Captured To Become A Vampire Prince's Bride {Book 2}

Captured To Become A Vampire Prince's Bride {Book 2}: Chapter 10

A couple of weeks later, and I was trailing behind Jayden and Leyton as we headed towards the helicopter. It was apparently the safest way to get to Astrus Patriam, as opposed to driving. It was on the opposite coast, I was informed, it was much safer there since the enemy hadn't reached it yet.

In the evening, the masquerade ball, that Jayden had put forward, would be held and hundreds of wealthy elite would be attending, with me, Charlotte and Leyton as co-hosts. It would be up to us to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves, that was the only way they'd donate generously. We hadn't fully decided where the money was going to go, but we were certain some would go to education, healthcare and families in need primarily.

The sky was ablaze with fiery reds, oranges and yellows, which was beautiful compared to the disrepair Nox Aterrima was currently in on the ground.

I had nothing with me apart from my tablet and my earphones. My clothes and dress for the ball were already at the country house, which I had been informed was beautiful, not that that meant much to me anyway. The flight would only be a few hours so I didn't really need to bring any food with me. I just had to make sure I used the bathroom before I left because we couldn't have a toilet break!

The pilot shut the door once we were all in and checked that we were all okay before flicking some switches and taking off. I slid my earphones in under the noise-cancelling headphones we'd been provided with, pressed play and shut my eyes.

A couple of taps on my shoulder was all it needed to wake me up apparently, considering how I slept soundly with the loud noise of the propellers I could still hear through the headphones before I slept, not affecting my sleep at all. Leyton was stood at the door and he helped me out of the helicopter. My legs were a little wobbly from just waking up. When I looked up, the country house was there and it was indeed breath-taking, and enormous! It was white and looked more like a palace if anything, the grounds around it were immense and filled with green grass and trees and hedges all perfectly cut.

The pilot informed us he would be leaving now because the keeper of the grounds didn't want the helicopter to damage the grass by sitting on it; it looked immaculate like nothing had ever stepped foot on it before.

Inside the building, was equally as beautiful, the first thing you saw when those enormous double doors at the entrance opened, was two sets of white marble staircases, one on either side of the entrance area they both had a thin burgundy carpet going down each of them and then lead off in opposite directions. There were beautiful pictures that looked hundreds of years old, some were portraits, others were paintings of landscapes. At the foot of each staircase stood five servants, all apart from two were male. One of the females, who had a completely different uniform to everyone stepped forward to greet us. She then told the others to show us to our rooms, as we'd be staying here for the night.

I was told we could do as we pleased until 4 pm, which was when we had to get ready. The kitchen chef was available, we could walk the grounds, there was a huge library, a comfy lounge, a leisure room and a gym.

I spent my time until 3 pm just exploring the grounds, it was so nice to be outside, and it was nice to have fresh air and sunny skies. We were at no risk of danger from anything, and I that was good. The guilt I felt being away from danger unlike the citizens of Nox Aterrima, was cancelled out by the reason for being here and I sincerely hoped we'd raise a considerable amount of money for them, they needed it.

While out in the gardens, I came across a large pond towards the back of the house, there were a few pairs of white swans swimming around and plenty of lily pads. It kind of reminded me of the pond at the park back at home that myself, Selena and other friends would frequently go to. We'd have picnics there in the summer afternoons, and in winter we'd have a campfire. This place would be perfect to have picnics in the summer, even though the grounds were private. I sighed and turned away from the pond, thinking of my old home and Nox Aterrima brought a heavy weight upon my heart. Maybe I'd find more peace inside, just looking at the different found inside. Or maybe doing some reading would take my mind off of everything, just as it usually had done so in the past.

One of the house servants smiled as she walked in the opposite direction to me, I smiled back of course, or as best as I could.

"Pardon me for saying so, but Princess, you look like something is burdening you," she said, softly placing a hand on my arm just before we crossed. She was still smiling as she said this, "we have horses here, I was just about to go brush them, would you like to help? It could ease your mind."

I nodded and followed her. I didn't know my face gave it away so easily. I was glad she noticed. I supposed brushing horses sounded pleasant. The weather was perfect for it, and I hadn't encountered many animals here. I followed her past the lake, and through an opening in the hedges right at where I thought the grounds ended. A pathway led us to where the stables were and there were at ten horses: six were completely black and four were white, all equally as stunning as each other.

"They're all Friesian horses," the servant informed me as we neared them in the stables, "raised on these grounds from very young ages. They'll be pulling the carriages the guests will arrive in today," she added proudly.

There were two other women at the stables already brushes horses, their ponytails kind of reminded me of the horse's tails, they were long and glossy, and one of them was blonde and the other had black hair. It was quite amusing.

When they saw me, they stopped and bowed at me, and then continued brushing.

"Come," the maid ushered me over to one of the black horses who stood calmly, chewing away on some hay in his paddock, "he's called Octavius."

She patted his face and proceeded to let him out. His size in comparison to my own reminded me how small I was.

It took me just over forty-five minutes to do one horse because I was unskilled and the two women that were brushing before me were really strict; not a single speck of anything was to be found on the horse. I think I did a pretty good job, and soon enough, Charlotte had come to collect me: it was time to get ready for tonight.

In my room, Leandra was placing my dress on the bed. Medina, the lady who designed my wedding dress, had created this one for me again. It was a long, sheer Bardot dress in a deep burgundy that covered all the bits that mattered. The skirt of the dress had a high slit, but the fact that it was flowy made that no problem. It looked extremely elegant and it was perfect for the event. Medina never ceased to amaze. I was seated at the vanity and Charlotte began working on my makeup: just your typical evening makeup, my eyes being the main focus so Charlotte made sure they looked extra dramatic since most of my face would be obscured by my mask anyway. Once she was finished, she sprayed my face with the setting spray sent from God himself. They helped me get my dress on, and I was ready.

It was just after 6 pm when the two left me to go put their own dresses on, and we'd meet at half-past to practise our reading for tonight and just make sure everything was ready for the event.