Rejected And Forsaken
Chapter 30

Narrator

It was her birth week. The whole palace was preparing for the big day. Everyone in the whole kingdom was excited about it. After all, it is something big when the heir to the throne turns eighteen. Then, some of the royal duties and secrets will be shared with her. She will be slowly taking over the throne and by the time she turns 20, she would be ready to be crowned as queen. The other thing is, she will be hopefully finding beloved, which is a big deal for them.

The whole kingdom was preparing for that. Everyone was trying to do something and be part of the huge day. Well, everyone except Carol. She wished she could make the time stop. She hoped that she could plead with her dad so that she could skip the ceremony and choose not to find her destined mate. She was not ready to find him. She didn’t want to be prepared. She wanted to be able to choose. But she knew, her request would be blatantly denied. Being the one in line for the throne meant that she will have to follow each and every rule of the throne and their culture.

Besides, there was no way that her father would agree for that. The king would not understand why any young vampire wouldn’t want to find their beloved. Their beloved was someone to be cherished, someone who would be by their side their whole lives. Unless of course, one of them dies which rarely happened. They will love you unconditionally. They will be your rock and your support in every thing that life throws at you So why wouldn’t anyone want to find their destined one for them? The king will never fathom her reasons.

Carol spent her days thinking about her situation. She wished she had the courage to admit her feelings before she finally had to be bound to someone else. She wished she could hug him just once, just like she did when she tried to console him in the woods. But of course, she hesitated. What if she looses control? She couldn’t take any risk.

Carol sighed as she leaned against the railing of the balcony. Just two days were left, and what she could feel was that she was being forced in to something she wouldn’t want. Tracing her fingers against the cold metal of the railing, she hummed her favourite tune to herself.

“Here I stand alone

With this weight upon my heart

And it will not go away

In my head I keep on looking back

Right back to the start

Wondering what it was that made you change

Well I tried

But I had to draw the line

And still this question keeps on spinning in my mind

What if I had never let you go?”

She choked on her own words. What if she never let David go? Would things work out? Is it possible to have a future with him? Different questions ran through her mind.

Those words somehow, pulled at her heart strings. No, David had never changed. He had always been the same. But still, her heart felt like it was being weighed down by the events in her life, that she possibly can never have any control over. Tears blurred her vision as her throat blocked uncomfortably. She tried to hold back her sniffles and to continue singing her all time favourite song, but she couldn’t.

“You have a beautiful voice just like your mom.”

Her father’s voice startled her. Quickly wiping her unshed tears from the back of her hand, she faced him with the brightest smile. King Richard was secretly listening to her sing. It reminded him of how his beloved sang for him. Her voice was just like hers. Listening to her only jogged old memories, making him feel emotional.

“You have her every feature my dear daughter. Except for your eyes which is green like mine.” He said. Carol listened to him in awe.

“Do I look like mommy?” she asked eagerly, taking in a shaky breath. She had seen the picture her father kept beside his bed. But hearing him say that they looked alike was something else. The king nodded.

“But why is it that I sense a hint of sadness in your voice tonight?” he questioned, making Carol’s smile fade a little.

“hmmm?”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. She cannot tell him that she had fallen for someone already. He might loose his mind. But there was one thing that always bothered her.

“Dad?” she whispered. “Do you still miss mommy?” she asked, her eyes quickly filling up with tears once again, which soon started to stain her pale cheeks. King Richard smiled softly, cupping his daughter’s cheeks and wiped the trail of tears away.

“It would be a lie if I say I don’t.” He answered, as gently as he could. “I miss her with every beat of my heart. I wish she told me about being exposed to the sun a little bit earlier. But that’s ok. I am happy to have you. And I could finally be in peace to know that you also have found that special someone who would take great care of you.” His reply made Carol’s lips pause in a thin line.

“Dad? Why does it always have to be your beloved? Why can’t we choose someone we want?” She finally asked, not being able to hold that question back any more.

Her father’s smile made her feel at ease. At least her question didn’t anger him.

“Because, my child, only your beloved can take care of you like no one else can. They will love you unconditionally. And be your everything.” Her tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead lovingly.

“And I’m sure that the one who you are paired with will be a great person.” He added caressing her soft brown hair.

Carol stared at her father’s green orbs which reflected nothing but love and care. She could feel that he was pouring all his emotions in his words. His large hands cocooned her little body, taking her in a warm hug. Carol sighed, as a feeling of being protected and cared for surrounded her. Slowly holding on to his body, she snuggled in his chest.

“I love you daddy.” She whispered.

“I love you too princess. You are all what I have now. After your mother died in that nasty sickness, I would have lost my will to live if it wasn’t for you. I am sure you wouldn’t let me down.” He replied.

Carol’s face was void of emotions. She knew what her heart wanted. But she must do the right thing. She leaned her head against him and closed her eyes. She was going to do it. She will face it and be the one her father want her to be, with Ben though it meant that her heart would be shattered in to tiny pieces. She will do it for her father, who never failed to fulfil each and every thing that she demanded from him. He had strived to be that father who made sure that his daughter had everything she would need. He was there for her, despite being busy with the kingdom. If she needed him, she will find him there for her.

“Now princess, all of your friends are busy setting up the hall for the big night. Wouldn’t you go there to see the decorations?” king Richard asked in a gentle voice, thinking that his daughter would feel better if she spends her time with them rather than being alone.

She shrugged. “Why not?” she replied and walked towards the hall. King Richard watched her leave. It was hard for him to see her depressed like that. For the whole week she had spent her time in solitude in her room or gazing up in to the stars in this balcony. Ever since the kingdom had started to prepare for the big night, she had not being herself.

“Perhaps she is thinking about her mother.” He murmured to himself. His lips crooked upwards in a sad smile.

“Oh, my beloved. How I wish you were here.” Whispering to himself he closed his eyes and lifted his head up at the sky. The cool breeze of the night blew, playing with his hair and making his robe dance with it. “I just hope that she finds that special someone that would keep her safe from whatever danger that would threaten to take her away from me.” He prayed silently.

Finally, the big night arrived. Carol was pampered the whole day, while every young male who had not found their beloved was invited to the grand ball. The boys and the girls didn’t see each other the whole day, as the girls were to get pampered and the boys had to get ready separately. All of their gowns and suites were specially designed for the night.

The boys had spend the day making sure that everything was set and in order, just like they wanted in to be, before going to get ready for the big event. David too was given a beige suite with red embroidery on the collar. All three of them had worn similar suites.

They had their faces cleaned and their hair styled. David chose to have his hair cut a bit and slacked back.

“Whoa. You look awesome man.” Evan complimented.

But David was not at ease. The whole day had been a disastrous emotional mess for him. He managed a small smile of gratitude but then, he just took a deep breath, in an attempt to calm himself down.

“Is everything ok?” Nolan asked, straightening his collar.

“Yeah… I just feel a little anxious.” David told them.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” David looked around, making sure no one else was in ear shot. Should he tell them that Finn was restless? He looked at his vampire buddies who were helping each other look flawless. He shook his head. No. He shouldn’t. Tonight is not about him. It was about her. Perhaps he could try to talk to Finn.

“Finn. What is wrong? Why are you acting so weird and restless. You keep running around agitated in my mind.” David asked.

“Nothing David. Just go with the flow.” Finn answered.

“Go with the flow?” David scoffed. “Why can’t you just tell me?” he demanded.

“Shut up David. Your friends are staring at you.” Finn answered before retreating back in to his mind. David looked at Evan and Nolan who were staring at him without blinking.

“What just happened? You eyes looked different a while back.” Evan asked.

David chuckled and got up from where he was sitting.

“I just had a very unfruitful conversation with my lycan.” He replied. The vampire boy’s astonishment only increased.

“You can do that?” Nolan gasped. “Awesome.”

“Yeah. I’d like to see your wolf talk.” Evan agreed.

David only laughed at their reaction.

“No. Seriously David. You should show us how you do that. Maybe later in the woods or something.” Evan said.

David shrugged. “Ok I guess. Now let’s go. We don’t want to be late.” He said and the boys were on their way.

The guests have started to arrive by the time they reached the hall. David was still feeling uneasy. Until the mesmerising scent of pine invaded his nostrils, which could only mean the princess was nearby. That scent was way stronger that it ever was. Now it only drew David towards that scent like a magnet. For all these days he had been able to resist but now, he felt that he was about to loose control.

“Her royal Highness princess Carolina” the announcer announced, after a series of drum beat. Then, in slow yet steady steps, she came out in to the open.

Her sight took David’s breath away. She wore a emerald and golden gown. There was lacy details adorning her skirt while her lacy sleeves that came up to her elbows, flared down.

The colour of her gown highlighted the colour of her eyes. But when their eyes met, David froze like a pillar of salt.

“Mate!!” Finn screamed in his mind.