When dusk had arrived and the tower was enveloped with total darkness, the high ceiling suddenly glowed and emitted golden light that illuminated the entire chamber—the same sun-bright light that Ana had previously seen inside the throne room. Erien came and explained that most ceilings in an elven home would automatically light themselves, most especially the rooms where the royalties stay. She further explained that it was a precautionary move the elves had since the day the vampires made themselves the elves' enemies.

"Do you mean this light is like from the sun and it could kill any vampire?" Ana had asked.

"No, Princess Ana," Erien answered, shaking her head. "You see, most vampires like to lurk in the shadows and catch unsuspecting—uh—victims by surprise and we elves wanted to keep our people safe from them. And we believe that the vampires hated anything that resembled the sun. That was why most of the colors you would see inside the castle is golden yellow. The elves and the vampires had forever been in constant war. It started several millennia ago, so far back that we could not even remember how the war had started."

Ana crossed her arms and sat on the bed. "Well, if they are at war then why would they even consider getting me married to that arrogant prince?"

Erien made a small giggle. Ana was getting used to Erien's constant giggling. "My mother had told me that five hundred years ago, the previous elf king, His Majesty King Ehrindil, was so weary over the war and several losses of good elves that he agreed with the previous vampire king to put an end to the war. Only, when both kings had mysteriously died a year after the betrothal was made, everyone thought the marriage would not be possible since it was also a known fact that a female born into the royal family, the Valentin, was so rare."

"Really? How come? I mean, so most of my relatives are men?"

"I don't know anything about that. We—we rarely discuss anything about vampires," Erien answered, the term vampire causing her to look a bit anxious.

So, Ana decided to drop the topic. Instead, she asked, "How am I going to sleep tonight if my room is this bright?"

The elf made another giggle. "Oh! Do not worry about that. Leave it to me. We elves can command to extinguish the light through our minds. It's a little trick that our parents had taught us."

"You mean you know how to use magic and stuff like that?"

Erien vigorously shook her head. "Oh, not like the magic that you are thinking of! We know magic, but that of the old kind. Mostly it's earth magic and healing magic. Our magic differs from the wizarding faction. Then there's the witch and warlock magic. Then there's the sorcery—we do not like sorcery. Evil stuff, you know?"

Elves. Vampires. Magic. Ana suddenly had the urge to grab a strong, fast-acting Tylenol then consult a shrink. Did they have any psychologists around here?

Later that evening, Ana was having her dinner of green and leafy food when the door swung open and revealed two females gliding inside her room. Erien suddenly stood beside her, as if the elf was seeking her protection.

The newcomers' faces were pale white, accented by severely red lips and rouge tints on their cheeks. They were both dressed in long black dresses, the hems sweeping the floor, and their hair was styled in a french twist. Their stiff posture, with their matching expressionless faces, gave them an eerie and intimidating aura.

To Ana's surprise, both females made a curtsy. The older of the two females, a brown-haired beautiful lady who looked to be around her late twenties, spoke in a deadpanned tone. "Your Royal Highness, we apologize for the sudden intrusion. My name is Lady Isobel Orlov. I have been sent by Her Majesty, the queen, to serve as your tutor."

The younger fair-haired female stepped forward; her lips were slightly titled to form a passable smile and introduced herself as well. "I am Lucya, and I am to be your lady's maid. We are at your service."

Ana let out a sigh of exasperation. She was used to serving other people since she used to work in a fast-food restaurant, taking orders from both nice and horrible customers. She never expected the day would come when lady's maids and tutors would be thrust towards her to be 'of their service'. It was bad enough to have Erien constantly offering to do everything for her, and now she had another lady's maid to open the curtains or style her hair or pour her a glass of water, making Ana feel utterly useless to fend for herself. She thought being royalty was good until she discovered the downside of being surrounded by servants—quivering servants to be precise since they were still afraid of her being a non-transitioned vampire. Although, some servants were bold enough to throw her hateful looks when they thought she was looking elsewhere. And since she was a royal prisoner, as what that brute-of-a-prince constantly reminded her, she also had guards watching over her—guards standing outside the door, below the balcony, outside the balcony... She absolutely had no privacy!

"I don't need a tutor," Ana said firmly. "And I already have a lady's maid." Erien gave the female vampires a haughty smile, looking apparently proud that Ana chose her over the vampire.

"But Your Royal Highness," Lady Isobel said, her beautiful face still devoid of emotions. "You will be needing help from your kind since you will be nearing your transition. Transition can be a very nasty business if not addressed properly."

The lady vampire had a point, Ana thought. What did she know about transitions and being a vampire? "How about my mother? Or my brother? They can help me."

"The queen is addressing a most pressing matter as we speak. His Royal Highness, Prince Kristoff, is dealing with the elven delegates about issues regarding Prince Adamar's death," Lady Isobel said.

Ana heard Erien gasp. Who was Prince Adamar?

"But the queen said that she might be visiting you tomorrow," Lady Isobel added.

Ana needed someone to explain things to her, most especially about her transition. So, she made her decision. "Okay. Fine. But I will still have Erien as my lady's maid." She was already fond of Erien, and she needed an elf insight about certain stuff.

Lady Isobel bowed her head. "As you wish."

Ana tried her very best to concentrate on what her tutor was teaching her that evening. Erien and Lucya were seated at the side with a very wide berth between the two, and they constantly had a battle of the dagger-throwing gazes. It was pretty obvious they had a small degree of disliking for each other, Ana observed.

"Are you listening, Princess Anastasia?" Lady Isobel asked. Ana was sitting behind her desk while Lady Isobel was standing at her side, a book in her hand.

"Yes. Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Please, go on."

"Hmm. Let's see now. Ah, yes. The Royal line. The Valentins have been on the throne since the day your great-great-grandfather defeated the previous monarch who ruled the kingdom Sanggre. Your late grandfather, King Dimitri, was the one who signed the betrothal contract with the previous elf king. Your mother, the current queen, is his daughter. As of date, she is one thousand years old. Your father, King Viktor who is of the same age as the queen, is her distant cousin. And since a female cannot rule over the kingdom, and since the late king had no other male heir, in order for the throne to be within the Valentin line, the late king chose your father to marry Princess Talya after giving a considerable amount of thought."

Incest? "How distant a relative is my father to my mother?" Ana couldn't resist asking.

"Very distant. Sixth cousin, to be exact."

Okay, that was acceptable. I guess, Ana thought.

Ana also learned that evening the things she would experience if she would hit her transition. And it would not be a pleasant one. Apparently, she would feel excruciating pain in her entire body since she would be developing certain changes from within. At first, she would start developing susceptibility to the sun's rays like all other vampires. She would eventually feel the thirst for blood then.

Drinking blood. Yuck! Was there any other way to get around her transition without shoving down blood in her throat? The only blood she could ever endure was betamax or dinuguan. She had asked that to Lady Isobel. Her tutor shook her head grimly. Great. She needed to drink blood, or she would die. Effin-tastic.

"And I would further advise you to remain within your chambers and avoid any male companion from now on until you've finished your transition," Lady Isobel said. "You are nearing transition, so you are emitting pheromones. You still have no control over the pheromones that your body releases until after your transition."

"What exactly are pheromones?" Ana asked, remembering how Ivan looked disgusted at her while accusing her of using pheromones to create trouble within the castle.

"Pheromones are like chemicals usually a female vampire excretes to attract or manipulate man. Female vampires are not as strong as male vampires, a sad fact that the queen is trying to change. However, we can use pheromones to protect ourselves from others if one uses it wisely."

"So, you mean we can seduce our way out of any situation, say, like being held captive by a brooding elf for instance?" Ana asked.

Lady Isobel gave her a very wide knowing grin. Erien frowned with disapproval. Well, why not try it one of these days? Not that she was good at seducing guys. She only dated like about two guys and her last relationship lasted for only four months until she was dumped—could you believe that she was actually dumped by that prick!—and replaced her with another girl whose wardrobe only consisted of micro-mini skirts and body-hugging, oxygen-depriving dresses. She was on the plain Jane department, that douche had commented. So, she wasn't exactly well versed in the seduction category.

Ana rested her elbows on her desk and propped her chin on her hands as Lady Isobel continued describing the other factions living within the realm of the enchanted. Lady Isobel explained that several gates or portals connected the Human World to Enkantria; one of the portals was in Elfiro. The portal was supposedly heavily guarded to prevent humans from passing through the gate. But when Ana pointed out that she saw no one when she stumbled upon the portal, Lady Isobel said, "I believe during that time, all warrior elves were at battle with the dark fae."

Ah. So, the black-armored knights were the dark fae. Why were they at war with the elves? She asked that to her tutor, too. "Most large kingdoms are at battle with one another. For supremacy, I surmised," Lady Isobel answered. "The vampires are constantly at disagreements with the elves most especially."

Well, that certainly explained why Ivan hated her. "You said my brother Kristoff is in a meeting about Prince Adamar's death. Who is he?" Ana witnessed the sad look on Erien's face from the corner of her eyes.

"Prince Adamar is Prince Ivan's brother," Lady Isobel answered, her voice devoid of any sympathy against the fallen prince. "He was captured when he tried to assassinate your father, and later on died when he was trying to escape out of castle Sanggre."

That sucked. Now she knew why Ivan hated her—no, hate is such a lukewarm word. Ivan despised her, her whole being, and her entire vampire family. In the prince's eyes, they were murderers. She clearly saw the hatred that seethed out of his amber eyes once when he had to endure her family's presence in the throne room. And probably that was why Ivan had surprisingly agreed with the betrothal because maybe he was planning on hurting her, to retaliate for the death of his brother. Ana shivered as the thought of Ivan beating her to death flashed on her mind.

betamax — street slang for grilled chicken blood

dinuguan — a stew made of bite-sized pork cooked in pig's blood