Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 213: Casted Aside

Chapter 213: Casted Aside

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"You got my journal." Maurice received the book that had a brown-leathered cover from his sister’s grip. He took a seat on his bed as he flipped through the blank pages, his eyes focused on the notes almost as if he was trying too hard to avoid meeting his sister’s gaze, and his lips frustratingly thinned at the thought of her alliance with a vampire, not just any vampire, but King Ivan himself.

Samantha took her seat beside Maurice, silently jabbing her fingers together as she rested them on her thighs. Her eyes monitored Maurice’s body language, and when she still said nothing to him, he let out an exasperated sigh and glanced her way.

"You’re going to marry a vampire King." His voice was tinged with concern, and he exhaled warily before averting his gaze from her own. "I don’t know, maybe I’m still having a hard time trusting His Majesty, or maybe I’m trying too hard not to trust him, but getting married to him... I honestly don’t have a good feeling about it but as I’ve said, I... should feel this way since I don’t trust him. Nevertheless, your happiness matters more to me than my opinion, so if getting married to him makes you happy, then I won’t hold you back." He assured his sister whose expression softened.

When he heard the announcement yesterday, he was slightly upset about it, but not as much as he expected himself to be. He knew the vampire King would never hurt his sister, and he also knew that he had taken a great liking to his sister, which relieved him to some extent, but even so, nothing about the alliance felt right, and he couldn’t discern why he felt like this.

"Now you’re beginning to sound like Father." Samantha’s songbird voice snapped him out of his pondering, and she tried not to get too emotional. An effortless smile graced his lips when she rested her head on his shoulder, linking her arm around his own, and she sighed softly.

"When I went to Fernwood, when I saw our home, I was reminded of how we lived, how we played, how we worked, the love that once filled the present abandoned cottage. It feels like everything happened yesterday... You know, I was starting to make these cute scenarios in my head that will never happen, like Father coming back, or seeing Mother again, but it made me so happy so I kept on imagining them. Do you indulge in this type of daydream?"

"Even in my sleep." Maurice answered heartily as he leaned his head to the other side so it would connect with that of his sister, "do you think they’d be proud of us if they were here today? Being here, the circumstances we’ve encountered to this point. Father always wanted me to be a scholar, but... I guess I’m meant to fight for my Kingdom, not spread awareness."

"What did you intend on asking His Majesty if you win? I know you said you were doing this for me but there must be something you want from His Majesty asides using your achievement to make us leave. What was it?" Samantha pulled her head away to gaze at him questioningly, and he answered her with a slight nod of his head.

"Asides leaving, I was going to make a request that he clears Father’s name from the mud it had been pushed into." He said, "That can still be achieved, but I don’t think I can take you away now even if I wanted to. That scheming vampire, he did this on purpose so I wouldn’t find opportunities to take you away from here." Maurice now understood why the vampire gave him such an indecipherable look before making the announcement, and hearing Maurice blurt out these words had Samantha’s eyes snapping wide in surprise.

"You told him?"

"I wasn’t clear on it, but he caught up with my intentions. He’s obviously afraid of losing you, he doesn’t say it, but his actions prove it." Maurice gritted his teeth in annoyance, "why did it have to be you anyway? I know I have the best woman for a sister but... it’s going to take a lot before he proves his loyalty to me, and I’m not worried cause I know he won’t hurt you, he... cares for you sigh... I hate myself for admitting to this."

Maurice fell back on his bed, eliciting a soft laugh from his sister, and it wasn’t too long before the door opened to reveal Lucy who walked in, and her gorgeous face was beaming with pure joy. Samantha wasn’t completely stunned that Lucy would show up here, and the way she looked as if firecrackers were about to shoot from her eyes made Samantha know the announcement must have reached her keen ears.

"Is someone getting married in less than four weeks?!! Albert came with the news this morning and has begun his roundabout errands. I’m so happy for you...." Holding Samantha’s hands, she pulled the young lady to her feet. Lucy twirled her friend around, and their girly noises were beginning to frustrate Maurice whose eyebrows irritably hung low.

"You could count me in as your personal maid, that way I can help you with your wedding dress, shoes! Maurice, give me your journal, I need to start making lists for your sister’s wedding."

"Go get your own journal, I just bought this!" Maurice hid his journal when he sensed Lucy was about to grab it, and she scowled at the lad who had gotten up from bed.

"Stingy little brat! Doesn’t matter, I’ll find another way to round it, hmph!" Ignoring Maurice, she looked back at Samantha who was still trying to clear her head from the dizzy spins, but her smile hadn’t left her lips. Lucy held her friend’s hand, and she couldn’t believe that what she had wished for was going to come true, there had been so many obstacles that made her believe the two of them might just never be, but alas! Her friend was going to become Queen of GreenHollow!

"Did you know what I did to the servants who backbited your matter after we received the announcement? I said to them, ’in your whoreass faces!’ then I gave them a little standing ovation with my pretty middle fingers." She demonstrated her actions to Samantha who shook her head before facepalming at Lucy’s guts, but deep down, her heart was incredibly warmed by Lucy’s support and friendship... she was starting to feel more like a sister than a friend now.

"I told you, I have to be a little dramatic first, it’s how I do things." Lucy defended, and Samantha held her hands before saying.

"If I... become the Queen then you will be granted the will to leave the Palace." She dropped, to Lucy’s stupefaction. "You said you were brought here as a token, GreenHollow isn’t where you came from, I can still remember, and I’m sure you’d like to visit your home again... your families must miss you too so I made this decision after thinking a lot about it."

"My... home?" Lucy’s pupils dilated, and Samantha nodded, "yes, don’t you want to return?" She softly asked when Lucy hesitated in her attempts to speak, and her hands dropped to her side. It was an action that made Samantha wonder if she had said something wrong.

"You have a good heart Sam," Lucy genuinely said, but the confidence in her voice was beginning to waver. "Not everyone is blessed with lovely parents like yours, I appreciate your thoughtfulness but I don’t think my parents or my people will want to see a girl they willingly cast aside and gave away as a token. It is no different from being sold, they never wanted me so, never saw my worth so... don’t take my refusal as a sign of ungratefulness, I’m happy that you tried to consider my freedom through this but I am okay being here."

"No, I definitely don’t see it as a sign of ungratefulness." Samantha shook her head, and she was starting to realize that she knows nothing about Lucy’s past. "I didn’t know it was... that way for you. What part of the Kingdom do you come from?"

"Caledonia."

"Caledonia?" Samantha’s eyes narrowed briefly, and the name of that Kingdom seemed to ring a bell. "Wait, but... if I’m not mistaken, the new King of Caledonia was the same man you were ogling at during the event. Don’t tell me you’re harboring feelings for a man whose family gave you out as a token!"

"No, it’s not him. His family hardly knows me." Lucy shook her head, further confusing Samantha. "How do I explain this, see.. My life story is going to be the most complicated story you will ever listen to, so why don’t we save it for another day, okay? Before I came here, His Majesty requested your presence in his study, so why don’t you go and meet the love of your life, and we’ll talk later when you come back."

"But..." before Samantha could say anything else, she was already standing outside Maurice’s room with Lucy.

"Bring my cornbread when you’re done attending to him." And she left first, leaving Samantha to stand in the empty passageway.