Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Willow POV

The fairy priest was brief. I had asked for the funeral to be done as quickly as possible. He has done exactly as I asked. He spoke highly of my father. There was no mention of him deserting the crown. There was no mention of anything that could harm his reputation. I know he was not perfect. He was perfect to me. He was excellent to my siblings. I only want the memories they have to be good. There is no reason to mention him walking away from his duty as King. He chose never to take the throne. He has good reasons. I hold no ill will toward him for the life we lived. Not even for the agreement of my marriage to Lazarus. None of this was ultimately his fault.

The pallbearers close my father’s casket. Watching it close, knowing I will never see his face again, brings a sudden feeling deep in my stomach. I feel as if I could die with him. I look over at my siblings, watching as the casket closes. I have to be strong for them. They need me now. I know Luanne will use them to try to further herself. She has always been and always will be a selfish bitch.

As the casket makes its way out of the French doors, I stand to follow. My siblings walk ahead of me. Lazarus and Prissy walk with me to see my father’s final resting place. The sun is beginning to set. The men walking my father look as if they are walking him directly into the sun. It is a beautiful, peaceful sight.

The council takes their place around my father’s casket. They bid farewell to him. They did not always see eye to eye, but the council is putting those differences aside for now. Rudan wanted my father to take up his crown to protect the fairies. He never wanted that life for us. He feared for our safety, I assume. I will never know his reasons now. I dare not ask Luanne she would blame me alone. She would never tell me the truth.

I stand in silence as the fairy council and priest conduct the send-off ceremony. I do not understand all of the rituals. My fairy speak is very rusty. I need to work on that if I am to be the queen. I know most of the words.

When the ceremony priest and council finish, it is my turn. As the future queen is my duty to place the first handful of dirt onto his casket. I look down at his casket. The thought of him being there alone is heartbreaking for me. I grab a handful of dirt. I release it onto his coffin. My husband follows with his soil then my siblings. After the immediate family finishes, the council and the rest of those in attendance followed. We leave the grounds while the men complete his burial. I do not want to watch as they cover him in the dirt. At least he is close, so I can visit him when I need to.

I need a few minutes to decompress. I walk to the bathroom. I go inside the small front guest bathroom. I lock the door. I sit down on the floor. I cry. I cannot show these emotions in front of my siblings. I need to be strong for them. I cannot stop the tears.

“Willow, honey, are you okay?” Lazarus says from the other side of the door.

He leaves for a moment. He returns with a key. He opens the door to find me sitting on the floor crying. Lazarus sits on the floor with me.

“You are so brave,” he says.

“I am not. I am only doing what I am supposed to do. I am trying so hard to keep it together for my brothers and sister. I only needed a moment to cry,” I say.

“I know. This part is almost over. You can do this. I have so much faith in you,” Lazarus says.

He holds me. He left the door open. Prissy peers into the door. She sees I am distraught. She closes the door to give us privacy. I can hear her ushering the council to the library. Thank goodness for her.

“Are you ready to go meet with the council, or do you need a few more minutes?” Lazarus asks.

“I am good. Let’s do it. I am ready to get this part over,” I say.

Lazarus helps me to my feet. He kisses my forehead. “I will be with you all the way, my queen,” he says.

“Stop that. I am your wife, not your queen,” I say.

“Well, technically, you are not either yet, but I think we should get married as soon as possible,” Lazarus says.

“How soon?” I ask.

“Tomorrow?” he asks.

“How will I plan a wedding by tomorrow?” I ask.

“My mother can help. Seriously let us plan it for one week from today,” Lazarus says.

“I am good with that. In one week, you will be my husband,” I say.

He kisses my forehead again. He takes my hand to lead me to the council.

“Don’t let go, please,” I say.

“I will try to stay as close as I can. There are some things they will not let me be a part of with you. You understand you will be the head of this household, not me,” he says.

“Lazarus, wait, how do you feel about that?” I ask him.

“I am fine with it. At some point, when my parents give me the throne to the vampires, you will be the queen of the fairies, and I will be the king of the vampires until then I am content being your husband, the fairy/vampire prince,” he says.

We make our way into the library. The council is ready and waiting to speak with Lazarus and me. They all look so rigid. I do not think any of them have smiled in a very long time. Fairies are very sly and devilish in nature. Most of them are. Some are quiet people. These fairies look as if they are evil little beings. I could be wrong. I will tread lightly with them. I will be careful until I know their intentions.

“Willow, Lazarus, and Prissy, we are all very pleased to be here in your home,” Rudan says.

“Thank you for coming to help bury my father,” I say.

“Willow, it is important we get to business. Do you know why we are really here?” he asks.

“Yes. I believe I do,” I say.

“We are here tonight to plan a coronation for you to be queen. Now we would prefer the marriage to take place before the coronation. When is the wedding?” Rudan asks.

I take Lazarus by the hand. “We have decided to get married one week from today,” I say.

“Yes, we are making plans now, sir,” Lazarus says.

“Good. That is handled. The council will be present for it unless you are not having a wedding,” Rudan says.

“I would love for the council to be here. We will be having a fairy wedding,” I say.

I had not even discussed this with Lazarus yet. What if he wanted a vampire wedding, not a wedding by fairy standards? I am assuming he will be OK with this. He told me I am the head of the house.

“You understand that you are to be queen and Lazarus will be the prince of the fairies? Do you also understand that the vampires' throne is passed to him by that time, you both will have to be hybrids? We also expect there to be hybrid children from the two of you,” Rudan says.

“I do not understand how all of that works. I am sorry to sound dumb,” I say.

“The fairy transformation for him is a spell that a council member will handle. The vampire transformation for you will be a little more intrusive. I will let your soon-to-be husband go over all of that with you in private. The children, fairies can have children with any species. Since you are a fairy and he is a vampire, they should all be born hybrids. They could be born fairies. You need to have hybrid children to carry on the crown. Any children born not hybrids cannot carry the crown,” he says.

“I understand,” I say.

“Are you planning children soon?” he asks.

“We have not had time to discuss it,” I say.

“I suggest you discuss it and get back to us,” Rudan says.

I have to inform the council when I am trying to have a baby. I am not sure that is something I want yet. I know Lazarus said he wants children but not today.

“Now, what have you decided about your mother and siblings?” Rudan asks.

The room falls utterly silent for what seems like forever. I am not ready for this.

“Sir, I want to protect my siblings. I want them cared for. How can I make that happen?” I ask.

“You can crown your mother, queen mother. She will be given a home and money to survive. As well as protection from people like Lester,” Rudan says.

“Is there any other way?” I ask.

The council begins to whisper to each other. I guess the council was not expecting me to say no to my mother being queen mother.

“We would like to know why?” Rudan asks.

“Because she does not deserve it,” I say. I stand tall in my decision. To hell with her.

The council begins whispering to each other again. There is a knock on the library door. Lazarus waves for one of his men to check who it is. Who would be so stupid to disrupt a council meeting?

The man comes, looks out the door says something. He hurries over to tell Lazarus.

“It is Luanne. She would like to speak on her own behalf,” Lazarus says.

“That is not how this works. Luanne will have to wait,” Rudan says.

I breathe a sigh of relief. I do not need Luanne to come in here trying to manipulate the situation.

“Willow, my future queen, we have decided to discuss this further. We will do our best to develop a solution; until then, I place your siblings in protective custody. I assume you and Lazarus can handle that for the council,” Rudan says.

“Yes, sir. I have a large staff. We can care for all of them,” Lazarus says.

“I understand there are ten of them. Am I correct?” Rudan asks.

“Yes,” I say.

“Very well. I will have a decision by next week when we return for your wedding,” Rudan says.

Each of the council members comes down to wish me luck as the new fairy queen. It is overwhelming, but I get through it. Now to deal with Luanne.