May Death Do Us Part

261 Chapter 261 : Cedarwood door

As Eira walked back to the ballroom with her father, she kept glancing back and around the hallway hoping that she would see Elric, but it seemed he was already gone. After their conversation in her room, she had so many questions for him and for her parents as well. What exactly had transpired between them that made Elric resent them so much? And did her parents resent him the same way? What exactly had been going on in the past?

The redhead looked up at the man whose arm she was holding. Her father didn’t seem like the kind of man to make enemies, neither did he seem like the type to step on anyone’s toes. King Gareth was a noble man, friendly to all, and just to many. But from the look that Elric had in his eyes during their conversation, she could tell that he had been hurt by her family.

Eira took a deep breath before calling out to her father in a low tone. “father...?”

But before she could fully utter her sentence, somebody grabbed her shoulder roughly and yanked her backwards.

“You!” The man who had tugged Eira’s shoulder screamed. “Where is he?! Where are you hiding him?!”

Gareth grabbed the man by his wrist, pulled him off his daughter and shoved him away. “How dare you lay a hand on the princess!” Gareth roared in fury. “The next time you lay your hand on my daughter, is the last time you will have hands!”

“Wait one second...” The man who Gareth had pushed away slowly pulled off his mask and looked up at him in confusion. “King Gareth? Is that you?”

The Elvin King also pulled off his mask and looked up at Clovis with knitted eyebrows. “Clovis?”

Clovis’ brown eyes lowered to the woman who was standing behind Gareth, “and... is this princess Eira?”

.....

“What in the gods’ good name possessed you to treat my daughter in such a way Clovis?” Gareth asked the man standing in front of him.

Clovis cupped his forehead and shook his head. He was as confused as ever, he could’ve sworn he saw his brother dancing with the woman in a lacy black dress.

“Elric...” The Merian king mumbled

The mention of Elric’s name churned some emotions within the Elven King’s heart. He took several steps forward and grabbed Clovis by both his shoulders. “What about Elric?”

“He was here, I saw him!” Clovis pointed at the redhead princess standing behind Gareth. “The two of them were dancing not too long ago, I tried to pursue him but they ran off into the gardens and disappeared.”

Gareth’s heart skipped several beats at the mention of his only daughter dancing with a man like Elric. “Dammit Clovis, you better be sure of what you’re saying.”

“I have the senses of all the elves in this ballroom combined..” Clovis responded sternly. “I cannot mistake my own blood, it was Elric that I saw dancing with your daughter. I am sure of it.”

The elf king turned around to look at Eira who was practically shaking in her sandals. He walked slowly towards her, and with a gentle hand pulled off her mask.

Eira was a lot like her mother, so if she lied, Gareth would definitely know.

“Is what he is saying true?” The dark-haired elf asked the redhead. His eyes never leaving hers and his voice as serious as death.

“I... I do not know what he’s talking about father..” The princess responded in a jittery tone.

The second she pursed her lips together after those words had left her mouth, Gareth knew. As he took a step backwards, all the blood drained from his face.

“Elric is alive...” The king mumbled as his face of confusion slowly turned angry. He looked back down at his daughter and gave her a threatening look. “Elric is alive and you kept it from me?! Eira what were you thinking?!”

“Father I can explain!”

“I specifically told you there are people out there who would want to hurt me by getting to you! Why would you keep something so important from me?!”

“But father,” Eira responded misty eyed. “Elric isn’t like that father, he wouldn’t hurt me, he wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

“Listen to yourself! You dance with him one time and he already has you talking back to me!” Gareth grabbed his daughter’s wrist and pulled her closer to him. “Is he the reason you were sneaking off into the forest?! Well?!”

Not too far from the commotion, Melissa noticed her husband and her daughter having a bit of a squabble. If she did not go and get things under control, the two of them would cause a scene and ruin the entire ball. The queen stood up, rushed towards where her husband was interrogating Eira and grabbed his shoulder.

“Gareth!” Melissa growled in a hushed tone. “What in the world is going on here! Are you trying to ruin our daughter’s birthday party?!”

The Elven king pulled Eira closer and made her face her mother. “Ask your daughter what she has been up to? Did you know that she has been deliberately putting her own life in danger?! Secretly meeting up with a man who almost ruined our lives?!”

“Will you stop speaking in riddles!” Melissa spoke sternly to her husband. “What has she done so wrong that’s got you so whirled up in public?!”

“Eira has been secretly meeting up with Elric this entire time!”

Melissa felt like the world around her came to a halt. She looked up at her husband in disbelief, not wanting to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “What did you just say?” Melissa asked, hoping that what she had heard the first time was wrong.

“I said our little princess here, has been meeting up with Elric secretly this entire time.” Gareth responded. “And as if things couldn’t get any worse, she was dancing with him right here in our palace, just a few moments ago.”

Melissa’s blue eyes shifted from her husband’s face to her daughter’s. “Eira, this can’t be true can it? How on earth did you even meet that man? What if he tried to hurt you?!”

The red haired princess pulled her arm away from her father’s grip making both her parents gasp. “Both of you are overreacting over nothing! Elric is not the man you paint him to be, and maybe if you hadn’t kept so many things a secret all these years, none of this would’ve ever happened!”

“Eira,” Gareth spoke, “can’t you see we are worried about you? Everything we do is to protect you..”

“Well I don’t need your protection!” Eira yelled back, now getting the attention of some of the onlookers nearby. “I have had it with your lies, and I have had it with you treating me like some helpless child! I no longer want your protection, and I no longer want to be at this stupid party!”

“Princess please listen to us-” Gareth tried to reach for his daughter, but she teleported out of the ballroom. “Eira!”

In a panic, Gareth summoned all the guards who were nearby. “search every inch of this palace, find my daughter and find that silver haired lycan named Elric! go!” He then turned to his wife and grabbed both her shoulders, “darling, go and check Eira’s room. If she is not in there, let me know immediately so I can prepare the horses.”

A firm hand gripped Gareth’s shoulder making him turn around.

“And what exactly is it that you’re planning to do your majesty?” Clovis asked the Elven King. “I will not allow you to bring any harm to my brother, regardless of your feelings towards him.”

“No harm will come to your brother Clovis,” Gareth responded. “so long as he stays the fuck away from my daughter.” Gareth grabbed Clovis’ hand and pulled it off his shoulder before walking towards the exit.

Elric had put him through enough stress for one lifetime, he would be damned if he let him put him through hell a second time. If that silver haired bastard as much as laid one finger on his daughter’s beautiful head, Gareth would have his pelt laying in front of a fire in his study.

*

Eira stood idly in front of the familiar log cabin and took a deep breath. She was well aware that she was the last person Elric would want to see in this moment, but she had nowhere else to go. Naturally she would’ve teleported to where Zhelimir was, but she really was not in the mood to be surrounded by her friends and family right now. Elric’s face was the first one that had popped in her head as she was teleporting. She just wanted to be anywhere she could be safe and far away from all the commotion back at the palace.

The redhead grabbed the skirt of her dress and took slow steps towards the cabin door. For all she knew, Elric might not even be home. She stood by the door looking at it blankly for few moments, before stretching out her hand to knock.

But before her knuckles could make contact to the Cedarwood of the door, she felt a hand circle her neck, and the sound of protruding claws reached her ears.

“I thought I told you, I do not want anything to do with you or your family ever again...”