Chapter 1 #3
“But if you can’t defend yourself from a mostly harmless old harpy, how can you defend yourself from the Vampire King and his enemies?” Herald murmured while the musicians started playing and the audience quieted.
It’s not that I couldn’t defend myself from an attack, but we were in an opera house, and you didn’t just make a mess in public places.
I’d been raised better than that. But defending myself against the Vampire King…
It would be pointless to try. I frowned at Herald.
“Now you’re saying that the Vampire King is a threat?
He gave me to the Scholar to raise because he didn’t want me.
” That still stung. My poor mother, dead after living so long in an insane asylum, and my father who threw me away.
It was worse than being an orphan. “As for his enemies, being the Scholar’s ward has protected me well enough so far.
And I am far from defenseless.” I raised my chin.
His smile was wry, his lips too red, his skin too pale. It’s like he powdered to be even paler than he would be naturally. “Ah, but that was before you declared yourself his daughter, a princess in front of so many witnesses, many of whom recorded the event.”
I’d been online for years with no problems. He wasn’t aware of how hard it was to gain traction in a digital world. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” I leaned towards the stage as the performance started, clapping loudly for Fellicci as he walked out and bowed with a flourish of his hand.
I’m sure the performance was epic, but between feeding the kittens hotdogs, trying not to move so my dress wouldn’t be too loud and distract everyone, and Herald’s not-so-subtle threat about my father and his enemies, I had a hard time appreciating the marvelous performance.
Still, when he sang that last divine strain, I stood up, clapping awkwardly with one hand and my forearm while the other held kittens.
Now was the truly nerve-wracking part, cornering Monterose backstage and…
Before I’d gotten my kittens together, Monterose Fellicci appeared at our box as if by magic, his ethereal green wings gleaming.
He’d had them glamoured during the show so they didn’t interfere with his role as prince charming.
They were so lime. And he had a weak chin, but that was a fairy for you.
He looked better with his filters and his special effects, but who didn’t?
“A princess requested my presence?” he asked in exaggerated accents, but not the right accent for the part of Italy he was supposed to be from. I wouldn’t speak the language in case he didn’t actually know it. No need to humiliate someone just because they were trying to build a brand.
I beamed at him. “Hi. My handle is pastelprincess137, and I’ve messaged you so many times.
I can’t believe I’m really meeting you! It’s such an honor!
I don’t suppose…do you think you could…Would you do a little duet with me?
Just a few seconds clip, maybe thirty seconds?
I was thinking ‘so this is love…’” I hummed a few bars before looking at him hopefully.
Was I blushing too hard? Yes. Was I going to pass out from nerves? Maybe.
He looked at Herald, then at the scarred guard, then at me.
“Ah, but of course. Classic fairytale prince and princess collaboration. I apologize for not responding to your charming texts. My rep doesn’t always make the best choices.
” He stepped forward, took my hand and raised it to his lips while a kitten tumbled down.
It would have fallen to the marble floor, except that Monterose caught him. “Do you have a photographer?”
I shook my head, no. “I have a selfie stick.”
“Hm. I’ll have my rep do the honors, and she can text you the clip.”
That’s when I noticed the photographer, a very irritated looking fairy with dark purple wings like knives arced above her head. She gave me a hard smile, not seeming to notice the vampires in the box with us.
He took a position three quarters from the girl, almost looking at me, so I mirrored him.
He was tapping his foot, and then he began, crooning with his magical voice, and I wanted to scream and clap and bounce like a crazy fan, but I had kittens sliding around on my dress, so I held very still and came in at the wrong part, but who cared?
I sang as well as I could, and his brow rose, while he recalibrated so that our voices blended better.
Of course he did. We did longer than thirty seconds, actually the whole song.
After it was over, he bowed over my hand again and then carefully put the kitten back in my arms.
“It’s been a pleasure princess…Do you have a name?”
“Katrina.”
He smiled a charming, sparkly smile and bowed again. “Kat? How fitting. It’s been a pleasure, Princess Katrina. Perhaps we’ll collaborate again.” He left the box, leaving me gaping after the biggest music sensation in all of the world, at least those willing to wear tights onstage.
I gasped when I realized I hadn’t been breathing, and then I pulled my phone out of the front of my dress, juggling kittens until I got it out and opened my app to text SunRae.
It was only while the cursor was blinking in the box that I realized that I’d never actually gotten a recording of the duet.
I blinked at Herald while my heart sank. “Oh.”
His expression was bemused. “Fairies are not to be trusted.”
I sighed heavily while my bubble burst. “Well, it was always a long shot.”
Just then my notifications dinged, and there, sent by MonteRose200 was a video.
I squealed and danced around and almost fell off the balcony. I’d gotten my first prince charming duet. And it had kittens. No way this wouldn’t launch me into fame, fortune and millions of mini cakes.