Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 172: Alistair’s Punishment

Chapter 172: Alistair’s Punishment

At the mention of his name, they both spotted Tobias joining Helena’s companion at the back of the stage, and as though he was busy inquiring about her from the organizers, his gaze drifted in her direction to find her standing on the stage. When he approached them, Samantha didn’t fail to grasp his perturbed countenance, and he made it quite obvious to Helena that there was a problem he needed to share with her in private.

"Helena," he came to stand in front of her, his voice a mixture of relief and apprehension as he said. "Forgive me if I have to interrupt you in His Majesty’s orders, but I need your help back in the Palace, the matter is rather urgent." He disclosed in a whisper that Samantha had managed to perceive herself. The forms had already been given out to the citizens, and every eligible male had filled it which means that their work here was already done.

It was left for the assistant organizers to arrange the forms so they could all leave together. Samantha inadvertently spotted her brother amongst the crowds that were beginning to disperse. He made a gesture with his hands that he was going to wait for her so they could leave together, but Samantha responded with the same hand sign, indicating he should return to the Palace without her since there are matters she needed to take care of. Knowing there was no possible way to convince his sister to join him in the town squares parade, he could only nod his head before waving his goodbyes.

"I was waiting for you and your brother for a long time now, where is he?" Helena’s inquiring tone brought Samantha’s attention back to them, and when she looked behind Tobias in the hopes to see Alistair coming their way as well, a questioning frown plastered her face as her eyes moved to meet the ones of Tobias. "Where is Prince Alistair?"

—-

Back in the Royal Chevalier Palace, the sound of a leathered whip meeting Alistair’s pale back could be heard in the punishment room. His hands were bound by chains as he was whipped mercilessly, so much so that the red welts behind his back began to bleed. On the other side of the punishment room stood his Father who watched the scene with not a flicker of mercy in his gaze, probably because he was the one who demanded that his son must be whipped non-stop till he learned his lesson.

The torture had been going on for thirty minutes straight, but Alistair’s walls refused to crumble, a stubborn display that made his Father’s gaze harden momentarily.

"Harder!" He ordered.

Alistair’s body shook with each relentless strike, but the expression on his face gave no sign of pain. His body glistened with sweat, and it only peppered his wounds since he wasn’t giving the time to heal before receiving another painful lash of the leathered whip. He subconsciously drew in a deep breath, and his once, flawlessly pale skin turned pink due to the effects of the whip.

The doors to the punishment room were opened by the guards outside, and Helena stepped in with Samantha following behind her. The powerful sound of a whip had Samantha halting in her steps, it brought back memories she didn’t wish to recall, and when she moved closer to see what was happening, her pupils dilated at the sight of Prince Alistair being mercilessly tied and flogged in the middle of the room.

When Tobias revealed Alistair’s predicament to them, she didn’t understand what he meant by ’urgent’ until she saw Alistair’s condition herself. Glancing at Helena who had composed herself, she made her way to where Abdiel was standing, and her voice was laced with a firm jurisdiction as she said.

"If you hurt him further I’m afraid I’ll have to cancel his name from the new recruits who will be following me back to the borders as we have planned." Helena informed Abdiel whose stern gaze shifted to the woman who came to stand in front of his line of sight. His eyes narrowed at her slight threat, but when his gaze moved to his son, the muscles in his jaw tensed.

"You have no idea what he has done!" Abdiel raised his voice, unable to hide his irritation. "Am I even sure if he’s my son, or if he got exchanged at birth? Why should I release him when all he wants to do is ruin the name and reputation I have strived to maintain?! No Helena, do not interfere!" He strictly warned, refusing to have his mind changed.

Samantha, who felt her stomach churn, turned her worried gaze to Alistair who was now on his knees. His upper bare body had been designed with painful red welts, and the stench of his metallic blood filled the space. Even in his situation, Samantha noticed something was off about his appearance, and then, it suddenly hit her!

Where are his chains?!

"What he has done to elevate your anger will certainly not be overlooked. But if you keep punishing him this way he is bound to incur severe wounds that would take days to heal, and we would no longer be needing him, so I suggest you take it easy and let him go, for my sake." Helena’s voice hinted at her pleas, and only then did Abdiel order the guard to release Alistair from the chains that had made him vulnerable to the hits.

When his hands were freed, Samantha was the first to reach his side as she helped him up to his feet. A slight wince escaped his lips as he was kind-heartedly assisted up by the servant he enjoyed frightening from time to time, and the building anger inside of him calmed at her gesture to help. Once he was up to his feet, Abdiel moved closer to his son, and Alistair didn’t fail to grasp the warning reflecting in his Father’s seething gaze.

"Thank Helena for her intervention, else you would have questioned if I am your real Father today. When you leave this place, I need you to put those chains back on, you are not allowed to remove them unless you want to return to the monster you once were!! Do not test my patience and do exactly as I’ve asked, else, you will not like the consequences of having to defy a man like me." He stated, leaving no room for argument before turning around to take his leave from the punishment room.

Samantha couldn’t stop herself from glaring at his back till he was gone.

Helena breathed out her relief as she turned to look at Alistair, and she frowned at the young man with her arms folded. "What did you do this time??"

"Can he answer that later?" Samantha softly inquired with a worried tone. "As of now he needs treatment. These wounds won’t heal on time if they’re not looked at first." Her concern for Alistair’s present state had Helena summoning the guards at the entrance to take Alistair to his chamber. At her orders, the guards stepped forward to receive Alistair from Samantha’s hold, and he was taken away, leaving Helena and the concerned Sam in the punishment room.

"Will he be fine?" She asked Helena who let out a hum in response, and it was plain obvious that she was also worried about Alistair.

"He took off his chains."

"I never knew they were removable." Samantha uttered her disbelief. "I always see him in those chains, he never....takes them off."

"He isn’t supposed to take them off, he has them on for a specified reason." Helena murmured before stepping out of the punishment room. "Do you even know why he has those chains on? Those chains you see around him may look ordinary but they are not, they contain strong magic."

"What type of magic?"

"Prince Alistair is not like his brother, without the spells on the chain he wear, he is unable to control his thirst for human blood." Helena revealed in a grave tone, "he can cause a massacre."