by Mia Taylor
Something bad is about to happen…
“As many of you know, Vivier is a free spirit, a wild child, if you will,” King Emile said, smiling affectionately at his son, but Vivier was no fool. He could read the near anger in his father’s dark blue eyes. There was no amusement or banter in his face.
The crowd tittered and nodded in agreement.
“We have tried time and again to settle him down, but he resists with that fighting Diederich spirit.”
Again there were giggles in the audience.
“But he is a prince,” King Emile continued. “A sworn official in this wonderful country, one who has responsibilities not just to this kingdom but to all of you.”
Gooseflesh exploded on Vivier’s arms.
“Papp, what is this?” the prince growled in a low tone, away from the microphone, but the king ignored him and continued with his rehearsed speech.
“I am here to announce that his mother and I are finished with his games, his petulance, and his disrespect of us and of this royal entity.”
It took several seconds for Emile’s words to settle in, but when they did, a shocked gasp filled the hall. Vivier felt his blood turn to ice chips and he stared at his father uncomprehendingly.
“What does that mean?” the prince hissed in a low tone, blocking out everyone but his father. “You’re disowning me?”
“Of course not,” King Emile laughed, but the party was suspended, holding their collective breaths to hear what he was driving at. “You’re my only son, my heir, and a prince. Family is everything, after all.”
Vivier waited, his breath caught in his chest as he anticipated the next words.
“But if you aren’t married by your next birthday, we will be revisiting the issue.”
Vivier’s mouth dropped open as a wave of excitement flowed through the room like electricity.
“This is not medieval times, Papp!” Vivier screamed furiously, forsaking stature or decorum. “You can’t do this!”
“As long as I am king, I can enforce whatever law I deem fit to best rule this country. You may return to your suite now if you so desire,” the king told him calmly. “The rest of you, eat, drink, enjoy the party!”
Vivier watched as his father shuffled his mother from the stage, his heart pounding in rage.
This is the most ridiculous bluff yet, he thought. But to broadcast it in public—our PR agent is going to lose his mind when he finds out what Papp just did.
The realization did nothing to alleviate the betrayal that Vivier was feeling.
He thinks he can give me an ultimatum like this and I will just cave? He doesn’t know me at all then.
Chapter Three
What Are You Going to Do About It?
The humiliation of what had happened burned well into the night although Vivier had hastily excused himself from the party immediately following his father’s announcement. He could think of absolutely no reason to stick around after that.
If anything, his feet seemed to be on fire as he raced back up the stairs and avoided speaking with a single other soul as he moved.
The remainder of the night, he had paced his suite as if he were suffocating inside its walls despite the fact that the room was larger than some apartment complexes in Luxembourg City.
He couldn’t get his mind to function properly as he considered the embarrassment of what his father had done.
And with my mother’s permission. She could have forewarned me about this. Instead, she led me to the slaughter in front of everyone. What is this?
The more Vivier thought about it, the more his rage mounted and he was consumed with the desire to do damage to something.
Whatever they think they are going to accomplish with this underhanded ruse is going to backfire, he thought.
Through the sitting room he wandered, up the steps to the bedroom and onto the terrace which overlooked the quaint city he had known his whole life. Le Jardin de Luxembourg surrounded his eyes and he wondered if there was another place in the world as beautiful as the one he called home.
He’d traveled everywhere, he felt, seen everything, and truthfully, he believed that his family’s tribe had settled well in the quaint, tiny country.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, he reminded himself. It is not beautiful to be a figurative prisoner of your parents’ twisted desires. What is their rush to see me married? They are both young enough to reign for years to come. How does it benefit them if I wed?
Vivier knew the answer. The king wanted to exert his power, something he felt he was losing over his son. The struggle had been going on for years and it was no secret that Emile felt he was losing his grip.
He can’t disown me, Vivier thought with a growing confidence. No matter what he claims. There is no one after me. There hasn’t been a royal baby born in over four hundred years. His only hope to keep this family alive is through me.
But something had changed with King Emile’s announcement, something which bothered Vivier more than anything his parents had ever done before.
They outed me before the people, the very people I am expected to reign over one day. How can I rule a kingdom when my parents have made me a laughingstock?
Emilie’s mocking words echoed ceaselessly through his ears.
I will have the last laugh here. They forget that I’m in possession of secrets too, family secrets, tribe secrets.
He felt slightly shamed at the thought but quickly dismissed his guilt. After all, his parents had called that upon themselves. He had done nothing to deserve such disrespect.
Vivier did not remind himself that he was the reason for his own folly. The years of partying and debauchery, of womanizing and throwing caution to the wind were finally catching up on him.
What else am I supposed to do? Eternal life is not all it’s promised to be.
“Prince Vivier, you should not be out here without your detail,” Jacques told him, appearing at the doorway of the elegant balcony. “Please come back inside where you are not so visible.”
Vivier scoffed.
“Are you a ghost?” he demanded, turning to face the older man. “How do you always manage to sneak in here without my hearing?”
Jacques ignored the question and stared at him imploringly.
“Please, Your Highness, step inside,” the advisor said again. “It is unsafe for you to be here unattended.”
“Didn’t you hear, Jacques? I am not anyone to be taken seriously. There is no cause to assassinate me now. No one will miss me if I’m gone.”
He gave Jacques a scathing look.
“And what is it I have to fear anyway? It’s not like I’m going anywhere. It seems to me the biggest threat I face is that of my parents.”
Jacques stared at him with runny red eyes and Vivier peered at the man as if seeing him for the first time, something chilling occurring to him.
“Did you know about this?” he asked, narrowing his jade eyes in suspicion. “Did you know my father had planned that farce downstairs for tonight?”
Jacques hung his head and Vivier felt a pang of betrayal.
Why am I surprised? Just because he’s supposed to be my advisor doesn’t mean he doesn’t work for my father.
“I had suspected he was planning something but I was not sure what,” Jacques confessed. “I didn’t know he would do that specifically.”
“I appreciate the loyalty and forewarning,” Vivier snapped sarcastically, turning back to stare into the gardens. “Thank you for being such a loyal servant.”
The dark was beginning to lift, indicating that dawn would soon be breaking, but the tiredness that daytime usually brought with it was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t sure he’d ever sleep again, day or night.
“What are you doing here, Jacques?” the prince demanded. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be? Like licking my father’s boots?”
“I wanted to see how you are doing, my prince,” came the humbled reply.
Vivier snorted wit
hout turning.
“How am I doing? I was not only given the most ridiculous ultimatum a man can get in this day and age, I was issued it before hundreds of witnesses. Do you know what’s going to happen now? Every available female in the royal world is going to come panting at the door.”
“If I may, Your Highness, I believe that was done for purposes different than what you believe.”
Vivier whirled and glared at Jacques.
“If you believe it was done for any reason other than for my father to show the world that he is King of Luxembourg and assert his power, you are mad.”
“I think you often see your father and mother in a worse light than they are,” Jacques told him gently. “They want what is best for you, just as any parent wants for their child.”
“And what is best is that I am forced into a loveless marriage?” Vivier chortled mirthlessly. “You are either brainwashed by their rhetoric or you think me stupider than I am. Either way, this conversation is over, Jacques. Be gone now.”
Defiantly, Vivier stuck his fine jaw forward and crossed his arms over his chest.
Jacques sighed and through his peripheral vision, Vivier saw him shake his head.
“Prince Vivier, you should look at this as an opportunity to better yourself, not act out further,” Jacques offered and more consternation flooded through the younger immortal.
“I do not act out!” Vivier snapped. “I speak out against injustice! I should not have to explain myself to anyone, least of all the lackey who does my bidding!”
Jacques did not answer and when he turned, Vivier realized the advisor had left.
The prince wondered if he’d finally gone too far with his abuses but he couldn’t talk himself down from his own indignation.
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Vivier thought angrily, watching as the brilliant light of day struggled to poke through the grey of the morning. He is a puppet for my father. He does not have my best interests in mind. No one in this country does. No one in the tribe does. I’m alone here.
Not wanting to face the sunlight and craving only the darkness of night, Vivier retreated into the suite, his mind still whirling as he shut the heavy drapes and encumbered himself in the blackness.
He expects me to marry in six months. What a joke. Who could I even find in that time?
Grimacing, Vivier realized he was entertaining the idea and he loathed himself for it.
No, I won’t do it and I can’t be forced into it. I don’t care what happens. I’m not doing it. I’ll deal with whatever the aftermath might be.
He plopped onto the sofa in the front room, staring blankly at the black screen of the television.
Suddenly, he was overcome by tiredness, the events of the night draining him instantly.
My head isn’t clear. I must rest and decide what I am going to do about this blatant outrage when I wake up.
He closed his brilliant eyes, sitting back and allowing sleep to overtake his body.
Things would be clearer after a few hours of sleep, of that he was certain.
~ ~ ~
“Vivier, wake up!”
She did not touch him but the sharpness in her tone startled him from his deep, semi-snoring slumber. The prince hadn’t even realized he’d fallen into a deep sleep before hearing her voice.
“Mamm, what is it?” he grumbled, pulling himself upright and rubbing his eyes in annoyance. “I barely slept.”
“I was also entertaining until almost dawn, Vivier,” the queen snapped. “And yet I am dressed and presentable to do the work which needs to be done today. And I’m two hundred years older than you.”
“And yet you’ve taken the time out of your busy schedule to issue me a lecture?” he retorted, folding his arms defensively across his chest. “I got your message loud and clear last night. No need for a follow up on the matter. But thank you for stopping by.”
“Good,” Isadora replied crisply. “I’m glad you finally understood the seriousness of what was said. I will assume that means we are all in agreement on what needs to be done here.”
“I am not marrying some vapid duchess to appease your sense of royalty,” Vivier snapped. “I’m not going to find some weak-blooded immortal to hopefully continue a near-dead family tree. And I don’t care what you threaten me with. The subject is closed.”
Isadora’s mouth became a fine line of disapproval.
“Such a stubborn boy,” she muttered. “You are just like your father. It’s a small wonder that you two cannot see eye to eye on any matter.”
“Then you admit he is being ridiculous!” Vivier cried, sitting up fully and staring imploringly at her. “Tell him to recant what he said and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”
Or at least I’ll pretend I have forgotten. I’ll never really forget that slight as long as I draw breath.
“Your father is not being ridiculous. He is trying to make a man out of you, something you refuse to do for yourself. Isn’t it high time you finished acting like a child?”
“I am not a man?” Vivier yelled, color painting his face crimson. “How dare you?”
“See? Even now you act like a child. Show some respect for your mother,” Isadora said coldly. “And lower your voice before the guards come in.”
Vivier clamped his lips together and glared at her.
“Your father has sent me here to speak with you,” she continued, turning away from him, and in spite of his anger, Vivier marveled at how handsome a woman was his mother.
She was ageless, an ice queen frozen in time whose flawless complexion seemed to defy gravity.
No one would ever guess that she is over six hundred years old. She is ten generations of her line in one woman.
It was the only way for them to be accepted without question, after all. Isadora would eventually become another female just as Emile would become another king. They had been passing themselves off as others for centuries.
“He could not come himself, I suppose,” Vivier retorted caustically, ignoring his mother’s attractiveness. Nothing would distract him from his ire. “There is no audience to welcome him, after all, no photo op.”
Isadora’s scowl deepened and her eyes became slits.
“I want you to listen to me carefully and not speak a word until I have finished saying what needs to be said.”
He gritted his teeth but remained silent.
“His order remains firm. You are to marry by your next birthday. You may continue to live your life in the careless, carefree fashion you have maintained, but at midnight of January 1st, you must be bound into a legal marriage.”
Vivier stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
“That’s it?” he demanded, his face screwing into a pinched expression when she didn’t continue. “That’s what I have to listen to?”
“If you decide that you will not abide by these terms, you will find many unpleasant changes in your future,” Isadora told him, her luminous jade eyes resting on his face.
“Such as?” he challenged. “What else are you going to threaten me with, Mamm?”
She sighed and spun away again in exasperation.
“Before you make any anger-inspired decisions, Viv, I urge you to consider carefully. You have not seen an iota of what your father can do when motivated. You think you have seen him at his worst but I promise you, that isn’t so.”
She slid gracefully toward the doors but Vivier called out after her.
“I will not be strong-armed into making such a choice. It is a marriage, not a pet choice, Mamm! How can you condone this? I thought you were stronger than this!”
Isadora paused at the threshold and turned to stare at her son pityingly.
“If you believe that marriage is much more than choosing a pet, you are much younger than I thought. I would have thought by now you’d be much smarter. Please don’t prove me wrong.”
She disappeared without another word and Vivier leapt to his feet off the couch.
&nbs
p; I have to get out of this place, he decided, hurrying to change from his rumpled tuxedo into more casual clothes.
As he stepped from his suite, his private security followed on his heels silently.
“Make yourselves scarce,” he muttered at them, leaving them almost in his dust as he ran down the servant stairs and into the kitchen where the staff was in full employ.
Through the din of pots and pans, he made his way, ignoring the wide-eyed stares of the employees.
It was not every day that the prince graced them with his attractive presence but Vivier was not there to stay. In fact, he rather wished he hadn’t made such a spectacle of himself now, but it was too late to reconsider his path choice. He only wanted the cover of the galley to make an escape without seeing his parents.
“Gudde moien,” the chefs called out brightly and Vivier nodded as he found himself in the courtyard finally, his detail struggling to keep pace with him.
He crossed the space between the exterior wings and into the garage, hopping into the cherry red Lamborghini Huracan and pulling out of the building before his guards had even reached the structure.
He would undoubtedly leave them well behind but he had no qualms about doing it. It wasn’t like he needed them, even on a good day.
And that was certainly not a good day.
They were proving to be more of a nuisance than assistance, hindering the most basic activities with their over-the-top security measures.
Luxembourg was hardly a high-risk country and the royal family was well respected, even by the most liberal minds.
Papp has me to thank for getting the liberals on our side, he thought bitterly. But I doubt he will acknowledge that any time soon.
The Deiderich family had had a long-standing conservative view of the world. It was not until Vivier had begun dragging his rigid family into the twenty-first century that the liberal side began forsaking their crusade to abolish the monarchy.
Some of the people don’t think I would be a terrible leader, he thought, pulling the stunning car into the parking lot off Avenue John F. Kennedy. He was already standing in line at Starbucks when Hans and Felix pulled into the coffee shop.
