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"What are you looking at?"
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[SILVER RAYNE WILLIAMS]
I felt I was going to be sick.
Lady Elise's gaze purged mine. Even the smile she had adorned on her face, however practiced did not last long.
She had frozen, at the sight of me, openly staring, her eyebrows drawn in.
I lower my gaze, cursing at myself more. Stupid, stupid stupid.
For god sake, I couldn't have stood just a little to the left? She would have never spotted me at that angle, but no.
On no. I can never catch a break. Not Silver Rayne fucking Williams. Heaven forbid I'm granted just a single day of peace.
I'm already in the prince's chambers. A place I thought I would never be. Now this?
"Lady Elise," The Prince states, drawing me out of my thoughts. I note that It is a formal greeting.
My gaze slowly draws upwards just as her eyes finally shift off me, faltering to the Princes'.
Her mouth opens and closes as if she is dumbfounded, But she is quick to find footing, lowering her head, remembering to curtsy.
"Y-Your majesty," she repeats, as she bows. When she resurfaces her ladylike demeanor has returned, a sweet smile pasted on her face, but her eyes.
Her eyes speak words her lips seal. They are cold, uncertain, and even angry.
The Prince nods at her gesture as if he is at a ball, and he has been asked to dance. Stiff and practiced.
My eyebrows draw in at this as if just realizing how odd they look together. I swear they had been a perfect match once upon a time.
His eyes remain on her, still standing in the doorway.
"I have not forgotten our arrangement." he begins, "I found myself otherwise preoccupied. I will reschedule our rendezvous for another time."
Her smile falters at his direct words and even I feel the steel in them. No apologies, no nothing?
For a moment, even in this bloody predicament, I feel for Lady Elise. The questions she must have about the prince's otherwise cold demeanor to her. I'm sure she must have been told the same tales about how dedicated and obsessed fang were to their mates.
The prince was the farthest thing from the description. He was indifferent in every way.
"That will be—wonderful." she struggles to say, keeping her voice light and airy.
But a person of emotion such as myself can sense it is forced, and beneath it lies disappointment and confusion.
The Prince, however—
"Is there anything else?" he asks, after a short silence. Stale tone, formal as always.
Her smile falters again, her gaze shifting off him for a moment back to me. I quickly looked away, pursing my lips, trying to act like I was not listening in when it was quite obvious I was.
Still, I didn't want to make her think I was bathing in her dejection, in addition to taking her time away with Prince. That was just cruel, and the opposite I was trying to achieve.
"Uh-No," she managed to say.
My eyes found her.
Again, her smile though wider now was practiced, trying to hide the true emotion within.
"Just as you command, Your Majesty." she smiles, "A reschedule is all."
He nods, and before she can even turn away, he closes the door in her face.
My mouth drops at this, eyes wide. What the—
Had I truly been this blind before?
His actions were more than just cold. They were mean. How did I even for the slightest moment think She was his mate?
Fuck. Fuck, fuck. I have a lot to do if this wedding is to ever get through.
The prince passes by me, but my gaze never leaves the doorway, wallowing in my stupidity as if I can see through it to Lady Elises detected face probably still staring at the door that was just shut in her face by the man that is supposed to treat her like a queen.
Quite literally too.
Oh my God. How was I supposed to turn this around? Could it even be possible? The prince was far from just cold, he was stone itself.
"What are you looking at?"
I nearly jumped, at the sound of the prince's cool voice beside me, having stopped near me, eyes studying me.
My gaze shifted to him then back to the door, my mouth open like a fish. I finally manage to shake my head, gripping my coat tighter.
"N-nothing your majesty."
I feel his eyes study the side of my face for a moment.
"Get some rest, Silver. Tomorrow's day is long," he grunts, "for the both of us."
With that, he leaves, and I hear the door close a moment later.
My stiffened body loosens, and I finally turn, peeking through the empty halls just to ensure he is indeed out of sight.
My gaze trails to the door again, shaking my head. What the hell had I gotten myself into?
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I can not sleep.
Not in this foreign bed, not when I know that a wall away, the prince sleeps. Or does he? Can he? I know vampires don't have to sleep. But he is all three. Perhaps he can.
Or not.
I pace the room in the darkness.
I know I need to rest soon, but I do not feel safe at all. It is ridiculous when this is the one section of the palace where I am truly safe away from the King, and still, I am unconvinced.
I remind myself he has promised not to harm or murder me in any way. I remind myself that after the altercation with Lasy Elise, it is clear he needs me.
Therefore, because I am useful, I am safe.
I move to the door, feeling the door handle, searching for a lock. Deep inside I knew that if the Prince wanted to get in, this flimsy door was not going to stop him, but locking it made me feel better.
I sighed, running a hand through my curls and taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
Like everything in this room, it was grand and large, its own balcony much bigger than even that of Lady Elise.
I pursed my lips thinking of her, of the altercation. Shaking my head free from the memory of his cold act, I fall backward into the soft covers.
"I couldn't get a prince with a level one set of feelings?" I gritted a whisper to the heavens.
The prince wasn't even on the scale. Whatever he was, I'm surprised he still looked Human. Not even Vampires could detach like him. Lord Graydon was to some extent cold, but not as unfeeling as the prince.
Speaking of Lord Graydon. He was a foolish man.
He could have said something! He could have told me about the prince's threat, he had so many chances! And to risk his position as King's Hand for—
My breath hitches.
Why was he so foolish? He had to be on something.
A man of balance, the prince said.
My jaw tightened, fists gripping a pillow, burying the thoughts that swerved my mind of the possibilities behind such a foolish act. The ideas I came up with were foolish in their own right.
Even as his words echoed in my mind when he was high off the hysteria. Visit me? A high lord?
I pulled the pillow over my face, groaning into it. I would scream but that was a risk I wasn't willing to take.
It was his folly that would lead to indictment tomorrow. He could be very well kicked out of the race, or things, much much worse.
His family could be disgraced. All because of-
One foolish act.
I shut my eyes, trying to pull myself together. No. No thinking of Lord Graydon. He was a fang. He would be fine. I had my own problems to deal with.
A stoned prince and angry future queen. Oh, it would be a lot of work, but this little hurdle wouldn't be the end.
I made it this far. I took out a loose breath.
Nodding to myself, I kept the pep talk. I had survived lord Valcon, Lord Graydon, The Court, and now the Prince. I would not fail now, not when I'm this close to getting everything I ever wanted.
Screw the prince.
I would get him to become Santa Bloody Clause, all the three ho ho ho's if I had to. He would become a chuckle-jolly freak by the time I was through with him.
My fists clenched. But I had so much to fix.
Lady Elise especially.
I could not afford another enemy now. Definitely not the future Queen of the New World. And her thinking the prince and I might be—
I failed to finish that thought, too overcome in disgust.
No. That would only pull her away further making my job all the more difficult. Had I been a true worker I would have already asked for a raise.
I was on a double mission now.
I groaned again, turning sideways, and staring into the darkness.
I thought of home for a moment. Of Dad, Vella, and I. All the small moments, the laughter, the jokes. When the world was small.
3 people under a small roof. Little lives, little problems.
It was heaven.
I curled into a ball, hugging my knees. God, I missed Dad.
Everything was harder here without him. He made everything better. He always knew what to say, what to do.
Tears stung my eyes. But I pushed them back shaking my head. He asked me one thing. To protect Vella.
I would do it with undying devotion.
After everything that had just occurred, there was no question that Vella and I would probably never make it back to our small house, living in the old days when our biggest problems were stuff we could solve.
She would be stuck in West House forever.
The thought stung me.
Well, until she becomes of age then... Hunter—My jaw hardened. Her life was mapped out for her in a bloody straight line.
Humans were born to be free. But we've been caged like animals.
The best I could do for her now was to be near her, teach her, and protect her as best as I could. Just be her family.
I hated them all.
Every single Veridian for ripping my family away from me. Once again, I felt small.
Used.
Because that's the only reason I was still here. To be used.
And when I complete my usefulness, I will be forgotten. But I didn't mind that.
I wanted to be forgotten in the eyes of the Veridians. My life now, after all this ended, if it ended well, would be watching my sister grow, and perhaps, one day, she will be strong enough to let go.
My eyes closed at this thought.
Who would have thought, that I was born to be a shadow?
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Short chapter I know. Forgive me, it's been a busy two weeks. However, we will be having a Romans chapter next time. We will find out something interesting about the prince. Stay tuned!
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