The Princess's Dangerous Vampire Mate-Chapter 98: Breakfast with the Queen - I*

Konrad had managed to keep the barter that he had waged me with. For a moment, I could not even blink my eyes as I did not remember reaching astria so soon.

It was like... the moment I blinked my eyes and in the next, I was standing right in front of the capital.

When we had left my country it was still dawn and now that we had reached his country, it was around the middle of the night. It was done because I was not yet to be revealed to the people and would be done once I was married into the country and family.

Yes, The future queen was being brought into the darkness of the night, hidden from everyone like a thief.

How did Konrad do it? How was it that I did not remember riding the horse for more than five days to reach this country? How did I reach there in just a blink of an eye?

I had to put those thoughts away for now because I was approaching the castle fast and I was to be with the queen. But that was after refreshing up because I was sure that she would not like to see me with grime and dirt that I could feel building upon myself.

We entered from the side entrance. It was not meant for the palace’s to help but a few guests or refugees often entered it.

They all came to a stop and immediately stable boys came to take the horses away and help us down. No one came near me as they all knew that I was the bride of the prince. I was untouchable.

Prince Terence came towards me and helped me down from my horse but did not leave my hand. As much as I wanted to pull it away as I felt uncomfortable, I did not dare do so.

"I shall take you to your chambers. Mother has prepared them for you and hopes that it is to your liking." He informed me and I smiled back gratefully.

Marilyn walked behind me as my only companion in all of this. Because it was so suddenly decided that I was to live with them, the rest of my belongings would be sent along with my ladies in waiting after a few days, all well prepared.

The Guards standing outside the chamber doors recognised me before bowing down in respect. The moment I stepped in, I could not help but appreciate the decorations the queen had done for my rooms. It was luxurious, to say the least. She has spared no expense.

"She has done it so beautifully. I have no complaints with it." I felt grateful. "The queen has a great taste."

He give me a bright smile and nodded. "Must you rest tonight. You will meet my mother and me at breakfast tomorrow." With another nod of a head and a charming smile, he walked out of the rooms and Merilyn closed the door behind him.

"Here we are." She sang trying to cover up the awkwardness that was in the air.

"Here we are," I repeated with a tight smile on my face. "Prepare the bath. I shall retire to bed immediately after it."

*******

"I think it is a nice colour. There is nothing wrong with green, it is a colour of royals after all or we could go with blue as well." Merilyn held the two out for me to decide as she was unable to do so herself. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

I sighed, I was meeting her highness queen Anastacia and it was not something a regular person got to do. Even though I was soon to be her daughter-in-law, I knew I had to make a long-lasting impression on her.

A sudden memory came to my mind as I concentrated hard. I wondered how I even had it for so long. I was wearing a blue dress when she caught me playing house with her son.

"Go with blue," I told her and she nodded, getting to work.

My mother had once told me that I looked good in blue which is why now I want to wear it. Perhaps it was her guidance that I needed.

After taking a bath and refreshing myself ,Marilyn had helped me in dressing up along with two other maids assigned to me by the queen. After that, we started to make our way into the family dining hall where only the royal family dined.

"Ah, there she is," I heard as soon as the guards opened the door for us. The queen had not even appeared in my line of sight when I had heard those words already.

There she sat, directly in front of me, full of regal and grace, The queen of Astria. I bowed my head out of respect and did the courtesy to her. "Your highness," I said as I waited for her to acknowledge me.

"Oh no, dear child." She stood up, I heard it as she walked towards me. Holding my shoulders she put me at ease and palmed my cheek. "Look at you, so grown, so beautiful and so wise."

My cheeks heated up immediately at her praises.

"Come, have a seat. You must be fed nicely now that you are not travelling anymore." She took me by my elbow and gently pulled me to the seat on her left. Immediately as I took a seat, she clapped her hands and rows of servants came along to serve me breakfast.

"Thank you," I said at the end when they were all finished and ready to leave.

"Gratefulness is a trait I admire very much in young princesses." Queen Anastasia remarked as she watched me keenly. "I always wondered if the praises that your father and your stepmother sang in those letters were true or not. I’m happy to say that they did not lie."

Letter? I turned to her to see that she was still watching me with the queen’s expression on her face. She knew that I was not aware of it, which is why she wanted to test me.

I replied with a calm and collected expression.

"You asked them to send letters to you? Well then, I do not guarantee anything they say. Parents can often far stretch the qualities of their children. You must excuse them."

Two can play this game.

The small teasing smile on her lips widened as she had my question. "I had to know how the young girl was faring without her mother. I wanted to know when I should have intervened but fortunately, your parents took care of you very well. I can see that." She commented at the end of it.

I nodded, talking, and containing more of this conversation was not going to get me anywhere, which is why I now focused on my food. The absence of the prince had not gone unnoticed by me. I wanted to ask where he was but it was too soon to do so.

"You are not eating?" After finishing the by that I had already taken in my mouth a glance that the queen who was drinking her cup of tea.

"Forgive me," she sighed and leaned back into the chair, "I was waiting for Terence. It is very unlikely for him to be absent for breakfast. But I do understand what has been occupying him so much lately."

My eyebrows raised slightly by the end of her words. The tone she had used immediately conveyed the fact that she was very much frustrated with it.

There has been enough mystery around the whole mother and son bond for me to question it. Why was the wedding brought forward and the coronation being pushed back? Also what was keeping prince Terence away from breakfast when I had arrived here for the first time?

"What is it? If you don’t mind me asking?" Even though I had curiosity in my mind, I still traded carefully forward. I did not want to offend the queen and get to her bedside especially when she was going to be my mother-in-law.

She glanced at me before closing her eyes thoughtfully for a few moments. I frowned on that. What was it that was troubling her so much that she had broken her composer?

"I . ." She closed her mouth again after that. She bit her lip and I frowned even more. What was going on?

"Terence’s father had a lot of mistresses on the side like any king would have." She started and I was completely taken aback by the topic of conversation.

"Even though I came from a high-ranking family, I was not a princess which is why I could not have him discard all of them. So the harem of women continued." The bitterness in her voice and tone did not go unnoticed by me. "Instead of having a legally valid wife blessed marriage by God, he had chosen to sin with whore!" She spat out.

"Whores! And then he came to my bed, after being with them!" The resentment she had for them was too grateful than what a Queen or wife would have in general.

"And if that was not enough, my husband had to go forward and make himself a bastard with one of them."