The Blood King's Bride
Chapter Sixty One

Elena sat in the room she shared with Elion and Forest, her face a blank mask. Forest sat next to her while Elion kept pacing around the room.

"Someone tell me that what I saw below wasn't real." She ranted her face a mixture of

pure rage. "Please tell me that the same guy who asked to court our Elena didn't just introduce another lady as his Bride."

Elena looked at Elion strangely. It was weird seeing her wired up, especially for a

problem that wasn't hers. Forest saw the look she gave his sister and immediately held her hand, caressing it softly.

"Don't be sad, even I was deceived by him. I thought he was an honourable man. Elena slowly turned to face him.

"I know that you might not want to see him now, but leave him to me. I'll go up and confront him. I don't care if he is king."

The situation kept getting weirder and weirder for Elena, so she quickly put up her hands. "Enough," she shouted. The two ranters in the room paused to look at her.

"Calhoun didn't cheat on me." She said. Suddenly, their looks turned to pity.

"Oh honey," Forest said. "I know you're still in shock, but denial doesn't change anything-"

"No. I mean, I am a hundred per cent sure that Calhoun is not getting married to Firoza." They both looked at her, confused.

"What makes you say that?" Elion asked.

"Remember when he came into the castle..."

Elena had been in shock as she watched the figure of her lover walk down the entrance of the castle as the proclaimed king of the Blood Kingdom. She was happy, elated, and a bit mad. She didn't know why she felt that way, especially when she didn't tell him that she was related to two royalties. Just then, what passed through her mind was that fate had a funny way of playing with people. To think she fell in love with the person she swore she would rather die than get married to. All her emotions got swiped away when she saw Firoza being brought in by two guards. By the look on Calhoun's mother's face, she must have thought that she was the Bride Calhoun had brought home. Elena's heart started beating fast then. She didn't want to believe that her heart would be broken again, and this time by someone she intensely had feelings for. So she studied Calhoun intensely, and with the way he kept on looking around, she suspected that he felt her gaze.

Elena studied the way he had looked at Firoza. There was no warmth. Only boredom

when she looked and extreme coldness when she was not. Something must have happened that made Calhoun bring Firoza to his kingdom. He must have felt that it was better to keep her somewhere where he could easily monitor her. The last time the both of them had talked about Firoza, they both landed in the same conclusion that she wasn't who she seemed to be. She saw the signal he gave his father and how his father's gaze towards Elena immediately changed from expectant to suspicious. That was when she knew that the problem was more than she suspected.

"So you both had suspected Firoza all this time?" Elion asked quietly. Elena nodded her head.

"She had threatened me to leave Calhoun alone. She also spewed some lies that I had confirmed with Calhoun were false. To be honest, Calhoun had been suspecting her since the beginning. That was one of the reasons he kept her close. Not only so that he could keep an eye on her, but also that he may find out her real identity. What she really wants to achieve." After her explanation, Elion and Forest shared a look.

"What?" Elena questioned, seeing their exchange. "Do you know something?"

"Well you see," Forest started. "We had suspected her since the very first time we saw

her. Her aura is, well, it's eerily silent."

"How are you both able to feel someone's aura?" Elena asked curiously.

"It's part of our family heritage. Everyone back then knew how to read a person's aura. It was one of the unique traits of our townspeople." Elion answered proudly.

"So, when one's aura is eerily silent, what does that mean?"

"Well, there are usually two options. Either the person has a Godly presence residing in

her, or one of utmost evil." Elion replied.

"Wow, so Firoza is truly more than she appears." Elena whispered thoughtfully.

"Yes. And more powerful too. That was why we did well to steer clear of her path. I thought you'd noticed that."

"Yeah. You guys were probably too good at hiding it that I never noticed."

Forest released a long sigh just as Elion joined them on the bed.

"So what now?" He asked.

"Nothing." Elena said. "We continue what we were doing before. Our training and our job."

"Don't you wish to see Calhoun?"

Elena remained silent. She so badly wanted to go to Calhoun and be in his arms, but after finding out that he is the king of the most feared kingdom, she doesn't dare to do so, especially as they are within his castle walls. No matter how much their distance remained, she didn't want to make any assumption on their relationship till she was absolutely sure.

*****

"Bride?" Calhoun asked, trying to make sure that he heard well. His father nodded his head solemnly.

"Remember the story I told you of the first king who started the war? Well, most people

think that he wasn't married, and was simply crazy. In the area of not being married, that was the truth. But he had a bride, he was just yet to tie the knot with her."

"I'm the king of this kingdom. How am I just hearing about this story now?" Calhoun exclaimed.

"You were bound to hear it sooner or later. Anyway, that king had someone he looked forward to marrying. It was the blood empress. Most people were happy for the union, as the empress then was Charismatic, smart and beautiful. But one day, she suddenly left. That was when the king's attitude took a drastic turn. People suspected that he acted like that because he was heartbroken, but after a while, they started to notice some patterns. The blood being had exuded such patterns before he fell into his untimely death. That was when we knew that the

blood empress was another means to get rid of the Blood Kingdom by the epicene. When the king died, our ancestors did all they could to get information on the blood empress. So many of them died trying to get that information. It was passed down from generation to generation that kings should beware of any female with the mark of a drop of blood on her neck." "Well, you didn't tell me." Calhoun argued.

"It was a long time ago! When my father told me I took it as a myth, not a real-life story. Because it has been hundreds of years since the blood empress first appeared." "Well, she is here now, isn't she." Calhoun said with a sigh.

"You have to be extremely careful with her, we all do. We should never be left alone with her."

"Dad, we left mum alone with her." Calhoun reminded him. At that, the king jumped up, ready to go look for his wife, when the door to the study opened, letting the queen inside. "Oh, darling." The past king said, sighing with relief as he walked over to his wife and embraced her.

"What's with all the commotion?" She asked.

"Nothing, I just missed you." Her husband replied. A bit annoyed, the royal mother pushed her husband away from her and then faced her son.

"I know that you have been looking for a bride and all that, but something about this girl

ticks me off. I do not approve of the union. I'm sorry my son, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I do not want any harm to befall you and that woman screams danger in every sense." Calhoun and his father shared a look.

"What is that look for?" The queen asked, suspicious.

"Well, I already knew that she was a liable danger. That was why I brought her back to keep an eye on her."

His mother looked at him, flabbergasted. "Well, why didn't you tell me?"

"You were already so happy with having a prospective daughter in law, and I couldn't say

in front of everyone that she wasn't my bride. It would be suspicious and might cause her to act

out. I also didn't say that she was though. You were the one who assumed it."

"So, you have a bride?" The queen said, hopeful. Calhoun rubbed his chest as he thought

of the woman he was courting.

"Yes mother, I do."

Seeing his unconscious action at the mention of his bride, the royal mother clapped her hands, radiating intense happiness.

"Well, where is she?"

"Something came up and she had to visit her family, but she swore she would return, and

I would too."

"You have to get rid of this lady by then. You don't want her to have a serious misunderstanding do you?"

"Yes, mother. I know that."

"Good." His mother said, nodding her head proudly. Facing her husband, she said,

"I can't believe we would soon have grandchildren!" They squealed like children while

Calhoun rolled his eyes.

*****

Practice continued as usual for Elena and Elion. Forest's quest for juicy information continued by charming women into having loose tongues. Several days had passed since Calhoun's return, and the castle was brimming with energy. When she had come to the kingdom at first, so many things had surprised her. One of being how everyone loved the blood king. Now she could understand why as even she was in love with him. She was mopping the stairs leading up to his floor when she heard the heavy footsteps. Immediately recognizing who it was for, she quickly took her things and left the place, running to her safety in the kitchen. She breathed in slowly, her heart racing as she listened for him. When she didn't hear the footsteps she had grown accustomed to, she released her breath, sighing heavily.

She didn't know how long she would keep hiding from him. She was a coward, she knew that, but she should at least have let him see her face so she could hear his decision about whether he still wanted her or not.

She didn't know where she was having this sudden bout of inferiority. For someone training to be a warrior, she had to be strong both physically and mentally. But she knew that Calhoun's rejection would hurt her. It would break her badly. She was a coward for running away from a possible future. She was just about to exit the kitchen when she saw Firoza, going to the floor occupied by Calhoun, with two guards by her side. The smug way she carried herself made Elena want to permanently wipe off her existence from the world. She took up her tools with another sigh and set to work in another place.

Calhoun had had this nagging feeling that he had overlooked something. Either that, or he was simply becoming crazy. In several places in the palace, he had perceived the smell unique to Elena alone. He had stopped many maids on their way just to study their faces. He was going crazy. Elena couldn't be in the blood kingdom. That action was close to impossible. But he needed to see her badly. He would die if she didn't speak with her at this rate. He had come out of his study because he felt that presence again, but no one was there.

He started to return to his study when the thudding of feet came to his hearing. He looked

up to see Firoza running to him with two guards flanking her sides.

"Calhoun! I mean- my Lord." Firoza called, eerily happy.

"What do you want?" Calhoun said, annoyed.

"I just wanted to see you. Since you returned you have been busy, and I have been stuck

in my room with literally nothing to do." Coming closer to him, she continued. "I just wanted to

see you. Can't you at least give me a tour of your kingdom?"

"I'm busy," Calhoun said, edging far away from her. "Perhaps later, we could talk, but not now. I have lots of work to do. Go back to your room. There are evil people in the castle." Calhoun knew an act when he saw one. For someone who looked naive, she was pretty devious. She tried to clear up any doubts about their supposed relationship in front of his people. It was his fault. He should have gotten rid of her much earlier. The answer he gave her made her extremely happy, and he noticed the smug smile on her face as she faced the guards by her side. Just a bit more time and I would finally get rid of you.