Chapter 16

Chapter 16
Elias did not come back to my room that night, as I had suspected he would, but I did not sleep well. I had a terrible dream. In it, I stood in a battlefield, my whole body in an armour, the corpses of slain men all around me, the stench of drying blood in the air. I held a sword deftly in my hand, swung it around with such confidence, as I watched a figure approach me. It was Lucien. He had a scared look on his face and I thought it was funny that he did not want to meet my eyes.

"Lucien?" I said. "What the hell are you doing?"

But he said nothing. Instead, he made a lunge with his sword, which I narrowly dodged. I realized that he was trying to kill me and I attacked too, striking him on the head, but he blocked it off. And then he kicked me in the midsection, so hard, sending me lying flat on my back, unable to move, my hand dislodged of the sword. He stood over me and opened his mouth, growling, revealing a set of sharp fangs.

"Lucien, what is this?" I asked him.

"I will kill you again, Queen Seraphina," he said. "And this time, you will not come back. Die, bitch!"

And with that, he plunged the knife into my chest, and as I drew my last breath, I asked him, "who is ... Seraphina?"

I woke up in a cold sweat, my body trembling. I sat up on my bed, my head cupped in my hands as I tried to make sense of the dream. But try as I did, it didn't make sense to me. It was daytime already and sunlight flooded the room from the large windows. It promised to be such a bright day if the gloom of my nightmare had not infected me. I heard a knock on the door, and in came Bianca, her face bright as the sun, her disposition infectious.

"Good morning, Amara," she said as she straightened up the bed. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

"It is," I said, trying to be as cheery as she was being.

"Well, Master Lucien has demanded your presence," she said. "Something special is going to happen today."

I wondered what else was going to happen, apart from me being one of his consorts. I was not so interested in it, but I still asked her, "what is it that's going to happen?"

"Ohh, today, an unofficial induction is going to take place," she explained. "Master Lucien will introduce you to his royal court, and you will become a member of the court."

"But ... I'm human," I said, puzzled. "Isn't the court for noble vampires?"

"Master Lucien can do whatever he likes," Bianca said. "No one questions him, and no one will question him. And besides, you're not the first human to be a part of the Crimson Palace's court. So count yourself lucky, get into your dress and let's go to this wonderful event."

I got up from bed, stretched and walked halfheartedly into the bathroom to prepare myself. Meeting with a bunch of vampire nobles did not appeal to me. When I had had my bath and gotten out, Bianca had laid out two dresses for me on the bed. One a black sequin gown that wss open at the chest, and the other green and bejewelled, elegant.

"Which one is it going to be, Amara?" Bianca asked me, a smile on her face. "Black or green?"

"I like the black, but wouldn't it expose my breasts," I said, shyly clutching my chest.

"That doesn't matter in the Crimson Palace, and you know that," she explained. "When you get to the court, you'll see a lot of nobles who are dressed in sultry attires. But if it makes you uncomfortable, you should wear the green one."

I nodded and she helped me get into the green dress. When she had dressed me up and applied light makeup on my face, I looked at myself in the large mirror that stood near my bed, and gasped, marvelling at how different I seemed in such a chic attire. I couldn't believe it was me.

"I look ... beautiful," I said aloud, more to myself than to Bianca.

"You look brilliant, Amara," she replied. "I'm sure you look even more brilliant than some of the nobles in the court. Master Lucien would be pleased to see you, I'm sure."

I closed my eyes and breathed, suddenly becoming nervous. I had been a servant for most of my life, and that lowly life was all I was accustomed to, so being amongst the nobles, almost as an equal was daunting to me. I felt dizzy, swooned, felt as if I would fall to the ground. Bianca held me up steadily.

"Maybe take a seat for now," she said, helping me to the bed. "But you'll be fine, I promise you."

She sat beside me, but just then, a shadow came over us and when we looked up, in fright, we saw Lucien looking down on us. We both rose to our feet in unison.

"How did you...?" I asked him, and then held my breath.

"Please, excuse me," Bianca said, her head bowed as she walked out of the room briskly.

"I command all of Crimson Palace, and even beyond," Lucien said. "Surely you're not surprised that I'm standing right in front of you without using the door."

"No," I said, my eyes falling to the ground.

"You look beautiful, Amara," he said, unabashedly, the first moment of tenderness from him to me.

"Thank you, Master," I said, curtseying, smiling shyly. I adjusted the neckline of the dress.

"You remind me of ... Seraphina," he said, coming so close to me, I could feel the warmth of his breath on my face.

"Who is Seraphina?" I wanted to ask, but remembered I was not supposed to ask such questions. But I couldn't help the feeling of unease that wrapped me up at that moment.