Chapter 27: The cat and mouse chase!

Caro frowned disapprovingly at his fiancé and her training partner, Demetri as he once again watched them from behind the trees. He felt both outraged as well as pathetic that he, who was the King in the West had to resort to these kinds of methods to just sneak a peak at his own fiancé. Well, it was clearly him who had already started treating her as his fiancé. Cleary, she didn’t share the attachment or intention. Last time they had met, she had insisted that she would find way to break off this engagement without it angering the King. Caro desperately prayed to all the ancient gods he knew that she never finds such a way.
His attendant shot him a curious look seeing that his Sire was hiding behind the trees for the second time in his life, both times for a woman, then shook his head resignedly before asking, “Your Highness, I don’t think you need to hide anymore. You are after all, her highness’ s fiancé. Now the whole kingdom knows it.”

“But does she?”, Caro countered and let out a sigh. It was clear from their discussion yesterday that she had no intention to get married to an old guy like him even though he still looked like twenty years old. Vampire genes make them freeze their aging process at the age of twenty. That’s how they look the same all through eternity.

Caro bit his under lip uncertainly and asked in a desperate tone, not knowing what else to do, “What on earth should I do to make that woman look at me”
“Train her”, a composed voice said from behind him and both Caro as well as his attendant jumped, startled.

Caro narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he realized that it was the Queen who had just spoken. His future mother-in-law was younger than him by twenty years. He flushed as he realized that she had just caught him red handed hiding and ogling her daughter from a safe distance.
“Pardon?”, Caro asked, not quite getting what she meant by ‘train’. After all, she is training now as they speak, isn’t she?


The Queen bowed to Caro and he respectfully returned it.
Poised and calm as ever, the Queen continued on, “I intended to make her the future empress of Valyria.”
Caro raised an eyebrow at her and muttered, “That’s a big dream”
Just as Caro had perceived, the Queen had kept Selena hidden so as to protect her royal lineage. Selena was her hidden ace and she was slowly unveiling it in front of the Kingdom of Valyria. A part of him felt saddened and despondent that Selena will never really hear her own name from anyone’s mouth. She will be forced to live as someone else through all eternity. Living as her deceased twin sister for a lifetime is no easy task.

The Queen smiled crookedly at him and replied, “Yes, it is. But I think you can help me achieve it. I am not going to beat around the bushes with my request here because it is a win- win situation for us. Train her in military as well as political strategies.”

Caro raised an eyebrow at her in surprise and repeated, “You want me to teach your daughter politics? I have never taken disciples.”
The Queen nodded at him and said, “You might have noticed that she has quite a sharp tongue and doesn’t think much before speaking. To be a Queen, she may sometimes have to make very hard decisions. I want you to prepare her on the history of Valyria and its every clan. I want you to train her to be a righteous and fearless Queen.”

Caro stared at his fiancé dubiously who was still training furiously not knowing anything, then tilted his head slightly as he said doubtfully, “I don’t know if that would work. Selena doesn’t seem to be too fond of me”
The Queen froze and shot a horrified look at Caro and he instantly regretted his loose words. He had called her ‘Selena’ instead of ‘Mia’ or the ‘first princess’.

The Queen narrowed her eyes at her future son in law. She had clearly expected a man of his stature and power to do his research on her daughter when the King had announced the marriage but it was too soon to have found out anything. After all, the engagement was declared only yesterday. So, that could mean only one thing. That he had an eye on her way before the king even made his move.

And because he was an original vampire, not much people said no to him and it was quite easy for him to get information on Selena as he had spies everywhere and people everywhere respected and adored him. The Queen relaxed visibly when she realized that Caro genuinely had feelings for her daughter. But just to be on the safer side, she decided to weed out the General’s clan today itself so that no more information get leaked out. Not much damage happened because it was Caro who had found out about her daughter’s real identity. But imagine what would have happened if the royal concubine had somehow managed to get her painted, razor sharp hands on it? All hell would have broken loose.

Caro cursed himself internally for his loose and glib tongue and the careless mistake he had just committed. Now he was caught red handed on snooping on the first princess’s private affairs.
“You already knew?”, The Queen stated the obvious and Caro flushed and nodded meekly, not knowing what else to do. He hoped that he hadn’t offended the Queen by his rogue actions. He didn’t have any malicious intentions when he had sent spies into the General’s clan , he was merely curious about this woman.

The Queen nodded at him and smiled as she said, “Its better that there are no secrets between the husband and wife. You two make a good pair and I hope you two stay happy together. So, do you accept my request? To teach Selena politics? To groom her for being the empress of Valyria?”

Caro bowed his head deeply and without thinking much, replied firmly, “I accept”
He didn’t exactly want to spend his time with her by discussing wars and boring history but his bride to be left him with no other choice. She was literally inapproachable and distant and if he could make use of this opportunity to get close to her, he damn well will use it very well.

The Queen smiled crookedly at him and said softly, “I sincerely hope that you two will stay together, having each other’s back for all of eternity.”
Caro frowned at her as even though the Queen’s voice was sincere and affectionate on the surface, he knew the Queen well enough by now it that it was easier to discern that in reality, she wasn’t too fond of the King’s decision and she had already formed a plan in her mind which depended on using him as sacrifice. He bit the inside of his cheeks, as he tried to read the Queen but then gave up sighing as she always had a mean poker face which made it impossible to read what exactly was son her mind. Caro had the inkling that the Queen wasn’t exactly in favor of him being with her daughter even though she just congratulated him on their engagement and Caro after years of experience had realized that his instincts and gut feelings were never wrong.

A thousand questions muddled his head as he bowed deeply to send off the Queen. If she disapproved, why was she literally offering them a chance or an opportunity to be together? He look at the retreating back of the Queen as his gut feeling told him that the Queen wasn’t really on his side and she had something planned which involved him being the lamb of sacrifice. Every bone in his body was yelling at him that the Queen wasn’t his friend as she was pretending to be.