Almost Lovers (28 page)

The Councilwoman looked to the Queen. The
Queen nodded and the counsel woman returned to her spot among the
other counsel. The Queen returned to the podium.

“I am delighted to publicly announce the
engagement of Prince Sebastian to Lady Prussia,” said the Queen,
looking directly at Lydia, “And with this announcement finally made
after much preparation though not a time or occasion I would have
liked to have highlight it, I believe the court will see the
significance of Lady Prussia to my family and the protection that
provides.”

I looked to the Queen and tried my best not
to let my complete and utter shock show on my face. But I almost
dropped Prussia right where I stood. The Queen gave me a glance and
a smile but I had no idea what she had been thinking. I didn’t know
if it would even work but if I knew this court at all, and Lydia,
no one would be thrilled at a Prince marrying a human. It had been
a serious legal stretch that wouldn’t stand up in our court.

“Only a vampire may marry a Royal, You know
this my Queen, better than anyone,” said Duke Rutledge, a face I
knew to often grace the court. He had been off to the side
listening intently to the entire proceeding.

“No such specifications or requirements are
made for engagement,” said the Queen, “And attack on one engaged to
a royal is the same as attacking the Royal himself,”

The court became a loud roar as the Queen’s
words fell on the crowd. I saw some confusion, some anger, even
some amusement though I knew a few feminine faces with
disappointment. One of those faces in particular that caught my
attention stood closer than any other. Lydia looked as though the
Queen had lined up everyone in the room to slap her one after
another.

I had never known Lydia to be speechless but
she didn’t have a single word while the room talked loudly at a
mile a minute. I no sooner got over the shock of the announcement
myself than wondered how Lydia would take it when her eyes found
mine. I felt a small shiver down my spine at the hate that burned
in her eyes, her fists balled up and her teeth clenched tightly.
The thing she had wanted most, for us to be wed, had just been
given to a human in front of the entire court as she stood there on
the steps for all of their eyes to see. For any lady in the court,
the insult didn’t get any greater than that.

“As her status is secured as a future member
of the royal family, Lady Prussia will henceforth hold position and
title of her Royal Chancellor as she has been prepared over the
course of several weeks to assume this role,” announced the Queen,
“And Lydia…”

Lydia looked up at the Queen, hatred still
burning in her eyes. I could feel the waves of anger rolling off of
her. She could snap at any moment and it would not be good for her
– it could mean her death.

“I’ve taken your suggestions under
advisement. I’ll let you know when I get around to relinquishing my
thrown to my heir and his new bride,” said the Queen.

I couldn’t believe Lydia had held her tongue
as long as she had. I felt as though I watched a bomb ticking,
ready to go off.

“Genocide, betrothals and now a seat
overlooking the entire Royal Court all for a human, your pet?”
yelled Lydia at the Queen, “Could there be any more manipulation
and bending of the rules of your own court for your personal
satisfaction?”

“I’ll remind you why the position is open to
begin with,” said the Queen in a low but booming voice dripping
with warning and challenge, “As you bed my son while wed to the
late Chancellor and were coward enough to let your maker take a
stake for you after you murdered your own husband, my dear friend,
in an attempt climb to a seat of power, the same seat Prussia is
poised to sit. Please expand on your own personal experiences in
manipulation of this court as they are all gathered here at your
very hand, are they
not
?”

The room fell completely silent. After a
moment a voice could be heard from the back of the room.

“Let us hear it from the human herself,”
suggested the voice, a man, “so that we might know the face of the
human that might one day sit in your very seat, my Queen,”

Diplomacy at it’s best. The Queen hesitated
and then turned to me, still standing just behind her holding
Prussia in my arms.

“Can she stand?” asked the Queen in a
whisper.

“She cannot,” I whispered in return, “I
don’t think she’s even conscious,”

“For the best…but you must still bring her
forward,” said the Queen quietly as she stepped aside.

I walked forward and I heard as noses began
to sniff the air. Her blood still coated her thickly and a scent
could be a fingerprint in a room like this.

“She has been here before,” a man said from
somewhere in the crowd, “I know her smell,”

And then I heard a light smack and the same
voice said, “What?!” as though having been reprimanded for
something they hadn’t realized had been inappropriate. Probably a
jealous lover or spouse hadn’t liked that he had known her scent so
well and identified it so fast.

“I’ve seen her in the Chancellor’s office,”
said another more quiet voice, “in passing,” the voice added
quickly.

“What do you say to this, Lady Prussia?”
asked the Duke that had spoken before.

“My betrothed has been tortured throughout
the entire evening in an attempt to hurt the Royal family,” I said,
addressing the court, “She has been drained almost entirely of
blood and must be given immediate medical attention. She is
unconscious and has been this entire time,”

“When can we expect to hear from her?” asked
the Duke, thoughtfully petting a dark goatee with white
streaks.

“Shortly, but not tonight,” I said.

“I still demand a trial!” said Lydia.

“Certainly,” said the Queen, “Would you like
your own?”

A final wave of laughter went up throughout
the room.

“If any members of the court, forming the
majority, motions for a trial to oversee the legality of my orders
this evening please state your motion now or forever hold your
peace,” said the Queen.

“I motion for a trial,” said Lydia, who then
turned to the room and looked for a second to her motion. She was
met with a cold silence in the room. A cough from the back could be
heard and nothing more. I watched as she stomped down the steps and
headed towards the door.

“The court’s business is finished this
evening,” announced the Queen, “As we see to family
emergencies.”

A resounding door slam could be heard from
the front of the house and the Queen pursed her lips at the noise.
I ducked my head slightly and smiled as it had been Lydia’s most
predictable trait.

Within moments the bodies that mingled began
to disperse. A doctor as well as Tommy appeared and I followed the
Queen to her sleeping quarters to see to Prussia’s injuries. We had
spent longer than I had wanted to in dealing with the politics of
things. Her breathing had almost gone and I worried at how much
damage had been done. It had been a miracle for her to survive this
long. I had to believe she would pull through. I had to believe it
would all be worth it in the end.

Sebastian followed me toward my private
chambers carrying Prussia and I could hear him giving stern orders
as we walked.

“Triple the guards on the grounds and
perimeter,” said Sebastian, “I want checks every 5 minutes
including a sound off of each guard on patrol. Any one checks in
late, even a little late, I want someone to give an eyes-on check
on their wellbeing and their location.”

“Are we expecting any one?” asked the guard
trailing Sebastian.

“No,” said Sebastian, “But they’re not going
to RSVP if that’s what you’re asking,”

The guard ran to relay the message to the
other guards just as we reached my private chambers. I found Tommy
and the doctor at the door, waiting.

“Tommy come in,” I said, holding the door
open for him and placing a hand up to the doctor, “Doctor, wait
outside a moment. I will summon you in as soon as we are ready for
you,”

The doctor dipped his head in respect and
continued to wait outside as I followed Tommy in. Sebastian
followed right on my heels and set Prussia on the chaise lounge she
had been unconscious on just before being kidnapped. I gave a
passing thought to getting rid of that piece of furniture in the
near future.

“She needs medical attention NOW,” insisted
Sebastian, pointing to the door, “Why in the hell do you have the
doctor waiting outside and your blood analyst slash gardener taking
samples?”

Sebastian pointed to Tommy who had already
opened up his bag and had begun to take blood samples. Tommy didn’t
look up or slow his work. He continued as Sebastian hovered over
him and shouted at me.

“Sit,” I said, trying to remind myself of
everything Sebastian had been through, “and I will explain,”

Sebastian sat hard into a stuffed chair
nearby, one that I often preferred. I pursed my lips at his
rudeness and decided to stand.

“What can you explain besides the fact that
you’re letting her bleed and die all over your bedroom when there
is a doctor not thirty feet away on the other side of that door?”
shouted Sebastian, “Is that your plan? Let her die and then turn
her so I have an acceptable bride? And you have a lot of explaining
to do on that one.”

I walked swiftly to Sebastian and slapped
him with as much force as I could without decapitating him. Blood
of my blood or not, I couldn’t let him speak to me this way
especially in front of Tommy, human and help in this house. It made
me look weak. And Sebastian should have known better.

Sebastian put a hand to his face
instinctively following the sting that no doubt set into his cheek
and jaw. I took a few steps away from him so that I could compose
myself again and looked over Tommy’s work.

“Now that you’ve come to your senses,” I
said, waiting for Tommy to complete the few quick blood tests he
had been prepared to do upon Prussia’s return, “You should know
that Prussia is already a vampire,”

“I figured that much,” said Sebastian, “They
drained her practically dry and they were sloppy eaters. There is
no way she didn’t become infected,”

Tommy looked up at me then and I nodded for
him to tell Sebastian the whole truth as he had told me.

“It looks like she’s sick
because
she’s been infected,” said Tommy, “She was a vampire before she was
taken,”

Sebastian’s face looked confused. I could
tell – it’s how he looked most of the time when trying to follow
court politics. It’s why he had been such a great champion of my
guards. He understood logical things and politics becomes
complicated faster than Sebastian could keep up with at times. It’s
why I didn’t blame him for Lydia.

“So…” Sebastian shook his head, “She
infected Prussia when she attacked her in the park?”

Tommy shook his head to indicate that wasn’t
the case either and Sebastian’s face turned from confusion to
frustration.

“Prussia’s a vampire on a cellular level,” I
said, trying to put it in the simplest terms possible for
Sebastian, “She was born a vampire,”

“How is that even possible?” asked
Sebastian, “She’s a human. There must be some sort of mistake,”

Tommy pointed to some chicken scratch on a
page and some test tubes he had been mixing things in.

“I ran the test again just now,” said Tommy,
“There is no mistake. And she’s been healing herself. The blood
she’s pushing out right now is infected. It’s the virus that was
injected. It’s some how…incompatible and Prussia’s body is
rejecting it,”

“When can she see the doctor?” asked
Sebastian, concern blanketing his demeanor, “So she can get
better,”

“She’s healing herself, somehow,” said
Tommy, his face covered in amazement as he looked down at blood
soaked Prussia laying on the chaise, “I can run more tests on the
blood I’ve drawn but right now, she’s some sort of…a marvel.”

“What do you mean, Tommy?” I asked, curious
at the way he looked down at Prussia.

“My Queen,” said Tommy, bowing his head
slightly and grasping for the words to explain what he wanted to
say, “She doesn’t need blood to live, she eats food. She is weak
but heals herself from grave wounds. She’s warm blooded, she’s
alive, she’s…a vampire without the thirst or hunger. It’s like
she’s-”

“Thank you, Tommy,” I said, cutting him off,
“You know not to speak of this to anyone, of course,”

“Yes, my Queen,” said Tommy, gathering his
things, “I’ll run more tests and report my findings to you as soon
as I have them.”

“Thank you,” I said, “You can let the good
doctor know that his services won’t be needed this evening,”

I could tell that Sebastian hadn’t liked
that I had decided to send the doctor away.

“You might want to still bandage her
wounds,” said Tommy, unsure the comment would be welcome, “she’s
healing faster than a human and her blood level is rebounding but
her wounds are still healing much slower than vampire would,”