The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Both the ladies started to walk away from the undercroft and headed out to the castle ground. "May I ask you something?" asked Madeline, and Lucy nodded her head. "Does the castle life overwhelm you?"

"Maybe," whispered Lucy. "Sometimes, I wonder if I was born in the wrong place. I am not like the other vampires or my parents or any of my relatives. I still remember how disappointed my mother was after finding out I favoured my maid more than her. I know that is why Nana was hanged."

"It is not wrong to be an exception from the lot, Lady Lucy. I am sure a lot of humans and maybe even vampires look up to you," said Madeline. "No matter where you go, it will only be your surroundings that changes while the rest will continue to stay the same. Truth to be told, I will miss not seeing you in the castle. Beth had decided to go to the North land where the werewolves reside."

Lucy wondered if Calhoun had spoken to Madeline about her and Theodore. Once upon a time, she had let herself be drowned with the feelings and her emotions. She only knew to what extent it had broken her.

"It will be only for a few weeks, Lady Madeline. I just want to have it renovated and put to better use," confessed Lucy.

Madeline's face turned slightly confused before a bright smile appeared on her lips, "So it isn't forever?"

Lucy pursed her lips before she said, "I gave it a lot of thought and what the others have told me. In the past, I didn't deal with some of the things in the proper manner. There are nights where I think...where if I pushed a little more, if I would have found the answers that I was looking for." She looked ahead of her, a small smile appeared on her face, "When I was young and before I got married, I wanted to be part of the royal court, wanting my father to appreciate my existence that I was as capable as any other man."

She had always tried to ace in things, but it had never been enough. And because her father, who was not satisfied with her excellence, her mother had followed suit. In the end, she had turned to a doll who was supposed to sit and talk only on command.

"I want to open a place where girls will have an opportunity to learn, to move ahead and excel. I want to turn the mansion into a school, Lady Madeline, but right now it is a secret," Lucy offered Madeline a smile.

"I would have never thought about it, Lady Lucy! That is absolutely wonderful!" Madeline cheered her sister-in-law in excitement. "If you need any help, all you have to do is ask."

In the evening, Lucy met Ethan in the front hallways, who had returned to the castle after missing for the entire day after breakfast.

"Good evening, Lady Lucy," Ethan bowed his head while removing his hat from the top of his head.

"Good evening, Ethan. Did you go out on an errand?" she asked him.

The smile on Ethan's lips didn't leave, and he said, "Oh no no. I am on vacation, but I went out for a personal matter. Lady Lucy, there is something that I wanted to tell you."

Lucy nodded her head.

"No, not here. Would you like to walk with me in the castle grounds?" offered Ethan so that no one would come to interrupt them.

"Okay," replied Lucy before they made their way out of the castle corridors and into the wide castle grounds. She wondered if this was something about the same topic he had tried to speak before, but with the maid's interruption, the topic had been lost.

While making their way, Lucy caught sight of Theodore, who was walking in the above floor's corridor, and he seemed to catch sight of them. Once they were away from people and just surrounded by the cold wind, Lucy asked,

"Is everything alright, Ethan?" she knew if it weren't that important, he would have never brought her here. Not to mention the little frown that was on his face right now.

"Yes, yes. Everything is wonderful," replied Ethan, offering her a smile. "It is something I have been wanting to tell you for quite some time now. And I thought it is time I told you than keep it within myself without letting you know about it."

A small worry appeared in the back of Lucy's mind, realizing what exactly he was going to say. She parted her lips to speak, but Ethan shook his head as if he wanted to speak first.

"Lady Lucy, I have been in love with you from maybe the moment I came to know about you closely, for the person you are," confessed Ethan and Lucy's hands turned cold. "I know I should have told you this long ago and somewhere in the past, I have wondered why I stalled from telling you the truth. I don't think you knew about it."

"I-I...I found out about it very recently," Lucy replied with a little worry in her voice. "I don't know what to say, Ethan…"

The smile on Ethan's lips didn't leave as he stared at Lucy. "You don't have to because it is fine. We all need closure over things and I thought it was time I told you how I felt about you, not that I expect you to return my feelings. Because that isn't my intention. Sometimes we just happen to carry those feelings and are stuck in a loop."

Since Lucy had found out from Theodore that Ethan had feelings for her for many years, it had come as quite a surprise for her as she had never expected her to be the girl whom Ethan had spoken about so fondly.

"I feel very privileged that you felt that way for me, Ethan. You were and are still a good man, but-"

"But you don't feel that way because you like someone else," Ethan finished her sentence. "I caught up with that. You don't have to worry about me, because I found someone too."

For a moment, Lucy was surprised, and then a broad smile appeared on her face, "You did? Who is she?" she asked him.

"I-uh, we met before King Calhoun's wedding. She is Mr. Frewell's daughter. Valery," replied Ethan. "I just came after meeting her before returning to the castle."

So this was what he wanted to speak about, thought Lucy to herself, and she felt a sense of relief in her chest. She had been worried that somewhere the topic would come up and she wouldn't know what to say, but now she realized how easy it was after speaking it out.

"I am really happy for you, Ethan," said Lucy. "You deserve all the happiness."

Ethan bowed his head, "Thank you, Lady Lucy. Your words means a lot to me."

He looked at the vampiress who hadn't changed much since the first time he had met her. The way she looked at him had always been the same, and though in the past, he had hoped for things to work out in a certain way, he didn't hold any ill feelings towards it.

Ethan had noticed the glares and the stares that had been going back and forth between Lucy and the person who had caught her attention. And it was only right that he respectfully stepped back. Since he had arrived at the castle, he didn't have the intention to woo Lucy. But he did care for her tremendously, and as she was the first person he had loved, the girl would forever have a soft corner in his heart.

Putting out his feelings were necessary as he doubted he would get a window of time like this in the future. With him telling it to Lucy, he would be able to put it behind him without any regrets in his mind.

"You deserve everything in the world too, Lady Lucy," responded Ethan. "Do not worry, I will be there to help you for the renovation, but I think it would be right if he would there too. He does care a lot about you," he mentioned casually, and Lucy's eyes widened.

Did everyone in the castle know about her and Theodore?