Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 74: Sleeping Torture

Chapter 74: Sleeping Torture

Samantha couldn’t explain exactly what she had gotten herself into that night with Lord Ivan. She had come to the conclusion that she was the one responsible for her own predicament, because not only was she denied the right to fall asleep, she had to stay awake until the heavens above touch her Lordship’s ignorant soul and he falls asleep, somehow, cause that was the only option he had given her.

She was only being a do-gooder, it was part of her duty, but unfortunately, her good deed has trapped her in this awakening torture with Lord Ivan. Whenever she showed the slightest chance of falling asleep through their conversation, the vampire Lord would heartlessly blow hot air to his fingers and flick her forehead with it, jolting her awake.

’Patience Sam.’ she inwardly consoled herself, ’you won’t have to tolerate his attitude or demands for much longer. Just.... Smile through the pain.’

"Little Lamb, where do you think you’re drifting off to? You’re not allowed to do that as long as I’m awake, it’s part of the rules." He playfully taunted with a not-smiling face, finding pure satisfaction with how she struggled to keep her sleepy green eyes open.

"But... My Lord, since when did this become part of the rules?" She innocently asked, whilst shaking her head from time to time to drive off the sleepiness that lingered heavily on her eyelids, but no matter how hard she tried to fight it off, it came back with ten times the force.

"Since I remembered it." Ivan nonchalantly retorted, leaning against the headboard and resting his head on it. "It’s one of the ancient Vampire rules of hospitality. It’s only fitting that my servant stays awake when I’m up. Keeps the silence at bay."

"So what do you do when you’re up?" Samantha, who tried to reason in the same direction as him, asked, and he responded vaguely, pushing his hair away from his face.

"Whatever I please to do, the night offers a myriad of possibilities."

"Then what type of dreams do you normally have each time you fall asleep?" Since she had to stay awake with him, Samantha wouldn’t want to dwell in the silence they shared and chose to start a conversation with him instead.

"When you fall asleep, the expressions you make, did someone hurt you in your sleep?" She asked softly to avoid offending him, and yes she knew Vampires liked to keep their pasts to themselves, but sometimes, even sharing a bit of your worries with a stranger, or a maid like her can ease the load weighing down on him, and she had promised to make Ivan open up to her, so it wouldn’t hurt if she starts now.

The candles she had set on her table were almost dying out, and the warm golden glow illuminated the side view of Ivan’s flawless face. He was such a handsome man, handsomely terrifying too, and she wondered how much it would take for him to bring down the cold facade he always wore.

Ivan remained unusually quiet to her question, staring into space with a detached gaze. He didn’t look like someone who was listening to the things she uttered, she doubts he even heard the question she had asked, but before Samantha could apologize for pushing her luck too far, fearing that she may have offended him without knowing, he suddenly asked.

"Did you know I’ve always despised you, intentionally?" He began, glancing at the young woman who appeared instantly dazed by his question, her eyes widening with uncertainty and a tinge of fearfulness in them. He didn’t need her to respond to something so absurd before continuing. "To me you were just a child when our paths first crossed, a very.... Meek child, one that reminded me of a little lamb. I came to take your Father away, to end his existence, as was my duty. But as mere minutes turned into hours, I witnessed something I hadn’t seen in centuries."

"W-what?" Samantha blinked spontaneously, unable to hide how dumbfounded his statement made her feel. Was he saying this to scare her??

"What did you see?"

"Love." He uttered, deepening Samantha’s confusion. "I saw love, a bond so strong within your family, a fierce one. It defied any boundary and forever altered my perception." The tone of his voice softened at his anguish, but not once did he bother to glance at the woman. "None of you cared about the accusations raised against him, everyone was up to be used as a sacrificial lamb and my threats were intentional because, frankly speaking, I wanted to break that bond I was seeing."

Samantha, who was now wide awake thanks to his topic, could feel her heart ache within. She sat up properly when the conversation made her feel uncomfortable, resting her back against the headboard whilst confused about his reasons for bringing up the past. She could still remember it, she had seen his hatred herself but, even if he didn’t kill her Father with his own hands, he was still the reason her Father had been caught and killed.

"I still do not understand your point." She cleared away the lump from her throat, stealing suspicious glances at Ivan who was reopening wounds that hadn’t healed yet. "You had more than enough opportunities to get rid of us that night if you wanted to, no one would question you or your actions, I wouldn’t have been alive to stab you that night you returned, but you already made it clear that I’m alive because you think I share a connection with the missing mystical orb. I’m trying to stay alive for a purpose, and you’re fulfilling your duties. We’re both being toyed by fate."

"It’s more than fulfilling duties." He shook his head, but said nothing more to it. He was a man who carried more anger and pain than a thousand armies. He has been betrayed, deceived, hurt, forever cursed to roam in his darkness, forever bound by the chains of his making, and he’s already in it too deep to get out.

He was a darkness incarnate, incapable of redemption. That’s why, when he saw the love of a family, one so pure it wounded his own cursed existence, It turned out to be a reminder of what he never had, of what he was no longer incapable of feeling, he was jealous to say the least, and so he did something his malevolent self would do, he separated his little lamb from her family, but after finding her after ten years, she wasn’t the broken girl he had forced to run into the woods.

"Never make the mistake of forgiving me," he said firmly as an advise, "my soul longs for the unattainable, and to drag you into my desolation, if necessary I won’t hesitate to break you again-" he paused mid-sentence when he felt something rest on his shoulder, and to his unexpected amazement, the little lamb was already fast asleep with her head on his shoulder, as if it was her comfortable pillow.

"She fell asleep." He muttered to himself, looking away as he wondered if she had heard what he said or not. He wanted her to hear it, but at the same time, he felt satisfied she didn’t.

"You....are not a bad person." She suddenly muffled in her sleep, leaving the Vampire Lord surprisingly dazed as she subconsciously adjusted her head on his shoulder with no sign of waking up soon. Ivan already blew hot air to his finger, ready to flick her out of her slumbers, but strangely, he couldn’t do it this time around.

He gazed at her face as she slept soundly, her knees were up to her chest, and he found himself staying still, as if worried he would wake her up with any slight movement he makes. Letting out a defeated sigh, he closed his eyes, feeling the weight of their emotions hanging stiffly in the air, knowing their destinies may forever be entwined in sorrows and longing.

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"Uhm Lucy, when will the servants head out of the Palace to refill stocks again?" Samantha had asked Lucy the next day while they were in the kitchen. Albert had already returned twice to persuade them to eat quickly and get back to work, whilst they had to hurry because the third time may warrant a punishment from his side.

"Well the Palace is already dropping low on food stocks, so tomorrow, maybe? It depends mostly on the head maid since she’s in charge of leaving the Palace to get them. Princess Claire has major needs that need serious attention, the head maid might decide to leave tomorrow."

"Hmmmm..." pursing her lips, Samantha’s gentle eyebrows furrowed as she pondered deeply on Lucy’s statement. Lucy, who had washed the small plate she used in dishing herself the regular tiny meal, frowned subtly upon noticing the scheming look on Samantha’s face.

"I know that look, what are you up to?" Lucy questioned Samantha who had moved to wash her plate before dropping it in the actual spot that was meant for servants only. Glancing around the kitchen and outside to make sure there was no one coming or Eavesdropping, Samantha returned to the kitchen and whispered her plan of escape into the ears of Lucy.

"It’s not safe to leave the Palace! Did you hit your head while sleeping?" Lucy quietly complains, "what if you get into serious trouble like last time? Lord Ivan might have saved you from the hands of Princess Claire but you will have his fury to deal with if you think about planning another escapade."

"Lord Ivan will be stepping out of the Palace tomorrow, he has somewhere urgent to be and he won’t be back until nighttime." Samantha softly whispered. "All I need to do is find a way to make the Head maid take me with her tomorrow, and I have been obedient towards Lord Ivan, he won’t suspect my plans until after he returns, by then, my brother and I would have made it far from here."

"That’s not my point. If it was that simple a lot of servants would have fled, okay maybe some of them, but it’s not as simple as you try to make it sound." Lucy, who was genuinely concerned about her friend’s safety, tried to explain it word for word. "Listen, the Head maid leaves with a few servants on a Carriage, and the carriage will be accompanied by guards, they’re ’Vampires’, Sam, they’d smell you out the instant you skedaddle your way from there."

"No plan ever comes out simple, my constant trials and failures already proved that to me." Samantha looked around once more before assuring Lucy in a calm voice.

"I’ll write to you if I end up in any trouble, but I can’t stay here anymore."