The first pale fingers of dawn stretched across the sky as Princess Eleanor stepped out from the grand palace doors, her feet pausing on the marble threshold as if her body resisted the inevitable.
The air was thick with the scent of dew-kissed grass and the distant murmur of the waking city beyond the palace walls.
Beside her, her mother, Queen Isolde, walked with regal grace, resplendent in her blue robe, her hand resting lightly on her daughter's trembling arm.
Princess Eleanor clenched a handful of her silver-threaded lace gown as she stood upright and graceful. Her stance spoke of nothing like the terrors within her.
She was donning a beautiful silver threaded lace gown with its high collar slightly brushing against her throat like a ghostly hand, reminding her of the gilded cage she was about to enter.
Her chestnut hair had been braided with pearls, each one a weight she felt pressing into her scalp.
She was a beauty to behold but it was her wide , dark eyes that was shimmering with unshed tears that betrayed her carefully composed mask.
Behind them, her father, King Alaric followed. His heavy boots echoing like a funeral drum to her ears.
His face was stern and unreadable but his knuckles were white where they gripped the hilt of his ceremonial sword.
Outside the palace gates, a black-lacquered carriage waited, its doors emblazoned with the crest of the Vampire King, a crimson rose wrapped in thorns.
Princess Eleanor's breath hitched.
This is really happening.
She heared her father sighed before he said with a tone of finality, his voice cutting through the silence. "It's time to go".
Princess Eleanor's fingers twisted suddenly into her mother's sleeve, the fine fabric crumpling in her desperate grip as she turned to face her mother with her shimmering eyes, her lip parting in a silent plea.
Please don't make me do this.
Queen Isolde smiled at her daughter and cupped her face, her thumb brushing away a tear before it could fall.
"There's no undoing this, Eleanor ". She murmured. "And remember, you're doing this for us all. For our city. For our people."
At her words, Princess Eleanor wanted to scream, to fall to her knees and beg for another way, to defy the pact but she knew better.
The human and the vampire's races had maintained an uneasy peace, sealed by a centuries old pact which was to send a noble bride to the Dark Valley, the vampire's city every once in a decade as a token of allegiance and this time , she was the peace offering.
She had heard the stories that followed after they tried to defy the pact a long time ago , the villages were burned and the villagers blood were sucked dry.
Their terms were absolute. A noble bride as a offering each decade , or war. And war against the nightborn was a slaughter no kingdom could ever survive.
King Alaric stepped forward and tightly embraced his daughter, his tight embrace almost crushing the breath from her lungs.
"This is your duty". He said into her hair. "Be brave, my little star."
Brave.
Even the word itself felt and sounded like a joke to someone who was about to be sent to a den of monsters.
The Princess gently pulled back from her father's embrace , forcing a smile as she lifted her gaze to the sky.
The dawn was fading, swallowed by stormy clouds that mirrored the tempest inside her.
Somewhere beyond those clouds lay the Dark Valley, the liar of the Vampire King.
She had heard the whispers about his palace which was said to be a den of monsters and as she recalled the tales, she couldn't help but shudder.
No one had ever heard a thing about the previous ladies that had been previously sent to the Dark Valley.
Whether they were long dead or still breathing, no one knew.
And she couldn't help but wonder how she would end up.
Would he drain her blood dry on their wedding night?
Or would he keep her as a pet, a pretty thing to toy with ?
"My Lady". Her handmaiden, Liora whispered gently. "It's time."
Princess Eleanor flinched and inhaled sharply.
Her handmaiden, Liora, stood beside the carriage, her own face pale but resolute and she sighed.
At least she would not be alone.
With a final, trembling breath, she turned to her parents and bowed deeply, her visions blurring.
Then, before her courage could fail her , she walked toward the waiting carriage.
The carriage interior was plush, lined with velvet , the color of dried blood. And it was only when the door clicked shut behind her that she dared to look back through the window.
Her parents stood still in the palace archway, their figures growing smaller, more distant and insignificant as the carriage moved.
Just like her life.
And as the carriage lurched forward, a single tear rolled down her cheeks.
Liora's hand found hers quietly as she whispered. "I'm with you, you're not alone".
Princess Eleanor nodded and managed a small smile as she squeezed her hands back, her throat too tight for words.
Outside, the city she loved and had grown up in faded into the distance. And somewhere ahead lay the Dark Valley , a place where the sun never shone, and the stories spoke of horrors beyond imagining.
But for now, in the quiet of the rattling carriage, she clung to the one comfort left to her.
She was not alone.
Yet.