Ivar the King

High in the tower, a lone figure stood gazing out at the falling snow that completely covered the ground below. He was clad only in a white shirt and black pants but he seemed oblivious to the winter cold. His hands rested lightly on the stone ledge that surrounded the tower, his face an inscrutable mask. He felt Rathgar's presence behind him and waited for him to speak.

"She has gone to your chambers to bathe and rest, I have assigned Kara and Inga to attend to her", Rathgar spoke without looking at the King, his gaze roaming across the lands directly behind the castle.

Ivar did not respond and the silence stretched uncomfortably between the two vampires, each lost in his own thoughts.

"Will you go to her?", Rathgar asked after some time had passed.

"After the ceremony", Ivar replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

Although he had thought to lay waste to the small kingdom and take the princess as his mistress, Rathgar had convinced him otherwise. Now he wondered at his decision to listen to the silver-haired serpent. Sometimes he swore Rathgar was becoming soft with the passing of the centuries.

He had known him for so long, in so many different lives, but Rathgar's loyalty to him had weathered all of them and so much more. Ivar had long grown accustomed to the other vampire's taciturn demeanor and frequently, out of sheer boredom, would deliberately goad him in an attempt to illicit a response. He almost always failed but on rare occasions, Ivar thought he had glimpsed something, the faint twitching at the corner of his mouth, like he was stifling a smile. Or the slight change in color in his blood-red eyes. But it would always disappear so quickly that Ivar wasn't sure if it had ever been there at all.

"Would there be anything else that you require of me?", Rathgar asked, his voice interrupting Ivar's thoughts.

"You have already done enough", Ivar answered coldly.

Rathgar's face held no expression as he turned to leave the tower when he was stopped by the sound of Ivar's voice.

"Perhaps I should make it your responsibility to watch over the human. She is weak and fragile and unable to protect herself and this is your idea after all"

The silver-haired vampire still showed no sign of emotion but for a slight twitch in his jaw before he turned and not bothering to reply, swiftly descended the tower steps.

Ivar thought back to when she had arrived just an hour before and stepped down from the carriage. He had watched her from this very tower, curious as to what kind of woman would willingly offer to wed him. His spies had informed him that it had been her idea to offer her hand in marriage and not the king. What a strange human, he mused to himself

He could see that the human was beautiful, he had been able to see her beauty clearly, even from where he stood in the tower. Her smooth alabaster complexion was a stunning contrast to her impossibly dark hair, the silky tendrils of which, had escaped from beneath her hat and lay in unruly strands on the collar of her dress. The sight of her full, red lips and the sound of her low, mellifluous voice, he found pleasing in an almost sensual way. She was slightly taller than most human women, but being taller than most men and vampires, Ivar found that it did not bother him as much.

He had been caught off guard when she had felt his eyes upon her and turned to look up at the tower. Being human, he hadn't expected her to be able to sense his presence at this distance and he had quickly concealed himself behind a pillar. In the front hall, as she ascended the stairs, she had sensed him again, giving him mere seconds to disappear from the hall before she saw him. Most humans were not able to sense a vampire's presence unless the vampire willed it and Ivar was intrigued by this human that could sense his presence regardless of whether he allowed it.

Ivar stood at the rail a while longer, watching his servants preparing the gardens at the back of the castle for the wedding this evening. A nocturnal wedding ceremony was a long-standing tradition in Ivar's family and tonight the tradition would continue.

The snow had stopped and a path had been cleared from the back doors of the castle to the center of the gardens, where a white gazebo had been erected. Along the path, candles had been placed, all the way to the steps leading up into the gazebo. Purple and white flowers adorned the gazebo, both inside and out, with white swaths of silk hung along the roof and banister. Chairs had been placed in rows around the front of gazebo for the guests who would be attending.

Winter had only just begun and the snow sprinkled lightly in short bursts throughout the day with slightly more snowfall during the night. It was the perfect time for an outdoor ceremony before the winds brought the snowstorms that were characteristic of winter in the Shadowlands. The sun was just beginning to set, painting the winter sky in contrasting hues of purple and orange. It looked to be a perfectly beautiful evening for a wedding.

Ivar clicked his tongue, shaking his head at such irritating frivolities, thinking it completely unnecessary for a marriage in name only. This was all Rathgar's fault and he would blame him for the disaster that would come of this ridiculous arrangement. Not for the first time, he contemplated how he had allowed Rathgar to persuade him to marry a human. Perhaps that was what angered him all the more, that he had allowed it.

Turning from the rail, he walked angrily across the stone floor and began his descent down the winding staircase. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he turned in the direction of his chambers and pausing only briefly outside the doors, as though listening to something, he quietly pushed the door open and walked inside.