The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 342. Improvise

Chapter 342: 342. Improvise

Mauve winced as she stared at the top of the tent. She checked, the sun was still out and by the looks of things, it would probably still be out for another couple of hours.

She sighed, it didn’t come as any surprise that she couldn’t sleep. The floor was hard and the space cramped. Well, not uncomfortably but considerably what she was used to, this was pretty small.

She stretched out her hand and could almost touch the very top of the tent while lying down, that’s how small the tent was.

She screeched when something fell into her eyes. Thankfully, it was just a speck of dust and not some creepy crawling bug.

She rolled on her side immediately, this way she was sure nothing would get into her eyes. Mauve sighed again.

The floor was digging into her ribs and at this point she couldn’t feel her shoulders. She said a quick prayer for sundown to come quickly.

It didn’t help that the heat in the tent was getting bothersome. The sun in the Nolands was something else. She wondered how the vampires were coping.

The journey here had been smooth and they were neither attacked nor were there mentions of a Paler. She was grateful for that.

However, she couldn’t help but be alert all through the journey and several times, she had thought this was a terrible idea and maybe she should have stayed back.

Danag had mostly left her to herself while he rode with her. They barely had conversations and she didn’t really have anything to tell him. Still, it was more comfortable to ride with him.

She was grateful, he didn’t try to strike up any conversations and had just left her to her business. He did encourage her to eat, however, and Mauve did try her best to, but the meal didn’t have much taste in her mouth.

Inspite of that, she still made sure to eat as much as she could. She needed the energy, she was already mentally and emotionally drained, she wanted to avoid adding her physical state to this.

"Mauve," a gentle voice said, shaking her net. "We have to leave now."

Mauve eyes flew open immediately and she sat upright rubbing her eyes. Even in the terrible sleeping conditions, she did manage to get some sleep.

She yawned a little too loudly in her opinion. She was tired and everywhere hurt. She groaned and slowly got to her feet but kept her back bent. She held this position until she was out of the tent.

Mauve winced as she stepped out, it wasn’t completely dusk yet but it was obvious that it would be dark any minute from now.

She caught sight of Erick as he approached her. He was squinting his eyes and he looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Good evening, Mauve," Danag said, sounding very close to her.

She jerked and turned to face him. "I didn’t see you there," she whispered with her hand against her chest.

He had been standing next to her but right at the corner of her line of sight so she had not seen him immediately.

"My bad," he smirked.

Mauve narrowed her eyes, she didn’t understand the thrill of jumping at her and it didn’t help that Danag didn’t look sorry.

"Erick would lead you to the carriage while I pack this up."

"Leave it," Erick said. "It’s not like we would need it again."

"Better safe than sorry," Danag replied and was already dismantling the tent.

"You could have waited for the sun to completely go down, I can swear the heat is eating at my skin."

"Relax, it is not hot enough to burn you."

"Maybe but it doesn’t make it less uncomfortable."

Mauve couldn’t even say Erick was overreacting because she wasn’t a vampire and she felt the exact same way.

She wondered why this land was this way. It definitely explained why it was barren, the heat was just ridiculous. However, considering it was in the middle of two fertile lands, it did raise some eyebrows.

"After you," Erick said cynically to her:

She scoffed and headed for the carriage. A bath right now would be nice but she knew that was completely out of the question. Until they could find an inn, she most likely would be able to clean up.

He held the door open for her and ushered her in. Mauve didn’t bother saying any thanks. He closed the door after she got in a little too loudly but she didn’t think about it,

She hit her pants, trying to get the dirt off it. She would have to wear this for this night and most likely another night, depending on things.

Mauve sighed, she was already tired and she wasn’t even a quarter of the journey yet. She yawned, her body reminding her of her exhaustion. Maybe she would try to eat again.

"Mauve," Danag called after about three minutes.

"Yes," she replied as he pulled open the door.

"We are leaving now," he said and got in. "Anything you want to do?"

She shook her head as she munched on some dried fruits. "I am ready."

"Okay," he said and poking his head partially out of the carriage window, he let out a loud whistle. The carriage immediately began to move.

"Were you able to sleep?" He asked as she finished eating.

Mauve nodded her head, "Kind of. It took me a while to fall asleep because the floor was so hard but I did manage to get some sleep."

"That’s good."

"When do you think we will get out of the Nolands?"

"By dawn if everything goes well. Else, we might have to spend another day here."

Mauve’s face fell, "I see."

"I was messing with you," he whispered. "We should get to the human territory before dawn."

"That’s relieving. There would be less chance of a paler attacking there."

"Worried we might get attacked?" He asked, peering at her face.

She nodded and looked out the window, it was still bright to see and all she could see was how much of a dry land it was.

"It’s something I can’t help but think about," she replied, looking away from the window.

"It’s expected, it’s been just months since you were attacked and it was simply a case of not expecting the unexpected."

"Still, you can never be truly prepared for the unknown."

"You’re right," he said. "But you can at least do the best you can. Improvise and I am sure you can deal with any situation."

Mauve wasn’t sure how she would improvise if she got attacked right now but at least Danag was right about doing the best she could.

Maybe if she had some fighting skills, the paler attack wouldn’t have happened in the manner than it did. She shook her head and concentrated on the ride, now was not the time to think about such.

"I hear we only have to take you out of the Nolands and your father would take care of the rest of your journey, supposedly."

Mauve was glad Danag added the last part because that was exactly how she felt. She had thought about it before, what is she was chasing nothing.

What if she got to Greenham and there was no such thing. What if her father had written the letter hoping that she might not reply but she did and even chose him over Jael?

"Yes," she forced out, hoping she sounded confident.

"You seem certain," he said looking at her a little too closely.

"Yeah," she said and looked out the window.

"That’s good," he grinned at her. "I would have to return to the castle as soon as it’s possible."

"I am so sorry," she started to apologize. "It’s my fault you have to do this even though you’re so busy."

"It’s not your fault, it didn’t have to be me so don’t be so quick to apologize besides I was the one who told you it would be easy to get you home."

She nodded, remembering that she wouldn’t have know she would be able to leave the castle without much trouble if it wasn’t for Danag.

"Thank you," she said. "I will always be grateful to you," she smiled brightly. "Even though I am human, you don’t treat me differently."

"Don’t be so trusting princess. I am still a vampire after all and we don’t exactly have much respect for humans."

"I know," she said. She got a first hand experience. "But you didn’t have to be nice to me and it would have been much easier to do otherwise."

"You think I am nice to you?" He raised a brow.

She nodded, he was definitely nice. If she didn’t think so, Erick’s behavior towards her was a constant reminder.

"I am glad you think so. However, don’t forget I am a vampire first. I would always think vampires are better.

She chuckled, "That’s expected and I won’t forget."

"Good," he replied.