Chapter Seven

The Blood kingdom.

Castle of the Blood king...

It was a dark room. The curtains were drawn close, and the candles on the side tables were lit. Next to the door on the wall of the room were two swords hung in the form of an 'X.' Farther to the right of the wall was a huge bear's head; its eyes so frightened and dark like it had seen the scariest thing the moment before its death. The room's color was dark blue, but the room's furnishings were blood red. The carpet, bedsheets, pillows, and cushions were all made from very expensive fabric.

There was a huge fireplace, and the logs were burning at room temperature. The room ceiling was pale white, with no art or depiction of anything on it. There were no paintings on the wall either. The room was bare, apart from the bear's head and swords, along with the exquisite furnishings.

A figure opened the door to the room, entered and closed the door quietly. She moved softly on the red carpet, her bare feet pale against its surface. As she approached the bed, she removed her clothes slowly till she was left only in her underwear. She climbed up the stairs leading to the bed, and when she reached it, she removed the bed covers slowly and lay down inside.

Half a minute hadn't passed before she was drawn into a chokehold. Her neck was held by a big hand, and she quickly placed both of her hands on it, trying to get it to release her. Instead, the hand constricted, choking her the more. She could feel her face turning blue from the lack of blood flowing to her head. She was coughing, and her lungs started to hurt. She was finding it difficult to breathe. She began to furiously tap on the hand, scratching and pinching it, hoping that would make it stop, but whoever was trying to choke her to death didn't budge.

"Who are you?" A male's voice angrily called out. When he realized that the person he was asking couldn't speak, he released his hold on her a little bit.

Finally finding it easier to breathe, the woman took a deep breath and then answered.

"The royal- the royal father sent me." She stammered.

"The royal father sent you?" He cautiously let go of his hold on her.

"For what reason, exactly?" He asked. The girl remained quiet, not sure if she could voice why.

"I asked you a question." He said threateningly, and the girl gulped. She couldn't help but give the man a once over. He had only his shorts on, and his perfectly sculpted abs were on full display. If the last blood king was bulky, this man, his son, was even bulkier. She traced his body using her eyes; his broad chest, biceps, and huge arms could make any woman drool. If not for the constant frown on his face, he would have been the most handsome man in all the kingdom. He was still handsome, though, despite the scowl permanently etched in his face.

"H-he wanted me to seduce you; to make you sleep with me." She blurted out.

"And why would I do that?" He asked. The woman gulped again. It seemed that things weren't going to work in her favor.

"He had given you an aphrodisiac earlier." She said, scared. If his constant frown caused people to fear, the look he immediately had on his face after hearing her answer screamed of a death that was to come.

"He drugged me." He didn't ask it as a question, more like he knew that his father could do something like that, but that he never expected him to do it, and to his son no less. The woman was so scared she couldn't move. The room was enveloped by an eerie silence so cold it could freeze one's soul. The blood King suddenly let go of her.

"Get out." He said. The girl didn't think twice and jumped out of bed, heading straight for the room's door. When she left the room, the blood king released a sigh.

"I know you are there." He said. A figure that looked exactly like the present king came out from the hidden shadows of the room. He looked so guilty as he approached his son.

"Calhoun, I can explain." He started. Calhoun shot him with a cold look; he quickly swallowed the rest of his words.

"What could you possibly say, that would justify you drugging your son, and sending a lady to seduce him? Is this what fathers do to their sons these days? Just what kind of a father are you?"

"Well, you can't blame me for using this method." The ex-king crossed his arms and pouted.

"You, my son, are not particularly normal." He concluded lamely. Calhoun sighed tiredly, pressing his face to his palm. His father studied him, preparing himself for any action Calhoun might carry out. He might be the father, but his son particularly scares him.

"Come to think of it, how come you don't feel, you know..." The ex-king asked, looking at his son suggestively. Calhoun had never felt the burning need to kill his father as much as he wanted to then. If not for their biological relationship and because the man was the former king of the blood kingdom, the poor man would probably find himself buried alive in the evil forest.

"You have been training me against any kind of poison or drug, remember? You should have thought of that before you carried out your great plan." Calhoun said, rolling his eyes.

"Damn it." His father whispered.

"What do you hope to gain anyway?" Calhoun asked.

"Why are you so intent on seeing me married?"

"My son," his father carefully approached him. Calhoun rolled his eyes. He knew that his father was about to become dramatic.

"You are twenty-four this year. You can't be a blood king fully without your queen." His father sat on his bed, still keeping a respectable distance from his son.

"Tell me. What kind of girl do you like? I'll go to the ends of the earth to find a girl like that for you. I'll even kidnap her if she doesn't agree. Just please, have a bride." The king said, then with a serious face.

"You know that some people at the court are already eyeing the throne. They will soon start coming after you, mercilessly, especially through this route; your bridelessness, and if not managed well, it can lead to an outright war! You know how relentless these people can be."

Calhoun sighed. He knew his father was right. There had been murmurings and hidden restlessness at his court. He was the youngest Blood king to be crowned in the history of his kingdom at the young age of twenty. He had no idea why his father retired early. He believed that it was probably to cuddle up with his wife. Despite how bulky and fearful the past blood king appeared to all, the man was a full-blown henpecked husband. Calhoun was sure that his mother put him up to this.

"And there is another thing," his father suddenly said. Calhoun looked at him and saw the grave face he had put on.

"There is the issue of your power. You need a bride to control it."

"Won't I need a woman that I would like for that to happen?" Calhoun asked, exasperated.

"All the more reason you should get to work looking for a woman." His father replied.

"Besides, why do I have this power? I thought you had yours when you were like, forty?"

"Thirty-five." His father replied drily. " And besides, that's why you are so scary. You have to have killed so many people to achieve this power so early. Now that I think of it, what exactly do you do during your spare time?" Calhoun looked at his father coldly, and his father immediately cleared his throat, avoiding the gaze.

"It's exactly because of your power that you were crowned king. The first person in our blessed bloodline to awaken the power became the king. That is how it has always been since then. No matter how long the past king reigns, once his relative has awakened his power, he is to be put immediately on the throne because his power starts to dwindle." Calhoun looked at his father, concerned.

"You're not as strong as you used to be?" He asked bluntly. His father proudly raised his chest and said,

" This body ain't that old. I can still go out for war. But I can't fight like I did when I first used my powers." Calhoun nodded his head.

"You did give me the throne room so readily. You were pretty happy to dump all the kingdom's problem on me." Calhoun said lamely.

"That's what fathers are for." His father said with an innocent smile. "Anyway, you should know what your powers are by now- "

"No, I don't. Because whenever I ask you, you are always running from one errand to another for queen mother. And that is the only period you have time; which, I might add, is all day. I'm actually surprised you had the time to plot this nonsense with that girl- "

"What? I'm not always running around for your mother!"

Calhoun gave him a look.

"Okay, yes I am. But so what? You'll only feel what I feel when you get a bride. Hmph." His father folded his arms and turned his head the other way. Calhoun just sighed.

"Now that you have time, can you start telling me what is happening to me?" He asked his father. The past king sighed, closed his eyes, and dropped his hands.

There was no sound, and the flickering candle lights were the only mobile things. The air choked of mystery, and though the window curtains were drawn close, the eerie sound of silence could still be heard from outside.

"Throughout history, the blood kings have always been blessed with tremendous power. They get that power after a specific amount of blood has been spilled, and that is why, right from a young age, the next generation is strictly trained for war. The more people they have killed, the more power they unlock. When their power becomes activated, they feast on blood and destroy everything in their path; hence the name Blood King.

"So why do we need a bride?" Calhoun asked.

"You need to find the woman with who you feel a connection. When you find her, you both will be bound with a spell. She would be the only one to bring you out of your blood haze."

"Hence the henpecked husbands," Calhoun said, rolling his eyes.

"I have always wondered why we have got so many of them throughout history."

"What do you mean? Didn't you read of those without a bride? What happened to them? They didn't make it seven years after gaining their power; they were the cause of so many pointless wars. They killed until they were killed, or were overrun by their power. So do not blame the ones with brides for being henpecked husbands." His father pouted.

"Our wives literally save our lives." He concluded. Calhoun sighed then got up, leaving his bed.

"Alright, I would go find myself a bride."

"Really?" His father jumped up, clapping his hands excitedly.

"You are going to look for one?" He asked again, his eyes shining with hope. Calhoun walked over to his closet and fished out a fur towel.

"Well, someone has to save me from me, right?"

*****

The Kingdom of Pres.

The King's Palace...

Heavy footsteps landed on the tiles floor of the court rhythmically. The sound filled those present with brooding fear, and most of them couldn't bear to look at the strange man who had entered the throne room. The man had a scary appearance, a facial feature so evil it causes one to lose sleep. He was slim and, at first, could be mistaken for a weak person, but everyone there knew just how dangerous the man was.

"Darukï, come forth." The king called out. The man stepped forward and dropped to one knee.

"My Lord, you called." He finally said. His voice was filled with power for someone with such a simple frame.

"Yes, I have a mission for you." The king said.

"State your wish, my Lord."

"I need you to find the first princess of this kingdom. She ran away from this palace and has not been found for over a month. Bring her to me. She is to be wed to the blood king." Everyone was silent as they waited for the mysterious man to answer. They felt for the poor princess to be caught and brought back by a man like this. Everyone could guess what was likely to happen to her.

"As you wish, my Lord."