Your Princess is in Another Castle

Chapter Three: The Divulging

A/N: Decided to do a pov for Victoria. I will not be alternating views consistently like in my previous Vicella story, however, I felt it was necessary to include some background information on the vampires. On occasion I may write more Victoria chapters when the plot calls for it.

"-And then, we capture the girl," James said, satisfied smile on his face as he took a sip from his glass.

Victoria was not impressed. She waited for him to elaborate but when it became clear he would not, she scoffed mightily, crossing her arms over her chest. "That is your grand plan? Capturing the prince's little wife to be and doing, what, with her? Killing her? Using her blood?"

James' smile faltered and his eyes grew hard. "We are going to hold her ransom. In exchange for Edward declaring a ceasefire on our kingdom, he will have the love of his life back."

Victoria bared her teeth. "That is the most vapid and foolish plan I have ever heard decreed!"

Now James had lost all of his sunny disposition. "As if you have a better plan? Pray tell me what it is!"

"I would slaughter the whole lot of them. Wipe out the Cullen's for good. We have the man power for it, so why do you not do it?"

"Because I do not want to spill anymore blood. I want an amicable future. I want to stop this blood feud between vampires and the Cullen's."

"A foolhardy desire. As long as the sun spins around the world, there will always be war between our kind and theirs."

"And perhaps we can be the change to that?" James said more evenly, losing the edges of anger in his words.

"It will not happen," Victoria assured bitterly and assuredly.

James's face soured. "Regardless, I am king here, and I will follow through on my plan. If it does not work, then...killing it shall have to be," he sighed out wearily and dropped his glass onto the table. Then, he speed off to his private study.

Victoria did not think this plan likely to succeed or even feasible. But James was stubborn as he was soft hearted and his hopes that humanity could be accepting of their kind would be his undoing. And when it did happen, Victoria would merely shake her head as she had foretold him many eons ago. Still, he was her king and her very good friend and she would fight tooth and nail to help him in his plans even if they were lacking sound logic.

Kidnapping the princess! Pish posh. What could she do? She would be nothing but trouble for them. Would be nothing more than another mouth to feed. And would she alone be enough reason for Edward to call back the attacks? Victoria doubted the prince's sentiments for his wife to be were strong enough to get him to revoke centuries old conflict. The Cullen's were a vicious heartless sort, but let James see for himself the fruitless nature of his plan when it backfired and Edward was only spurred on to kill the vampire even more for stealing away the princess.

Victoria stretched her arms over her head to release the tension in her back. Speaking on the Cullen's always did rub her the wrong way. She went up the stairs to her favorite spot in the castle, a sanctum of hers. It was a small room, heated well due to the glass ceiling that trapped light and redirected it on the rows of plants in the dirt there. One wall was also entirely made from glass and it lead out to a Terrance that was covered in snow. While nature may cruelly kill the plants out there, it did not harm them inside Victoria's special room where she tended to them carefully and watched them bloom with a small smile on her face. She had rows upon rows of herbs despite not being able to eat them. And she had roses and honeysuckle and tulips, all filling the air with their wonderful scent.

She loved her garden; it was home to her in so many ways an actual home could not be. Tenderly she watered her plants, weeded them, and inspected their green foliage for any signs of disease. She often spent hours up here, forgoing her vampiric speeds in favor of taking a painstakingly human amount of time to tend to her garden.

As she did so any thoughts or feelings of trouble faded from her mind and found her in a good mood once more. Only when the sun began to set did she exit her room, her throat burning with need for replenishment.

A quick trip to the kitchens found a cool stone chamber filled with ice blocks that were used to chill pots full of blood that had been collected prior. Victoria selected a plain brown ware and found the liquid inside sluggish with little bits of ice where the cold had affected the blood. She would wait for it to thaw. And then she selected another pot, this one for James in case he had not eaten yet.

Often when he immersed himself in work he could forget about this appetite and not drinking anything could age him. Gray hair and liver spots would shine through, revealing his true geriatric nature. Victoria made her way to his room, one set in the most secluded part of the castle. She found him pouring over tired scrolls and musty books, a singular candle lighting his worried face. Even though James was a vampire, he ruled the town and its human counterparts, somewhat like a feudal lord. The humans and vampires both looked up to him because of his caring and fair nature and were content as long as food and drink were readily supplied. Other than that, and some typical concerns over property debates between townsfolk and more minor scrapes, there wasn't much to do in this town. That was why James was focusing so much time on the impending war that Edward was going to bring. He was busy goading the nearby towns into turning on the vampires while James was busy convincing them to be partial to him.

Little progress had been made and it was draining James. "Did you eat?" Victoria called out, James so wrapped up in his work he barely noticed her.

"Not yet. I do not have time," he murmured dismissively.

"I brought you something." She rattled the pot and knew he could hear the sloshing of blood inside. "You must keep up your strengths."

He accepted her offer though he did not draw his gaze from the papers he was glaring at. Victoria took up perch on his windowsill, observing the wintery landscape outside. Winter was finally fading into spring but not as quickly as Victoria would like it to. Despite not feeling the extremes of temperatures, she preferred the warm weather only because nature could bloom so readily.

The water was frozen under the bridge and Victoria could see a couple of the vampire staff skating on it's hard surface. The dead rarely had use for servants, for food did not need to be cooked, dressing did not need to be done. But James kept them around for decorative purposes, for a king was expected to have staff, as well as he kept them around to give them homes. Most were kids, trapped like amber in their years of youth. They were too young to work with the adults and their minds not developed enough to understand most of what the world meant to them, or to fully comprehend how their lives had been stolen from them by being bitten and turned.

Beyond the bridge lay the town, smoke curling up from the lit fireplaces. Victoria and James had rebuilt the town themselves from the squalor it had been. Brick by brick, with sweat, and blood, they had rebuilt it.

And the town had only grown in size over the decades; what was once a refuge for vampires was now a haven for humans as well. At first humans that were criminals, outcasts from their own world, resided here. But soon more respectable types came when James and Victoria opened their borders. There had been an uneasy truce between man and beast at first but with peace talks a gradual understanding had taken root. While Victoria did not share James affinity for the human race, she was fiercely protective of her friend and of the town they had built for themselves.

James and her had a prolonged history, first meeting during the 10th century. Victoria had only been a mere two hundred years old at that time; still a new born in vampire terms and still struggling to gain a hold on her voracious blood thirst. She had murdered in-numerous counts of humans, a feat not uncommon to vampires who were newborn and who were left marooned without any guidance by older vampires. Had she had someone to help restrain her and train her in the ways of her kind she no doubt would have had an easier time. As it was, she was a wanderer, drifting from town to town, striking terror in mortals hearts or having fear struck in her own thanks to the way she was hunted down by mobs of angry men with torches.

At one point she had to vacate England entirely in order to start life anew. She traveled to France where she quickly picked up the language thanks to her vampire abilities and was living the way of human hunting day by day when she came across James and Laurent. They were vampires like her, yet not like her at all. She had fought them when they first crossed paths, and though she was fierce and strong, they were skilled and patient, each action metered out accordingly while she thrashed and tussled like a snake, wasting energy in her violent displays.

They did not kill her like she thought they would, instead, James understood her plight for what it was. "You are untrained," he said magnanimously, "and thus you are a danger to yourself. Come with us, and we will train you how to fight and most importantly how to curb your cravings, how to be master of them."

And how could Victoria resist such an offer? She wanted nothing more than to be rid of her thirst and if he knew how, she would gladly learn.

The three of them lived in James' and Laurent's villa. They did not live in squalor nor in grandeur, but in a cozy cottage in the woods where there was much prey to indulge in. Victoria spent her summers and her winters in those woods, hunting, stalking, acclimating to animal blood as substitution. It was nowhere as scrumptious as human blood but with their guidance she was able to control her hunger and learn to abide by their rules of survival.

They taught her many tricks of the trade- how to defend herself properly, the weaknesses that affected vampires, and how to seduce a human and drink their blood without killing them. She grew to enjoy spending time with them; she came to see them as her brothers. And they in return saw her as their sister.

They spent an easy two and a half centuries in those woods, living life contently, sustaining financially on a grape press and fields of grape vines, all used to make the best wine in all of France. Because they had no need for sleep, they entertained themselves with intellectual pursuits. They learned science, religion, math, reading, writing and several different languages.

Victoria had not come from a rich family. She had come from the poorest of the poor and that meant she had no time for education. But now that she was reborn as a vampire, she was reborn into another life. She vowed to change herself, to make herself better. She became strong and not meek and weak willed like she had been before to suit her abusive father's tastes. She took greater care of her body, leaving her red hair out proud and ensuring her clothes to be high end. And with her vampiric skills she gathered an acumen of vast proportion. She spoke Latin, French, German, Arabic and more. Now that she was no longer entirely beholden to her blood lust, she became so much more refined.

And then tragedy struck.

The medieval ages were upon Europe, throwing it into a dark era. Humans slowed their progress and people were pliant and inclined towards superstition, into hunting down monsters. Churches and priests and cardinals were the power force behind nations and not kings or queens. They ruled over the masses with religion and a fear of eternal damnation and penance. One group became supreme above them all- the Cullen's. They were the church and they took it upon themselves to lead the charge on killing these so called monsters that wore human flesh. The Cullen's had been around for centuries. Ever since the first beast strode onto earth, the Cullen's were right there, waiting to kill it. And now under the cover of church, they could rise into the open and demolish whole covens of monsters.

The medieval ages had been their height of power. Everyone was scared of them, human or beast. James, Laurent and Victoria heard the terrifying news but did not know what to do. At first it hadn't been so bad, yet slowly and surely it began to get worse. The Cullen's had tests on determining who was man and who was beast and they were going from home to home to check. That was when the vampires knew they had to leave or else they would face death.

They managed to escape France but unfortunately did not get far. They ran into the Cullen's holy army as they were crossing into Constantinople. Victoria could still recall the terror at seeing them, bright gleaming armor and sharp spears and swords and that hunger in their eyes. She had thought death surely would come. But it hadn't-not for her.

Laurent had sacrificed himself so they could escape. His sacrifice was noble and something she would never forget until eternity. His death had left her so angry and thirsting for human lives but James had stopped her, had calmed her down, saying there would be no use to Laurent's sacrifice if she got herself killed after all he did.

From then on it had been the two of them, and both had a wordless understanding that they would one day destroy the Cullen's. As the vampires hopped from country to country, never staying anywhere too long, the centuries melted away until the Renaissance finally hit. It was during this time that the Cullen's power dropped, that humans began to forget fear and live in the present, to live with science and innovation and in opening up their worlds and cultures to one another.

The vampires settled back in France, having missed their home country. It was there that James had the idea to rebuild their old town and to seek out other vampires and make a safe place for them, for over their journeys they had come across many who had no home or no direction.

And that was just what they did, both never having expected their dream to get so big. And now for it to be threatened by yet another Cullen. That was why Victoria wanted war, wanted bloodshed. She wanted to topple the Cullen empire for all the lives it had taken and if the battlefield had to be here than so be it. She would protect James and her town and kill anyone who tried to hurt them.

Angrily finishing off her meal, she stepped away from the windowsill, going to her room to brood.

Months passed after that like a blink of the eye to her. James decided to go through with his ransom plan and Princess Isabella was brought to their doorstep one fine evening. The rumors about her had their merit. She was beautiful and graceful like a swan. But she was not meek by any standing. Victoria could see fire burning in those amber eyes, a fire that would no doubt spell trouble.

And her smell, lord, her smell. It was the most tantalizing scent Victoria had ever encountered. It smelled of rich chocolates and vanilla and begged for Victoria to sample it, to just get one easy taste.

Worried, she had questioned James on if the princess's scent bothered him as much. When he had arched a brow at her and said no, she began to fret more deeply. "Is something the matter?" he inquired additionally, catching the minute frustration on her face.

"Nothing," she hastily responded with and went on her way. It was a bigger issue than she was making it seem. An issue she did not want to have. Yet, Isabella's blood called her in stomach curdling manners, in tempting her to break her vow, to suck her dry, to plant her fangs in her and claim her. But Victoria wouldn't do that. She could not. She was on probation after she had killed a human. Not from blood lust but from anger, and James as punishment was having Victoria escort and watch over Bella in order to prove that Victoria could handle being around humans once more.

Victoria was not pleased but James was her king and she would do as he asked. Beside, she would have her fun with the human as compensation. She would silently and unseen, follow Isabella around the castle, popping up to scare the human woman. Isabella made such an amusing face when she was scared; it was simply delightful. And the way her pulse would pound in her neck, even more so.

Isabella was merely but a tiny slip of a girl yet Victoria was traitorously drawn to her in ways she hated. The more time she spent trawling hallways silently behind the princess, the more she took stock of the princess's soft hair, her delicately curving neck and those big doe eyes that swallowed up and reflected all the light around her. It began to bother Victoria, so she took to drinking more blood in order to stave off these odd feelings in her silent chest. It helped in the short term but did nothing to eradicate the burning questions and uncertainties in Victoria's mind. So she did what she did best, and cover them up with anger towards the human species.

James made it his prerogative to educate the little human on the situation between the vampires and the Cullen's, on making her understand the plight of immortality, of why exactly she was here. He even showcased the town to her. He was putting a lot of trust into her and Victoria did not agree with that. Yet, for her friend's sake she put aside her reservations and tried to be open minded. She let them have their special meals together in which James and Isabella held their discourse as Victoria busied herself with pacing outside the door in case the human might make designs on James's life.

A silly notion given the meek nature and soft body of the human but they were a foolish species, subject to arrogance and grand illusions. Victoria would know, she had once been like that. Isabella could try to make a break for her freedom by attempting to hurt him and though James could take care of himself, Victoria was aching for a reason to knock the human around and scare her properly. She was rude and almost mocking of James's kindness to her and Victoria would not stand for that. At least the princess was somewhat afraid of her, for whatever reasons it may be.

Thus, Victoria silently supported James work and his mission though she had not a hundred percent support of it.

But Victoria should have known that Isabella would not stay put in the castle. That she would do something as inadvisable as try to escape. Victoria fumed in choler at the impetuous human's behavior. So she followed her through the woods and down the long winding roads to make sure no harm came to her. And when she was able to derive where Isabella was going, Victoria hurried to the castle first.

The guards were on alert, raising their spears at her as she approached but she merely snapped the pointy tips off, tossing them over her shoulder. They stared in wonder and horror at her. So she flashed them a pointed smile.

"I would run if I were you."

Of course the foolish humans did not listen and charged at her, drawing daggers from their trousers. She dispatched them easily, making sure she didn't kill them, only knocked them around a bit. And then she went inside the castle to do the same. It was almost easy and laughable, how quickly she was able to do this. With her vampiric speed she was able to make short work of all the staff- Edward's castle here really lacked any defenses. It was almost like he wanted to get attacked. When she had terrorized them enough and locked them all out of view in the dungeons, she eagerly awaited Isabella's arrival.

She was going to take that troublesome girl home and keep her caged, forget what James said! Isabella would not be allowed to roam freely.

The red head's anger could almost be forgotten when she saw Isabella's shocked look when she finally entered the castle halls and found them empty save for Victoria. The poor princess was absolutely terrorized and gobsmacked and Victoria revealed in that, proud of evoking these emotions in the small human. But she was still angry at Isabella for daring to take James generosity and trust in her and attempting to run away.

And draining the horse, that had been a brilliant idea on Victoria's part. It showed her more scary side to the princess in case she thought that Victoria was some push over. She was not. And when Victoria gathered the princess into her arms to transport them in a timely fashion to the castle- how small and delicate, the princess was in Victoria's arms, and so warm too- and in punishment sentenced her to solitude in her locked room.

Victoria hoped this would serve as a good deterrent to Isabella's rebellion. But Victoria could not be more wrong. For locking up the princess had been the wrong move to make. In fact, it only fanned the flames of rebellion from the prisoner and Victoria was soon going to find out just how stubborn and feisty a human truly could be.

A/N: Victoria's sun comment is a throwback to how people used to think the sun revolved around the earth back in the day.