12. Of Birth and Worth

The halls were decked with boughs of peonies.

They made Myriem want to sneeze. Every time he passed through his quarters, he threw all the stinky flowers out, but the servants kept replacing them, unable to take the hint that Myriem had no interest in the frivolous marriage decorations.

There wouldn't even be a bloodpact ceremony, he thought bitterly, on his way to Princess Julie Anne's quarters with a large bouquet of said stinky peonies, this marriage truly was just a forced political union.

Myriem thought it to be just as well. He had no interest in forming a bloodpact with some siren women, he shivered at the mere thought of cultivating his essence to give it away to some spoilt princess. Living an immortal life with some frail damsel? He would sooner shatter his heartstone himself.

Darien was the only one he would consider forming a bloodpact with. Myriem's eyes softened as he thought about it, recalling Darien's shirtless body, the warm and beating heart in that firm chest. He had no interest in Darien's heartstone, but in the possibility of a shared forever.

The crinkling of the bouquet in his arms brought Myriem's dreams to ground.

There was low likelihood of immortality, no creatures had the powers they once did. While there was once a time where even the lowest of every vampire, siren, werewolf and fey lived lives lasting centuries, heartstones no longer naturally formed in a creature's body. They had to be cultivated through much effort, and even then, most could only extend their lives for a finite number of years. It was why the battle for Crown Heir was so salient despite Myriem's father being not even 200 years of age, and on the throne for only a century.

But the vampire blood had been facing especially strong weakness. The number of half-bloods and mixed-bloods were increasing by the day, and fewer and fewer were able to cultivate full immortality - of the past few centuries, only a handful had been rumoured to ascend of vampiric origin. From that perspective, a bloodpact with a siren may actually be beneficial for him as a vampire, as they were rumoured to be able to cultivate quicker.

But Myriem only scowled as he found another bouquet of peonies on his study desk. He promptly threw them out the window.

A servant on the ground looked up as soft, fragrant flower petals cascaded down around them, wondering why it was raining flowers at midnight but figured it must be a good omen for the Third Prince's wedding and left to happily spread gossip that the God of Spring was blessing the wedding. When Myriem arrived at his private chambers, he could only gaze helplessly at the fresh bouquet of even more peonies placed by his beside.

Perhaps it was his mother who had demanded that every crook and cranny in the castle be shoved full of good omens for his wedding, Myriem erroneously mused. Queen Karin had taken over all preparations, arranging her servants to handle every bit of wedding preparation that should fall on Myriem's head.

For once, he was glad for her overbearing parenting. If he had to handle the wedding preparations himself, he would get married in a barn by a cow, for all he cared.

Queen Karin used the marriage preparations to send subtle messages to the Aselan Princess, plastering omens for healthy daughters - and not any for sons - in Julie Anne's chambers, sending her perfumes to 'get rid of the pervasive fishy odour' that sirens were slandered to have, sending servants to set out bouquets of innocence and fidelity to Julie Anne as if the queen suspected Julie Anne would whore herself right in her nuptial chambers.

Myriem turned a blind eye to it all. It would actually work in his favour if his bride had an affair, it would keep her quiet and distracted, away from him.

If anything, he felt bad for how an affair may result in her death, though that couldn't be helped. It was very difficult to carry vampire children - not only did it frequently take years of attempting, it frequently took the life of the mother, if not the child as well. A wedding was less celebrated than a childbirth.

But when his mother sent the princess a scroll on etiquette of how the wives of men with child-rearing pacts should behave, he knew she had gone to far. Myriem had no option but to meet the princess himself to prevent her from feeling too insulted and causing havoc, and thus he was on his way to deliver a cordial apology for his mother's behaviour.

Child-rearing pacts were commonplace amongst nobles and families of pureblood origin. As it was not only difficult but dangerous to carry vampire children - never mind a pureblood woman carrying a pureblood vampire - a man could form a child-rearing pact to sire children with a woman but only with his wife's expressed consent. The child-bearer would carry the child, at risk of their own health but with the guarantee of a lifetime of remuneration, and once a child was born, the wife would raise the child as her own.

However, if a wife was unhappy with the setup and felt wronged, she could accuse the husband of infidelity. Infidelity was amongst the highest taboos, and an adulterer could be punished in court - the king himself could not escape punishment.

It was evident the queen expected Julie Anne to submissively accept her husband forming a child-bearing pact. The queen was not only planning to put Myriem on the throne, she was already making preparations for which of her grandchildren would take the throne after Myriem: the child-bearing pact clearly suggested that Julie Anne's child would never make it onto the throne. To prevent the siren princess from causing trouble for Myriem later, the queen was pressuring Julie Anne even before they had gotten married.

No-one could refute Julie Anne if she complained she was being treated unfairly, and this would cause trouble if the Aselan folk heard of it. Thus, Myriem was taking time out of his busy day to visit the princess himself.

Myriem loudly announced his entrance to the esteemed guest quarters, nodding and smiling at servants who bowed in shock at his passing. The display of flowers in his arms caught everyone's eyes, and it took only moments for gossip to spread around the castle.

If he had been seen entering quietly, privately, then the next morning there would be guards at his door demanding an explanation for his illicit and immoral conduct deflowering the princess before they were wed, and she would be branded a whore. If he entered boldly, then there would be dreamy tales of true love, a righteous and noble prince declaring his love for the beautiful and virtuous princess.

He would lose either way, so he would do her the favour of not dirtying her name just yet. A loud apology would also separate him from his mother, casting his mother in the light of an evil mother-in-law, but him as a kind lover.

Myriem knocked at the princess' chamber door. It took only a moment for a servant to crack the door open a tiny sliver, peering out before opening it a bit wider, but when she saw his face, she gasped and swing the door back until only her head was visible, hiding the rest of the sitting room behind her.

There was a hint of panic in her eyes, and . "P-Prince Myriem Lee," she hurriedly bowed low and then curtseyed twice before glancing to the side as if nervous. "Um, what brings your royal highness to this lowly quarters?"

Myriem ignored that she was calling the esteemed guest chamber of his castle 'lowly'. "Pardon my intrusion, I request an audience with Princess of Aselan," he smiled kindly to the servant.

A slightly strained look appeared in her brow. The servant glanced at the bouquet in his arms and hesitated. "My deepest apologies, your royal highness, the pr- our Third Highness Julie Anne of Aselan is currently indisposed and is unsuited to receive company-"

She looked away at someone in the room, hidden behind the door. A moment later, she turned back to Myriem and opened the door properly.

Julie Anne stood in front of him, a couple steps away from the entrance to the chambers and dressed indecently, staring quietly at Myriem.