires.
After a few moments of that silence which made Lily squirm in her seat and stare at the floor nervously, the Queen finally spoke, her voice slithering into the air in a subtly threatening tone, "Anyone who speaks once more about the human girl beside me will have to repeat their remarks to my guillotine."
There was a united sound of fear and shock, the unified gulp and gasp of the vampires who were both afraid of her threat and confused as to why she was defending a human.
After a few moments of this stark realization settling upon the crowd, a Duke from the mid-right of the crowd spoke, "Your Majesty, do you mean to tell us this human is not sitting upon the right of your throne as a joke of irony?"
The Queen, her head turned upwards towards him, said nothing, although that unsettling smile returned to her face. She only looked upon him, her yellow-eyes boring right into his soul and making him nearly hunch over from the cowardice that filled him upon her direct eye contact.
His question was genuine, and she knew it was, but it was still an act of disobedience. She had just said that whomever spoke about the girl would face frightening consequences, and she had to swear by her word. So, turning to the guards who stood against the wall to her right, she spoke in her silvery tone, "Take him to the guillotine."
There was a gasp amongst the crowd, followed by utter silence, then proceeded by the clamor of the armored guards pushing through the crowd to the Duke whose eyes were wide.
"No, Your Majesty!" he cried as two guards took hold of him by his arms, jerking him away towards the door as the rest of the crowd muttered. "I didn't mean it that way! Please!" He kicked and thrashed as the guards dragged him towards the door. "Your Majesty, no!" he screamed once more, his voice trembling from the realization that he was about to die, before they drug him through the two doors that swung closed after them.
The crowd returned their eyes to the Queen whose odd smile had grown a bit. "Let the Duke of Katsbury be a ripe example of what will happen to you if any of you question my authority." She paused, lowering her chin as her smile disappeared from her lips, replaced with a crimson scowl that made even Lily's blood run cold. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," every single vampire in the room collectively spoke, suddenly looking not so pomp in their lavish clothing that their high positions had brought them. They were now only subjects, only measly patrons to their ultimate ruler.
"Good," she lilted, raising her chin again. "Because I need to know with upmost assurance that you will be on my side no matter what." She leaned forward, and it seemed as if everyone else in the room leaned forward, as well. Even Lily found herself straining forward from the intensity of the moment. "I need to know who are my allies, who will follow their Queen through anything, as they should."
The room was quiet and tense, each of the royals growing a bit worried. Sure, since she had invited the ones she trusted most, most of them were already willing to be loyal to their Queen. But the way she talked made them a bit anxious, not in following her but in hearing what else she was about to say.
"The rebels have raised an army," Rose began, her voice stentorian as it reverberated off the tall ceilings. "They wish to act like uncivilized animals, to live off their thoughtless greed and reckless abandon. Their wish to crumble the system I have created will lead to the ultimate extinction of humans and, subsequently, our own race."
Although there was a ripple of agreeing nods, there were also a few curious and slightly menacing glances cast towards Lily. She gulped, flickering her eyes down to her hands which fiddled with each other. She waited nervously for Rose to inform them of her wish to set humans free and of her mating to the human beside her. Even though she was worried, she felt safe next to Rose. She knew in the deepest parts of her soul that she would always be protected by her, that she would do anything to keep her safe.
"But I shall not let that happen," Rose continued, pausing before she spoke her next words which might completely change the way the royals viewed her as Queen. She inhaled deeply, raising her chin and sitting up straight as she washed away all her apprehensions and declared, "And the next thing I will not let happen is the cruelty we have been mercilessly inflicting on humans for the past eight years."
The entire room became loud with gasps and shouts, groans of disgust and laughs of pure shock.
Her jaw clenched, her eyes flaring amber as her fists gripped the arms of her throne so hard she felt the gold bend beneath her hands. "Quiet!" she barked, but the crowd still obnoxiously shouted their opinions all at once. So she rose to her feet, her sudden movement causing all the ruckus to immediately fall silent. Her eyes were nothing but molten amber, their flames threatening to reach out of her orbs and burn anyone near her.
"Your Majesty," spoke a Lord who bowed his head when her eyes snapped to him. Raising his head, he nervously asked, "I dare not disrespect you nor your rule, but is it your intentions to set the humans free after we spent millennia hiding in the shadows away from their cruel hands?"
There was a wave of murmurs of agreement to the Lord's cautious question.
"What I mean," the Queen began, "Is that it is unjust to treat them like animals, to consider them soulless bodies with no other purpose than the blood running in their veins."
"But that is their only purpose to us vampires, Your Majesty. It's only the natural order," spoke a Lady in the back.
There was another loud eruption of unsolicited opinions which the Queen immediately silenced with the raise of her hand. "Yes, Lady Marina is right when she says it is the natural order. We are vampires, and our sustenance is found in the veins of the humans. I will not try to contradict nature itself. If so, my golden crown of jewels would be replaced with the Fool's hat of a jester."
There were several chuckles that came from the crowd, bringing a small smile to the Queen's face. No matter how incredulous her demand might seem to them, she was always a beloved Queen among those who respected her without question.
"Now, I do not expect you to be comfortable with my proposition right away," she continued, noticing how the eyes of her subjects deepened to fully take in her words in thoughtful attentiveness. "But when I win this war, I will implement co-habitation between humans and vampires. It will be illegal to kill or bite a human the same way it is illegal to murder one of our own, and humans will repay us by donating their blood." There were more murmurs, but no one was quick to shout out cries of disagreement. "Now, I know that the commoners will have trouble being around humans and controlling their thirst, but it will take a few years for us to adapt and attain the skill of self-control."
The royals looked at her, and they looked at each other, and they looked at Lily. They were mulling it over, trying to figure out a way to still put trust in their Queen even with such an insane idea that went against their very will.
Rose then turned, glancing over to Lily who quickly looked up at her, her cheeks rosy from the thirsty eyes continually watching her. "And, since as your Queen I am dedicated to being nothing but honest with you in return for your faith in me, I must tell you that the human you see here, in all her golden beauty and youthful blush, is my mate."
There was a small gasp in the room, the eyes that glared upon the girl turning a bit envious and despicable.
"So you decide to change the way your species lives just because you've fucked a human? Sounds like selfishness to me," a Duke in the front spoke, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling up at the Queen.
Rose snapped her eyes to him. "Ah, Duke of Gainesville. It's surprising that you speak to me when the glare of your eyes is red." She tilted her head, folding her hands together in front of her as she spoke bitterly to him with that uncanny smile on her face. "It shocks me you think you have a place to speak when your eyes are not golden because there is no royal blood running through your veins. You were put upon your miniature throne by my will, and you should have known you could have been easily taken off of it by my will, as well."
The Duke's brain had no time to process what she had said before she turned to the guards again and gave a knowing nod, their armor immediately clanging as they walked towards the Duke and grabbed him.
"You're evil!" he screamed, kicking his feet in the air as his veins bulged from his neck. He cursed her as they dragged him away, his shouts echoing outside as they pulled him to the guillotine where he would join the Duke of Katsbury.
"If anyone else in this room goes against me and my reign, speak now, for your infidelity will be found out one way or another, and you, too, will have to explain your treachery to the guillotine."
No one else spoke, and she paused for a few moments, trying to sense out anyone who was plotting betrayal. Upon finding none, but still sensing a general displeasure with her new information, she slowly sat back down on her throne, reaching over and taking Lily's hand in hers.
The girl looked over to her, seeing the way her amber eyes calmed down to their yellow-green state upon viewing her mate. She smiled at the vampire, squeezing her hand to signal that she was right there beside her, supporting her the entire way.
Rose grinned, her white fangs glistening in the light, before she leaned over and pressed her lips extra softly against Lily's to be sure she did not impart her red lipstick upon her. The crowd watched, some of the more intelligent vampires sensing that Lily truly was her mate by the way the Queen seemed to glow when looking at her. Some others widened their eyes in shock, but nobody dared to question Queen Rose.
Pulling away, Rose stared upon Lily's beautiful face for a few moments before she turned back to the crowd. "My people, if it is possible for me, the Queen of Vampires, to be mated to a human completely against my will and my forewarning, to have had no utter clue that this human girl who stumbled into my life would be my mate, then it only makes sense that humans and vampires can live amongst each other in peace. Forget your prejudice, your stereotypes, your hatred and greed. You must realize that physical inferiority does not make a human less of an actual person."
"I agree with you, Your Majesty," a Lady spoke, pushing through the middle of the crowd to reach the front. Her long black hair whipped around her as she turned to the crowd with her golden eyes full of despair. "Look at them." She motioned her hand to the Queen and Lily, their hands clasped as they both leaned towards each other without even realizing it. "It could only be a sign from the heart of the universe itself that two species be mated together, especially one of them being the superior over the entire planet."
"I can't say it will be easy or accepted," spoke a Duke, stepping forward as well. "But you are right when you say that it only makes sense, Your Majesty."
"It will take time," a Duchess called out right after as she emanated from the midst of the crowd. "But if we do it fairly and justly, I think it would be the most heroic thing the vampire species has ever done."
"I agree," spoke another Duke. "I agree," followed a Lord. This continued, with voices from the crowd taking turns in spilling their agreement all over each other, growing louder and louder each time.
Rose's dark lips twisted in a smile, her eyes as lively and intoxicated with sensible power as they ever had been. "You will need to train your armies immediately and send handfuls to my own army," she called out, causing the crowd's enthusiastic shouts to calm down. "My Lords and Ladies, Dukes and Duchesses, show me now if your alliance is trustworthy. Are you going to trust my instincts? Are you going to aid me in winning this war against the rebels, in bringing about peaceful coexistence with the humans which we will be incredibly grateful that we did?" She sharply stood up, stepping forward as she raised her chin, the jewels of her crown glinting from the bright chandeliers above her. She stood tall and valiant, her entire presence imbued with sovereignty and grace. "Are you with me?"
Instead of responding, every single vampire in the room immediately dropped down on one knee. They did not do a casual head bow or a light curtsy; no, they dropped to the floor and leaned completely over, utterly submitting to their ruler who stood before them. They stayed there, the entire crowd and even her guards bowed completely down.
Lily's lips fell open in awe, and she nearly bowed down herself. She glanced over to Rose, at how her eyes were closed as she soaked up the feeling and used her senses to ensure that each royal was completely loyal.
She couldn't believe where she was. Only a couple weeks ago, she was just an 18-year old human girl picking flowers at her camp. Now here she was, mated to the Queen of Vampires, sitting next to her throne and watching all the royal vampires bow down and submit to conquering the rebels and freeing the humans.
And as Rose opened her eyes and immediately turned them to the girl beside her, her lips widened into the most joyous of smiles, she felt as if her heart could burst with happiness.