The undead princess

"But of course, my lady! You'll see that the castle is quite large. Well, as far as I know. I do not know how it is compared to your old home, but I'm sure you'll find it a fine castle, nonetheless!" Edward said, as he started walking towards the door. "And what part of the castle would the lady like to see first? The courtyard? The view? The great hall?" He asked, happy that the lady finally was leaving her room.
 
"I care not Edward..." She said with a bit of a hollowness to her voice. She was worried of seeing Lord DeLoch again. He was so eager to have her move on, that she didn't know if she could face him again. "I just wish to stretch my limbs..."
 
"Very well, my Lady. I'll show you the way to the battlements then. From there you can see the whole village." Edward said eagerly, happy to show his home to the new Lady.

Meanwhile, Victor had started reading in a few of the old books that littered his library. If nothing else, reading was one of the things that calmed him down. It didn't matter what he read, anything helped. He didn't really know why, but he was reading a book on healing, both through alchemy and magic. And he had no idea as to why.
 
Rashara followed Edward down the hall and to the battlements, taking in the somewhat dreary decorations hung up on the heavy stone walls. Lord DeLoch must not have been much of an entertainer, she thought, as she walked slowly behind the bone-guard. "Has the Lord had any female company? Before myself?" She asked curiously, tilting her head to look at his family crest, held up on a shield in the Foyer. A large skull with branching vines and symbols, deadly and mysterious. "What about his family?"
 
Edward was silent for a few moments as they walked. "I'm not really sure if I should tell you this or not... But yes. The Lord has sometimes been with women. A few women from the village. He didn't spend much time with any of them, nor did he father any children. He was with them simply... To relieve some pressure." His tone was one of uncertainty. There were certain things he wasn't supposed to talk of about one's Lord, but then again, it was his new Lady he was talking to... "And family? He has none, as far as I know. He's never spoken about any, during all the years I've served him." He said with a bit more confidence. Surely he could speak of his Lord's family?
 
"Oh... so he's been with women... I see" She wasn't sure why it bothered her to hear of his experiance, but it did. "Are all of the people in town like you and I, Edward? Are they all the living dead?" A chill rose up her spine as she admitted her status as a living corpse. She swallowed hard, feeling slightly sick by the mention. She shook her head, trying to get the vision of the handsome man out of her head. Lord Deloch was attractive, yes, but she had only seen him a couple times, it wasn't right for her to feel so strongly about his relationships with other women. "surely he has to have some sort of family... alive or dead...or dead and alive?" She tried her hardest not to jest, hoping that Edward would realize the seriousness in her tone. "Does he have no one but yourself that cares for him?"
 
Edward let out a slight, echoing chuckle. "The Lord has never told me about any family, neither dead, alive nor in-between. And I've never really asked a whole lot about it. Once, early in my service to him, I asked if he had anyone, anywhere, that missed him... He replied with a simple "no."" Edward made a sound akin to a sigh, but with air flowing through his skull, rather than throat. "But to answer your other question, no, the whole village isn't like me. And none of them are like you. There are quite a few living humans living here. And before your train of thought goes to odd places, the women the Lord was with were just that. Living humans. And quite a few of the living here work here in the castle. Most of the cooks are living, as an example. Quite a few of them care for the Lord. Though if you meant in a closer way, like friends and such... Well, not really." Edward once more grew quiet.
 
Rashara's glance suddenly dropped to the floor, her eyes watering and a single tear falling to the creaking wood floor.

"That's.... such a lonely existence..." Rashara wiped her tear with hand, looking back up to Edward and sighing. "You said before that he was... smitten with me, when I was alive? Why didn't he approach my parents regarding a betrothal?" She shook her head, wondering what would make a man go to such extremes.
 
"You think he did not?" Edward asked with a slightly annoyed tone. "He approached your parents about it. Several times, in fact. But every time they did nothing but show him the door. He was but the Lord of a small village, far away. They probably wanted a prince or someone equally *important*. And he was a necromancer. Neither of which your parents liked. So they sent him away. Back to his small village..." Edward sighed once more, before he started climbing some stairs. "He offered large amounts of gold and ancient tomes of magic for your hand. But they denied him. He was never a cheerful man before, yet every time he returned, he was depressed." He walked the last few steps in silence, before they strode up onto the battlements. The sun was setting and barely sending light over the mountains, making the scene a beautiful one. A great many small, wooden houses could be seen, stretching down a slight slope from the hill the castle was built on. It had started turning dark, so most of the houses had lit their lights, creating a great many little dots of light. "Welcome to Drend Village, my Lady." Edward said, letting her take in the view.
 
Rashara had lost her breath at the sight. The quaint village was stunning in the setting sun. She had absorbed everything Edward said, though she didn't bring the subject back up. All she said was "I'm sorry" Quietly and mostly to herself as they had breached the last bit of stairs.

"I...I don't know what to say. This place is... It's nothing like I would have expected..." For a moment Rashara stood motionless, staring out the window, until suddenly she heard someone enter the room from behind her. When she slowly turned, she expected possibly another skeletal guard, but instead she saw Lord DeLoch.

"My Lord" She whispered, not sure what else to say. She bowed her head respectfully.
 
Victor decided that enough was enough. He couldn't just sit in his library all day. Especially not now, as the sun had started to set. Instead, he started walking towards the battlements to see the sunset over his village. It was always such a beautiful sight, he thought.
What met him was more beautiful than he had expected however. Not only was it his village, basked in the setting sun. It was also the woman he had such feelings for, her beauty only enchanted by the sun. He was stunned for a few seconds, before his mind realized she had addressed him. He blinked a few times, before answering her. "Queen Rashara... I... I wasn't expecting to find you here... I'm happy that you've finally decided to come out of your room though. I, uh. I hope I'm not disturbing you during something important?" He asked, truly hoping he hadn't done a terrible mistake by coming up here.
 
Rashara shook her head, simply smiling at him. "No... I'm not being bothered, please come stand with me".
Rashara held her head high, though she giggled at his formality. "You address me in my mothers honor- I am no Queen, a Princess, truly..." Her kind eyes smiled as she turned to look back out the window.
 
Victor walked up to her side, trying to focus on the view outside, yet his eyes kept looking at her. "Well, what can I say? I had hoped that you'd accept becoming the queen of these people. And if nothing else, you have the beauty of a queen." He said. "Or, from what I remember of your mother, a beauty far surpassing her's." He smiled slightly, once more trying to concentrate on the sunset, and once more failing.
 
"You flatter me, honestly..." Rashara turned her head to hide her blush. Her eyes caught Edwards glance as she moved, watching as his boney jaw tightened. He told her not to repeat anything he had told her about his master, but she couldn't help but think about it. Lord DeLoch was practically obsessed with her! She fell silent as she looked out at the departing sun, trying hard to refrain from speaking out of turn and upsetting the Lord. She cupped her hands together, almost as if to grasp the last remaining rays of sunlight as they dissapeared beyond the moutains, still remaining silent.
 
As the sun disappeared behind the mountain, Victor's smile grew slightly wider. He let out a sigh of happiness, before turning to face Rashara. "So... What do you think of my little piece of the world? Its not a big place, I know. It's nothing more than a small mountain town with limited trade. Yet it is my home... And if you were to choose so, it'll also be yours." He held his hands behind his back, not wanting to wave them around like some idiot.
 
"I... I do, yes..." It seemed Rashara's mouth spoke before her brain could catch up, wanting so badly to make the desperately lonely man content. She curtsied, bowing her head and </SPAN>smiling sweetly, just like she would when conversing with anyone else of similar stature. As creepy as he came off, he was still a Lord and she still was expected to respect his existance.


"It will take me time, but leadership is something that you don't just fall into. My parents tought me to win the love of my community, not just rule it." She stood with her chin up, dignified and beautiful. "I'm sure you can understand that..." </SPAN>
 
"Ah, of course, of course. When I came to power here, it wasn't as easy as I had first thought. But I managed, both to keep the town together and to win the trust of the people. With time, one can accomplish quite a lot. But other things won't happen, no matter how much time you have..." Victor trailed off, and he stared at the wall behind Rashara, almost as if there was something there. Yet after a few moments, he regained focus and looked at her again. "Where was I...?" He thought for a moment. "I lost my train of thought..." He said, slightly embarrassed.
 
"It is getting late, I do not blame your scattered brain. I'm sure whatever the ritual was that you needed to preform on my behalf was quite taxing..." She reached out and touched his upper arm, ever so gently, to show her support. "Purhaps you should retire to your chamber?"
 
"Yes, such a ritual is rather exhausting. But they are also worth it, giving new life to someone." He smiled at her touch. "Yes, I suppose I should. The ritual kept me awake all of last night, so getting some sleep would probably be for the best... If there is anything, I'm certain Sir Stones will be more than willing to help. I bid you a good night." He said, before he left through the same door he came.

A few seconds passed, before Edward spoke. "So, what does the Lady wish? To keep looking at the town? It is quite beautiful at night as well, when you can see all the lights going down the hill."
 
Rashara turned around to face Edward, a certain miscievious twinkle in her eyes. "I think I would like to take a walk outside the castle..."