Marry Him

 I stood up, my heart feeling like it stopped as I held my son like he was alive, simply sleeping in the blanket Gregory had given him. Who could be on the other side that would make my father feel obligated to bow like that? It was impossible for me to see from where I was standing in front of the fireplace; the red door opened in, with the back of it facing me. 

"Who is it?" I called out, when the person failed to enter after being greeted so formally. My mother turned solemnly, her blood shot eyes looking as well, but even from her position she couldn't see. 

Then we heard the steps of the person enter, their shoes tapping against the wooden floor. 

As my father backed up to move out of the person's way, a cloaked figure appeared while my father shut the door behind them. 

The figure kept their head low, peering at the ground, refusing to look up even when they stopped moving after the door closed. 

"Who are you?" I repeated, this time directly to them now that they were inside. The person finally raised their head, though the side of the hood blocked their face just the same. 

Edith and I looked at each, each of us with our breath held. 

I had just given birth to the bastard child of the prince, and Gregory was nowhere to be seen. Had he given up on marrying me and decided to turn me in? Death would be quite the release; I'd be able to be with my son in the afterlife at least. 

The person turned finally, but only their head, and when I saw their face, I instantly started crying. 

"Oliver..." I managed to squeak out. 

Oliver, ignoring those that were in the room with me, dashed around the couch my mother was sitting upon, his hood falling down with his sudden dart towards me, before he wrapped his arms around my body, giving me and our son the biggest, warmest hug I've felt in weeks. I wrapped the arm that wasn't holding our son around him, pulling him as close as I could. 

"I missed you so much," he whispered into my ear, my shoulder becoming soaked as he cried; a mixture of sadness and happiness. Then he pulled away before I could say anything, wiping his tears to see clearer. "Have you named him?" Oliver asked, his voice cracking. 

I only shook my head, "I was waiting for you." He outstretched his arms slightly, asking to hold our baby without having to use any words. "Perhaps, Jude?" I suggested as I handed the tiny human over to him, still wrapped in his father's colors. 

The others in the room became ghosts as I only saw Oliver. I wasn't hallucinating, was I? 

"That's a handsome name," Oliver smiled, looking at his son as he cradled him in his arms. "I love you, Jude. Always." He then looked up at my family, Edith included. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused," he began, looking at each of them individually to be sure they knew he was sincere. 

"Should you be here?" My mother chimed in; her voice weak from crying. "It's dangerous for her to be with you." 

"I shouldn't," Oliver was honest with her, before turning back to me, "I came with answers." He then walked over to the small casket, placing Jude back inside, safely wrapped in his blanket. "I'll start with the good news, because no amount will save the bad." 

I didn't answer him, I couldn't. 

"The only good news I have, is that I'm permanently home; my official life as an adult royal has started. My parents have also allowed me to bury Jude with the rest of the family at the castle. Bastard or not, he is my son." Oliver walked back over to me, only a few feet away from Jude, but before he could touch me again, Edith spoke up. 

"The bad?" She questioned, a hint of attitude in her voice. 

"After today, I'll no longer be able to see you," he ignored her, only focusing on me. He then leaned in so only I could hear the next part, "...and my family had been cursed long ago." 

"Cursed?" I whispered back. "With what?" 

"I'm a vampire, as is my sister, my parents, and the entire staff that works directly with us." 

Vampire? I thought to myself. Looking back on everything, it makes sense, but those are demons of legends, not reality. Not my love. "Are you going to kill me?" 

He chuffed at my assumption, "of course not, but that's why you need to marry Gregory." How did he know? 

I pushed myself away from him. "Why!?" I demanded to know his reasoning. "I don't love him!" 

Oliver shook his head at me, "I know you don't. But if you don't marry him and don't produce a family of some sort, you'll be treated like the rest. Banished" 

"That's fine." 

My mother stood up from the couch, walking over to me and placing a hand upon my shoulder. "Listen to him, dear," her sweet voice made me want to cry. "Look at the prince, Adeline. Really look at him. He loves you, and it's obvious, and it's also obviously killing him to tell you this." She didn't hear his vampire confession at least. "He doesn't want you to die, even if it means you must be with another man, at least he knows you're alive and well, and at this point, that's all he can hope for." 

Oliver smiled at me. It was far from fair that all this was happening to us; we did nothing wrong to deserve such treatment from whoever lived above. "I should get going, I shouldn't be here to begin with." He put his hood back up, before embracing me once more. "I love you Adeline Weston, with everything in my soul." He leaned down and kissed me, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around him, our tears mixing with each other's as our faces pressed together. 

"I love you more than anything," I muttered to him softly as we pulled away from one another. 

"Whatever you do, Addy, do not become banished. I beg of you."