Ch 21: Insults

Aribella POV

“You will be starting your royal training tomorrow,” Rhory walked beside me as we toured the sections of the castle that I hadn’t seen yet.

“What exactly will that consist of?”

Rhory let out a soft chuckle, “Dinnertime manners, dancing, and lessons on proper etiquette when speaking to others. You will also work with someone on your ability to answer politically correct questions regarding the nation.”

“Why do two of those three things feel personal?”

He chuckled again, this time seemed more natural, “I won’t lie to you and say I don’t think you need them. I’ve watched the way you speak when your guard is down, and I have to say,” he turned his face towards me, and I noticed that he was clean shaven. “It’s peculiar.”

“That’s a nice way to say I don’t have manners.”

Rhory shakes his head, “I find your personality to be quite interesting, but not particularly suited for a Queen.” There was a brief moment of silence before he spoke again, “I hope you won’t take offense to that. I know that it’s not something that everyone has drilled into their brains since birth and I don't hold that against you.”

“Maybe my personality will garner support because I’m not fake with a pompous golden stick up my ass,” I tried to convey my irritation from his clear insult through my eyes. “And it was you who made me promise to be myself around you.”

Emrys snorts, as does Rhys who is walking towards the back with Kaelar, “Is that what you think of me?” Rhory stops in his tracks, turning towards me with a raised brow. “That I have a,” his face scrunched as he began to speak using my foul language. “Golden stick up my ass?”

“I think we’re all standing around here pretending to be someone we’re not, but I haven’t seen how you interact with the public. So,” I tapped my chin, “That’s to be determined.”

“The public loves me,” Rhory gasps. “You don’t think they see me the way that you are describing, do you?”

Emrys saves me from answering, “Sir, you are going to become the greatest King the nation of Sacaris has ever seen. Aribella is simply voicing her very wrong opinion,” his icy blue eyes pin me with a glare, but I brush it off, scrunching my nose at him. I know it's childish, but I'm not about to admit that out loud.

Emrys gives off massive golden retriever vibes. He’s not as tough as he pretends to be, and in the story, the only time he steps up is when he’s planning to avenge Rhory’s death.

“Speaking of civilians,” I purse my lips, “What’s the deal with the royal guard being treated so poorly?”

“What do you mean?” Rhory seemed genuinely confused.

“I was out with Kaelar in town and the children were terrified of him and called him a monster,” I frowned. “And when I came to the kingdom that very first night, the carriage was regarded in a similar manner and Reo said that the people aren’t supportive of the use of vampires within the kingdom.”

Rhory took a deep breath, “We’ll have to discuss this later. There are too many people around, but as of late, we’ve faced some challenges, but I didn’t realize that it had such a negative effect on our guard members.”

My brows pinched together. I don’t remember reading about any sort of challenges involving the royal guard or vampires themselves.

“So this is a new issue then?”

“There have always been those who oppose the use of vampires as protection,” Rhory frowned. “It’s the same as the royal hierarchy. Some believe we should adapt to other nations with a democratic system rather than a monarchy, but that’s not something that could happen here.”

I pushed my thoughts out of my head as I followed Rhory and Emrys throughout the castle. It was far larger than I anticipated, and there was a good chance that if I ever ended up on my own, I’d get lost.

I’d been to the guest wing and the ballroom. I’ve eaten in the royal dining hall, but there was also a public dining hall, and a servants dining hall. The west wing of the castle was Rhory and Mael’s parents, Johnston and Marielle Whitehall’s personal quarters.  They had their own set of servants, kitchen, and training facility.

The guard members who were not assigned to a royal family member were housed in the south wing of the castle, and attached to their living quarters was a large training facility where they practiced swordsmanship and hands-on combat training.

There were multiple gardens, as well as the royal stables.

As I walked through the stables, and pang of homesickness hit me, and I silently wondered how Peyton was doing back at the ranch. The way that we left things felt so wrong. I'd just finished telling him that I needed to find myself, and wasn't looking for a relationship of any sort, only for Rhory to drop down on one knee a few minutes later with a marriage proposal that seemingly came out of nowhere.

“You know,” Rhory tilted his head, a warm, knowing smile pulling on his lips. “You are welcome to visit home whenever you please. I can spare Kaelar for a few days.”

“I might just take you up on that,” I offer him an appreciative smile. I was only with them for a short time, but they were with Aribella for her entire life. Not only that, but they supported my decision to go to the castle without a second thought. My father didn't even try to talk me out of it, he simply trusted that I was making the right decision for myself.

That alone was more than my real parents ever did for me.

My eyes catch a large building in the distance, and I point towards it, “What is that place?”

“That is the royal prison. Hopefully you’ll never have to step foot in that place,” Rhory looks disturbed. “It’s not somewhere you want to find yourself, but it appears that it is lunch time. We should head back now.”

I nodded, though a chill ran through my body at the thought of what might lie beyond those walls.