The Crown's Obsession

Theodore raised his eyebrows.

He said, "And you think I don't want to see you being happy? You don't have to sacrifice your own happiness for mine, Lucy. I know a lot of things about you, but I believe there are still a lot more that I might not know, and at that time, I need you to tell me how you exactly feel about things."

Hearing this, Lucy pursed her lips. "I wouldn't mind if you are happy though. I am more than happy to see you happy."

Theodore placed his hand on the top of Lucy's head, "What I listed are not the things that I want to do. Do you think I care about what people eat and drink? The only person I would care about is what you do and how you are doing," the rest could rot, thought Theodore in his mind while he smiled at Lucy.

Lucy spent the rest of the time describing how she had dreamt of the wedding to take place while lying next to him on the bed. To not do anything but lay next to each other was more than she could ever dream about, and her heart felt full and soft.

It felt like right now as if she was dreaming, and if it was true, she hoped that the dream would never end. She wanted it to last forever.

The night slowly continued to pass, and Lucy fell asleep next to Theodore, their fingers interlocked while facing each other on the bed.

Weeks passed, and the snow that had fallen over the last few days had started to disappear, the heavy clouds turning lighter and the atmosphere turned brighter until all the snow had disappeared.

On one fine morning, Madeline woke up early along with Calhoun and had dressed. Deciding to visit Lady Lucy, hoping they could spend some time before breakfast, but she received no response when she reached Lucy's room and knocked on the door.

"Milady," a maid who was at the end of the corridor had walked on seeing the Queen appear in front of Lady Lucy's room. "Lady Lucy isn't here."

On hearing this, Madeline frowned, "Did she go somewhere?" It seemed like she had woken up earlier than most of the vampires in the castle, thought Madeline to herself.

"I was here to deliver Lady Lucy the glass of blood, but she must have gone out," informed the maid, bowing her head.

"I see," responded Madeline before returning to Calhoun, who was in his study room. She walked towards the desk where her husband was busy with some of the parchments. "Lucy went out."

Calhoun hummed in response, "She must have gone to visit the graves at the cemetery. She likes to spend time there." He was writing something on the parchment before placing the quill to rest on the table. He raised his hand, and Madeline walked towards him before placing her hand in his. "You can go visit your parents. Or I can invite them here to the castle."

Madeline smiled at Calhoun's words, "I don't think they are ready to visit the castle. Mother is still scared of Vladimir's presence, since the last dinner we all had together."

The corners on Calhoun's lips tugged, and he said, "I am sure it is something very memorable to all of us. But maybe a family dinner again doesn't sound that bad. Vladimir has been pestering me about it."

"He misses you," whispered Madeline. The devil was one of the last fragments of Calhoun's mother.

Madeline came to stand closer to Calhoun, running her hands through his pitch-black hair, and she heard him hum in satisfaction, making her smile. There were only a few people left in their families whom they could count upon, and it was important to treasure them, thought Madeline to herself.

"Later, I will be going out to take a look at Lucy's wedding gown," informed Madeline.

Calhoun nodded his head, "I would be more than happy to host the wedding here. It is not everyday you get the opportunity to hold your sister's wedding. She takes after the woman who looked after her."

Madeline smiled at Calhoun's words. She had heard a lot about Ruby, who Lucy also addressed as Nana, who had brought her up. The maid who was kind and had loved Lucy as her own.

"Isn't it wonderful, that they will be getting married," responded Madeline. "Only if they could see how happy they had turned out to be."

"Did you speak to Paschar?" asked Calhoun, his eyes meeting hers.

Madeline shook her head, "Not since we returned from Heaven. But I did write a letter to Gabriel."

"Did you now," responded Calhoun. He then said, "Today Monique is going to meet another mechanic to help with her hand."

Madeline nodded her head, "She told me about it. I thought the person was going to come here to size the length of her hand and to find its proportion again."

Lady Monique, Calhoun and Lucy's aunt, had been trying to get an artificial arm to be placed permanently. The last one she had got was inefficient, and she had decided to go to another one today.

"Monique is not used to staying inside the castle. She spent most of her time at the borders, keeping her mind busy. She wants to go out and have a change of surroundings," replied Calhoun. He had asked his aunt to stay in the castle, to attend Lucy's wedding before she would go back home.

"It is nice to have her here. Lucy has someone to look up to as a mother figure," replied Madeline.

Not too far away from the Hawthrone's castle, Lucy stood in the quiet and peaceful cemetery that belonged to her family. She stood in front of Nana's grave, her hands folded and her eyes staring at the tombstone.

"I hope you are doing well, Nana. I returned to the castle two days ago," Lucy spoke to the grave. "The renovation of the mansion has started and it looks like a lot more work than I expected it to be. But it has been going smoothly. Some of the walls have been demolished to make the rooms bigger."

The wind softly blew the dried twigs and leaves lying on the ground, sweeping it from one place to another.

Lucy continued, "There's nothing much to plan for the wedding, except for the dress. Aunt Monique wants me to pick the best gown and she had some recommendations for me. But I asked Madeline to pick one from the village. Theodore doesn't mind me wearing regular clothes," she smiled at the thought of it. "Life has been much peaceful since the attack that took place in the castle. I wish you were here, but at the same time I am glad that you are in Heaven."

Lucy could imagine how Nana would look now if she were still alive. Grey hairs, more wrinkles on her face, as twenty years for a human was a lot in their life.

"It is good to see you to be doing well, Lucy," she heard someone speak not too far away from her.