Page 63 of The Princess's Pet

The pink lacy dress she held up from the folded clothing on the bed was a little too frilly as far as I was concerned but I allowed her to help me dress. The Princess herself wore a midnight blue dress of similar quality fabric with a hint of sparkling silver weaved into the material. The dress hugged her body tightly and I found myself jealous of the fabric and unable to tear my eyes away.

“If you look at me like that during dinner everyone will know your desire for me,” she teased as she walked to the closet and pulled out a new shoe box.

“Should I hide my desire from others?” I asked worriedly, not only because I didn’t think I could suppress such devastating want, but because the Princess might be ashamed of me.

“I have no issue with others knowing the power I hold over my pet,” she told me as she opened the box and revealed a pair of heeled pumps to match my dress.

She knelt gracefully adorning my feet with the new heels. I wobbled slightly, unused to heels, and balanced myself with a hand on her shoulder.

“They match your dress perfectly,” she told me, a smile on her red lips as she stood.

“I don’t know how well I can walk in these,” I told her, fearing to even take a step. I watched as she removed a pair of open-toed, strapped heels and put them on.

“You can have my arm,” she said, straightening her stance and holding her arm out to me.

I walked slowly to her and took hold of her offered arm with both my hands.

“We will be dining with the full council tonight including my uncle and cousin. If you are spoken to you may reply but be careful of your answers. Do not reveal too much about yourself. I am not sure who is my ally and who is not. Information is power, we do not give it away freely,” she told me before we left the bedroom.

“Yes, Ma’am,” I answered holding her arm tighter as she guided us to the door.

“Good girl,” she said bending to kiss my head briefly as she opened the door for us.

We arrived at a large dining room. A dark wooden table with high-backed leather chairs took up a large part of the space and could seat more than a dozen. Seven chairs were already occupied with Lord Antoniou, Lord Halkias, Lady Sana, and Vasilios sitting on one side of the table. On the other side sat three more attendants I had not met. I could recognise the Princess’s cousin, Valen, from his resemblance to his father. He was a young man of similar age to the Princess and myself, and the same brown hair and crooked smile as his father. The other two, an older woman with large round glasses and greying hair and a middle-aged man with strikingly red hair and beard; I assumed were the members of the council that were missing from the morning meeting.

As we entered the room, the others at the table stood and respectfully bowed their heads towards the Princess.

The Princess guided me to the chair closest to the head of the table and held it out for me as I sat. A servant moved forward to pull out her chair at the head of the table.

“Good evening,” the Princess greeted and the others politely responded.

“Glad to see you home my Royal Highness. We need strong Borealis blood now,” the red-haired man spoke as servants began to pour red fruity-smelling wine into glasses.

I was slightly surprised to see Edward across the room opening a bottle of wine. The boy was unsettling while at the Academy, but here he seemed calmed and happy dressed in his well pressed servant suit. I hadn’t known that other Borealis servants had returned to the castle.

My attention was brought back to the table when the Princess waved away the servant that tried to pour wine into my glass. “Water or juice only for my pet,” the Princess instructed, her silver eyes meeting mine momentarily and her lips lifting in a soft smile.

“Thank you, General Creel, I am pleased to be home, though I wish my return was due to better circumstances,” the Princess replied, her attention back to the others at the table.

“Can we please discuss the issue of this Halvorsen courtship?” Lord Antoniou asked his face grimacing.

“What is there to discuss?” the Princess asked bored as she lifted her glass and took a sip.

“What courtship?” Valen asked looking at his father Vasilios.

“Our Selene has decided to forego tradition and seek a courtship outside of her houses and even outside of Vampire Pureblood heritage,” Vasilios answered his son. I didn’t like the way he spoke about the Princess as if she wasn’t sitting at the table or that he challenged her decision like it were his to make. I wasn’t happy with Lord Halvorsen being her choice of potential future husband but it was her choice, even if I hated it.

“As discussed, this morning, house Halvorsen is strong, stronger than Ardens. If you still protest this and wish for Valen to have a chance at my hand; Valen is free to challenge Lord Oskar Halvorsen. If he thinks himself capable,” the Princess offered and the smirk of her lips held a cruel edge.

There was an uneasy silence at the table. The Princess turned her gaze to her cousin.

“Well, Valen, will you be challenging Lord Oskar Halvorsen?” the Princess asked, taking another sip from her glass.

“I, No,” Valen answered and stared hard at the table, face flushing red and eyebrows drawing in a deep frown.

“There, the matter is settled, Uncle. Your son knows he does not have what it takes to compete for my hand. I expect to hear no more on the subject,” she said, her steely gaze landing on Vasilios. He did not reply but held her stare with his own.

“I for one think Halvorsen and Borealis are an excellent match,” General Creel spoke smacking his hand off the table. “Great war house. Neighbours of Viridis, those sneaky bastards are in need of a reminder of their place. My spies tell me there is opposition to us rising in the Viridis younger ranks. Could be a problem at some point. Halvorsen could take care of that swiftly. They have strong sea legs too and would be useful if the Rabina Kingdom across the south sea decided to strike. Finances aren’t my area of expertise, but I understand they are trying to increase the duty on our fishing treaties,” General Creel rambled on.

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