The Last Queen

Chapter 4 - Beloved

30 years ago.

'You are the future of the Sangria clan. Why do you need to leave? You are supposed to be looking for a suitable woman to marry. Haven't you searched enough before? Until now you haven't chosen a wife yet.' King Sebastien said frustrated at his son. They are at the library talking about Rosiel's future.

'You know that I already have a beloved, father.'

'Your beloved died. And no Sangria can have a Solas beloved. You know the law. She and her whole clan are dead. No Solas are alive anymore.'

'How did you know she died? You didn't find her body.'

'She was killed by the Marquis' soldiers together with her nanny.'

'Unless I see her ash, I will not believe you.'

The king hissed in anger as he snap his fingers and a servant came in with an urn. She placed it on the table and left.

'That is your beloved's ash. I told the Marquis to make sure to bring her ash for you to see.'

Ross took the urn and open the lid. He stared at the ashes then look back at his father.

'Are you sure this is Agnieszka?'

'Of course. The Marquis's men will not do something stupid to fool us.'

He look at the ashes inside and smile quietly. With a stoic face, he glance at his father.

'I want her buried properly. That's the least you can do for my beloved. And also, I want you to give me the next 30 years to find a wife and take your throne.'

The king was delighted at his son's decision but a little worried with the amount of time he is asking.

'30 years is too long.'

'I want to do something fulfilling for myself before I get saddled with the throne. Besides, 30 years is a short time for an immortal.'

The king argued a little more but his son has decided so he gave in. he didn't know that the reason Rosiel did it is because he knew that those ashes are not from Agnieszka. He felt it when he opened the urn. A vampire has a distinct scent they carry while they are living and it will remain even if they died. There is no hint that the ashes are from her beloved so he has to look for her and save her before the king finds out about it.

It was a while back when they first met. His family went to the Aragorn estate to talk about the truce. He was still young so he left his parent's side to go to the garden. There he saw a little girl wearing a light blue dress and sitting in the middle of a flower bed. Her eyes twinkle in delight as she pick flowers. He approach her and knelt beside her. The girl jump with surprise and accidentally prick her fingers with a thorn. Blood trickled down as she wipe it with the hem of her dress. Then she eyed him warily. He look from her eyes to her fingers and back to her eyes.

That was when he smelled her blood. Intoxicating. A mixture of morning dew and mint. He remembered his mother's words when he asked about "beloved". They will know that they have found their beloved when they smelled a distinct scent from their beloved's blood.

Beloveds are the soul mates of the vampires. They are the other half of their hearts. They are the one who will stand beside their love. Beloveds are destined to be together.

Since his love is still a young girl, he cannot take her with him. Not now that their clans are having issues. Rosiel decided to wait until she is of age for him to bond with.

'Hi! I apologize for scaring you.'

'It's alright. Hi!'

'What's your name?'

'Agnieszka. You?'

'My name is Rosiel, prince of Sangria.'

'Hi, prince. I'm the heir to the Arch Duchy.'

'Oh, so you are the child of Arch Duke Heinrich.'

'Yes. What are you doing here?'

'Our family are having a truce.'

'Yes, they told me about it.'

'By the way, what are you doing right now?'

'I'm picking flowers for my dad and my room.'

'Want me to help you?'

'Sure!'

Rosiel helped Agnieszka pick flowers. Time passed and it is soon dark. The young girl trotted towards the inner hall as she bid goodbye to him. His father called on him and they left the estate. Him promising that one day he will return for her.

He never fulfilled his promise for after that, the next thing he knew was that the Aragorn estate was burned and all Solas were killed. He mourned for quite a while but when he found out that her ashes were not on the burned ground, he began looking for her. Then when he got wind of her location, he was given the news that she was killed by the Marquis' men. Sorrow and hurt suffocated him. Until hope appears again when he smelled the scent on her urn. He still has time to find her and this time, he will protect her.

Now that he found her, he don't know if he can still fulfill his promise since she still cannot remember the past. If she remembers, she will be consumed by hatred and vengeance in her heart.

'Will there be a space for love within her or will she burn with revenge?'

He hope that she doesn't remember. Maybe it is for the best. With that, he called upon his own guardians.

'Castor, Pollux, Heed my call. Appear before me.'

Two shadows came from within him and changed into two men standing in front of him. They greeted their master with a bow.

'Prince, it has been a long time since you called us. Is there a problem?' Castor asked.

'I finally found my beloved, Agnieszka, but it seems that she cannot remember. I believe you can speak to her guardians since all of you are from the Ancient Mystique. You may be able to find out something about her.'

Ancient Mystique is a gift, a pair of familiars, inherited by the heirs to protect them. Castor and Pollux are the familiars of the Sangria given to Rosiel while Remus and Romulus are the familiars of Solas given to Agnieszka.

'We can try but if they are sleeping, only their mistress can awaken them.'

'What do you know about their mistress?'

'Only that she is a half-blood. And half-bloods are dangerous.'

'How dangerous?'

'We don't know the extent. What we know is that it is a forbidden existence and we haven't seen it in play. Most of the half-bloods are killed as soon as they are born.'

'Find out more about half-bloods. And Agnieszka.'

'As you wish, prince.' And with that, they left.