Chapter 7 Dangerous Game
One month after the wedding, Lucius only saw Dorian five times. After the breakfast, the Crown Prince deemed he had fulfilled the minimum requirement of keeping the appearance of a happily consummate marriage and went straight back into his old life, which Lucius was not a part of.
With no honeymoon, public appearance, and royal family integration, plus being advised by the steward to stay in specific areas of the Citadel and not to venture anywhere he was unfamiliar with, Lucius felt like he was a prisoner more than a consort, albeit living in an extremely lavished prison.
The heavy security around him guaranteed his safety. The food was scrumptious, the rooms were ornate and cozy, and the clothes were extravagant. And if Lucius wanted, he could have any kind of enjoyment he could think of and live a comfortable and frivolous life just as before.
But he couldn’t. There was something he had to accomplish, and he couldn’t do much if Dorian ignored him for the rest of his life.
One day he was sitting behind some exuberant rosebushes in the garden, trying to read an overly heavy and boring book about Vampire history and trying not to fall asleep, and he heard two meandering nobles chattering and gossiping on the other side.
“I bet the Crown Prince has already gotten tired of his holy bride. He isn’t even showing him to the public.”
The other voice snickered, “This whole marriage is a farce. It would be fun to fuck and drink a virgin priest, but why would anyone want to marry them. They must be boring to death. If he wants to humiliate the humans, he could have just fuck him publicly and then sucked him dry.”
“Some said he is sympathetic to humans.”
“No way. Humans killed his mother. And he was the one who vanquished Anthor and their alliance’s army. I don’t believe those rumors.”
“Anyway, I bet he will divorce the High Priest and throw him into some slave house in less than two monthes. Then we can all get a taste of that holy blood...and his pretty ass.”
“Hahaha, I would love to see that little innocent face stained by tears and pleading for mercy. I would certainly film the whole thing and put it online for the humans to see how their beloved angel of the lord is defiled by the demons.”
“You are such an evil bastard.”
“So are you!”
Lucius’s face was reddened with anger, yet he didn’t make himself known. He had deserted the guards for a couple of hours of quiet and alone time, and he wouldn’t impolitically expose himself in front of two hostile creatures of the night.
But then he knew this day would come when Dorian stopped showing up three days after their wedding. He was a human consort who had no power in this place and was barely kept alive by the name of the marriage. The moment when the rumor of a divorce rose in the darkness, he would become common prey among the wolves.
He had to do something about the situation.
For the next few days, he tried to elicit answers about Dorian’s whereabouts from the valet and servants and yielded no good result, as they barely told him anything except for some very general prevarications. He requested to see the Crown Prince and only received some curt reply saying that Dorian was preoccupied with meetings and other stately matters.
Not other nobles tried to pay him visits, as they all saw him as a temporary placeholder for the consort’s position and wouldn’t last too long. They believed Dorian married him just to humiliate Anthor and buy some respite so they could focus on dealing with their more perilous werewolf problem on the eastern front.
Running out of ideas, Lucius felt like he had to think of something out of the box and...possibly stupid and mad.
He spent more time wandering in the citadel during sunset hours, always ensuring the two guards that Dorian assigned were with him. Many vampires gazed at him, and only very few greeted him. He took his time to put names on several regular faces and then researched their backgrounds online.
Eventually, he locked his attention on a gardener, Faith. She was a vegetarian (which means she only drank from animals) and had no human slaves, suggesting she might be more sympathetic to humans. On top of that, she had served in the royal family longer than Lucius had been on earth and probably had witnessed or heard many affairs. Most importantly, she was turned into a vampire later in her mortal years and thus was less youthful than the other dazzling ladies in court. Therefore, in a heavily lookism-dominated vampire world, she was almost invisible.
It wasn’t too hard to befriend her. Lucius made sure he always went for a walk during her working hours and always greeted her with a Julian-signature disarming smile. A smile that he had been practicing every day in front of a mirror since he accepted his fate, and he had found it was an exceptionally handy weapon.
In less than a week, he had harnessed myriad valuable information from the all-seeing gardener, including some insight into vampire society and culture that was hard to find on any human-reachable network. But most importantly, she knew all the important events that would take place in the near future and who would be on the guest lists.
The nearest event suitable for Lucius’s plotting would be Duke Theron’s birthday party, held in the rose garden at midnight. Archie and Silvan would be attending as they were good friends with the Duke, and Dorian had already sent word that he would be late for about two hours, as he had to go to a charity event before that.
On the night, Lucius put on a white shirt and white pants, leaving two buttons open and revealing his collar bones. He looked into the mirror and tied his longer hair into a ponytail to show his neck better. And then he took a deeper breath, reassuring himself that everything would work out, that he wouldn’t be murdered this evening.
But he knew it would be a lie. He will likely be dead before sunrise and possibly in a horrible way.
But maybe it wouldn’t be too painful? Vampire’s venom often gave their victim euphoria to ensure they wouldn’t fight back too hard.
He was scared shitless. Where would he go after death? He never really believed in the afterlife, as everything seemed too artificial and perfect. But thinking that he would dissipate into an everlasting nothingness made his stomach cram. He still had a full life ahead of him and so many things he wanted to do and places he wanted to go.This is from NôvelDrama.Org.
But if he didn’t try, he would surely not have much longer life left.
At 1:00 am, he told the guards that he wanted to take a walk in the eastern garden, some distance from the rose garden. The guards believed that the east garden was far enough from where the party was taking place and agreed to accompany him.
By then, Lucius had his own knack for shirking the guards since those guards had become less alarmed as Dorian stopped coming back to their room. He got rid of the guards when he entered the labyrinth, quickly exited from another exit, and moved toward the rose garden as stealthfully as possible.
He could hear the loud music, jovial laughter and clamor from the party from afar. He hid behind taller bushes and saw Archie laughing loudly with some of his friends, already half drunk from all the blood cocktails.
Soon Archie left the crowd to release himself. And as he walked several rows of bushes further and was unzipping his pants, his ear caught some murmuring sound in the wind, almost musical, like a gentle crooning.
He followed the voice, turned around another row of rose bushes and saw a small pound glistening under the moonlight. And near the pound, a figure was kneeling on the mossy ground, facing north and praying. Moonlight trickled over his red-tinted blonde hair as if forming an angelic aura, and the alabaster skin on his long neck was almost translucent under the moonlight.
He was praying to the Northern Star as the starlight twirled in his hazel irises, stirring all kinds of kaleidoscopic colors. And his youthful countenance held such weight of determination and innocence, making him otherworldly.
Archie gulped, and an unrestrained desire burst into flame. He could smell the blood rushing through the slender body, so sweet, pristine and nutritious.
The blood of an angel...
“Looks what I found. My brother’s little pet.” He spoke the words like a low growling.
Lucius was startled, and his prayers interrupted. He looked at the predator with those alluring big eyes wide open, “Prince Archie.”
“What are you doing here?” Archie sauntered toward him slowly. His dark eyes fixed on Lucius, “roaming in the darkness all by yourself, like a clueless little bunny.”
Lucius was tensed and skittish. He stood up and took a few steps back, “I’m just saying my nightly prayer.”
“There is no place for your puny god in Eternia, and he won’t listen to you here. My brother should have kept a close eye on you. Or...maybe he just doesn’t care about you anymore. I heard he hasn’t been to your room for a month already? Perhaps he regrets the marriage and hopes someone can take care of you for him?”
Lucius’s heart pounded loudly, and the frantic rhythm made Archie’s blood boil. However, the prey was not toothless, “Dorian is not a coward. He will own his action and deal with the consequences. Unlike you.”
The vampire’s playful and drunken expression transmuted into something darker and colder, “what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I am the Crown Prince’s Consort. Spouse of your future king. You should show me some respect!“Lucius audaciously raised his chin, trying to bluff. And it successfully incensed the fractious and impulsive vampire prince.
The next moment Lucius felt like being hit by a raging train. He was punched in the gut by such sheer brutal force that some bones must have been broken. He cried in pain but lost his voice as all his breath was knocked out of him, falling to the ground.
Something gigantic and monstrous was on top of him. The vampire’s body enlarged instantly, and thick, sinewy muscles bulged and tore the well-fitted fine clothes. His nails grew sharper and longer like ten knives. His handsome features shifted into something demonic and beastly, and his teeth protruded into long, sharp fangs.
Archie’s giant hand slapped Lucius’s face, and for a moment, Lucius couldn’t hear, see, or think of anything. A loud ringing occupied all his senses. He was blacked out for a short while from that merciless blow, and when he came back, his shirts and pants were torn into pieces, and his naked body was covered in several angry long, deep claw marks.
“No! Help!” He only had a chance to utter two short cries before the monster grabbed his hair, pulled his head back, and sank his teeth into his neck.
And then a strange sensation exploded in his body. Itchiness quickly spread through his veins and wrapped his mind in a foggy warmth. It was almost blissful and erotic. He knew the vampire venom was working in his system, and if he was seized by it, he would stop fighting altogether, which would be his end.
He bootlessly pushed against the mountain-like body of muscles, feeling his strength quickly sucked out of him. Meanwhile, the giant hands roamed aggressively on his body, leaving bruises and scratches. He whimpered in fear and desperation when one hand forced his legs open and fumbled his private parts and opening roughly.
“Hmmm, delicious! He hasn’t even touched you, has he!” Archie let go of his neck for a moment and gazed down at him with such smugness and covetousness, fully enjoying Lucius’s trepidation and suffering.
“He will kill you for this! Let me go!” Lucius panicked. It was not as he imagined. His strength failed him. He couldn’t shout as the loudest voice he could make was like a weak cat cry. If no one heard him, this would be his humiliating end.
“I hope you know what happens to me here, mother and father.” Lucius thought wretchedly, “I hope you know what I’ve been through in Julian’s place and regret.”
Though would they regret it? Or would they feel relieved that it was not their more precious son?
“Oh...little angel. I will be your first and last man. But don’t worry, it will feel really good.” Archie laughed loudly next to his ear, and his licentious tone made Lucius cringe and shudder.
And then something black clashed with the monster on top of him and smashed Archie into a nearby tree, causing that tree to snap into two.
It was an infuriating, wroth, blood-seeking Dorian.
The Crown Prince’s body also shifted. He was lean but taller and faster, like an enraged panther determined to rip his opponent apart. Archie tried to fight back, but his heavier body couldn’t overpower Dorian’s relentless attacks. Soon the Crown Prince held Archie’s throat and pressed him into the dirt, forcing him to return to his original form.
Meanwhile, a long jacket was warped around Lucius’s bloody and naked body. Silvan was on his side, pressing a hand against the wound on his neck. Lucius instantly clutched at the vampire’s sleeve and refused to let go, as if scared of being left alone. Lucius was shaking violently and uncontrollably, his teeth were chattering as if he was extremely cold.
“Shhhh, it’s ok now. You are ok.” Silvan’s soothing voice barely contained Lucius’s chaotic thoughts.
On the other side, Dorian had returned to his original form, but he was still jamming his fist into Archie’s face. Again and again and again, as if setting out to bash Archie’s brains out.
“Dorian! Please!” Silvan yelped, “you should take care of Julian first!”
And that stopped Dorian’s attack. The Crown Prince marched toward them, gently wrapped the jacket tighter around Lucius but carefully avoided all the wounds. Then he collected Lucius into his arms and carried him back to the citadel wordlessly.