princess can speak to those of our kind who cannot communicate with humans. One day, she may decide to lift her father’s law. So, I’m not proposing anything, Vivien, because I refuse to harm her.”
It seemed the duchess hadn’t expected that response from him, either. Vivien’s brief scowl morphed into a grin before fading into nonchalance. Her eyes gleamed bright. “You know, for a vampire, you’re very level-headed.”
“I’ve been around a long time.”
A moment of silence passed before she spoke again. “You are right.”
Her blonde hair swung mesmerizingly as she paced away. She glanced back at him, the shoulder of her dress slipping slightly to expose the smoothest porcelain skin. “But think. How will she fare when the entire kingdom fears her? You’ve heard of the recent town riots, I’m sure. Paimpont is a mess. They’re protesting her reign.”
Laurent shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He’d heard indeed. The other day, townsfolk had apparently pelted the town crier with rotten apricots. “Yes, but what does that matter? That throne is rightfully hers. She’ll become queen, whether they like it or not.”
“You forget the things that humans are capable of, when fear is a strong factor. But, what if the princess is assisted with her situation? She hasn’t faced her people in years, and they say such horrible things of her. Her little… gift of tongues is the bane of her parents’ existence. Think of how grateful they would be, if someone helped rid their daughter of her problem."
Laurent could barely follow the twists and turns of their conversation. First, Vivien wanted him to kill the princess. Now, the plan was to help her? “How could we possibly do that?”
“Not we, my dear, but she,” she replied, spinning to face him head on. “There is a witch who resides at the far end of Paimpont, just south of the pond. Her name is Ophelia; I’m sure you’ve heard of her—the only one willing to do both human and Darkling bidding so she can afford her drinking habit. She’s quite powerful and, to my knowledge, is one of the only witches accustomed to interacting with the townsfolk on a regular basis. She should be more than capable of crafting some spell or elixir to cure the princess.”
Laurent could only stare. If he wasn’t mistaken, Ophelia was a transplant. She certainly wasn’t descended from any of the original witches who’d settled alongside humans in Paimpont. Still, word of her arrival years ago had spread like wildfire; Ophelia quickly made a name for herself as the town enchantress, unique in the fact that she made a living by bartering simple spells and charms in exchange for goods.
In that way, magic was useful in a pinch, good for removing coffee—or blood—from garments, or keeping insects off one’s crops. But Laurent had never heard of the kind of magic capable of purging an entire language from a person’s linguistic arsenal. Such a spell or potion would surely require the very type of dark ingredients and magic prohibited by kingdom law. Ophelia could be executed on the spot, were she discovered practicing it.
The irony of it all promptly shattered his disbelief. Laurent covered a dubious smirk with his palm. “You humans only allow witches to reside among you because their powers are beneficial from time to time. Either that, or you’re afraid of what mischief they might get into if you didn’t keep an eye on them.”
“Irrelevant.” Vivien waved dismissively. “Drastic situations call for drastic measures. I have no real qualms with the magicfolk. They don’t have fur, or oozing warts, or fangs…” She suppressed a grimace before continuing. “The princess turns twenty years old in five days’ time, on the day of her ceremony. She has everything in the world she could want, except her public's affection. Ridding her of that useless ability would only be a boon to her.”
She was partially right, and he hated admitting it. But deep down, Laurent didn’t consider the princess’s unusual power useless at all. In the years following the discovery of her Darkling Tongue, Laurent secretly relished the idea of a monarch who would possibly be open to forging a mutually beneficial relationship with Brocéliande.
But instead, perhaps the girl’s ability would alienate her enough from her own people so that she would be unable to win their loyalty in the end. Such an outcome would not be beneficial to his cause, either.
Any other vampire would have jumped at the chance to kill a human noble. Regardless,