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***
" Are you sure of the decision you have made? " King Gabriel asked his daughter.
She sat looking out, over the balcony. " More sure than ever. "
He nodded, feeling bad that his daughter had to be in a loveless marriage all because of his inability to protect his kingdom from the Eradains.
" Councilman Sebastian has sent the message. I got word from him today. You are to prepare for your journey in a few days. We haven't been given the exact time you're leaving. " her father said distastefully.
Clarissa understood her father's anger. " Don't worry father. Soon he will come to know that no one bosses me around. "
Despite the disrespect his daughter's suitor was showing to them, he did not wish for her to enter a marriage filled with hate. " Clarissa, the man might be a disrespectful fool but I want you to try to find the good in him. Perhaps you will find love. Just like your mother and I once had. "
Clarissa turned to face him. " The vampires have no heart. If he couldn't care enough to come to ask for my hand, he wouldn't care enough to try to love me. So why should I give him my love? "
" Clarissa... " He sighed.
" Father, I understand your worries," she said, placing her hand on his.
Her mind went to her feelings for Leonard and how they will never amount to anything. " But love is not for everyone. "
He tried to protest. But she was not ready to listen to his preachings about the beauty of love and how it could conquer all.
After all, if it could truly overcome everything, why not this battle against the dark witches and the Eradains.
" Father, the only thing I want right now is for you to promise me that you'll be careful. I'm not sure I'll be able to take it if anything happens to you or Leonard," she said sadly.
" I'm going to be fine," he said reassuringly. " As for Leonard, I tried talking to him but he's decided that he's going with you. "
Clarissa frowned. " Going with me? What about you? Who will stay behind and protect you? I won't have any peace knowing you're here unprotected. What is he thinking? "
" He is trying to make sure you are safe and honestly I feel better knowing that you're not going there alone... "
She shook her head. " I can take care of myself... "
" I know that you can but you're starting a new life in a land you've never been to. A place where you'll be a stranger. You need someone familiar by your side to help you settle in and to help you keep a rein on that temper of yours. " he said with a smile.
Normally she would have rolled her eyes but she was more bothered about the fact that her father would be left unprotected. Although a message had been sent to the vampire Lord to send his people to protect her kingdom, she could not trust him yet. She was not the type to put her trust in a man she barely knew.
" If it will ease your mind, I'm having Logan assigned back to the castle. He's assured me that he's trained enough men to replace him. And we also have Eric whom Leonard has trained and I believe the young man is almost as good as Leonard. You have no reason to worry now. "
So the former head of guards would be coming back. Well if there was anyone she could come close to trusting apart from her father and Leonard, it would be Logan. As for Eric, he was okay but still, she worried.
" Let him fulfil the promise he made to your mother. He's bound to it and even if you were to place a sword at his neck or a gun at his head, he wouldn't change his mind. Just accept things as they are. " he said, squeezing her hand.
She sighed and nodded knowing she had no choice. If there was anyone as stubborn as her father and herself it was Leonard.
***
When the sun went down and it was time for her to sleep, Clarissa called Dante to her room.
" We're going to be going on a journey in a few days. "
The child had already overheard the maids talking about it. The news had spread fast around the castle. The vampires whom they thought were myths forming an alliance with their kingdom was big news.
But what Dante had not been aware of was the fact that he would be going with the princess.
" So I'm going to go with you? " he asked with his eyes shining in happiness.
Clarissa lifted an eyebrow as if questioning him. " Did you expect me to leave you here? I can't entrust your education to anyone else. They wouldn't teach you the right things. I don't believe in hiding the truth from a child. If it were to be anyone else raising you, you would believe in fairy tales and kindness but there's nothing like that in this world Dante and I am the only one who can truly show you the truth. "
He frowned, feeling confused. " But you are kind. "
" I am kind? " she looked at the child like he had gone crazy. " The last thing that I can ever be accused of is being kind. You seem to forget I killed your mother, your nanny and also had your father executed. "
Dante gulped and his little heartfelt pain in remembering all that happened. He'd tried all this while to live with it and now it felt like fresh wounds being opened. He knew if he cried the princess would consider him to be weak. He didn't want that to happen and if he was to say the truth, this was the happiest he'd been all of his life. " I know you did all that but I also know they did something bad. You didn't kill them just for fun. "
" Oh Dante, you are yet to know the kind of monster I can become. But you'll see how much better it is to be a monster than an angel whose kindness will simply be crushed upon. "
The look on her face scared him but he only nodded not wanting to get on her bad side.
" Tomorrow, I'll have the maids prepare your things. For now, go to sleep. "
He did as she said and went to his room but the cat stayed and waited for the princess to fall asleep.
Author's note
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