Piper

I hadn't been to Evander's cottage since the night he sent me the rose. It had been eleven days and yet the rose still rested perfectly in the vase. No petals had withered, nothing. There was no sign of deterioration or death. It was as if it was fake.

Yet, every day when I entered my chambers, the welcoming floral scent hit me as a reminder of his kind gesture. The rose was alive and well, just as it had been the day before, and the day before that.

I needed to see him soon. The past eleven nights had been hectic, to say the least. I was of course put in charge of planning the arrangements and music for the debutante ball. Sounds simple enough, but come to find out, picking flowers to go with the table cloths and choosing just the right music to set the mood for the night was tedious.

I hated every second of it.

I had spent the past few days going into the late evening hours getting questioned on what I would like.

"Princess, do you think these flowers go with the crimson of the table cloths?"

"Princess, don't you think the harp is the right fit for the evening? I find it pleasantly lulling."

"Princess, have you had your dresses picked yet? We must make sure that they match the theme of the night. Your mother says you are to get the utmost attention."

What I would like is the retched ball to be canceled. The constant nagging and emphasis on such futile things were causing me to go mad.

When I told them that the floral arrangements were horrendous, they had asked me what I wanted instead. Without a second thought, I chose red roses.

Tonight was the ball, and as I got put into my first evening gown, I focused on the untouched red rose on my dresser. I wished my close confidant could be at the ball tonight. Maybe then I would feel more comfortable. Instead, I had no one but myself, a family who was forcing me into this, and a crowd of onlookers and incompetent men vying for my attention.

I imagined what it would be like if Evander were to be at the ball tonight, what it would be like to dance with him. It felt intimate, even as just a simple thought. But quickly my thoughts went to what I now knew. A Warlock in a crowd full of Vampires. It wouldn't take much for him to be thrown out and then who knows what they would do to him.

Mrs. Cazacu fastened the matching cloak to my dress. I turned to face the mirror and admired how I looked. If one good thing could come of this night, it would be this dress. Just like any other royal woman, I enjoyed dressing to impress. This dress definitely was made to fit my mother's wishes to make me the center of attention.

The dress was made of a thick pearly white satin material. It was tight-fitting around the waist and bodice but flowed out from my hips loosely. Golden ornamentation covered my breasts up to my neck and shoulders where they met the sleeves of the dress. The sleeves were made of soft, sheer chiffon that was fitted up until my mid-forearm, then billowed out, draping over most of my hand. Gold detailing covered parts of the white chiffon sleeves, stemming from the mass of intricate gold detailing that covered my chest and shoulders. From my shoulders came the same pearly satin, forming a long cloak that trailed behind me.

The only problem? I knew that it was not-so-subtly making me look like a future bride. It was presenting me as what I was soon to be to possibly one of these men.

I didn't think too much about it as I thanked Mrs. Cazacu and complimented her work. She left me and once she was gone, I placed a golden band around my head. The dress was so stunning that I didn't want too ostentatious of a crown. Maybe if I kept to a simple crown, the men wouldn't lust for it as much. I doubt it.

My father met me at the top of the immense marble staircase. I linked arms with him, skipping the pleasantries, and walked with him down the stairs and into the ballroom.

My father wasn't the warmest man. As children, he barely interacted with us, seeing as though he was too busy with his duty as king. Yet, when he was around, it wasn't like he made up for the lost time. Normally the most interaction we got of him was when he was telling us what to do.

So I guess it could be said that I am not close to my father by any means. He's just an authoritative figure in my mind, more king than father.

As soon as the fanfare announced our arrival, I could feel every eye on me. I held my head high and flashed my perfect smile at the guests. I could see that half of the guests were Vampire men who were alone, revealing that they were the suitors I was to be entertaining tonight. I swallowed down my dread and detached from my father.

Raven was the first one to approach me.

"You look breathtaking, Piper," She gushed, kissing both my cheeks and then stepping back to take a long look over me. I didn't have to fake a smile at her compliment.

It didn't take long for the first and boldest of the suitors to make his way to me. He had won the race at who was the fastest to court me. He was tall with walnut-colored skin. He was handsome, no doubt about it, but he had a triumphant and self-assured look to him that already made me dislike him. Raven gave me a look that screamed, 'good luck,' and went over to her husband.

"May I get you a drink, Princess?" The first suitor asked politely. At least he was polite.

"You may," I simply replied, letting him grab a chalice from the wandering waitstaff.

I took it from him and sipped at it slowly as he introduced himself and proceeded to keep talking about himself. By the end of the conversation, he had told me almost everything there was to know about him, even down to the hour he was born. It was exceedingly boring and made me want to fall asleep. I fought the urge to yawn as I simply nodded in response to his ever going comments.

I was actually relieved once the next suitor cut in. This one was shorter, maybe two inches shorter than me, and had pale skin that neared translucence that almost matched the stark white hair that was on his head.

"May I have this dance?" Suitor number two asked. I obliged, ready to get away from the previous self-absorbed suitor.

I went to the dance floor without even saying farewells to the first man and began to dance stiffly with the new suitor.

"Do you dance often, Princess?" He asked. I nodded and said a simple 'yes,' and that was the extent of my response.

Just like the first, he introduced himself. But before he had time to get into his whole life story, a new suitor came up to ask me to dance.

When I turned to face the new man, I was taken aback by the sheer bulk of him. I had to tilt my head back just to meet his eyes.

Besides the intimidation of his stature and build, his face was daunting. Handsome, but terrifyingly so. He was wearing a suit, a royal uniform of some sort, ornamented to the teeth in gold ropes and medallions. A soldier and his essence screamed it.

His bright red eyes were uncomforting. His hair was a disheveled ink black, resembling my own, and his jawline was covered in a trimmed beard the same color. His expression was unforgiving and it was obvious that intimidation was his tactic and charm was not his strong point.

I cleared my throat and accepted his invitation to dance. We began to waltz and continued to do so in silence. Unwavering, I did not shy from his terrifying gaze. It stayed quiet until he finally introduced himself.

"Lord Kazimir Lenkov," He simply said. His shortness only added to the awkwardness of this encounter.

"Russian. I am assuming since you don't speak much that you don't know much of other languages," I said flatly in his tongue so he could understand. The giant man laughed. The sound reverberated around me. It was a deep laugh and all-encompassing. Many people turned their heads slightly to see who it had come from.

"On the contrary. I know more than you assume," Lord Kazimir countered, his Russian accent thick but his English was perfectly spoken, surprising me. I furrowed my brow.

"Well, then you mustn't know much about what this ball is about. You are supposed to be charming me," I gave him an incredulous look. As far as I knew, this man was just here to waste my time and terrify me.

"But you don't want me to charm you. You don't want any of these men to charm you, do you?" He asked, yet he already knew the answer.

When I didn't answer, he smirked slightly. He was right, but I wouldn't say it out loud with all of these people around us.

"You see Piper, I am here to win your favor just like any other man here. Yet, I prefer ... different tactics," Kazimir explained.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked suspiciously, raising my right brow at him. He raised his right hand from above my hip and pushed my hair behind my ear gently as he leaned in to whisper in my ear sharply,

"I have a deal for you that I don't think you could resist," he said sharply in his native tongue. He said it quick enough that I could barely understand, and I doubted anyone else would have bothered to try and figure out what he said.

When he pulled back from my ear, he parted from the dance and took my hand in his. He bowed and kissed my hand, not leaving my confused eyes as he did so.

"We will speak again, I'm sure," Kazimir concluded before turning to walk away.

I watched him from where I stood stock-still in the middle of the ballroom as he walked away and vanished into the crowd of people.

––––––––––•A/N•––––––––––

I am so ready for this new addition to the story. More twists and turns are on the way!

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