Chapter 19 - The visit

When the king finished reading the letter, he ordered my servant to help pack my luggage. "You go with me!" the king commanded, looking directly at me. He wanted to know what was wrong with Phillip's health, and he would use it to introduce me to my future residence. A whirlwind of doubt passed through my body.- But would it be prudent for me to go?

- This is an order from your father and a request from your fiancé. Just obey. Go get ready, because the carriage must be on its way.

The king called his prime minister to warn him of his short but urgent trip, and the king informed him that he would take care of the kingdom's affairs so that it seemed that the king had not traveled.

The next day I woke up early, and my father didn't sleep all night. We left shortly after the coffee, and the carriage was waiting for us. The trip was exhausting, so we stopped to eat and sleep. We reached a small village one night. There were rooms reserved for us by the prince. The king finally slept a little. I spent the night awake with my thoughts.

We continue our journey at dawn. During the trip, I slept a little inside the wagon. I was exhausted. After three nights without sleep, I was awakened by my father as we approached the castle.

- Look at what a beautiful forest! - He spoke by taking off the curtain and looking out the little window of the wagon.

It was night when I heard the gates of the castle open. The imposing towers, which, for my father, were unnecessary when one fears a good army and an excellent royal guard. My stomach hurt when I got off the wagon.

Philip's servant welcomed us and kindly asked about how our trip was as he guided us inside and directly to our rooms, where we could rest before dinner. The room where I stayed had a delicate, almost angelical decoration.

It was pleasant, unlike the rest of the castle, which had a darker aura and a more masculine decoration. The sheets were of clear silk; it seemed that this room had never sheltered anyone. 

Beautiful, delicate, perfect for me. I discovered that my bedroom was also the closest to the prince's. And as soon as possible, I'd find out what was wrong with my fiancé.

After a relaxing bath in a beautiful white bathtub with golden feet, I could lie on the soft bed decorated with beautiful, sweet, thin, floating fabrics protecting my sleep. I went to bed and quickly fell asleep. That room brought me a sense of security and tranquility. After a long time, I was awakened by the knocks at the door of the prince's servant calling us for dinner.

I got up refreshed, and my father was already waiting for me in the big dining room. The decoration here was the same as the rest of the castle, slightly frightening, with leather, dark wood, and stone walls. It was a cold hall, despite the fireplace and the huge torches that illuminated it.

After dinner, we returned to our rooms. The room was perfect, but the concern for Phillip prevented me from falling asleep. I needed to know about him. What sickness would have caused him? I decided to get up because I'd been thinking about him for a long time. I walked slowly, I went out the door without making a noise, and I bowed my ear to the door of his bedroom. I could only hear a loud noise of suffocating breath.

I held the pillow gently and turned it slowly. I opened the door with the same caution, slowly so as not to wake him up. I entered a dark room with little light coming from a fireplace. But I managed to see him lying in his huge bed covered with curtains of dark, heavy velvety fabric, the heavy curtains closed. There was a bowl of boiling water next to his bed, which left the climate moist, a moisture with a slight aroma of lavender and lemon.

I decided to continue walking slowly to the edge of the bed, only to smell it. I could feel my heart almost jumping out of my chest. He seemed to sleep deeply. He was breathing badly. I didn't resist, and I touched his face. He opened his eyes nervously, his hand held my wrist, and with his rough voice, he said:

- What are you doing here? I don't want you to see me like that!
- Excuse me, Your Highness, but I needed to see you. I can't sleep knowing you're sick.
- I don't want you here! - He ordered...
- Tell me, what's wrong with Your Highness? And I'm leaving.
- I don't want to say, get out of here now!
- I challenged him, releasing my hand from his and standing
- You don't obey me, at least respect my illness and get out of here!
- I'm going out! You know my feelings. But as soon as the sun rises, I'll ask my father to go home, and you won't see me again.
- What are you talking about? You're mine, princess. You can't escape this!
- No, but I can give you the worst marriage ever. I can give you what you're giving me now... my indifference for you to suffer for eternity.
What do you think?
"If he does that, I will kill everyone in his kingdom, drinking to the last drop of everyone's blood, even his father."
- Your Highness is a bad creature! How can my father think of marrying someone like that? Does the prince not realize that I just want to help him? Looks like you really want the marriage postponed! Enough! I'll leave you alone, I won't listen to you anymore.
I turned and followed towards the door. I stopped as soon as I felt him holding me by the waist. He quickly got up and reached me. A chill crossed my body. I was afraid he would hurt me out of anger. But I could hear his voice in my ear:
- I don't want you to go, but I don't want you to see me like this.
- Why don't you tell me what you have?
- I don't want to talk.
- Then let me go home. I hope you get better. But I can't stand seeing him so vulnerable without being able to help him.
He turned his eyes to mine and said,
- I can't let her go. I finally feel like you have feelings for me, and I can't let you go. I want you close. I just don't want you to see me like that.
- I can't help you, I don't know what you've got, you're not telling me, and it's starting to hurt to see you like that. I thought it would be better if I saw you, but I didn't.
He looked around as if he was thinking a lot. You didn't let me out of your arms. He took my wrist and asked me to sit on the tip of the bed. He lay down, put my hand on his chest, covered himself, and tried to breathe deeply, looking directly into my eyes:
- I made a mistake. I took bad blood. Vampires call it broken blood.
- I asked nervously.
- We need to suck the blood until the creature's heart stops beating and not drop more. I've always heard about it, but I never knew what could happen. I don't know how long I'll be like this. I have a fever and a lot of weakness; I don't know if I'll survive. I'm looking for Claus Deidrich, the vampire who turned me into that creature. I know he lives in Paris, but my servants didn't locate him. He must know how I can improve, but I need you to find him. I think he doesn't want me to find him. He wanted me to be his son; he must want to see me dead because I ran away from him.
I got up, but Phillip held my wrist:
- Stay with me tonight.
"I need to go," I replied, confused but knowing exactly where I needed to go.
I beg you, I may not have one more night to spend with my princess.
- You're weak, rest. I'll be back.
- Then go...
- I know exactly what I have to do!
- What are you going to do?
I left the room knowing exactly what I needed to do and where I needed to go.