Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 56: What Are You To Lord Ivan?

Chapter 56: What Are You To Lord Ivan?

Entering the towering building known as the East Wing of the Palace, Nichole freed his button on his collar so he could get the chance to breathe properly, gently tugging at the lapel and massaging the back of his neck from time to time. The young man had been totally exhausted from participating in the burial rites along with the royal Family, whilst he was more than happy to get away from everyone and the sepulcher.

Thinking about his kingdom Velleity, it wouldn’t be long before he takes over the throne as King. Judiciously, he had to remain on the royal Chevalier family’s good side for the meantime, and once he eventually learned about the weakness of the royal family, he wouldn’t hesitate to dominate their Kingdom in return for their undying cooperation.

Gone are those days when GreenHollow was the most envied Kingdom. They had the strongest soldiers that could not be more disparate, and Ivan was the strongest warrior Prince to ever lead their troop. With the unresolved crises going on within the Palace itself, Nichole couldn’t help but wonder how long the Mighty Lord Ivan can handle the weight of the burden that had been placed on his shoulders - eventually, the Vampire prince will have to bow down and seek for his help.

Smirking at the cruel thought creeping in his mind, he stepped into his room, and behold, a golden-blonde-haired beauty was making his bed. For a moment he didn’t want to believe that she was the same lady he had a conversation with during the soiree, but what’s the use of lying to himself? He still couldn’t forget her adorable small round face, her sparkling Jade green eyes, those natural soft-looking plump lips, and that magnificent hair that accentuated her natural beauty.

He wanted to announce his presence by clearing his throat, but promptly stopped himself before he could make a sound. He knew if he did, the young woman would immediately hesitate and be in a rush to leave. She was always in a rush to leave, quite different from the ones that shamelessly fawned over him.

Leaning one of his shoulders against the side of the door frame, arms crossed, he watched her move about as she properly made his bed, subconsciously taking note of her delicate slim figure. He wasn’t surprised he mistook her for a princess, no princess was capable of gaining his concentration the way she did, yet he wondered... Why a maid??

By the time Samantha was done laying the bedspread, she moved to his nightstand where she picked one of his adventurous novels he would read each time he had nothing to keep him busy. He saw the way her eyes lit up with interest, whilst he was forced to ask a simple question that, as expected, startled the young lady.

"Do you read romance?"

When she dropped the book, Nichole’s eyes subconsciously went wide as she quickly bent to pick up the book. Her movement was swift, but it also gave him a good view of her backside when she innocently bent like that to pick the book up.

Nichole was starting to think she was a seductress incarnate.

When she made plans to leave, he had stopped her by the door, and since she had shown up in his chamber as a servant, she wasn’t allowed to leave without his orders as a Prince.

"Close the door and join me in my Chambers, I won’t take much of your time." He walked past the frozen woman who after some time, finally closed the door and turned around to look at him. His gaze, which appeared physically mild raked her from head to toe, and then his lips parted like he wanted to say something, but suddenly changed his mind at the last minute and took his seat on one of the couches placed adjacent to the huge window in his room.

Samantha’s gaze followed his tall built figure, and she found herself comparing him to Lord Ivan. They were both handsome, but when it came to who scared her most, Lord Ivan was still, unmistakably within that circle.

"Is there anything you need? My Prince?" Asked the puzzled Samantha who was finally able to strengthen her walls, but despite keeping her gaze to the ground, she caught a glimpse of the Prince Nichole crossing his legs, and then he asked her a question she did not expect.

"Do you wish to leave the Palace?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"A simple yes or no would be more relevant." Nichole’s refined tone remained gentle just as the first time he had spoken with her at the soiree. He appeared more of a gentleman, someone she could use to finally leave the Palace if she wanted, but she wasn’t a fool either - she was done being fooled by their two-faced countenance.

"No." Came her clipped response, and Nichole’s eyebrows arched in surprise.

"Why?"

"Forgive me, My Prince but I need to return to Lord Ivan."

"It’s quite evident that you do not like it here." Nichole’s equivocal assertion had Samantha stopping in her tracks once again, but she didn’t turn around to look at him. Samantha could hear the iron heels of the couch screech as he rose to his feet, and his footsteps were soft on the tiled floor as he approached her back.

"A lot of servants are looking for this great opportunity I’m willing to grant you. I will be heading back to my kingdom tomorrow, it’s a place called the city of Velleity, ever heard of it?" He asked proudly, slowly moving away from her back to stand in front of her, and Samantha was forced to meet his eyes that reminded her of an early brown coffee bean.

City of Velleity, she had seen that part of the kingdom while studying a map. They shared borders with the Empire’s of the North, and it was a prosperous city compared to that of EmptyHollow presently. The City of Velleity came second in the Empire’s most affluent Kingdom after EmptyHollow when it was still in good shape, but with the orb gone, the City of Velleity had become the first, whilst the royal Chevalier family had to dominate half of the land in order to assist the people of EmptyHollow with enough raw supplies.

The rulers of Velleity came from the family of Dragons. Was Prince Nichole a descendant of that bloodline?

"If you agree to come with me, I can promise you’ll be treated more than the Queen that you are, and not as a pesky little servant." He proposed, not bothering to hide his interest. "Velleity has everything, and do not mind me saying but you and I can agree that this land is cursed. Staying here long enough can lead to unending misfortunes, nothing seems to be going right in the Chevalier Family and it’s pretty clear."

"I do not wish to be rude but how does that concern me?" Swallowing her pride, Samantha tried to sound as polite as she could while responding, "it is an honor that a Prince like yourself would consider helping a servant like myself, but I am no lady in distress and I have no intention of abandoning my land." Apart from that, she still needed to find her brother and prove the innocence of her Father. Even if she wanted to leave at her free will, it sounded impossible as her fate had already been sealed within the Palace and its Kingdom.

"Are you being threatened? You know, I find it disputable that a man like Lord Ivan would keep a mere maid at his side. He hits the bull in the eye and calls you his blood servant, when he hasn’t even marked you yet." Nichole pushed on, taking a step forward as his narrowed eyes studied her expression for any emotional giveaway, whilst Samantha moved back at his predatory approach.

"Who are you? What are you to Lord Ivan?" He demanded, knowing there was another reason why a servant would reject such a tempting offer as his. "Are you.... A weapon? Some sort of well-kept secret?"

"My Prince." Feeling the back of her feet hit the wall, Samantha could no longer find an escape route. Her face burned pink when Nichole leaned forward, trapping her small frame with his larger ones. Meeting his eyes that held the opposite meaning to adulation, Samantha’s pupils dilated when she sensed he was about to kiss her, but before he got a chance to even feel her lips, he abruptly pulled back when a short silver dagger adeptly passed their middle, stopping him from accomplishing his little desire to taste those soft-looking lips.

The mouth of the dagger got stuck to a wall, and Samantha gasped out when Nichole felt the side of his cheekbone, and his fingers were evident with the stain of blood. He was sure he missed it, but somehow, the dagger still ended up giving him a slight cut on his cheekbone.

Glancing at the door to see who had the effrontery to throw daggers at him, Lord Ivan was standing there, toying with another dagger in his grip. His eyes - they were striking blue, and since when did the Vampire Lord get accustomed with glasses?

"Ivan?" Nichole’s dumb-stricken visage wasn’t because he had been unquestionably caught, the Vampire Lord was never one who would set foot in the Winged Palace, the only time he ever showed up here was if Abdiel dragged him with, so seeing him here.... Why is he here??

"The closeness..... I fucking hate it." The Vampire Prince let out an exaggerated sigh as he was preparing to toss the second dagger, and Samantha didn’t wait for Nichole to move as she pushed him away herself, creating enough distance, but this time around, Ivan aimed the dagger at Nichole, and when he tossed the blade, it landed right at the top of the wall, just a hair away from tearing the top of Nichole’s head in two and exposing his brain.

"Missed." He muttered in disappointment, but then he clicked his tongue and cheered up quickly. When his blue eyes moved to the still-shocked Samantha who met his gaze, she could feel the tiny hairs on her skin stand at attention, and to avoid trouble, she meekly went to stand behind Ivan who watched her scurry to his side.

"What’s this insult?!" Nichole, who felt offended, but unmistakably petrified by Ivan’s cheap tricks, questioned in a serious tone, demanding an answer, but the Vampire Prince smiled sardonically and lowered his head in apology.

"Every little thing appears more of a target to me these days, my apologies." He sounded derisively earnest. "But, cloth your shamelessness for today, we’re not done mourning the Queen Mother and you already have plans of fucking my blood servant."

"I never did that!"

"Well the whole thing would have progressed after a lovely kissing session now don’t you think?"

Samantha’s eyes widened like a saucer, and she could barely find a place to hide the tint shade of pink that colored her face.

"You say she’s a servant, so why do you care so much if I do it with her? Huh? We share my Kingdom, so what’s wrong if I stole a little kiss from your servant?" He challenged, "unless, you’re hiding something, is that it?"

"No, just not your business." Ivan heartlessly clipped.