Hell’s Consort

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Vampire King Apollyon

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Prince Aspen blinked before placing his goblet down the table in a clunk.

"Three casks of the 'White Stag'?" His voice rose in alarm, regarding Apollyon as if flowers were bursting out of his ears. "You must be out of your mind, Your Highness."

The waitress interrupted as she bent forward, facing Apollyon.

She 'accidentally' showed her well-endowed breasts, the loose cleavage on her dress dropping lower. "Is there anything else you would like to order aside from the White Stag, You're Highness?" 

"You are pretty." Prince Aspen's voice turned huskier as he saw the same thing Apollyon witnessed seconds earlier before he shifted his gaze to the empty goblet.  "Are you on the menu, young lady?" 

"I apologize for the Faerie Prince, young miss, but the man already had a fiance waiting for him at his Manor," Apollyon said, hearing the sound of laughter of other Fae aristocrats not far behind them.

He had no idea if these bastards were laughing at them or where they were laughing at their own jests.

Prince Aspen had caught the waitress's attention, and she faced him, gracing him with a flirtatious curtsy. "I think it would be alright if we kept it a secret from this fiance of yours if you still wanted to eat me."

"I am officially disgusted." Apollyon wrinkled his nose and said aloud, "I shall leave and find another pub nearby."

"No, it's alright, my Lady." Ignoring him, Prince Aspen held out a hand, and the waitress hesitantly placed her small fingers in his. "I will pull you aside for a conversation without the Vampire King's presence." 

Aspen kissed each finger as he maintained eye contact, and the young miss gave him a coy smile.

"You should stay away from this libertine. The Faerie Prince went to my Kingdom, picked one of my concubines, and brought her to the Faerie Realm to become his fiance. But he kept her locked up inside his Lilac Manor, instead."

The waitress gasped.

"She never saw the sunshine ever since. Nobody knew if the human girl is still dead or alive in the dungeons because nobody saw her again." Apollyon warned the young miss in a polite tone.

He leaned one elbow on the armrest as he cradled his head with a hand, looking bored. "If you want to share the same fate, go ahead."

Scowling in his direction, Prince Aspen gritted his teeth as he whispered. "You're Highness. You saw my fiance at the Ostara because I brought her there."

The waitress covered her mouth in surprise; her dark brown eyes riveted on Apollyon.

"See, young miss? It came from his own mouth that he had a fiance he hid somewhere." Apollyon made grand gestures at the Faerie Prince with his hands. "The Ostara was the first and the last time I have seen the concubine in the years that I have stayed in his Manor."

"You get where I am coming from?" The waitress nodded at that. "Stay away from the man while you still got the chance, or else you would be the next victim." 

Prince Aspen gave him a sarcastic grin."Not only are you cock-blocking me, but you are also ruining my reputation."

"You are also ruining my reputation, Prince Aspen." Apollyon gave a sharp grin of his own. "It's not enough that you gave me and my wife a small house in the uncharted territory of the solitaries. You have to stop the Spring Monarchs from threatening us because we will fight to the death if you push us to a corner. You have to put Princess Alisabethe on a leash if you knew that she was ruining our image from the Spring Faeries."

"I thought we were allies here." Gritting his teeth, Apollyon lowered his voice. "Don't wait for the moment where I have no choice but to strangle that spoiled rotten princess with my bare hands."

"Hey!" Prince Aspen pointed the finger at him and called out, "It's also my youngest sister you are talking bad about!"

Apollyon shrugged, giving him a piercing glance. "You know who is in the wrong, Prince Aspen. If you want to 'really' help us, do something about your sister. The Spring Monarchs would follow if she took her words back and stop spreading foolish gossips  about my wife being a high-level demon who desired to invade the Faerie Realms."

The waitress gasped when she heard the word 'high-level demon.'

"I will, but  you have to be patient." Prince Aspen acquiesced. "I told you this would be over soon."

Blinking a few times, Prince Aspen pinched his lips together as he gained his composure. "My lady. One cask of the White Stag would be enough for the both of us."

"No, I need three." Apollyon insisted in a low growl.

He paused, smirking, "You really don't know what happened that night, huh?"

Prince Aspen never failed to intrigue him, but Apollyon already knew that the bastard wouldn't tell.

"Nevermind," Aspen smiled a secret smile as mischief glinted in his eyes. "You will be drinking a cask tonight, so keep your eyes open and observe how you act."

Apollyon let out a sigh because he already knew it.

He will know the answer tonight.

To the waitress, Prince Aspen ordered, "Lady, please serve us one cask of the 'White Stag' and another cask of my previous order, 'Purple Rose. Nothing else."

He announced merrily, "We, gentlemen, will drink faerie wine and talk about women all night."

The waitress listed their order, and then she was gone, descending to the spiral staircase to prepare the liquor.

"You don't look too good that I discouraged one of your future victims, Prince Aspen." 

  Prince Aspen winced as he changed the subject. "I was about to ask you about your problem with the Empress, but you wouldn't spill the tea, so I'm going to ask you if you could lend me an ear." Cocking a curious eyebrow, Apollyon angled his head in interest.

"Lady Clarence wanted to return to the Vampire Realm along with you and the Empress if the war would push through."