48 Third Memory (2)

"It is an honor to dance with my daughter." Ryan took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. He lowered his voice so that only she could hear, "I know that you do not like these things I could not get them to stop so I have forced you to do this when you did not want to do this at all. Do not fret about Cedric he is used to this sort of treatment. I should've told you before the evening had started."

Yuki looked at her father, "there are some things that are not easy to explain. Cedric asked me to not seek him out and now I understand why. I do not like that they are treating him so coldly. That young man is to be my chosen partner. How can they talk about their future King this way?" She scoffs and continues to let her father lead her.

"As unpleasant as it is this is the reality for him. I will set it up so that you can dance with him soon and it will be a nice long slow song. Make sure that you ask to drink his blood before the song ends." The song ended and a few males came up and offered to dance with her and so Yuki danced with each one keeping them at a safe distance. Her first partner after her father was a rich and flashy aristocrat.

"Princess Yuki, it is an honor to be able to attend this soiree with your present. I have been hoping for a while that you would come so that we could get to know each other better." He smiled at her cockily. "My name is Smith."

"It is a pleasure to meet you acquaintance, Smith. Sorry, I have not had the spare time to come to these meetings in the past. I only came at my parents' insistence." Yuki let out a sigh and prayed that the song would end soon.

"It is quite alright, Ryan said that your studies to take over were a top priority." The song ended and he took her hand and kissed her knuckle before allowing the next one to take over.

The next guy that got to dance with her was a vampire that seemed to have a quiet demeanor. He led her on the floor and held her at arm's length. "I am sorry that you have to dance with all these guys. I am not interested in you at all but my parents want bragging rights. My name is Glen and I am secretly bonded to another and she will be mad that I danced with another lady so if you do not mind can you chat with her for me?"

"A hidden bond? Are you not afraid that they will find out? I will do what I can to calm her. I am not interested in stealing another's life partner." Yuki was fascinated by him.

"Yes, I bonded with her and then changed her from a human in a half-vampire. My parents do not know that I was the one that changed her but I think it is almost time. She should be showing soon. Will you honor my bonding with her and bless our child?" Glen looked at her hopeful.

"It would be my honor is she here this evening?" Yuki smiled and looked genuinely happy.

"She is. Thank you for this dance and I will introduce you to her after you are done dancing." Glen does not kiss her hand and just steps back and bows.

Cedric notices the happy expression on her face and he finishes the glass of champagne before crushing the glass. 'It is not my right to interfere. I can not do that to her.'

Yuki glanced at him up out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had injured his hand and as much as she would love to lick up his blood she dances with the next guy.

"Pri-princess, my name is George and I wanted to let you know that you are b-beautiful. S-sorry, I get n-nervous easily." He leads her to the floor and awkwardly leads her into a dance.

Ryan walked up to Cedric and touched his hand and whispered in his ear, "go to her after this one. I have a longer song playing for the two of you. If you let her drink your blood, in the end, you can stake your claim on her. I will honor your choice." He walked back to his wife.

Cedric dropped the broken glass and brushed the glass shards away and his wound sealed on its own. The song ended and Cedric bowed to Yuki and held out his hand to her. "May I have this dance Princess?"

Yuki got giddy when Cedric finally came to her. She placed her hand in his, "you may."

Cedric led her onto the dance floor. He pulled her close to him and placed his hand on the middle of her back. He heard the music start. Slowly he leads her into a waltz. Each step was confident and he spun her and pulled her back in. The onlookers were shocked as they saw Yuki smiling happily.

Yuki smiled and watched Cedric happily, "this is a lot more fun with you than with any of the other guys. I can relax in your arms and I feel safe. Even though I have not known you for a while. Will you let me drink your blood after the dance?"

"You know what that symbolizes, correct?" Cedric spun and brought her back into his arms.

"I do if I did not then I wouldn't be asking. For me to drink your blood in front of so many means that you are the one that I want. The one that I would rather be with, the potential partner for life?" Yuki came back into his arms.

"Since you know what it means and seem so certain about it I will grant your request." Cedric held her close and smiled down at her.