The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Madeline didn't have an answer to his question. Now that she pondered over it while staring into Calhoun's red eyes that were looking at her with a curious look. Madeline questioned herself why she had followed him so willingly. Into his room and the bath, while obediently taking a seat when he had asked her to sit.

She had come here because she didn't want to go to her room. After what happened back in the forest with Calhoun's skin burnt, somewhere she was worried she would be attacked, and the only place she knew she would be safe was where Calhoun was. Somewhere amidst the shock and worry, Madeline looked at Calhoun in awe.

Today might have been one of those days where things between them were filled with peace. Calhoun had listened to her, sparing the fawn's life on just one word of hers and he had protected her. Given that if she was not going to be a queen, she would have never have gone through such circumstances. But now that she was in it, there was no going back. The more Madeline thought about it, the more she came to realise that her fate and destiny had changed since the moment she had seen Calhoun making his way past the crowd, walking towards her to only pass and then hand her the handkerchief.

"I want to know more…" her soft voice trailed.

Calhoun had stepped away from her by two steps, looking at Madeline who sat in front of him, above the bath to look at him. His eyes continued to look at her, and he asked,

"And what is it that you want to know?" Calhoun's hands moved at the surface of the water, playing with both his hands.

Madeline looked down at her hands that she had placed on her lap, "About you." It took a lot of courage to speak directly to Calhoun.

If Madeline was doing this, she would need to know about him, from him without any trickery of his or mischief in his words.

Madeline did feel bad about some things that had happened, but she also came to accept those things so that it would hurt less so that everyone could move on with their lives in peace. It was the most sensible thing to do. And for that, she would need to know more about the man who she was going to marry in a matter of a few days.

"What is it that you want to know?" questioned Calhoun, his eyes gauging the expression on her face, and he tilted his head to the side.

"Everything," answered Madeline. She raised her head and her eyes looking back at Calhoun, "What happened here in the castle...What happened before you entered the castle. About your mother."

Calhoun's hands didn't stop moving back and forth as if he was trying to move forward, but his feet continued to stay still under the water. Most of the droplets of water on his body slid down as he stood there.

The King knew exactly what Madeline wanted to know. It reminded him of the hour he had seen her last night when she had asked the question. He didn't mind that she was hesitating to ask whatever was there on her mind. And as he doubted, someone did fill her up with a distrust thought in her mind.

"After my dearest grandmother along with the other family members got my mother kicked out from the castle, my mother went to Oakley, and it is where I was born," Calhoun started to answer the burning question, "You won't find the village now. It was a small village that went down under riot and destruction. There was fire everywhere. After some years, I found out that it was my grandmother who ordered the fire and riot. Hoping to kill the bastard heir so that my father would not come to know about my existence and take my mother and me back."

Madeline remembered Calhoun had previously told her that his father didn't care when his mother was kicked out of the castle. The existence of heirs for the throne seemed to be very important to the royal families, especially the King.

Calhoun then continued, "My mother moved to another village with me. Somewhere were we wouldn't be found out. I believe it was the time when my father had only married Mary Sinclair. He was too occupied with his wife who was the Queen, to be bothered with a woman who he had slept with in the past."

She didn't have to meet the previous King to know that she would have not liked him. Kings were usually used to the lifestyle where it was filled with luxury. Things held little to no value as there was nothing to lose because it could be easily be replaced. Madeline stared at Calhoun, wondering if after she turned to a queen and his wife, would he ever think of replacing her?

"I won't."

"What?" whispered Madeline, not realising that her expressions were readable to Calhoun's eyes.

Calhoun stared into Madeline's eyes, "I might be cruel, crude and everything vile, but I am not like my father who doesn't know how to take responsibility."

Madeline's lips pressed against each other, and she said, "That's like telling you have never bedded a woman before." At her words, Calhoun chuckled.

"That's right. I have bedded many women. Maybe more than my father could ever have, but I made sure not to impregnate a lady. You see, Maddie, I didn't want children from them, but I look forward to having many with you," he offered his infamous smile to her, "Even if you don't produce an heir, I will continue to have you by my side."

Children with Calhoun, thought Madeline to herself. They would be pretty, she agreed to herself.

"When did you meet Theodore?" came the next question from Madeline.

Calhoun looked at the lion statue that was on the side as if in thought and said, "He was getting beaten up by a bunch of people in the alley. Must have been when I was around the age of twelve or thirteen."

"Why was he getting beaten?" asked Madeline, her eyebrows drawing together in curiosity.

Calhoun sighed, his lips twisting as he thought about it, "He slept with one of the minster's daughter and was caught red-handed."

"At such young age?" this time Madeline raised her brows. Twelve or thirteen was a young age.

"It isn't too young when you count it according to a vampires time. We hit maturity or puberty at that point. Raging hormones, the increase in thirst for blood- to drink and kill," explained Calhoun to her. He watched the different burst of emotions on Madeline's face, moving from surprise to a thoughtful one as she tried to grasp his words.

"W-what about you?"

"What about me?" he asked her, behaving oblivion to her question. And he chuckled, "I didn't learn the art of seduction back then. My mother's health was deteriorating when I was of that age. She needed tending and being taken care of."

"I didn't know vampires could fall sick," said Madeline, as she had never heard of such things, were the night creatures falling sick. Before she came to meet Calhoun, she heard a lot about vampires, but she hadn't got to speak to them as closely as she did with him. All this while, she believed that the existence of a vampire was forever as they lived an immortal life.

Calhoun's lips set itself in a thin straight line in thought, "Her condition and situation was different."

"How?"

Madeline took the liberty to ask him questions because she wanted answers. Even though she believed what Lady Rosamund had told her was a lie, she still wanted to clarify it with him, without wanting to have a doubt in her mind.

"When the vampires came into existence, along with them there were different creatures who stepped on the human grounds. As you have guessed previously, I acquired the wings from my mother. She didn't have them though," upon receiving a questionable look from Madeline, Calhoun said, "Have you heard about generation skip?"

She shook her head at this.

"A generation skip is usually spoken in terms of having features or abilities that you receive from your ancestors not from the parents," he explained to her before his eyes fell on her crossed legs, "Put your feet down here, sweet."

Startled by the sudden change in conversation, Madeline stared at him, "But I am wearing clothes."

"You are free to take them off if you want to or you can dip them just like that. Like me," said Calhoun to her, pausing his explanation on the abilities and waiting for her to do as she was told.