Chapter 4 Hell's Drive to the Castle

"Don’t think for one second I have fully agreed to marry you, Lord Emrick.”

Adrienne Mallory said in a scathing voice while she was sitting on a red velvet seat opposite Alaric Emrick inside the carriage driven by a coach and his horses. She was still dressed in her wine-red gown covered by the soft thick black cloak on top of her dress where a golden string was tied below her neck. She had no time to say goodbye to Mary but simply wrote a note of her leaving.

After hastily packing some of her dresses on her luggage as Alaric was insistent that they must leave immediately, Adrienne has no time to pick which she would have wanted to bring with her to the castle. He was by her room while she was packing her things watching every minute of her actions.

“Don’t bother to bring your entire wardrobe to the castle. I’ll buy you all the dresses you need once you’re settled. You’re going to be my wife, after all, Adrienne,” said Alaric in a bored voice as she was fetching her luggage from under her bed. 

She stopped midway closed to holding the clasp of the bag when Adrienne saw the presence of Alaric Emrick and his two guards standing behind him. He was by her doorway looking down at her on the floor.

“Who said you can enter my room without my permission?” she asked, hiding her blush upon him seeing her in an almost sprawled position as she stretched her arms and legs to get the luggage. Just a few more inches and she just needed to stretch her fingers a little bit more. She held her breathing as she extended her fingers finally reaching into the curve handle and withholding her breathing once more as she dragged it on the floor out under her bed.

“Be quick, witch. We are to leave. We only came here to bring back your friend, Mary.” He said with a quick study of her room.

Making a rush perusal of her clothes and dresses, she picked them in a hurry and went to her drawers for her undergarments and folded them fast under the scrutiny of the vampire who merely looked at her with faint interest but with a frown on his face.

“You could at least give me a minute to fold my things,” she said with emphasis as she made a quick fold of her white nightgown and stuffed it inside her luggage. “I can’t simply stuff them all at once inside my bag.”

She said pointedly glaring at him. She was blushing furiously. She had to fold her feminine undergarments and she had no wish for the vampire to see her folding them in front of him.

“Would you please step out of my room for a moment? I’ll finish this very quickly. So, please…?” she asked with a plea in her voice.

Alaric released a sigh and looked at her holding another nightdress. 

“Women,” he muttered in an exasperated voice. “Fine. I’ll wait by the hallway. You have five minutes to finish everything up. Don’t make me wait.” He said annoyed and stepped out of her room while Adrienne continued packing her things.

Before five minutes were up, Adrienne came out of her room and joined Alaric and the two guards down the house and was about to climb up the carriage again when she stopped, hesitating to climb up.

“What now, Adrienne?” asked Alaric in an irritated voice. He was already sitting comfortably in the carriage like a prince he was on his throne.

Adrienne climbed up and sat opposite him. The carriage started to move. The horses neighed and ran on the ground, their hooves clapping soundly.

“So, what made you stop from climbing inside the carriage a while ago?” he insisted while he threw a gaze at her who sat close to the window looking at the passing trees with her right elbow propped against her left arm that was crossed on her chest.

“Nothing. I forgot to wash my teacup in the kitchen when we went back to the house.”

She answered not looking at him.

Alaric Emrick chuckled at her answer.

Adrienne stopped herself from looking at him. She was surprised by the soft joyous laughter that came from him. Annoyed at herself that the cold deadly vampire possessed a melodious laugh.

“Mundane things,” he said amused. “You worried over mundane things, Adrienne.”

Adrienne released a sigh and in a conversational tone replied.

“We don’t exactly live similar lives, Lord Emrick, so, mundane things as they appear to you, but it’s part of my routine.”

“I’ll buy you a new set of teacups once we’re back at the castle.” He said observing her. “And you will have maids to do those things for you. You never need to lift a hand again to wash a teacup.”

She threw him a furtive glance and didn’t give a reply.

After a momentary silence that passed between the two of them, Alaric spoke again.

“I’m glad you agreed to become my wife, Adrienne Mallory.”

Adrienne looked at him with grave disinterest.

“Don’t think for one second I have fully agreed to marry you, Lord Emrick.” She said in a scathing tone opposite to the man sitting across her.

She absentmindedly ran a hand along the mass of her long wavy curls of red hair no longer covered by the hood that cascaded past her shoulders. Her hair divided at the center of her head while a curtain of fringes covered her forehead. She kept looking outside the window silently watching the tall black trunks of trees disappearing as their carriage passed by them. She mildly listened to the sound of the clapping hooves of the horses as they continued running on muck, earth, and stones inside the forest trail.

“But you have no choice, Adrienne. Would you have been willing to see Mary die instead?”

Adrienne bit her cheek from answering his question.

“You know what witch, you owe me instead. You owe me big time.” He said with cold emphasis. The iciness of his voice returned. “Thank yourself I’ve spared your life and your good-for-nothing friend.” 

Adrienne looked angrily at him.

“Mary Crossborough is never a good-for-nothing friend, Alaric Emrick. She may have done that accident and killed your cousin unforeseeably but as I said,” she insisted with cold emphasis. “It was an accident.”

“Ever loyal to your friend, are you Adrienne?” he jeered back at her. “Getting away with the murder of the royal is a miracle, witch. So, be grateful that your life has just been spared after your murderer friend killed my first cousin.”

Adrienne tightened her fist to a ball. She could hear ringing in her ears. She suddenly jerked her head ready to strike Alaric Emrick in the face when the carriage suddenly moved right and went to a halt throwing her body on the floor while her hands were clutching tight on a soft cloth. Her face was buried against a hard surface covered by the same cloth.

“Ugh.” She said regaining awareness and lifted her head seeing herself in front of Alaric’s lap clutching at his sides. Her legs bent uncomfortably on the floor. She looked up at him who was looking down at her with a trace of concern in his cold eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked tersely while holding her by the shoulders.

Without saying a word, she stood up from her position and punched his right cheeks hard. 

“You’re the one who fell on my lap, Adrienne Mallory. You bitch,” he cursed at her while holding a hand to his jaw.

Adrienne felt a slight sting on her right knuckle but looked at Alaric darkly.

“That’s for calling Mary a murderer.”

He returned her dark looks with his icy stare.

“I’m only telling the truth.”

They heard the noise outside and both looked at the right window.

“Stay here, witch. While I go check outside to see what’s happening.” He said opening the door of the carriage, disappearing out of sight.

As if Adrienne would hear an order from the vampire. She went down the carriage and walked slowly to see what the commotion was all about. 

She saw a man lying on the ground in front of their carriage. He wasn’t moving at all. 

“It’s his fault! It’s his fault!” The woman shrieked hysterically pointing a finger at the male witch who looked lost for excuses and reasons while he killed the vampire. “You killed my husband. That witch killed my husband, Lord Emrick. He killed him!”

She said hurling angrily at a male witch. She spitted at him.

Despite having dark skin, the male witch turned wan and pale at seeing the vampire royal present before him. Without saying anything, he fled to run a good distance away from them but Alaric Emrick’s two guards caught him in a flash. They moved like dark smoke bringing him back to the scene of the crime.

“Why did you kill, Peters, witch?”

The male witch couldn’t find an answer to reply to the royal vampire. He was sweating cold. He knew right there and then he would be killed by the deadliest vampire that walked on earth.

“Tell me, why did you kill Rudolph Peters?”

“I was told to kill him.” The male witch answered in a frightened voice. His eyes were shifting from left to right.

“Who gave you the order, witch?’

“I can’t tell you that, Lord Emrick,” He said in a shrill.

Alaric choked his neck with his left hand and repeatedly asked the same question.

“Who gave you the order, Martin Edgar?”

The male witch's eyes dilated upon hearing his name mentioned by the royal vampire. Like a witch in trance, he opened his mouth and said the name of the one who ordered him to kill the vampire.

“Insolence!” he barked at the male witch.

“And for this, you shall pay your life, filthy witch.”

Alaric Emrick raised his right arm and pointed his right index finger at the middle forehead of the male witch. His eyes clouded and turned to white. The black poison spread out from his middle forehead creeping fast into his veins and arteries until his entire body was painted with it. His body turned to charcoal and smoldered before it burst into powdered million pieces of black ashes.

Adrienne stood shocked at what just happened. Her mouth was slightly open as she stared at Alaric who must have sensed her presence just then. He turned his blood-red eyes at her still glistening from anger and shouted at her.

“What are you doing there? Didn’t I tell you to stay inside the carriage?” he shouted angrily.

“I hate you!” She shouted vehemently at him before turning her back and running back to the carriage. She could feel her hands turning weak, cold, and clammy after she just witnessed the male witch turning into nothing. Unaware, she felt her cheeks suddenly getting wet with unsuppressed tears. She let the tears flow freely out of her eyes covering her mouth to muffle the noise from her crying. She had never witnessed such a form of mercilessness in her entire life.

After a while, Alaric returned to the carriage and took back his seat sitting center opposite her.

“You don’t have to cry for him, Adrienne,” said Alaric disgusted at the sight of her crying. “He deserves to die.”

Adrienne shot him with her tear-stained eyes and spit venomous words at him.

“Shut up, you filthy vampire! He’s not your brethren but my coven. You are a vile contemptuous ruthless evil. Don’t talk to me while we’re riding on this carriage! Don’t talk to me, demon.” She screeched at him.

“My, my. You’re throwing a fit at me, witch. Such hysterics.” He said dryly.

“Shut up with your malevolent insult, you bloodless monster!” She shrieked and kicked his shins. 

“Don’t start, Adrienne Mallory or I’ll send you straight next to the male witch.”

“Why, you horrible monster! I hate you! I hate you!” She said repeatedly while she flung her arms at him and scratched his face with the sharp claws of her fingernails.

“Dammit it, witch.” He said catching both her wrists with his pair gripping them very tightly. “You need to be taught a lesson.” He increased the pressure on his grip and in a while Adrienne Mallory lost her consciousness dropping on the floor with a sound thud.

“Are you okay, Lord Emrick?” Shouted one of his men from the outside.

“Nothing that you need to bother with, Emrin.” He replied in a loud voice. “Just a nasty little witch that needs to return to her slumber.” He muttered softly. 

And with a slight swish of his left hand and a soft click of his fingers, Adrienne Mallory floated off the floor and was neatly tucked back to her seat sleeping peacefully.