The Crown's Obsession (WN)

After sometime, Madeline's eyes turned heavy, and she fell asleep while facing Calhoun. The smile that was on his face while she was awake had slowly died down, and he looked at her sleeping face. Calhoun had remembered what his mother once told him,

'Sometimes, all secrets are not meant to be told. A harmless lie to protect someone is alright.'

Though there were some things he didn't tell Madeline, it didn't hurt keeping them himself on what happened in the past, while letting her know just enough, which was more than what he let any other person know about him. He had stopped caressing her cheek so that it wouldn't disturb her sleep, moving his hand back to her waist whilst he watched her.

His thoughts went back to the time when he had entered the castle. It wasn't his father who had tried to find him, but Calhoun had made sure for his father to notice him, to let him know that he existed.

His thoughts drifted to the time when he had decided to step into the castle.

"Calhoun?" Theodore had called him from behind while he sat in front of his mother's body. The place around her body had turned red because of the blood and his own hands had covered in blood until his forearms. "We need to bury her."

Calhoun had not responded, instead he continued to sit there, staring at his mother. "I know a place to keep her."

Theodore's passive expression didn't change on Calhoun's choice of words. "Let me help," he offered. Both of them had taken Calhoun's mother to the cemetery, which was hidden deep in the forest, where the Hawthrone's graves were located. Calhoun continued to remember, that both he and Theodore were young at that time, and if he were to turn back time, he would still choose to keep his mother in his grandfather's grave.

Returning to the present, he looked at the girl who soundly slept next to him. All he wanted was to live a life with her while removing any pests who would try to ruin them.

Leaning forward, Calhoun brushed his lips on Madeline's forehead for a fleeting second before pulling away from her. Sliding out of his bed, he pulled the blanket to cover her, tucking her in safely before wearing his shirt and leaving the room after locking it.

At the far end of the corridor, Calhoun met Raphael, who was watching the sky.

"The High House came earlier than we expected, what are you going to do about them?" questioned Raphael.

"There's nothing to do if they don't do something," Calhoun replied, and Raphael stopped looking at the night sky to look at the King. "So far all they have tried to find is scraps that are of no use. Every person who had possible information or doubt on us was thrown out of the High House and taking further measures of relocating them somewhere else before they were killed in an unfortunate accident."

"What about the Wilmot's, though?" asked Raphael, "Getting rid of an enemy is easier, but when it is one who is your relative, it is a difficult thing to do. Not to mention, you have too many people in the castle grounds."

"Are you jealous of it?" Calhoun smirked, his lips twisting to a cunning smile, "Do you know how to hide the deer? You let the lion eat it up, and the deer ceases to exist. Theodore has gone to drop an important letter to someone. Most of the problems will resolve once the person comes forward. Not to forget, the High House members will be joining us for breakfast or for tea tomorrow. You should possibly ask them to play cards with you."

A smile cracked on Raphael's lips, "I don't think they would fancy a game."

Coming to serious matters, Calhoun then said, "Do you think you will be able to do it? The last time you tried to get into someone's head, it damaged their existing memories and threw them back to the time you touched the particular memory you were looking at."

Back then, Calhoun needed answers from a man about his mother's time in the castle. He had taken Raphael's help at that time. The answer was critical as those were things his mother hadn't spoken about, but when Raphael had tried to look into the man's memory, the man had lost a considerable amount of his years with no idea of what happened after Calhoun's mother's time in the castle. And maybe that would have been fine, but something happened that led the man to die two weeks after the event.

"I will start with Lady Madeline's sister first. I doubt you mind messing her head?" Raphael proposed.

"Sure."

"I will do it tomorrow. Maybe once the High House members are out of sight," informed Raphael.

Unable to resist, Calhoun made his way to the dungeon and the cell room where Rosamund was locked in. She stood near the grilled bars of the window, staring outside without looking at him even though his footsteps had echoed through the passage.

Rosamund finally turned to look at Calhoun, where she had finally schooled her features, "You have some nerve throwing me in here."

Calhoun clicked his tongue, "Is that the way your mother taught you to treat the King?" he reprimanded her. The nerve on the vampiress' forehead appeared, but she didn't speak back to him.

Carefully, she said, "I did no wrong that you have decided to put me in the dungeon like some prisoner."

"Do not worry. As I said, this is only procedural, and once you have been proven not guilty, you shall get to live the life that you have. After all, what name do you have?" Calhoun's word struck something in Rosamund's mind, and she glared at him. He was using the same words which she had used on him in the past.

It was the time of Winter when the illegitimate son of her brother Laurence had come to live in the castle. Rosamund and her mother had thrown him into the dungeon by framing him for a man's murder who belonged to the elite family. The High House wasn't prominent back then, and it was still under formation, making it easy for the royals to run the rules and punishments.

"Where is the boy?" asked her mother.

"He's locked in the dungeon," Rosamund answered her mother, "I asked the guards to beat him where it wouldn't be visible."

Her mother didn't look pleased enough with Rosamund's words, and she started to head inside the passage of the dungeon, stopping in front of the closed room. On her arrival, the guard opened the door, and they found the person who was tied in shackles.

"I told you before that this castle is not for an animal like you. How could you kill Mr. Gale in such a cruel way?" asked Rosamund's mother, who was also the King's mother. She took two steps towards the person whose face had turned dull because of the mud and blood stuck on his skin.

Rosamund, who had followed her mother, stared down with distaste in her eyes. "This is what happens when you bring people from the streets. Especially a child who is born to a whore."

The young man's red eyes shifted to look at the woman, staring at her, "It is rude to be calling your own brother a whore. I don't think he would appreciate it."

Both the women's eyes widened before narrowing down, "Say what you may, but you should have thought it through before stepping into the castle. It isn't too late. We can send you to the next Kingdom, and you can live the life that you deserve. Because the charges that are up and against you, they will be hard to drop. Even if it means you are the King's son."

"You are my grandmother. You should defend me," though Calhoun was beaten up with the bare punishment, he still stood his ground by meeting the older woman's eyes.

"And why would I do something like that?" the older vampiress smiled, "I don't know what has gotten into my son's head to think he could turn you to his heir. You lack the blood and class for it."

"It should be less than two days before you will be beheaded in front of everyone," Rosamund smiled, "Brother Laurence never goes against mother's words."

"That's right, Rose," agreed Rosamund's mother, "It was on my word that he threw your whore like mother out of this castle. Did you think you could come here one day and claim the throne for yourself?"

Calhoun tilted his head to the side before a small smile appeared on his face. And that smile was enough to irk the older vampiress.

"A person like him has no name or identity. No one will care about it," stated Rosamund.

The older vampiress then said, "Enjoy your remaining time in here before your last hours. Your mother was smart enough to leave the castle-"

"But you weren't smart enough to let her go, were you?" asked Calhoun, he ran his tongue over the side of his cut lip, tasting the raw metallic taste of his blood that had dried, "You think I won't get out from here?" he chuckled.

And as Calhoun had told them, he did get out of there in the thirty hours before his judgement of being beheaded could be passed by his grandmother's order. According to the royal family's knowledge, Calhoun had stepped in the castle only with Theodore, but what they didn't know back then was that Calhoun was spreading his web all around the castle, turning their people over to his side.

"You placed me in the cell," Rosamund grounded her teeth, glaring at Calhoun. He hadn't placed her in the closed rooms which were used for the people of higher class and had instead chosen to put her in a place where the ordinary villagers or other criminals were put in.

"Welcome to the other side of the world of mine," said Calhoun with a pleasant smile on his lips, satisfied to see the vampiress behind the rusted iron rods.