Starter post:
The princess stared out her bedroom window. The clouds had gathered. The weather seemed to be quite depressing. She was lost in her thoughts. Tomorrow was the day she would be lead to her pre-chosen path, the day her life would change forever....

The day she would meet her groom to be.

Keir

"I can't believe that you're marrying a human princess. An actual human being." Keir's eldest sister emerged in the doorway, an amused look softening her high cheekbones.
"You should smile more often, Louaine. It suits your features." Keir made a few steps towards her. He opened his right hand to reveal the small item, that he had kept hidden inside it. Louaine gasped, reaching her hand out to touch the smallest diamond ring she had ever seen. Unlike human engagement rings, this one didn't seem to consist of anything but this one beloved gemstone, a small piece of art made by the royal blacksmith, a Vampire himself.

"Do you think she will be fond of it? When I commissioned Lord Dart to create it, he raised his doubts. He believes that a human and especially a princess can only be content with the priciest one of them all. Yet I have never been an advocate of needlessy worldly possessions and never will be."
Louaine traced the pattern with her fingers, before she took a step back. "Don't fret. I have never seen such a delicate design, that could only fit the hand of a graceful future Queen. Are you going to propose to her tonight?" Despite her calm voice she was clearly bursting with curiosity and Keir couldn't blame her. Never before had a Vampire prince even contemplated forging a bond with a human princess, but difficult times required life-changing measures.

"I need to do what is right for our future. This alliance is crucial to live in peace. But first, I would like to become acquainted with her."

Danielle Sarah Rose

Danielle sighed. She sat at her vanity, brushing her hair. She was not exactly in a happy mood. Hearing about her fathers' decision really upset her. 'How can he just force me to do this?!'she had thought. She sighed. The princess had closed her eyes and had stopped brushing her hair.

She heard a knock at the door. Her brother entered the room. He looked to be no happier than she was about all this. The prince sighed and spoke after a moment.
"I wish father had not agreed to such an arrangement for you. You deserve to be happy."
He had married for love and he had hoped his sister would be granted the same opportunity. But, that was not to be.

Danielle sighed.
"Neither do I, Thomas, but circumstances require this. That is what father has said anyway."
She frowned as she remembered that.

Thomas sighed.
"I know."
He paused. He hesitated to say anything else. Danielle raised an eyebrow and turned in her seat to face him completely before she spoke.

"Thomas, is there anything else you came here to say?"

Thomas sighed again.
"Your'...-clears throat-... 'fiancée'...is due to arrive here soon. It is suspected that he may choose to arrive by tonight."

Danielle took a breath. She tried not to sigh again. She slowly nodded once.
"I see."
She paused for a moment.
"...very well. Thank you for telling me."
She turned to resume looking out her bedroom window. She looked at all the stores and houses and such that lined the streets. She wished that she could have had a life like those people.... ordinary, common...free. Sadly, she knew that would never happen.

Thomas nodded.
"I'll see you at dinner time then."
He turned to leave. The last Danielle saw of her brother before he left the room were those silly clothes of his he wore when not attending a party or something.

Keir

On the stroke of midnight Keir stood in front of the gates of his future wife's castle. His and her advisers hadn't agreed on a specific time, hence why he chose the early hours. He understood that human preferred the daylight and some even feared the dark, however he prioritized absolute privacy over comfortableness. He didn't want other humans to eavesdrop on their conversations and tell their own tales to their neighbours and friends, making up wild stories and fatal accusations. For the most part he could barely stand the toxicity of his own kin, let alone human fantasies. No, it was absolutely essential for the two to meet at this exact time, when everyone else was fast asleep.

"Your highness, what an honor to invite you into our house. Please, come in and be our guest." An older man in a black robe, who Keir estimated to be around 50 years old, interrupted his train of thought and ushered him inside. Keir acknowledged his hospitality with a simple nod and then followed the man.
"My name is Janitor and I am the gatekeeper of this beautiful castle", the man continued their conversation and chuckled for a second, before he said "and you must be terribly hungry after your exhausting trip. Can I offer you -" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Keir slowly raised his hand.

"Thank you for your generosity, dear - Janitor. But I'm still full from my last meal."
Their eyes met for a brief second, before Janitor flushed and dropped his gaze. "I understand, your highness. I am sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you with this offer. I didn't mean to insult you or other vampires in any way."
Keir shook his head in amusement, placing his right hand on the gatekeeper's back. "There is no reason for concern. Please just bring me to the Princess. I would like to speak to her."

Danielle

The princess was still in her room. She had expected the vampire prince to arrive hours ago. Her brother had expected the same. She had since had dinner and gotten ready for bed. She was in bed, fast asleep, snoring softly. Her father and brother were asleep in their beds as well.

There was a loud knock at her door. It aroused her from slumber with a start. She glared towards the door as a maids' voice could be heard.

"Excuse me, your highness? But I was told to inform you that his Majesty has arrived. It would seem he didn't want to arrive until these awful hours."

Danielle frowned and sighed. She was not happy to hear that. She considered it quite rude to arrive at the time that he has. She took a deep breath.
"...very well."

She got up and grabbed her robe. She did not have much time to get ready, it would seem.

The maid nodded, despite it not being seen.
"I shall excuse myself, your highness."
The maid, then, left.

Danielle mainly just brushed her hair and put on a proper covering. It was the princes' fault that she did not have the time to look presentable, she thought.

Keir

He was told to wait outside the door until the princess would ask for him to enter the room. If he didn't obey, they couldn't guarantee a peaceful encounter. At least that is what the doorkeeper repeated to Keir over and over again. Keir himself agreed without hesitation and reassured them that he had no intentions to agitate the princess. After all, he had plenty of time to spare, as for the moment, his main pursuit was marriage.

"Let her know that I will wait outside in the private garden. I do not want to bother her in her own room for we are not yet husband and wife."

The princess was hesitant to leave her room upon hearing that. She had expected to meet him within the walls of the castle. She had not set foot in the gardens since her mother died and neither had her brother. She called her brother to her room. He quickly dressed and met with her. She explained the situation. The prince nodded. He gave her time to dress before he escorted her to the gardens. Danielle would meet with the vampire prince with her brother, the crown prince of the human kingdom, following her from a safe distance.

Keir

"Your highnesses, thank you for meeting me here." Keir nodded respectfully upon seeing his future wife and brother-in-law. His eyes then rested on the crown prince. "I fully understand your concern, but I only ask for a quiet conversation with your sister. I promise that I won't lay a hand on her and you have every right to watch us from afar."
Despite his calm demeanor, Keir was delighted with the princess undeniably fine boned features that were a rare sight in humans. Even he, who praised to treat everyone equal regardless of whether the person was good looking or not, admired her beaming eyes. Yet, he had to remind himself that she still was a human princess, not a vampire and that beauty was fleeting. He had witnessed the birth and death of too many fair creatures to concentrate on such a trivial matter. This time he purely hoped for them to build a strong connection based on mutual interests rather than looks.

The princess sighed and nodded once and slowly. She narrowed her eyes as she sat down upon the nearby garden bench. Her brother narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. Thomas sighed and shook his head.
"I do not approve of this. It is improper."
He backed up into the shadows a bit, but remaining where he could see them.

Danielle sighed. 'The vampire prince is truly improper. That is a bad sign'she agreed with her brother inside her thoughts. She turned her head away at that point. She frowned. She sighed again. She closed her eyes after a moment or so. She simply waited. Although, in truth, she did not wish to hear what the vampire prince had to say. She actually wanted nothing to do with him, especially since the marriage was actually an arranged one.

Keir

He stifled dissent, as the human crown prince voiced his disapproval. This was not the time for a fight, not after both sides had been through. For the first time an eerie thought struck him. What if she was completely against the idea of marrying a prince and heir to the vampire throne? Sooner or later she could be the Queen of a foreign species. Certainly the sole concept frightened her more than him, who had been prepared for this moment all his life.

"Your highness, I suppose now would be the perfect time for me to introduce myself, but although we're strangers, we are not strange to each other. My mother has spoken highly of you and I can only hope for you to reciprocate those feelings. I am glad that we are now standing here to speak about our future." Keir paused for her to digest his words, before he continued: "We didn't have a say in this matter, however, I will not stand idly by whilst everyone else is monitoring our daily lives. That is why I am here to talk to you about - us."

Danielle

The crown prince sighed, watching from where he was. Thomas was unhappy as he watched his sister with that vampire prince.

Danielle simply nodded as the vampire prince, keir his name apparently was, spoke. However, she did note something that made her raise an eyebrow before she heard the rest of it.

"um, I am sitting, in case you did not notice your majesty."
The princess indicated towards the garden bench. She started to simply nod again after that, doing her best to listen to what he had to say. She took a deep breath.

"so...what is it that you wish to discuss, exactly, if it has to do so much with us?"
Danielle crossed her arms. She waited to hear him answer her question. She noted that her brother still watched from the shadows. The crown prince was waiting for Kier to say something as well. Unlike Danielle, he was not a very patient human, not in this case. His arms were crossed and he frowned with narrowed eyes.

Keir

"um, I am sitting, in case you did not notice your majesty." Keir ignored the comment, knowing that he might risk an argument by not responding to it, but at the same wanting to proceed with his current conversation. He simply acknowledged it with a nod, as he was terrible at making other people laugh about his jokes. Serious topics did consume most of his time talking to other people, therefore he preferred them over his unsuccessful attempts to be entertaining. Why else would you hire a court jester, if everybody had the natural skill of causing other people to cry out in tears simply because they could tell you an absurd thing or two about their lives?

"I'd like to get to know you. Everyday. Starting with this night and until our inevitable marriage." He paused again, this time waiting for her response.

Danielle

Danielle sighed. She gave a slow nod. She could just tell what her brother mist be feeling at the moment about that. After all, he was still close by, watching them.

"...very well."
The princess looked right at him and continued.

"My father would consider it a trivial matter though. We are to Wed regardless of whether or not we 'know' each other."
Danielle frowned a bit as she said that. Every time her father was mentioned, she would frown like that. This decision he made was the worst thing he ever did, in her eyes.

Keir

"Yes, I understand your father's concerns, yet as much as he might be part of the wedding ceremony, in the end we are the only two involved in our marriage life", Keir replied with a wry smile.
Since Danielle held herself aloof, he was even more intrigued to uncover her true personality. Anyone could tell by her demeanor, that she didn't think highly of their forced alliance and Keir would be the last person to argue with her. After all, what did it mean to him? To spend a few decades of his life with a human princess in exchange for temporary peace. The eternal respect of the vampire world for his small sacrifice.
Danielle would pledge her undying allegiance to him until her final day on earth. At least he would make her life worth-while.

"Princess, have you ever set foot inside the Vampire castle?"

The Princess ignored the wry smile. Danielle sighed a bit. She just nodded and only once to that statement. She blinked when he asked if she had set foot in the vampire castle. The Princess frowned.

"No, I have not."
Danielle took a breath.
"I have never even left our own. My father had never allowed it."
She glanced towards the vampire prince again

Keir

"Would you be interested in seeing the world outside?", he pressed on and took a small step forward, realizing a split second later that his move made him appear even taller and more daunting than he'd intended to.

"I know your safety is dear to your father, but surely he will not mind letting you have a look at your future home?" As he spoke to the princess, he reduced the distance between them, now standing mere inches in front of her.
"And I have a feeling that you might be curious yourself."

Danielle blinked. She looked away.
"....perhaps."

She noticed him still moving closer. She heard what he was saying to her. She took a deep breath.
"I....I am not sure."

Her brother, watching from where he was, narrowed his eyes at that. He did not care for that idea at all.

Keir

"Let me show you where I live. I promise, that you will not regret it", Keir offered and extended his hand to her. Then, realizing that she might not be permitted to touch him, he slowly dropped his arm and tried it with an assuring smile instead.
"Don't worry, your brother, the prince, can accompany you if he wishes to do so." He was more than willing to accept her brother's presence, as long as it helped her to trust him.

Danielle hesitated for a moment. She saw him offer a hand to her for a time. She had actually been tempted to reach for it. But, then, she happened to glance behind her towards the shadows. Her brother had narrowed his eyes. She then decided against reaching for the princes' hand when the prince had taken it back and was smiling at her. Danielle took a breath and nodded.
"..very well."
She knew her brother would follow along. The crown prince was always suspicious of outsiders regardless of circumstances and such.

Keir

"Well, the castle is only a stone's throw away from here, shall we go for a walk?" Despite his calm demeanour, Keir had to strain himself to not openly show his excitement towards her and her brother, as they strode along the path, that connected the castles. Hundreds of years ago, when their ancestors had concluded peace after a period of long wars, they had agreed upon building their homes next to one another and live in peaceful coexistence. Their shared beliefs, unsurprisingly, had changed over the years until none of them could remember that they ever had anything in common until now.