The Crown's Obsession

Calhoun, who stood watching the trio, didn't bother to comment on anything but a smile cracked upon his lips on hearing Lucy's reply to Samuel's suggestion. Like many other men who had tried to woo Lucy, Samuel was trying hard to get into Lucy's good side. But what a pity, thought Calhoun to himself.

Lucy got on her own horse, and so did the others before they headed out of the castle. The hooves of the horses clip-clopped on the ground. She noticed her cousin Markus was talking to Samuel as he had no actual interest in Calhoun.

On their way, Lucy paced her horse to move forward, and she came to move next to Calhoun, who asked her, "How are you doing today?"

"I am doing okay," replied Lucy.

It had been nearly a day since Lucy had seen Ruby dead, and she clutched on the reins of the horse she was riding on. Not a single person in the castle had mentioned her death or absence, not to forget, even Amice had gone missing.

"Did you hear about one of the maids who went missing last night?" asked Lucy to Calhoun.

"So that was what the commotion was about this morning," murmured Calhoun, and he said to her, "The queen must be under the notion that you helped her to run away so that she doesn't meet the same end as Ruby."

Lucy shook her head, "Amice didn't come to my room last night," and she turned to see her cousin, Samuel and Theodore, talking about something. Looking back at Calhoun, she whispered, "One of the guards saw someone in my room and believes that it was the maid."

Though Lucy wasn't direct with her words, Calhoun understood what Lucy worried about. "Who knows, someone must have killed the other maid so that she doesn't cause any problem to you or to them."

By saying this, Calhoun placed doubt in Lucy's mind that it was probably her mother or her grandmother, who had done something to her dear maid. "I should go ask them."

"What do you think you will achieve by it?" came the immediate question. Calhoun paced his horse to move faster, and Lucy did the same, giving them the little space they needed to speak with each other. "The mark on your cheek that has turned faint now, asking them will result in something harsher than that."

Lucy sighed. She knew Calhoun was letting her know the outcome if she were to cross her grandmother. She was curious about Calhoun's mother, and she turned to see her brother, who looked ahead of him.

"Thank you for yesterday, brother Calhoun," she thanked him, and his eyes moved to look at her for a brief moment before looking in front of him.

"How about you?" she returned the question to him. "How are you doing, brother Calhoun."

"Better," came his short reply.

Lucy smiled at Calhoun. When he had arrived at the castle, he hadn't spared a look nor a word with her, ignoring her presence and yesterday, he had come to place an umbrella over her head.

"What are you speaking about by yourselves?" questioned Markus, noticing his cousin sister speaking to the illegitimate son of the King.

Before Lucy could reply to Markus' words, Calhoun was the one to speak, "Lucy was asking how I feel as now I have been chosen to be the future King." Hearing this was enough for the younger vampire to narrow his eyes.

The rest of the journey to the forest was normal where Lucy chose to hear the others speak, and Samuel tried to get on her side by having his horse next to her and making little talks that she politely replied to. Catching sight of a deer, they started to chase and hunt it.

Lucy had never actually taken part in the hunt, and this was the first time she was actively participating in it. A thrill of joy coursed through her, and along with others, she went on to chase the deer, but the deer was too quick. Samuel wanted to impress Lucy. Therefore, he decided to chase the deer faster than the others, leaving the young vampiress behind.

Lucy's horse continued to gallop and follow, but the others had moved farther away, disappearing behind the many trees that were between them.

Suddenly a black creature came in front of the horse that Lucy was riding on, and the horse suddenly stopped, raising its legs forward to have Lucy lose balance and fall on the ground.

When she fell, Lucy flinched, and she quickly opened her eyes to come across a wolf that bared its teeth not too far away from her. She had never seen a pitch-black wolf before, and she could feel her heart beating loudly. The wolf looked feral, its teeth coated in saliva. Right on time, Calhoun had turned around his own horse as Lucy had fallen behind.

"Lucy!" Calhoun called her, bringing other men's attention.

She tried to move away from the wolf, but her movements turned the wolf angry.

"Don't move from there. I will come there," said Calhoun seeing Lucy petrified.

"A wolf's bite can be fatal to a vampire," commented Markus, who stood behind and away from the wolf after he came back to where Lucy was with the rest of the party. He got down from the horse, and so did the others.

Calhoun ignored Markus' words, and he said, "Theodore, get Lucy from the other side." He moved to the left while Theodore moved to the right. Having taken care of wolves before, he could tell this was still a young one, but by size, it was big, and its fur was coated with blood.

Lucy shook her head. This wasn't safe. But when she caught sight of Theodore, he stretched his hand for her to take.

"Why don't we just kill the wolf," suggested Samuel, "It will keep everyone alive."

As if sensing the word kill, the wolf turned to find Calhoun approaching it, and it pounced on him, taking a bite at his hand.