The Vampire Prince graduates High School (Book 3)

Moving Forward

During the trip home, I flipped through the event portfolio, I had looked through it before but now that it was becoming a reality, I had to make sure everything was perfect. The way everyone talked about it, the announcement ceremony was definitely important and it was going to be the center of attention. While I still wanted something small, I didn't want Alexander to have a too modest ceremony. He was a prince after all.

"Rin," Joseph suddenly said. "We're here."

I looked up and my house was outside the window. Quickly gathering all my stuff, I shoved it into my backpack.

"Thanks," I said. "See you tomorrow."

Waving, I stepped out of the car and lugged my backpack into the house. My parents were in the kitchen when I walked in. With a quick hello, I went to my room. I dressed into my pajamas and went back down.

Sighing, I sat down at the kitchen table. Dad patted my head.

"You alright, kiddo?"

"Yeah. There's so much to do."

"Take a break first," Mom said. "It won't do you any good if you get overwhelmed."

"I know."

We ate dinner early. I focused on correctly putting food in my mouth. My eyelids kept closing and had trouble staying opened.

I quickly sat up. There was still much to do today.

"So, um," I began. "Alexander's mom wants me to meet her this weekend."

"That would have been nice to know sooner," Dad said, placing his spoon down.

"I didn't know until yesterday," I said. "I knew it would be good to meet her but she just sent the invitation. Honestly, I thought it be a lot later."

"How does that work?" Dad asked. "Do the King's wives decided who is in the spotlight?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've been told that the Queen Consort rules from behind the scenes and Violet works in the spotlight trying to educate the public."

"Is there anything you need to bring? A gift?"

"I don't know," I told Mom. "I'm going to learn etiquette so I don't embarrass myself."

"I might have an idea," Mom suddenly said. "I've recently heard of a form of art that uses blood as part of the art object."

Dad and I frowned.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm not sure how to explain but the artist uses blood to put into the project - and this can be anything - and it's supposed to mean loyalty."

Dad and I continued to frown. We shared a glance. Mom was trying. At least that much was certain.

"I'll look it up online," I told her. "If they have any available spots, we can go make some blood . .. er. .. art."

"Just to be clear," Dad began. "We -" he gestured to himself and Mom. "-don't have to meet her?"

"This is kind of like an informal meeting," I said. "I think that comes later. Honestly, I'm not sure how that works either. All I know is that I need her approval for my relationship with Alexander to be approved."

Mom crossed her arms. "That sounds a little extreme. We approve and so does the King. If the Queen consort doesn't approve, does that mean you need to break-up? Ridiculous. She's not the actual queen."

"I don't think we're supposed to say that, dear," Dad said.

"There's no queen," Mom said. "Violet is also a Queen consort. But, aren't they all?"