The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: Saturn by Sleeping At Last

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Calhoun had decided the place where he wanted to bury his mother. Many years ago, when he was small, Calhoun had heard his mother speak about the royal family. It was not complaints but ordinary things that most of the people already knew about. She had mentioned about a place where the royal family members were buried, and it was where he decided to keep her.

Not because he wanted her to be part of the royal family, but because there was a special coffin that had been built for the previous King.

He knew once the local villagers would find out about his mother's death, they would be overjoyed and would wait for him to die next. But he wasn't going to die that easily, not when he had unfinished business with the people who had hurt his mother and put her through this misery. The villagers wouldn't allow his mother to rest in peace in any of the nearby cemeteries.

He looked at his mother, who looked like she was fast asleep, but the stench of the blood was strong that spoke the truth of what happened. Getting up from the floor, Calhoun went near the bed and used a wet cloth to clean her face. Theodore had stepped out of the house, and Calhoun changed her clothes to a fresh one before picking her up in his arms.

She barely weighed like before, and it felt as if he were carrying a small child.

When Calhoun was about to step outside the house, Theodore offered,

"Let me help."

Calhoun didn't refuse, and he gave Theodore a nod.

Theodore had arranged a carriage and had gone along with Calhoun.

On the way, neither of the men spoke to each other, and they sat in silence.

Calhoun had made his mother sit next to him, letting the body lean against him, making it look like she was taking a nap on his shoulder. He held her arm in his hand for support so that she wouldn't fall in front or hit the window that was next to her. Calhoun looked outside the window, and Theodore couldn't help but watch the two people in the carriage.

Theodore had heard from the women whom he had bedded in the past mention about a woman who was whoring around, spreading her legs for a few coins just like what she did with the King in the past. It was ironic, though, thought Theodore to himself. The women who gossiped were far worse than the person who was doing it to earn her bread for a living.

There was something very peculiar about Calhoun, and it wasn't because he was the King's son. The King and his family were vampires, while his mother appeared to be a human. It made one question how Calhoun had a demon blood along with being a vampire. Usually, one of the parents had to be a demon for it, thought Theodore in his mind.

The carriage had stopped in the middle of the forest after a few hours of journey. When they entered the lonely cemetery, Theodore frowned, "This is the royal family's graveyard."

"It is," replied Calhoun, speaking to Theodore for the first time since they had got on the carriage, "There's a special grave that was built in this place. Just one that stands out from the rest of the other cemented coffins."

"Is it being built for the King's purpose?" questioned Theodore, pushing his glass up to the bridge of his nose as they walked inside.

"It was for the previous King. He got it prepared for his own sake and in time, wanting to live eternally in this world even after his death," replied Calhoun. The cemetery was deserted, and the graves in here were located far away from each other. Carrying his mother in his arms, Theodore followed him towards a cemented coffin.

Theodore couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Was Calhoun planning to put his mother in one of the used coffins? A grave that would be shared by two people, how strange, thought Theodore to himself. He noticed Calhoun carefully place his mother down on the ground before he went near the grave of the previous King and pushed open the lid.

Calhoun stared at the King's father who looked like he was in his late sixties.

Theodore was about to say it would be hard to adjust the man and Calhoun's mother's body in one single coffin. But Calhoun surprised him by picking the man's body up from his coffin and throwing the man on the ground as if he had picked a leaf.

Calhoun then picked his mother back and placed her in the now empty coffin.

"What do you plan to do with this one? You don't think people are going to find out about it?" stated Theodore, and a chuckle escaped Calhoun's lips.

"They barely have time for the living, I doubt they would come here to check a dead person," responded Calhoun. He knew it because since a few months, he had been visiting this place, and he hadn't once come to cross paths with any of the royal family members. People who were dead were often forgotten.

Calhoun never cared about the people who belonged to the royal family, and he didn't care one bit about the previous King, "I am sure he doesn't mind giving his resting place."

"I will put him somewhere," offered Theodore, picking the man's leg and dragging him away from there. But when he was still dragging, the body had started to combust as it had been taken away from the resting place that was filled with some sort of magic. Within a few seconds, the person withered into and Theodore felt dust slip through his fingers.

Back at the grave where Calhoun stood next to Constance, combing her hair back by using his fingers. Calhoun whispered,

"I will visit you soon, mother. And I promise to give you the justice that you deserve, which you didn't receive before. Make every single one of them pay for their deed."

His fingers continued to stroke her hair and he placed her hands below her chest. The wound on her chest had started to close. Calhoun's emotions were all over the place, and he wished he could turn back time to spend his time with his mother all over again. But then he did live to the fullest with her beside him. After all, they only had each other.

His head bent forward, placing his hands on the edge of the open coffin in which his mother laid. It was hard to let go, and with her gone, he could feel the darkness that started to wallow and engulf him. The emptiness in his heart only increased, and he closed his eyes with his hands resting on the edge of the coffin, and his black wings erupted from his back. They were bat-like wings.

Theodore, who was making his way back to where Calhoun stood, noticed the bat-like wings to show Calhoun's demon side. He had seen some demons who had wings, but they mostly belonged to the first-level demons, who he had occasionally come across. But something else happened, and Theodore noticed the plain surface of the wings that started to cover itself with feathers one after another until it was completely covered in it.