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

Captured To Become A Vampire Prince's Bride {Book 2}: Chapter 41

The cars pulled up in front of the town hall, where the crowd had gathered as far as the eye could see. Behind the stage was a blind spot so no one would be able to see us until we were up. Between the stage and the town hall was a huge figure, which I assumed was the statue Emmanuel had shown us, completely encircled by a velvet curtain. It was in a slightly different position than the previous statue, it was now more to the left.

"The hell is that?" Alexander asked, craning his neck out of the window to get a better look.

Everyone else also appeared visibly confused as they all begun to approach it.

Emmanuel stepped in front, holding his arms out to stop anyone advancing further. "It's from me, and you can't see it until I say so," he said locking eyes with everyone to ensure they understood his demands.

Leandra rushed up to us, followed by Charlotte. "Good morning everyone, you all look great. I just want to clarify that those of you who are speaking know what order you'll be speaking?"

The King, Queen, Alexander and Emmanuel all nodded. They hadn't had much time to prepare for this but they all seemed confident enough. At least I wasn't the only one that wasn't speaking.

"Great. Seating arrangements in order from the stairs: Emmanuel, Henrietta, The Queen, The King, then there's a gap so none of you are hidden behind the podium, then it's Alexander, Arianne, Leyton and Jayden."

"It's time for us to go up now. Good luck guys!" said Leandra as she disappeared on to the stage once again trailed by Charlotte.

They greeted the audience, quietening them down a little. Then they announced us all on to stage, riling up the crowds once again who began cheering at the top of their voices.

On our way up,  Charlotte and Leandra offered us thumbs up and corny grins. The King and Queen, of course, were up first. The Queen required the King's assistance up the stairs due to her obnoxiously high heels.

Everyone, but The King who went straight up to the podium, took their designated seats. It was only then that I took in the sheer abundance of people who had turned up. Watching their faces light up as they caught sight of us was quite heart-warming. The fact that I'd be part of something that had that kind of impact was something I never would've imagined when I was younger.

The King cleared his throat, his way to get the crowd to quieten down, and begun his speech, "Citizens of Nox Aterrima, we stand before you to offer you our thanks and our condolences. We've all been through a lot these past months; some have lost more than others, and for that, I sincerely apologise. Rest assured that those who have fallen have not and will not be forgotten. I also, however, give my gratitude to you all for remaining resilient towards the threat from Drecott and for not succumbing to despair."

He went on for a little bit longer, discussing his plans, the opening of a war memorial hall which will have the names of those who died engraved in to marble, special funding, and a relative decrease in taxes for a short time. His modulated way of speaking made you immediately listen and trust everything that he was saying. The crowd seemed to agree with me as they were completely silence, their bright eyes focused on The King.

Soon enough, the King invited Alexander to come up and crowd seemed to lose their minds. Ah yes, the 'Saviour of Nox Aterrima', as I'd seen written around as we drove.

Alex took his spot in front of the podium as the crowd continued screaming and cheering. He stood there, smiling, and if it wasn't the glaring sun on the monitors, then Alexander was blushing.