Chapter 2: Preparations

Third POV

It is December 20th, 2026, and the vampire king’s castle is in full swing of hustle and bustle. Everyone inside is running around, doing their jobs; some doing more than others. Maids, butlers, other servants and guards are running around, seeming to be getting the castle ready for something.

Something that has never happened in the years that the king has been king.

They are getting the castle ready for a Royal Ball. This Ball was announced at the very last second. The king said that he wanted it to be perfect, so that is what the servants, maids and butlers will give him. They run around, getting the castle spotless and the ballroom cleaned and set up for an unknown number of guests. All they were told was that the tables had to have both blood and human food.

The Royal Ball is to be held in approximately three weeks, allowing for the castle staff to be with their families for the holidays and for the castle to be set up. The color scheme of the Ball is black, white and gold, and is formal wear only. The guests would be allowed to wear any color that they see fit, but the whole outfit would have to match, so that would mean that there can not be any mismatched colors. At this point and time, not everything is finalized, seeing as it is still three weeks away. The king wants all of the staff to have a nice and relaxing time off before coming back into the castle and going full swing into the Royal Ball prep.

***

TWO WEEKS LATER

All of the staff members, including the guards, are rushing around now, a week before the Royal Ball is to happen. The staff are all doing their own tasks, trying to get the castle ready for all of the guests and, potentially, the king’s mate. That is the true reason for the Royal Ball, which the staff found out at the beginning of the week. They got to work, trying to make the castle as sparkling clean and safe as possible for their new queen, if she is found at the Ball.

The maids and butlers are scuttling around, making sure that all of the rooms, hallways and other surfaces are completely free of dust. Servants are either doing their jobs in the kitchen, making tons of food for the werewolves and the humans, and in the gardens; weeding, pruning and clipping all of flower beds, trees and shrubs, as well as cutting the grass of the front, sides and back lawns, to perfection, and in the ballroom; getting it decorated and set up for the guests that are going to be there in the coming days. The guards are training almost daily and making sure that all exits will be manned by at least one or two guards at all times during the duration of the Royal Ball. There is one butler that is allowed back and forth, telling everyone what they are to do, as that is their job as head butler.

Right now he is telling the servants in the ballroom where the decorations should be going and how it should look, according to how the king envisions the overly large room. There are large sheets covering the mahogany engineered flooring, keeping it safe from premature scuff marks from the ladders and the servants’ shoes. All of the bunting is alternating in black and gold with white streamers getting wrapped around chandeliers and hanging from the ceiling in corners of the massive room. All of the tables are going to be set up with alternating colors of white, black and gold with the tables being towards the cream-colored walls. The curtains covering the windows in the ballroom are a see-through white color with gold trim and black tassels hanging from the sides, holding the ends together for natural lighting.

As the tables are being filled with the drink glasses, upside down so no dust gets in them, plates, also placed upside down for the same reason, and napkins, all of them being in white, black, or gold, though the cups are clear for obvious reasons, the head butler leaves the elegantly decorated room. He makes his way towards the king’s study, going through his mental list of what all needs to still be done. As he walks, he sees all of the guards, and newly trained guards walking around, getting the plan for the Royal Ball practiced and finalized. He watches the maids, butlers and other servants as he goes, making sure that they are doing their jobs properly, which he sees that they are.

Stopping at the vampire king’s office, raising his fist to knock on the door, he hears voices inside, all of them talking about the different issues that the werewolf packs seem to be facing at the present moment. He hears the king mention that there are ways that they could be fixed without violence, which makes the head butler realize that they are trying to stop packs from going to war with each other, or with rogue werewolves. Most of the rogues have been banding together to get rid of the king, as they deem that he is unfit to rule and that vampires shouldn’t be ruling over werewolves in the first place. He hears the other people in the room getting up, heading towards the door, so he moves to the side, allowing them out before he saunters in, his hands behind his back.

“Your Majesty,” the slightly older man, by almost a thousand years, speaks to the king, in a bow. He gets out of his bow before continuing. “The preparations for the Royal Ball are almost done. The foods and drinks will be placed out an hour before the Ball is to begin. The only issue is the guest list. Who all is going to be invited? They will need their invitations and an explanation for why they are being summoned.”

“You are absolutely right,” the king’s smooth, slightly hard tone comes from in front of the older male. “Put down that they are being invited for a gathering, say that it is for better ties with other packs and covens, as well as getting to know the remaining humans.”

“I will, Your Highness,” the older man confirms, bowing once again. “Just for clarification, who all is invited?”

“Everyone in the New World.”