26

Dedicated to all my wonderful readers. Shelay_Tuvera, FunMochi, Mandee, Storygirl, rubyly, zenobialove365, Thanks for all your support 💜

Please read the note beneath the chapter, I have an announcement.

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Clarissa woke up the next morning feeling well-rested. Still, her mind went to the weird happenings of the day before. She looked to the windows and the connecting door. They were both locked. She wondered if the stress and pressure of everything going on in the kingdom were getting to her.

She pulled on the chord that called for her maids and they assembled in seconds.

They wasted no time in seeing to the princess's demands. They ran her bath and the princess bathed with scented herbs and soaps. With her bath completed, she dressed for the day.

Her gown which was carefully placed on the bed was a soft peach that seemed to enhance her beauty. It should have clashed with the red colour she used on her lips most of the time but there was a sense of maturity and both colours came together to bring out her cheekbones and tanned skin which stood out beautifully.

Her shoes were the same as the gown she had picked and high enough to give her more height.

She wondered if she should go shooting today. Maybe teach the child as well. It almost seemed like he excelled at whatever he was taught. It made it a joy to teach him.

She decided that after breakfast she would do just that and since she would just be teaching him to shoot, there would be no need to change attires.

" Has Dante's bath been seen to? " she asked one of her maids.

" Yes, your highness. The child is set for the day. He even bathed his cat. "

The maids did not question the princess about the cat as they understood quite well what she had done.

" Good. "

She stood up from the mirror which she had been facing.

Her hair had been combed and styled. Her crown sat on it, making the fact that she was royal known.

Her guards opened the door at her silent knock and they made their way to Dante's room. His doors were immediately opened.

The child sat on the bed with the cat next to him. He was dressed for the day and the cat seemed to sparkle. The second he noticed her, he stood up from where the bed and bowed to her. " Greetings, your highness. "

The cat sauntered down from the bed and walked out of the room. Then stopped at the door as if telling them to move faster.

Clarissa rolled her eyes at the cat's attitude. " Dante, how do you feel about learning to shoot? "

His eyes brightened. " Am I going to learn to shoot a gun? Then I'm going to become like the royal guards and every other knight in the kingdom who wield swords and guns. " He was so animated in his excitement, he found himself posing like he had a gun in his hand.

" I have my answer then. But first, breakfast. Now come, we must hurry. We'll be dining with my father, which means I expect you to be on your best behaviour. Don't slouch or eat like a pig. "

He nodded, excited to have the meal done with, so he could go shooting.

He followed her out of his room to the royal dining.

The princess strode in to find Leonard already at the table.

She knew he had an early meeting with her father this morning. After all, he wasn't just her royal guard but also the head of the kingdom's knights. A position he had taken after the last head of the kingdom's knights was reassigned to the war zone.

She took a seat, after greeting her father and accepting Leonard's greeting.

Dante greeted everyone and sat as well.

Both men continued discussing strategies for battle should the dark witches attack and it reminded the princess of the decision she had taken. She was worried for her father and could sense the worry in his voice. Every day, he looked worse for the wear, looking for ways to defend their kingdom. So far, there had been no attacks at any of the four borders but they knew it was the calm before the storm.

She wondered if she had been too hasty in her decision. Perhaps she would find the perfect time to discuss this with Leonard. Maybe when she was teaching the boy how to shoot later.

The servants and Damien brought breakfast and served them.

Even the cat was served its food which consisted of the past day's leftovers. It wasted no time in pushing it away.

It seemed the cat was selective of what to eat. Clarissa thought to herself. Maybe it would prefer cat food

Clarissa watched Dante feed the cat from his food and it gladly accepted.

For a street cat, it sure exuded arrogance and knew the difference between freshly made food and leftovers.

She rolled her eyes and looked away.

She noticed how her father had barely eaten. For the second time in her life, she felt guilty. She decided then and there to change her mind.

" Father, " she said, dropping the glass of water she had just sipped from.

Both Leonard and her father looked up at her. Dante was too entranced by his cat to pay her any attention but his cat was more entranced by what the princess had to say than the meal the young boy was dangling in front of him.

" I have decided to agree to the vampire Lord's demand. I will meet with this king Kieran. Send a message to the vampire Lord that I will go to him but he will send soldiers to protect Haven's Peak. "

Not that she had any care for the people. It was her father and her only friend Leonard she worried about.

" Clarissa, that man insulted us. You will not go to him. He is well aware of the rules that bind the lands, he is to come to us to ask for your hand and not the other way around. " her father said heatedly.

" He is obviously a fool father..."

The cat meowed.

" ...but when have the vampires ever conformed to the rules of the lands? They make their own rules. But don't you worry, I'll make him pay for this insult. " she said with a deadly look in her eyes. " And the truth is I can't have you continue to kill yourself with worry. Your health matters to me. You matter to me. Even more than my pride. "

" Clarissa, " her father said with worry.

" Father, I have made my decision. For every inch of my pride that fool stripped off my back with his demands, I will make him pay twice as much. " the smile on her face was the same one that usually sent heads rolling.

The cat smiled at her with a look of amusement on its face.

Author's note

What do you think of an event where if my book is able to get not less than 35 chapter comments, 14 reviews, 50 votes, 35 paragraph comments, gifts will be up to you, all these by Saturday Evening. On Sunday, you'll get two extra chapters. We can do this for the entire month of August. But depending I might increase the goals. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Thank you so much for reading. Don't forget to vote, comment, share, rate/review, add to your libraries and reading lists. Don't forget that you can gift the book now. Thanks again💜