For Eternity - Edited Version

Chapter Ten - Superb Acting

~POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING - MENTION OF CHILD ABUSE~

Luciano's hand delicately encompassed your own as he led you through the long corridors of the castle. He whispered little reminders to you of how you should present yourself and act in front of the royal court and civilians. You were increasingly becoming extremely irate, but you endured the constant tips as you debated whether or not to "accidentally" step on his toes to make him shut up. When he eventually stopped in front of a pair of dark oak wood doors, you took a deep breath to prepare yourself for what awaited you on the other side. Luciano caressed your chin and turned you to face him, magenta eyes meeting (e/c), your heart skipping a beat. His eyes glowed softly for a moment before smirking and kissing your forehead. You batted his face away from your own, grumbling about how his breath reeked, though it truly was minty fresh. He rolled his eyes at your childishness and released your chin to face the door again.

"Enter on your cue, amore mio," he whispered, earning a hesitant nod from you and an eye roll of your own.

The prince rapped on one door with his knuckles, the sound of shuffling feet and voices on the other side soon quieted. Another voice began to speak loudly as it addressed the occupants of the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you His Highness, regent of our people, Prince Luciano Tiziano Ambrogio Basilio Vargas!"

The doors opened, swinging in towards the room ahead of you and brought into view a balcony with stairs to either side of it. Luciano walked in calmly with the grace and poise you've heard royals of any species had, a smile on his face. As he approached the balcony's railing, the crowd below erupted into cheers of joy at the sight of their soon-to-be king. He waved to his subjects, causing them to fall back into silence.

"Ladies and gentleman, lords and ladies, good evening and welcome one and all to my castle," he began. "I can only hope from the amount of laughing and jubilous conversation I heard before entering meant that you all are enjoying yourselves this evening. I'm truly elated that you could all join me on such short notice for this very special occasion." He took a deep breath, making eye contact with a few of the nobles below. "As you all know, my coronation is coming up very soon. The laws that have been passed down from generation to generation state that in order to take over the throne, I must wed. I've thought this over countless times, especially within the last year, and have come to the conclusion that ruling alone could become rather boring. Not that I haven't been ruling these last few decades on my own, if I were to somehow die during my reign, who would I leave the throne to if I do not have an heir?"

The nobles looked around to one another with hushed whispers.

"Many of you must be assuming I would hand off power to my elder brother, Flavio, however he has explicitly stated to me several times that he wishes not to rule. So, my only logical step forward is marriage. Only a select few of you know this, but I have a very special girl in my life."

This was your cue. You walked up to the balcony with the grace and poise of a princess, stopping beside Luciano at the railing. Gasps escaped the lips of many of the attendees, some out of awe from your immense beauty while others were of pure horror that their prince could ever fall in love with a human of all people. While it was uncommon that a vampire would fall in love with a human, it wasn't unheard of. You took notice to the various occupants of the room, noting the small clusters of human servants, each giving you a sympathetic look. They could only assume what your fate would be, something worse than death. Nonetheless, you kept a smile on your face to keep up appearances.

Luciano turned in your direction as you stood beside him. His hands took yours within his own and looked into your eyes, as if checking for something. He seemed a little disappointed for a moment, but you shrugged it off as another mood swing or King taking control. What caught you off guard was the dark auburn haired prince scooping you up in his arms bridal style. His foot came up to rest on the railing before the other still on the ground pushed off. He teetered a bit as he worked to regain his balance, and you found yourself holding on to this man for dear life. You looked to him with fear in your eyes and a silent threat on your lips. He offered a mischievous smile before stepping off the railing and towards the glistening white tile floor below. Another round of gasps filled the room as you tried not to scream.