Emperor's New Bride
Chapter 1
It had been just a couple days since Marceline's death.
The Nightosphere Kingdom was struck with despair when the word got out that the young Abadeer queen was decapitated during a battle over territory with the Candy Kingdom.
Chaotic anxiety had ridden the Vampire Queen's land since her passing. What were the citizens to do without their beloved ruler? Establish a Republic in honor of The Queen? Not one citizen knew the rules to democracy, as they have lived under a monarchy for all of existence. The Empire was at stake of losing more than just its queen.
The Queen's younger and only brother, Marshall Drache Lee Abadeer III, was next in line to reign.
Marshall wasn't exactly "king material".
He was immature. Rowdy. Temperamental. Dishonest. Mischevious.
So much that the people of the Nightosphere Kingdom didn't even consider him to be liable of becoming their new ruler.
The younger brother of the vampire siblings was overwhelmed by the loss of his sister, as it was the exact same way their parents were killed in previous years, on separate occasions.
Three times he has lost a family member in this way.
Was the title of the monarch cursed? If Marshall were to take the thrown his sister left behind, would he eventually meet the same fate? How was he, a childish teenager, supposed to live up to the high standards Marceline set?
Marshall buried his face underneath his luxurious blankets, curling his body up into a ball, while the flames in the large fireplace emitted the only sound in the bedroom, crackle after crackle. He did not have long to ponder these worries.
His coronation was in two hours.
The prince, soon-to-be king, closed his eyes, still in his balled up position.
In just a couple of minutes, Marshall thought, one of the servants should be here to wake me up.
At 5 PM on the dot, there was a gentle knock on his bedroom's large wooden door.
Bingo. Ten points for Marshall.
"Good morning, Your Highness," a man spoke as he opened the door.
Bernard Noire. He was Marceline's best werewolf servant. Now, he's mine. Sigh.
"It is your Coronation Day. Have you gotten the sleep you need?"
Marshall Lee hadn't moved nor replied. Of course he had gotten enough sleep. Honestly, he had gotten too much sleep. He had spent a majority of these past couple of days laying in his bed, killing his mind with thoughts and trying to stop these thoughts by sleeping most of the time. Bernard knew that, though. He was just being kind.
Noire stared at the Marshall-sized lump on the long bed, still awaiting a reply.
Marshall was hardheaded; he wasn't going to say anything for now.
The servant understood this and let a thoughtful smile pass his lips. He quietly walked over to Marshall's bed and placed a delicate teacup and small plate of red breakfast foods on the nightstand.
Marshall's pointed ears twitched at the sound of the glass lightly clanging on the tabletop. He opened his eyes slowly and began to stretch his limbs, as he rid himself of the covers.
With a bad case of bedhead, under eye circles, and his pinky finger digging for gold in his right ear, the young king finally presented himself to his servant.
"I'm glad to see you're awake, Your Highness," Bernard said before bowing respectfully to his new king.
Marshall rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"You don't have to call me that, Noire."
Bernard raised himself to face the Abadeer son, "Oh, but I must. It's an honor to work under you, Your Highness."
Marshall sighed and looked at the plate of large, pink, strawberrry pancakes with whipped cream and cherries on top, a small side of raspberries, and a cup of hot tea, all prepared especially for him. Given that he has been of royalty his entire life, he was used to being pampered in such a way - but being served a full, healthy breakfast while still in bed? That was a stretch.
Bernard caught Marshall's gaze toward the food and chuckled happily.
"Eat up, Your Highness. The maids will be tending to you very shortly. You ought to have a full belly before your ceremony," Bernard said, bowing once more before heading back out of the master bedroom. The large wooden door shut gently behind him.
"Yeah, whatever," Marshall huffed, sticking a fang into a raspberry.
Marshall Lee, fully clothed in royal attire with an elegant but thick, bright red robe hanging from his shoulders down to the heel of his boots, stood before a senior member of the Nightosphere Kingdom's religious clergy. The bishop spoke to all of the citizens that crowded inside the kingdom's largest church of how the Gods of Ooo have chosen Marshall as heir to the thrown.
Marshall scowled at the floor. He had his back turned away from the crowd as he faced the bishop.
Can we please just get this shit over with?
It was early in the morning. Many of the villagers wanted to go back to bed, but they also wanted to find out the answer to all the rumors: Marshall Lee really was going to become the new king.
Of course, they should have expected this. He was in the Abadeer family, after all.
In just a few moments, he was going to be officially responsible for all of these people's lives when he can hardly even take care of himself.
He was terrified.
As the demons, ghouls, and ghosts that made up the surprisingly peaceful Nightosphere Kingdom watched in shock as Marshall Lee was crowned the Vampire King, Marshall Lee was having an internal panic attack.
He felt the heavy, golden jewelry piece gently placed upon his head, as he kneeled in front of the bishop.
"Marshall Drache Lee Abadeer III, our new King!" The bishop's voice echoed throughout the church building.
The crowd surrounding the two started out with small claps that turned into waves of applause and cheers, and the eighteen year old Vampire King slowly stood up and faced what he could now call his people.
The royal afterparty of the ceremony took place in the ballroom of the Nightosphere Castle. Traditionally, only a select few of the ruler's choice were invited to the afterparty, usually Lords or fellow royalty, but Marshall changed that and allowed any and every villager come to the party.
Everyone in the ballroom was dressed in their finest attire, dancing with and talking to each other. Marshall had to admit, this was much nicer than any royal party he's been to. Something about having a different variety of people around him made the celebration seem a lot more lighthearted, even fun.
He stood near the wall, sipping on some expensive wine and smiling to himself as he viewed the crowd.
This is the first moment of peace I've had in what seems like forever, he thought to himself.
"Excuse me, Your Highness," Bernard bowed, "But there is something I don't think you have been made aware of."
Aaaand now it's over.
Marshall looked at the werewolf man, "What is it?"
Bernard stood back up straight and brought himself closer to whisper in Marshall's ear, "Your Highness, in order to complete your crowning process, the Vampire King must obtain a mate."
Marshall tensed up before quickly pulling away from Bernard to look at him.
"Mate? You mean, I need a bride?" He asked a little too loudly. Bernard held up a finger to tell Marshall to keep quiet.
"Your Highness, we do not need the ladies of the kingdom knowing that you are searching for a mate. If the word were to get out in here, gods know what they would do to try to get to you."
Marshall opened his mouth to speak, but Bernard kept talking.
"Your father, before he passed, created a list of young women you were to choose from."
The young king raised an eyerbow at this, "What? He created a list? Why did he never tell me about this?"
"It was to be kept secret until you were of age, Your Highness, forgive me. I would actually call this very considerate, as many royal families choose one person and one person only for their offspring to wed. However, King Abadeer allowed you a total of twelve options."
Marshall groaned and took a long sip of his wine. He needed the drink in order to deal with this news.
How annoying.
He rubbed his temple, "And when am I to make this decision?"
"I would say the night of your coronation, but this really does seem like more of a night to celebrate and let go of stress than to focus on your responsibilities as king right now. I think we all needed a little fun tonight."
"Hm," Marshall hummed in agreement. "I'll make the decision tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Highness," Bernard bowed once more and turned away to check on all of the guests.
The King sighed to himself and finished his wine, only to go back to get another glass.
Marshall Lee looked at each of the young women standing before him very closely, examining each of their features. They all stood in a line beside each other, facing him. He walked slowly past each of them.
"Too tall," he commented about one demon woman who stood at least two feet taller than him, and he is nearly 6'1".
Marshall made a face. "Too short," he commented about the next woman who only came up to his knee.
"Too hairy," he said, looking at a werewolf girl.
"Too many eyes."
"Too angry."
"Too shiny."
There was something wrong to him with each of the women presented. A lot of their feelings looked hurt, but he couldn't care less.
They weren't his problem because none of them were going to be his wife.
Bernard looked worried, "You don't like any of them, Your Highness?"
"Nope," Marshall said cooly, as he casually took an apple from a fruit display on one of the tables in the main hall and sucked the red out of it.
Bernard tried to convince Marshall that he had not looked hard enough at each of the women's beauty, but Marshall was certain that none of these ladies were for him.
"Hmm," Bernard thought for a moment before calling for the castle's knights to meet them all in the main hall.
Marshall eyed them all carefully as Bernard and a couple of knights whispered to one another. His ears were sensitive enough to hear a fly buzzing from the other side of the castle, but it seemed as if Bernard and the knights were communicating in another way - as if they had already made a plan, and Bernard just had to signal them to put it into action.
He dismissed it and continued sucking on the red apple's color.
The knights Bernard was talking to returned to the castle later that same night, unbeknownst to Marshall Lee. However, they had brought something back with them.
Bernard met with the knights at the main entrance of the castle, escorting them inside from the cold, Nightosphere winter.
"The deal went as planned? Excellent," Bernard said happily to the knights. The two knights stepped aside to reveal a stunning, young, handcuffed princess, wearing a simple pink dress that was ripped up and dirtied from trying to fight against the knights on the way back to the Nightosphere Kingdom. She was a perfect gift for the Vampire King.
As an "apology" for killing the Nightosphere Kingdom's queen, King Gumball of the Candy Kingdom sacrificed one of his own blood's life in return - his daughter, Princess Bonnibel Beau Bubblegum.
She had been crying; her eyes were puffy and red, and her bright coral hue completely mismatched her surroundings in the dark Nightosphere. She definitely didn't fit in here.
But the contrast was simply gorgeous.
Bernard went up the large staircase and headed to the master bedroom, where Marshall was getting ready for bed. After much protest, Marshall obliged in following Bernard downstairs to the main hall.
When they got to the bottom of the arched staircase, Marshall stared at the two knights standing before him.
"Well? What is it?" He asked impatiently, yawning before crossing his arms. They woke him up and brought him down because they had something to show him, and it had better be good.
The two knights, yet again, stepped aside to reveal the handcuffed Candy Kingdom's princess. Marshall Lee's eyes widened, and he froze entirely.
"We found you a wife, Your Highness," Bernard stated proudly, seeing Marshall's reaction.
It took a few moments for Marshall to find his words. As he made eye contact with the petite princess, he noticed her fidget under his gaze. Marshall was much more intimidating than he realized, which he didn't mind. Once more, Bonnibel began to cry, and hot tears streamed down her cheeks.
She was to marry the Vampire King.
Marshall finally found his voice, and he shouted at Bernard, "I can't marry this whore!"
Bernard stood shocked at his king's words.
"Your Highness, you really shouldn't speak of your bride in such a way. It really wouldn't carry well with the reputation of the kingdom," the werewolf said, trying to calm Marshall down.
"You expect me to marry some bitch from the kingdom that killed my family?!"
Bonnibel wanted to speak up and defend herself; she sure as hell wasn't going to be disrespected by an amateur monarch. But as soon as she opened her mouth to yell at the vampire, one of the knights held a sword to her throat, suspecting her actions.
"Forgive me, princess, but our agreement with your father is that if you do not submit to His Majesty, we are permitted to kill you. You can either obey His Highness Abadeer, or you die," whispered the other knight.
Princess Bubblegum's heart skipped a beat, and she slowly closed her mouth, showing that she agrees to stay obedient for now out of fear for her life.
She watched the Vampire King argue with his servant on the matter. Before long, Marshall angrily groaned and stormed up to Bonnibel.
He grabbed her forearm rather roughly. "Come on," he mumbled and yanked the pink princess up the stairs with him to his bedroom. Bonnibel muttered "Ow" to herself, which Marshall heard, making him tighten his grip on her arm even more. "Shut up, whore," he gritted through his teeth.
"My, my, Your Highness. That is no way to treat your new bride," Bernard sighed as he shook his head, watching as the young king dragged his soon-to-be queen up the staircase.