Hot Men
And so, the servants took her on a tour of the mansion. From the numerous rooms to the cellar to the gallery and then to the library. It was only after an hour of touring inside the mansion before they stepped into the courtyard.“This way, my lady.” Hula directed.Elora’s mouth dropped open at the sight that welcomed her. If she’d said that the castle was the prettiest sight in Elyria, she’d clearly been mistaken.Silver trees stood before them, tall and majestic. The grasses were silver and so were the plants. She stepped forward when something out of the ordinary caught her eye.“Oh my,” she exclaimed, her legs moving faster. It was a black rose.She lowered, plucked one, brought it closer to her face, and straightened. “It’s beautiful.”It was no less beautiful than the red ones in Yvlies.“My lady, is that a black rose?”She excitedly nodded and in an instant, Lia was right beside her, her gaze glued to the rose in her hand. Her expression mirrored Elora’s.“Truly, it is splendid.”Handing the black rose to Lia, Elora walked closer to the silver trees. It had stopped snowing but the snow from the previous night caused the tree to glisten even further.“Careful, your highness. You might hurt yourself again. Let me help.”“I’ll be fine, Hula.”She rose on her tiptoes and plucked a leaf.Was Elyria perhaps what they called cold beauty? Because everything she’d seen left her astonished and mesmerized. A smile tugged at her lips.“My lady, it would look good on your hair.”Her smile widened when Lia took the leaf and adorned it in her ginger-colored hair. “It looks so beautiful on you.”“Yes, your highness. I agree. If you weren’t already a princess, I’d say that you look like one.”“It matches your skin tone and hair color so much.”All three maids agreed, their eyes brimming in admiration and Elora couldn’t help the giggle that broke out from her lips.“You all flatter me too much,” she said. “Is there anywhere else we haven't visited?Hula and Brenda exchanged a look with each other for a second. Afterward, Breda announced.“Your highness, the archery ground. I mean… the training spot.”“Training spot.”“It is where his highness trains with his armies.”Her eyebrows creased. “What armies.”“You don’t know? His highness is in charge of the Elyria armies. But his highness has his own armies and the training ground is where they train. Also, there are a lot of…of.” Her face burned bright red.“A lot of what?”When Breda’s face only reddened even further and she couldn’t speak a word, Hula helped with a mischievous grin on her face. “Your highness, she meant hot men.”Elora froze before bursting into giggles. “What? Now I’m curious.”“We can take you there.”She agreed with a nod. She must admit that the Hula and Brenda were quite loyal and jovial. Although she’d only been in Elyria for two days, they treated her like they’d known her since forever. It was unheard of for vampires.Halfway through the walk, she began to hear the voices, the sound of swords clashing, and roars from the training ground. “I…I didn’t know that his highness is in charge of the armies.”“Yes, my lady,” this time, it was Hula who responded from behind her. “After his highness returned to the city many years ago, the king appointed him in charge of the royal army. Though the army here is his highness’s and General Draven is the General of this army. They were trained by his highness himself and are known as the Army of the Armies. Their strengths are unmatched. This is what started the war between his highness and the Crown Prince.”“The Crown Prince seems to really dislike his highness.” She couldn’t help but continue fishing for information from the servant. For some unknown reason, she wanted to know more about the man who was her husband.“You’re right, your highness. They both dislike each other. His highness really dislikes the royal family. Except princess Arielle. Before last night, he hadn’t visited the castle for years.”Elora hummed and continued her question. “And how many princes are there?”As if excited to answer all of the princess’s questions, Hula replied almost immediately. “Three princes and three princesses. His highness is the second prince,” she stated the obvious. “The birth rate has been low for years and no princes or princesses have been conceived again.”So she hadn’t seen only one Prince and Princess. She wondered what they were like. Was the second princess as welcoming as Arielle or as mean as Lilith, she pondered. Realizing that there was one question that had lingered in her mind ever since she arrived in the city, she cleared her throat and began.“It’s quite a rumor about his highness’s previous fiancée’s and how he mu…murdered them. I think it’s rather cruel of him.”Hula paused for a moment. She looked around them and after making sure there wasn't a single unwanted ear listening, she spoke. “Actually, my lady. His highness’s reasons were valid.”She paused. “How so?” She began to walk again.“We…we never liked them either. They were brought to the mansion by the queen at different times. They treated us badly and made things hard for us.” Leaning closer, she whispered. “They dug their own graves by spying on his highness and reporting to the Queen. They wouldn’t have been killed if… we’re here, your highness.”Elora raised her gaze. They indeed were already in before the training ground. She flushed as her eyes skimmed over the numerous soldiers. They were dressed in white loose pants and padded jackets that only covered their chest and back area, leaving their bulky arms and biceps in full display. The servants were right. There were in fact tons of hot men.“Oh my.”She turned to find Lia flushed and red, her eyes roaming over the place, not knowing where and who to situate her eyes. Her expressions were similar to Hula and Brenda's.Returning her gaze to the training ground, Elora searched through the tons of men, her eyes unconsciously searching for one. When she didn’t find him, she uninterestedly sighed and tore her gaze off the men.“My lady, do you want to practice your archery?”Lia pointed to the archery spot by the side.Brenda and Hula passed her a curious glance “The princess can handle a bow?”Lia’s eyes sparkled. “Of course. My lady is very skilled in archery. It’s one of her hobbies. Right, my lady?”But before she could answer, a voice rang out from behind them that caused them all to still. “I’d love to see such skill.”