Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 222: The Exiled Princess

Chapter 222: The Exiled Princess

The next day, in the dimly-lit room that was adorned with an ornate chandelier, velvety drapes and antique furniture, Duncan sat gracefully at the grand piano. The windows were draped with thick velvety curtains, preventing any form of light from seeping in, but atop the chandelier were burning candles that illuminated the grandeur of the piano room, as well as the elegant-looking man clad in a white royal attire

The space of the chamber was hauntingly silent, save for the distant soft melody that emanated from the grand piano which was being played. Each note, though seemingly gentle and delicate, held a sorrowful tale that only Duncan could interpret. The music, though much like Duncan himself, possessed a fragile beauty that could captivate the hearts of any listener who, by chance, stumbled into this sanctuary of his– but he never allowed anyone to hear him play.

Duncan’s brooding eyes flickered with melancholy as his long, slender fingers cascaded effortlessly against the Ivory keys– the melodious notes dancing through the air. They mirrored his emotions– hauntingly beautiful, yet seemingly detached from the world around him.

The tune of his music rose and lingered, filling the air.

When he closed his eyes, an unexpected flicker of vulnerability crossed his features, but he stopped playing when a knock on the door disrupted him. For a moment, he didn’t answer, but when he heard the knock for the third time, he resumed his empty expression and said.

"Come in."

When the door opened, Lucy stepped inside with a tray that held a porcelain kettle and a teacup. Quietly closing the door behind her, she lifted her brown eyes to gaze at who Albert had ordered her to serve this tea to, but when the person sitting at the piano turned out to be who she never expected to cross paths with, the tray in her hand almost dropped as they shook in startlement, but somehow, she was quick to stop that mess from happening.

IT’S THE KING OF CALEDONIA!!!

She nearly screamed out, but knowing she couldn’t possibly dare to startle His Majesty, she took a deep breath and politely made her way to the piano where he was sitting. Trying to keep her trembling hands steady and her heart beating at its normal pace, she dropped the tray at the back surface of the Piano.

"Your Majesty, I’ve brought... your tea. Shall I serve it to you now?" She asked, her voice sounding pleasantly polite and unlike how she would speak on a normal day, but even so, there was no reaction from Duncan who kept testing each key on the piano.

"I don’t need further services, you can leave." He said directly, and all the while he never lifted his head to look at her, nor did he bother to steal a glance her way. Lucy didn’t mind it, cause she had gotten the perfect opportunity to gaze at her dream man up-close.

His Midnight-black hair cascaded over his pale, porcelain-like skin, and he had to be the first man she laid eyes on that bore such long hair, like that of a woman! She wondered if they were as soft as they looked. His cheekbones were sharp, and somehow hollow, but it only captivated Lucy who couldn’t stop staring, and her eyes, which were eager to study every inch of him, moved from his angular nose down to his thin pink lips.

He looked like a man tossed from the heavens !

"You’re still here?" It sounded inquiring, but his annoyance could not be mistaken, whilst it snapped her out of her daydream.

"Ah! Y– yes, sorry. I’ll leave." And then she turned to leave.

"The doors by your right." Duncan’s voice made her halt on time, and she realized, to her instant bashfulness, that she was heading straight into a wall. Feeling embarrassed with herself, she bowed her head in gratitude and immediately followed her right which, truly, led to the exit of the piano room.

When she was out, Lucy couldn’t help but lay curses on herself for acting so delusional and clumsy.

That was not a trait she possessed!

She wondered what he would think of her now, did she make it too obvious?

Meanwhile, inside the piano room, Duncan had taken notice of her hasty attempts to leave, and he wasn’t surprised since people were always in a haste to leave in his presence. The way her heart drummed that it almost busted his eardrums made him wonder if the servants here feared him that much– or rather, they feared he would transmit his non-communicable illness to either of them.

Moving his eyes to the tray she had left, he served himself a cup of herbal tea, a daily dose he always took to subdue the pain of his illness. When he took a sip from the cup, it tasted bitter, just like his life, but before he could take another sip, a knock on the door gained his attention.

"Come in."

Stepping inside at his command, Duncan’s eyes moved to his knight who had walked in. Returning his gaze to the teacup in his hand, he stirred it with a spoon and asked.

"Did you find her?"

"I’m afraid I didn’t, Your Majesty." His knight lowered his head in apology, "we’ve searched everywhere but.... the exiled princess of Caledonia is nowhere to be found."

"I want her found, no matter what." Duncan stopped stirring, his tone hardening at his Knight’s incompetence. "We’re not leaving anytime soon, so find her before that happens."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Stay guard at the door for me, I don’t want further disturbances till I step out. Alert me if it is Ivan, everyone else is prohibited."

"As you say, Your Majesty." Bowing once more in affirmation, he turned and left Duncan in the quietness of the piano room. When he emptied the cup in one go, a strenuous pain coursed through his chest to his heart, and he had to sit down in order to fully stabilize himself.

Is it too late to say that he had another motive for coming to GreenHollow?