Chapter 27

Alina

“We’re here.” Kendrick’s deep voice woke me up oh-so-rudely from my power nap. Seriously, it was the second time today! When Erick informed us that we would have to wake up early to get to the venue, I thought early like six o’clock in the morning or maybe five... but not as early as three fucking am in the bloody morning!
Since Erick was banned from seeing me until the wedding, it was Kendrick who had to wake me up. He came barrelling into the room, literally dragging me up from the bed and throwing me inside the bathroom. I finally managed to clean up, brush, and dress up in a pair of comfortable blue jeans and a full-sleeved white sweater with black polka dots after falling asleep nearly a hundred times. It was all thanks to Kendrick who threatened me every five minutes with various modes of torture.
By three-thirty in the morning, I was ready and inside the car with Kendrick in the driver’s seat. Erick waited upstairs to follow behind us as soon as we left the driveway. I fell asleep as soon as Ken started driving, and as I result, I now had no idea where we were and what path we had taken. The only thing I knew was that my watch now read five-seventeen a.m., and I was not at a church.
Yawning, I stretched out my hands and legs as much as the car allowed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I then looked out the window. “Holy shit!”
The view was straight out of a fantasy movie, a very gothic, fantasy movie. The mansion... sorry, my bad, the castle was located on top of a cliff high above the sea. The sun rising on the horizon provided a picture perfect backdrop, and the castle in front was H.U.G.E. It could very well have been the biggest castle in the world for all I knew. I had this sudden urge to take pictures and post them on Instagram to make my non-existent friends extremely jealous.
“Um... Alina, if you’re done staring, we should really be getting inside.” Kendrick broke me out of my trance as he awkwardly held the door open the entire time. Pulling myself together, I got out of the car.
“Sorry,” I said, my cheeks warming up with embarrassment.
“Don’t be.” Kendrick gave me an affectionate pat on the back. “It happens to the best of us.”
“Assuming that the best of us carry a mean ass looking dagger on our belt loop?” I was unable to question him the past few days, having been too busy trying to save Erick’s life. But now that Erick was all but back to normal, the question had been on the back my mind with its teeth bared.
“Hey, I work for vampires! I need to be ready for when someone decided to make a main course out of me,” Ken said in defence. “Not that it ever happened, but I like to stay prepared.”
“You’re like a commander in the Royal Guard, aren’t you?” I asked, not buying his defence bullshit for an instant.
“Yes.” He accepted defeat without batting an eyelash. “Now, we should really get inside. Erick’s about to arrive.”
Nodding, I followed Kendrick to the front porch of the ominously big castle while looking back at the endless driveway. It was beautiful just like the castle. I could count up to twelve fountains that ran the length of the road before disappearing downhill, with the roads on either side. The entire area was dotted with multi-coloured blooms. Their fragrance mingled and spread in the morning air, creating a scent so elegant, the world’s largest perfume companies would kill for it. I saw a red car appearing in the uphill driveway just before I was ushered inside the beautifully carved enormous mahogany doors.
“Alina, dear!”Kenna was waiting for me with a handful of other women. She engulfed me in a hug as soon as I entered. “Oh, you look so tired! Didn’t you get enough sleep last night?”
“I didn’t know I’d have to wake up at three in the morning,” I replied sheepishly.
“Don’t worry.” She cupped my cheeks in her hands. “You’ll feel better once the cleansing starts.”
“Hello, Alina!” A beautiful brunette woman wearing a peach knee-length lace dress rushed over to give me a hug as soon as Kenna stepped aside. “I’d been dying to meet you! I’m Selene, Jordan’s wife.”
“Hi! It’s so nice to meet you.” So this was the woman Jordan and Erick had spoken so fondly of. She sure was lively.
“Ladies,” Queen Kenna said, drawing everyone’s attention, “we should start the ceremony now. We have lots to tell her.”
A chorus of yeses sounded from all around me, and I was yet again ushered inside and down a long hallway lined with several hand-drawn portraits.
The inside of the castle was just like a fairy tale. As we were walking on the beautifully crafted carpets, I couldn’t help noticing the century old paintings of legendary battles, only these ones with vampire soldiers. The artist’s talent was clear in the way every tiny detail had been imprinted on the canvas. The walls were light yellow with red highlights, and the ceiling held ornate Belgian glass chandeliers that reflected the fragile light of a thousand candles. Huge glass windows stood at regular intervals draped with red silk and lace curtains. It seemed like a place where time had frozen, and the people inside had lived through more than history could ever have penned down.
We stopped in front of another pair of huge mahogany doors. This one had the carving of rose vines on it. Its painting was so lifelike that I wanted to reach out and touch the soft velvety petals of the flowers in full bloom. Selene came to stand next to me, along with another blonde woman I swear I’d seen somewhere before, but I couldn’t remember.
“We’ll get her ready for the ceremony while you prepare the rest,” the blonde woman spoke.
“I’ll leave it to you then.” Kenna moved forward with the rest of the women while I was escorted inside the room. Two guards appeared out of nowhere to pull open the doors, and just as suddenly, disappeared out of sight.
“Don’t worry. It’ll take some getting used to.” The blonde woman reassured me.
“I’m sorry, but have we met before? You seem familiar, but I can’t remember where I’d seen you,” I told her.
“You have a good memory, Alina.” She smiled. The sky blue of her gown complemented her eyes. “You’d met me only once before today at a party my parents hosted nearly fifteen years ago. I’m Athena, Erick’s eldest sister.”
“Oh! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I smiled back. That explains why I felt like I knew her and why she had similar features to Kenna. “I always wondered why I never spotted either one of Erick’s sisters.”
“Well, I was away with my husband, and Susan likes staying in the castle. She’s a bit of an introvert, but I’m sure you guys will get along just fine. She’s only a couple of years older than Erick,” Athena explained.
The room we walked into was circular and fitted with several full-length mirrors and wooden sofas. There seemed to be two other doors. One was similar to the wooden door we just walked through while the other was covered with silk drapes, making it difficult to see on the other side. A beam of bright sunlight streamed in through a glass window near the ceiling of the room. Another chandelier was hung from the ceiling, only this one was bigger than the ones in the hallway.
“Here.” Selene handed me a folded piece of cloth made of pure white silk with a golden border running throughout the length. “You have to wear only this robe during the cleansing and no underwear. It’s tradition. All of us have done it on our wedding.” Selene cleared out when I was about to protest.
“Okay.” I took the robe and entered the room that had the other wooden door. It was like a bathroom but the size of the entire living room of my apartment.
Thinking about my apartment made me sad, but I knew going back wasn’t an option. I took off all my clothes, folded them, and placed them on a seat in front of the marble sink. I then wrapped the robe, which was a simple long rectangular piece of cloth, around me like a towel. The last fold went over my shoulder, and I tied it in the front to keep it secured. By the time I was finished, the cloth reached my calves. I then let my hair down from the messy bun I’d throw it into and walked out the door while taking note of the soft satin carpet under my feet.
“This way.” I was led through the second door with the silk curtains where I assumed Athena and Selene were waiting.
We came out of the curtains and into another circular room. This one was four times the size of the one I’d just been at. This room was surrounded by blue curtains on all sides. The walls too were a bright sky blue, and the entire ceiling was made of glass. The sun rays streamed down from the ceiling and fell into a huge circular pool at the centre of the room. The pool, from what I could see and smell, was filled with milk and decorated with red rose petals. The room itself was filled with several coloured roses and lilies. A small table off the side of the pool held an assortment of antique looking bottles filled with several coloured liquids, most probably natural perfumes.
Three women wearing similar white gowns appeared on one side of the room and placed a miniature throne on one side of the pool. Kenna appeared a second later, the slight flutter of the soft red silk of her gown the only sign of her supernatural speed.
“Is this really necessary?” I asked her while eyeing the pool. Wouldn’t the milk become sticky?
Kenna’s laughter was like the sound of wind chimes blowing in the air. “Don’t worry, dear. It’ll be washed off. This is the cleansing ceremony. Every member of the Royal and Noble family has to perform this ritual. Now please, step inside.”
I walked to the edge of the pool, feeling thankful for the short step on the side. The walls of the pool were really high. As soon as I’d stepped on the wall, I found two of the women, maids probably, holding onto each of my hands and helping me balance as I placed my feet on the pool bottom. The milk reached just below my hips, and the water was warm enough to relax all the tension in my muscles.
I was escorted to the other side of the pool near a table, where I sat down on the bottom. I let my hair fall on the other side of the wall, where the maids began working on them immediately.
“Now, it’s time to answer all your questions.” Kenna sat on the throne only a few feet away. “But first, it’s time to tell you a story.”
“A story?” I asked with renewed curiosity. The bath made all the tension seep out of my body.
“Yes.” She smiled. “A story about the genesis of the world, of Gods and Devils and the beginning of the vampire race.”
“Your Highness, do you mind if I tell the story?”
Several gasps sounded at once at the sound of that soft, melodious voice. Kenna and the maids stood up still, holding their breaths. That was when a figure emerged from the shadows behind the curtains and came to stand at the foot of the pool. I would have stood up too if only the sheer strength of the power emitting from her hadn’t held me in place.
She was young and seemed to be about thirteen or fourteen years of age. She had long hip-length dark, dark red hair that looked black unless exposed to the sunlight. Her eyes too were a deep shade of green that almost looked black. She wore a bottle green vintage gown with one corner of a black lace scarf slung around one shoulder and the other draped over her opposite arm. She wore no jewellery and no makeup. Yet, she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Oh, the catastrophe she would bring when she grew up!
“Your E-excellency! Please…” Kenna stuttered to find words.
“Thank you, Kenna.” The girl smiled, transforming her face from beautiful to breathtaking. “Please sit. I don’t mind.”
“But, where will you sit, darling?” Kenna came forward and finally gave the girl a hug and kiss on each cheek.
“I’d like to sit next to the new princess if you don’t mind.” She came forward when Kenna gave her a bright smile and a nod of approval. I still felt frozen, though. Who was she?
“Hello!” She smiled again, taking a seat on the wall of the pool next to me. A couple of those beautiful ringlets of her hair fell into the water. “You must be Alina. I’m Miaka, the Demon King.”