WARHAVEN

Twenty-Seven

The next morning, the King gave me a tour of his castle. He had shown me everything, from the kitchens to the maid quarters, which were surprisingly well maintained. He showed me an art studio with the most magnificent paintings I had ever seen. The detail was unbelievable. There were scenes from the War, battle scenes. They were bloody and descriptive. He said the factions often had scribes, who would take note of the actions, the deaths, the conversations, to be historically accurate. This was from the point of view of the vampire's scribe back when the War was raging. 

The painting showed creatures from every faction, warriors, generals, and even royals fighting to the death. He described in great detail the events that took place to get them to that point. He named the Queens, the Kings, the fiercest warriors, those who led the armies, and even his parents. 

"My parents who were King and Queen of the vampire faction at the time, did everything they could to maintain the order. They died in the process." His voice lowered slightly, and I knew his mind was far way. 

"I'm so sorry you lost them." I whispered. I knew some of what he was feeling, growing up without parents. Although it must've been much more difficult to know them and lose them, than to have never known them at all. 

"Thank you. It was. I was only nine when the War was at its peak, of course I wasn't allowed to fight, although I would've if I was able." He chuckled softly at the fierceness of  his childhood self, "I have been training with the warriors since I was seven. My parents felt it best that I knew how to defend myself from a young age, one of the perks of being a royal."

"Seven? That's so young...what about a childhood?" I asked genuinely. I knew things were different with royal children, I mean that was just common sense, but I never knew the extremes. 

"Rumors of the War were already in full swing. My parents knew that if they died, I needed to be as trained as possible, in every aspect of being a ruler. I was also intently studying how the factions works, and the ins-and-outs of being a royal. I was learning customs, traditions. I was literally being tested daily on everything there was to know about my future as an heir." He looked far away again, and I couldn't help but study his handsome face, he seemed troubled. 

I was about to ask what caused him to look so blue, but he spoke then, "My parents died when I was nine, in the War, of course," He said, gesturing to the brutal scene before us, "I couldn't be more grateful for the training I did receive, I would've been even more lost without it. And when I have the privilege of being a father, I will subject my children to the same trainings, in case I am no longer here to protect them."

My eyes shot to his and he held my gaze, I know he saw shock on my features, "You became King at the age of nine?" 

I didn't even want to discuss the children he mentioned. We still hadn't discussed our argument at the wall last night, but I was not any more open to having children with a stranger. I wasn't even sure I wanted them at all. On top of that, I had known him for three days, and still had my guard very much up.

"Yes. The second my parents died, I inherited the court, the responsibility of protecting the vampire faction, and the crown." I didn't know how to respond to that. That is way too much responsibility for someone who was only a child. And honestly I couldn't imagine putting that kind of stress on one of my own children. 

He responded to my comment aloud, "Yes, it was, and still is. Although it is uncommon for an heir so young to inherit a throne, it does happen and there are safeguards in place to protect the kingdom in that instance. We have a group of seven council ambassadors, they are like our faction's elders. They vote on big decisions, and council young and old rulers. They are given the utmost respect. The people who live within the kingdom can vote for them, although they usually have enough trust in their rulers, to allow their leaders to appoint a new council member if we lose one." All of this was so intense, although I was happy to be learning some kind of history about the man who I am linked to for eternity. 

We continued walking and he took me to a large set of double doors, they were guarded on either side, and they stomped their black spears once upon the King's arrival, followed by a bow. King Augustus looked at me and I swear I saw some excitement on his features. I tried not to stare too long, but his eyes were so beautiful, I hadn't even realized that the doors were already open. 

When I looked forward, I was presented with the most grand library I had ever seen.