One year later...

Red delicately held the four-year-old Cassie's hand as they walked to Celeste's room. Red had grown attached to her cousin sisters she lived with, especially Cassie who was the youngest, whom she loved her like her own sister, and it was a needed distraction.

Her other three cousin sisters were close to her but they kept their distance, knowing how dangerous she unintentionally can be. But little Cassie knew nothing about who Red was, and used to admire her, saying she was like an angel with such compassion and patience which her own sisters weren't blessed with. Red loved Cassie but she had noticed how fearful her uncle and aunt appear when she stayed so close with Cassie. So knowing how much they wanted to prevent her from the little girl, and how unintentionally dangerous she can be, she kept distance from her as possible. She kept distance from everyone and even from the Golden Retriever her grandfather gave her.

"What do you think she's going to tell us?" Cassie's innocent voice pulled her from her thoughts, and Red looked down at her softly. "Do you think she's bitten by a vampire?" her baby blue eyes widened in terror.

Red laughed, "Oh, Cassie," she shook her head, ruffling Cassie's hair. "I told you not to believe the bedtime stories I tell you."

Cassie pouted. "But I want them to be real."

"But they're monsters," Red chuckled, swinging their intertwined hands between them.

"I love monsters. What a story without them?"

Something tugged in her chest and she looked away, her smile vanquishing at once. The word monster always reminded her of herself. "You better shouldn't. I know of a monster and she ruined everything."

Cassie's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? You should tell me that tonight!" Red thought it was such a bad idea to tell her twisted fantasies.

Red turned to her, feigning to be serious. "No more monster stories." She declared.

Cassie dramatically gasped. "But—"

"Come on, little girl, let's see what Celeste has got." Red led her to the door and knocked thrice but Cassie shot her a cheeky grin before she pushed open the door and barged in, almost startling her siblings inside.

Red spotted Celeste sitting on her bed, rubbing her temples and that alone told Red whatever Celeste wanted to say wasn't pleasing. Charlotte and Chelsea sat across the room on a crouch and they both eagerly straightened in their positions as they entered in. Cassie ran and climbed over the bed, moving Celeste's blonde hair from her neck, so that she could find any bitten marks.

"What are you doing?" Celeste shrugged herself off Cassie's grip and moved back.

"Checking if you were bitten by a vampire," Cassie reasoned seriously, almost admonishing her sister. Chelsea and Charlotte laughed, and Red rolled her eyes. "You looked very pale when you came saying you need to talk and I thought if you met a vampire who hurt you!"

Rolling her eyes again, Red sat on one of the chairs beside the bed while Cassie went on with her list of what she guessed might have happened.

"It's worse than anything," Celeste spoke in a tone of exhausted. She ran her fingers through her hair before hiding her face in her palms. "Dad wants me to get married."

Red's eyes widened in surprise while her cousins gasped animatedly. She didn't see a big fuss about it until she saw Celeste's burdened face when she moved her hand off her face. Oh. She guessed that her uncle was arranging a marriage.

"You're getting married?" Chelsea exclaimed as she jumped to her feet in excitement but Celeste wasn't excited at all.

"To whom?" Charlotte asked, cupping her own cheeks as if it was the sweetest thing she had ever heard.

"But that isn't worse than getting bitten by vampire." Cassie disapproved and frowned.

Red shook her head in frustration; wouldn't Cassie say anything that doesn't include a vampire?

Celeste blew out a sigh. "Since our country is just overcoming the fanatical crisis, to overcome it, someone very well-known made an offer to Dad to connect families, 'cause we're the standing one even when the whole Ordelia faced a very bad fanatical situation during Covid. Even when the world faced it. So they came with an offer..."

"Who is it?" Charlotte asked, her eyes widened with excitement. Celeste didn't respond but just sighed. "Come on, who is it? Tell us!" She urged. "Is he a handsome one? How rich is he?"

Red rolled her eyes. Charlotte was into romance and always talked about whom she wanted her dad to arrange her marriage with, though she was only seventeen, a year younger than Red.

"What's his name? Come on, Celes, tell us." Chelsea urged impatiently.

"He's rich, yes," Celeste started dully. "He's charming, yes, but not the one the one I want to be with." She raised her eyes and looked at her sister whose excitement seemed to irritate her. "You can easily guess. Who would offer us an alley to overcome the fanatical crises for Ordelia?"

Red held an eye contact with Celeste, and Celeste seemed to understand her thought and nodded.

"The royal family." Red whispered while the others exclaimed, "The royal family?!" Red knew Celeste was counting her to be disappointed as she always considered her choice, while her own sisters didn't, so Red frowned in disappointment, especially because she knew Celeste was very interested in her bodyguard, and only Red knew that.

"You're marrying one of the princes?"

"That's better than getting bitten by a vampire!" Only Cassie's comment made Celeste laugh while others' made her dull.

"Which one?"

"Don't tell me it's the crown prince! Is it? Is it him? Erwien? Oh, c'mon, tell us! Is it him?"

Celeste groaned in frustration at her sisters' excitement as it drove her mad and she said gruffly, "Yes, him, Prince Erwien."

Charlotte gasped loudly. Chelsea squeaked along with Cassie.

Red just sat there, blinking at Celeste in disbelief. Prince Erwien? She thought her uncle was definitely out of his mind.

Erwien, the prince she had grew up watching in newspaper and channels. Erwien, the most reserved human Red has ever seen. Erwien, who never smile anyone at all, who was quite serious and the entire world knew that he was too serious and emotionless for a royal. The royal who rarely interact with people and if he ever does, he would only speak with an emotionless face.

Although he was the crown prince, Red didn't expect him, but his younger brother Alastair, who was quite opposite of his brother, and charmed everyone he saw. But as far Red knew, no matter how hard as stone he was, girls were after Erwien, including Charlotte and Chelsea. Prince Erwien was the fantasy of every girl though he never smiled, and there was not even a single picture of him with a smile.

"You're going to marry Prince Erwien? Prince Erwien? Oh my God, Prince Erwien! Celeste, I'm jealous! I wish I were you!" Charlotte kept babbling, pinching her own cheeks, clapping her hands animatedly. Chelsea followed her babblings.

"Stop, stop," Celeste spoke immediately, waving her hands and the room fell into a deep silence. Her sisters, including Red, stared at her as they waited for her to continue. "There's no need to be jealous, and no reason to squeak like that, so shut up, 'cause it's driving me mad, because I don't want to marry him, Prince or not."

Red observed how devastated Celeste appeared, and she considered her feelings. Celeste was in love with her bodyguard but they couldn't be in a relationship in the fear of her dad finding out; she had only trusted her secret with Red, knowing she was faithful. Red opened her mouth but she wasn't quick enough.

"Are you serious? You're absolutely out of your mind!" Charlotte started incredulously. "Celeste, just think, it's the prince! The crown prince! How can you ever reject him?"

"How can you ever marry someone who don't even know—"

"It's not someone; it's the prince, for heaven's sake! Prince Erwien! Every girl wants him! You'd become queen, you'll the one to provide the heir—"

"Provide?" Red startled at the word. She wished if she could silence Charlotte with a snap of her fingers.

But Charlotte paid no attention to her. "If you're not going to agree, than I-I'll take the place! I want this desperately! I'll go and talk with Dad. I'll marry him, I'll become the queen, I'll provide—"

"Dad didn't agree, Charlotte." Celeste interrupted and Charlotte frowned, shrinking into her seat with a pout. "I told him already that you could take the place, but I'm the firstborn, it's only for me."

Charlotte scoffed. "I wish I was older than you. Why did I born after you? Why? Why?" Red shook her head at her and Charlotte saw it. "What? Just because you aren't interested in romance doesn't mean no one else want this."

Red dropped her gaze from her, pursing her lips. That was what she had told them, so that could stop them from questioning such as if she was sad for she was forbidden to marry. But only if they knew what she longed for deep inside her.

"Come on, this is what every girl want, every girl wish for and you got it but you're unbelievable! You're the most luckiest girl in the world, and don't ruin it."

Celeste dismissed her sisters and got down from her bed, walking over to the settee Red sat on and sat beside her. Red met her hopeless eyes. "I'm really sorry about that." Red muttered with a frown.

"Red, don't." Celeste turned to plead. "You can help me, I know you can, and you must help me." She whispered so that her sisters wouldn't hear who had already started talking how it would be when one of them would become queen.

Red's heart started to beat faster. "Celeste, you know I can't... How?"

"You're powerful, Red Rose, you have powers. Just use them and help me."

Her eyes widened and just one thought of using her powers made her fill with fear. She did use her powers little, very little and that was her little secret, but she was still scared. "Are you mad? Have you forgotten how dangerous it is? It killed people and you're seriously asking me to help?" she scolded.

But Celeste didn't seem to care. "Please, help me; just do something like... just change Dad's mind or something—"

"What if it'll cause him something? Worse, to death. You know I can never control my powers, don't you? You know what they did to my parents. And I wouldn't dare use it. I'm sorry, Celeste, I wish I could help but I'm helpless."

Little did she know, in the future, she was going to ruin it.