018:- The Night Before The Wedding 3

Alessio remained in his room although he really wanted to step out to get a glimpse of the visiting nobles from Asten. He would see Prince Silvan at dinner tonight so there was really no rush, the human Prince was no doubt exhausted from his travels.

He wanted to sleep until it was time for dinner but he found that he couldn't, rising from the cushions to watch the sunset from his balcony. The sky was tinged red like a maiden's blush, the clouds a beautiful sight despite the fact that he couldn't see the setting sun.

In the room next to his, Silvan was putting on the clothes laid out for him. It fit well enough so he had no more complaints. The bath had put some life in his skin, his gold hair complementing the dark red outfit. The dress shirt was made of a material so soft it felt like it would rip under Silvan's fingers, it was a soft cream, his cravat an eyecatching black with a jewel pinned to it.

A rustle in the curtains on the balcony caught his attention as he fiddled with the cravat, making Silvan frown. He walked over, looking around and finding no one there. He stepped out onto the balcony although he knew it was empty, a hand on his cravat as the soft light of the setting sun washed over him.

It must have been the wind… Silvan slowly turned to his left, made aware of the presence of someone else before he even saw them.

On the balcony of the room over, Alessio stood to pass the time, his long black hair waving in the gentle breeze. He had noticed the moment someone else joined him, the balconies weren't connected but they might as well be from how close they were.

He knew the new arrival was human, and if he had been placed in the rooms next to his, it meant that it was Prince Silvan. Alessio had been too stunned to make a sound, staring at the man until he slowly turned in his direction.

Cold blue-green eyes pinned Alessio down, the words on the tip of his tongue drying up. Prince Silvan had stared down at him like dirt under his shoes, his pale lips twisted cynically. He ended up unable to say a single word of what he had spent days preparing, watching helplessly as the human Prince returned to his room.

The sky darkened soon and there was no reason for Alessio to remain on the balcony. Prince Silvan didn't return, and he wasn't sure he quite wanted him to. Alessio hadn't been quite sure what Prince Silvan would look like, but he had been expecting that the Prince would at least bear some similarities to his sister, he couldn't have been more wrong.

Silvan looked nothing like Eleanor, even through her paintings, Alessio could feel the warmth in her gentle blue eyes. If Eleanor's eyes were a calm pond, then Silvan's were a raging ocean.

He stepped into his room to find Luka on his favorite sofa, his appearance shaking him out of his daze. "I thought you were upset with me?"

Luka had his large gold bowl of grapes in a hand, his dark red hair down around his shoulders for the first time. "Why would I be?" He asked coolly.

Alessio wisely chose not to continue that line of conversation, "I just bumped into Prince Silvan on the balcony."

There was a ripple in Luka's calm expression, the noble Vampire had just come from spying on the human Prince, it would seem that his nosiness had led Alessio and the human Prince to meet.

"What do you think of him?" Luka asked, focusing so hard on Alessio that he forgot his claws were in the bowl of grapes.

Alessio shrugged, he had been stunned silent at their first meeting, but now that he went over it, Silvan's back looked quite lonely as he left. "He's a little cold and distant but I think we can be friends."

Luka had a wry expression at that response, he quite expected that. "What if the human Prince blames you for his sister's death?"

Alessio flinched, he had clearly never had that thought cross his mind. "Why… Why would he…" He mumbled helplessly, troubled by this possibility he had never considered before.

Luka mentally slapped himself for troubling Alessio for no reason, "Of course, he doesn't. His sister was always sick." He forced himself to say, "Do you want me to keep you company until the dinner party?"

Alessio truly felt bad about getting his father to keep Luka out of his room for several days so he was quick to agree, joining Luka on the sofa to munch on grapes.

-+-

Meeting with King Vatore was an easy feat, Rolfe simple mentioned it to one of the maidservants in his room, and right before his eyes, the Vampire vanished. He was shaken for a good long while after that, while he knew that Vampires had extraterrestrial powers, he had never seen it in person before.

Shortly after the maidservant left, there was a knock on the door to his rooms, Butler Nicola appearing with a flourish. "I'll take you to His Majesty right away, just come with me."

Rolfe had a grim expression on his face as he followed Nicola's lead, he hoped to hear good news from the King of Vampires, hopefully this was all naught but a misunderstanding.

He was led to the King's study, two courtiers ushering him in. King Vatore sat behind his desk, the Vampire King dominating the furniture, he cold gray eyes lifting up when Rolfe walked in.

"Is something not to your liking?" King Vatore was quick to ask, steely eyes passing over Nicola.

The foppish Vampire quickly vanished out of sight, terrified of his King. He wasn't about to wait to find out that he had disappointed the Vampire.

"Not quite," Rolfe sat on the chair offered to him, "I merely have some concerns." He said carefully like he wasn't quite sure how to phrase his words. "Tomorrow was supposed to be Eleanor's wedding but tragedy befell Asten and now her brother will take her place as a member of the court of Vallyn."

Vatore listened intently, "Right." He said calmly, waiting patiently for the human King to get to the bone of contention.

"A wedding need not be held anymore," Rolfe said slowly, enunciating his words.