Evelyn's father stood up angrily from the seat, followed by his wife. Raziel's father also stood and they all went to the front, where the knight stood.
"Where is he? Where is that prince?" Evelyn's father yelled as his chest heaved up and down in anger, drawing the guests' attention to them."Where did he say he was going? What work does he have?" Raziel's father asked."I have no idea your majesty. He would not tell me.""Don't tell me he left already.""He did your majesty."The king was aware that most of the guests were supernaturals, and some of them could hear them, so he signalled for Evelyn's parents to calm down, but they weren't having it."This is an insult to my daughter, my family, my whole kingdom." The entire hall became tensed, and the guests started to murmur.Raziel's father turned to the knight."Gather your men, find the prince and bring him here.""Your majesty?" The knight thoLuciana decided to take a stroll around outside the castle. She spent her day reading. With Raziel's permission, she brought some of the books into her new room. She expected that princess Evelyn would move her out of the prince's quarters after the wedding, but she didn't bother to leave. The prince hadn't asked her to leave anyway. Now she heard that Raziel abandoned Evelyn, she couldn't help but find the situation funny. The prince was something else. And she believed that it served the spoilt and pompous princess right.Luciana didn't realize how far she had walked until she heard a high pitched scream from afar. She had taken some of the arrows she experimented on with her just in case the need might arise. She wondered if she was going to use them that evening. But then she heard the scream again, this time even louder.It was coming from a girl, and it was a distressed cry. She wondered what was happening to her.Luciana quickly traced the
Luciana was sweating profusely, while Raziel stood, watching her dig a grave. For a frail woman like her, she sure had a lot of determination. Every now and then, he would be scared that she would collapse, but he still didn't help her. He wanted to see how far she would go.She suddenly dropped the shovel, and said. "I am tired."Raziel smiled and thought she was going to ask him for help, but instead the human girl just lay in her half dug grave.Raziel didn't know how much time they have spent, but he knew that he had spent hours watching her. And this was the first time she tried to rest."Are you aware you are in trouble Luciana?" He asked curiously."Yes." She answered curtly, as she placed both hand under hear head, imitating a pillow."For what?" Raziel asked again."I killed the vampires, and I would be charged for murder."Raziel shook his head. So she was aware."But you know I can help you."
"Finn!" Luciana yelled as she sprang up from her bed. That was her little brother's name, and she just woke up from a nightmare where she saw him being stabbed. Sometimes she felt like she could feel the physical pain. But she believed that no physical pain could be greater than the pain in her heart.Her chest heaved up and down, and she felt her eyes sting. She immediately reached for the side of the bed where she had kept her knife and grabbed it. She thought of cutting her wrist, but she didn't want the prince to see it and take her to the physician again.Instead she decided to cut her upper arm, where her sleeves would cover, and he would not see it. If she bath and wash up, he would not be able to smell it. She then began to cut herself from her upper arms upwards, even though she still felt the urge to cut her wrist. After she was done, she found out that she had wounded herself a little too much, even up to her shoulder and back. She sh
Raziel's head was buried on Luciana's shoulder, as he drank her blood, his tongue wiping the ones that flowed down her skin.Luciana did not expect she would feel the way she felt. She felt tremor run down her body with every swipe of his tongue on her skin. She didn't even realize the moment she gripped him tight. She thought she was going to feel pain, but what was this?A sigh she could not believe came from her left her lips, and she quickly covered her mouth with one hand. What was this man doing?"Your highness..." She murmured, but even that didn't sound like it came from her. Why was he licking her skin?She hadn't let any man get this close to her, even Duke Elric. He had once tried to kiss her, but she refused. She had only let him hold her hand and hug her. She was sure that if she wasn't so focused on her studies, something would have happened between them.Raziel finally forced himself to pull away from her. When he looked at
Luciana remembered those times she used to go out with her family. They loved to have fun together. They would eat out sometimes, visit different memorable places. But ever since she lost them, having fun was the last thing on her mind.Luciana felt her eyes prick her again, but she wasn't going to cry. The prince made her cry already, and she didn't want to anymore. She hates how pathetic it makes her."May I ask a favour from you your highness?""Go on.""I witnessed my mother, father, brother and aunty being killed, but I was taken away before I saw what happened to my sister." She narrated. "So you think she might still be alive?" Raziel asked."I am not sure. I just wondered if she was killed or if she was taken away like I was." Luciana reasoned. "There is only a slim chance, but I would like to explore the only hope I have."Raziel didn't know what to say to her. Should he encourage her to keep having hope? That
Raziel and Luciana walked in the market close to each other as they checked out different stores."Did you see anything that catches your fancy?" He asked her, and she shook her head.They checked through more stores, cloth stores, shoes, jewelries, but Luciana didn't pick anything. She just looked at them to pass time, and occupy her mind with something else.Just when they were about leaving the jewelry store, Luciana turned back as something caught her interest. "Give me a moment your highness."She then walked to a jewelry stand and picked up a blue necklace that came with a bracelet and earrings."You like those?""My sister would love them." She then turned to him. "I will give them to her when I see her. I want to be optimistic. Having hope is better than this feeling of emptiness."Raziel only nodded to her. He too hoped that she would find her sister, because he knew that she would be really broken if she doesn't. Sh
Luciana and Raziel rode in a comfortable silence back to the castle. Luciana rest her head in the backrest of the carriage seat, and her eyes looked drowsy with sleep, but she tried to fight it."You can sleep if you want." Raziel said to her."When we get back to the castle."He only nodded at her stubbornness."Don't be bothered by what the sooth sayer said. They are mainly guesses." Luciana told him."I don't believe in them." He then looked out the window. "But my mother did.""Did they say anything that once came to pass?""Not really. But my father..." He turned to her, only to meet her sleeping already. He shook his head, before adjusting hers in a more comfortable position.When they got to the castle, he took off his cloak, and woke her up, and they came down together. She was still feeling sleepy, so he decided to escort her to her room.When she entered, and he was able to go, she pulled on h
Luciana stared at him in disbelief. "And you agreed to it?" She asked doubtfully."I told him that I might take one or two." Raziel recounted his meeting with his father to her."Oh, 'might'. You are not certain.""You'd be surprised." Raziel said with a smirk."I don't believe it." Luciana argued, her gaze narrowed at him."You don't want me to get married?" Raziel raised a brow teasingly at her."That's not in my place to decide, but I don't believe you will be getting married. You must have some ace up your sleeve.""I'm with her. Knowing you, you would play a trick on them again." Lorenzo added, and Raziel only smiled."We will see."*****The next morning, Luciana woke up early to go find Raziel. Strangely she did not have her nightmares that night and she would have loved to sleep more, but Raziel offered to help her find her sister, and she didn't want the opportunity to slip off her fin
Time rolled by fast, and soon it was time for Luciana to deliver. The midwives did their best to ease her pain, and make her comfortable, but it was still a hell of pain for her. Raziel stayed with her all through, holding her hand, giving her his comfort, but even that did not work this time. She ended up hitting and scratching him for the most time. After a moment of difficulty and pain, the baby finally came out. When Luciana heard the cry, all the pain was forgotten. She wanted to reach up for the baby, but the midwife already placed it on her chest. "Congratulations, your majesty. It's a boy." She glanced at Raziel who had his eyes on the baby, before returning her eyes to the miniature being. She stared at the child, her eyes becoming moist. There was this feeling of completeness she had just from staring at him, from hearing his little cries. Raziel still held her hand, kissing the back of her palm as he watched his baby in the arms of his precious wife. He had expected this
The next few days with Elric were the best for Freya. He had always treated her good, but now he treated her like something so delicate, so precious, so valued. She never knew that she could fall more for him, but she thought wrong. What was there not to fall for? Sometimes she wondered if he was only a figment of her imagination because he was so perfect.Everything was going so perfectly. The construction for her foundation was ongoing, and he had introduced her to some individuals of high status, and they had also supported her. She knew that some of them just wanted to be close to Elric, but she would take every support. At least, they would help her create awareness.It was all laughter and fun, until the night of the next full moon. She had been worried the whole day, and Elric was the one calming her down. There was a chance that he would not pass through his usual episodes, but the uncertainty gnawed at her.Night finally came, and the moon came out. She lay beside him, prepar
Elric stared at Freya, concern filling his gaze. She seemed a little frightened, as she hugged herself, her heart beat rising, almost as if she was going into a panic."Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you. I just..." She gasped. Just as he was about taking her clothes off, she had a flash back of when she was in Lord Kruger's mansion, and she was forced out of her clothes."Tell me." He urges her on gently, and she took a deep breath."I... it felt like... I only remembered when I was in Lord Kruger's house. He always took my clothes off." She then confessed in one breath, her body trembling a little."Come here." He pulled her into his embrace. "Don't worry, we will take it slowly." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, calming her down. "I'm am not Kruger, and I will never ever hurt you." He assured her. "Remember what I told you when you were afraid of letting anyone touch you? I said it was your mind playing tricks on yo
Freya woke up the next morning, wanting to get out of bed. Then she discovered that there was a weight holding her down. That was when she realized that Elric had slept on her bed. She screamed internally. Now she didn't feel like getting up again.She turned to him, staring at his face. How could someone look so good? Her eyes fell to his lips, and she remembered their kiss the previous night.Elric's lips slowly curved into a smile, and she realized that he was awake."Good morning." He greeted in a low but husky morning voice, and her heart did a little flip. This man was trying her patience. He even had dimples... Ugh!"How long have you been awake?" She asked."A long while now.""And you didn't get up?""I prefer lying down here with you."Oh no, he just woke up and decided to attack her heart.His eyes suddenly opened to meet her orbs, staring back at him."As much as I would love to stay here all day, I have to get up."She nodded in understanding. "How do you feel now?" She c
Freya didn't let Elric get up, as she basically jumped on him, and he fell back into the bed."You are okay!" She exclaimed, hugging him, her hands tightly wounded around his neck. "You scared me, you scared me so much." She whispered to him."I'm sorry I put you through that." He whispered back, stroking her hair. "I'm really sorry."Luciana and Raziel gave each other a look, before deciding to leave them to their privacy.After hugging him for a little while longer, she pulled herself up, but her legs still straddled him. "How are you feeling? Did it work?"Elric's brows furrowed, before he realized. She had actually stabbed him. That was why he lost consciousness in the first place. What did she use? He remembered the excruciating pain he felt."What did you do to me?"She thinned as lips, as she prepared herself to answer. "Please don't get angry.""I only want to know."She nodded, feeling a little nervous. "It was the vampire poison. Luciana and I... We wanted to kill your vampi
Freya didn't know when the hours passed, but the next time she raised her head, it was already morning, and Elric was still yet to wake up. She got up, utterly tired. She didn't sleep at all through the night, hoping that he would wake up.She paced around the room restlessly in confusion, refusing to believe what her mind was telling her. She believed that he would wake up. Perhaps it would just take a little while to work. After walking for a while, she sat on the floor, her back against the wall.She stayed like that for only a few seconds before going back to the bed. She rested her head on his chest to check for his heart beat, but she still heard nothing. Her heart sank to her stomach, and she reached to clutch her own chest. Terror gripped her so hard, she felt like it would fall off.She suddenly burst into laughter. This was all a joke right? Perhaps it was a very bad dream. Because this could not be happening to her. She didn't fall completely and stupidly in love with him j
Freya engaged Elric's in talks and some fun games to keep his mind occupied. She also tried playing with his hair, making it the way her mother used to do for her and Luciana, making him appear a bit feminine. She thought he was still handsome in it though. It was as if her attempts to distract him was actually working, as he was still doing a good job controlling himself.But even with all her efforts, Freya couldn't prevent the inevitable. She noticed that he was beginning to experience his torture again when she saw that his palms were tightly clenched, and he had also gone quiet, leaving her to do all the talking. He also had his eyes tightly shut.She reached for his clenched fists, and was surprised to feel moisture. His claws has elongated, and he had wounded himself.Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, and she just reached to hold his clenched fists. This seemed like it was going to be a very long night."Hey, how are you feeling?" She couldn't help but ask. She wanted to
Luciana gave Freya a small dagger, coated with the poison. Freya's heart skipped at the reality of the situation was beginning to dawn on her. This was a really really big risk to take, and the 'what ifs' were too much."Do you need me to stay back and help you with it?" Luciana offered when she noticed Freya's nervousness, but Freya shook her head in refusal."I want to do this. And I think Raziel would throw me in your dungeons if I keep you too long." She joked, and Luciana laughed."Alright then. I wouldn't like to plead on your behalf. People might think I'm bias because you are my sister."Freya only chuckled a bit. "Thank you Lucy. It was nice having you over."After Luciana and Raziel had left, Freya became overly aware of the time. She also kept a very close eye on Elric to know if he planned on leaving the house. But he was just still very much like himself, and it didn't seem like he planned to go anywhere. She still asked Alice to keep an eye on him, just in case she misse
Freya was floating among the clouds as she recalled the kiss between her and Elric the previous day. She was currently lying on her bed, but she couldn't help the smile on her face. She decided to write to Luciana."Calm down Freya, it's only a kiss." She scolded herself as she got up. She had been telling herself that since the kiss happened, especially when she was close to Elric.At dinner the previous night, she thought it was going to be awkward between them, but it wasn't at all. He was very casual, and even a little more touchy. Perhaps he would think she was acting like a child. Actually, anyone would think that she was acting like a child.She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. Her heart skipped a little, thinking it was Elric. She opened the door only to find Alice."Good morning, Lady Freya. Did I wake you up?"Freya shook her head. "Not at all. I have been up for a while. Is there a problem?""The duke wants to speak to you. He is in the balcon