MALACHI II

My heart raced as I shut the door behind me. I tried my hardest not to slam it. No one else lives in this wing and none of the staff would ever use the bathroom here. I had missed the arrival of the Princess probably by mere moments. I can only assume that was her. My face heated up at the thought of her seeing me in such a state. I looked down at my stained white shirt and ground my teeth. “Shit,” I mumbled to myself.

I threw off my dirty clothes and settled myself into the bath. I knew I had a few hours before I had to present myself, but the time would pass faster than I liked. I cleaned off quickly and grabbed a towel. I had a bit to do before the party and wanted to manage my time better than I usually do. I made sure the hall was empty before I hurried to my room. In the door directly across from mine I could hear Elisif talking. They had really settled the Princess into the chamber right across from mine. I sighed as I shut my door behind me.

I went over to my bed and threw myself back. I couldn’t believe I was so careless. She saw me looking like a maniac and I hadn’t even introduced myself yet. I could skip the welcome party. We didn’t have to actually meet until our wedding, right? Mother would give me a lecture, but it would be a good price for procrastinating. When she recognized me I would never be able to live it down.

I hadn’t even realized that I fell asleep until there was a loud knock at the door. I gasped and jumped up, the noise startling me awake. “Yes?” I called

A muffled voice called back. “The Queen sent for you. You are needed in the dining hall before you’re late.”

“I will be there shortly,” I replied.

I cursed at myself for being so foolish. All the talk of getting work done was for nothing. I threw on one of my usual outfits in a rush. A white shirt under a dark coat, pants to match, and tall boots. I shook out my sheets to find my trunk key as quickly as I could. It ended up taking me five times longer than it should have. I finally unlocked the box to grab a pocket watch. When the lid swung open, my heart sank though. The dragon egg was missing. I ground my teeth. Jeremiah must have gotten it. That slimy little-

I interrupted my own thoughts. I had to hurry. My family would be waiting for me. I grabbed a silver watch and attached it to my coat. I pushed myself up once again, smoothing the wrinkles in my clothing. As I headed for the door I grabbed the first ribbon I found on my desk. I tied my hair back off my shoulders as I walked down the corridor. Hopefully no one could tell how haphazardly I was thrown together.

I entered the dining hall just as my mother did. She had come from the kitchen door. Her eyes instantly met mine and she gave me the look. I would hear about this after the party. I gave her a small smile and stepped in next to my father and Jeremiah. Many of the royal family stood in a row to await the Princess. Members of the court were also dotting the room in a less rigid line. Everyone was waiting for the guest of honor though, no matter where they stood. Not everyday we have a forgien princess to meet.

“You missed greeting the Princess,” Father said under his breath. He glanced at me, his face never turning.

I clasped my hands behind my back to match everyone else’s formal air. “I lost track of time,” I whispered back.

He inhaled slowly to start the usual speech, but he was thankfully interrupted. The tall entrance doors swung open. The guards on either side of the door stood at the ready and one announced the Princess.

She looked like a different person than the wet haired girl I saw before. Her sandy hair was pulled back with gemmed pins. The dress she wore swooped over her shoulders and draped down to the floor in one fluid motion. It was the color of the day sky, golden embroidering like rays of the sun itself. The exposed skin on her shoulders showed she had freckles everywhere, not just on her face. The Princess looked as much out of place as she could in the presence of vampires. Kissed by the sun. She was easily picked out in the crowd of all dark haired people.

My mother was the first to break the stillness. She greeted the girl and led her over to us. My father and brother bowed low. I followed. “These are my sons, Malachi II and Jeremiah. Prince Malachi II is your betrothed.” Mother gestured to me.

I straightened just in time to see the recognition pass in her eyes. Just the look I was hoping to avoid. Her brown eyes shone with amusement. She thought this was funny?

Mother gave me another look. Jer must have seen it as well because he stifled a laugh. I bit my tongue and stepped forward. My eyes locked with the Princess. I reached out my hand and waited for her. She hesitated, glancing down at my palm. She looked back up to my face before she rested her hand in mine. The look that crossed over her startled me almost enough to drop her hand. She looked like she saw a ghost, her face paling and her eyes widening. I got down on my knee before I could recoil. I hope she didn’t look at me like that because of our nature. I wasn’t sure if she’s ever been around vampires. My mother told me she had lived very isolated before this.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess,” I said. I pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand. Once everyone saw me stand again, they clapped and music started to play. I let her hand go as soon as I could without raising any eyebrows. I knew every small gesture I made would be measured out and weighed. When her hand fell back to her side, the horror seemed to clear from her face. She blinked rapidly. She looked as if she were going to say something to me but she was soon bombarded with fellow court members. Everyone wanted to meet the human that would be our ruling queen some day.

I was thankful to be able to slip away. I could tell she didn’t want much to do with me. I didn’t blame her either. I gave another glance over to her as people started to throw questions at her left and right. I stifled my sigh and turned towards the table that held bottles of wine. I would need it tonight.

Upon reaching the table, my older cousin came into view. Lunette. She was all sharp angles and no softness. Almost as tall as me, she commanded attention wherever she went. If my mother was any less stubborn, Lunette would have ended up as the heir to the throne instead of me. I wasn’t entirely sure Lunette even wanted the title, but she would’ve been much more suited for it. She gave me a snarky smile and leaned against the wine table. “The Princess is quite beautiful,” she remarked. “Do you feel lucky?”

I grabbed a glass and the darkest red wine I could find. I filled the glass as much as I could. “Are you disappointed you aren't going to be queen now?” I raised an eyebrow at my cousin and had a large drink.

She turned back away and crossed her arms over her chest. She never lost her smirk. “No.” I couldn’t help but see her green eyes flick over to where the staff door had just closed behind someone.

“Right,” I chuckled. “You would have had to marry a man.”

Lunette laughed back in response. “Too bad you’re a man,” she shot at me.

I felt my chest tighten. It was too bad. I had grown up hearing whispers of those kinds of statements. From an incredibly young age I had been looked down upon for being a boy. Especially after Jer was born. For the Queen to not have one daughter after eighty years of marriage was almost like a stain on our family. Before my face could show anything else of what I felt, I took another drink of wine. The bitterness helped me focus. I wouldn’t give Lunette the satisfaction of knowing how much her words affected me.

“Young Prince, aren’t you too little to be at the wine table?” Lunette cooed. I turned to see Jeremiah coming up to us.

“Yes, well, Mother said you aren’t allowed to be mean to the Princess,” Jer frowned at her.

She gave a harsh laugh. It was short and loud. “Mother said?” she mocked.

“Mother probably did say. She is adamant at making her feel at ease here. You obviously wouldn’t help,” I said in a patronizing tone.

“Oh, I can make a girl feel far more welcome than you pigs,” she hissed.

“Is that why Elisif threw herself at being the lady-in-waiting? I heard she couldn’t wait to get away from you,” I smirked at her in the same way she had earlier.

That must have struck a nerve. She gave me a venomous look and pushed herself off the table. I watched Lunette storm past a small group of people and disappear around the exit door.

“She’s not going to forget this,” Jeremiah warned.

I sipped my wine again and shrugged. “Let her be mad at me.”

“If that’s what being a twin makes you into, I’m glad I’m not one. Grandle is just as mean,” he sighed. “But I wanted to ask you something.” Jer picked at a roll and offered me a piece as he spoke. I took it and placed it in my mouth. Cheese bread. It melted in my mouth. One of my favorite treats.

“What is it?”

Jer leaned in closer to me. His voice was barely over a whisper and I had a hard time hearing it over the music and chatter. “I overheard Master Ivar talking to someone. They said the Princess has two blessings.”

I almost choked on my second bite of the cheese bread. “Two blessings?” I gasped. He looked around frantically and shushed me.

“I think it’s a secret. I wanted you to ask her. Since, you know, you’ll be spending the most time with her.”

I frowned and scanned the room for her again. She was standing with a rather large group of people at one of the food tables. You could see how dismayed she was from here. I looked back at my younger brother. “Wouldn’t someone want to announce they had a second blessing to the world?”

Jer shook his head. “She’s only human. She grew up in a really secluded area. Oaknail, I think? I couldn’t even find it on a Sherwoods map. Who knows how people are there. She could’ve been burned for being a witch.”

My face couldn’t help but contort into a mask of disgust. Humans had a tendency to be scared of strong women. I suppose this extended to princesses as well. “Fair enough,” I mumbled.

“What are you boys whispering about?”

I jumped and swiveled around. My mother had a glass of wine in her hand. The liquid looked thick, probably mixed with blood. “Ah, nothing, Mother,” I replied quickly. It was more of an automatic reply. Upon second thought, I questioned if I should ask Mother about this. If Ivar knew something like this and wanted it kept a secret, there was something serious going on.

“Nothing means something,” she stated and looked at both of us pointedly.

“Lunette.” Jer nudged my side with his elbow.

“Lunette?” she repeated.

“Lunette was quite upset today. I would try to find her,” I said. I tried not to frown at my little brother. He was awful at lying.

“Do you think she would say something to the Princess?” Jer asked both of us.

My mother’s face twisted into a scowl. “She had better not. Ky, go have a dance with the Princess while I go find your cousin.”

Jer snickered as Mother walked off. I gave him an annoyed look and sighed heavily.

“But seriously, how did Master Ivar know? Do you think it’s even true?” Jeremiah muttered to me.

I emptied my wine glass and sat it on the table behind me. “I don’t know. It could be something more that we aren’t seeing.” My hand went to my chin in contemplation. I shook my head and looked back at my little brother. “I’ll think about it later. Right now, I must go dance or Mother will have my head.”

He looked over to where the Princess was. There were less people around her than before for some reason. “Have fun,” he said.

I pushed myself forward, trying to walk as smoothly as I could over to the Princess and her group. There were three people with her now. One was Grandle. That explained why the group had thinned. He was just as tall and sharp as his twin. The other two were older, members of the royal court. One was my mother’s most trusted advisor, Lady Camilla. I couldn’t place the other man. He was short, probably dwarven, and I knew I had definitely seen him before. I felt ashamed to say I couldn’t match most of the faces to names in this room. I knew the people were important, but I never put effort into remembering them. My mother was right when she said I didn’t do enough work for our family.

Grandle noticed me first. His smirk widened when I joined them. “Hello, cousin. Finally coming to talk with your bride?”

“I suppose I am,” I smiled politely back.

Lady Camilla tilted her head in greeting. She gave the Princess a small smile. “I will be on my way, Princess. It was a pleasure to talk with you.”

“The same to you, my Lady,” the Princess said in a small voice.

Then the large, regal woman turned to the man I couldn’t recognize. “Let’s go, darling.” He nodded and followed her. Ah, he must be her husband, I thought.

“About time that beast left,” Grandle sighed. “She’s so obnoxious.”

Grandle had the same level of charm as always. I sighed and folded my hands behind my back to keep them from making any nervous gestures. “You speak as if you are perfect company.”

Princess Iara to my left covered her mouth and coughed. I glanced at her. She was hiding a smile. Grandle crossed his arms over his chest. “I would consider myself so,” he shot at me.

“And I don’t doubt it. If you are to excuse us though, I would like to talk with the Princess.”

Grandle huffed and glared at me. “Well, Princess, if this waste of a man bores you, I will be close by, yeah?”

“Of course,” she smiled at him.

Grandle bowed and shot a glare at me. He left after he made sure I saw how displeased he was. As if I cared.

“Sorry about my cousin,” I said, turning back to the Princess. I knew he probably said unpleasant things to her. Not as unpleasant as Lunette would have been, but still.

“I have spent time among worse,” she replied. Her hand nervously twisted a few strands of hair that had escaped their pins.

I offered her my hand before my courage ran out. “Would you like to dance?”

She looked alarmed by my outstretched hand. Her scared eyes said everything I needed to know. I took my hand back and let my fingers ball into a fist. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Ah,” she breathed. Her brows furrowed in worry and her cheeks turned pink. “I didn’t mean it like that. I-I just have a very invasive blessing. When I touch someone, I can feel their emotions or what they’re thinking.”

I felt my ears get hot when I realized what that meant. When I had touched her hand before, she must have gotten a peek inside my mind. Was it that awful? She had reacted like she touched a dead fish. I must have been making an awful face because she continued.

“I’m so sorry. I have a really hard time with it sometimes. Rey always told me to not let it cloud my mind so much but it’s difficult.” She fiddled with her hands, tugging on her dress and twisting around her hair. She tried to look everywhere but at me.

“It sounds emotionally draining. Is your second blessing just as intense?” I asked as quietly as I could.

Her face turned to that of confusion. “Second blessing? I only have the one.”

I considered if she was lying. I knew Ivar was rarely wrong. And I knew Jer wouldn’t have lied about overhearing something, especially with it being so outlandish. Looking her over though, I was sure I could tell if she was lying. She wasn’t hard to read. Even now she wore every thought she had on her sleeve. My mind raced. Where did Ivar get this idea then? Maybe I should bring it up with Mother after all.

“Aren’t double blessings almost unheard of?” she asked. She must have felt awkward, standing in silence.

“Right, my mistake,” I muttered. “I will be mindful when I touch you if it makes you uncomfortable. I apologize about before.”

“It’s fine. I know it must be just as uncomfortable knowing that I saw how upset you were,” Princess Iara replied.

“I’ve had a long day,” I said. I hoped I put enough confidence behind my words.

“Haven’t we all,” she breathed.

Yes we have. I suppose she was just as thrilled about our union as I was. I didn’t know what to say to her. I knew it must have been worse for her. She was so far away from her home. At least I got to stay in my same bed. Eventually I broke our silence again. “I don’t think I need your blessing to understand how you feel about it all,” I said. Her eyes met mine. “Regardless of that, regardless of how we feel about each other, you will be treated well here. We will all do whatever we can for you to feel at home.”

Princess Iara turned her face away and fidgeted with her hairpin. “Thank you,” was all she could say in response.