The Crown's Obsession (WN)

"Of course, milord. I will keep that in mind. Thank you for being so kind," and Calhoun deeply bowed his head again.

King Laurence left the spot with his ministers, and Queen Morganna, who still stood there, glared down at Calhoun's facade that he had on his face. Maybe her son couldn't see it, but she saw it well. This scheming little brat was intent on trying to change things in the castle.

Lady Samara caught hold of Lucy's arm, and she dragged her back to her room. Lucy didn't complain and followed her mother before they came to stand in the room, and her mother glared at her.

"Where were you, Lucy?" demanded Lady Samara, "Did you go to see Ruby?"

On hearing the maid's name, Lucy, who was looking at the ground, looked up to meet her mother's questioning eyes, "I need to take a bath. I might catch a cold, Ruby would always send me to take a bath when I got drenched in the rain."

Lady Samara's mouth fell on seeing her daughter turn her back to her. "I am still talking to you, Lucy. And vampires don't catch cold because of some drops of rain."

"Maybe not," whispered Lucy, "But vampires do have feelings, don't they mother?"

"What are you talking about? Look at me and talk to me," Lady Samara shook her head in frustration.

Lucy turned around to meet her mother's gaze, her eyes filled in tears, and she asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Lady Samara didn't know what her daughter was talking about.

"Ruby. You ordered for her death," as she mentioned Ruby's name, a tear slipped past Lucy's eye, and it rolled down her cheek to fall on the cold floor.

"You know I would never do that, dear. It wasn't me but your grandmother who was the one to order it," Lady Samara was not going to take the blame, and she wanted to mend her relationship with her daughter.

Lucy shook her head, "I know you were there when grandmother ordered her to be taken away from the castle to be executed. Are you telling you weren't there?"

"I am telling you the truth, Lucy. Why would I ever do something like that, the most I would do is tell her to not speak to you-"

"You killed her. All of you," Lucy closed her eyes as more tears splashed on her cheeks. "Why? Because she cared for me?"

"Now you are speaking rubbish that doesn't even make sense. I know you are sad about her death, but I would like you to take a moment and think about what you just said," her mother frowned, looking down at her. "You are calling your family to be inconsiderate and cruel."

But it was the truth, thought Lucy in her mind.

"You took away the person whom I cared about, who was kind. Are you going to steal everyone that will show even a little amount of kindness?" questioned Lucy to her mother like she had never done before. This turned Lady Samara angry, and she walked forward and slapped Lucy across her face.

"This shows the poison the woman has been filling your head with against your own family," Lady Samara's hand trembled in anger. "You were such a good girl."

"I am bad now because I sympathize with the woman who showed me how I could be loved?"

Lady Samara couldn't bear the thought that her daughter was still under the spell of the lowly maid. She knew her daughter had gone to see the woman who had been executed, only that she didn't understand how Calhoun had ended up in her daughter's company.

"We are not your enemies, Lucy. I have done everything for your own good and you are blaming me now for looking after you! Stop being an ungrateful child and see things from my perspective. It should be others you should be wary about. Do you ever consider what I feel or think?" asked Lady Samara, "I asked you to keep a distance from Calhoun yet look what I had to hear?"

Lucy said, "Ruby did no wrong, mother. I don't understand how you or grandmother could kill someone without any good reason. You are calling her to be the poison, but I feel we are the poison who killed her. You, grandmother, me, we are responsible for killing an innocent person-"

SLAP!

This time the slap on Lucy's face was harder than the previous one. Lady Samara had slapped Lucy with the back of her hand that held a ring in one of her fingers. A thin red line appeared on Lucy's cheek, turning it darker by every second.

"Now you make me think what your grandmother did was right," Lady Samara turned away and stepped out of the room before saying to the maid outside, "Have this room locked and no one shall enter or leave. I hope you can reflect on what you just said and come to realize that I am your mother and want nothing but the best for you."

The doors to Lucy's room were immediately locked, and a warm drop of blood slid down from the young vampiress' face that went unattended.

Outside the castle, King Laurence had summoned Calhoun to join him to give company for a walk, when in truth, it was to speak to him about what occurred this evening.

"My King," Calhoun bowed his head at the man who had broken his mother.

"Calhoun, my son. I am glad to see that you have come to join me. Let's take a stroll in the garden," suggested King Laurence.

"Yes, please," replied Calhoun.

It took a lot of effort to bow his head for someone who was not even worth the dust that was on his shoes. He loathed this person's very existence, and it didn't matter that it was because of the King's existence that Calhoun was now alive. But every time he felt his control and patience running thin by the people around him, he remembered his mother's words.

'Don't react too fast as it will only hurt you back. When you feel you are losing control, take a step back from your place and step into their own to know what they think and feel.'