𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎
______
𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐕
Over the next few days Mariah did little else but wonder the halls of the castle. The King had left on a short one day business trip with Jessebelle and would be back in the night time. Mariah had a sour look on her face all morning after the King had informed her. She wished she could control her jealous thoughts, but she couldn't. She just felt angry and upset.
She was foolish to let herself believe that after her last intimate moment with the King he would be more attentive with her, she was ofcourse wrong. He had went back to his ways of ignoring her presence and only caring that she was close enough for him to sense her. That was all he wanted, to ensure she was safe.
While walking through the fifth floor, she was not watching her surroundings or taking in where she was or where she was going, causing her to bump into someone. She fell back on her butt and looked up with wide eyes to see Mr Aldridge. "S-sorry" she mumbled pathetically, without getting up from the floor. She knew what Mr Aldridge thought of her, as he never failed to mention his offer of sending her away each time they crossed paths.
Mr Aldrige looked down at the frail thing and his face turned down in a frown. He hated her, things were so perfect before she came. Albeit the King was a lot more cruel, but he was set on his goal of ruling... this little mite before him was nothing more than a distraction for his King.
It was then that Aldridge conjured up a plan in his head, a plan that would surely get him killed if the King found out. But it had to be done. Today.
With a forced smile he looked down at the young, naive and gullible thing before him. "Mariah! You are just the person I have been on a look out for." Mr Aldridge began sweetly, "Did you receive his majesty's gift for you yet? It is in the stables" he carried on.
Mariah's eyes first widened in suprise before they brightened with excitement. "N-no, i haven't seen it sir" she said excitedly. Her energy changing from sad and gloomy to bright and happy within a few seconds. "Ah, allow me to escort you then, but before we do that there really is something i must do, it should only take a few seconds, so please wait here.
Mariah nodded her head, to elated with the idea of the King having gifted her something to notice the wicked intentions of Aldridge.
Mr Aldrige sped across the castle to his room with much haste. He grabbed his medicinal satchel and sought out the small pill he needed to complete his task. In the same second he had raced towards the guard house and told one od them to summon a merchanter for him.
By the time he got back to mariah only a few minutes had past. He had demanded the guards to tell the merchanter to meet him by the stables within 15 minutes. The plan was now set in its motion, and although a bit rushed Aldridge has full confidence that it wouldn't fall through.
Within the hour, Mariah Castello will be nothing more than whispers of a ghost in this castle.
"Come Ms Mariah. I will take you to see the gift." Aldridge said with a smile more genuine on his face. Afterall, he would finally be getting rid of the thorn in his side.
Mariah followed the old butler more than willingly. She was so happy at the idea that the King had thought of her. As the days passed it was becoming increasingly more difficult for Mariah to convince herself that she was nothing more than a whore for his majesty. A warm body for him to enjoy and nothing more than that. She struggled to convice herself thay he loved her and was starting to believe that he has grown bored. Many times in the day she thought of the offer Mr Aldridge had given her, and sometimes she wondered if the King would miss her should she accept it
The pair stepped out the back door of the castle and walked across the immense field to where the horses were kept. Mariah had a spring in her step as she got closer and finally the entered the stables. "Why dont we make this fun," Aldridge suggested as he tried to buy time for the merchant to arrive.
"The gift as a bow on it. So you should try and find it on your own." Aldridge said with a gentle smile. Mariah nodded and carefully began to walk through the stables. Aldridge knew she would find a gift... But it was not intended for her, it was a gift for the princess.
It took Mariah no more than ten minutes to find the small pony with the pink bow around its neck. She gasped in shock, not believing that this was the gift bought for her.
She looked at Mr Aldridge with teary eyes and asked him, "Are you sure this gift is meant for me?" she said bitterly, and Mr Aldridge nodded his head. "But this is not my name on the gift... It's hers." Mariah said with a whimper of realization. She felt a sharp pain in her chest and sat down, unable to bear the hurt.
Mr Aldridge looked down at the young girl and almost felt sorry for her, afterall, she did not ask to be a part of all this. She was simply meant to be a maid. "I am sorry Mariah, hopefully you'll be happier with the household i am sending you to." Aldridge said with a sad smile as he heard the merchant enter. Mariah looked up at him with confusion before he pushed Mariah, sending her flying backwards and knocking her head against the stable door. She rolled over, her eyes hazy from disorientation as mr Aldridge forced the small pill into her mouth, Mariah's eyes began yo roll back as the pill took affect and began to seize before passing out.
The merchanter stepped into the stables and looked down at the girl who seemed nothing but innocent. "Take her to this address and tell the home owner that she is a gift from his majesty." Mr Aldridge said to the man he had met a few times before. The man nodded before picking the girl up and placing her in the back of his cart. "You must be quick. The king will look for her, and he will kill anyone involved. I am doing this for her own good." Aldridge informed the man with a mask over his face.
The merchanter nodded in understanding before he mounted his horse and took off as fast as he could, heading for the beautiful city of Florence.
The King sat restless in the meeting with the elders and the family of Princess Jessebelle of France. They were discussing the treaty that they would draw up in regards to their marriage and how the land would shift, but the King stuggled to focus on any words spoken. His beast was restless within him, creating a sense of unease as he struggled to control it.
The King's eyes began to shift from grey green to a bloody red and finally the elders noticed the terrifying change. "Your majesty!" the elders exclaimed in alarm. As his canines began to elongate past that of even a vampire. The king took a deep calming breath that only seemed to agitate him more as he realized his mate was not near him. All he wanted was a large lungful of her scent to put him to ease.
He had been far too long away from her and his beast was growing uncontrollable. He needed her presence around him. "Do not worry," the King began with a low growl. "Just hurry on with this meeting, my inner demon grows weary when we can not sense her presence. That is all".
The elders nodded but the fear remained in their eyes as they watched their King slowly slip away and the unholy monster begin to take his place.
Jessebelle raised her well trimmed eyebrow and asked, "Who is her?" her face turned down in a frown. The king sighed, having no patience for the vexing woman beside him. And all of a sudden, like a wave it hit him... The sensation of his mates blood being drawn. Any control he had of his beast was gone as in the next few seconds he had trasformed completely with low growl. The elders all stood up and stepped back as the beast ran through the room and out of the meeting hall.
Jessebelle stood up her eyes wide with fear and confusion before her knees buckled and she fell to the floor from the bloodlust that it emitted. She pitied the creature that had angered him so, because she knew it would not be seeing the next morning's sunrise.
Chapter 23________Third povIt felt like she was floating, floating amidst the clouds on a peaceful and colourful day. She felt so happy. She looked around her and saw nothing but the blue of the sky and the white of the fluffy balls around her. She was in the sky. The sun was not shining brightly and she could see perfectly and everything was warm.Unable to stop herself, Mariah began to laugh hysterically. She was now a cloud, flying and floating and free. She felt so content.But in the next second, it felt like she was being ripped from the sky and forced down to the Earth again. She was disorientated by the whiplash motion of being tugged viciously from her peaceful cloud back to the hell that was Earth. The impact was brutal. She felt every single second of the collision and she opened her eyes groggily yet unable to actually move.She felt stiff, as if she were a statue instead of a human. She laid still and silent as the tear
Chapter 24_______Third person Point of ViewMariah woke up again to her body being lifted up gently. She opened her eyes and saw that she was near a river."We are just stopping for a rest. There is another 2 days journey before we reach Venice." The merchanter said."Why are we going to Venice?" Mariah asked timidly and the merchanter almost felt sorry for the little girl. She was clearly still young."what's your name, little one?" The merchanter asked her. He did not seem like a bad guy and Mariah was hopeful that he would send her back. Although she was not on good terms with the king, at least she was safe with him."My name is Mariah Castello...."The merchanter hummed quietly in acknowledgment before quickly setting to work on making a fire. He would have to stop for some supplies in a nearby village before he could continue with his journey. He bent down by the rivers bend and filled up
PROLOGUE_______MariahShe waited silently in my bedroom for her father to call her in. But she knew what was happening already. Her family was poor and in desperate need of money and her father was too weak to earn enough from just selling the fruits and vegetables alone. They needed money. She had 4 siblings, excluding herself, and they needed to be educated, clothed and fed.She didn't blame my father... she could never blame him. She knew deep down that if he had any other option he would have taken it. But he didn't.Her eyes clouded with tears as she heard the knock on her door. She took a deep breath, picked up her bags before she opened the door. Her father stood there with a sad look in his eyes and she knew he blamed himself for not being able to provide for his family. She shook her head and gave him a smal
???????1__________??????I stepped out of the carriage, my body trembling from the cold wind, no sun to be seen at all in the dark skies.Where am I?I thought as I stared upon the building. They placed my hands in cuffs and forced me to the door pushing and prodding at me and the other unfortunate girls toward the ominous .I felt tears in my eyes as soon as we stepped inside and I saw all the women kept in cages. I wanted to turn around and run as I saw the filthy floor where poor girls were being beaten and raped and some even lying dead.I shook my head, in disbelief as I tried to run, but before I could take a single step a jolt of electricity shot through my wrist making me screaming with pain."No" I screamed as I saw the other girls also on the floor. The pain stopped as the guards stood over us with malicious smirks."Try
CHAPTER 2__________MARIAHMy new master forced me on his lap as he placed his nose to my neck, inhaling deeply."You smell delectable, slave" he said, licking the crevice of my neck. "I can't wait to taste you when we get back to the house".His large grubby hands came to my breast squeezing it tightly before he forced me to face him. His hand came to my cheek squeezing it and forcing a kiss to my lips.I found myself gagging as he pushed his tongue into my mouth, biting my lip and drawing blood."Your blood is delectable" he murmured sucking on my how bleeding lip. The carriage came to a halt and I was ever so grateful when the driver spoke out."We are here, sir".The old man sighed but stood up, making me fall to the floor."Get up, bitch. We have a meeting to attend. " he said, but didn't bother waiting for me to get up and dragged me out if the carriage. I fell to the floor with a t
CHAPTER 3__________MARIAHIt happened so quickly, sir john didn't even see it coming. Just as his grimy hands traced my lips, just as he pushed his thumb into my mouth, the king let out a vicious growl standing to his feet. It was so low. So scary even I froze, too scared to even breathe. Sir John's eyes went wide. He looked up at the king in fear as he let me go, but he remained frozen in his seat."Sir John. You have been an ally of the crown all your life, your family has been allies of the crown since the beginning of the Rossetti lineage. You ancestors served and aided my ancestors before the Rossetti's came to rule the kingdom of Italia." The king said, his face dark as he sat back down."So tell me sir John. How much for your slave? What would you like? I'm willingly to give you whatever you ask for" the king said. Sir John looked shocked as his jaw fell open."Y- your m
CHAPTER 4_______MARIAHI blush and look down, so embarrassed that he heard that. He growls again, but it isn’t a threatening one. No, this one sounds almost teasing... playful even. I look up to see him already staring with a soft look in his eyes."Are you enjoying that?" He questions as I take in spoonful after spoonful without complaint. I lick my lips and nod my head, not as scared of him as when I first saw him in his tea room."Good, little one. I want you to eat all of it for me. Okay?" He said before handing me the bowl and what is left of its contents. I took it with a sulky face not really feeling like eating anymore. I would never admit, but I enjoyed the feeling I got when he fed me.He stood staring and waiting for a 2 from me. I looked up at him, still unsure but agreed nonetheless "Okay, your majesty" I said but as soon as I glanced at the porridge I didn't feel hungry a
CHAPTER 5__________MARIAHI looked up into the eyes of my father as he came walking in through the front door, his face gleaming with excitement.I squealed with excitement as I stumbled down the short passage and into his arms, he caught me with his ease....he always did."Hello Papa" I said in my baby voice, I was only 5 years old at the time. still the only child and the apple of my fathers eye."Hello baby. Where your mama?" He asked placing me on his hip as he walked further into our small house and to the main room."Hey, hunny" my father greeted, his face still young with age as he smiled widely. I always loved his smile, because it showed how happy he was."Hello, I'm glad your back" my mother said walking to my father and giving him and bug hug and a kiss making me squeal in disgust.My mother looked