56. A Voice to be Heard
R ose woke up with the sun on her face and smiled at the scent of lavender drifting in the air through the open window from the garden. She smiled and rolled onto her side, a different scent filling her nose: coconut. She had fallen asleep with Julien again.
Stretching, she sighed and got out of his bed. After checking that he was with Thea, making sure to give a quick kiss good morning as she always did, she went to her room to prepare for the day. It was a big one and she was nervous and excited at the same time.
Later, after a Senate meeting, another emissary from Neigera would be arriving to discuss a trade agreement. Her parents had been adamant about limiting any discussion or contact with the vampires—they were bitter and resentful after all—but were coming around.
Rose took her time getting ready, letting her maids dress her and style her hair into a sophisticated twist with a few artfully loose curls. Pearl combs were added and a few sprigs of baby’s breath the way she liked. Last was the diamond necklace she always wore—her gift from Adrian she still treasured, her most precious piece of jewelry.
Her makeup was done in natural colors that enhanced her facial features and accentuated her eyes. She wanted to look her best today for the Senate since it was the last session for the season, and she’d be taking an active role.
The people of Constalaysia had been nothing but wonderful to her since she’d come home. It had been overwhelming at first, the gifts showered on her and the attention lavished, especially by the nobles. Her parents had to set boundaries very quickly because those hopeful for a glimpse, a touch, or a word with the Lost Princess often became overzealous in her presence, and it was a lot for Rose to handle.
Used to being a pariah, suddenly being revered was disorienting, to say the least. It got worse as her pregnancy became more real. The sleepless nights got worse, the crying episodes more numerous as her heartache grew by leaps and bounds.
She missed Adrian so much some days it was almost incapacitating. Even though she’d had to leave for herself, to learn who she was and to protect their child, the guilt was sometimes crushing.
Stunned at the things happening in Neigera, all the huge changes, she ached for what the people were going through. But she believed in Adrian’s choices. Though it earned him several assassination attempts that scared Rose upon hearing about them, and the war seemed never-ending—first with the wolves and then with the wealthy slave owners—she believed he would endure and the outcome would be greater than the battle.
Neigera would be so much better for his leadership in the end. She could see what he was aiming for and believed his people could too. Through her connection to the werewolves, she learned that though hated by some, the majority of the citizens supported and respected their new King.
It made her proud to be his mate, even if they weren’t together .
Sighing, Rose looked at herself in the mirror, approving of the sleeveless mauve-colored dress—she appeared confidently elegant. Hannah, her closest maid helped her put her shoes on and walked with her to check on Julien in the playroom between their bedrooms. He was building with blocks, his nanny Theadora (who’d been her own and Aurelia’s nanny) sat with him, as well as the lion Ciel, just done hunting.
The graying elf laughed as he knocked over his tall tower. “All that effort for naught, young Prince!” She and Julien both looked up as Rose entered, and Ciel sauntered over to butt her belly with his head.
“Mommy!” Julien called, running over on his short legs.
Grinning at her son, shocked every day at how much he took after his father, Rose bent to pick him up, swinging him in a circle before settling him on her hip. His face was still babyishly plump and round, but his ears seemed to grow longer every day. His skin wasn’t as pale as Adrian’s, but neither was it as tan as hers. It was a shade somewhere in between. His eyes, too, weren’t the deep crimson of his full-blooded vampire father, but they weren’t as pale as her pink.
He was unique, and Rose loved the beautiful blending of his genes.
And she couldn’t believe how quickly he grew! Already his legs were losing their chubbiness, and he was taller than other children his age. He spoke well for a three-year-old and was incredibly intelligent.
Her pregnancy with him had been difficult. Not only because she felt alone but because she’d been horribly sick and plagued by terrible stomachaches, cramping, and back pain. It wasn’t until months in that her family was able to find a book on vampire pregnancies.
Normally abstaining from meat, she’d had to incorporate it into her diet—the bloodier the better, which made the rest of her family gag. To avoid their disapproval, she’d taken breakfast in her room alone, usually outside on her private terrace, so the breeze would carry the scent of her food away. Nic, now her bodyguard, usually collected and delivered the game she preferred, and he disposed of the remains Ciel didn’t finish for her.
She also had to stop spending so much time outside, as an abundance of sunshine made her almost as sick as her diet had. She slept longer in the morning and stayed up later at night.
It got better, and worse, after Julien’s birth.
Her labor was long and exhausting, excruciating and bloody, but it was all worth it as soon as she heard his first cry and held him in her arms. The joy was all-consuming, love for the precious person she and Adrian had created drowning out everything else.
Julien became her world.
And in private, she cried in longing for his father.
Raising him was a struggle, especially in the early days. She had milk, which he greedily ate, but if he drank strictly breastmilk, he got sick. It took days to figure out he needed blood as well. After the first bottle Nic willingly collected from Ciel’s kills hunting, the fever Julien had instantly eased, and he calmed, falling asleep for a long nap. Rose should have realized he’d need a mixed diet, being a hybrid as he was.
But she learned.
And on the days that her guilt became too much, she promised herself that when the war was over, when it was safe in Neigera, she would tell Adrian of his son.
The war was over now, Rose thought, running her fingers through Julien’s thick black hair as she listened to him babble about the diamond around her neck that he liked to play with. Every day he’d pick the gem up and turn it in his hand, examining it from every angle. She smiled as he giggled, trying to catch the sparkle from the sun shining in the window .
“Mommy has to go meet Aunt Relly for a meeting now, love. Thea is going to take you for a walk in the gardens, and then maybe you can go pick some berries.”
“Blue ones?”
“Maybe. All different kinds are getting ripe right now. You pick lots and tell me about it later, and we’ll have Cook make us some nice pies, okay?”
“Deal.”
Rose chuckled at his serious expression and kissed his forehead before setting him down to run back to his nanny, taking her hand for his excursion.
“Don’t forget your hat, Julien!” she called before he dragged Thea out.
“I ’member, Mommy. Don’t worry.”
Rose smiled before walking out herself. She called good morning to servants in the halls who all bowed to her, Hannah and Nic flanking her. Though used to it, she had to force away memories of Timothy and Horace.
Rose went to the courtyard outside the Senate Chambers on the west side of the castle. It was one of her favorite places, with its large pool where birds played. There were little islands in the corners where small trees grew, and a large willow in the center. There had been many a day she’d read or napped in its shade.
Benches sat around the perimeter, chaise lounges as well, several birdbaths, and pots of flowers. Along the columned walkway beside the palace, hanging plants of draping flowers and ivy grew. And on the side that faced the West Lawn was the wildflower garden she and her mother had planted all those years ago, with its pebbled path winding through.
Aurelia was already there, sitting on the raised lip of the pool, dipping her fingers into the cool. She smiled good morning as Rose sat beside her. The goldfish surfaced to nibble her fingers, making Aurelia giggle. It struck a memory that had a song filling Rose’s head and melancholy wanting to cloud her mood.
But she shook the memory away and met the eyes of her sister watching her, her maid several feet away, ever present as her own always was.
“The Senators have begun arriving,” Aurelia told her.
Rose nodded, catching the slight worry in the amethyst eyes their mother had given her. She had long red hair with strong blonde undertones, also from their mother, and was considered a beauty. Betrothal was already being discussed with one of the Senator’s sons who’d been courting her for the last year.
It was hard to fathom that the baby sister whose birth she could recall was old enough to marry. Sometimes the last years seemed so fleeting. Looking back on Julien’s life she felt that way, or when she thought of her return home and meeting her then gangly thirteen-year-old sister.
Other times it seemed so long, like when she missed Adrian and recalled pieces of their time together.
“Galen is here yet?” Rose asked of her sister’s suitor, sending a teasing smile to which Aurelia blushed cutely as she shook her head, reaching up to scratch the gray head of the squirrel on her shoulder, who sat up and started chattering.
Rose smiled at the critter. “Ciel is with Julien heading to the berry orchard,” she told her sister’s familiar. Immediately, the squirrel skittered off to join them. She and Aurelia’s familiars had a fondness for each other, similar to their bond.
“Even if Galen were here, I would have this time with you.” Scooting closer, Aurelia took Rose’s hand. “You have been working so hard on the trade agreements and pushing for Mother and Father to join the League the Neigeran King has introduced, but are you so sure, Ambrosia? So many are doubtful.”
Rose squeezed her sister’s hand. “I know, and I understand the hesitation, but I am certain this will be good for our kingdom. The King’s heart is in the right place, Aurelia. He is trying to do the best for Neigera.”
“And are you not biased, considering your . . . history?”
“Alright, who put you up to this?” Rose asked with a little laugh. “You have been so supportive up to now. What happened?”
“I just . . .” A sigh. “Vampires have a history of being underhanded, cunning, and going back on their word. Everyone is so afraid to trust them. Today is the final vote.”
“I know.”
“Everyone thinks your judgment is clouded because of Julien.”
Not everyone knew the Vampire King was her son’s father. Rose and her parents thought it smarter to keep that detail private. However, it was common knowledge, given Julien’s characteristics and Rose’s history of slavehood in Neigera, that whoever the male was, he was a vampire.
It was another thing the citizens of Constalaysia—noble and commoner alike—held against the kingdom.
And another reason the Senators were not taken with the idea of forming any kind of alliance or signing any form of agreement.
Most of them thought Rose shouldn’t even hold a place in the Senate, regardless of her position as Princess. She was too soft-hearted toward the Vampire Kingdom, which only showed she was not over her trauma.
It was frustrating on many levels for Rose, whose voice had been drowned out by those Senators with more power and influence who all thought her na?ve, foolish, and weak in her opinions. To many, she would remain the Lost Princess who needed rescuing, the girl who’d been kidnapped and victimized for more than thirteen years .
Noticing their mother walking across the courtyard, Rose pulled Aurelia to her feet. Wrapping her arm around her sister’s, they made their way to the Queen, who weaved her arm through Rose’s other.
Entering the Senate Chambers, Rose nodded to the Senators they passed while they made their way to their seats in the center of the room. She sat on the small throne next to her mother. Aurelia’s throne was next to their father, still being the named heir—another reason some saw Rose as incompetent.
If she were truly ready for her duties, the King and Queen would change the successor.
No one aside from their family knew that it was Rose’s request for Aurelia to remain heir. She wasn’t sure she’d ever want to be Queen. She felt as inadequate as everyone seemed to think she was.
The meeting started with smaller issues—mostly reports from the various Guilds—before they moved on to the big item on the agenda—King Adrian Neige’s proposals. For a while, Rose let others talk, listening to all the opposition.
And then she stood to make her case.
She began with a reminder of what Neigera used to be—bringing up her time as a slave. There were immediate responses from those trying to shut her down, but she refused to be overruled. She called her magic forth as she rarely did, letting the full force of it be felt in the room; a reminder of who she was.
And she reminded them of how the dead King Florian had run his kingdom. She gave examples of how King Adrian was different—his treaty with the werewolves, how he promoted free trade, abolished slavery, and championed equality. He stood for all races and showed no favoritism or bias .
Wasn’t that what Constalaysia stood for, and always had? What kind of message would it send if they refused to trade with a kingdom actively making an effort to right the wrongs of the past? Furthermore, what would it say about them if they refused to join a League whose purpose was to hold each other accountable for their actions? Would her fellow Senators turn their backs on such an opportunity to create a community of equality and fairness? Would they see the loss of such an opportunity for growing commerce?
At the end of a lengthy debate, the trade motion passed with heavy favor. The referendum on the League of Races passed as well, though with a narrower margin. Rose felt accomplished and excited as they moved on, discussing how King Tiberius would flesh out details with his counselors before bringing the matters to the Senate again. The summer hiatus was then brought up, and a date was set to reconvene in the fall.
The meeting ran late, but Rose wasn’t surprised nor did she mind. After congratulations from her mother, and a kiss on her cheek and a whispered I’m proud of you from her father, Rose walked out of the Senate Chambers on the arm of one of the young Senators, Sebastian Corvinus, who was a few years older than her. He’d been trying to court her for the last several months and while he was certainly handsome with his tanned skin, reddish-brown hair with golden highlights, teal eyes, killer smile, and sparkling personality, Rose always maintained friendship.
Her parents and his father, the older Senator Corvinus, were amenable to a union, which rather annoyed Rose because she felt like they were all ganging up on her. Luckily, this afternoon Sebastian walked with her alone, their families being otherwise engaged in conversations.
“I quite enjoyed your moving speech,” Sebastian said, flashing a smile.
“Thank you. It is a matter I feel very strongly about. ”
“Obviously.” He led her across the courtyard and toward the garden where they regularly walked. Glancing at her sideways, he added, “It is hard to believe you feel so passionately for a kingdom that hurt you. Would that be because of your son?”
No one ever had the guts to ask outright. Normally Julien was a taboo subject everyone avoided. Sebastian was growing bold.
“As I said, I think the current King is trying to turn things around. I think the benefits to both our kingdoms will be great.”
Sebastian nodded and bent to pick a blooming flower. He handed it out to her with a charming smile. When she gave him a disapproving look instead of taking it, he tucked it into her hair, right beside the baby’s breath. Rose was uncomfortable with his closeness and the intimacy of the gesture.
Which would soon be the talk of the castle because several people chattered with their eyes on them, something Sebastian had likely intended.
Bold indeed.
“I have told you a million times that I am not looking for a relationship.”
Sebastian’s smile turned devilish as he kissed her hand, cannily scanning the crowd as he stepped closer. “Don’t be such a tease and I wouldn’t have to resort to such measures, Princess.”
“Senator—”
“Sebastian,” he corrected. “You should call your future husband by name.”
Rose firmly pulled her arm from his and opened her mouth to speak when she noticed a figure walking toward them. Her heart lit up, and a grin overtook her face, making Sebastian blink.
And then he turned to the focus of Rose’s attention, and his expression fell.
“Please excuse me,” Rose said, escaping into the arms of the huge male making his way to her.