A curious Sunflower

"One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three... And stop!" In exasperation, the dance teacher screamed. "It has been two weeks! How come you can not follow the steps correctly?"

The graceful maiden stopped, her eyebrows shooting up in bewilderment. "But I am doing it right. What more needs to be done?" 

The dance teacher stomped towards her, her heavily makeup-ed face creased with discontent. "The ball is tonight, your highness." 

Clenching her teeth, Gwyneth nevertheless bowed her head apologetically.

Upon her rebirth, she genuinely believed that her new existence would surpass her previous one in every way. She was not prepared for the complete return of her memories from her previous life, nor for the slight resemblance between that life and her current one—namely, the need to be flawless and born into an aristocratic family.

Even worse, she belonged to a family of power-hungry mongrels and was a princess of a kingdom. The fairest princess in the land, Princess Gwyneth Whitworth of Descaera, born to be perfect in every way.

To her further surprise, her appearance had not changed from her previous life. Her long platinum white hair and midnight eyes, she was twenty-two years old at the moment. 

"You do not need to worry about my errors, Madame Danna. I promise to practice until tonight. After all, this is my sister's arranged union. Not my marriage." Gwyneth spoke, her hands clenching tightly against her dress.

Madame Danna scoffed, incredulously. "Are you saying that I am wasting my time here? You have been successful in chasing away all potential grooms over the years. I am doing everything in my power to get you noticed by a powerful vampire prince or an honorable vampire lord."

Gwyneth simply rolled her eyes and looked away. "I am not interested in getting married." Never again would she be bound by any union.

"Enough of your nonsense! Your sister is getting engaged tonight and here you are," Madame Danna hissed in disdain. "Spitting out garbage."

Gwyneth took a deep breath, not wanting to respond to those remarks. Madame Danna was one of the greatest dancers in the Kingdom, hired to teach her every dance known to man. She was unaware of the political dynamics surrounding this engagement.

Currently, the vampires were becoming deeply involved with humans, making them neither foes nor rivals. No human really understood what was going on inside their heads, and as long as they were making gains, they did not seem to care. 

Her father was one of those humans. He was willing to marry his daughter to a royal vampire! And he left no details to anyone other than his court, elders, and warriors.

In her previous life, she was a human surrounded by magic. They were all half humans and half mages who ranked second to humans. However, not everyone possessed magic, and she was the only member of her family without it, so her beauty was exploited... 

Her life revolved around her home and her curse. This time, however, things were different. She intended to live a free life and let go of all the suffering from her previous existence. It was called the "past" for a reason.

"I shall take my leave now." Gwyneth said, using the most polite voice she could muster, and she swiftly left the well-lit practice room while clutching her dress. 

"Where do you think you are going?!" Behind her, Madame Danna's voice rang out, frustrated.

Gwyneth beamingly ran down the hallways, swerving around the walking housekeepers and guards. "Coming through!"

Upon arriving at the courtyard, she was startled to see her father and uncle standing together, their expressions strange. Gasping, she covered her lips with her hands, and hid behind a pillar.

"Vampires are bloodsuckers, brother, they feed on us. You have time to reconsider this." Her uncle and the Duke of Calidra, Gerald, was extremely careful in his speech. 

Gwyneth pursed her lips, her midnight blue eyes growing wide with intense curiosity.

"We are not the ones at war with the vampires, Gerald." Speaking with his gaze fixed on his hands, which had two large silver gems resting on them, King Lucius spoke. 

Those gems... Gwyneth squinted her eyes.

"Plus, they promised us treasures and protection in exchange for Imogen's hand in marriage. If the war comes to us, they will protect Descaera."

"You are willing to sacrifice your daughter?" Gerald's brows knitted. "We can protect ourselves, Lucius. You should not imitate the other kingdoms that have submitted to the demands made by those bloodthirsty beasts."

"That is enough!" Lucius exploded, giving his brother a vengeful glare. "There is nothing you can say to me that would influence my choice. One child, just one child! I have no regrets, I will benefit greatly!" 

Gwyneth's eyes narrowed, her heart pounding with rage at her father's words. 

Gerald took a step back. "Power, power, power. It is all you can think about." Then he lowered his head in deference. "I apologize, your Majesty; I had forgotten about your mindset."

Lucius rolled his eyes. "The guests will arrive shortly, and the ball will take place at midnight as scheduled. Uphold your position as the duke, and I shall upload mine as the king." And the gems vanished from his hands, following his storm off.

Gwyneth averted her gaze from her uncle. She leaned back against the pillar, blinking as she tried to process those words. The feelings that those words conveyed!

According to books, humans were the most sparsely populated beings in existence, and because they were prey, they made the decision to survive and thrive independently of other beings.

But now that vampires and humans were making deals, her sister was being given to the vampires in return for treasures and protection....?

"Hi there, mischievous little sunflower," A familiar voice rang out in her ear, and she jolted away from the pillar.

"Uncle!"

Gerald offered a slender smile. "You had your ear to the taps."

Gwyneth gasped, putting her hands over her mouth. "You knew?! Did father..."

"Your father lacks my level of intelligence." Gerald grinned. Tall and well-built, he appeared much younger than his actual age. Still, his age was sold off by his black and gray beard.

Dropping her hands, Gwyneth nodded in agreement. "I apologize, I just happened to run into you two and..."

"Pretend like you never heard us speak, little one." Gerald interrupted her, his expression hardening. "If nothing else, you should consider yourself fortunate that you are not wearing Imogen's shoes. Very soon, you will succeed in your role as duchess. Focus on that."

Gwyneth could not believe her ears. This was no laughing matter! What would happen if her sister became a blood slave or worse? 

"You want me to stand by while my little sister is being sold off through a ruse known as marriage?" 

Gerald pinched the area between his eyebrows and let out a long, heavy sigh. "Sunflower, you..."

"It seems like there is more to this." Gwyneth interrupted, her face harsh, her tone stern. "Tell me."

Gerald's pupils constricted slightly.

"There is." Gwyneth took a deep breath at the affirmative response. 

"Fine." Gerald shook his head, hesitantly. "Join me." And he walked away, into the corridor with the Sunflower, trailing behind with a puzzled expression.