Page 6 of Married to the Vampire Prince

Rushed weddings were the norm between vampires and humans with ruby blood. We had to secure the special women and men as soon as possible, binding them to us so that we would always have a source of the healing liquid we needed.

My heart clenched. I didn’t want to see Grace only as a convenient source of food.

“I pity her. She has to marry the prince, of all people,” one of the nobles said with genuine sadness in his voice.

“I hope he doesn’t end up killing her. Her ruby blood is precious,” another replied.

The nobles in this hall found the fact that Grace had to get married to me unfair to her. I had to admit they were right – I wouldn’t have wanted to be bound to a monster either.

As I looked at Grace, standing tall and firm despite her scary circumstances, I admired her. I didn’t want to let her go even if I should.

My feelings confused me. It would be better for Grace if I dismissed her, if she married another vampire besides me. Yet… I couldn’t bring myself to give her to someone else.

No, I would make Grace my wife; no matter what.

***

The next day went by in a flash, and soon I found myself standing in front of the altar of the royal chapel. The person who would perform the wedding ceremony took their position,a small book in their hands. With the rustling of pages, they opened the book to the page where the wedding vows were listed.

The chapel was decorated in red, as was customary for vampire weddings. Roses adorned the altar and the rows of seats.

At the front on the right sat my parents. Dad had a wide grin on his face, and mom dabbed a handkerchief at the corner of her eyes, moved to tears.

On the left side sat Grace’s mom. She was crying too, more openly than mine, but I doubted hers were tears of happiness. Grace’s parents hadn’t outright opposed the marriage, but I could sense the fear in their racing heartbeats.

Marrying a vampire, especially someone like me, wasn’t the future they wanted for their daughter. I pitied them, but their feelings on the matter wouldn’t stop me from going through with the ceremony.

The next rows of seats were occupied by the most important nobles. They whispered amongst each other excitedly. I didn’t want to hear what they might be saying, so I tuned out their conversations.

The camera crew was stationed at the back of the chapel. The wedding would be transmitted on TV; an event all of Estone would gather together in their homes to see.

My sudden announcement about marrying Grace, a human not from a prominent Family, had shaken up the media – or so my best friend had told me, as I hadn’t bothered to follow what the reporters were saying.

More vampires stood outside the front of the chapel. The building was too small for everyone to fit within its walls.

The ceremonial music started playing, a charming and stately tune. The door to the chapel opened. In walked Grace’s father with Grace at his arm.

My eyes widened at the sight of my bride in her red, lacey gown. The outfit clung to her curves just right, making them more pronounced than they had seemed the other day while in the gray skirt and beige pullover she had worn at our first meeting. She looked regal and simply gorgeous.

Red was the customary color for humans to wear during vampire weddings. I, on the other hand, wore a black suit with a red tie. The guests were expected to dress in all black. The unity and specific choice of colors made the whole ceremony look very elegant.

Grace gasped when she saw me, and her heartbeat quickened. Was she afraid of me again? The thought stung, but I swallowed down the pain, trying to focus on positive thoughts like the magnetic attraction I felt towards her.

My bride’s father walked her up the aisle and passed her hand onto mine. With a solemn expression, I gave him a nod.

Mr. Milton seemed to accept the situation, responding to me with a nod of his own. He turned around and went to take a seat next to his wife who now sobbed uncontrollably.

Grace gave them a worried look.

I laced my fingers with hers, again feeling the warmth radiating from her body. It was such a pleasant feeling. My touch got Grace’s attention back on me.

The wedding started. The officiant of the ceremony gave a small speech about unity between vampires and humans and the importance of ruby blood; standard sentiments that anybody who had been to a vampire wedding in the past had already heard before

Then the time came for exchanging our vows. Looking into Grace’s eyes, I promised to treasure her for the rest of her life.

Grace took a deep breath, steadying herself, and repeated the same words back to me. “I, Grace Milton, will alwaystreasure Silas Hoyt as my husband and remain with him for the rest of my life, supplying him with my blood, whenever needed.”

A small smile appeared on my lips. I barely knew her. Someone like me shouldn’t want a radiant person like her. Yet, I couldn’t deny that I was looking forward to sharing my life with her. She was beautiful, like a ray of sunshine in my otherwise gloomy life.

---