Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 54: Origin Of The Orb

Chapter 54: Origin Of The Orb

Their brief conversation had been interrupted by the butler who had his gaze fixed to the ground. Looking between the somewhat petrified Samantha and Albert who waited for him, Ivan had to end their conversation as meeting the royal physician was more important than settling scores with his little lamb - but as the day slowly turned into night, Samantha’s green orbs never laid eyes on Ivan.

Lucy had been sent to the East Wing of the Palace to attend to some of the royal guests, thus, Samantha had to spend her whole day staying in Lord Ivan’s room with the cute fluffy cat to keep her company. Ivan didn’t return that night either, whilst Samantha eventually fell asleep on her bed, but when she woke up every hour to confirm if he was back, she found his well-laid bed still cold and empty of his presence.

"Where did he go?" Pressing her lips together as her gaze lingered on the door, the sleepy-eyed Samantha could no longer go to sleep. She didn’t like the unsettled feelings that were starting to dig deep into her heart’s protective walls, and she wondered vexatiously why his absence bothered her. It bothered her so much she threw her legs up in the air to vent her frustration, her blanket slipping off her petite body.

The next day, the morning weather had turned mild and temperate. The people of EmptyHollow had received the news of the Queen Mother’s death, and many of the public weren’t happy to hear the sad news and the reason for her death had been questioned. As expected, the Herald had claimed it was due to her old age, and she fell sick more often - of course, this news had been delivered without Lord Ivan’s knowledge.

The burial of the Queen Mother was held that Morning, and her death rites had been carefully organized and performed by all members of the royal family. Everyone, including the ones related to other kingdoms were present to show their gratitude to the Queen Mother who was now late - forever gone to rest in a place where she would find eternal peace..... as they so believed.

Agathe gently wiped her tears away with her handkerchief as she lowered her head respectfully before the sepulcher where the Queen Mother was buried. Claire also did the same before taking a step back to meet Ivy who offered her some solace. The Vampire brothers had to receive consolation from the royal guests, and all Tobias wanted to do at that moment was walk away and go back to his room.

When the little speech, gifts, and condolences had been offered, Abdiel quietly stepped away from the crowd and went back into the quiet Palace. Climbing the stairs and taking different corners, he went deep into the central Palace where the archive room was highly secured and protected by two burly-looking bodyguards.

Opening the door for the leader of the County Council, Abdiel wasn’t the least surprised to find Ivan inside.

The archive room was a highly secured, grand and opulent space, filled with rows upon rows of towering bookshelves. Each row held countless volumes of historical records and documents - ranging from medical, mystical, origin of anyone or anything in particular that shares a deep connection to the royal Chevalier family. This part of the Palace was only accessible to those with the highest level of clearance.

Stepping into the room, the warm glows of the flickering candles atop sconces illuminated the vast space, and the lingering scents of old parchments and antiquity filled the air.

The shelves, made of polished mahogany, stretched from the towering ceiling to the marble-tiled floor, housing countless scrolls and leather-bound tomes. Each shelf was meticulously organized, labeled with delicate calligraphy denoting the subjects contained within. The volumes ranged from ancient tales and legends to detailed accounts of the kingdom’s history.

The Archive room was that important because it held a lot of royal secrets.

Spotting the Vampire prince who was presently climbing a ladder, the young man simply reached for the highest document that had been safely kept at the top of the shelf, whilst his calculative gaze skimmed through. His Midnight black hair was tousled on his head, and his piercing blue eyes, which were now accentuated by the round set of medicated glasses, looked hard and serious.

"When did you leave?" Asked Abdiel as he randomly touched the documents below, "after the death rites had been performed, you vanished."

"I never intended to sulk all day." Retorted Ivan as he dropped the document and picked another one. "I was a fool for not listening to Grandmother in the first place, but paradoxically, Grandmother’s death was what I needed to push me forward, Uncle. I won’t rest till I figure out who planned her murderer."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"This should do the trick." Ivan murmured quietly to himself before coming down from the ladder and meeting Abdiel’s crimson eyes. "The Orb, uncle, the orb will give me the answers I need." His oceanic blue eyes had Abdiel captivated for only a second before he asked.

"Your eyes are---"

"Grandmother always loved to see these eyes," Ivan explained as his gaze lowered to the book in his grip, an oblivious smile curving his lips when he remembered the countless times she warned him never to appear with those devil eyes when he was in front of her. "She was too demanding of me, she knew I could never see with these eyes without the glasses, but she loved the imperfect me, more than I ever did."

There were times when his older brothers would bully him and break his glasses so he couldn’t see. While he struggled to find his glasses, his half-brothers would make jeering comments about his flaws and would laugh at him to spite him, but his Grandmother always had a new piece made specifically for him, and of course, she didn’t let those browbeaters go unpunished - she was his rock even as a child, and now, with the rock gone, he couldn’t afford to go back to the weak Ivan who would let others trample over him.

Feeling a comforting hand on his shoulder, Ivan was snapped away from the harsh reality he had been trying so hard to avoid. He had been fighting his emotions, and he was grateful Abdiel had broken him from that traumatizing trance.

"I am in pain myself, but what would you call an old man like me who cries for his Mother?" Abdiel joked before chuckling softly, then he squeezed Ivan’s shoulder comfortingly before saying, "be strong Ivan, you’ve been doing a good job so far, you can’t give up now when you’re this close to the throne."

"I don’t intend to, Uncle." Assuring Abdiel of his firm decision, he headed towards the Mahogany desk that was placed in a corner. On its surface were scattered loose parchments, quills, inkwells and magnifying glasses, indicating the diligent work of the royal archivist.

"Take a look at this." Placing the document on the desk, Ivan flipped through, and a clear illustration of the mystic orb was labeled on the third page. "You can read it if you want to but I wanted to briefly outline something here." He pointed at the letters delicately written below.

"The orb disappeared on the day Father was killed, we had the house of the perpetrator searched but the orb was never found. We’ve searched everywhere, wondering where the former special advisor must have hidden it, but we found no trace of it."

"Whenever you speak of that man as your Father’s special advisor enrages me. A murderer has no right to be addressed so honorably" Abdiel didn’t hide his resentment, and Ivan was forced to pause briefly.

"That’s not important, focus on the orb." Ivan flashed a tight-lipped smile before tapping a particular spot on the page. "The orb was never really made to assist with the greenery of EmptyHollow, it brought a lot of contribution to the land, correct but that isn’t all there is to the Mystic Orb, Uncle. If you read this, it says the Mystic orb can exist for the greater good without evil, but evil cannot exist without the greater good of the Mystic Orb."

"A cite?"

"Theoretically speaking, the Mystic Orb has always had an evil side to it, Uncle." He asserted in a soft whisper, "Its powers weren’t always for the greater good, it’s all blasphemous cause once the dark side is evoked, one must make a wish - a wish between life and death. I went through the history records of our antecedents and some of them had to make a wish, using their life as the price. I’m not saying it’s true but what if Father never gave the orb away, what if he made a wish when he realized the presence of the orb was threatened?"

Abdiel’s expression marred into a deep frown at Ivan’s question. "Are you saying the orb took your Father’s life??"

"Call it one of my hypotheses, it’s not proven yet." Ivan corrected his uncle before he got misguided, "as for Grandmother’s case, the preliminary result for the autopsy test will be brought seven days from now, until then, I shall hold on to my presumptions."