The Vampire

chapter:3

When Skye and princess Joanna stepped their feet out of the castle, two royal carriages were already present outside. One had all the luggage and other was the ride of princess and Skye.

There were two horses at front of the carriages and two at the back that had royal armed men, for the sake of protection.

Both of them stepped inside and carriage and the driver took off to start their journey to Alexandrian state.

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After the carriage stopped in front of the castle, Skye held the curtain and peeked outside to see a guard in red uniform standing at the huge wooden gate.

The armed men took sometime to introduce themselves to the guard and Skye took that time to take in his appearance.

That guard looked in his mid twenties and had quite pale complexion which was a distinct feather that Skye noticed because people in Hermione state were not that pale. He rather looked handsome. One thing that stood out the most in his personality was his eye color.

Before Skye could pay more attention to that,  armed men gestured towards the carriage man and carriage started heading inside now opened gate of the castle.

All the maids that were scurrying around, busy in their chores, and servants having determined faces to perform their duties, kept bowing as princess kept advancing ahead, passing them on the way. Their solumn looks gave away the busy rhythm of their calculated minds.

The castle was no less in the beauty than the Hermione castle. It had big pillars, walls with intricate designs carved on them, huge chandeliers at each little distance, unlimited number of rooms that Skye had lost the count soon.

Inside was constructed in such a way that even a single Ray of light was not able to enter. There were ceiling high windows but all covered with thick shiny fabric of dark curtains.

Lanterns and candles were placed at every step, making the castle shine like a beaming bride. The entirety of it's theme was so appealing to Skye. Something to do with this much appeal was the  way it was built on the idea of keeping the dark but still holding it's glow both at once.

Skye loved it when it was dark surrounding. It gave her peace internally. Where princess Joanna was the lover of sunlight and bright surrounding, on the contrary, Skye had the opposite interests.

It was something that distinguished Skye from princess Joanna, including many other things that were unapproachable to Skye. She was no princess, after all.

Lost in her thoughts, Skye kept following the princess who was being led by the maids towards the Chambers where they had to stay.

After passing many corridors passed by, long hallways, unbreakable train of rooms, they finally reached to one distinct chamber that was at the far end corner.  Two Maids stopped in front of it and turned back to face princess.

They informed her that we would be meeting Queens and other princesses from different states in the morning during breakfast and that now we could take rest. She nodded her head in assurance and they left after bowing their head in a respectable gesture.

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"Oh dear! Mind introducing yourself to us?" Spoke a lady who had an intricate gown on and her off white curls were loosely hanging behind her back. Light freckles on her cheekbones and beside her eyes showed that she was an elderly lady but other than that her appearance and the way she was holding herself told otherwise.

Princess Joanna who was sitting among three ladies that most probably looked like Queens to her. She accepted their offer to join them for tea after the breakfast, that's why she decided to join their company, carrying Skye along,"I am Joanna Elliot, princess of Hermione state."

Skye noticed that the other lady was silently observing princess from the beginning and upon hearing the princess mention her name, her eyes lit up instantly and spoke,"Oh my, aren't you the daughter of Lord Gregor Elliot? My husband is a good friend of him."

A bright smile appeared on princess' lips and she nodded her head in approval as Skye felt the warmth inside her chest at the mention of King's name. At least someone knew about them closely.

"Yes, he is my father." Princess confessed and bowed her head down not able to brush away the feeling of still being out of place.

"Well you might be wondering who we are," the same lady chimed in and both princess and Skye looked her way with curiosity laced expressions ," I'm Victoria Nicholas, the queen of this Alexandrian state," she passed and turned to the other lady who had started the conversation in the beginning, "She is Felicity Rhodes, the queen of Agrinion state," queen Victoria informed and she smiled humbly and princess and then at Skye who was silently watching their interaction and suddenly stood straighter when all the consciousness kicked in upon seeing the queen smiling at her and she returned the smile back. When queen turned her attention back to princess, Skye exhaled silently.

When queen Victoria raised her hand towards the third lady to introduce her,who was the most classy and attractive lady among all, nodded her head, signaling the other queen to let her introduce herself," And my name is Edith Eugene, the queen of Romanian state." A confident voice was full of pride and it seemed like she was carrying that bluntness, bold and honored aura everywhere she went.

Princess took in her appearance and finally spoke politely,"Oh, it's been a pleasure to meet you all, my ladies."

"You are just like your mother, soft spoken and shy. But you have got nothing to worry about, dear. You will surely have a great time here." Queen Victoria assured her while picking up her cup of tea from and taking a sip from it, not averting her eyes off princess face once.

Skye looked at her once again her concise informed her that the lady was far more observant and calculating than she actually looked like,"After meeting such lovely personalities of yours, I am expecting the same." Came princess' reply.

"I can see many suitors losing their hearts on you already. And it won't be a wonder if I say that I want my son to find such an elegant princess, appealing." Exclaimed queen Victoria, looking at others' Queens, searching for agreement in their expressions.

All the ladies laughed when princess Joanna stole her eyes from them, thinking that princess must be nervous due to such discussion but only she and Skye knew that what kinda sea of worries lied beneath her exterior.

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