She turned around to make sure Calhoun was not following her right now. As Madeline walked, every now and then, she looked behind her. Her heart was beating too loud that could catch any vampire’s attention. Taking a deep breath as she made her way through the halls and the corridors of the castle, she hoped not to be caught by Calhoun now.
Madeline wanted to save her remaining innocense that was there before the King would get his way with her. The problem here was that Calhoun always found some way to bargain and twist her words, leaving her speechless as she didn’t know how to deal with him. She wished she was smarter than him, and this was hopefully her being intelligent.
She had tricked him by making him believe her mother was right there, diverting his concentration from her before she bolted out and away from Calhoun’s side.
Her footsteps were fast, and Madeline tried to ease herself by thinking that Calhoun was nowhere around.
Just when she thought she had got rid of Calhoun’s presence around her, Madeline saw him standing on the other side of the corridor. He was fixing one of his buttons on his sleeve. Calhoun was not looking at her and Madeline wondered if he didn’t notice her. But she was wrong.
When Madeline sneakily tried to leave the corridor by taking two steps behind, Calhoun’s eyes were quick to look at her.
He caught her. Calhoun’s eyes looked dark yet alive. There was no smile on his lips as he let go of the sleeve to take a step forward. Madeline knew that she wouldn’t be able to stall him forever, but at the same time, she didn’t want him to take her granted where he could do anything he wanted. True that he was the King, but if she was indeed going to take up the position next to him, she would have to fight back with similar tricks.
“You forget this is my castle, Madeline,” Calhoun said as he took a few more steps forward and Madeline took some behind, “Tricking the King,” he tched, “Did you think you could get away with it?”
“I was hoping to,” answered Madeline. Her brown eyes were fixed on Calhoun, watching him saunter towards her. Madeline’s eyes were quick to look around, finding the next passage, but the question was, how far would she be able to make it before Calhoun would catch her.
“What a naive little thing you are. Amusing too,” said Calhoun.
Madeline felt nervousness creep into her body as every second passed, “If I have amused you, give me permission to take my leave, milord,” replied Madeline.
Calhoun chuckled, “We could have done it quickly yet you decided to make me run after you. Do you think you are allowed to run away from me, sweet girl? I will find you, and once you are in my arms, let’s hope that you will still be conscious.”
She gulped hearing this.
Did she make a mistake by running away from him? Was there no place to hide in this castle? The castle did belong to Calhoun, every servant who worked in the castle and the things that resided in here belonged to the King.
“You are only going to make it worse by delaying my meal,” Calhoun’s footsteps were relaxed, unlike Madeline, whose legs were shaking beneath her dress.
“I offered you to get a glass of blood for you from the kitchen,” Madeline retorted back, and Calhoun ran his tongue over his teeth.
“Why would I take blood from a glass where the blood has turned cold when I can get something so warm and sweet that is right in front of me?” Calhoun turned his head to the side, his words more of a statement than a question.
“Because sometimes it’s alright to drink blood from glass?” Madeline asked before she said, “You had my blood two days ago.” Calhoun didn’t go to respond to her question, and he continued to walk towards her.
Seeing this, Madeline did the best she could do as she was worried to stand next to Calhoun. She quickly ran to the next corridor. In time, she met her sister Beth who was walking with Markus Wilmot next to her side.
Markus bowed his head, and Madeline did the same. Beth noticed how her younger sister appeared to be out of breath, “Are you going somewhere?” asked Beth, raising her eyebrows.
“I was coming to greet you,” Madeline smiled while trying not to turn so that she would find Calhoun right on her tail. Beth returned Madeline’s smile. After going to hunt with Markus, Beth was in a much better mood, and it seemed like her younger sister wanted her again. It made the elder girl happy, “How was your first hunt?” asked Madeline.
“It was amazing!” exclaimed Beth, “Mr. Wilmot was kind enough to teach me how to use the crossbows. We even hunted a deer, so expect some delicious meat for supper.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Madeline nodded her head, and then she heard the sharp footsteps on the floor, making her head turn to see Calhoun, who made his way towards them. Madeline quickly moved to stand next to Beth.
Beth and Markus bowed at the King, and Markus said, “I heard from my sister Sophie that your first hunt didn’t go well. I hope your next time will be more enjoyable.”
Beth, hearing this said, “Madeline is a deer herself, I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t touch the arrow. Not everyone takes interest when it comes to hunting.”
“You are right, Lady Elizabeth. Madeline is too kind to hurt anything,” said Calhoun looking at Madeline. His eyes then shifting to look at Beth, “Not everyone has the ability and heart to kill.”
Though the words were casually said, it did set a distinction between the two sisters who stood next to each other. Beth brushed it away and asked the King, “Milord, what is your favourite animal to hunt?”
“My favourite?” asked Calhoun, “Something too pure and innocent. Having soft skin which I can grab.”
Madeline’s face instantly turned red, and she tried to regulate her breathing, hearing Calhoun’s words. She didn’t know if she should be glad that he didn’t go in detail in front of her sister and his cousin.
“There are so many animals like that,” stated Markus.
“Yes,” replied Calhoun before asking his cousin, “Did you go to the village of East Carswell today?”
Hearing this, the two girls turned to pay more attention to the King’s words as they were from East Carswell. Markus on the other hand, his hand turned slightly cold. “To the village?” asked Markus, “You asked me to check and find who might have tried to destroy the shop that belongs to Mr. Harris.”
“It is what I was inquiring about,” said Calhoun before cocking his head to the side, “Was there something else in the village?” His red eyes stared at Markus Wilmot as if he was dissecting his cousin merely through his eyes.
Madeline silently heard the conversation take place between Calhoun and Markus. According to her and Calhoun’s suspicion, Markus’ family was behind the sabotage that took place, but Madeline didn’t understand why Calhoun had put Markus in charge of it. It was like asking the thief to get answers on why the things were stolen.
“No, my King. Apart from it, I would have gone to the village to meet Lady Elizabeth, but she’s not there. I went looking for the culprit, but I haven’t found anything so far,” answered Markus with a solemn look.
“What a shame. Even the minister would find the answers to it sooner,” commented Calhoun. Markus grit his teeth over his cousin’s words, “It looks like you are getting a little out of shape when it comes to it. I will have people reassigned to positions of work so you can regain the experience.”
The words weren’t lost between the girls who stood there next to them.
Beth’s green eyes moved to look between the King and Mr. Wilmot right now. It seemed like Markus wasn’t as capable as Beth had thought him to be. Maybe it was because he was standing in front of the King, which was why anything in comparison to this powerful man turned pale in appearance.
The elder daughter of Harris had been satisfied after being showered with attention from Markus. Beth was someone who aimed for things that was the best. And right now, the King was the best compared to Markus. Calhoun Hawthrone was not a King for no reason. The man was smart, and he was handsome to look at.
Between the time of entering this castle and now, she had decided to go along with Markus as the King seemed to be disinterested by her presence. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried to entice the man, but it had only ended up with her pride being hurt.
Beth, therefore, decided to stick with Markus, not to forget those beautiful jewels she had received from his mother, Lady Rosamund. The only problem here was his sister.
“Of course, my King,” Markus bowed his head, “I would be more than happy to serve you and the kingdom of Devon.”
“What good subjects I have,” Calhoun praised, “I must have done something good in the past.” And Calhoun was right. The good things he had done in the past was getting rid of people who he didn’t want living in the castle or anywhere who could come to be a threat to him.
When everyone fell silent, Calhoun’s gaze shifted to look at Madeline, she was quick to catch on to. Before Calhoun could utter a word, Madeline said,
“Beth and I will be excusing ourselves,” she didn’t miss the way Calhoun’s eyes narrowed at her right now, but she tried to ignore it. She wanted some time to think than being attacked by him out in the corridor where anyone could come to step in and see what was happening.
Markus nodded his head, “I will see you at the time of supper, miladies.” Calhoun didn’t speak but continued to glare at Madeline who refused to meet his eyes. Madeline pulled Beth’s arm and walked away from there. For now, she was safe.
When the sisters walked far away from the corridor where the King and Mr. Wilmot stood, Beth asked, “Where are we hurrying to?” It was because Madeline had been pulling her as they walked. It reminded Beth of the time when Madeline was small, clung around her, “Didn’t you say you wanted to ask me something earlier today?”
Madeline stopped, turning around to look at the end of the corridor where they had walked through a few seconds ago. She then looked back at her sister Beth, “It was nothing important,” She shook her head with a smile, and then held Beth’s arm, “I wanted you to know that I want you to stay happy. I apologize for last night.”
Beth stared at Madeline, “Is this you telling you don’t have a problem with my decision?” Madeline quickly nodded her head. The elder sister finally smiled, “Okay. I take your apology. You jump into conclusion so fast,” her sister rolled her eyes.
Madeline didn’t want Beth to think, she was against her and Markus. She was against it, but it was better to keep a closer watch by staying close to her sister and making her think she was accepting Beth’s possible marriage with Markus. She didn’t know what was going on in Wilmot’s mind and therefore she wanted to make amends. There was a particular approach on how to go around things, and Madeline was working on it.
“I will try to be more mindful with my words,” Madeline promised Beth.
“Now let me tell you how the hunting went. Markus is charming,” Beth started to speak about the time she had spent with Markus in the forest.
While Beth was telling the events that took place, Madeline couldn’t help but let her eyes dart to the corners of the corridors, to see if Calhoun appeared. Seeing him not there, she wondered if he had finally dropped chasing her, or was he waiting for the right time?
