He looked as if he was carved from marble, by the Gods themselves, and not made of flesh and bone like everyone else. 

I decided to change his name from Crown Prince Worst to Crown Prince Breathtaking right then and there. 

Prince Itarus was as tall as his father, but much leaner. Whereas King Damien seemed like a mountain of muscle, Itarus stood long and limber. His face which should have seemed harsh from from all the sharp edges and angles to him, didn't. Perhaps, it was because of the lingering baby fat on his face which seemed to provide him with the balance of softness in exactly all the right places. His hair which was pitch black obviously came from his father's side of the family, though unlike his father's it was short and tousled, as if he'd run his hands through it one too many times. 

The only resemblance he held to his mother were his eyes. They were both the same pale shade of blue, like shards of ice, cold and piercing.

He was a vampire alright, no human man could look like that. 

As if he had felt my gaze on him, his eyes snapped to mine, those wintry eyes staring at me with an intensity I've never experienced before.

I couldn't read those eyes. 

I broke first, turning my attention to the red carpet beneath my feet, suddenly fascinated by the royal pattern decorating the thin fabric. I felt the heat rush to my face, the embarrassment settling on my cheeks and I knew I was slowly starting to match the pink of my dress.

But, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still staring at me, his heavy gaze burning a hole on the side of my head, yet I couldn't muster up the courage to check if my suspicions were correct. 

My neck felt stiff and I found myself holding my breath.

Breathe, Sunny, Breathe.

I was not prepared for the trio of vampires standing a few feet away from me. Despite knowing and having learnt about them, seeing them in the flesh was another thing entirely. 

I couldn’t help but shrink in their presence. Something about them unnerved me, and although I wanted to run, my body stayed disobediently still.

“Thank you for having us. Let us proceed with the engagement." King Damien said, his thick voice filling the large room.

Well, he clearly wasn’t a man of many words.

They turned to sit, and I was almost worried that the seat prepared for King Damien wouldn’t be able to fit him but thankfully he managed to somehow fit in just fine.

“We are gathered here today to witness the engagement of blah, blah, blah…,” I couldn’t focus on a thing the officiator was saying. 

My mind was still trying to process the reality of the situation. It was one thing knowing in my head that I had a fiance and it was another beast entirely to actually be next to him, in the same room, breathing the same air-did vampires even breathe? 

I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see if King Damien’s chest moved but it seemed immobile. There was no movement. Perhaps then they didn’t need air. I wondered just what else about them was different-did the Crown Prince think I was different?

 I tried to sneak another glance at him, but he was entirely out of view thanks to his mountain of a dad. 

He was probably used to all these beautiful vampire girls around him who didn’t have to worry about frizzy hair or bad eyesight. That was another thing I wondered about. Bad eyesight.  Could vampires have bad sight if they didn’t age like the rest of us?

A cough brought my attention back to the party.

“Princess Sunny, do you not want to sign the agreement?” 

“Huh?" I glanced up to see the officiator standing before me with a puzzled look on his aged face. "I'm sorry, what?" I squeaked out.  

A couple of giggles arose from the audience and out of the corner of my eye I saw my mother lightly shaking her head in disapproval.

Dang it. The ability to space out during royal gatherings and not be caught was a skill I had yet to master.

The officiator was holding a very legal looking document in front of me and there was already a signature on the bottom of it. He pointed to empty space next to it. 

“Princess, your signature?”

I was told that I would have to sign an engagement pledge during the party but apparently, I had just missed the entire content of what I was signing away on.

“Oh, uh, yes. Right.” I grabbed the pen offered to me and hastily signed my name where the officiator had pointed to.

A cheer of applause rose up from the guests and that was that.

I was now officially engaged. To a tall vampire. To the next King of vampires. To a vampire who was so good-looking, I couldn't even make proper eye contact.

The officiator opened his mouth to speak once more.

“Crown Prince Itarus of Eltenmar, and Crown Princess Sunny of Cronia have both agreed on the terms of their engagement and are now henceforth in bond to marry on the day Crown Princess Sunny turns 18.”

What? 

That was in the contract? Dang it. I should have paid attention. My 18th birthday was only 4 years away.

“Sunny dear, close your mouth,” my mother’s whisper floated over to me. “It’s unsightly to gape like that.”

My face settled into the practiced princess smile I had been taught since birth, but on the inside I was flipping tables and shredding up the engagement contract in a mad frenzy.

I only had 4 years of freedom left.

I could hear the words of congratulations rising up to my ears, but I couldn't feel any of the excitement the guests were displaying.

These people.

I gave the crowd a sharp glare.

You guys are celebrating the death of my freedom!

“Now we’ll have the first dance between Crown Prince Itarus and Crown Princess Sunny.”

Oh boy.