Snippet #2082952

They were whispering about him again. No matter, the members of the royal court of Lune were always mumbling about some problem or other.

Of course, Prince Keres was always a problem. Born crippled by the sun, he was in no way fit to rule. The nobles pretended to worry, but in him they saw a chance to obtain power. Marrying the young werepire would be an easy way to gain control of the throne if you managed to pair him with a daughter or niece. A duke of Lune, a prominent advisor of the the King and Queen, managed to do just that. Today, his well-off position would be secured after the last hurdle; the prince himself.

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Keres stared blankly at his parents who were seated across from him on the other side of the table. No way. He must have misheard them. "Pardon?"

"You're going to be engaged to Lady Scarlet." they repeated, giving him expentant smiles. Keres simply returned their excitement with wary cautiousness. Were they hoping he'd start singing and dancing? When her son didn't respond, the queen spoke again. "You'll do it, right?"

Silence.

The female werepire's beautiful face formed a perfect frown. Her highness' eyes were filled with a sneaky idea. "After all... it's not like you have a reason for refusing."

Keres struggled to mantain his composure, and took care in choosing his words. "I... don't desire to be wed at this time."

The queen smirked. She had the prince right were she wanted him. "Are you saying your personal feelings are more important than the wellfare of the kingdom?"

'Yes.'Keres replied silently. "Mother, you know that my marrying Lady Scarlet has nothing to do with the wellfare of the kingdom. This is just you making sure I don't turn into an old maid."

Mother's queenly demeneor shattered. "Well, I can't have my son be alone all his life can I!?"

Keres rolled his eyes. "Mother..."

The queen's face hardened. "No! We all know how incapable you are at making friends, let alone girlfriends!" Keres tried to object, but her highness cut him off. "Your father, Advisor Yoro, and I have decided. No more objections from your part are required." She then gave him the you better behave like a prince or I'll make you look, stopping the angry words that threatened to explode from Keres' mouth. The prince held in his fury, but outside the moon slowly turned red.

"Very well, Mother." Keres turned and left the room, without bowing like proper manners dictated. After he was far enough away, the prince's surpressed feelings finally blew, kicking over a chair. The werepire's fists were clenched, his nails digging half-moons into his paper-white skin. Why couldn't he stand up to his mother!? The queen of Lune was an imposing woman, indimidating without effort, and who possessed an extremely powerful royal aura. When Keres' mother made up her mind, there was no stopping her. Unless... An idea was forming in Keres' head.


"Well, I can't have my son be alone all his life can I!?"

"After all... it's not like you have a reason for refusing."


If he had a reason... Suddenly, Keres' thoughts were interrupted by a twitching of his ears. While he hadn't had these keen senses all of his life, recently they were growing stronger, and they were telling him someone was nearby. Someone human. Human? Keres hadn't seen a human since he was five years old, when a delegation from Sol arrived. Obviously these mortal creatures were rare in Lune, and Keres' curiousity was peaked. Anyways, perhaps the human could be useful... Making his way silently towards the rarity, Keres turned the corner. There was a girl, with long red hair facing away from him, but she had heard the door knob turn.

Keres didn't recognise her. "You... you're not from around here, are you?" he asked this question in monotone, but anyone who knew him would've detected a hint of hope in Keres' somewhat wary tone.