Chapter 29 the Investiture

We sat down on one of the many benches in the Prince's Dome and we saw all of the available Generals sat around us. We waited for the Princes to emerge from their chambers and when they did there was quite a lot of noise and talking until Prince Mika held up his hand and said;

"Silence my people we must have order here" and at his words the whole hall fell silent until I sneezed and I was quite embarrassed but it could not be helped.

"Bless you Sarah by the Gods" Prince Mika said.

"Thank you Sire" I replied.

"Anyway let us now get down to business and we have some exciting news for all of you gathered here. We have decided to reward two of our most loyal Clan members by making one of them a Prince and granting his blessed mate her rightful throne as a Prince's mate. Do we have any objections?" Prince Mika asked and the whole hall was silent.

"Well if that is the case then we can proceed with the investiture. I now call the vampire Larten Crepsley and his blessed mate up onto our platform to receive their investiture" Prince Mika announced to the gathered Generals.

"I am scared Larten. I do not know how to proceed" I whispered.

"Neither do I as I have not been present any previous investitures but I am sure that it cannot be as bad as going to war or taking the Trials of Death and you survived that" Larten said.

"I only just pulled through the Trials of Death though and I would have died if not for you and your tireless efforts and your intense training" I replied as I reached the platform and I stepped up onto it so that I was face to face with Prince Mika, Prince Darren, Julia and Prince Vancha as Prince Arrow was absent from the mountain.

"My people tonight we are investing this vampire as a Prince and as such I must ask you Larten of the Clan are you free to take this oath? Do you swear to always be a loyal and honourable Prince and do you swear to put the welfare of the Clan before your own desires?" Prince Mika asked.

"Yes I do so swear this oath" Larten replied solemnly with his head bowed.

"Now we invite you to touch the Stone of Blood and add your blood to ours as we add ours to you" Prince Mika said.

I watched as Larten received the Prince's blood in a special blooding where he had one hand on the Stone of Blood and one hand joined to Prince Mika's.

"Bring out the Prince's robe" Prince Vancha called.

The Prince's regal blue robe was draped around Larten who adjusted it and stood up looking quite solemn still but he could not help but look honoured as well.

"Clan members I now present to you your newest Prince, Prince Larten of the Clan but we are not done here as we have one more investiture. Sarah as Larten's blessed mate you are now entitled to be invested as well so would you please step forward and swear the oath that Larten has just sworn?" Prince Mika asked.

I stepped forward nervously and I too bowed my head and prepared myself to take the oath.

"Sarah, are you free to take this oath? Do you swear to always be a loyal and honourable Princess and do you swear to put the welfare of the Clan before your own desires?" Prince Mika asked me.

"Yes I too swear to this oath" I replied.

"Now we invite you to touch the Stone of Blood and add your blood to ours as we add ours to you" Prince Mika said.

I touched the Stone of Blood and I felt my blood being drained out of me whilst Prince Mika's blood flowed into me.

"Bring out the second Prince's robe" Prince Vancha called out.

The robe was draped around me and it was a little bit big as they had not had a Princess before and this robe was meant for a man.

"Clan members I now present to you our first Princess, Princess Sarah of the Clan hail to the new Prince and Princess bring out the thrones" Prince Mika announced.

At this point eight Generals came in and they were carrying two thrones that looked quite large and heavy but I secretly could not wait to park my bottom on one of them and look down upon the Clan members who were cheering and celebrating our investiture.

"I am so proud Larten. I feel like going down there and celebrating too" I said.

"Just enjoy our triumph for a while longer and then we will join in with the celebrations my dear" Larten said and he held me up above his head and spun me around in celebration.

"We still have to get to the bottom of who destroyed our quarters Larten" I reminded him.

"That will come later but right now I just want to enjoy this moment as the whole Clan will look to us now for advice and guidance and soon we will have lots of business to attend to" Larten replied.

"Oh alright let us celebrate now and leave the business until later" I said as I stood waving and smiling to the Clan members who were downing barrels of ale and shouting "Hail" at the top of their lungs.

I sat on my throne, I had never been so happy and I wished that my family could have seen me now and what had become of me.

I shared a toast with the other Princes and Julia then we sat down to eat our feast that had been prepared for us. I yanked a leg of venison off of the spit and I sat there munching on it, then I went back for some roasted pork and finally I washed it all down with a few glasses of champagne that I shared out with my fellow Princes.

"I am going to raise a toast to the Vampire Clan and its Princes. May they all rule in peace and prosperity" I said as I downed what must have been my ninth glass of champagne.

"Cheers Sarah and allow me to raise a toast to you my dear. Let us hear it for our first Vampire Princess" Larten replied.

"Cheers darling" I said and we downed the rest of the champagne between us out of the same goblet.

By this point I was in high spirits and I was ready to party so I grabbed a few more barrels of ale and cracked them open, I downed one before I shared one with the rest of the Princes, we all drunk some before it leaked all over the floor.

"It is a shame that vampires do not show up on film as this would be a great photograph opportunity as we are all here in high spirits and we would look great in a photograph together" I said.

"Well we can have a portrait painted of us all having a good time and we can hang it up there. We could call it "Night of the Double Investiture"" Prince Vancha suggested.

"Yes that would be great Sire" I replied.

"Hey you are one of us now so you no longer need to call me Sire it is Vancha, Mikie, Arrow and Larten to you and emphases on the Mikie" Vancha laughed.

"Alright, is that OK with you guys?" I asked.

"Yes but enough of the Mikie as that is a piss take and I hate it" Prince Mika said.

"Whatever you say Prince Mikie" I laughed.

"Right that is it I challenge you to a duel for your impudence" Prince Mika said.

"Ha, you can barely stand up Mikie freaky let alone duel me" I laughed out loud.

"Good one Sarah it is traditional to take the piss out of us if you have just been invested" Prince Vancha remarked.

"Vancha, you are such a bull shit spreader you know that isn't true and I don't want to be called Mikie or Mikie freaky ever again is that clear?" Prince Mika growled at me and Prince Vancha but we just laughed it off and then we laughed even more when Prince Mika could not even stand up as he was too drunk. He fell asleep on his throne whilst we continued to party.

"Mikie is such a lightweight, he clearly does not handle his alcohol well and when he fell over earlier I was in stitches" I said.

"I know you were dear I was watching the whole charade. I only drink in moderation and it has proven to be a wise strategy" Larten said as he staggered into the Prince's Quarters.

"Oh yes I can see that you clearly drink in moderation since you are staggering all over the place dear" I sniggered.

"I had two barrels of strong ale and five glasses of champagne which I shared with you I hasten to add" Larten snapped back as he lay down in our new coffin.

"Yes well it does not matter and if it is OK with you I am going to have a shower and then I am going to bed as I am really tired" I replied as I hopped into the adjoining shower room and plunged myself into the icy cold water-even Vampire Princesses have to have cold showers whilst in the mountain!

"Brrr it is freezing in here. It is colder than the other shower room" I called out but there was no reply as Larten was asleep when I snuggled in beside him wearing my new Princess's pyjamas that were made out of fur and silk. It was better than my regular night dress anyway.

"I think that I am going to enjoy my new life as a Princess" I said to Prince Darren when he came in to go to his own bed chamber.

"Yes I like it too and Julia revels in it but she does not have your privileges" Prince Darren replied.

"And it is just as well as otherwise the Prince's Dome would be overrun by her stuff and her pets. How many rats does Julia have?" I asked.

"Enough for a small army as she has thirty or more" Prince Darren replied.

"Just like when I was in the sewers with those scum" I replied.

"Yeah I had forgotten about that. Good Day Sarah I will see you at sunset for your duties" Prince Darren said as he left.

"Good Day Darren I will see you tomorrow" I replied as I lay down and went to sleep in my new extra-large, super comfortable coffin.

I slept soundly that night and for the first time in a long time I was warm and I was contented to sleep in a coffin rather than a bed.

I woke up at around nine pm and I was tucked up under Larten's cloak but Larten was not next to me.

I went and fixed my breakfast and then as I sat upon my throne eating it Larten came into the Prince's Dome and took his place next to me.

"Where were you when I woke up?" I asked.

"Sorry dear I went outside to get some air as it is a little stuffy in that chamber but I am OK and now I am going to be in here with you whilst we attend to our business" Larten replied as we finished our rabbit stew that we had chosen to eat for breakfast as the Princes always got served first and we could have whatever we wanted to eat.

I finished my bowl of stew and it was really nice, it was way better in taste than what I normally had to eat and it was a great way to start my first night as a Vampire Princess.

"What is on the agenda tonight?" I asked.

"We have all sorts of discussions to hold like the leaking roof and what we can do about it, our job is quite boring really but we get privileges like our thrones and our great food" Prince Darren replied whilst he chewed on a leg of lamb.

"I want to raise the issue of my break in and who is responsible for destroying my quarters" I replied.

"Well you are a Princess now so you can do that and every General will have to do exactly as you tell them and you get loads of free time also you get what is called free reign which means that you can do pretty much anything you want whenever you want to and no-one can stop you or tell you no" Prince Darren said.

"So I can leave the mountain and go to the Cirque Du Freak and then come back whenever I want to?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes in theory as long as you are not needed here as you have to put the Clan's welfare before your own happiness" Prince Darren reminded me.

"I know Darren I know that all too well" I replied as I called for some warm milk which was fun to do.

"Oi, you in the corner" I said and I signalled to a General who was looking bored.

"Yes my lady?" The General asked.

"Fetch me some blood and make sure it is warm and fresh then get me some clean clothes" I ordered.

"As you wish my lady" The General said and he disappeared.

"That was handled well Sarah" Prince Darren said.

"He looked bored so I gave him a job" I replied.

At that moment Larten (Or should I say Prince Larten?) returned from his errand and he took his place on his throne which was conveniently next to mine and then when Prince Vancha and Prince Mika turned up we begun to discuss our business.

"Right fellow Princes and Princess we have to fix this leaking roof as it is causing no end of problems the only problem is that the roof is one of those slanting ones and it is very high up. Has anybody got any ideas?" Prince Vancha asked.

"Well we have our high platform that we use for decorating and we have lots of spare rope. We could vault from the top of the platform, attach a rope to the ceiling and hold onto it whilst we put cement and stones over the leaking hole" I suggested.

"Yes that would work but what do we attach the rope to?" Prince Darren asked.

"One of those ring things that we use in the Halls of Sport to hold up the ropes in there" I replied.

"Perfect, I will get a team of Generals on it soon as possible before we run out of buckets" Prince Mika said.

"Is the leak that bad?" I asked.

"Yes it is quite a big hole" Prince Darren chipped in.

"Right the next item on our agenda is the break in that Larten and I suffered a few nights ago" I said.

"Yes I have heard about that and it disgusts me that even now certain clan members still disrespect you" Prince Mika said.

"Well what can we do about it? Most of our belongings were destroyed or stolen and our quarters are unusable now as the carpet was destroyed, the bed was soiled and the walls were covered in rude and obscene language" I explained.

"I did not know that it was that bad Sarah. As you are a Princess now you can order an investigation to be carried out and the guilty parties will be left to you to punish as you see fit" Prince Vancha explained.

"Well that is settled then and now do we have any other business?" Prince Larten asked.

"Not that I am aware of, do you wish to discuss any other matters?" Prince Mika asked.

"No I think that we are finished here for now this meeting is adjourned" Prince Vancha said and we closed the session.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"We chill out and enjoy ourselves as we have finished our business for now" Prince Larten said.

"I have an idea" I said and smiled at Larten who knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Excuse us please guys but we have business of our own to attend to" I said and I headed to the Prince's Chambers with Larten behind me.

"Shall we make our exit too?" Prince Vancha asked Prince Mika.

"Well that depends on whether you want to hear those two mating" Prince Mika replied.

"Not really and besides it is our turn to hunt I forgot to mention it earlier" Prince Vancha replied.

"So it is so that works out alright then and besides I am dying to get some moonlight on my skin as I have not been out for a while and I love a good chase" Prince Mika replied as they both left to go and find Prince Darren who had already left the Prince's Dome before they all left to go hunting and left us in peace.

"I am glad that is over for one night. This robe is so big on me it is stupid so I am going to have a smaller one made and out of better material as this is quite itchy on my skin" I said as I removed my oversized robe and lay in our coffin.

"I agree this robe is very itchy but it comes with the job I am afraid" Prince Larten replied.

"Well it gives us an excuse to be naked" I said and grinned.

"I did not think of it like that but now that you mention it you make a good point my love" Prince Larten replied.

"I thought that it was a good point" I replied as I got comfortable in preparation for mating.

"Are you ready for this?" Prince Larten asked me.

"I am always ready for you to mate with me" I replied.

"Do you have any particular requests?" Prince Larten asked me.

"Not really as I would not know what to ask for but as long as it is passionate and as long as it feels good I really do not mind what you do to me" I replied.

"Alright let me see what I can pull out of my skills bag to please you…" Prince Larten replied and then the wrestling started which was rough but it got my adrenaline pumping which would make my pleasure enhanced when it came time to actually mate. I did not mind wrestling and fighting for control but I preferred kissing, caressing and biting each other.

A few hours later when we had finished our mating I was absolutely exhausted and I had taken a battering but it was so much fun and I was now satisfied if a bit bruised and hungry for blood as that was the only thing that would get my energy back (that and lots of sleep).

"That was a pretty good experience and I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did even though I am a bit bruised and I took a battering when you took control as you were a bit rough but I liked it and as my adrenaline was flowing through me along with the Prince's blood I could certainly handle you" I said as I drunk deeply from my golden goblet of fresh blood.

"I need some more blood" I said when I had finished drinking.

"Me too Sarah, I also need to feed" Prince Larten agreed and he disappeared only to return with a whole barrel full of fresh blood that was still warm.

"Let us share this then" I said.

"That is exactly what I was thinking, come here" Prince Larten said.

"Yes Sire" I laughed.

"I forgot that I can order you around" Prince Larten said.

"Actually I am your equal now so you cannot order me around but if you want to have some kind of master servant role play with me then that is OK" I said.

"Do you want to feed?" Prince Larten asked.

"Yes, I am really thirsty" I replied.

"Then beg me for this blood if you want it" Larten said.

"I am not begging for anything, I will fetch my own" I replied.

"You will do what I tell you" Larten said and he looked fierce then I realised that this was the master servant thing.

"Please let me have some blood. I am gagging for a feed" I said meekly.

"On your knees, I want you begging on your knees" Prince Larten said so I dropped to my knees and begged.

"Please let me have some, I need it to get my strength back after our mating" I said on my hands and knees and then I held up my goblet to Larten who was now towering above me and he was looking down upon me like some dark demon.

Larten filled up my goblet and I drunk it down fast before he could take it off of me.

"Do you want some more?" Prince Larten asked.

"Yes please" I said.

"Yes please what?" Prince Larten said angrily.

"Please Larten my love" I replied really quietly and meekly like a servant.

"Very well you may have some more" Prince Larten said.

"Thank you" I said and I downed my third goblet full of blood.

Then we shared the rest between us by kissing and drinking out of the same goblet until the barrel was empty. I liked my fingers and lips as I was covered in the red blood as the barrel had leaked a little bit.

"That is good blood. The best blood is always fresh" I remarked.

"I know it is and as we are now invested we have access to the personal storerooms where all of the best produce is stored for the Prince's pleasure" Prince Larten explained.

"As you know that the food that we normally get is good but this is even better and now I never have to worry about anything ever again" I responded.

"What do you want to do now? We still have ages before sunrise and we have no other meetings tonight" Prince Larten remarked.

"Well the Bars look a bit dusty as they have not been used for ages and I need some entertainment, also we have not played cards for ages either" I replied and looked towards the Halls of Sport.

"Fine if you wish to duel then go ahead and duel I need to duel too as I am a bit out of touch with my Clan members in the Halls of Sport" Prince Larten replied.

I headed to the Halls of Sport through the Prince's Passage that lead straight there so that I did not have to walk all the way around and up two flights of stairs.

I found one of my best staves upon the weapons rack and I gave it a twirl in my hand just to test it out before I hopped upon the Bars and waited for a challenge to come my way.

Not long after I entered the Halls of Sport Prince Larten entered and he challenged me.

"I challenge you to a duel upon these here Bars. Do you accept" Prince Larten called up to me.

"I accept your challenge" I called down and then the whole hall fell silent.

"Well it looks as though we are in for some entertainment. A duel between two Princes is rare but a duel between a Prince and a newly invested one too with his blessed mate will be worth watching" Vanez Blaine called over the silence.

Then a fanfare sounded which was something that I had never heard before and a crowd of Generals came in to watch the duel but the fanfare was for us to gather the attention of those who were watching.

"Who referees a match between two Princes or between us?" I asked.

"Only a fellow Prince can referee us" Prince Larten answered and then Prince Vancha walked into the halls.

"I heard the fanfare and I knew that a duel was about to take place and I might have guessed that I would be refereeing you two" Prince Vancha said as he stood in the referee box which was a new addition to the Halls of Sport.

"Duellists ready?" Prince Vancha asked.

"Ready as I will ever be. Bring it on" I replied.

"I am ready also" Prince Larten called down.

"Then salute and begin" Prince Vancha called to us. I knocked my staff against Prince Larten's and then I flipped up and onto a higher bar so that I had a vantage point. The duel commenced and I was not used to the Prince's blood inside me, I had never had so much strength flowing through me and I used it to my full advantage. Prince Larten came at me with all of his might but for the sixth or seventh time that year I sent him crashing to the floor with a nasty, quick combo that left him with a sore head and a snapped staff.

I stood on the centre of the Bars, took a little bow and did my victory dismount then I went to see to Prince Larten who was knocked out cold. I called for a stretcher and he was carted off down to the medical wing for stitches.

"I never knew that Prince's blood was that powerful" I said to Seba who was carrying the stretcher with Vanez and Prince Vancha (I had the other corner). We laid the unconscious Prince Larten on a bed and fetched the medic. I felt bad that I had done such a vicious move but that is how I liked to duel.

When Prince Larten came around from his unconscious state his first words were;

"What happened? I do not remember a thing"

"We duelled upon the Bars and I knocked you out with one of my combination moves. I defeated you and I nearly cracked your skull in half, I am so sorry my love" I said.

"It is fine I will add this scar to my collection of scars. You are so beautiful when you duel Arra" Prince Larten said.

"I am not Arra, I am Sarah. Arra died a long time ago" I said to Prince Larten who was obviously concussed.

"Oh yes now I remember you. You are my blessed mate and we were duelling when you inflicted this minor wound on my head" Prince Larten said.

"Yes that is correct but you are concussed and the wound is not minor. It needs stitches and you will have to take it steady for a few nights" I replied.

"That is a nasty wound on your head Sire. Forgive me if I hurt you when I am fixing this up" The Medic said.

"It is OK you have a job to do and I have had worse injuries than this" Prince Larten said.

"I know you have but I still feel bad for hurting you" I said.

"Do not be stupid, you were duelling me fairly. I should have seen it coming but do not feel bad for another stunning victory on the Bars and besides I took the risk and I knew that if I duelled you I may have been hurt which I have been but it is up to me if I want to duel you and risk getting hurt" Prince Larten replied as the Medic stitched up the gash on his head and bandaged it up firmly with a sterile patch and herbs that would aid healing and kill bacteria.

"Right Sire that is you patched up but as you suffered such a hard knock to the head I want you to stay here over the day for observation in case you have any funny turns or dizziness which can be associated with head injuries and concussion. I want you to let me know if you have any symptoms like dizziness, nausea, vomiting or a constant headache as they could be signs of a more serious brain injury. That is why I am keeping you here temporarily" The Medic said.

"Very well Medic if that is your recommendation. Can you go and fetch my cloak Sarah? I am a bit cold" Prince Larten asked me.

"OK my love I will not be long" I said and I disappeared to fetch the cloak that had been left by the Bars with blood on it.

I dropped the cloak off at the medical wing in the separate section that was reserved for the Princes and VIP guests like Mr Tall if his back was playing up.

"Thank you. You can stay here today if you wish as the medic is bringing an extra bed for you so you will not have to leave me" Prince Larten said.

"That is kind but I am happy to sleep in the Prince's Chambers where it is warmer and quiet as I need to sleep as I am shattered" I replied.

"Very well then I will join you as soon as I am able to as I hate not sleeping next to you" Prince Larten said.

"I know but I am here now my love" I replied as I leant in to kiss my mate.

Prince Larten returned my kiss and we held each other for ages until the Medic came in and checked Prince Larten and offered him some food and drink.

"I had better be going now my dear as I am exhausted. I still have to take the hawks out before I go to bed" I said.

"Alright but I will expect to see you at sunset before you go and complete your next lot of business" Prince Larten said.

"Of course I will come and see you" I said and with one long, passionate, final kiss I left my mate to recover under the expert care of the Prince's personal Medic.

I returned to my Chamber inside the Prince's Dome, I got undressed and I put on my pyjamas which were very comfortable and I loved them. They had been one of Prince Vancha's better ideas as he loved fur and he liked to live rough in the wilds for the most part.