Edward's POV
"Do I have to?" I asked, staring at my council. There were about 15 of them, ranging from my "family" to old leaders like Aro, Marcus and Caius.
"Yes. The world would need an heir if anything happened to you." Aro said.
I snorted before sighing. "I'll do it, but my family will be in charge of it. They'll know who'll be best to rule after me….if that ever happens."
"Fine. I'll send out the announcements. All male Vampires—"
I cut Aro off. "Female, too. Even girls should have a chance."
"Of course. Any Vampire who would like to compete will be allowed."
We spent the rest of the day discussing details.
Renesmee's POV
The national anthem of our country began to play while the flag was on screen. Once that was over, the announcements began. I saw King Edward there, with his council.
"Hello, ladies and gentleman of the world! Today we have some very exciting news! King Edward has decided to hold the competition to find an heir!
"The first requirement is to be a Vampire. Male or female. Regardless of Caste. An impressive gift and fighting skills are a bonus.
"In order to apply, please visit your local province postal office to have your picture taken and application and intelligence test filled out. For the picture, please look as nice as possible and wear form-fitting clothes.
"A contestant will be chosen from each province to travel to the Vampire capital of Volterra, where the rest of the rounds will be held.
"The selection will be public, with lots of pictures and interviews. Speaking of interviews, we have Gavril Fadaye here, ready to film the entire selection!"
A tall man with shoulder-length brown hair and red eyes stepped onto the stage.
"Hello, World! My name is Gavril Fadaye, and I'll be running the public view of this contest! I can not wait! Now, I'll be interviewing our darling King, Edward."
He took a seat on the couch facing Edward's throne.
"How are you, your majesty?"
"I'm doing just fine." Edward assured him. Formality radiated off him in waves.
"Now tell me, what made you want to hold the contest?"
"Honestly, I didn't want to. But my council advised me to, in case something happens to me."
"Oh. And Esme, your mother figure, will be running the selection?"
"Along with my siblings and father, but yes. They're all very excited. And no, I will not be holding a contest to find my mate. I want to find her on my own."
I poked my mom. She rolled her eyes.
"Of course. Sorry ladies who were hoping to marry the King. Now, what are the personal things you want to see in your heir?"
"Kindness. Selflessness. Duty. Loyalty. Ambition. Love and devotion for our country. A plan to make our country better. Strong-willed. A fighter. And I don't mean fighting skills, I mean someone who pushes through anything thrown their way."
"So impressive gifts and fighting skills don't matter to you?"
"Not really."
"Well, that's all we have for today! Next week we'll announce the winners!"
The show turned off.
"Anyone that is interested is allowed. Vampires only."
What most people don't know is that I'm King Edward's daughter—biologically. My mother was human, and he's a Vampire. Making me half-human, half-vampire.
So my dad has finally decided to choose an heir. I'm going to sign up. I'm his child; I have every right to rule next. I will win this competition.
"Mom, can I sign up for the competition to become the heir? I have every right." I said.
Mom sighed. She knows how much I want this. "If you can handle the competition. From what I've heard, there's a lot of pressure and the judges are strict."
"I want to. Ruling is my birthright."
She smiled. "As long as you can make it."
"Yay!" She chuckled.