Daughter of Death -Chapter 6 (Patreon)

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CHAPTER SIX

Since King Arnaud’s death, the noble Ferdinand of Moravia slowly became a constant presence at the Bayern court.

Courtiers watched with whispers as he and Princess Reina struck up an acquaintance that only deepened with time. He visited court often with specific intent of visiting Princess Reina and she happily received him for private and public audiences.

When a winter masquerade was held in celebration of the New Year, Ferdinand was a guest of honour at Princess Reina’s side for dinner and the dance following. At spring’s first buds, Ferdinand was announced in the receiving chamber. Once, Princess Reina organized a hunting party inviting only a couple of select nobles and included Ferdinand who had recently been received at court again with intent to stay four nights. Additionally, Her Royal Highness often took walks or rides when he was at court and would have him accompany her. Naturally, a chaperone was always present however several courtiers had caught glimpses of Ferdinand whispering in Her Highness’ ear (often making her burst out in a smile or a laugh), grasping her hand in the corridors and other very intimate interactions in public. However it was not their place to question the heir to the throne or even The Queen Dowager who they had no doubt had some influence upon Her Royal Highness’ supervision.

In fact The Dowager too had begun to notice the developing closeness between Reina and Ferdinand. She had been assured by The Matron and by her step-daughter’s ladies-in-waiting that proper rules of decorum were still being followed. As Ferdinand was a noble of another land, the match was not necessarily in bad taste. Queen Edeline just hoped that Reina who was so little acquainted with the company of men to this point of her young life would not be hindered by naïvety. If she was to be Queen, Reina needed to make a match suitable to herself and to her kingdom. Therefore The Queen Dowager encouraged other suitors and held balls and other social functions that her step-daughter may broaden her horizons and her choices for a future husband. The girl’s father before he died had told his wife about his conversation with Reina regarding making a match and marriage. Edeline hoped to subtly continue on in her late husband’s place to make sure that Reina would also have the best wide experience in choosing a potential suitor to eventually take in marriage.

However Reina’s choice never wavered in Ferdinand.

Many courtiers whispered in private about the match. They were not used to having very many foreigners around and so Ferdinand’s accent, mannerisms, customs and even his wardrobe put them often at odds. After all, wearing rather large hats, gloves and hooded capes more often than not was a bit ostentatious. Ferdinand had been heard explaining on more than one occasion that too much sunlight made him ill and feel faint which was then respected considering it had to do with health and not with personal garish taste for wearing such items of clothing so oft. It was still odd to behold, however.

Reina was glad to see how easily Ferdinand was able to excuse certain behaviours with such simple explanations. He had been coaching and advising her too on her own personal justification for certain things that may come up from those around her due to her new situation post transformation. Of course, she wasn’t fully like him yet and so Ferdinand carefully guided her on what to expect following her second transformation when she’d finally have all of the same traits that he now possessed. Reina was truly looking forward to it.

She was also looking forward to her upcoming seventeenth birthday celebrations. She had had a large hand in planning them herself and it made her all the more proud and excited for the occasion.

The Dowager Queen however had thoughts weighing heavily upon her mind since her discovery regarding the turn-over of servants and ladies-in-waiting surrounding her step-daughter. Whilst Reina was pouring over plans for the party the following month, Edeline was pouring over volumes of books in hopes that something might explain to her the reasoning for the illnesses and strange goings on.

Just like Ferdinand was a foreigner so was Queen Edeline. In her kingdom, she had studied many topics that would be considered of peculiar interest. Thus, she had many volumes outlining things that were out of the ordinary for any noble or courtier and as a result many of even her own people had found her strange. There had been rumours spread around when she had come to a marriageable age that said she’d been in practice of witchcraft since she was a young girl. Other rumours stated that though she was not a practicing witch, she knew their spells and incantations and consorted with the likes of such characters in private. One rumour had even gone around her kingdom that The King and Queen of Bayern had sought her help in conceiving a child but that she had cursed them instead.

When King Arnaud had taken her as his bride many, many years later a vicious rumour started up once more stating that she’d bewitched him when he’d sought her help and that it had led him back to her so that she might become queen.

None of this was true but the fact that Edeline owned books regarding topics of dark creatures, dark magic and other things of superstition fed easily into suitors’ reluctance to come calling upon her.

King Arnaud whether he knew nothing of her knowledge or whether he’d simply ignored it had fallen in love with her and wed her and though Edeline had kept her books and other trinkets, she had not utilized them in Bayern. 

Until now.

Yet however she tried, her books did not do her any good to come to a solution regarding the situation with the illnesses at court. Queen Edeline sent for more volumes from her former kingdom from a few trusted and discreet academics and had to wait impatiently for their arrival.

Meanwhile she kept a careful but private watch on the activities surrounding Reina and her circles at court.

At last when there was but a month until Her Royal Highness’ birthday, the books for The Queen Dowager arrived. She spent an entire afternoon pouring over them –even going so far as to dismiss her ladies-in-waiting to retire for a couple of hours so that she might be given some privacy.

After going through two full volumes, The Dowager finally found what she was looking for in the midst of the third book she opened.

She’d already read up on (and easily dismissed) lycans, the plague, succubus, and a couple of other supernatural things like ghosts (the creature called ‘preta’ of distant eastern lands being one of them). 

She was about to take a rest when a certain page and its illustration caught her eye. She read it and gasped softly. There it was: “Dhampir,” she whispered. It was born of a vampir parent and a mortal; more often than not a mortal woman and a male undead. The mortal mother would more oft than not die giving birth to this child. This is what had made Queen Edeline gasp and continue reading on learning about the associations it had to other mythology. A dhampir was associated with creatures called strigoi and moroi which were of another kingdom’s mythology regarding creatures that drank blood to sustain their existence. The book also mentioned a more local term vampir as a name for one of these creatures. As these creatures drank blood, it certainly explained frequent illness and death surrounding them.

Edeline stopped reading and sat back for a moment to stew over this new theory. If Reina was a dhampir then it made her father King Arnaud a vampir. It would certainly explain the difficulty of Reina’s parents in conceiving her and the fact that Queen Imogene had died giving the young girl life certainly made sense with this new information.

The Dowager Queen flipped through her book to locate the information on the vampir, her heart pounding hard in her chest. She didn’t want to believe it but maybe her late husband had been hiding a sinister secret. She went through the information almost too quickly to process or make any connections but she made enough that a plan formulated in her mind. She set out to make sure that King Arnaud was truly dead and not just in an undead sleep.

She felt anxious about this but she had to be certain. She immediately summoned for her ladies and informed them that she wished to pay homage to the late king by visiting his grave. “I want to place garlands upon his tomb. Please have the gardener fetch hawthorn and rowan and a few flowers.”

Edeline mentally went back over the information she could recall from her book about helping to destroy or stop a vampir from rising from its grave. Considering she had no evidence of Arnaud dying naturally with potential to turn into a vampir Edeline decided that putting boiling water over him now dead these ten or so months was pointless. Also, opening the stone over where he lay seemed too terrifying. She decided that she would place seemingly harmless bouquets within the sepulchre to deter any evil from rising from her late husband’s resting place meanwhile finding a way to subtly confirm her suspicions about him. She wasn’t entirely sure yet but she also wanted to be cautious. Not only was she attempting to prove the existence of an evil creature, she was doing so towards her late husband and furthermore that husband happened to be a king. It would not look well on her should she be found out.

No one had any clue as to the meaning of the new branches she included in her homage. But Edeline would sleep a little easier that night with that protection in place in Arnaud’s tomb with two single branches also kept in her own room pretending it was to make her feel closer to her husband knowing the same branches rested with each of them that night and those following it.

Over the next two days, The Dowager became better informed about the undead creatures: vampir, strigoi, moroi and dhampir. Each of these creatures were associated with blood, illness and death... It was apparent; Edeline was on the right course. 

Now all she had to do was prove that her step-daughter fit the description of a child born of an evil, undead parent without the young woman or anyone else suspecting Edeline’s motives. She would have to do all of this carefully; it could not be accomplished with any haste whatsoever.

The task proved difficult. While Reina’s birth certainly fit in with the description of a dhampir, the young woman’s physical description went at odds with a few statements Edeline had read in the book. Reina did not have abnormally large eyes, ears or nose. The description that a dhampir would be without nails or even bones certainly did not apply either. Yet, the young girl did have dark hair as most dhampir and pale skin as some descriptions described of various ‘undead’ creatures.

The only solid clues The Dowager had in relation to The Princess were this physical description, the details surrounding her difficult conception and birth and the sudden deaths of The King and two servants as well as the repeated illnesses of those around Reina and additionally Reina’s own brief illness after her sixteenth birthday.

Less and less as she studied dark creatures did Edeline suspect the answer of ‘dhampir’ to explain it all. Yet, she could not find any simple and logical answers to explain the weird goings-on over the past eleven months. She suspected the explanation to everything lay in some sinister corner.

Demonic possession soon came into focus for Edeline. Perhaps young Reina had been cursed somehow to be the conduit for an unholy entity.

Yet in going over the traditional signs, Reina did not evidently speak in tongues, spit out ancient knowledge, display unnatural physical strength or seem adverse to holy relics.

What then was the cause?

It would not become evident to Edeline until the sudden departure of Ferdinand of Moravia from the kingdom only one short week before Princess Reina’s birthday what the root of all this baleful happening might be.

His departure came as a shock to all. Everyone including Reina herself had expected Ferdinand to stay for the revelries. “I’m so terribly sorry dearest but I must go back to my kingdom for a time. Urgent business calls me away that I cannot ignore. Can you forgive me?” he begged as he stood outside his carriage which was ready to part just as soon as he alighted into it.

She had met him outside in this hasty manner having been away when he’d come to call and deliver the news to her in person in her receiving chamber. She had hurried to catch him before his departure and now stood an arm’s length away from him listening to his hasty goodbye.

“Yes of course I can forgive you. but you will return soon will you not?”

“I will attempt to be gone little over a fortnight however circumstances being what they are it may be closer to two or three fortnights. It depends on how long the journey back takes.”

She lowered her head in disappointment. “We shall host a private celebration upon your return.”

“Yes indeed Your Highness. And, I shall gift you something then from my own kingdom for your birthday.”

This made her smile. “Return to me as hastily as possible then.”

He held out a hand and she offered hers for him to kiss. He did so grinning. Seconds later, in front of her lady’s maids, Reina moved in closer and met Ferdinand’s lips in a fiery kiss.

At that moment, the clouds cleared away from the sun and shone a ray down upon the two. Ferdinand, who had not donned a hat or gloves, cried out and pulling away as though pained covered his head and stumbled backwards towards his carriage. Alarmed, Reina moved forward and helped him inside of it.

The two spoke for a short while as the clouds once again covered the sun slowly but after awhile Princess Reina confirmed that he would be alright and insisting he make haste Ferdinand bid her goodbye once more. He leaned his head out of the carriage window to pull her in for a most indecorous kiss.  And then he was off.

Reina turned back to her lady’s maids and spoke to them for a short while before both of them nodded and returned inside with her.

Queen Edeline had beheld all of this from a higher window of the castle. She hadn’t quite heard conversation but the goings-on she’d beheld was alarming enough that she summoned Reina’s maids that afternoon to her own receiving chamber to interrogate them.

Their answers surprised her, however. “You mean to say you don’t know why Lord Ferdinand withdrew so hastily to his carriage after embracing The Princess?”

“I mean to say, ma’am, that neither such thing `appened!”

“Yes Your Majesty Princess Reina bid him farewell and he bowed respectfully to her before getting into his carriage and departing. I do not... It is alarming that anyone mention, begging your pardon Your Majesty, that anything so decorous happened such as what you say.”

Both young women kept their heads down timidly –scared by this entire situation. They did not wish to be disrespectful to The Dowager Queen by denying any of her allegations on what had happened and yet what she said was entirely false and very plainly scandalous. It did not make sense. Both wondered why Queen Edeline had asked such a thing.

It took The Dowager several silent moments to gain composure. “I see. I have been fed false information. I shall deal with those involved. Would you swear this testimony in front of officials if necessary?” She hoped this might prompt something; fear of having to answer to the laws of Bayern should they tell falsehoods.

They both nodded however.

“Very well. Thank you both for your honesty. Please put this from your minds,” she encouraged. She did not want rumours spreading that she knew of the scandalous behaviour Reina had engaged in.

The meeting over, the two maids curtsied and departed.

Edeline immediately went to her books wondering whether memory loss or alteration might be connected to something she’d read before.

Sure enough, it was.

The vampir had such powers of suggestion. As Reina was the one who had spoken to the maids it further proved Queen Edeline’s theory that Reina was the sinister culprit initiating the strange goings-on within the court. 

“A vampir,” she whispered softly to herself. “How can this be?” She shook her head. “Never mind that more important is how do I prove without a doubt that what I have uncovered is in fact the undeniable truth?”

Before dinner that evening, she knew. And she had a plan. All she had to do was wait a couple days until The Princess’ birthday. That day would either be Reina’s undoing or her salvation from her step-mother’s theory.

At last, Princess Reina’s birthday finally arrived. It was set to be a grand celebration and the entire court was exited and ready to take part in the frivolities that Reina herself had helped to plan.

Queen Edeline summoned her step-daughter to her own chambers before either of them had made their first appearance or grand entrance amongst the guests.

“You sent for me, Your Majesty?” Reina exclaimed gently, curtsying and using her step-mother’s title in respect.

“Yes Reina. I desire to give you private well wishes and to help you in the last of your preparations before you make your grand appearance.”

The girl smiled politely.

“Come let us finish our preparations. I have a gift for you to wear tonight actually.”

“Oh you do? That is most kind.”

“Yes. I’m told these are a family heirloom to The Crown of Bayern.” Edeline gestured for Reina to follow her towards the vanity table where a secure chest was placed and The Dowager Queen opened it to reveal the necklace and earrings inside. They were made of silver with small, sparkling gems set daintily to dangle from the posts of the earrings and set into the metal of the necklace to sit regally against the wearer’s skin below her neck. It was a gorgeous set that made The Princess smile.

“Does it please you?”

The young woman’s fingers reached out to caress the gems of the necklace. However, she inhaled sharply after a moment; her arm tensing. “These are lovely however I’m not sure that they are what I had in mind for this evening,” Reina spoke.

“Come now it’s almost impossible to tell when looking at something in its case. Here, let us put it on you at the very least.”

Reina looked uncomfortable but Edeline was already picking the jewelry up and bringing it to her step-daughter’s neck. Reina grit her teeth as her step mother set it against her skin. “As you see I really don’t think it goes,” she muttered after a few moments of looking down.

“Come let us behold it in a mirror for the full effect.”

“That’s really unnecessary,” The Princess insisted, knowing she would not cast a reflection.

“Come look I have a full-length one. I brought it from my kingdom,” Edeline carried on as she moved Reina in front of it. To the girl’s surprise both her step-mother’s and her own reflection looked back at her. “See now.”

It took several moments for Reina to get over her surprise. But, she was adamant, “This is a lovely set but I already had one picked out myself.”

Edeline hid her satisfaction at Reina’s insistence not to wear the silver jewelry. She then glanced at other mirrors she had placed of hers nearby strategically to show the reflections of anyone standing where she and Reina now stood. To little surprise, she only saw herself reflected in them while Reina’s single reflection was in the large mirror in front of them both. Her suspicions were ultimately confirmed.

A vampir was unable to cast a reflection in any mirror backed by silver. Edeline’s special mirror from her kingdom had been created with a different metal to cast the user’s reflection –hence Reina’s ability to cast one now in it.

“I thank you for the thought of having them brought all the way from The Royal Vaults however I will not choose to wear these.”

“It saddens me to hear of it, however I care for you enough that I can respect your wishes dear one. You are almost a woman now; you are free and able to make your own decisions and gladly so.”

“Indeed,” Reina agreed smugly; almost arrogantly. She considered The Dowager’s words unnecessary; Reina was to be Queen she did not need to be reminded that she was not a child and was quite free to make her own decisions.

“Your gown is ever so lovely. I think your father would have been most happy to see you in it and how it pleases you to wear it.”

Reina’s smile remained only to be polite. “Thank you.”

“Well as your hair, powders, gown and choice of jewelry are made I see that I cannot be of much help or use to you. Therefore, I bid you the best wishes I can bestow for a most magnificent time and for a most wonderful year ahead.”

“Thank you step—Thank you Your Majesty. I bid you good evening and I hope you shall too enjoy yourself at the celebration.”

“You are most gracious.”

The two curtsied to one another before Reina departed the room.

“I have you now, evil spawn,” Edeline whispered as she was once again alone. “Your existence will soon come to an end. Enjoy this celebration for it shall be your last; this I swear,” she vowed.

She was determined that her step-daughter be murdered and she decided then that nothing would stand in her way.