Chapter 6: King Arthur Henri Frédéric

Talking with older kings is boring sometimes! I being a king at just twenty-three is a huge responsibility after the tragic death of my family five months ago. Everything King Edward says, I just reply with an "Oh," "Really," "Okay," while my eyes search for the mysterious Princess Lenora. I was supposed to be the first to see her, touch her, but I got delayed by my stupid pilot, who was having stomach issues, therefore missing the presentation when her father introduced her. I am about to excuse myself when suddenly I find myself staring at a beautiful young girl in a tight but elegant dress that goes perfectly with her curves. Her eyes are as grey as the moon herself, her soft and grey hair in a French twist is enough to make a guy mad; her brown skin shines like the sun. It is as if someone imagined her, painted her, and printed her out like a 3D character. King Ed stops talking when he realizes that I'm standing still and looking at someone. He follows my gaze and bursts out laughing as the mysterious girl comes closer, my eyes never leaving hers. "This is Lenora Nelson, my daughter," Ed says, locking his arm to hers. My heart races as I take in her radiant smile, a blend of warmth and mischief. This is the princess I’ve been waiting to meet, the one who could change everything. As she approaches, I can’t shake the feeling that fate has just thrown us together for a reason. "Lenora," he continues, my eyes still not leaving hers. "This is Arthur Henri Frederic, King of the Red Empire Kingdom in France." He says. "Greetings to you, your royal highness." She says, bowing her head. Her dad offers me her hand, and I hold it, placing a kiss on it. The time seems to have stopped as I look deeply into her eyes again. I opened my mouth to greet him, but before I knew it, I said the worst thing possible. "Hi, you're brown?" I say unable to believe myself. She pulls away from my hand instantly and crosses her arms as her expression turns blank. That was when I knew I fucked up. I didn't mean to be racist at all, but now, I sound like a fucked up racist. "Wow, I didn't know that on your planet people weren't supposed to be black, brown, or whatever." She says. I feel so irrational for asking or perhaps greeting stupidly. I wanted to tell her how sorry I am and how dumb I acted, but her dad cut in before I could even start. "Lenora, dear, this is not how we talk to a king!" he says, giving her a warning look. "But dad," she says. "How can he start a conversation with a hi, you're brown? Was he expecting a white bimbo bitch?" she says, coming closer to me. Her eyes are so grey that for a moment, I thought I saw them turning red and black. But again, maybe it's the wine doing some numbers on me! I can smell her drunkenness, too, and the people around us stopped whatever they were doing and started to watch us. Even the cool music playing stopped too. I know this is an endless staring competition, and I need to do something to stop. I come closer to him, lifting my thumb and placing it on her cheek, moving it slowly to her lips, and with that, I kiss her. Her lips are so soft and juicy like strawberries. I can feel people murmuring at the back, but I don't care. I found my other half, and I'm not ready to let her go! Lenora Heart beating, Breathtaking, Eyes staring, Am I even breathing? His muscular arms are wrapped around me as if I'm his, I want to be his! He pulls away from our passionate kiss, to which I let out a furious growl for terminating it. His eyes are so hypnotically beautiful, and behind him stands my dad. He is smiling ear to ear as he just won the lottery a few moments ago. "May I steal your daughter for a dance, King Ed?" Arthur says in the most seductive voice ever. "Yeah, go on, enjoy yourselves, children!" Dad replies. And I make our way to the dancefloor right in the middle so that everyone can see. The instrumentalists start playing a cool but lovely song. I bow my head down before accepting the hand he is offering for me to join him in the dance. I take his hand and move closer to him, feeling his left arm wrap around my waist, pulling me even closer. Our bodies begin to move following the rhythm of the music, and I can see other royals joining in for the dance, but I care less; I want him. "So, are you going to stare at me or would you say something?" I ask as he spins me around. "Can't I look at this beautiful creation?" he flirts. "King Arthur, I'm still pissed, you called me brown," I say. "I'm sorry, princess, I was lost in thought!" he says smoothly. "Apologies accepted," I say. "So, tell me more about yourself," he says, spinning me again. "Is it true that the king locked you up because you're so beautiful?" he asks. "Yes!" I lied. "Wow, I can see!" he exclaims. "This place is so noisy," I say. "Do you have any place in mind, princess?" he questions. "Yeah, follow me," I said, motioning him to follow as we made our way through the crowds to a staircase leading to the highest balcony of the castle. There sits a big sofa and a coffee table with two glasses of wine. I wonder who put them there! Arthur seems to enjoy the view of the dark blue sky above us, and with that, he comes closer. With each step he takes, I take a step back until my legs hit the table behind me, causing a little distraction as I turn to stare, and with that, he rushes at me with an inhuman speed, lifting me like I weigh nothing and laying me softly on the sofa. My brain is still processing how the hell he did that, but again, I've almost forgotten that vampires are super-fast and strong. Towering over me, I can feel my heart rising as his lips come closer to join mine, but I push him. Something doesn't feel right! We're going too fast, and I'm not ready for anything yet. He proceeds to kiss my neck, and I manage to gather all my courage to talk. "Arthur, we need to talk!" but I'm late because he bites me!!