“Salt is rather expensive, here, coming from the far east,” Sebastien explained, “That’s how divide the families. If your family has managed to the Ancient Title, you sit about the same level as the salt. However, if your family is Ancient and Noble, you are above the salt. But if your family doesn’t have either, you sit below the salt.” Tina looked at him in confusion. “It basically means you will have salt at the table or not.”

  Tina frowned, nodding in understanding. She didn’t realize that salt was that expensive in Camelot. She was used to having it in large amounts at back home. However, she remembered it was historical lecture over salt while she was in college or watching a documentary over the middle ages where the topic was brought up. “Alright. Anything else I need to know?”

  “After the Mourning Meal, but before you head to God’s Holy Light Church, one of the gentlemen you will be sitting with will be escorting you to the Church. Once there, the gentleman will take you to General Genesis to regroup with your main family and the White Hall House and its minor branches will sit together,” Sebastien explained.

  Tina let out a sigh before she made the comment, “Sheesh, there are a lot of rules for tonight, aren’t there?”

  “Just be glad you are not working as a maid or part of the serving staff,” Sebastien drawled, “There are a lot more rules and the Warrior Queen breathing your neck.” He ran a hand through his hair, “I have stopped several members of the severing staff from making a mistake in front of her. She wouldn’t hesitate from hollering at them when they did.” He glanced over his shoulder and turned his gaze back onto Tina, “Permission to speak freely?”

  Tina’s eyebrows raised and nodded, “Granted.”

  “She has made life horrid enough where I have been running short handed for a long while,” Sebastien complained as his shoulder slumped, and appeared tired, “But you can’t tell it since I have been handling it better then some of my counterparts like the Head of the Severs, the Head of Cleaners, and the Head of Design. I have been trying to hire enough to cover all the positions, but it’s been hard when the possible hires hear they might have to sever Belladonna or any of her close family members.”

  “They don’t wish too?” Tina asked.

  “Partly,” Sebastien replied, “They sometimes have family who need the money and are related to non-humans, but Belladonna has past a lot of laws limiting the non-humans’ rights.” Tina nodded.

  She knew racism was alive and well. It was back home in the United States. For a while there, she thought the country would erupt into a political civil war, country wide, due to the one presidential election. It didn’t stop the war from erupting out, years later, when she was in grade school. Some of the cities were burnt to the ground. Those cities were still in the process of building rebuilt.

  It sounded like Camelot was facing something similar to what the United States went through a few years ago or at least it was when it came to non-humans vs humans. “A majority of the people who want to work inside the Castle I can’t hire due to the laws or a gut feeling they want more then just a good paying job,” Sebastien went on.

  “It sucks,” Tina said. Sebastien looked frustration by what he was going through. There was a knock on the door. Tina watched as the frustration Sebastien felt immediately disappeared and he stood straighter.

  “Shall I get that, my lady,” Sebastien asked, politely, and business like. Tina nodded. He turned and walked out of the bedroom.

  “It seems like Camelot had fallen greatly from its legend,” Tina whispered, turning to the vanity and stared at her reflection. Something moved out of the corner of her vision. She jerked around to see who it was, but the figure disappeared. She frowned, thinking back. It was a white lined figure. Her mind flashed back to the figure who led her to the kitchens that morning. Could they be connected somehow?

  “Good evening, cousin,” Remus’ voice rang out from the doorway. Tina spun back around to face the doorway to see Remus lending against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. Tina scanned her cousin, getting a strong reminder that she was in a stagnate society. Remus wore something that was straight out of the Dark Ages - black tights or leggings, a bright red shirt with a flower on his left breast, and the sleeves pillowed out until they reached his wrists where they tightened. Tina noticed he wore knee high boots to finish the look.

  “Evening, Cousin,” Tina greeted back as she stood up from the chair and grabbed the skirt of her dress, fluffing it out about her legs. She walked over to Remus with a small smile, saying, “Well, I’m ready for this upcoming dinner and mass if you are.”

  Remus nodded before he spoke, “Could you remind me how did you get those lashes on your back?”

  “Sir Tristan and I were captured by a village of Fawns and they sought to punish me by whipping me,” Tina shrugged and she stopped by him.

  “How did you meet Sir Tristan?” Remus asked, a hand disappearing into a pocket.

  Tina looked at him. She narrowed her eyes. While she didn’t know him well or very long, her gut instinct told her he was hiding something and searching for an answer. She stated, “Stop the 20 questions, Remus, and ask your burning question.”

  “Are you Lady Valentina of the White Hall House, the same one that Lady Freya sent a team of Shinobi after, and General Genesis’ Sister,” Remus lend toward Tina as he pulled out a familiar looking scroll. His eyes flashed with a few emotions.

  Tina glanced at the same scroll she had found on her nightstand. She let out a sigh. There was no use in lying or giving misinformation. She met his eyes, “Yes, according that scroll and I am starting to think I am.”

  “What do you mean you think you are,” her cousin asked, lending back.

  “Mom never talked about my father,” Tina confessed, “Until recently, I didn’t know who he was.” She sighed. “Come on. We got a dinner and mass to attend. We can talk about this later, can’t we?”

  Remus huffed. He held out an arm to Tina which she took and they walked out of the White Hall Wing of the Castle. The silence unnerved Tina and she ended up asking, “Where is Genesis?”

  “He is escorting Lady Margiette Black to the Great Hall,” he replied.

  Tina looked up at Remus sideways, waiting for more information before she asked, “Did he volunteer do that?”

  “Nope,” he replied, “Lady Margiette is looking for a husband.”

  “And she has her eyes settled on Genesis?” Tina tried to keep the mirth out of her voice.

  “Yes, she does.” Came the short reply.

  “Who do you feel sorry for, more, Genesis or this Lady Margiette?” Tina asked, trying to get Remus to be more talkative. She glanced up at him, waiting.

  He finally sighed, stopping at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the White Hall Wing, “Why do you care, Tina? Are you planning to stay here or return home?”

  “I don’t know if I will stay,” Tina admitted, “There is a part of me wanting to know why I grew up without my dad and brothers in my life, but at the time, I don’t know if I can return home, knowing what I do know.”

  Remus pulled her around, facing him. He used a finger to push up her chin and stared her in the eye, saying, “Can you live with yourself, not getting to know them when you have the chance to and something major happens, they die, thinking you were still heartbroken with your mom and not happy?”

  Tina knew her answer would be no, but she dodged the question, “I am still heartbroken and not happy.” Tears burnt her eyes. She looked up, over Remus’ head, trying to control her emotions. She blinked, rapidly. Remus didn’t say anything. She cleared her throat before she changed the subject, “Anyway, I heard our cousins won’t be seating with us during the Mourning Dinner. Are we being assigned seats?”

  “Yes, we are,” Remus’ voice held a tone that Tina couldn’t identify, “I suppose since Genesis is escorting Lady Margiette, he could be sitting with her and several other eligible ladies of the court.”

  “Moew! I sense a cat fight,” Tina changed her voice to hold a playful note. “I don’t know if I should feel for him or the ladies, yet.”

  “The ladies,” Remus immediately replied as he started walking again, leading Tina to the Great Hall. “He has a reputation of being explosive.”

  “Temper wise or just like things that go boom-boom,” Tina smirked in amusement.

  “Both,” Remus smirked. “I don’t remember the last time I had witness one of Genesis’ explosive reactions.” He chuckled. “The last time I heard he lost his temper, it was on the battlefield, he ended up creating a big pile of something explosive and sending it sky high before he chase the enemy back to their lines.”

  “Oh good lord,” Tina envisioned the General creating a pile of random things that could explode before lighting it on fire then dashing after the enemy with them fleeing. She let out a giggle at the imaginary image. “I bet he got pretty popular with the people who handles the black powder.”

  Remus nodded, going on, “That was before he was promoted to General. After that battle, he earned the nickname the Explosive Red Head.” Tina snorted as they went through a series of hallways until they entered a Courtyard, but the courtyard didn’t have the statue of an Ancient King holding his sword out like the courtyard she had walked through several times so far.

  “So, we are not going to the Seasonal Throne Room,” Tina said in a questioning tone, looking around at the new courtyard.

  “The Great Hall is where all the banquets take place in,” Remus explained, “It’s on the North side of the castle. The Seasonal Throne Room is on the South side.” Tina nodded. “Our family wing is on the West side and the training grounds is on the East side.”

  “Alright,” she said. The places Remus had mention where some of the places she had visited so far, expect for the Great Hall, but apparently, she was going to change that soon enough. Excitement rose up in her chest.

  She knew she shouldn’t be feeling that way, but she was seeing a new place in the legendary castle. She tried to push the excitement down, trying to put it under control. She started to see familiar faces streaming toward a pair of open doors at the far end of the courtyard.

  Her eyes immediately roamed over the courtyard. There wasn’t a statue in the middle of this courtyard, but a large water fondant stood there instead. She stopped walking, studying the water fondant.

  “What is it?” Remus’s voice caught her attention. Tina blinked and felt her cheeks heat up before she shook her head and pointed at the water fondant. “Oh.” Remus looked at the fondant and said, “That is the Fondant of Hope.” She turned her gaze up at Remus, hoping he would explain more.

  He saw the look and sighed. “According to legend, King Arthur the First had this created to give people during the difficult times the Kingdom has and will experience. The Fondant has been one of the few surviving pieces we have from his reign, besides the Holy Sword, The King’s Ring, the Crown of Camelot, the Statue of the King himself, everything in the Seasonal Throne Room, and there was something else, but I forget.” He looked sheepish. Tina gave him an understanding smile.

  “Well, how long has it been? 2000 years?” Tina asked.

  “Give it a few years or so,” Remus admitted, nodding.

  “It is only natural that things have been lost or destroyed,” she commented. Her stomach let out a loud rumble. A nervous laugh left her. “Well, let’s go eat before we get caught out here by someone really important.”

  Remus nodded in agreement. They walked to the Great Hall as a soft breeze brushed over them. Tina shivered slightly. She wished she had remember to grab a shawl. A cold front must have moved in after the horrible thunderstorm had left the Kingdom.

  Eying the setting sun through the windows, General Genesis approached the Black House wing of the Castle. He briefly wondered why the castle was so huge, but remembered the reason why. After all, there was 150 families that had achieved the rank of Ancient, thanks to their Founding Father’s membership to the Round Table. He sighed. At one time, the Families had gathered during the summer months to celebrate and reunite for various reasons.

  He really didn’t want to escort Lady Margiette to the Great Hall for the Mourning Dinner. He hoped she didn’t try to talk him into a marriage contract or any kind of arrangement. He really didn’t need to be dealing with that kind of shit, right now. He let out a sigh, letting his shoulder slump. He paused by a window looking over the Eastern Districts. He spotted the shopping area.

  A large market square was set up in the middle of the Eastern District. Usually, at this time of day, it would be packed. Genesis would have his men among the shoppers, keeping an eye on any pick pockets. He knew there would be at least three to four groups of streets rats dashing the crowd, hands slipping into pockets, grabbing coins before dashing away.

  Majority of the street rats his men caught and put them to work, but there were some who managed to escape from his men. One group immediately came to mind. Brothers 6.

  Genesis shook his head when he thought of them, smirking. The eldest of the six was known as Ichigo. He was the leader of the six brothers and often distracted the guards long enough for the rest of his brothers to escape. Some of the tactics the boy used was amusing to the General.

  Ichigo would make a good soldier if Genesis ever managed to his hands on him. The rest of the brothers would fall into line if Ichigo was ever caught. Those six would die and do anything to protect each other. Genesis had the sneaky suspicion that willingness would extend to anyone they care deeply for.

  The red head sighed. He figured if his reputation continued to make good where majority of the women his grandmother tried to set him up with didn’t work out, he could adopt the six or see if their mother was unmarried, assuming she was still alive. He knew his family wouldn’t care if he adopted heirs or not as long as the family name continued in some fashion. One of his uncles had done that. It was pissed his grandmother to no end, but having a grandchild to dote had dulled her anger.

  He turned his thoughts back to the issue at hand. He glanced up the hall where the entrance to the Black Wing loomed. He wondered if it was too late to send a message to Lady Black, informing her that he couldn’t make it. His shoulders sunk. He knew better.

  One of the servant for the Black House passed him as he hurried to the Black Wing. It didn’t take a genius to figure out which family room he was heading to - Lord James’ rooms. He would report that Genesis was going to be escorting the Lady Margiette to the Great Hall for the Mourning Dinner.

  If Genesis didn’t show up, it would be an insult to the Black House. White Hall House had enough problems with the Black Family. They didn’t need another reason to call for a blood feud. Belladonna would do that this time or demoted Genesis from the General position. Of course, she had the option to give him the boot, kicking him out of the Camelot Military.

  Genesis sucked in a deep breath. He straighten his back. His shoulders squared. He strolled forward like he was on portal duty on one of the walls encircling the castle or the city. He turned into the Black Wing and felt the world become devoid of color.

  The Black Wing was decorated in their House colors - Black. The only spot of color was on the curtains. It showed the symbol of the Black House. He strolled over the dark carpet to a door with a name plate on it - Margiette.

  The General summoned his courage and took a deep breath as he raised his right fist before he knocked on the door. He placed his hands behind his back, waiting. He heard muffled voices coming from the room and the door unbolted then swung inward by several inches. One of the servant assigned to take care of the Black Lady peered up at him, before she spoke, “Are you here to retrieve Mistress Margiette?”

  “Yes, I am, miss,” Genesis nodded, “Could you please inform the Lady I am ready to head down to the Great Hall whenever she is?”

  The maid bent her head in acknowledgment then shut the door. The General went to lend against the wall next to the door when it swung open again. He glanced up and paused. He wasn’t aware that Lady Margiette could look that pleasing to the eye.

  Her dark hair framed her face with curls, causing her turquoise colored eyes to pop out. Around her neck, a necklace lay with a red gem in cased in gold. A set of matching earrings hung from her ears. The dress she wore was a typical form fitting black mourning dress, but it was trimmed in gold, showing her status as part of the Upper Class. However, the dress was a sharp contrast to her pale skin. Genesis knew it wasn’t in good form for a Lady of the Court to be out in the sun for long periods of time.

  “My lady,” Genesis stepped away from the wall and bowed to Queen Belladonna’s great niece. “You look beautiful, tonight.” He slipped into the familiar role of Acting Head of the White Hall House. He offered his arm to Lady Margiette, waiting.

  “And you look passable,” Margiette sniffed. Her eyes narrowed slightly. “I thought you would know better then appear to me like a General instead of the Heir of your house, Lord Genesis or is it General? I can’t tell which.”

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  “General would be fine, my lady,” It took all of Genesis’ will power not to growl the sentence out at her. He forced the irritation aside. He knew majority of the ladies at Court would be thrill to death if he was their escort. “We will be late if we don’t leave, now, my lady.” All he had to do was escort Lady Margiette down to the Great Hall to her seat then he could find his own. Hopefully, he would be sitting with his cousins and would be able to discuss family matters with them.

  Lady Margiette scoffed and took his arm. Genesis guided her to the Great Hall. He didn’t say a word to her. He hoped she wouldn’t speak with him, but he knew it was a lost cause when she opened her mouth, “I see you are moving better then you did earlier, General. One would have thought that punishment would put you in bed at least for a week if not longer.”

  Genesis didn’t say anything. “Apparently, my great aunt didn’t do her job appropriately. If her father was still alive, that would have been corrected already and she would be punished for her lack of judgment. You simply can’t image my surprise to see you walking about like the flogging never happened.” Genesis felt her gaze rested on his face. She hummed as they left the Black Wing of the Castle. “I suspect the Magi are to blame for that. Unruly creatures. They shouldn’t have help you or the other two General. I get the feeling they also helped Sir Tristan.”

  “I apologize, my lady, for interrupting you,” Genesis finally spoke as they went down several staircases to the courtyard near the Great Hall, “But it wasn’t the magi who helped the Generals, Sir Tristan or myself.”

  “Then who did?!” Margiette cried out. She looked up at him with an unreadable expression. Her eyes flashed with an emotion.

  “It was one of my cousins,” Genesis smirked. “She recently been through the same thing and knew the best way to treat the wounds.” He went on, “She isn’t from this Kingdom so she isn’t aware of the laws your family has been trying to put in place for the last few hundred years.” He smiled at her.

  Margiette glared at him and snapped, “Then you are the one failing in your duty as her head of house…”

  “ACTING head of house,” Genesis cut in, “It’s not all my responsibly to teach her all of the laws the Houses of Drake and Black has been enacting over the past couple centuries.”

  “I think as the Acting Head of House, as you put it, it is your responsibility to teach her the laws,” she shot back with venom in her tone, “I would hate to see you get punish again for not doing your duty, General.”

  Genesis slowly turned his head and glared down his nose at Margiette. She met his glare. It was a long moment before the red head general spoke again. He kept his tone even and calm like he was speaking with a member of the Royal Ruling Family or someone above his station, “My lady, let’s agree to disagree. I’m sure you are—“

  “Let’s not agree to disagree,” Margiette snapped, “Your duty as Acting Head of your family is teach Lady Armstrong proper court procedure.” She took a breath, “I will be writing to Lady Freya about your lack of decorum toward your duty and myself.”

  Genesis turned his head away as he guided her through the various hallways, heading to the Great Hall. He fought to control his temper. He noticed the nearby torches flared up. He took a deep breath as they walked. He didn’t speak until they reached the Great Hall.

  Inside the Great Hall, Lord Salazar stood nearby his assigned table, bored out of his undead mind. That was saying something as he had spent years avoiding situations like this.

  However, King Uther managed to get respect and he felt it was something he could at least do. Not to mention, he brought warning to the Magi of Camelot about the old alliance reforming. His thoughts drifted back to the massive he got nearly a month ago about the old alliance and frowned.

  My Old Friend,

  We were once allies against the United Kingdoms of Old, but upon the defeat of the Death Mage, Rowena, the alliance fallen apart. However, rumors has been spreading that the Death Mage is stirring once more. Word has reached me that her most trusted servant is on the move, again, and has started to gather up the old alliance again in preparation for what I do not know. You live too close to what used to be the United Kingdoms for my likening with your coven. Be careful, Salazar.

  Your Friend,

  Lucy The Fallen One

  While Salazar trusted Lucy to a certain point, he knew Lucy had a grudge with the members of the Light side, giving what Lucy was and his history with the Light. The Vampire Lord let out a sigh.

  He eyed the immortal Princess as she was escorted in by one of the Knights, Sir Galahad if Salazar could recall correctly. Her eyes glowed the bright side of crimson, indicating she already feed. She obviously felt his gaze upon her and turned her head, giving a nod of acknowledgment. Hopefully, he didn’t have to worry about her tonight. He had enough to worry about.

  Between himself and the Magi, they didn’t find the untrained storm-bringer. He hoped whoever it was didn’t lose control of their negative emotions again and unknowingly set loose a storm of the century. He remembered when he did and he still regret it after a century later.

  Lord of the Crescent Island let out a sigh. He pushed away those memories and brought himself back to the present. He raised his crimson eyes and scanned the Great Hall. The Decorating Staff outdone themselves with the decorations for the Mourning Dinner. He hoped whoever the Head of the Decorating Staff was these days was proud of themselves.

  He took a breath and the scent of ozone entered his nose. He closed his eyes on instinct as he tried to process the scent. It was a female scent. He exhaled and opened his eyes. He stood up from his seat. He glanced at the name cards on either side of his chair. A Lady Valentina of House Armstrong was supposed to sit on his right and a Lord Micheal of House Lancaster on his left.

  Salazar’s lips twitched into a half smirk. Perhaps this Lady Valentina could provide some clues on who the untrained storm-bringer could be. He half entertained the thought that Lady Valentina could the mysterious storm-bringer herself, but that would be too easy. Life was never that easy. There had to be a catch somewhere along the line.

  He stepped away from the table, glancing at the other name cards. According to the names, there was supposed to be three more females at the table with several other lords. He briefly wondered if it was someone was trying play matchmaker with the eligible ladies of the Court. If someone was, they were barking up the wrong tree. He wasn’t looking for a mate, right now. If he was, it would be a woman who will be willingly to be turn into a vampire.

  Salazar moved away from the table, letting the scents wash over him. He weaved through the crowd of Courters looking for their name at the various tables. He searched for the ozone, female scent. He spotted the mysterious Lady Valentina entering in the Great Hall on the arm of her cousin, Lord Remus.

  “Look who just arrived,” one of the nearby woman commented, “It’s that Lady Valentina on the arm of Lord Remus.”

  “She’s the one who is representing House Armstrong,” another woman said. There was a hum of agreement. “I think Lord Remus and Lady Valentina are cousins.”

  “So, in other words, Lord Remus is still available?” one of the ladies purred, “Perhaps I should approach him?”

  “You shouldn’t. It’s not proper. Besides, I spotted Lady Valentina early this morning, walking around the castle, being escorted by the Head of the Butlers and Maids. They were laughing about something.”

  “She wouldn’t!” one of them gasped. Salazar had forgot how scandalous it was for a Lady of the Court to mingle with someone from the lower class.

  “Remember we don’t know anything about her.” There was a pause. Salazar gazed at Lady Valentina as Lord Remus and she strolled along the various tables, looking for the place where Lady Valentina was supposed to sit. “She could be one of those easy ladies, trying to seduce our men away from us.”

  The Vampire wanted to smirk at the court gossip. Some of the Court Ladies were small minded fools. He watched as Lady Valentina lend in close to her cousin and whispered in worried tone that his enhanced hearing picked up without a problem, “I can’t read the names on those cards.”

  “You weren’t taught how to reach?” Remus asked at the same volume. Salazar wanted to laugh as Lady Valentina gave Lord Remus a dark glare.

  “I was taught how to read, you jackass!” Valentina snapped. She tried to keep her voice down low. Salazar’s lips parted as Remus blinked at her, gasped. “I wasn’t taught how to read in this bloody language!” she turned away from her cousin and Salazar heard her mutter, “I swear. Men. No matter where they are from, they are nearly all the same. Insulting a woman’s intelligence over one little thing like knowing a bloody language.”

  Salazar’s eyebrows raised. She apparently has some history with a male over her intelligence.

  “Valentina, I’m sorry,” Remus immediately apologized, “I didn’t know you didn’t understand this written language. I simply thought you knew it since you spoke it.”

  “Don’t assume anything, Remus,” Valentina turned her head back around and Salazar saw the flush on her cheeks. “It could get someone hurt.” She paused with a thoughtful expression on her face before she added, “Or worst, killed.”

  Salazar agreed with the Mysterious Lady Valentina. He had assumed something in the past and it caused some longterm problems. He was still trying to dig himself out of that grave whole. His eyes darted over to Lord Lunar. The lord looked puzzled for a long moment before he nodded. Salazar didn’t know if it was in agreement or not.

  “Well,” Lord Remus started, “Let’s see who we have over here.” He steered the red head over to the nearest table to the back wall.

  Salazar wanted to snort. The boy obviously thought the Lady belong below the salt. The Vampire Lord calmly strolled over to the pair of cousins. He knew the Armstrong Family might have married into the White Hall House, but they were a force to reckon with in their own right.

  He could recall stories of Lady Nami using her other worldly powers to defeat her enemies while her twin sister, Lady Sakura, commanded the armies of Camelot with a no-sense manner and sent the enemies of Camelot running for the hills, majority of the time. He did remembered one time where one of the twins got captured and the other one rushed in to save her.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t remember which sister it was who needed the saving and the one who did the rescuing. Either way, the Armstrong women may look like the every day Lady of the Court, but on the battlefield, they were a ball of fire. He wondered of Lady Valentina Armstrong was the same way.

  “Excuse me, Lord Lunar, Lady Armstrong,” an accent voice rang out behind Tina. She froze. That kind of accent was hard to mistake. It was a Middle Eastern accent, but it held the same feeling of the fake vampire accents she usually heard around Halloween had. She glanced up at Remus. He slowly turned around, taking her left arm with him until they were forced to part. She stood sideways, looking at the newcomer.

  There was one trait Tina immediately noticed as she started to take in the Lord. His eyes. They were the same shade of human blood, freshly split against white untouched snow. Tina could have sworn her heart stopped for a moment as she stared in a mixture of horror and fascination into the blood red eyes of the Lord.

  She was dimly aware he was speaking, but she didn’t understand what was being said. A haze started to fall over her as she continued to stare. Her eyes slowly started to closed. She was shoved to the side. Her eyes widened as her left knee bent under her weight. She sucked in a deep breath. A warm hand grabbed her right arm while an - Holy Shit! That’s Ice Cold - hand grabbed her left. They helped steady her.

  Tina let out the deep breath, realizing her chest ached. Her mind clicked to the fact, she apparently forgot to breath when she caught sight of those blood orbs. She gave the lords a shaky smile, saying, “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “Are you alright, dear cousin,” Remus gave her a worried look. She nodded, look sheepish as she gave him an awkward smile. Remus didn’t say anything for a moment.

  “I am Lord Salazar, the Lord of the Crescent Island,” the lord introduced himself, drawing attention to himself. Tina didn’t dare to meet his eyes, again. She feared if she did, she would be drawn into the lure. He went on, “Lord of House Dracula.”

  Dracula?! Tina’s eyes darted up as her heart skipped a beat. She questioned silently if he meant The Dracula or not. Her eyes darted back down to his cheeks once she caught sight of the fresh blood color. She schooled her expression into a polite, pleasant one. She didn’t want to get on the bad side of this man, especially if he was what she thought he was. A Vampire. She opened her mouth, “Lord Dracula, I am Lady Valentina of House Armstrong. It is a honor to meet you.”

  The Lord of the Crescent Island held out a hand to her. She placed her right hand in his and watched as he brought her hand to his lips, placing a small kiss on the back of her knuckles. She saw his lips twitched into a smirk as his eyes sparkled with amusement. A tightening feeling in her gut told her that he probably knew or at least could guess what happened.

  “The honor is all mine,” Lord Salazar’s tone took on a purring note. “I noticed your name on the card beside mine at the table over there.” He waved a hand toward one of the tables Tina and Remus hadn’t gotten to yet. “It would be a great privilege to escort your ladyship to our table.” He held out his left arm for her to take.

  Tina glanced up at Remus. He met her gaze and nodded. She stepped away from her cousin and curled her right arm through the Lord Vampire’s offered one. Something pinged on Tina’s internal spiritual radar and she glanced toward the Great Hall doors where she spotted Genesis strolling into the Great Hall with - Tina blinked, trying to figure out if the woman was alive or not.

  The woman had dark curly hair and wore a black dress with golden trimming. A pair of ruby red earrings and necklace stood out against the pale white of the woman’s skin. Tina finally figured out the answer to the question she ponder when she glanced at the woman’s blue eyes. They weren’t glazed over with Death’s touch. She frowned and turned to Remus. He stood at her side. She kept her voice low as she asked, “Who is that woman with Genesis?”

  Remus lifted his head and turned his gaze that way before he answered in a neutral tone, “That is Lady Margiette of House Black. She is the great niece to Queen Belladonna and cousin to the current Lord of House Black, Lord Jason.” He turned his attention back to Tina, an eyebrow raising. “Why?”

  Tina glanced over her shoulder to make sure Lady Margiette was not in earshot. She silently watched as Genesis guided the Lady through the crowd of people trying to find their seats and talking to each other in soft conversations. The General went to the table close to the steps of the Great Hall at the far end where Tina believed the Royal Family would be sitting and helped Lady Margiette into her seat. When Tina thought her -unofficial - brother, acting cousin would step away from the table, he didn’t. In fact, she grew worried when she saw his shoulders fell in grim acceptance.

  “Oh boy, I feel sorry for Genesis, already,” Remus muttered. Tina hummed in agreement.

  “The reason why I was asking is because I have seen more color on a corpse then what she has,” the red head lady commented, finally replying to Remus’ question. Lord Dracula snorted in amusement. Remus’ lips twitched into a smirk.

  “I don’t know if I want to know how you know what color is a corpse, dear cousin,” Remus mused out loud.

  “I know you don’t want to know,” Tina smiled at him. It would cause his skin to crawl if he knew or witness what cruelties she had seen at the Black Tournament. She pushed away those memories before they could reach out and drag her down. Dark laughter bounced inside her skull as she sent Remus a small smile. She tried to ignore the voice as she suggested, “We should find our seats.”

  “I agree, Lady Valentina,” The Lord of the Crescent Island commented and steered her away from Remus.

  ‘Those memories will hunt you.’ The dark voice held a laughing note as it spoke. To her credit, Tina didn’t stumble when she heard it. She fell into step beside her icy-cold escort. ‘Just we will always hunt you, dearest Tina.’ Tina forced herself to breath - In. Out. In. Out. ‘You will never get rid of us.’ She focus her gaze on the table Lord Salazar was taking her to. It was half way through the room, on the right side.

  The dark voice laughed again. It seem to reach out and bounced off the walls. She briefly wonder if the members of the court heard it or not. She chewed on her lower lip. Her eyes darted up toward the table where the Royal Family would be sitting when they arrived to the table where Genesis sat with Lady Margiette at his side. Her gaze flew over the dozens of unknown faces, locating Rosemary at the table opposite from Genesis, sitting next to a Lord of the Court with an neutral expression, but Rosemary’s eyes told the truth of her desire to be anywhere but there.

  Tina managed to find Remus next by a glance over her left shoulder. He was sitting next to a blond beauty who capture his attention for the time being. Even though she didn’t interact with him much, she did find her other cousin, Jacob, sitting at a table neighboring hers. She let out a soft sigh as she realized the dark laughter was something only she could hear and nobody else. She silently thank Odin for that small blessing. She did hear the fading rumbling of thunder. She questioned how often stormed happened in Camelot.

  A icy cold hand landed on top of her warm hand. She jumped. Her eyes darted to her right, looking up at Lord Salazar. He stared at her with concern on his beautiful features. He asked, “Are you alright, my lady?”

  Tina pushed away the dark voice, trying to bury the fucker deep where it couldn’t bother her again before she sent him a small smile, saying, “I am. Thank you for asking.” She paused, glancing around the room. She noticed many of the court already started to claim their seats. “This is just a bit overwhelming.”

  “Ah,” Lord Salazar glanced at the room as they reached their table, walking down the wall side of it. “Yes, it can be overwhelming.” He agreed. Tina resisted the urge to raise her eyebrow, questioning if he was just agreeing with her for the sake of it or if he truly meant that. “I take it you are new to the Court of Camelot?” The red head woman nodded. “Welcome to Court, my lady. I hope your stay will be pleasant.”

  Tina snorted at that, commenting softly, “Sure.” She drew out the word. “If you can call watching a relative being whipped like a dog pleasant, sure it is pleasant enough where I won’t be coming back.”

  “You saw that,” Lord Salazar stated. Tina nodded with a sharp hum. “I’m sorry that you had to witness that. This court used to be more enjoyable to be apart of then it is now.”

  “When was that?” Tina asked. She did wonder how old the Lord was, assuming her conclusion about his immortal.

  “Many years ago,” Lord Salazar answered, dodging the question.

  “It couldn’t be too long ago,” Tine pressed, “You can’t be any older then 30.” She complimented him. Maybe stroking his ego would help getting the answer she wanted.

  He sent her a knowing smirk, saying, “My Lady, you are too kind.” He stopped half way down the table and dropped his arm before he grabbed a mid-back chair, pulling it out from the wooden table. He gestured her to take the seat. She sent him amused look, deciding to drop the subject for now. She stepped into the space between the table and the chair and slowly sat down. The lord pushed the chair underneath her. He slipped into the seat on her left.

  “Thank you,” she said before the chair on her right was claimed by another lord from the way he was dressed. He almost knocked into her, sitting down in his chair. She sent him a scowl as he spun in his chair to face her when the trumpets echoed, loudly in the Great Hall. Tina winced. Out of the corner of her eye, Lord Salazar rose to his feet as did one of the ladies sitting at the table. Tina quickly got to her feet, following their example.

  The doors to the Great Hall swung opened, revealing a man Tina didn’t recognized, but she recognized the dark haired woman in the man’s arms. Morgana’s cheeks held a flush of red and her chest heaved against the man’s chest. Tina blinked. She didn’t know what to think, but wonder what happened to cause Morgana to react like that. Tina’s eyes took in the fact the man had his hands on Morgana’s upper arms and the Lady held her skirts in her hands, revealing her lower legs.

  A soft gasp came a few seats down from Tina. She resisted the urge to lend forward to see who gasp, but she did hear, “That shameless hussy!”

  “I knew the magi had a thing,” another lady whispered loud enough close by that Tina heard it. She glanced in that direction, but she couldn’t see who said it.

  “Oh good lord,” the unknown lord on Tina’s right muttered, “Really! I thought this court would act better then a bunch children that belong in the nursery.”

  “One would that, Lord Lionheart,” Lord Salazar replied over Tina’s head. She glanced back and forth between the two lords she somehow been assigned to sit between. Both of them were tall. She guesstimated Lord Salazar had to be 6 and half feet tall while the other - Lord Lionheart? - was a head taller then her.

  “Don’t call me Lord Lionheart,” the Lord grumbled, “That’s my father. I’m Godric. Of course, you can call me God, for short.”

  “I think not,” Lord Salazar commented, dryly. Tina could only raise her eyebrow at the newcomer.

  “Or people can call you Ric, short for dick.” Tina cut in. Both men looked down at her. Lord Salazar looked amused while Lord Godric looked shocked. He opened his mouth to reply when the Court Announcer called out, “Lord Merlin, The Battle Mage of Camelot, escorting the Former High Princess, Lady Morgana of House Pendragon, The Black Mage of Camelot.”

  Tina’s eyes darted to Morgana and her escort - Merlin! Seriously! The Court Announcer couldn’t mean THE Merlin. Of course not. If the Court Announcer did mean THAT Merlin, the man would be close to 2000 years old if not a lot older. This man looked like he was in his mid-30’s! - stepped into the Great Hall and walked between the tables to the far end of the room where a single long table sat, stretch across the width of the room.

  The Magi were half way through the room when the Court Announcer called out, “Former High Queen Vivienne escorted by Sir Jack!”

  Tina’s eyes flew back to the doorway to see the older woman standing next to a gentleman dressed in golden armor. The old woman looked a few years older then her own grandma with snow white tucked up into a bun, leaving a few strands to frame her aging face. Her sky blue stared out, staring to the far side of the room. Her dress was black, but it was not formfitting like Tina’s dress was. The dress was trimmed in a crimson red with a symbol of a golden dragon stretching over her bodice. The dragon’s wings were spread out, like it was ready to take flight. Tina made the mental connection, recognizing the old woman. She was the oldest woman sitting on the far right throne when Tina introduced herself to the Court, earlier that day.

  The gentleman, Sir Jack if Tina remembered correctly, stood proud as he guided the Queen down the aisle between the various tables. The fire light danced on his breastplate, causing a reflected light to bounced around on the walls as he walked, calmly toward the far end of the room. His red cape floated out behind him on a unseen breeze and when the knight past, Tina spotted the Golden Dragon with its wings outstretch.

  https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08MBFS53L . The Paperback is available for purchase: . I am working on a Hardcover edition, which I am hoping to have out by the end of February 2025, as long as there is no trouble. If you want an autographic copy of the book, please check out the link to my etsy shop where you can get an autographic copy with a bookmark.

  https://ko-fi.com/valeries26

  https://www.amazon.com/stores/V.L.-Souders/author/B08QJQ7KGJ

  https://www.etsy.com/shop/Vals3C