Prologue
Serenity Angelique d'Eliese, the seventeen-year-old heir to the French throne, seemed like the ideal Queen and wife for any nobleman or prince, but in fact she was just a normal person with almost normal problems. For a princess in that era in time, that is.
She lived in the Castle d'Eliese with her Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Isabelle, her late father's brother and sister-in-law.
Serenity's parents, Antoine d'Eliese and Marie de Boure, died in a carriage accident when Serenity was only ten years old. Her uncle promised to rule in his brother's place until Serenity reached her eighteenth birthday, now only two months away. With everyday that passed, her aunt and uncle urged her more and more to find a suitable husband.
But, alas, Serenity loved her life of freedom, without the hassles and responsibilities of a kingdom to rule or a husband to rule it with.
Serenity was not alone in this feeling either, for in the Spanish Monarchy, the future king was faced with the same situation.
Prince Endymion Phillipe Castille III was the only son of Queen Elena and King Phillipe Castille. He was tall, handsome and still quite young at the age of twenty-three. He was well educated in the maths and sciences, as well as the worldly ways of men, having been with many women in his short life.
Luckily for Endymion, none of the women he had been with had ever conceived a child, for which he was grateful because he wished for his children to be brought into the world by the woman he loved. But love didn't exist, at least not for Endymion, not anymore, so he remained in his world of loneliness and solitude.
Unknown to either of the royal heirs, the kings and queens of France and Spain were planning an arrangement behind the children's backs.
Chapter One
Prince Endymion's maids quietly folded his recently washed laundry, neither daring to say a word about the black corset that had been found underneath his bed or the lace undergarments that were hidden beneath his sheets nor taking the time to ponder who they might belong to IF indeed they did belong to the same person.
Endymion was known for his wide range or women callers and it was quite normal for him to have a different woman at each of the many royal banquets and balls. The last banquet was only two nights before and Endymion's date had been Beryl Saint Martine, an English noblewoman who was the daughter of one of King Phillipe's allies. A wedding for Endymion and Beryl would have been more than convenient for there parents, but Endymion felt no emotion towards Beryl, not too mention she was five years his elder.
Beryl Saint Martine was a beautiful woman, none could deny her that, with long auburn hair and green eyes, many men fell sway to her charms. However, when describing her other qualities, Beryl was lacing, such as her bitter personality and quite spiteful ways, always plotting and scheming against others to get her way.
How Endymion could stand Beryl was a mystery to many, sometimes even to Endymion himself. Endymion told himself the only reason he stayed with Beryl was because she was the first one to comfort him when he had been scarred by his first brush with love. Endymion had once been in love with her younger sister, Elisabeth.
Endymion had courted Elisabeth for three years, since they were both fifteen years old. They had grown up together as childhood companions and over the years Endymion had fallen for his friend, planing to propose to her on her eighteenth birthday.
Unlike Beryl, Elisabeth was a treasure, a shining jewel that everyone loved, but nearly six years ago, Elisabeth had been found brutally murdered on the morn of her eighteenth birthday.
~FLASHBACK~
Elisabeth sat quietly at her vanity, brushing out her long golden hair. She smiled softly as she thought about the last few days she had been spending with Endymion in Spain and was glad she could be with him on her birthday. Lately she noticed Endymion had been quite happy, giving her roses every morning and sneaking into her room to talk to her every night. He always had a twinkle in his blue eyes and a smile on his face. Perhaps, she thought, he is going to finally propose.
She blushed softly at the thought of her and Endymion as husband and wife and gently set down her brush and looked at herself in the mirror. She had long golden hair and bright green eyes with tiny, specks of blue in them. She had a beauty to her, quite like Beryl's, except her beauty was inward and outward.
She was kind and gentle, loving everything and everyone. She had a spark to her that Endymion loved, to be with Elisabeth made Endymion happier than he had ever been before in his life.
As she sat at her vanity, she saw a shadow flash past from the corner of her eye. She smiled softly and turned toward her room. "Endy? Is that you?" she whispered softly into her room. Elisabeth stood slowly when no answer came and she took a step forward. The shadow passed by the corner of her eye again, causing Elisabeth to wrap her arms about her shoulders, a wary apprehension of some foreboding doom flooding her senses. Again she quietly whispered her love's name.
"Endy?" she called. "Endy... This isn't funny anymore.. come out..." Her voice wavered, fear clearly evident there. Her body began to shake slowly as her eyes quickly, frantically searched the room. She felt a presence behind her and slowly turned to face whatever was there.
No sooner had she done this when she was pushed roughly against her bed, a pillow slammed against her face, halting her scream abruptly and blocking any view of her attacker. Her immediate reaction was to claw at whatever held her in place, gasping desperately for air as she did so, but barely receiving any. She grabbed at her attacker, only to have a scream rise in her throat as her hand encountered a sharp object, now deeply embedded there, then suddenly being ripped out.
The scream died in her throat because of her lack of air and her body writhed as she felt a hot burning rip of pain shoot up her body. The scream built and died in her throat again as she gasped for air. Stab after stab of pain ripped through her body, making it harder and harder for he to fight back. Tears filled her eyes as she mentally screamed for Endymion, for someone, for anyone who could save her.
Finally her scream broke free when she felt a hot rip of pain through her belly, only to have it muffled by the pillow. From the vanity mirror, all one could see was a dark figure stabbing and slashing at Elisabeth over and over again until her movements slowly and finally came to a stop. The figure slowly moved away from her, throwing the pillow to the side and looking down at its victim one last time, then disappearing into the night.
Elisabeth opened her eyes barely, enough to touch her hand to her stomach, feel the warm blood flood over her fingertips and see her once white sheets now soaked with blood. She took deep breath gathering all the voice she had to scream, even though she knew her life would be over soon, but she had to tell him. She had to tell Endymion good bye, that she loved him, and to never forget her. She opened her mouth to let the sound come out, but all that came out as Elisabeth lay there, breathing her last word was, "Endy..." in a barely audible whisper.
~The Next Morning~
Endymion smiled happily as he carried a tray of food to Elisabeth's room, checking every few minutes for the black velvet bow in his pocket, smiling when he felt the smooth velvet beneath his fingers. When he reached the door of her suite, he rapped slowly, calling her name.
"Elisabeth?" When no answer came, he slowly opened one of the large French doors, figuring she was still asleep, and stepped slowly into the small sitting room the separated her bedroom from the hallway. He stopped and listened for a moment to see if she was bathing and took a deep breath to smell for her rose soaps that he loved so much. But instead the smell of death filled his nostrils, immediately alerting his senses as he headed for the door that separated him from his love.
When he went to turn the door handle, he noticed his hand shaking violently. For some reason he knew today would change his life, and not necessarily for the better. Some evil foreboding was eating at his soul and sadness covered his face at the thought of what could be behind the door, but nothing prepared him for what he would see next.
He continued to her room, pushing the door open with his back, the tray dropping as soon as he turned around. Food and silverware flew to the floor, glass shattering at his feet, juice and milk spillover over the Oriental rug, but none of it phased him more than the sight of his love's mutilated body on the bloody bed.
He took a slow, staggering step towards her, then quickly ran to her, pulling her into his arms, shaking her. "Elisabeth!" He cried frantically, trying to wake her, trying to do something impossible. Slowly the realization came to his mind that no one could have survived whatever had happened to Elisabeth, but his heart would not listen. This couldn't be happening, he hadn't even proposed yet. How could the fates be so cruel?
All the emotions were too much for his eighteen-year-old mind and he fell to his knees, Elisabeth still in his arms as he screamed to the heavens.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
~END FLASHBACK~
Maids, servants, the king, queen and Elisabeth's family had all come running at the sound of Endymion's soul-piercing scream coming from Elisabeth's' room. When they had entered the room, Elisabeth's mother had immediately fallen into her husband's embrace, crying, he and Beryl both hugging her tightly. Elena had run to her husband's arms as well, crying for Elisabeth's and Endymion's lost love.
After that day, Endymion was no longer the happy and light-hearted man from before, closing his heart off to love and women. He swore he would never give his hear t to another, mainly because of his love and faithfulness to Elisabeth, but also because he was too afraid to love and lose again.
He told himself many times that Beryl only a distraction, a toy in some ways, until he found someone he could marry and rule with or until he was forced into marriage.
His father happened to be for the latter option. King Phillipe had been realizing he was not as young as he used to be and he knew that sooner rather than later, Endymion would have to settle down and marry or the kingdom would have to be ruled by someone else when Endymion died heir-less.
At the moment King Phillipe was planning another ball in hopes that Endymion would meet someone he would like to see more than once, and not just in his bed. That is why King Phillipe had specifically invited the heir to the French monarchy, Princess Serenity. As the last heir to the French throne and the last member of the family d'Eliese, the princess had led a very sheltered life, not knowing all the sins and scandals of Endymion's world.
Rumor had it as well that Serenity was a virgin, never really caring for any of her suitors. King Phillipe was rather surprised at this because Serenity was lovely vision like her mother Marie de Boure, with long golden curls and bright, cerulean-blue eyes.
Phillipe often told himself, had Antoine not married Marie, he himself would have. But he would always remind himself that was in the past and he had to worry about his son and Marie's daughter now. He owed Marie that much.
The ball was set to happen in one week, the invitations already sent out three weeks in advance. Phillipe hoped the princess would attend, and he knew if the current king of France still thought the way he did when he was a younger man, her presence would be ensured.
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