The kingdom’s lights were still shining brightly as Elys looked at a high vantage point. She had expected the capital to be bustling with activity knowing vampires were much more active during the night, but aside from establishment lights, there seemed to be no happenings at all.
Perhaps it was because of the news spreading that the bastard prince had forcibly taken over the throne. Not to mention he insisted a human slave become his queen too.
The vampires living in the capital must have turned livid with the idea of a ’cursed’ king and a queen that used to be a slave herself.
"Wife, do you know that technically once a king and queen is coronated in our kingdom, it is tradition for the couple to try immediately for an heir?" Aleksander pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone.
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes in the dark with Aleksander babbling nonsense. What was the relation of such a tradition to the two of them when they didn’t even ascend to the throne through conventional ways?
Did he think a massacre of enemy vampire nobilities was normal in order to gain his crown?
"If we hadn’t forcibly taken over the throne, we would have had an audience around our bed right now, making sure the kingdom’s future is secured," Aleksander continued.
Where was he trying to take them with this conversation anyway?
"Ah, but we did take over the throne by force. I’d much rather meet an assassin in bed," she retorted as the corners of her mouth raised into a defiant smirk.
Why was he even talking about heirs when that wasn’t even in their agreement?
She shook his hand with revenge in mind, not sex and royal children!
Elys and Aleksander faced each other, and she could tell a counter coming from Aleksander’s mouth as it began to open.
But even before the vampire king could speak a word, Elys felt a prickling sensation as if their lives were in danger. And just as her sixth sense told her, a deadly object zipped past her and Alekasnder.
"Look out!" Aleksander yelled as he and Elys dodged purely on instinct.
THUNK!
They heard the familiar sound of metal meeting the cold stones of their balcony.
Glancing through the corners of their eyes, the couple saw a star shaped blade stuck out from the stone floor. Seconds after the first blade zipping past them, a shower of the same blades rained down on the balcony, sending Elys and Aleksander jumping back to safety.
"Hah!" Elys released a blast of the same spell she had done back in the throne room, a wide spread of white concentrated energy akin to fire countering the attack on their lives.
Aleksander’s eyes twinkled with the intensity of Elys’ powers, and he reveled at the endless possibilities they could achieve together.
The young king turned to look at his wife, and saw the strain that her magic had put her through. Feeling that she was doing more that she could handle, Aleksander reached out to touch her shoulder lightly, and Elys jerked with the touch of his cold fingers.
"Don’t try to interfere!" she yelled at him, "This is taking much of my concentration already to maintain!"
Aleksander shook his head, "I am not trying to stop you! I just wanted to remind you that your mind controls what your body creates. You are doing great!"
Somehow, Elys’ fear of losing control suddenly vanished.
The blades still rained on their balcony, some even passing towards their shared chamber. But Elys’ newly achieved confidence wasn’t backing down, and she controlled her thoughts so she could get rid of the raining blades in one blow.
The young queen pushed herself forward, Aleksander walking by her side and concentrating on finding where their attackers were.
"That’s my queen," Aleksander screamed at the top of his lungs in a moment of unbridled pride.
He then quickly grabbed for the sword beside their bed. As he tried to determine the location of their assailant, Aleksander felt an ominous feeling coming from the east side of their balcony.
The young king ran under Elys’ spread of white fire, and then jumped off the balcony towards the other side where a tower was nearby. He believed the assassin was there, as his heightened sense of hearing told him there was suspicious activity inside the tower.
Aleksander ran barefoot only in his night gown, his agile feet tapping light on the tiles of the palace roof.
With sword in hand, he entered the tower he suspected their assassin had hidden inside. Without turning his head, the young king heard the last of Elys’ defensive fire spell. He caught himself smiling and appreciating Elys took his side.
’What disaster would have fallen upon us all hadn’t I convinced her to side with me and use her powers in our defense,’ Aleksander thought to himself.
Diverting his attention to the tower he had just entered, Aleksander noticed it was so dimly lit there was nothing to be seen by the naked eye. Thankfully, his night vision as a vampire came useful in the end.
"Show yourself!" Aleksander yelled as he pointed his sword towards the center of the tower. "How dare you try to claim the life of the newly crowned monarchs of the vampire kingdom!"
Aleksander heard something move down the tower’s metal staircase, like heavy footsteps escaping. Angered by the audacity to try and assassinate him and his wife, Aleksander chased after the sound.
The clanging of the footsteps on the metal staircase echoed in the dark, and Aleksander rushed towards it immediately.
As he took a step towards the center of the tower where the stairs should have been, the young king found himself staring at a blank slate of granite material.
"What the fuck?" he cursed. "I swore I saw..."
"Look out, Aleksander!"
Another explosion erupted behind Aleksander, and this time around, it made his ear ring with the proximity of the blow.
A flash of white light illuminated the room, and then, Aleksander saw the face of their perpetrator.