The Vision

Murmurs descended the hall. Shrugging half-heartedly, Mineah slowly darted her eyes toward the owner of the only voice that mattered between these discussions… The man that her eyes were trying hard not to look at from the moment she entered the hall. The man of the hour, whose mere presence screamed supremacy despite his silence. The man who was set to marry her older sister Xenia today, the reclusive King of Valcrez, Nikolai Ichor.

Mineah gulped at how intensely King Nikolai stared into her eyes. Her blue eye could compel individuals, but it felt like nothing against his amber eyes, which seemed to hypnotize anyone who looked into them. 

She knew the logical thing to do was to look away and avoid his stare, but her being her, she did the opposite. She held his gaze, trying to read his thoughts. Surprisingly, she could hear nothing. His gaze seemed like an endless abyss, not giving away a single thing. 

Frowning, she wondered, 'Is he really that powerful? Can he shield himself from telepathy?'

"This is unacceptable! You must do something, Your Majesty!" came the cries of the Valcrez guests, which snapped her out of her trance.

With King Nikolai's eyes still fixed on her, he slowly parted his lips and calmly spoke, "Surround the whole of Castle Ebodia this instant. From now on, no one will enter or leave without my permission…"

"What do you think you're doing?! This is my kingdom!" her father roared. 

What followed was the sharp sounds of various knights attempting to unsheathe their swords. Looking at their knights though, all of them seemed to be struggling to move. In her seat, Mineah felt great energy beginning to cloud the great hall. Someone was using a powerful spell to hold back their knights!

'Could it be him?!' she pondered as she sneaked a glance at the Vampire King. 

She had to do something to counter that spell but she was unsure if it was the right thing to do. Contemplating, she turned to her kingdom's Seer, Beirut. 

Although deemed the weakest kingdom because of the human residents, Ebodia was still blessed by the Heavens with a powerful Seer. Their kingdom's Seer had the gift to see the future in all its possibilities. 

For centuries, Ebodia's fated Seer had helped them reach the heights that it's currently at, keeping their kingdom from falling apart. Seer Beirut simply slightly shook his head, subtly signaling her not to do anything. Mineah, who was on the edge of her seat, sighed deeply and sank into her seat in understanding. 

On the other hand, the Vampire King simply shrugged and said, "You didn't keep your end of the bargain, King Stephan. Your castle will be surrounded by my men until we come to a new agreement."

"This is unacceptable! How could you expect us to settle for the second daughter when you promised us your eldest?!" one of the Valcrez Ministers pointed out. 

"Isn't she the Cursed Princess?! Are you belittling our Kingdom by offering her to us?!" 

They were right. Who would want a Cursed Princess like her to be their Queen? Mineah struggled but still had a calm face and held her head high. Seer Beirut had already seen her getting married to the Vampire King in his vision. She had to trust him. 

Mineah bit her inner cheek upon recalling what she had done the moment she found out about Seer's vision regarding her curses.

The day Seer Beirut saw her marrying the Vampire King, was the same day the Kingdom of Valcrez demanded her sister Xenia as a bride. Despite Xenia's hatred of the match, she didn't want to run away, claiming that it would be too selfish for the kingdom.

So Mineah used her right eye to compel her sister to follow what her heart truly desired, which was to run away from the arranged marriage. She had to make the vision come true, no matter what. It was all for the sake of their people's future, and her own.

According to Seer Beirut, the only way for Mineah to break the curse was to succeed in capturing the heart of the King of Valcrez before the moon turned red. Once she did that, she would live, and millions of her people would not suffer disaster.

Thus, Mineah willingly offered herself in place of her sister.

"We're wasting our time discussing this when there's an ongoing threat to our kingdoms! My son just left for war with the bulk of our military, and here you are taking advantage of our weakened defenses when you should be assisting us!" her father roared, snapping Mineah back to her senses. 

"The conditions of the alliance are only binding once the marriage has taken place," Chancellor Abel pointed out.

"My second daughter is more than willing to take her sister's place!" King Stephan pointed out.

From then on, the discussions just went in circles, each person talking over the other trying to prove their own points. The Vampire King's companions were all adamant against her substituting her sister as his bride. Unfortunately, all she could do was watch the discussion furtively, squinting her eyes every once in a while holding herself back from interrupting.

Until a few moments later, the guard outside the door announced something unexpected to the Great Hall.

"Princess Xenia is currently outside asking permission to enter the hall…"

King Stephan quickly raised his voice at the guard, "What are you waiting for?! Let my daughter in this instant!"