The Half-Blood Princess by Mihaela Bogdan (best books to read for self improvement TXT) 📖

shaped as silver crosses, with a red ruby in the center, to match their silver ear rings.
  As for me, I wore mother’s wedding dress found near father’s suit in his bedroom, when I was cleaning it with Cornelius. I didn’t change anything of it, only my bouquet was the new article. It was made from red roses that were the symbol of eternal love and lilies to bring me good luck in having many children.
  -Are you ready to go, Valentina? Uncle Boris came near me and grabbed my right arm gently, looking closely at me and his daughters. You are beautiful, Cornelius will be proud. Scarlet, Rose, get Valentina’s veil, we are about to go in.
  The twins did as their father told them. Boris opened the doors and took me straight to the altar, in a slow and elegant walking. The organ began to make a louder song, announcing that the bride, me, had entered along with the maids and her new uncle.
  Everyone’s glance was on us, especially on me, making me feel nervous. I counted every step I made in my head, to be sure that I won’t make a mistake. I am the bride and queen, therefore a lot of pressure was on my shoulders. If I had made just one little mistake, I would made a fool of myself in front of everyone.
  -Are you nervous? You are trembling! Boris whispered to me concerned.
  -Of course I am. It is almost midnight and I will be married and crowned as queen. I am afraid that I might make a fool of myself.
  -Be calm, take a deep breath and whatever will happen, remember that you have a family who supports you. Boris advised me with a quick wink.
  Scarlet and Rose whispered together to me that they have my back, metaphorically and literally speaking.
  When we reached the altar, the organ ceased playing and everyone made silence. Boris took a sit next to Miranda and both of them were watching carefully, while holding hands. Cornelius hold both of my hands into his, looking at me like a hungry dog staring at a delicious bone.
  -You are beautiful, Valentina, even with short hair.
  It was true, although three months ago I cut my hair, it grew only a little, but it didn’t bother me. Miranda made it curly and the golden head band made me feel indeed like a queen.
  The clock tower beat twelve times. It was midnight.
  -Fellow vampires! Judge John began. We gathered here to reunite this young couple with the holy sacrament of marriage. If any one has a reason against this couple’s reunion, please speak now or be silenced forever. Can the godparents approach the bride and groom with the wedding rings?
  From the front row, near Boris and Miranda, a dark skin couple stand up, each holding in their hands a red squared pillow, with gold laces, and on top the golden wedding rings. The male, Lance, came to me and handed the ring destined to Cornelius; while his wife, Olivia who seemed to be pregnant, went near Cornelius and handed him my ring.
  -Cornelius Ivanov, do you take this female vampire to be your wife, to love her, to respect her, to be by her side during health and sickness, wealth and poverty, happiness and sadness; until the end of your lives?
  -I do! Cornelius responded, winking at me with a smile. I guess he didn’t change that much since I first met him.
  -Valentina Dracula, do you take this male vampire to be your husband, to love him, to respect him, to be by his side during health and sickness, wealth and poverty, happiness and sadness, until the end of your lives?
  -I do! I responded, feeling my cheeks burning, guessing that my face is red from the blushing.
  -You may now change the rings.
  Cornelius placed the ring from his hand in my left ring finger and I placed the ring from my hand in his left ring finger.
  -With the power invested in me I pronounce you husband and wife. Cornelius you may now kiss the bride.
Nervously, he took the small piece of veil that covered half of my face and grabbed me by the waist. When our lips touched, everybody cheered and applauded loudly, some throwing at us white petals and rice.
  Judge John told everybody to be silence, because now it was time to crown me at last. Henry brought me an armchair, Cornelius kissed me one more time, then he, Scarlet, Rose, Antoine and Henry set in the front row near Miranda, Boris, Lance and Olivia.
  Everyone made silence and watched me taking off my golden head band with the veil on it and put my right hand on the bible, that judge John handed to me.
  A week before this event, I have learned my oath. Judge John told me that father had to learn it too, when he crowned him as king.
  -Now princess Valentina, please say the oath loud and clear, so your fellow vampires that you are about to lead, can trust, respect and protect you during your reign from this day!
  -I, princess Valentina Dracula, daughter of Count Vladimir Dracula and Lady Maria Dracula, promise to rule among the vampire community with courage, wisdom, justice, respect and love. I will follow the code of honor as any other vampire, without any exception. I will protect my people from the cruelty of man kind and other danger that threatens to destroy their peaceful living. Hope that the all mighty God heard my words and I pray for his protection as long as I live. In the name of Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit … Amen!
  I spoke the last word with a terrible taste in my mouth and I noticed that Cornelius shared my feeling. A male vampire brought father’s crown. It was all made of gold and it had a cross on top of it, with red velvet pieces between the golden bars that were connecting the base of the crown with the cross. On those golden bars, little red, green, yellow and white stones were shinning like stars.
  -And now princess Valentina Dracula, I John Smith, judge and priest of the vampire community, crown you Queen Valentina Dracula! May your reign bring what is best among the vampire kind! LONG LIVE QUEEN VALENTINA DRACULA AND HER HUSBAND CORNELIUS DRACULA!
  The crowd shout the last sentence many times, while Cornelius and I were heading to the doors, followed by Lance and Olivia, Boris and Miranda, Antoine and Scarlet, Henry and Rose. The cheering and applauding continued even after we went outside, where three carriages with black horses were waiting to get us to the castle.
  And three nights later, the wedding finally ended. It was the biggest wedding that took place in Transylvania. Father, mother, grandpa Daniel, aunt Linda, I hope you are proud and happy for me. Please pray for my life, Cornelius’s and all the people that are now my new family. May you all rest in peace now! Your enemies are dead, your unfair deaths have been avenged and now I am living my life as you all wished! XXVIII/28

Ten years later.
  I managed to complete my collection of dictionaries from all over the world. There are vampires everywhere and I must know at least the most used languages since I’m their queen.
  Although Cornelius is the husband of the queen of vampires, he doesn’t want to be called king nor even prince. He is happy with just being my husband and the father of our two children, our eight year old Cornelia and Valentine. They are twins like their aunts, Scarlet and Rose.
  But if you look closer at them, you wouldn’t believe that they are actually twins because Cornelia has light brown hair and looks more like her father and Valentine has dark hair like mine.
  Speaking of them, Scarlet married Antoine immediately after my wedding with Cornelius; and three months later it was Rose’s turn to marry Henry. Scarlet gave birth to two boys, seven and six year old, Marcus and Allen. Rose gave birth to a girl, Mirabela, named after her deceased aunt, Cornelius’s mother. She and Henry said that after they will get used with Mirabela, they will think about having a second and maybe a third child.
  I forgot to mention that Lance and Olivia, our godparents, were the first ones to become parents. Their ten years old son, Oliver, whom is also my little Valentine’s best friend.
  My children’s birth day is on twenty five December, right on Christmas Eve. This means that they get a double amount of presents. Luckily for me that I have also inherited father’s wealth to keep my children happy and a little spoiled.
  I know it is not right for a parent to spoil its children, but I can’t help myself. I love Cornelia and Valentine oh so much, sometimes even more than Cornelius. I want to see them happy, they mustn’t know how it feels to suffer or cry, as I did in my childhood.
  Cornelia and Valentine are aware of their grandparents past. Cornelius and I told them the long story of how I became to be a vampire and queen, how their grandfather Vladimir was murdered by their other grandfather, Dragomir, how I had to defeat him in a duel to avenge my father’s death and of course our wedding day.
  Being little children, they didn’t get impressed much about my story, although I wrote it down on a small diary. Maybe when they’ll get older, they will understand things my way. Who knows?!
  In the living room, near the old family portrait of father, mother and me; we had other portraits. One was with me and Cornelius in our wedding clothes; another one was with both of us and our twin children; another one with Miranda, Boris, Scarlet and Rose; another one with our godparents Lance and Olivia with baby Oliver; another one with Scarlet and Antoine at their wedding, and another with Rose and Henry’s wedding.
  In other words, the living room walls and halls were full of family paintings, which made the castle a decent place to raise a huge family.
  My life as a wife and mother is piece of cake compared to my duties as queen. All the responsibility of the vampire community is laying on my shoulders. Applying the laws when they are needed, organizing important events and other worries regarding the life of my people depend on my decisions.
  From time to time I’m using father’s suggestions during his reign. As a queen, I have my personal study on the top rooms of the castle. My study was father’s old one which contained several diaries and notes with the decisions he made during his reign.
  The study was a small room,