Alessandro had been able to deal with the death of his mother the best way he could. He had buried his grief and regrets behind a facade of calmness and arrogance. The weight of the kingdom on his shoulders, the impending revolution and the confused state of his heart concerning Isabella had broken him and he had snapped. He hadn’t wished for anyone to see him broken but she had appeared and he didn’t want her to leave. Something in him wanted to talk to her, it was like she was his peace. So he had opened up to her and told her what had plagued him all those months, something his best friend and father did not know of. To them, Queen Penelope was killed, and how she was killed, they had no idea. Speaking to her had lightened the burden on his shoulders. At her engagement ball when he walked in and saw her. He had decided to spare her life. It was a decision he had made on the spot. Something in him had wanted her alive by his side but he had kept that information from her. However
Isabella had spent the past week pondering on the conversation she and Alessandro had had. She wanted to tell him all his mother had said. Hoping it might bring him a little comfort. However, she couldn’t, she had spoken of her future in Isles. Her strength and a possible romance between her and Alessandro. She wanted to embrace that, to let the past go and step into a new future, a future with Alessandro A future that held a lot of prospects. She was however not going to abandon her family. Louis was the only family she had left, she would protect him with everything even if it meant forfeiting her chance at happiness and putting her life on the line. Even if she stayed back she was not sure of what Alessandro’s feeling was for her. Whatever his mother had said might not have meant anything...she silently hoped it meant something. Most importantly the queen had spoken of her strength, at that time she had not understood what she meant. Now she understood it, she was going to use th
Isabella walked through the path leading to the vast great garden, the beautiful flowers as usual adorned the garden, one she was very familiar with. This time around she moved her head onto the bench she usually sat on with no hesitation whatsoever. When she sat, the dark-haired lady walked up to her. Alessandro’s mother. “Isabella". “Queen Penelope...”. She smiled knowingly, “Oh spare me all that title, death has no respect for them". “I didn’t know you were Alessandro’s mother". She nodded, “Your loved ones kept interrupting our introductions...” Isabella stared at her, transfixed and confused. She didn’t know what to say to her... “I don’t even know what I should say to you...I’m sorry?”. Penelope moved closer to her and placed her palm over Isabella’s hand, “There is nothing for you to be sorry for. None of this is your fault. I don’t blame you for anything. You had no idea". Isabella smiled faintly at her, “King Malcolm doesn’t think so...”. Penelope eyes clouded, “It’s
She spent the rest of the day tucked in the room, Alessandro had been away for a few days and if she guessed correctly he was out hunting down her brother. She didn’t have it in her to have any more interactions, after she had relayed the message to the King, Sam had brought her meals to her room and she had stayed tucked in. If Cecily’s plans worked tomorrow would be a turning point in her life. She was finally going to get to her brother and earn her freedom. However, if she was honest with herself she didn’t want freedom. Not if it included being far away from Alessandro. She never wanted Isles. It had become a great part of her. She needed to do this for her sanity. She was losing it and it concerned Alessandro. She was not sure what exactly his feelings for her were, not too long ago he was after her life. It was hard to tell what he felt now. She was only his pet. She would never be able to watch Alessandro be with someone else, she had to go far away maybe to put an end to
She spent the rest of the day tucked in the room, Alessandro had been away for a few days and if she guessed correctly he was out hunting down her brother. She didn’t have it in her to have any more interactions, after she had relayed the message to the King, Sam had brought her meals to her room and she had stayed tucked in.If Cecily’s plans worked tomorrow would be a turning point in her life. She was finally going to get to her brother and earn her freedom. However, if she was honest with herself she didn’t want freedom. Not if it included being far away from Alessandro. She never wanted Isles. It had become a great part of her. She needed to do this for her sanity. She was losing it and it concerned Alessandro. She was not sure what exactly his feelings for her were, not too long ago he was after her life. It was hard to tell what he felt now. She was only his pet. She would never be able to watch Alessandro be with someone else, she had to go far away maybe to put an end to wh
Thoughts of last night flooded her mind for the umpteenth time that day and she knew her cheeks were already crimson. It was uncontrollable, Alessandro was all she could think of. She picked up the coffee mug and tried to hide her cheeks however Marie caught in before she could. “Isabella you care to share what’s making you so happy this morning?, I'll genuinely like to share in your joy”. Cecily stole a glance at her. “Marie", Isabella whined, "Not again, not this morning" “Seriously Bella. You have been so giddy all morning. You can’t be sitting there and blushing for nothing", Marie replied. Isabella tucked her hair behind her ear, “It’s nothing, Marie”. Marie paused for a while and looked at her, “Oh you and Alessandro did something for sure". Isabella spat the coffee back into the cup, Marie laughed mischievously, “Oh I knew it. It's quite easy to tell, it's written all over you and you're blushing real hard ". “Marie not now please", Isabella said embarrassed. She hadn’t w
Cecily smiled broadly, “You sure didn’t see this coming. Disguises is one of my greatest Forte among many other things of course". “For the love of everything you hold dear to you, what’s going on here? Why are you even...what the hell is going on", Isabella asked still startled. For some reason, she felt this was one of those moments where she would be thrown into another harsh reality. She was not far from the truth. Cecily smiled brightly and cooed in a high-pitched voice, “Do I not like a good story time”. “Cecily...what’s your name?. Is your name even Cecily?”. “I’m Ursula”, she walked towards the other end of the room and halted when she was not too far from Isabella, “I always hated Cecily, it made me feel weak. Ursula is just the exact opposite” She spun around and faced Isabella, "Ursula is who I am" “This was all part of a great master plan. I get you here, we execute the first phase of our plan but it proved hard to do. They questioned my abilities to deliver. The firs
He left the study and went to his father’s chambers. He tapped lightly on the door and pushed it open, “Father?” Malcolm gave him a once over, “I thought you had abandoned your duties to your people or have you finally come to your senses? " “My loyalties are forever with my people”, Alessandro answered. “You abandoned them for days, you have not made any appearances, missed council meetings and shunned out everyone but you say your loyalty is with your people. That’s hard to believe", the king said in a low voice. “I came here to talk about my plans, not about my failures as king or as a son", Alessandro snapped in anger, “I believe you know more than any other person about a king’s failures!” Malcolm rose in anger, “You’ll not challenge me because of a worthless human! You would never understand what it is to lose your mate” “I want to seek the help of the witches' clan”, Alessandro blurted out, “I need their help tracking her whereabouts” The king chuckled, “This is what I’m
Alessandro made a mental note to pass the point across to the man in deserving ways, that Isabella was queen of the whole of Isle and East Angles. “...the issue at hand borders on our security as there could be a repetition of history if...” “There, security", Vladimir scoffed, “We have put pertinent matters like our security into the hands of a mere woman to handle” “It is more surprising that she is allowed to be a part of this meeting", Sebastien remarked. Alessandro clenched his teeth and was about to give a piece of his mind to them but his father beat him to it. “This is a meeting I have organized in my kingdom to talk about very pressing issues not who I allow into my court", Malcolm replied, he turned to Isabella, “Please do continue my child". She nodded with a small smile. “We have ignored the wishes or desires of the humans, that is why they revolted. I have spoken to them and they have made demands that are only fair...” “We now make deals with humans?”, Draven cackl
Isabella took one last deep breath before she took fast strides towards the crowd gathered in front of the castle gates, her eyes scanned the crowds and she could make out they were humans. They were agitated, it was evident in their expressions. Men, women even children were gathered. They all harmoniously tipped their heads in a bow when she was introduced by the courtier, “Queen Isabella”. It was her first official meeting with humans and it was nerve-racking, rumours were flying around, humans lived in fear for their lives, they were terrorized and Alessandro had thrown the problem her way to deal with it. His excuse was that he trusted she could handle herself. She masked her nervous expression behind a facade of a prim and confident Queen. “People of Isles and East Angles, I must express my gratitude to you all for leaving behind your troubles to come to talk with me today", she stared at the crowd and intently and began after a brief pause, “It is pertinent to note that this
Alessandro was dressed in a gold tunic, and a red long robe over him, a golden crown on his head, he stood beside his father, Kieran on the other side of him. The court was filled and overflowing with vampires and humans of very high class. Luckily for him, the arrangements were rounded up before sunrise and the wedding ceremony was on the way. Alessandro straightened up and stared at the door for the umpteenth time, he couldn’t wait to see... The doors opened up to reveal the most beautiful bride anyone had seen, the musicians began to play, Marie stood beside Isabella as they slowly sauntered in, she wore a silk gown with rich trimmings of other materials. It was gold in colour, the length stretching far outside the door. The dress was embellished with lace, jewels and other fine ornaments. Her dark long curls were held atop her head, and a few stray curls framed her face. A white fur graced her shoulders. His breath stopped at the sight of her, he stared transfixed, as she walked
Alessandro had been with many women in all his life but being with Belle, the feeling was ethereal. Damn was she beautiful, every inch of her. Her full perky breasts, those curvy hips, the enticing scent of her arousal that drove him mad and led him to multiple orgasms... She moaned aloud as another wave-shattering orgasm shot through her, soon his came and he felt his feral side awaken, he bared his fangs as he had an overwhelming need to mark her, to claim her as his. He leaned forward, he licked her neck, the area around her carotid artery, his fangs plunged deeply into her causing her to moan loudly, this time around it wasn’t in pain but pleasure. It was a thing peculiar to vampires when forming a bond as strong as this, it wasn’t only her pleasure that she felt, he had transferred his pleasure through the bite mark... He held her close to him as he waited for her to regain her composure. She buried her face in his neck while her body was still shivering in the aftermath of the
Isabella looked at her reflection for the umpteenth time in the mirror, she didn’t know if she should wear her hair up or down, so she decided to tie it up. The maid had helped her clean up with a lot of scented soaps, she was dressed in a black lace robe. The room had been decorated as per Alessandro’s instructions.The red curtains with a streak of gold were drawn shut, rose petals were scattered around the room and on the large king-sized bed. The candelabra was the only source of illumination in the room, the bed sheets were white and red. The bedside tables had goblets of wine and blood. She knew what Alessandro had planned, the importance of the night to her, Alessandro and his kingdom, she moved towards the bedside table and picked up a goblet of blood and drank it. Just then the doors opened and Alessandro strode in. His eyes raked her body as he stared at her, his mouth slightly open. She quickly tucked her beside her ear, his gaze caused monkeys to jump in her stomach, thi
He itched to tell her what was on his mind but sitting beside her, holding her hands and watching as her eyes lit up at the starry sky had left his thoughts jumbled. He couldn’t seem to make sense of it, he had many words to say to her, and he had ended up telling her how beautiful she was. Beautiful was a far cry from how she looked tonight, without making any effort she had managed to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in all his life. Maybe it was his love for her, or the fact that her beauty was simply ethereal and otherworldly... He had many ideas of how this night could end with her in his... “Alessandro?”, her alluring voice called out to him “Yes, Belle?”. “You know this is where you profess your unwavering love and devotion to me and tell me I’m your soulmate and ask me to do the honours of being your wife and queen?”, she asked breathlessly. He stared at her in shock like she had told him his mother was still alive, “Do I really... have to say those words?. Is
Marie walked in on Isabella sitting in the large musical hall, her fingers slowly tapping on the keys of the grand piano, Sam had told her she would be there. She watched from the doorway as she played the piano. It was a beautiful melody, Marie smiled lovingly at her, she loved Isabella like she was her child. She had devoted her whole life to taking care of the royal family and even though Alessandro was centuries older than her she had treated him as her child. It was the same feeling she felt when they were introduced, no one deserved to go through half of what Isabella had gone through, she thought to herself, however, she had come out stronger. There was hope after all, a new dawn in Isles and a shot at happiness for Alessandro and Isabella. She walked inside the room clutching the dress Alessandro had made her keep in the past few years. “Bella child, you play so well". She smiled sheepishly and removed her hands immediately from the keys, “My mo...I mean Queen Violet taugh
Malcolm had fully recovered and gone back to being his usual arrogant self, the people were calmed but Alessandro knew he needed to find a long-lasting solution to their problems. The court was going back to normal and people were going about their normal life as usual. However one person had not fully recovered, Isabella. She had not stopped blaming herself for all that had happened. She had disassociated herself from any form of human interactions, even Marie could not do anything to uplift her mood. She stayed tucked on the couch barely eating. Marie had advised that she needed to deal with her grief anyhow she pleased at her own pace but his patience was wearing thin, he couldn’t bare to see her like this. He opened the door to his chambers to see Isabella sprawled on the couch, twirling her locket in her hands, if she had noticed his presence she didn’t show it. “Belle I think you have punished yourself enough", he said, “It is not your fault that your family was too deranged t
When they were outside, Alessandro looked at her, “I hope you will be fine, I’ll send Aunt Marie to you. I need to check on some things”. She looked at the worried expression on his face, “What is the problem, Alessandro?” “I need to see my father” Her eyes filled with concern, “Can I come with you please?” He paused for a moment before nodding his head and led her towards his father’s chambers. They walked in, and a few servants were gathered around him, he was pale as ever but he managed a smile when he saw them walk in. “Excuse us", Alessandro ordered the servants. They scurried away. Alessandro and Isabella sat beside his bed. “I thought you had abandoned your father”. “I couldn’t bear to see you this way”. They said nothing for a while, they just sat staring at him. “Why do you both look like you’re attending my funeral, I mean I’m still alive", Malcolm managed a short laugh. “Father you can’t be nonchalant about this, you’re not healing”, Alessandro replied, “The sil