The Crown's Obsession (WN)

In the guest room, after the head maid had left the room which was assigned to Mary, she looked at her brother, "When did you last speak to father, Emmet?"

"It must be weeks since I last received any letters from him. Why?" asked Mr. Harris, his words slow and careful.

Mary said, "Father sent this letter to me a few days ago. He said history was repeating itself and knowing not many things have repeated in the past, I went to the place where we were supposed to meet each other, but he never showed up. I was hoping I would find him here."

Mr. Harris shook his head, his head feeling almost doll-like with his neck stuck because of the lie, "No, we haven't heard from them. Invitations were sent out to everyone."

Hearing this, Mary's head tilted, "Huh, I wonder why the invitation never turned up at my doorstep from your side, brother. What are you doing? Getting Madeline married to a vampire and not a human. Don't you know anything corrupt in nature will end up triggering her?" questioned the woman.

"That was before, Mary. Madeline isn't like that anymore," dismissed Mr. Harris. Upon their parent's words, Mr. Harris had sheltered Madeline away from anything violent. He had also made sure that Beth and her wouldn't witness any execution, shielding their eyes away from the gore. But in the end, Madeline had met the King.

A small speck of disappointment settled in Mary's eyes on hearing this news. She had come here for the sole purpose of retrieving Madeline and making use of her so that she could ascend to a higher position. But now, her brother was telling Madeline was normal?

"And how sure are you about this?" asked Mary.

"She hasn't killed anyone this time. God has been merciful and listened to our prayers, Mary," replied Mr. Harris, but Mary was looking for the opposite.

She turned to look at her sister-in-law, "Have you taken note of anything odd about her? I remember she had a tendency to break glasses."

Mrs. Harris remembered Madeline coming to her and telling about her breaking the glass, and she had also witnessed Lady Rosamund's glass shatter to pieces. "No," she answered. Despite her in-law's words, Frances believed that her daughter was innocent and she wasn't going to have Madeline placed in the coffin for the third time.

It was true that in the past, Frances had pushed Beth forward, letting her take the light while making sure Madeline was protected, to later be married into a humble home. Something that would not trigger her memories. And so far, Madeline had hurt no one.

"That's not true," Mary was not taking no for an answer. She shook her head, "You both are hiding something from me, aren't you?" She pulled out the letter from her coat and stretched her hand forward so that her brother would take it from her, "Read this."

Mr. Harris took the letter and started to read it. At the same time, Mary said, "Father has not just written about history repeating, he also wrote about the glass shattering in his house," she huffed, walking forward, "You need to understand that dark angels are called dark for a reason. They will destroy things around us and people whom we love and care for. She will kill all of us," whispered Mary.

It was alright, thought Mary to herself. She would sacrifice the girl. Her parents had feared, thinking the dark angel would bring destruction, and it was the same information that was fed to others. But Mary, she knew it wasn't about destruction. A person that could kill demons on the spot while remaining unscratched, it only meant how much power that person had within themself.

"Mary, you know how father and mother are. They believed in a lot of things. Madeline is a human, just like her sister Elizabeth," Mr. Harris didn't want his sister to be hovering over his daughter, waiting for Madeline to kill someone as it was ridiculous. Also, another reason being, he would still want to have a sibling because if the King found out that Mary was trying to put Madeline in the coffin, it would not be his daughter but his sister who would be lying in the grave.

"Okay," Mary sighed, "I will believe your word and not father's," she smiled at her brother, making it look like she had given up.

"You will see that Madeline is doing fine, and she's also happy with the wedding," assured Mr. Harris, "Why don't you rest?"

Mr. and Mrs. Harris offered the woman a smile. Stepping out of the room Mr. Harris closed the door turned to his wife, who had a worried look on her face.

Away from their quarters where the guest rooms were, Beth had decided to take a walk in the empty corridors of the castle so that she wouldn't have to face her parent's disappointed looks directed at her. While she was taking a stroll, she saw Lady Lucy walking from the other side. When they came near, Beth and Lucy offered each other a bow.

"What are you doing here in this side of the castle, Lady Elizabeth?" inquired Lucy.

Beth was slightly taken aback by the question because, since the day she had arrived with her family, no one had ever asked her why she was walking in certain parts of the castle. "My apologies, I didn't know I was not supposed to be here," she quickly bowed her head.

Lucy shook her head, "Pardon me, that is not what I meant. You were walking alone by yourself. Would you like to accompany me?" asked the vampiress and Beth nodded her head, not seeing there was any harm in taking a walk together.

When they started to walk together on the quieter side of the castle, Beth was quiet, and it was Lucy who began the conversation, "How are you holding up, Lady Elizabeth?" She was talking about Markus' death, "It must hurt when you find someone you loved is gone, but it usually hurts less when you haven't loved."

Lucy glanced at Beth before looking in front of her.

"I-I, I am doing alright, milady," replied Beth. She felt like she was stuck between a rock and a wall, in a difficult position because of what had transpired in less than a week. "How are you doing, milady?"

Lucy smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She said, "I will be okay in some days. Loss is something hard to cope with, but we all learn to let it go in time."

Beth didn't comment on it, worried that her words might instigate another meaning. She was already walking on thin ice with everyone.

"I heard what you did, Lady Elizabeth," came Lucy's voice and Beth's feet almost froze which she had to force it to walk, "In the past, both Markus and Calhoun were in the run for the crown. I have treated both of them with respect," said Lucy, "I was happy though, that I had a brother of my own. Because when you are in the castle, life turns lonely and even though there are plenty of people who are ready to wait on me, I wanted someone who understood at least some things about me even if it was little, which my parents never understood."

Lucy continued, "There were some things, which Calhoun understood that others didn't, and I started to care for him. Because you always care for things that are closer in relation. The King is one of the few people whom I care about and is my family. You should be able to imagine how I felt when I found out that someone tried to poison him."

Beth felt her hands turn cold. She had not expected Lady Lucy to bring up the topic so directly with her, especially knowing the mild nature of the vampiress who was sweet and kind.

"Lady Elizabeth," said Lucy, her feet stopped and she turned to Beth,

Beth tried to salvage her actions, "That, Lady Lucy it was something-"

Lucy raised her hand for Beth to stop, "You are lucky to have Lady Madeline as your sister who loves you and treasures your relationship with her dearly. If not, you would have followed the same fate as Markus. I would like to believe that you were influenced by circumstances and not for your benefits. The next time something like this happens, neither of us will be merciful."