Madeline was in the parlour room of the castle listening to her mother and her sister speak to each other in the room. Lady Rosamund had left the castle after breakfast, telling she had to go back to the mansion. To Beth’s delight, the older vampiress had taken Sophie along with her. The only reason Lady Rosamund had taken her daughter was for the sole reason, to avoid Sophie causing any trouble.
Lady Lucy was in her room, resting as the young vampiress had told she had a headache. Madeline wondered if Lucy was alright. She had missed her breakfast before, and today, she stuck to her room.
“What did the tailorman want, Madeline?” asked her mother.
Madeline, who was in her thoughts, looked up to meet her mother’s as well as Beth’s curious eyes. She didn’t know if she should tell it or not, as no one knew if James had really done it.
“It seems they found a person’s body in our village, which was buried in Mr. Heathcliff’s backyard,” Madeline said softly to receive gasps from the two women.
“How did that happen??” her mother looked quite taken aback by this news.
Madeline then said, “I think they are still trying to figure out what happened.”
“Who knew Mr. Heathcliff would do something like that,” Beth was quick to jump into conclusion, “This is why you should be careful about people who are quiet and behave as gentleman-like.”
Madeline frowned upon hearing this, “I don’t think Mr. Heathcliff would kill anyone. Just because the body was found in his backyard, doesn’t make him a murderer.”
Beth laughed at this, “You should be careful of what you say, Madeline. Speaking out your mind so openly. If you are going to turn to a Queen, you should know how to behave like one, but you were never prepared to be one. What did the King say to it?”
“He told he would look into it, and Beth, nobody ever wakes up to be a Queen. Things like those are picked on the way,” Madeline reacted to Beth’s words which was a jab to tell how unfit she was, “Even if I don’t know things, whatever the Queen says goes. We should not worry about things like that.”
Madeline noticed how Beth’s eyes narrowed over her words. They were sisters who had spent most of their time next to each other, but they were different. Madeline knew from the beginning that she and Beth were always different. She had been hearing taunting words like this from her sister for all these years, but she was not going to let Beth look down upon her anymore. She loved Beth, but that didn’t mean she would stand Beth speaking to her in such tone.
“You don’t have to feel so offended. I was merely telling it-“
“And so was I,” Madeline offered Beth a smile, “The King said he would look into the matter to see what is going on.”
Beth felt slightly humiliated. Just because Madeline was going to be a Queen, her behaviour towards Beth was changing, “You might think things are easy, but it’s going to be hard, Maddie.” Madeline didn’t have the backbone to be the Queen, but Beth decided to keep it to herself. Standing up, she said, “You should be careful with what you speak with the King and the affections that you display for Mr. Heathcliff. Loving another man while being married to the King is nothing less to treason.”
Mrs. Harris, who was sitting with them, listening to the exchange of words between the two girls, said,
“Both of you,” she warned while looking at the door to make sure no one was there or walking by to hear. The woman then looked at Madeline,
“Beth is right, Madeline. It would help if you were careful with whom you side with. The King might appear tolerable now, but that doesn’t mean you can favour another man.”
Madeline stared at Beth and her mother, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong in expressing my thoughts that a man is not guilty,” she pursed her lips and then said, “And I think the King knows how I feel about things right now. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Mrs. Harris nodded her head, a sigh escaping her lips, “That’s good to hear. But who do you think would have killed the person?”
Madeline didn’t have an answer to it. She hoped Calhoun would be able to find something out. At the same time, she wondered if Calhoun found James to be bearable now as James was not someone who held her interest anymore. She felt bad for James. Beth left the room soon, leaving her mother and her alone.
“Don’t take Beth’s words to your heart, Maddie,” her mother placed her hand on hers, squeezing it encouragingly before letting it go, “She must be upset that she wasn’t the one who was chosen to be the Queen.”
“Can I ask you something, Mama?”
“Yes, anything, my child,” responded her mother, who looked at her curiously as to what she wanted to ask.
“Yesterday when Beth and I were talking, in the room, she mentioned a boy with whom we used to play when we were at grandpa and grandma’s house. Do you remember who it was?”
Mrs. Harris’ eyes turned wide, and she took a second to compose herself, “Which boy is that?”
Madeline went to explain, “It was when we were small. Beth said a boy used to play with us. Is he still in the village?”
“W-who knows if he’s still there. It would help if you asked your grandparents about it. We used to send you both there to spend some days,” her mother laughed.
“We used to spend a lot of time with them, isn’t it?” came Madeline’s fond voice, “How come you and father didn’t stay there with us? I think as much as I remember, it was just Beth and me.”
On her question, Madeline saw how her mother grew uncomfortable in her seat, and the expression on her face turned worried. In the past, neither Beth nor she had questioned things related to them staying there.
“You both were very fond of your grandpa and grandma. What silly questions you ask,” replied her mother, picking up the kettle to keep herself busy, and she poured herself tea in the teacup.
“I guess you are right,” Madeline went along with her mother, “I mean, I don’t remember spending much time with our maternal grandparents. But we must have spent time with them when we were really small, isn’t it?” Madeline doubted she would get a direct answer if she asked her mother. Therefore, she tried to poke in other directions to find the answers she was looking for.
Her mother gave her a small nod, not meeting her eyes, and Madeline felt her hands turn cold. With her mother dodging her questions, she felt like the dream she had dreamt was true. She bit the inside of her cheek.
Mrs. Harris then changed the subject, “What is going to happen to the wedding gown? I thought James was going to finish it.”
“Calhoun will get it sorted,” Madeline offered her mother a smile.
“Madeline,” her mother said, “I know you are new to all this, but you need to know how to deal with people. You need to be wise while choosing your words with men. They can be immature at times, brash if you choose something that doesn’t involve them in it. Do you understand what I am saying?”
Madeline’s thoughts were everywhere about everything, and she nodded, “Yes, mother.”
“That’s good,” her mother responded, “Here, take this one,” she offered the teacup.
“You have it, mother. I don’t think I have an appetite for tea now,” replied Madeline and she then leaned forward to kiss her mother’s cheek, “I will go check on Lady Lucy if she needs anything. Will you be alright here by yourself?”
“I will have your father come and join me. Go on,” Mrs. Harris saw her younger daughter get up and leave the room. The woman’s smile fell from her face and she stared at the gap of the door. When a maid entered the room, Mrs. Harris asked the maid to tell her husband to join her in the parlour room.
“Where is Beth and Madeline?” questioned Mr. Harris, who arrived at the room.
“They went to take a walk and visit the other guests,” Mrs. Harris replied, stirring the tea with the small spoon. When her husband took a seat, she said, “She was asking me questions.”
“Who?” Mr. Harris furrowed his brows.
“Madeline. She was asking me about the boy. She and Beth were speaking about it last night,” Mrs. Harris said in a worried tone, “She has never asked such questions before. Do you think it is because she visited the village?”
“She has visited before too. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” Mr. Harris assured his wife, “Whatever it was, we have already dealt with it.”
“I hope so,” murmured the woman, “I don’t think your parents will help this time…”
Away from the parlour room, Madeline who had left her mother didn’t go to meet Lady Lucy, but instead went to take a walk in the open garden.
She sat under the warm sun, feeling the heat on her skin which felt pleasant compared to the cold atmosphere inside the castle that lacked light or warmth. Madeline felt there were too many things going on, keeping her mind occupied. She hoped justice would be provided to James.
Madeline had a lot of questions about her childhood, but doubted she would get an answer right now for it. Her hands were careful when they touched the surface of the glasses. It had been a few hours since Calhoun had left the castle, and she wondered what time he would return.
With her parents hiding and lying to her and her sister, who was passive-aggressive with her words, Madeline didn’t know how to feel about it. A few days ago, she had been eager to meet them, to have them here so that she would not feel lonely, but why was it that the loneliness didn’t go away? There were doubts and questions on her minds, and it made her feel wary. Wary of the people whom she once trusted. Instead, she felt like she could trust Calhoun.
“Lady Madeline.”
Madeline’s eyes that had somewhere closed itself opened to see a man standing in front of her. Because of the bright sunlight at the front, it took a while for her eyes to adjust to see the silhouette of the man. It was Markus Wilmot. She offered him a bow from where she sat.
“Do you mind?” asked Markus, looking at the space on the bench next to her. The bench was long enough to accommodate two people. When she gave him a nod, the vampire took himself to sit while keeping a gap between them.
“Lovely weather, isn’t it? I was looking for Lady Elizabeth, and I thought she would be here with you.”
“She must be looking for you too,” Madeline responded. If Markus was looking for Beth, he should have gone searching instead of taking a seat in the very same bench, thought Madeline in her mind. But as he had taken a seat, she believed that he had something to speak about.
Silence fell between them for a few seconds. Instead of letting Markus talk, Madeline asked,
“What are your intentions with my sister?”
Markus was taken aback with the direct question. A smile appeared on his face, “I intend to marry her, milady.”
“There are many other girls of better status and maybe looks in your own kind. I find it slightly odd that your mother accepted my sister so readily,” Madeline stated, not forgetting of the time how Lady Rosamund had insulted. Madeline was sure if she asked him just about looks, he would compare himself to Calhoun and get away with the question.
“It must be because I am her son. She finds it very hard to refuse my wishes,” Markus answered with a polite smile on his face, “My apologies for the way my family treated you in the past but it is only because they weren’t aware you were going to be the Queen.”
That was right. Once Madeline was announced to be the future Queen, the way people looked and treated her had changed, thought Madeline to herself.
“My mother said we would be choosing the dates for our marriage once you and my cousin are married. How do you feel? To be part of the royal family? With your sister getting married to the same family, you must be excited.”
“It feels wonderful,” Madeline replied before looking ahead of her, “Will Lady Rosamund and Sophie be returning to the castle tonight?”
“Yes. Mother said they would be here by dinner,” answered Markus. He saw the human girl from the corner of his eyes, noticing how she was looking at the front. Though the older Harris’ daughter had strong features that were attractive, there was something very delicate about this girl. The girl who the King had chosen for himself.
When his mother, father and he were discussing what to do, the idea to defile the human had come up before it was brushed away. His cousin, Calhoun, didn’t appear like he would throw the girl away even if something like that happened. They had to break the marriage while also trying to frame the King.
The main reason his mother had left the castle to go back to the mansion wasn’t because his father was alone. But it was so that she could send a letter to the High House, that the King was taming a werewolf who was killing people. It would take a couple of days for the people of High House to arrive here. And it was enough to kill people and put the blame on the King.
Unlike humans and vampires, werewolves were not considered to be in the same category. Instead, they were lower than humans. Creatures who were feral and turned every time the moonlight touched the ground. The land ruled by the Warring was the place where the werewolves originally originated, people often thought that it was the land of humans and werewolves. The werewolves were often used to hunt preys and enemies.
Markus then said, “Were you able to sleep well? Both you and Lady Elizabeth.”
Madeline wondered why Markus was asking this, “Yes. Why do you ask?”
He shook his head, “I could hear a man screaming from the dungeon. I think it makes it easier when you have a human hearing,” saying this, he stood up, “I should get going.”
While Madeline and Markus were talking to each other, Beth, who was walking by caught sight of them sitting in the garden. Her eyes hardened to see her sister spending time with Markus. Markus looked like he couldn’t keep his eyes off her little sister. The man offered Madeline a sweet smile, and Beth’s blood only boiled under her skin. Gritting her teeth, she waited for Markus to leave the garden before making her way to where Madeline was.
“What are you trying to do?!” Came Beth’s furious question.
Madeline was making her dress proper when she saw Beth walking around the garden to come and stand in front of her,
“What?” she asked, confused. Why did Beth look upset seeing her smoothen her dress?
“Don’t act coy, Madeline. I saw Markus sitting and talking to you,” Beth’s green eyes were bright, and she looked at Madeline intensely.
“He came looking for you and decided to sit with you?”
Madeline wasn’t sure what had upset Beth.
Beth huffed. This was something she had always been worried about. Her younger sister, taking more attention to herself. It had happened in the past. Therefore, she had been keeping a keen eye to prevent it from happening.
“What?” Madeline questioned, not knowing what had got her sister so upset.
Beth said, “You are always doing this to me. If Markus was looking for me, he would have continued to look. Not sit next to you and talk. I saw the look he gave you.”
Madeline raised her eyebrows, “Can you hear what you are saying? It was a simple talk, and he left. We were speaking about your wedding.” She couldn’t believe Beth was accusing her of something so silly, “If he is looking at me, you should be questioning him and not me.”
“So you do agree that something is going on,” Beth placed her hand on her waist, “I cannot believe this.”
Madeline took a deep breath, looking away before she looked back at Beth, “No, I cannot believe this. I said ‘if’. He is your possible finance, and I am your sister.”
“Yes, the sister who steals everything from me!” Beth gritted her teeth. “Is the King not enough that you are attracting the one man who decided to show interest in me?”
“I stole nothing from you, Beth. You are imagining things.” After spending time yesterday, Madeline thought everything was normal, but it wasn’t.
“Am I?” asked Beth, “Why didn’t you refuse when it came to going to the ball? Somewhere deep down, you wanted to catch someone’s fancy. You act like you don’t want it, but the truth is you do. Every time I liked something, it is given to you. You even took Jennine. She was my friend. Even this place could have been mine.”
Madeline frowned, “You cannot blame me just because things didn’t go in your favour. I came to the ball to accompany you because you wanted me to be there. I have no hold over who is going to be friends with us or Jennine in the past. Markus and I barely spoke a few words, and it is a big accusation to be claiming that I want Mr. Wilmot. How could you even think like that? I have no interest in him, and maybe if you stopped being so insecure about everything, you would feel less worried and actually come to see how things are.”
Beth didn’t hide the hate she felt for Madeline right now. Madeline thought that her sister had forgiven and forgotten what happened the day Calhoun had told her to live in the castle.
“And what did I steal from you? I have always followed you, stayed in your shadow and never questioned your actions. I have put you before me.”
Beth rolled her eyes, “I never asked you to follow me.”
“I won’t,” Madeline turned around and started to walk.
“Where are you going?! I am not done with talking to you,” Beth shouted.
Madeline paused her footsteps and turned her head over her shoulder, “Making my path. You can go and dip your head in cold water to gather your scattered thoughts.”
With this, Madeline walked away. She had too much on her plate right now, instead of deaingl with her sister’s tantrums which were baseless.
She had always overlooked and forgiven Beth time in time again, but the truth was that Beth was selfish enough to impose her insecurities upon her. She didn’t want to deal with her sister right now, and would instead wait for Beth to come around and accept her faults. It was time for Beth to stop blaming her.
The day continued to pass, and Madeline tried to keep herself away from Markus as well as her sister. Walking on the castle grounds now where the sun was slowly setting down, her footsteps stopped when she saw the dungeon. She remembered Markus mentioning a man screaming there. It must be someone new, who Calhoun had imprisoned for breaking the law or someone who had crossed him, thought Madeline to herself.
Not realizing her feet moved to come and stand at the back of the dungeon.
One second it was quiet, and the next second she heard a man’s voice which felt like he was being tortured, “AH! Stop this!” shouted the prisoner. The voice felt familiar, but she couldn’t point who it belonged to.
The sudden scream startled her, and she took a step back, her back hitting something. Quickly turning around, Madeline saw it was Theodore.
“It is a new prisoner that we have in here. He tried to break into the castle last night,” informed Theodore, giving her enough to keep her interest. He stretched his hand in the direction of the castle so that he could escort her back.
Madeline could still hear the painful groans of the prisoner, but there was something else. It felt less human, sounding more like an animal’s growl. Glancing at the backside of the dungeon’s wall, Madeline walked back with Theodore, feeling a little suspicious as Theodore had arrived there out of nowhere.
