The next day, Luveas suddenly appeared at the palace ground with Blackie, the black steed. No one knew he had returned from the border for not one guard was seen stationed at the usual guarding posts.‘Where are the guards?’ he pondered as he got down off the exhausted steed and ushered it to the stable. The stable boy, who was busy tending the other horses, was surprised to see him. “Shush, boy.” Luveas lifted his hand, stopping the young vampire from screaming. “Just tend to this tired horse and do me a favour…" he squatted before the child, "...do not tell anyone you’ve seen me or I’ll silence you forever. Your choice?”The young stable boy pursed his lips, terrified. He nodded his head vigorously. Then, Luveas left the stable and slunk to the East side garden. Along the way, he noticed the palace was oddly quiet. Not even a maid was seen tending to the gardens as usual. But, he could see decorations for the wedding were underway.Luveas felt uneasy. He rushed to the garden room, b
Meanwhile…Amethyst sat on the floor of a prison, chained to the wall that was covered in moss. Her fair forearms were bruised and full of bite marks: remnants of sharp fangs. The wounds left a burning sensation on her skin and she was gritting to hold the pain. Her beautiful face was sunken, void of colours and vibrance. She looked even wearier than her first time in Luthien.The prison smelt unpleasant; the smell of decay and sewage combined. Not a word could describe such an appetite-crumpling smell. However, despite all that, Amethyst was very famished and her stomach couldn’t stop grumbling since this morning. Her throat was parched for she was given hard bread a day without water. For some unknown reason, she wasn’t allowed to taste the luxury of water, not even a drop of it.Amidst internally fighting with hunger, the elf could sense a commotion happening outside the prison, where no other prisoners were near as she didn’t see any of them near hers. She could hear a voice talki
Amethyst woke up in a strange bed chamber. She was on a large bed with no canopy above her head; no posters. The bed chamber was spacious and larger than the garden room that she was used to. Opposite the bed and at the far end of the room, there was a fireplace that provided warmth. The temperature inside the chamber wasn’t hot or cold; it was just nice. The scent of fresh fruits lingered in the air. Near the fireplace, there were long couches and a marble table with a vase of flowers on top. At the far corner of the room; was a boudoir where high wardrobes and other necessities for a woman were prepared. On the left side of the room, there were large windows with long pic-coloured curtains hung down, and a large door that led to the balcony; one could see a little garden there. There were also chairs and a table outside and the chirping of birds could be heard clearly from inside.On the right side of the room, there was another large door with beautiful carvings of nature motives
Luveas froze. Jealous?Jealousy was a foreign feeling after he ascended the throne and it had been decades since he last heard the word again."What do you mean by that?" he asked, getting uncomfortable.Amethyst sniggered; his discomfort brought bliss into her heart. "You are oddly competitive and you seemed rather displeased when I talked about Tobeyaz."Luveas stayed quiet. He was indeed displeased that she cared about Tobeyaz, but that was because he was worried she might fall for Tobeyaz's sweet trap; Tobeyaz disliked elves as he had offered to kill her.Amethyst tilted her head to the side, grinning. "I don't know if you're aware of it, but I sense jealousy from you.""..."Then, Amethyst began again, "Although I can't see your face, I can tell you are jealous of Tobeyaz.""..."Noticing Luveas continuous silence, Amethyst said, "However, if my guess is wrong, then do you have another explanation for it?"Luveas still said nothing. He only inhaled deeply. Then, after a while of s
Three days later…Amethyst widened her eyes after she heard the story from Luveas. Lady Emia was dead? She couldn’t believe someone could die that easily in his hands. Also, the one that died was the vampire that had tormented her in the past weeks.“Are you going to kill me too?” asked Amethyst, getting worried about her future. She had no idea when her life would come to an end, and before that happened, she wanted to prepare herself to welcome it.Luveas scoffed and answered, “I am not going to kill you.”“Are you sure?”“A gentleman never breaks his promise.”Amethyst stayed silent, pondering. Then, as she was about to say something, Luveas chimed in, “Anyway, I wish to excuse myself because I have some matters to attend to.” “Oh,” the elf exclaimed, brows knitted; not expecting to hear that from him.“Do you have something to tell me?” asked Luveas after noticing her hesitancy.Amethyst pursed her lips and shook her head. Luveas nodded, acknowledging it. Then, he left the chamber
Luveas froze, astonished and dismayed. “Why?” His voice trembled. He felt so exposed and uneasy beyond words. Amethyst continued to sniffle. “I’m sorry for all the bad things that happened to you. Had I known it much earlier, I wouldn’t …”Luveas hugged her body tightly. “It was all in the past. You do not need to apologize,” he said tenderly, getting emotional. His heart ached, and it was for her. It was a strange feeling; comforting someone not to worry about his misery. In the past, anyone that showed care for him would meet their ends for they weren't honest enough to show they cared. But, with Amethyst, the feeling differed. Deep down, he wanted her to feel sorry for him.Amethyst tightened her hold on his body, sniffling. “But, you’ve been scarred so badly. Your life changed and-”“And we meet each other,” Luveas chimed in, manoeuvring the gloomy conversation towards a better direction.Amethyst lifted her face,
Amethyst shook her head. "No, this is inappropriate.""But, Tobeyaz must apologize. He failed to keep his promise to look after you.""I understand but I dislike seeking apologies from someone who is badly injured. I don't want to deprive them of their rest. Please return him to his resting chamber. I have all the time in the world to hear his apology.""But, we don't..." replied Luveas dejectedly.Amethyst exhaled a deep sigh. "Get out of this chamber now. It's inappropriate to enter while I'm dining."Luveas was dumbfounded. He glanced and noticed the hot cup and breakfast tray on the table."I beg your pardon, we'll come back again later. Please enjoy your breakfast," he said and dragged Tobeyaz to his side despite the vampire's muffled cry.Amethyst inhaled. "Please, don't bring Tobeyaz. He must rest.""He's tough. See?" Luveas hit Tobeyaz in the stomach. Poor Tobeyaz let out a muffled groan.
Amethyst went silent. She shifted her gaze towards her dessert plate. "I'm thankful