Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 59: Are You With Me?

Chapter 59: Are You With Me?

When Ivan approached the towering double door at his left, the bulky guards let him through without delay, swiftly unlocking the door and granting him access into the orb room, but when it got to Samantha, the young woman gasped when they meticulously blocked her path with their gigantic swords, their glaring eyes denying her any form of entry, whilst she cowered back in fear, but that was until they heard Lord Ivan speak as he turned to look at the guards.

"She’s with me, let her through."

At Lord Ivan’s command, the guards stepped aside for the half-frightened Samantha to quickly pass through. When her feet stepped on the stone stairs that led her further into the courtyard, she heard the door close shut behind her with a heavy bang, causing her body to jolt in reaction. The tiny hairs on her skin were giving her body goosebumps, and when she turned to look at the door, an unsettling feeling tugged at her nerves.

The sharp lighting of matches snapped her senses back into reality, and her gaze drifted to Ivan who was busy lighting the candles on a sconces. Accustomed to the roles of being a servant, she padded towards Ivan and stretched her hand in front of him.

"Let me do it." She requested with her eyes lowered to the ground, and Ivan’s gaze moved from the sconces to the young woman’s delicate palm that was stretched before him. Not saying anything, he handed her the matches, and Samantha quickly lit up the sconces one by one till the courtyard was bright enough for the both of them to see things properly.

The courtyard hadn’t changed much since she last stepped foot in here. The flickering candles casted eerie shadows along the stone walls, and the sight of growing mosses had her pupils dilating as they weren’t here before.

Ivan sauntered towards the pedestal, and Samantha stayed behind as she watched his keen eyes study the object that was on top. He adjusted his glasses and held his bottom lip between his white teeth, and after some seconds, his eyes lifted to meet Samantha’s.

"Don’t you hear it?" He began, the tone of his voice echoing lightly in the courtyard as he leaned against the pedestal. "The walls, they seem to have stories to share, don’t they? Stories of the things we’ve lost, and are yet to lose." A fiendish smile graced his sinful lips, "I lost my Father here, and watched him bleed to death. I lost my sanity, and still got blamed for it. Your Father lost his name and title, GreenHollow lost its nature and the richness it possessed, you lost.... Basically everything. Good memories are what I call it, aren’t they?"

Samantha shook her head in disapproval, but didn’t utter a word in defense. She could only deny it, but it wasn’t going to change the truth regarding his statement - no matter how painful it felt that he was reopening wounds that hadn’t healed completely, he was still right.

Her hesitant gaze drifted across the room, taking a good look around it. The dried leaves crunched underneath her feet, and Samantha could almost picture how enchanting the orb room must have looked like when it was still present. Slowly, her gaze lingered on the same spot where she had seen the vision - her Father, the Late King, the mystic orb itself, glowing in its otherworldly glory as her Father tightly embraced it.

She could feel tears prick the corner of her eyes, and her lips trembled. For a moment, she assumed the vision had appeared in front of her again, because the image of that specific day was being displayed right before her eyes - the bloody sight of King Muzan, the dagger, and her Father who was on his knees, slowly taking the orb from his limp grip.

Her lips parted, and the name of her Father nearly slipped her mouth, but somehow, she had managed to hold herself back out of impulse. She had the urge to run to his younger version and hug him tightly, she was desperate too, she needed to know what exactly happened on that day and why he chose to get involved? But then she knew she couldn’t, she wasn’t supposed to go near him.

The green mystic orb, still aglow with its original brilliance, seemed to reflect her Father’s benevolent spirit. However, the warm scene began to mysteriously shift, morphing into something far more unsettling. The Ambient light dimmed, obscuring her Father’s once warm countenance. The green orb that had always been the symbol of hope and peace, began to emanate a sinister aura.

’Isn’t this supposed to be–’ Samantha spoke shockingly to herself, realizing that she wasn’t imagining it, but she was experiencing another Vision of what happened that rainy night.

The orbs’ vibrant hue suddenly transformed into a deep ominous purple, like the veil of twilight over a sinister landscape. To her bewilderment, she witnessed her Father’s face contorting gradually, his eyes clouding over with unhidden trepidation.

Shaking his head, her Father rose to his wobbly feet, his bloody hands grasping the orb as he took it with him and suddenly dashed off in a corner. As if timed, the door to the orb room was kicked open, and about a hundred soldiers marched in.

"Where is he?? Search every nook and cranny!" One of the guards yelled in fury. Her Father had already left the scene, and behind the soldiers was a young woman, she looked familiar yet her face was blurry, making it difficult for Samantha to make out who it was.

"Little Lamb."

With a gasp, she looked at Lord Ivan who had been silently observing her expression since she had gone morbid. She blinked at the Vampire Lord, whilst lowering her head in apology for being carried away, and when she feared he was going to question her regarding why she was staring at one spot with horrific eyes, he simply continued from where he had stopped.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" Moving away from the pedestal, he rounded the young woman with his arms folded behind his back. "I know you share a connection with the orb, it’s a hunch that I can’t seem to deny, and that explains why I spared your life that night when I invaded your home. Unfortunately, your Father had to make a sacrifice if he wanted you to stay out of harm’s way, and he did so with his life."

"Are you saying My Father would have faced the death penalty even if he didn’t kill the King?"

"Stealing the orb is part of committing treason." He asserted as a matter-of-fact, "his actions have left GreenHollow in this undying mess, and if that orb gets into the wrong hands, we’re practically doomed to eternity."

"What does it have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you." He effortlessly countered back. "and that is why I need you to work with me starting tomorrow. Help me find the orb, and your identity shall remain a secret." He proposed, "do you think if I reveal whose daughter you are to the Palace, they’ll let you live? No, little lamb, you’ll be hanged, and your brother will follow suit. An act of treason demands that the culprit be sentenced to death, along with the family, so just think, and choose wisely, cause if you refuse, I will have no use for you anymore."

Placing her between a tight spot, he let out his hand for her, "are you in this with me? Or are you going to be against me?"

"What if I kill you before you have a chance to reveal my identity?"

"If you can burn a man’s chest without flinching then I can assure you that getting rid of me won’t be far from it. I’m giving you a chance to end me, so, what’s your decision?"

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