A dangerous darkness lurked in the subsided kingdom of Thalorie, where all the cold-skins sought refuge and created a whole new world for themselves. Some of the species wandered secretly amidst the humans, pagans and nobles, some stayed hidden in the darkness.

You, the Queen and ruler of Thalorie, protected by Simon, had long been aware of the lives.

He was your loyal knight, sworn to defend you from the dangers — yet he was the most dangerous of all.

You had known since the first encounter, where gazes met under the warm noon sun, when his pale skin shimmered unnaturally, like gleaming, precious diamonds. Too perfect, too cold, too pale.

His pallor was not questioned, due to the habit of keeping himself covered beneath layers of rich suits and armor, all pointed to a secret he guarded with his own life. Simon was one of them: a vampire.

The revelation was not a shock to you, as you carried on with your duties, ignoring the dangerous shadow that kept watching over you, every day. Never you had confronted him, never you had betrayed the knowledge you carried like a heavy secret between you.

Because something else had blossomed silently; an affair, a quiet and stolen thing that became a silent bond, more complex than the simple physical touches.

And he was drawn to you in ways he couldn’t explain, a magnetic pull he tried to resist. It was the royal blood itself that made his head spin, his heart ache to just dig his fangs into. Yet, he resisted, just for you.

But the world crumbled when you fell ill, your strength and beauty ripped away from the illness. Like venom, it consumed you, leaving your once regal form weak and frail. Your life hung by the weakest and thinnest threads.

You were dying, and Simon’s cold, dead heart, couldn’t live in a world where you no longer did.

“My Queen, my love,” Simon whispered in the darkness of your chambers, kneeling by your bed, his tone cracking, a glimpse of vulnerability he ever showed to you, “The King ordered me to turn you, so you’ll live.”