The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: Paschal Candle by Amie Doherty

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Calhoun took a look at Beth's leg from afar, and he took Madeline to the side to speak to her. "So far there's no response from Monique's men. Most people never get past the forest and often die or return scared, after breaking their limbs."

This meant getting hold of the antidote was not going to be easy. "Do you think we should go and find it?" asked Madeline. She turned her head, glancing at Beth who was staring into space with a blank expression on her face. At first, her sister had panicked, but then Beth had stopped reacting like she had undergone shock and was preparing herself mentally for the worse.

Madeline wanted to find it herself, but she was worried where Beth would completely transform in her absence. "Will you go to find it?" she asked, her brown eyes staring into his red ones. She knew Calhoun wasn't fond of Beth, and it would take time for him to accept her sister as a good person, but everyone had their faults, that's what made that person who they were. The only person she could rely on was Calhoun.

Calhoun would have considered in helping search the antidote, but not in the current situation. "There is not just one, but many Salvete Mortem who are in the castle. There were a lot of greeters earlier, but the count of them is decreasing only to be replaced by the second Salvete Mortem."

Madeline furrowed her eyebrows, and she felt a chill pass through her body, hearing this. What does that mean?"

"I don't know when, but a lot of people are going to die soon. Might be this very hour, or tomorrow, or this week. There is no specific time," he answered her question. "There are at least more than twenty of them."

Madeline's face turned pale. Were people going to die? Her eyes slowly moved to look at her sister. Was Beth going to be the one, to kill the people once she would transform into a werewolf? Or was there something worse approaching the castle?

Gulping down the nervousness, she felt Calhoun catching hold of her wrist, and he tugged her out of the room in the care of Raphael.

Once they were in the corridor, she asked worried, "What are we going to do?"

Calhoun's jaw clenched, "I don't want to leave you here by yourself. The thought of leaving you here without me. I don't feel it right." He shook his head. "You might be powerful, but you are still the woman I love, and I cannot bear to see even a scratch on you." Especially after what he saw in the sister's memories, he swore to protect her.

Madeline stepped closer to him with her toes raised and she kissed his lips. She felt the urgency in his kiss, wanting to keep her safe as he wrapped her with his arms. She didn't want to lose him. With the creature of the death settling in the castle, waiting for people's death, she felt anxious.

Pulling away from his lips, their forehead touched each other. "Nothing will happen to me, Cal," she promised him. "Not you, not anyone," she prayed.

She felt cornered. On one side Beth needed the antidote, and there was no news from Monique's men so far, and on the other side, the Salvete Mortem had come for Calhoun, pointing its finger at him. What if Calhoun died like the rest of the people who went to the mountains?

It was like both Calhoun and Madeline didn't want to leave each other's side, but at the same time, Beth's life depended on the antidote. Madeline would have had faith in Calhoun being alright because she believed in him, but things were now different.

Her toes slowly went back to place flat on the ground, and she leaned in a way to have her head pressed against his chest. "If you want me to, I will go, but you will have to promise me to stay in and not go to anyone's aid. If something happens like your sister turning into a werewolf and going rampant, will you stay away from it and first save yourself before anyone else?"

Hearing this, Madeline pulled back to look up at him. She shook her head, "Stay. Stay here with me."

Calhoun looked at her with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He knew that even though Madeline wanted to save her sister, she was worried for his life. And as much goodness this dark angel had in her, she wanted to be selfish this time.

"Monique sent another letter at dawn and if the men don't respond to the letter, let's see what to do then," said Calhoun and Madeline agreed to it.

When Madeline left his side to go back to Beth, Theodore arrived in the corridor, making his way to where Calhoun stood. With a small bow, Theodore said,

"The count has not decreased." He was speaking about the creatures that even he could see. Though the Salvete Mortem wasn't entirely visible to him like how Calhoun and Madeline could see it, he could see the creatures appear and disappear as if they were trying to apparate.

"So it seems. The full moon is tonight, and her transformation is only going to speed up with the moon's help," said Calhoun with a subtle frown on his forehead. He raised his hand, running it through the thick locks of his hair.

"We went searching for the antidote once ourselves, but we found nothing there," said Theodore, remembering the past he and Calhoun had spent together. "If I may speak?"

Calhoun's eyes shifted to look at Theodore.

"It would be less painful to look at, if the trigger was pulled than watching the lady turn to a werewolf and go rampant," said Theodore, while looking at the King through his crystal clean glasses.

A chuckle escaped Calhoun's lips. He said,

"It would have been easier if it was just me, but Madeline hopes and believes that things will get better. I don't want to break that innocence and the basic trait of who she is," pausing for a second he then said, "If things get worse, I will need to go and get the antidote. I will leave Madeline in your care."