Replacement

Arius sat behind his desk. He wondered when it all started. Maybe with the first king of the vampires Elceive Bernat Petrarchi, the one who united the vampires under one kingdom thousands of years ago.

The book of history wrote about his achievements. It mentioned how he travelled around the world and how he found a place on Earth where there was no sunlight most of the year, the Dallon's land and built his kingdom. Some of the history books reported that discovering the land made the first king think of establishing the vampire kingdom. And his love for his people made him unite them.

Arius scoffed. The first king did that to satisfy his ego for having power and ruling in a kingdom he established by himself. Nothing more.

He read the first king's memorials, where wrote about his ambition, tough journey, failure and collapse.

He was a cunning ruler. He lured the vampires into following him but even so the dispute between vampires themselves built up by the increase of the new vampires seeking his 'protection'.

Having thousands of vampires with different styles of life, cultures and traditions who came from multiple environments across the entire continents and making them accept their new life was difficult.

He found a solution, putting six clever and capable vampires whom he trusted, then giving them the title of Founder of the land or Duke nowadays. He ordered them to take care of their people in return, he would grant them a seat in his court.

A few who might refuse such a temptation as a result, the six lords agreed; but there was a reason that the books didn't mention, the first king's power to control people. He did that to the lords they were mere puppets in his hands; he controlled them and they controlled their people.

From then, the setting of the six pillars of the kingdom started. And it still existed to this day. Three of the six Duke objected to him being the king because he wasn't from the royal family's descendants and they rushed him to give the throne to his daughter.

'It was not the right time for his daughter to take over the crown, not until ...'

Arius shook his head thinking again about how the first king failed to foresee the troubles coming resulting in losing his life and many vampires in a civil war.

A blessing union turned into a curse.

Maybe he would succeed if he was not greedy, Arius thought.

The first king died. His descendants ruled after him, in the first king's son's reign the vampires lived in peace, and the kingdom was quite prosperous. Few wars had occurred but not until the previous king's reign that the matter became complicated, his father-in-law was a copy of the first king, mentally.

Valery's father was another fool who wanted power, to become a king and took over the world.

And he targeted the kingdom's neighbours, werewolves. The easy task, the king saw became hard. He chose the worst time to attack the werewolf's kingdom after the reunion of the packs. Suddenly, the small number of werewolves tripled, and the war ended in losing his life.

Since then, the tension between the two races increased. And the dream his father-in-law wanted to achieve crumbled down just like his life. Stupid!

The next to rule was his wife, Valery, the first woman to inherit the throne. She stopped the war between the two races, signing the peace treaty.

Her people loved her. Humans, shapeshifters, and others appreciated what she did because of her efforts in finding a peaceful world.

The Council was created as per her request. Kings and queens would hold a meeting once a year.

Arius held a pen and drew on a white paper, he loved drawing and collecting paint, minutes passed by when he was half in it, he gazed at the visage on the paper for a while before he threw the paper away.

Arius relaxed in his chair and closed his eyes. 'Valery' he whispered.

…

Throughout her cleaning, a maid told Lucette that the vampiress was waiting for her. Lucette left her work and went to see that woman.

'Nothing good happens when meeting the woman without serving her.' The few times she was called by that old woman Lucette would be punished.

Lucette stood with her head low, waiting for the vampiress's order. She clasped her dress as the silence in the room made her nervous. Minutes felt like hours to her.

"No one will force you to do something you don't. Do these words seem familiar?" the vampiress said. Her voice was icy as a winter's coldest night.

Lucette's hands trembled. 'How come she knew about it? The long-haired woman promised her not to tell anyone!'

'What shall I do?'

Lucette looked over to see the evil woman in front of her, then she lowered her head.

"Aren't they your own words? When you bragged about it proudly to someone, you should not even wish to wipe her shoes, but you dare to talk to a noble lady," Sophie said, putting her hand on Lucette's chin and raising her head to look at her.

"Tell me, who are you?" she asked, and Lucette flinched in pain when the vampiress tightened her grip on her chin and repeated the question once again.

Lucette's eyes flashed in pain and anger because of her weakness. She closed her eyes. "A maid," she responded and Sophie withdrew her hand and smiled at her placing her hand over her cheek and turning around.

"It is good that you knew your identity," she said resting on the sofa.

The royal vampiress was mocking her. Lucette took a deep breath and closed her eyes to prevent the tears from pouring down.

The pain in her chin vanished, but the pain Lucette felt in her heart increased, thinking about the humiliation a second ago.

She was weak and hopeless. Her life was without significance, she was just a maid following her master's orders.

"Since the chosen bride didn't want to be wed because she listened to some annoying maid, what should I do to you? Instigating the bride to abandon her wedding, it's a serious crime to deceive the royal family. Your punishment will be worse than what I did all these years." Sophie said.

Lucette drowned in her misery and was pulled to reality by the vampiress' words.

'So the woman from the last day was the bride-to-be?' Lucette gulped, she didn't know that! But one thing she knew was that she was in deep trouble. 'A worse punishment? What could it be? Death!'

"If you are the one to be forced to marry instead of Blythe? Will you be able to refuse?" Sophie asked.

Lucette bit her lips. The vampiress was targeting her through her words. 'That's what you will get when you blabber nonstop stupid Lucette.'

"Of course, you will not. You will do it with a big smile on your face. And that's what I am expecting you to do," Sophie said, smiling mockingly.

"Helena, Freya," she called and two maids entered the room, "Bathe her and make her ready for tonight's ceremony. Don't let your eyes away from her," she ordered them and they took Lucette away. Lucette looked dumbly at the two maids dragging her out.