✨Bonus Chapter: The Unknown🖤

**The Palace**

Among the renovations made to the palace, the pool was one of her favorites.

Serene leaned her shoulder against the back of the chair.

Leo sat in the next seat. His hands carefully caressed her inner, every once in a while moving to the rest of her leg. He smiled as if thinking about something.

The cool morning wind ruffled his red hair. After over two years of looking at it, Serene still hadn't grown used to his calm expression. Leonard glanced up and spotted him looking at her. "What is it?" He asked.

Serene pushed her head further into the cushion. "I like looking at you."

He chuckled. "I doubt there is anything to see. Haven't you seen my face a hundred times by now? Aren't you bored of it yet?"

She gazed into his eyes. "No. I love you, so why would I get tired of it?"

His smile drew wider. Leonard placed her feet back on the lunge chair and stood up to kiss her on the forehead. "I love you, Serene. Also, have you thought about whether or not you want to have children?"

Seeing her look down, he added, "It's not a necessity and I would never force you. Neither would anyone apart of the royal court. I have relatives whose children we can train to be the heir when the time comes. Don't worry about what I think. I want what you want."

Serene held his hand and squeezed it as she nuzzled his neck. Leo's other hand played with her hair.

"Should I get you something?"

She nodded. "It's almost time for breakfast so some lemonade or something similar would do."

"I'll see if there are any downstairs." He squeezed her hand before leaving the roof. Serene leaned back and stared at the sun rising from the East.

Is this really what she wants? She loved Leo, and she loved being here at the palace with everyone. the Kings are also more than happy to help her with her schooling.

However, is being a Queen what she wants?

The title itself alludes to a lot of responsibilities, and every queen needs to be a vampire, which only makes sense. Unlike with rogues, she doesn't need to die in order to become a vampire, but what will be left of her humanity?

_______

Serene slips out of her bedroom at night and heads to the library. She says hello to the staff and sits with some of her friends for a while before walking through the library doors.

The room lights up, exposing Elaine who was reading next to the window with the aid of moonlight.

"Oh." She starts backing away. "I didn't know that there was someone here."

"No, that's fine, Serene." Elaine pats the cushion beside her. "Sit."

She listens to her Queen and takes a space beside her on the window-seat.

"Are you having trouble sleeping?" Elaine asks.

"Not really. I just have a lot on my mind," Serene responds.

Elaine closes the book and puts it aside. they're both in their nightgowns. "Do you want totalk? It's better than keeping it all to yourself and not being able to find any answers."

Seeing that the perfect person to ask is right in front of her, Serene decided to do just that. "You weren't a vampire before coming to the Palace, were you? What was it like turning into a vampire?"

Elaine smiles and looks at the moon. "Well for starters, the process is oddly quick. Hendrick's mother hates me, so I thought that she would try something. But surprisingly, she didn't. After the bite, my body was 95% that of a vampire. It takes three days for that other 5% to stabilize itself.

"You'll be happy, ecstatic, and easily irritable. And with the new medicine developed, you'll no longer have to worry about being heavily affected by the sun. In short, I thought my life would go through some drastic change afterwards, but it didn't."

Serene fiddles with her fingers. "Did you ever regret it?"

"I didn't have much in the human world left for me anyway." Elaine shrugs. "I never turned into a vampire until I finished school and did what I wanted to. And no, I don't regret it."

She looks up. "You mean, you can wait?"

"Of course." Elaine chuckled at Serene's surprised expression. "I only pushed for Leonard to find a lover because I wanted him to start taking his position of crown prince seriously. If something happens to me and his father he will be too busy to look for a partner and might end up settling for someone who isn't fit for the throne. I always thought he would just ignore me and do what he wanted anyway. But then he found you, or rather you found us. Which I am grateful for."

"The really why I said that is because I know you had Leonard when you were still young."

"That doesn't have to be the same for you. It's not a requirement. Henry and I aren't going anywhere, so you kids take your time and don't rush it. Take your time and do things at your own pace."

The strength and sincerity in her voice made Serene feel calm enough to smile. She tucks a lock of dark hair behind her ears. "That's what I want to do, and Leonard doesn't seem to mind either, but what if, after we get married and I turn into a vampire, I lose myself along the way? It already took a while for me to get to know myself and who I am as a person. Sometimes I still haven't figured that out. What if I lose all of that progress after marriage and become the person who I think I should be instead of... me? And also, what if Leonard falls out of love with me and decides that someone else would suit him better?"

Elaine sees the sorrow in Serene's eyes and reaches over to grasps both her hands. She waits patiently for Serene to meet her gaze.

"Child, nothing in this life is for certain," she says. "We don't know when the sun will stop rising or if we'll die in our sleep. One thing I can be assured of is that in this family, we're deep lovers. Henry would do anything for me and I would do the same for him. His mother, with all her faults, carries the royal blood of Henry's ancestors in her veins and I've seen how she treats her husband. And I've seen how my son treats you."

She cups her cheeks. "Nothing can tear you apart from each other. If you divorce, I guarantee that the only way that would be possible is if you no longer love him. And I know that you love him a lot. The same goes for your identity. There will only be more doors open to you in the future, and none of them will close. I mean, you're already doing so many things you wouldn't have been able to do before. Only good things will come in your future, my dear Serene."

Their foreheads touch, and Serene smiles faintly as it feels like she's finally at peace.

_______

Serene heads back to the new room she and her lover shared with a cup of hot chocolate she made in the kitchen. The sweetnes lifts her spirits and calms her mnd.

She thought that she had successfully returned to her room without alerting the man sleeping in her bed, but she turned around after locking the door and nearly gave herself a heart-attack when she realized he was, in fact, very much awake.

"Gosh!" She held her chest. "You scared me."

"I know," Leo responded.

Serene came closer. As soon as she was close enough, Leonard held her hips and pulled her into bed with him. She carefully held her drink and sat between his legs.

"What were you doing up so late?" He asked.

Serene consumed more of her beverage. "Thinking."

"It must have been something bad for you to get up like this."

"That's not true. Not entirely."

She put the cup aside and adjusted herself so that she was straddling Leonard's lap. He rested his hands on her lower back, above her hips.

Serene placed her hands on his stomach. "Do you ever get afraid at the prospect of being the new king?"

"Sometimes. A lot of people still have a problem with me, though I'd expect that they'd at least be civil." His thumbs drew circles on her sides. "When those fears come, I remember that I have you here. And I don't want them to mess up the present. Nothing is for certain anyway, but at least I have you here and I prefer to keep it that way."

"I love you, Leo."

"And I you, Serene. I love you more than the moon loves the Earth."

Serene smiled softly and lowered herself to place a kiss on his lips.

"I prefer to keep it this way too." She whispered against his mouth. "Me and you, forever."