Once upon a lifetime

Chapter 2

To say King Augustus was displeased with Camellia's action was an understatement. Aro and his guards watched with immense amusement and interest as the delicate beauty who had just stopped a public execution was brought in. Trailing behind her was a small framed girl, her age appeared to be similar to the princess's, she had olive skin and dark brown eyes. She could be described as pretty, but her clothes were ripped in various places and her disheveled hair was covered in dirt. Both girls were held down by the guards but the guards who held down the olive skinned girl were armed. Clearly hinting she possessed danger. Although Aro wondered what danger could this poor girl possibly possess that almost got her executed, and more importantly could that danger be transformed into power, for Aro. 

'You had no right, father.' Camellia spoke first, the room was filled with tension. 'to do this to an innocent.' 

'Abigail is not an innocent.' King Augustus tried to explain, for he did not want to lose his temper in front of guests. 'Performing witchcraft is to be punished by death.' To his dismay, Camellia scoffed, completely disregarding the possibility that her best friend could be a witch. 

'Well she's not a witch, and you have no hard evidence that she is. Therefore she not guilty.' To this, Augustus had no reply, it was true because he indeed had no evidence. He was told by a few of his guards that his daughter's best friend could potentially be a witch. Out of desperation to prevent and protect his daughter from any danger, he had wished to get rid of the girl as soon as possible, evidence never occurred in his head. 

The whole room was silent, everyone waited patiently for their King to deal with his favourite daughter's delinquency. Augustus clearly looked conflicted, he loved his daughters, Camellia especially. Ever since she was younger it became clear she was different, she wasn't obedient but he had always convinced himself it's just bravery. She was always so stubborn but again Augustus saw it as being opinionated. Although women were not supposed to be brave or have an opinion. Camellia had the ambition and characteristics of a honorable man but had the beauty that any man would want as their wife. The King sighed, he deep down took pride in his youngest daughter, but it also worried him. What man could possibly want a girl that could not keep her mouth shut and her thoughts hidden. She needed to be married off soon, before his tolerance of his daughter become encouragement for her to get into more trouble. Maybe having a husband and family can teach her what her role is in life. Cooking, sawing, and celebrating her husband's success. 

Staring into his beloved daughter, an idea came into mind. Since Abigail did not appear to process any immediate danger, he could use this to his advantage. Find Camellia a suitable husband and marry her off in front of his own eyes to guarantee her happiness. 

'I will make you a deal, if you agree then your friends goes free. If not then she remains guilty. Witchery is considered a serious crime and i'm not going to let a lack of evidence put my country in danger.' 

Camellia recognized the trap immediately, for she knew her father was a cunning man and never offers any deal that is not beneficial to himself to the maximum. However it sounded too good to pass up, and quite frankly, she's not in a position to pass anything up. 'What is the deal, father?'

'You will marry to a man of my choice, and in return Abigail will be declared innocent.' 

No one dared to speak as the shock of his words lingered in the air, Camellia glared at her father, wondering what she did to deserve such punishment. She should have known this would happen one day, seeing her sisters being married off one after another. Her eldest sister was married to the prince of Italy, her second oldest sister was married to a French noblemen that her father somehow believed would treat her well, it's just a coincidence that the noblemen's father owns most of the farmland in France. Now it's her turn, to be married off for benefit the country. Camellia hated the idea of being married off to a man she did not love, she had always hoped that maybe, just maybe her father would let her choose her own husband, that maybe to her father, she was more than just a property. An investment. It seemed however that she was terribly mistaken. 

To everyone's surprise, including the King's, Camellia agreed to deal. However no one knew that inside the young princess's head, she had already made at least 3 escape plans. 

Demetri observed the entire conversation in the corner, wondering why the princess would agree to such a deal. He could not explain the feeling he has when she's in the room, was it attraction? Desire? Desire for what, her blood, her body, or just her? There's no doubt that her blood was tempting, just thinking about it made his mouth water, vanilla with a hint of cinnamon. She was beautiful, about 5ft 7, taller than most of the other girls. Slim figure with the right curves. Her features looked so innocent, but there was a sense of fierceness that somehow made her even more attractive, even in vampire standard. However it's neither her scent of her body that makes her unforgettable for the tracker that had been alive for more than 700 years, it's the way she carried her self. So brave and confident, intelligent and kind. After being alive for so long nothing ever interest him as much anymore. However now, Demetri was truly hooked. 

Demetri was not the only one hooked. Aro was too, not romantically, more like an excited child finding his Christmas gift the day before Christmas. While everyone was caught up in the tension between the King and his daughter, Eleazar quietly came up to Aro and held his hand. And to say Aro was pleased with the newly discovered information would be an understatement. 

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A/N* Sorry it took so long to update. I actually wrote this chapter a few weeks back but wasn't sure if I liked it enough to update. Made a few other changes today and i'm at least happy enough to upload this. Leave me a review if possible? :) I promise I will update sooner because it's now the holidays. Thanks for reading xx