The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: Mountains by Hans Zimmer

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Lucy didn't know what happened and why Theodore had asked her to stay quiet, but with the way he looked at her, she felt as if someone was there in the corridor and he was hiding her away from that person.

Her heart continued to beat against her chest, and Lucy felt her heart beat similar to a ticking sound of a clock that had left her in suspense. She then heard the person's footsteps that came to a halt not far from where she stood.

Before she could say something, Theodore pulled her along with him as they moved around the pillar. It only made Lucy worry as to whom they were hiding from. Obviously, there was no need to hide from the servants, and it only meant the person there was one of the royal family members.

"Milady!" One of the guards arrived, and his voice was enough to distract the person, and Theodore was quick to drag Lucy to another pillar that was far away from the first one.

Lucy then noticed the person none other than her grandmother walking in the corridor, and she had stopped walking after finding something suspicious. With her heart beating loudly in her chest, it was only a matter of time for her grandmother to find out about her out of her room at this hour of the night. Queen Morganna was already annoyed by her actions because she behaved like the simpletons from the villages and not like how a princess was supposed to behave.

Morganna took a round around the pillar, but her suspicion didn't lower down.

Theodore tugged Lucy's hand to get her attention, and he brought his hand to point towards her and then pointed behind him as if telling her to go back to her room. But she turned worried. It wasn't possible to leave the place through the corridor without getting caught by her grandmother.

"Is there something you are looking for, my Queen?" asked the guardsman and Morganna's eyes turned to look at the servant.

"Why does it look like someone was here...or is still here," commented Morganna, and Lucy gulped. If her grandmother found not just her but also Theodore with her, it was going to be disastrous for both of them.

Theodore raised his hand in front of her, showing his palm as if saying not to worry, and he would take care of it. He leaned as close as he could towards her ear, and though it wasn't on purpose, his lips brushed against the young vampiress's ear.

"I am going to distract her, but you need to get back to your room. As soon as you can," he whispered those words into the shell of her ear, and a shiver ran down Lucy's back.

He pulled back from her, his eyes looking at her seriously, and Lucy looked at him in a trance. Under this moonless light and only a short amount of light reaching the place from the nearby torches, Lucy's face warmed up.

"How hard is it for you to guard the corridors along with the other parts of the castle? I can hear the sound of someone's heart as if it is racing. Do you get paid for not doing anything?" demanded Morganna,

"My apologies, my Queen! The sound must be coming from the chambers that are nearby, and the other guards were speaking about seeing a floating ghost in the corridors-" the guardsman was interrupted by the Queen with a glare.

"What rubbish. Believing in nonsensical things like ghosts and whatnot," scolded Morganna in a disgruntled tone.

When she heard her grandmother's voice, she nodded her head, and he offered her a smile, making her heart skip a beat as it had never done before. Quickly gathering herself, she saw Theodore nod back at her. Right when Morganna had turned her head for a spare second to speak to the guardsman, Theodore stepped away from the pillar.

At the same time, Theodore stepped into the corridor, and he let out a loud yawn, his face looking sleepy along with his half-open eyes. Morganna was quick to snap her head, and she noticed Theodore on the front side of the corridor.

As if Theodore had not seen Morganna earlier, he quickly stopped walking and deeply bowed his head. "Forgive me, my Queen! I did not see you there. Forgive me for my rude display of action in front of you."

Morganna's eyes narrowed, and she took two steps away from the pillar where she had been facing her back against.

"What do you think you are doing roaming in the middle of the night?" demanded Morganna, and her eyes then looked at the guard, "Did you not see him walk past you?"

The guard looked perplexed, and he shook his head with his eyes lowered down, looking at the floor. Theodore had arrived in the opposite direction where Morganna was heading earlier.

Theodore raised his head, and he answered, "I was looking for the kitchen to drink water, but I must have confused myself and lost my way in this huge castle," came his humble and polite voice.

With the help of Theodore's distraction, it allowed Lucy to escape from the corridor without her grandmother's notice. She held the front of the nightdress tightly and quickly sprinted away from the place to get back to her room.

To distract the Queen's attention, who seemed to hear some noise from behind, his eyes looked in another direction, and Morganna caught Theodore's line of sight. She was quick to snap her head around, and she ordered the guard,

"Go see who is in there. Also, I would like to see if Calhoun is having a sound sleep right now," her eyes glared at Theodore. "Things such as water should be there in the room, and you could have asked the servants to fetch it."

Theodore didn't meet her eyes, but he continued to look in the direction where the guard had disappeared.