Chapter 5: Nicholas

I watched as my fiance slept in her corner of the car. I sighed, I know she doesn’t want to marry me, but the prophecy states that we must marry or else both of our people are doomed. Rick rolled down the divider halfway, “We should be there within the next hour.” I nodded,

“Thanks, Rick. Inform the guards immediately, I don’t want to keep my parents waiting, they expect to meet Aiday upon our arrival.”

“Already done.” I smiled, my cousin is always so prepared. I played on my phone for a few minutes, glancing back at my young bride-to-be. She’s so beautiful. I glanced back at my phone for a moment before I heard Aiday mumbling, I listened closer, but then she screamed. It scared me and I banged on the window which made Rick pullover.

“Aiday, wake up, it’s a nightmare!” I shook her, tears began rolling down her face, I felt a pain in my heart, seeing her so scared. What kind of nightmare could cause her so much pain? I continued to shake her until her eyes fluttered open. She was breathing heavily; I held her tightly in my arms, “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” I gave a light tap on the window and the car began moving once again. Aiday was shaking and tears continued to flood down her face. Doing my best to comfort her, I was tempted to use my powers to see if I could figure out what was wrong, but decided against it; she needs to trust me and won’t be able to if I pry into her mind. Her memories.

Aiday couldn’t sleep the rest of the way so she stared out the window, I didn’t know what to do. Seeing the castle in the distance, I looked back at Aiday, “We’ll be arriving very soon, you should inform your family so they know you’re safe.” she nodded her head slightly before pulling out her phone. Instead of calling, she sent them a text message; perhaps to make sure they didn’t sense something was wrong. I felt bad but slightly relieved she didn’t call them; I did my best to hide it, but her brothers were terrifying. I placed my hand on hers, she looked over to me and smiled,

“I’m really hungry.” she told me, I smiled lightly,

“Alright, there should be food prepared so the moment we get there, I’ll escort you to the dining room.” she smiled and nodded, then it was silent again, but not for long until the roaring of Aiday’s stomach sounded through the vehicle, which made us both laugh.

As soon as we reached the castle, I stepped out of the car first and Aiday followed behind me. My parents stood at the top of the stairs; I walked Aiday up the stairs and straight to my parents, Aiday bowed her head, “Your majesties, it’s an honor to meet you both.” They welcomed her openly, the moment my mother asked her if she was hungry she nodded excitedly, it made me chuckle at how cute she looked. My parents walked us to the dining hall where there was a huge buffet laid out. I watched as Aiday got nearly everything on the buffet, I felt my fondness for her grow and smiled as she came to the table with a mountain of food.

“So, son, I received the email with this contract of yours. You want to wait another year? Whatever for?” Father asked me, Aiday was busy stuffing her face so I had no backup at the moment,

“We want to plan the wedding properly, plus, this will give us time to get to know one another better.” I stated, mom glared, 

“And whose idea was this? Yours or your brides?” Mother asked, I gave her a look,

“It was our idea. We know the importance of this match, but we just want a year to plan the wedding that we want.” Aiday did her best to stay silent, but I needed help, “Isn’t that right, darling?” I looked over to Aiday who froze, swallowing her food quickly,

“Right, dear. I’ve always wanted my wedding to be memorable and besides this being an arranged marriage, I want the wedding to be perfect.” I smiled at her. After she was finished eating, I walked her to her room, hoping to get her away from my parents for a bit until we had a chance to talk more.

Once I had Aiday settled in, I went over to the TV in her room and put on a movie, “Come, have a seat, let’s watch a movie before I have to get some work done.” Aiday didn’t say a word but sat down beside me, 

“When will we begin the preparations for the wedding?” she asked me, I was kind of shocked she actually wanted to plan the wedding, even when she wanted to find her mate.

“Whenever you want; we can now, if you’d like?” Aiday shook her head,

“No, I want to relax today, we have time to plan.” I nodded and we watched the movie in silence. 

When the movie was over, I looked over to see Aiday asleep. I smiled lightly; getting up, I grabbed a blanket and placed it over her and extended her legs on the couch and went over to the bed to get her a pillow and slipped it under her head. Seeing she was comfortable, I left the room. Amy was coming down the hall and I smiled at her, "Amy, it's good to see you!" Amy smiled and curtseyed,

"Your highness, I'm happy to see you returned safely. Is there anything I can do for you?" I thought for a moment then looked to Aiday's door,

"Yes, could you keep an eye on Aiday? She's asleep right now, but she was having a nightmare on the way over here so I’m really worried about her.” 

“Of course, I’ll look after her. Are you off to your office?” I nodded,

“Yes, I need to get some work done before we start making wedding plans.” she nodded and curtseyed again as I walked off to the office.

I sat at the desk in my office, going over forms and signing documents that needed my signature. After finishing a meeting over the phone with my sister in Paris, the door burst open to reveal a very pissed off mother, my mother. I heaved a heavy sigh before turning my attention to her, “Yes, mother, can I help you?” She slammed her hands on the desk and got as close as she could,

“How could you allow this? You know what happens if you two are not married!” she yelled, then my father came in, “Don’t you start defending him Justin, you were the one forcing this union just a few days ago!” My father didn’t say anything, but walked over to me and stood by my side. 

“Beloved, the prophecy says that as long as they are married before the blood moon, then we should be safe.” I looked up at him, 

“What do you mean?” I asked him, Father looked at me then mentally slapped himself in the face,

“Right, I didn’t tell you that part. Yes, if you and the young girl are not married by the blood moon, then the girl dies. It’s a part of her history, I’m sure she can explain.” I thought for a moment, did she know? Is that why she agreed to marry me? No, if that was the truth then she’d want to be married right away, not wait another year. I need to figure out what she knows, but first,

“When is the next blood moon?” I asked; my mother crossed her arms and looked at my father, 

“Tell him.” she said, I looked to my father once again,

“The day after her nineteenth birthday.” I tensed then placed my face in my hands. We really don’t have a choice, we have to marry or else, it will cost Aiday her life… On top of everything that I have to deal with, the coronation, getting Aiday settled in, and then the wedding. How am I supposed to keep the peace with all of this hanging in the balance?

“I need some time to think, please, leave.” I told them, they nodded and left. I decided to make a phone call to Jackson and find out exactly what Aiday knows; it was he and her father that were supposed to tell her everything. The phone rang three times before it was answered, 

“Hello?” I heard Jackson’s voice echo on the other line, 

“Jackson, it’s Nick, I need to ask you something.” I told him, “It’s about Aiday.” I heard his breath hitch,

“If it’s about whether she’s a virgin, I really don’t need the person you talk to about it.” Jackson said, sounding a bit scared. I chuckled,

“No, no, that’s not it. I figured she is anyway, wanting to save herself for her mate and all.” I told him, but then I turned serious, “I need to know what Aiday knows about why this match was arranged? Does she know about the prophecy?” 

“No, she doesn’t. All we told her was that if she didn’t marry you, the wolves and vampires would be at war. She doesn’t know anything else.” Just as I feared,

“Which means she doesn’t know about the blood moon either. I was hoping that’s why she said yes.” Then Jackson’s curiosity peaked, 

“Blood moon?” I couldn’t believe it, he didn’t know either,

“I just discovered this piece of information from my parents that they...conveniently left out when making the arrangements.” I stated, Jackson stayed silent, “If Aiday and I are not married by the day after she turns nineteen, not only will we be at war, but Aiday will die.” Jackson sat there, silent. “Should I tell her?” I asked,

“No,” he stated, “There wouldn’t be a prophecy like this unless perhaps you are her mate. Maybe my sister will be smart enough to tell us if you are before this happens.” I nodded,

“Perhaps. That’s all I needed, thank you, Jackson.” I told him and then hung up. Aiday doesn’t know a thing, and that’s how everyone wanted to keep it from her; so that’s what I will do, at least, until it is necessary.