“How beautiful,” the rich, sultry voice of the queen muttered as her penetrating blue hues examined the great masterpiece before her. The dark brush strokes blended crimson with obsidian to create a fearsome illustration of a dragon. The great beasts’ colossal wings outstretched, taking up much of the vast canvas. The glimmering inky, black scales appeared life-like, as if one could reach out at feel the smooth, serpentine plates. It looked as though it could live and breathe, like the terrifying creature could emerge from the vivid painting and walk among them. A slight smile curled onto her lips as she remembered the fear it used to strike in her tender little heart as a child. Vail would lower her eyes, attempt to avoid what she perceived as an ominous thing so that it did not haunt her dreams. In the hall where she accompanied her father, she cowered while she waited for him to finish lengthy debates over politics with the royals of other communities. It wasn’t until she was much older that she came to look upon it with a renewed perspective. Where there was strength and power, there was also a kindness behind its eyes that, even in his quiet wrath, managed to shine through. Standing toe-to-toe with the masterful work of art, the Scarlet Queen was in stark contrast to the great beast. Otherworldly in her beauty, with fair skin and long, ash blonde hair. She was petite, far from the hulking figure illustrated in the portrait. Her lovely and inviting exterior often led those who opposed her to believe she was docile and harmless.<br/><br/><i>They were wrong.</i><br/><br/>“Your Highness, the Crimson King awaits you.” A voice resonated in the long hall, prompting guards in vibrant red suits to draw closer to her side. The followed her toward the ornate double doors, pausing after the threshold where she moved to the gleaming round table. Clinging to her alluring form was an elegant<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FM0iuAjM.jpg%3F1&amp;hash=2187f00d6ceaaf98d5c9e141e1a5906f" href="https://i.imgur.com/M0iuAjM.jpg?1" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">red</a>gown, her wrist adorn with glittering jewels that twinkled in the lowlight. The train of it dragged behind her, only adding to the regality of her appearance.<br/><br/>The king rose with his arms outstretched. “Queen De Warenne.”<br/><br/>“Thomas, please.” She smiled, delicately placing her hands in his to place a kiss upon his cheek. “We are on neutral ground, and considering I’ve known you since you were a boy, we needn’t resort to such formalities.”<br/><br/>“Of course.” He bowed despite her words, pulling out her chair so that she could seat herself at the table. “I wish we were meeting on better terms, Vail. I haven’t been able to personally congratulate you on your ascension to the throne.” King Thomas sat down beside her, a permanent frown fixed to his youthful features. Crimson royals appeared equal in age to the various supernatural creatures of their world, but they were infants by comparison to their peers. Naturally, they acted as such. Though the king possessed one of the largest armies and controlled the most lands to accommodate a great population, he shrank like a wilting flower in the presence of true power. Crimsons were weak by all other standards and while they were nowhere near oppressed, they recognized their status among others.<br/><br/>It was the way of the world.<br/><br/>“There’s nothing to congratulate me for. It is my birthright, not something I’ve earned.” She said with a graceful, yet dismissive, wave as if to shoo the idea.<br/><br/>“A realist after my own heart.” Thomas appeared a bit more relaxed with casual conversation, a product of the queen’s successful attempts to ease his worries over the grave events that had occurred by the hands of extremists in his faction. Her people were working tirelessly to find the culprits involved and though she would throttle him for failure, she was confident that it wouldn’t have to come to that. A firm, but respectful conversation, was all she needed to convey that. She only hoped that the missing party to their discussion planned to cooperate.<br/><br/>A vampire would put any Scarlet or Crimson on edge. Even Vail was wary of sharing a table with one on neutral ground. While she skillfully steered the conversation with the Crimson King to talk of his wife and children her thoughts wandered to none other than the Monarch, a being of the night with a taste for red blood.<i>Indiscriminately. </i>The pact, dating back centuries, could be broken should they not regain control over the Crimsons and all red blood could flow . . .<br/><br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="976" data-username="@oceane" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/976/">@oceane</a>