Bella Vita (51 page)

“
Derrick will recover
quickly. The vampires with him are already healed. Your grandfather
is on the mend faster than the doctors expected- perhaps they might
listen to you about your werewolf blood. Master Dominic is worried
about you, suffering from a killer headache, but otherwise fine.
The wolves seemed to escape the evening without even a scratch.
Michael is resting, but he is fine. We have given him some vampire
blood. Perhaps when you've healed yourself more, you'll provide
some of your own. I hear that the bond you two share was created in
blood and that it somehow allows for your bloods to help each
other.” Yasmin tried to keep the emotion and her opinions out of
her words- I could still tell that she was not comfortable with
werewolf blood or my mixed relationship with Mike.

“
Once again, thank you.” I
smiled at her.

“
I've had your attire laid
out, a bath drawn for you, and there are several stylists that
would like to help with your hair, nails, and makeup. They're
waiting for you to have had your bath and then will come in and
tend to you.” She smiled and stepped to the door.

“
Thank you, Yasmin. Please
let Dom know I'm up now.” I turned to the bathroom.

“
As you wish, Mistress
Emma.” She left the room.

The hot water helped release the tension I
wasn't able to heal out of me. The wolf blood was racing through my
system- I could tell it was dimmed because of the mixture between
Acacia and Mike. But I knew that it would help me recover from last
night. I sighed.

“
What a lovely sound to
hear after fearing that I had lost you, again.” Dom's voice seemed
to lap at me as the water did.

“
Dominic! Don't you knock?”
I said in mock horror.

“
Not for my wife. And not
when I was afraid I had lost you again, Emma.” He knelt next to the
tub.

“
Well, you can obviously
see I'm fine.” I splashed water at him- he was wearing a black tank
top and loose pants.

“
Do you mean to declare
war, my love?” Mischief sparkled in his dark green eyes.

“
Perhaps, I am.” I splashed
him again, it felt good to joke with him.

“
I promise I shall win.”
His smile cocked to the side and he raised a brow.

“
Oh, is that so?” I
couldn't help but rise to the challenge and I pulled him into the
tub, laughing.

“
Emma!” He laughed as he
shouted my name.

“
Oh, what happened to Mr.
I'll Beat You?” I snickered at him.

“
This one.” He pulled me
close to him and kissed me hard.

My arms wrapped around him. My fingers
wandered into his beautiful blonde locks- knotting into it. I
stopped my normal breath. I needed and wanted only to breathe him
in. His tongue shot out and teased my bottom lip.

“
Dom... you must control
yourself because I know I can't.” My mouth curled into a wicked
smile as I pulled him further into the tub and on top of
me.

“
Then I shall.” He pushed
me against the back of the tub and kissed me until I thought my
mind would melt out of my ears- and just as quickly he was out of
the tub, walking away chuckling. “I'll send in your prep team to
start setting up.”

I sat shocked in the water.

You bastard!
I shouted after him once my mind kicked back
in.

Told ya I'd win. Perhaps we
can play some more later.
His whispered
words caressed me just as his hand had- I shivered.

“
That is just plain evil.”
I said to no one in particular.

It took my team of stylists about an hour
and a half to have my hair, nails, face, and appearance up to what
they called 'appropriate'- I'm still not sure what the fuss was
for. I wore a royal blue satin dress. Small delicate crystals were
sown on the bodice and trailed down the back. My hair was pulled
back into an elegant bun, with several loose tousled tresses to
frame my face. A pale clear sparkle lacquer covered each of my
nails- even my toes in the beautiful blue heels. A diamond choker
wrapped around my neck, with an intricate craved version of my
family mark hanging from it in sapphire.

Mia
principessa
, are you ready?
Dom's voice seemed to sparkle in my thoughts-
much like the diamonds I wore.

Yes, I am. Are you to fetch
me then?
I wasn't sure how all this
progressed.

No, you'll be escorted to
me... usually it would have been by your father or grandfather, but
we're setting new standards.
I could feel
him smile.

There was a gentle knock at my door.

“
Enter.” I called
out.

Mike stood in my doorway, wearing a black
tux, with a royal blue handkerchief in the left breast pocket and
royal blue tie. He matched my attire perfectly.

“
I don't understand...” My
mind raced as soon as I saw him.

“
Some things you don't have
to, Em. Merely enjoy the fact that someone else thought of it.” His
smile was brilliant and happy.

“
Fine.” I pouted but
decided that I can handle whatever lays ahead of me.

“
Milady.” He held out his
arm for me.

“
Why, thank you, kind sir.”
I took his arm and let him lead me to the double doors that would
mark the beginning of my walk to royalty- thinking about it, I
realized that it was similar to getting married.

“
Smile, Em.” He whispered
to me as the doors were opened.

What the holy hell is going
on?
I sent the message to Mike and
Dom.

Patience, all will be
explained in time,
mia
bella
.
Dom
responded.

There was a small gasp throughout the room
as I was led into the room by a werewolf. Halfway down the long
aisle, Dom stepped up, dressed the same as Michael, and bowed to
him. I knew I went crazy because I knew that when Dom bowed to Mike
it signified that we publicly recognized werewolves as our equals.
I never thought that Dom would do such a wonderful thing. Mike
returned the gesture and then handed me off to Dom after repeating
the process with me and kissing my hand. I curtsied and transferred
arms.

Oh my goodness! Dominic! I
love you more than you even know right now.
I sent him the message as we walked down the rest of the
way.

We're a team, now and
always, my little Emma bird. Together we stand united with our
friends- the ones you made me realize are our friends. Today will
start a new beginning for both our peoples.
His words held the hope for a future I had imagined so
often.

A voice boomed above us,
“Sirs and ladies, I here present to you Queen Emma and King
Dominic, our undoubted Queen and King, a
ll
of you who came on this day declare your homage and service, are
you willing to do the same?”

The room erupted in acclimations and words
of happiness, “Let them rule with our power and blessings.”

“
Madam and Sir, are your
Majesties willing to take the Oath?” The male voice
continued.

“
We are willing.” We
replied in unison.

“
Will you promise and
swear to protect and govern the vampires of the world, with respect
to each of their respective customs?” He asked.

“
We solemnly swear this.”
A cheer went up.

“
Will you use your power
to cause justice, law, mercy, and respect to be executed in all
your judgments?” He continued.

“
We will.” I knew a
similar speech was used when the British swore in their
royalty.

“
And do you swear to
consult with the heads of each governing area in all your
decisions, taking in their words and concerns, while protecting the
vampire people as it has been deemed the vampire way?” His words
seemed to be extra crisp with the vampire way.

“
We will and we will also
respect the various other supernatural communities. Bringing the
communities together.” Dominic fed me the lines and we spoke them
together.

There was a slight shuffling of feet and a
small rise in whispers.

“
These are the things that
we promise, we will perform and keep. This is our will.” We
ended.

A sword, two crowns, two rings, and a
crystal ball were brought forward on a crushed blue velvet
cushion.

“
King Dominic, this sword
is presented to your Majesty in hopes that your Majesty will never
use it in vain, rather that it be used to administer justice to the
terror and wrongs of evildoers, and for the protection and
encouragement to all those that do well.” The robed man brought the
sword forth and laid it on Dom's open palms- I could see that there
were elaborate cravings in the metal.

“
Queen Emma, this crystal
is presented to your Majesty in hopes that your Majesty will never
use the power and knowledge that comes from our natural gifts in
vain, rather that these gifts will be used to further the
prosperity of the vampire people.” The man placed the clear orb in
my left hand- I could instantly see images waiver within the
ball.

“
Your
Majesties, r
eceive these rings of
justness and mercy. Be so merciful that you be not too remiss, so
execute justice that you forget not mercy. Punish the wicked,
protect and cherish the just,
and lead your people in the way wherein they should go.” He slipped
a gold ring on each of our right hands- there was elaborate weaving
of knots on the outsides of each ring, and inside the center was
the combination of the DeDominico and Hutchinson family
crests.

Dominic and I both knelt before this man as
he continued with the ceremony.

“
These crowns of the
faithful: blessed be these crowns, and so blessed your Majesties
Emma and Dominic upon whose heads this day we place them for a sign
of royal majesty, that they may be filled by abundant grace with
all virtues: through the will of their people and the beliefs they
will uphold.” We bowed our heads and clasped hands as he placed a
golden crown on each of our heads- mine was a more refined version
of Dom's but they were both shaped with greater spires in the front
and then tapering off ones in the back, the tops held emblazoned
sapphires and diamonds.

A great many shouts went up as we raised our
heads and rose to our feet.

“
Be strong and
of good courage, your Majesties.” He concluded and
bowed.

The entire room seemed to follow suit. In the
back of the room, I saw my grandfather and family. Dom's family was
standing next to them. Apparently in our customs, the people come
before our families- or so it was indicated by the way the room had
been laid out.

For the next two hours we sat and greeted the
people that came before us. The sword and orb had been taken to
where they would sit until they were needed. I didn't want to know
why I was given a seer's ball or Dominic a weapon so fine that I
was certain it could easily cut down everyone in the room. Instead,
I focused on finishing up with the congratulations and
blessings.

We had a brief window between the coronation
and conference. Dom and I raced to change. We had agreed to appear
in a warrior gear similar to the one I wore the other day. Mike and
the wolves had been invited to sit with us. I suggested that they
dress similar to us, they agreed. Everything seemed to be about
giving the appearance of being a united front- something that
whoever was against us strived so hard to ensure didn't happen.

When we entered the room, a hush fell. Dom,
Mike, Acacia, and I stepped on the raised platform. The two other
wolves took up a station on either side of the stage with our
security. We allowed a moment for the shock to spread and run its
course before I stepped forward.

“
We thank you, ladies and gentlemen for
attending not only our coronation, but also our first conference as
your royalty. We will take questions at the end of this. Until that
time, we expect that all commotions be kept to a minimal, as we
have much to say.” I took a delicate sip of the blood water that
had been placed on the stand for me, this gave the people in the
room a chance to settle in.

“
We are declaring our allegiance to the
werewolves. We stand before you as a united front against whatever
shall come our way. We are certain that you'll have questions
regarding this decision, please hold them until we're done. On
another front, we're here to inform you that we're at war with an
unknown source. We believe it to be dark spell casters. Do not
confuse these people with the witches and warlocks that we find
within our own communities. The reason for this war has not been
brought to light as of yet. But we've already won the first battle.
We don't expect to win this without any loss, particularly as we've
already lost several lives to these monsters. These crimes will not
go unpunished. We shall fight these beasts on all fronts.” I sipped
my water again.

“
In our first battle, we were assisted
by the wolves- in fact, if it was not for the bravery of Michael
O'Shanold, we wouldn't be here today. We want to make it clear that
although we've won one battle, this is far from over. We ask that
the people use common sense, but don't give in to panic. Extra
security will be placed in cities and patrols will be circulating
through the smaller provinces. We also ask that anyone that has
military experience, battle experience, knowledge of such things,
or has a natural affinity for fighting come to the palace barracks.
This is the first battle that we as vampires will not cower from,
rather we will face it head on. Since the werewolves are fighting
this same problem, we're also offering our aid to them. We are at
war and we aim to win.” I smiled, stepped away from the mic and sat
back down.