While waiting, nobody dared to say a word but Rouen was able to read their minds clearly. They wonder as to why they have been called to attend a trial just as when they have learned that he was back in the kingdom - more so that the order for them to appear at the court came from him who had never done such in his entire lifetime. Rouen remained silent and just watched the royal family's subjects who are present. He is aware that the nobility and aristocracy faction still wish to reconstruct their ruling system especially those who belong in the fallen houses but he is certain that they knew they don't have the power to do it so they just remained at a stand still.
How long has it been since he had the chance to look at them but they evaded his eyes ever so subtly in fear that they might anger him? He almost laugh at that. Vampires may have a lengthened life but most of them don't change. Their still remained the same.
They didn't have to wait long for the two ladies to arrive. Different opinions and muffled murmurs resounded around the room when they finally saw the state of both Silver Bloods from the Houses of Elfenbrehm and Kleist, whom the sentinels brought in with them when they entered the court. They may not be as miserable compared to the state Rouen left them in before when they are still in the prison cells, but they are still messy to look at - not the usual high-dignified daughters of First Bloods they used to appear in public. With just one look, anyone could easily tell that they had just undergone torture under the hands of someone and if it was not because of their regenerative abilities as Silver Bloods, they would have been long dead due to excessive blood loss from the wounds Rouen had given them earlier in time. He made sure that their blood covered the floor underneath them as they were chained to the wall and, with his superiority as a Gold Blood over them, they had a hard time recovering from the wounds he inflicted on them and, in that time, Rouen took pleasure in their misery.
Their dresses are torn because Rouen unapologetically ran his nails through them when he wounded them. Their hair is messy, their makeup was erased as tears graced their eyes and cheeks and they still have remaining wounds that are bleeding and tainting the silks of their dress. Their hands are bound in front of them with cuffs that are imbued in magic, which adds to the interference in their regeneration abilities. They look miserable and Rouen didn't feel an ounce of regret at what he did to them. In fact, he wanted them to suffer more.
The crown prince lets the vampires who are present at the trial speak their minds regarding the matter that is presented in front of them all. He let them accuse him of mistreating such ladies from Ducal Houses - that even if they had committed an atrocious crime, they should have been treated in a way that the Silver Bloods like them, that the lady of Houses where they belonged, deserved. But do they deserve to be treated with respect when they both have made another suffer because she is not one of them? No. He turned a blind eye and deaf ears to the blame they threw in his direction until they ran out of words to say to him. They only fell silent when they no longer had anything to say, as if they ran out of it.
Rouen squinted his eyes when he saw both ladies crying for the whole court to see. They must have known somewhere that they would end up in the sun hall after that - that even without undergoing trial, they would still end up dead. But he has another purpose for putting them here on display. It was to warn those who are ready and are planning to oppose him and his family to get what they truly wanted in their kingdom. He then glanced around the court, his seat gave him the privilege to be able to do it.
"Are you done?" He asked in a very calm voice to all the vampires around him and they cowered. His words had a threat in between no matter how calm he had said it. "You looked at their state and you have taken their side without asking as to why I had them arrested. You saw what state they are in and you blame me for it. I have all the rights to do what I did because, as a Gold Blood, it is my responsibility to punish Silver Bloods who willingly break the laws imposed on them. I had all the rights to kill them but I didn't. It was because the natural who was a guest of the Royal family, the same human being who was under the protection of the Lohengrin Duchy, did not want me to kill them in cold blood even after they had tortured her to die in her sleep. It's funny how a human could actually hold her pride and tell me not to end the lives of these pitiful vampires that are under my jurisdiction as the crown prince of this kingdom after what they did. It is only because of Lady Lorentz that these two Silver Bloods are here right now to undergo a trial like a normal vampire who has committed a crime as if they had never played with someone else's life."
"Then where is this so-called natural that you said suffered at the hands of Lady Thalicia and Lady Felicity, your highness? This is a trial. The victim herself needs to testify about what happened."
"Her presence is not needed because I don't want her to witness the gruesome things that are about to take place tonight. She also does not need to attend this trial because I am here to represent her case. I'm sure you are aware that I can just show you exactly what happened. And the witnesses, Duke Cohen Lohengrin, Duke Sorian Aldestine and the Silver Blood Sin Aragorn Edelweiss are here with us to testify about what took place in the Crystal Manor."
No one spoke and the atmosphere in the room was suffocating. The silence itself is defeaning. The seconds that passed seemed to be like the longest time they had endured with the crown prince's presence. Dukes aren't the only ones present because there are members of the nobility and aristocracy in the court too to witness what is going to happen.
"These Silver Bloods suffered under my hands. I tortured them in hopes that they would repent for the things that they had done to an innocent. But these two have long since lost their soul and pride as Silver Blood-born vampires in the kingdom. Lady Thalicia from the fallen House of Kleist had forged a contract between her and a fallen witch which violated the law about drawing contracts. Entering such a contract willingly with a fallen witch is an act of treason against the kingdom no matter who had drawn it. She received help from the said witch when she followed instructions from Lady Felicity from the Ducal House of Elfenbrehm to kill the natural she saw with me this morning. I never imagined that a Silver Blood would act on her own out of jealousy, because they have long been revered in this society. How low does the ladies of the revered Houses fell to act that way without thinking? Have I been gone so long that the pride of a vampire born, of a Silver Blood vampire, which I knew from the time I was here was gone?"
Rouen paused and waited if someone would have to gut to say anything but none of them said a word. They didn't even meet his eyes out of fear which they have been doing since he came to existence. But he can read their mind. Their thoughts were the same. No one dared to tell him that he was wrong because of fear and not because they knew everything he said was the truth.
Both ladies are trembling in fear. How did he even get all that information in the span of a few hours? It was not even that long after he had returned to the kingdom from wherever he had been after all these years that he was gone.
"And what was it you said back then, lady from the Elfenbrehm Duchy?"
Felicity quivered as she bit her trembling lip and did not say anything. Instead, she focused her attention on the floor as tears escaped her eyes. She could feel every attention from every corner of the court was focused on her.
Rouen glared down at the woman from his seat. "Do not make me repeat my words, Lady Felicity."
She sniffed. "I would have loved it if the hateful human had died," she whispered, which made all the vampires around them gasp in surprise.
They have existing laws that protect naturals from them and all of the vampires in Aceldama know it to the bone, aside from the Lepers who are being hunted down even in their kingdom.
Rouen smirked when he got what he wanted but he was not finished yet. He perched his elbow on his table and rested his chin in his palm. "And do tell me what is it you said to your brother, Lord Mihai, when I left. I want to hear you say it to me face to face."
Felicity sucked in a breath as she involuntarily looked up at Rouen who was grinning evily down in her direction. His eyes held promise and his smile said what kind of promise it was. He is about to do something and it is going to be their demise just because they hurt a human being. How did he even know that when her brother's power was in effect at that time? She didn't have time to doubt Mihai because she found right away the answer right in front of her. The crown prince is different. The Rouen she knew before he left the court was gone. His usual aquamarines are now glistening in mischief and danger with a perfect combination of golden color. His fangs as he smiled were elongated just for them to see the demon that is him. The hybrid which is him in the flesh has finally awakened. And if he used his power to hear what it was she said when he left the underground prison cells, even with Mihai's interference, he would hear it clearly.
Everyone in the room could see Rouen in his awakened state and it brought fear to their being which they have never felt before towards their fellow vampire, making them hold in their words within them because they were afraid that one word from them would antagonize him. Rouen didn't even try to hide his bloodlust that has not been quenched yet, even after he tortured the Silver Bloods and decapitated the witch Thalicia was involved with. Those who were having a hard time coping up with the oppressive and dangerous aura he is emitting obviously had a hard time being in the same room as him. They looked like they would pass out any second but nevertheless stayed silent in their own seat. The heavyness of the atmosphere could be felt even at the back of the court where Mihai and some of the sentinels stood as they awaited orders. He knew his sister had messed up and that she messed up badly this time because they had chosen to ruffle his feathers when he had just awakened.
"You are not going to?" Rouen asked when he squinted his eyes in annoyance as he looked down at the woman.
Felicity bit her lip to keep herself from screaming. Rouen is using his power over her as a warning and she could feel her breath being restrained in a very painful way, as if every breath she takes in feels like a lot of knives being stabbed into her chest at once. She sobbed. How can he be this cruel? They were not able to kill the human, weren't day? How can he be so vengeful?
Rouen sighed and leaned back on his seat. His patience is starting to ran out. "Lady Thalicia, do tell us the exact words of Lady Felicity. Start talking while I'm still still asking nicely."
Thalicia glanced at Felicity beside her who was breathing in a very painful way. For a vampire of her stature to be suffering that way, there is only one reason. She knew it was the prince's doing that she was having a hard time breathing, but nobody from the crowd had the guts to point it out because of fear that the prince's anger will be redirected towards them. Thalicia glanced up at the prince. If they are going to die, she doesn't want to die suffering any more than this. She gripped the hem of her dress before she narrated what Felicity said.
"I may not have been able to kill her tonight, but someday, someone will kill her in my stead. And I will celebrate at my grave once that day happens. You should have chosen me, your highness, instead of that foolish human being. I would have been more useful to you than she ever will be."
Someone gasp in surprise and another round of murmurs echoed in the court. Rouen grinned when he saw Felicity's trembling form. It is now visible because she couldn't contain the terror she is presently feeling anymore, which is oozing out from her in great waves because Rouen had succeeded in getting all spectators, dukes and aristocrats, on his side. For Felicity who have always been back by her father, having no one by her side at a time like this is frightening that all she can do is sob in despair.
The Duke of the Elfenbrehm Duchy sighed. He never thought his daughter had fallen so low to the point of no return. If only he had listened to his son Mihai when he was still in the Duchy, things wouldn't have ended this way. No wonder he treated his sister rather disdainfully. She had long lost her brother because of her misdeeds which he, as their father, covered, so that they wouldn't reach the palace.
But the trial is not through yet. Rouen still has to prove to them that Eona really underwent torture through Thalicia's night walking. They can't pass down a sentence with just the words said in court.
"Shall we go onto the main subject as to why we are all here?"
Before they could answer, Rouen had taken control of their minds and showed them exactly what happened to Eona in her dreams. Vampires in the court saw how much she pleaded with Thalicia, how much she was so defenseless against a vampire and how the lady from the House of Kleist completely ignored it and instead mocked her for being weak. He showed them until the part where Sin had found Eona bleeding with the means of using his own ability to rescue her from the death Thalicia had sentenced her to get by the instruction of Felicity. But when they thought he was done, he took control of Felicity's mind and showed them how she planned to kill Eona with Thalicia right after she arrived at the Elfenbrehm Duchy from the Royal Palace that morning.
"No! Stop! Please!"
Felicity begged as she sobbed right in front of everyone because she was aware that if Rouen dug deeper into her memory, everyone would see how her father had covered up all of her past misdeeds using their name just so he could keep her away from getting arrested and being put in prison. She knew that if that happened, her father would fall down with her and there was a high possibility that Duke Simon would be stripped off his rank and that their family would fall out of grace from the king. She can't have that.
Her resistance made Rouen want to dig her every memory out from the second she was born, but he couldn't do that without permission. He would be breaking another law if he did that right this instant. With the way she acted, she must still have been hiding something.
Everyone was speechless and Felicity's cries were the only thing they could hear at that moment.
"The crown prince, Rouen Silver Einzbern, has proven that both ladies from the Ducal Houses of Elfenbrehm and Kleist have done a crime that cannot be forgiven. Is there anyone who thinks otherwise?" When no one said anything, the king looked at his son from his seat. "As the one who had personally led the investigation of what happened tonight, what is it you wanted to happen from this point forward?"
"I want the sun hall opened for both of them."
The king stared at his son. Rouen is determined. And he can even see in the eyes of the Dukes present that they agree with him. They needed to make an example, because if not, other vampires would only follow what they did without fear. He glanced over at Simon Elfenbrehm and Igor Kleist. Both have their heads down in surrender as they let their daughters be sentenced to death right in front of them.
"Then I, Mikhail Gregory Einzbern, reigning king of the Kingdom of Aceldema, declare the opening of the sun hall before the sun rises for the retribution of Lady Thalicia Kleist and Lady Felicity Elfenbrehm. With all the things they did tonight against a natural who is under the protection of the House of Lohengrin, they are hereby sentenced to eternal sleep at sunrise."
There was a slight commotion after the trial because Felicity tried to resist the sentinels but she was overpowered and was left to be unable to do anything. When everything was settled and the dukes and aristocrats went on in their own ways, Simon took hold of his son Mihai and they both went to look for the king whom they found later on was talking to both the prince and Cohen.
"Your majesty, if I may disturb you for a while."
"Duke Simon and Lord Mihai. Shouldn't you both be by Lady Felicity's side by now? I am sure you are aware of what is going to take place at sunrise. You only have a few hours left with her."
"That can wait, your majesty. I only want to let you know about something." Simon breathed in deep. "It is partially my fault that my daughter grew up to be the way she is and I, as her father, apologize for her misdeeds. I am not hoping that you will spare her life, but I want to let you know that I am willing to take part of the blame as a repercussion for what she did against Lady Lorentz. Your majesty, from this moment on, I am resigning as one of the court members for I will formally entrust the title of Duke to my son Mihai Alexandru. I will send my formal resignation letter to your office within the day."
Everyone stared at Elfenbrehm First Blood. They are surprised by what he just declared. Their gazes went from him to his son, then back at him, but no one said anything, so the duke continued.
"Mihai, being the Knight Commander of the sentinels at present, is more than capable of holding the title and I myself swore that he will be of great help to you as one of the council members."
If Mihai will take the title his father is handing down to him, he will be the first Silver Blood to ever become a Duke ever since their kingdom arose to power after its establishment.
***
Mihai knew he should accept the title and that he didn't have a choice but to do so. After all, it is his birthright. He is aware that a change of leadership in their house will result in their family's return of strength, but did it have to be this early? Or does his sister's fall have something to do with how things are now being rushed inside the House of Elfenbrehm? He was left in his own thoughts as he walked with his father towards the sun hall which had now been opened.
"You'll be fine, son," Simon told him, as if he knew what exactly he was thinking.
"Do you think someone like me who let his sister be sentenced to eternal sleep because of what she did will be able to lead the family?"
"Someone like you is exactly what the Ducal House of Elfenbrehm needs. The house needs a proper leader who doesn't differentiate blood from the rest of the clan; someone who doesn't take sides once a member has done something wrong. You are able to hold your head high even if it was your only sibling and younger sister being judged in court because you yourself knew that she deserved it after all that she did - tonight and in the past. You wouldn't have become a Knight Commander if you don't have the ability to lead."
Mihai didn't retort to that.
When they reached the sun hall, they immediately saw Thalicia and Felicity, whose hands were chained up on a pole which stood at the center of the room. Both are barefoot and are now wearing white robes. This is actually the worse part whenever they use the sun hall. They get to witness it being used whether they like it or not. They are obliged to see the punishment take place, making them see the ones sentenced to eternal sleep burn to death. The sun in Aceldama doesn't exactly burn vampires like them. But the sunlight that passes through the circular glass above the ceiling of the sun hall makes it able to burn a vampire slowly to death because the glass itself is imbued with magic to be able to do so.
Both ladies cried in regret and repentance, but it was already too late. When the sun arose and the sunbeam slowly reached the Silver Bloods chained at the pole in the center of the room, their cries and screams as they burned in an agonizing pain echoed and it was defeaning and when they started to burn, the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.
Mihai breathed in deep before he let it out. He knew his sister had it coming and he himself had already accepted her ending, but watching her suffer to death this way was still heartrending. In the corner of the room, across the hall from where he was, stood the prince, who looked at the two burning Silver Bloods with no emotion. He could not even read him because Rouen did not give away anything. He just stood there as he watched everything take place.
When the sunbeam is at the center of the room, the two Silver Bloods have long since turned into ashes that covered the floor and the chains that held their hands up on the pole now hang without anything in it. No one spoke, no one said a single word. It was like they were anticipating what the prince might do next. When Rouen left the room without saying anything and without looking back, it was only then that Mihai observed the vampires giving a breath of relief. They are afraid of him. More so than before. First, because he has already awakened as the hybrid that he is, and second, because they knew he now holds a power greater than his father, their king. What took place was his warning to those who were planning to oppose him by hurting the ones he cared about.
After exiting the sun hall, Rouen found himself travelling towards the Crystal Manor where he left Eona last night. He knew Cohen was still back at the palace but instead of letting his servants know of his arrival, he used his senses as a vampire to locate where they had transferred Eona and jumped right on the terrace of her room on the third floor. He concealed his presence because he didn't want anyone to know that he was there. His purpose is to check on the girl, then leave immediately afterwards. He gently opened the glass doors of her room and carefully looked around for her inside the room. He frowned when he saw the bed appeared to have not been used and her scent was not on the sheets either.
"Did she not sleep?"
He inhaled and followed her scent, which led him to the receiving area of the room they gave her after what happened to the first one thanks to him. There he saw her sleeping on the sofa as she partially leaned on the arm rest with her right hand holding an embroidery hoop covered in a white silk cloth and her right holding a needle. Did she make herself busy while sleep evaded her last night? A soft smile curved on his lips when he saw the design she embroidered in the middle: a blooming bouquet of peach tulips in front of a shield with golden filigree lines at the edge and a crown on top of it. Did she take a liking to it because of its beauty and uniqueness or was she aware that it was his crest as a Gold Blood and that only him, used it as a distinction from the rest of the known blood in the lower vampire society?
The different houses of First Bloods, including that of the royal family, always have flowers in their crest aside from the rose which the kingdom uses and, as an addition, vampire-borns also are entitled to carry with them another crest for distinction aside from their families. Lilies are assigned to the Silver Bloods and tulips are assigned to the Gold Bloods. He, being the sole Gold Blood vampire in their society, is the only one using the crest with tulips in it.
He tucked in the few strands of her hair from her face behind her ear. "You shouldn't be sleeping here, precious. What's the use of the bed they prepared for you if you are not going to use it?"
He then slowly removed the things she was holding even while she was asleep and put them all on the table before he gently carried her in his arms and settled her on the bed because he knew she'd be much more comfortable in there, but the moment he put her down, Eona's eyes slowly fluttered open and he cursed inside his mind before he smiled at her. He didn't know she was a light sleeper.
"Hey!" He whispered to her.
"Rou…en?" She frowned, obviously still lacking sleep as she glanced around, probably wondering how she ended up in the room when all she could remember was that she fell asleep embroidering in the receiving area of the bedroom.
"Go back to sleep, love," he told her as he tucked her in. "You are going to have a long night tonight, you will need it."
Eona ignored him as she held onto his wrist but her eyes looked like she was about to fall asleep again. "What are you doing here?" She asked in the softest voice Rouen had heard as her eyes started to close but she obviously was fighting it.
She must really have fallen asleep so late. "I'm just here to check on you, gem."
"Don't leave."
"I'll stay here until you fall back to sleep," he promised, and Eona nodded, but Rouen's presence made sleep slowly start to leave her.
Rouen sat on the bed beside her, his back resting on the headboard as he read a random book he picked up from the console table.
"You're not sleeping. As I thought, I should have left earlier."
Eona's hold onto his wrist tightened but she did not say anything and Rouen could tell that she wanted to know something. Probably about what happened at the palace.
"I killed a witch."
"What?"
"A fallen. I was not able to reign in my fury when she smiled and said that you deserved what happened. That what happened to you is a curse for getting in too close."
"What did you do?"
He fell silent for a few seconds before he sighed. "I decapitated her."
Eona's heart started to beat fast although she tried her hardest to conceal it, but Rouen, being the vampire that he is could tell that something changed in the way her heart beats.
"And the vampires?"
"Both sentenced to eternal sleep."
"And their family?"
"What?"
"How did they take the news?"
What was the right word to describe the Kleist and Elfenbrehm family? "Resigned."
"What do you mean?"
"We're vampires, gem. If human beings mourn for the loss of their loved ones, no matter what the reason, in a way that the public will see, vampires will grieve in a way that no one will know that they are grieving. They will appear strong and unshaken in front of the others because of their pride as vampires, but they will shed tears in the confinement of their rooms for the people they have lost."
"How are you?"
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You grieved for me last night. When you thought you would not be able to save me."
Rouen was left staring at her. How did she know about that when she was still under the control of someone else?
"I can feel you, Rouen. I don't know how to explain it but I do."
He brushed her hair gently. "I am fine now, precious. Because I know that you are."
"Hmmm…"
He didn't know how long or how short of a time had passed since Eona stopped talking, but when he could already hear her gentle breaths and the steady beating of her heart, he just knew she had already fallen back to sleep. He gently pried her hands off from his wrist. Without much delay, he slowly stood up before he leaned down and fondly kissed her forehead goodbye. He stared at her and his eyes glistened for seconds. He knew he needed to stay away from her. If he wanted her safe, he really needed to. But he can't. Back when he was in the palace, his thoughts always went back to this girl. When he is busy, her smiling face would just appear in his mind, distracting him. When silence embraced him, her laughter would echo in his ears. And the scent in the air around Laudicea reminds him of the fragrance only her blood possesses.
"What is it you did to me that I can't seem to let you go? I know I don't have the right but I wanted to monopolize you: cage you in a way that only I can look at you. But I can't do that because I know it will surely bring you sadness because you are a tulip that can beautifully bloom only when you are free. But the mere thought of you ending up in another man's arms if I let this chance slip away from me makes me want to kill." He sighed as he softly touched her cheeks with the back of his forefinger. "You make me want to protect and commit murder at the same time and you are not even aware of it. I want you to stay innocent, but I wanted to corrupt you all the same."
Rouen smiled.
"I really wanted you to stay away from me back then, but look at where that got me. It was I who now can't stay away from you. It was like you are the moon that I didn't know I needed. Something that is there but I couldn't notice at first because I was pre-occupied with something else. How stupid of me?"
After a while, he decided to leave Eona, who is already fast asleep. Rouen was already at the door that leads to the terrace when the door of Eona's bedroom opened and in came Cohen, who raised an eyebrow towards him.
"I didn't know it was your hobby to enter someone else's house without permission. How many times has it been? Two?"
Rouen grinned at his godfather whom he knew had suspected him being there at the moment he arrived, because they had probably been looking for him again at the palace and didn't find him.
"And counting."
"Does that mean you are going to do this again? Have you forgotten the use of doors in the hallways? Is that why you have been entering my house through the terrace of Eona's room?"
"As long as Eona is here, yes. And why should I bother using the doors when I could just go in and out through the doors that leads towards her room's terrace? Ask Sorian. I had him experience the thrill of going through windows last night."
Cohen shook his head. "Manners, Rouen. Especially since you are the crown prince of this kingdom."
"Since when did I care about social etiquette?"
"Hmm… Then why are you staying in the palace instead of here until tonight? Isn't it because you have to arrive with your parents as a part of the etiquette observed on such occasions?"
He chuckled. "It is not that, Cohen. It is because Sorian has given me gifts which I can't ignore because they might pile up again, so I have to be at the palace. And what part of etiquette are you talking about? I am here, aren't I? Breaking in to your house. Where is the etiquette in that?"
Rouen then turned his back to the Duke and went to open the door, but before he left, he took a glimpse of Eona.
"See you all tonight," he told Cohen before he disappeared.