From looking down at her sleeping friend, Wisteria glanced towards the direction where Caius was presently standing. It had not been that long since he entered the room after her and he seemed to have almost checked every nook and cranny there was to see. She was about to question him with regards to what he was doing but she stopped herself because she knew he wouldn't let a chance slip by to win an argument with her as his opponent. The day had been quite long for her and she didn't want to go to sleep later in a bad mood because of the Silver Blood vampire.
"If you're curious, ask away, Wisteria," Caius told her, even though he had his back on her at that moment, his attention solely focused on what was in front of him.
Her eyebrows furrowed. How the hell does he know she's looking at him? Does it come naturally in vampires like him? But with all the abilities they have, the fact that they drink blood in exchange for all of them remains.
"I can feel you digging holes at the back of my head. It's distracting," he explained, answering her unspoken words.
"So you're not gonna tell me my thoughts have gone astray yet again this time?"
"To tell you quite frankly, I stopped unwillingly hearing things the moment I entered Eona's room. The sounds from around and those from the distance were silenced. That includes your thoughts too. If I couldn't see the view from outside through the windows, I'd probably think I had been transported into another place. A place where I myself would want to disappear into. I haven't felt this peaceful in ages."
He was thinking that it might have something to do with the kind of protection magic which was casted around Lorentz' residence, but he was also considering the fact that Eona's presence might have something to do with it. Though, all he could do right now was to lean onto the 'what ifs' and 'might haves'. Besides, what could a mere human do to ease the sufferings of a vampire cursed to hear all of the sounds the world could offer? But then again, is the girl really just that – a mere human being? With everything that has been happening around her, she couldn't have been. And Sin suspected it to be so.
"Her family said Eona had not once woken up after what happened? How are you going to get her back to Aceldama?"
"Hmm…"
Cauis thought about that for a moment as he intently checked everything that was inside Eona's room one at a time. From books to sticky notes cleaved on the wall right in front of her working table, he made sure to look into all of them. He himself did not know what it was he was looking for, but there were things in there that he did not expect to see. The words 'monarch', 'vampires', 'nobles', 'great wolves' and more pertaining to the supernaturals that should only be known to those privileged to know about them were written on the pastel colored sticky notes. Has she somehow been researching on her own because her family did not want to give her the answers she is seeking?
"Caius, I don't want to be blamed for what you are about to do."
While he checked the things placed above Eona's working table, Caius subtly glanced at Wisteria who now had a frown on her forehead. He had been considering her situation from the moment he stepped inside the room and with Eona's present state, he could not actually bring her back to him to Aceldama immediately. The only thing he could do right now was inform the other Silver Bloods who were monitoring the prince that the girl was alive. The rest will follow later.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything tonight that will put you at a disadvantage. I know how human emotions can get to a person sometimes and hate and anger are two emotions that could drive a sane individual to a corner as regret comes later after everything has been said and done. Isn't that natural for your kind?"
Wisteria gave out a sigh of relief. Caius may be a hateful vampire because of how he acts around her, but thank God he's at least a little considerate. The last thing she wanted was to be blamed for Eona's disappearance just as soon after she was allowed to visit her. Though his words still held some hidden meaning that shows how much he's not fond of naturals in general, she decided not to comment on that.
"If I bring Eona to Laudicea the way that she is now, it will certainly do more damage than what we originally intended to happen. The prince is quite…" he thought of the right word to say at that instant, "sensitive these days," he continued. "Everything that reminds him of that night he drained Eona of her blood puts him on edge. And if he sees her in her present state, he might turn everything into ashes just to get her back to how she usually was and that is the last thing that we wanted to happen. We knew that your friend, Eona, would stop him from sinking deep into the darkness which accompanied a vampire's life since birth, but we are also aware that she is a trigger that will turn the prince into a being we did not want him to become."
They didn't know why the human girl affects the crown prince that much, especially since a vampire's other half, a beloved born to be their companion for a lifetime, should have been the only one able to do that. Sin had long been suspecting that she might be Rouen's beloved. Those who knew of their relationship think so, too, but the signs they're supposed to see between the two, if they were truly born for each other, weren't there except the fact that something is pulling them close together no matter what it is that happens between them. They know how much Rouen cares for her and they can see in his eyes that he loves the human girl every time he gazes at her. But somehow, the affection isn't enough to consider that what they have is a fateful encounter of two souls lost only to find each other. They didn't know why Rouen grieved that much. It's as if the prince had lost another part of him, but Rouen himself is not even sure why.
Caius was about to walk away from Eona's working table but something hidden beneath the pile of papers caught his eye. It was a black velvet box that seemed out of place among the papers and books on the table. A jewelry box? But it doesn't look like it. Upon closer inspection, his eyes grew wide when he saw what was being safely kept inside the box. A crystallized rose flower. And with his instinct and knowledge as a vampire, he could feel that the crystal that covered every petal of the flower delicately was a blood power that made sure to preserve its life and beauty. The blood power resonates with the one that freed him and his friends from the restraints put on them upon birth by the Noble Blood vampires that cursed them to live their life the way they are living it now. He couldn't have been mistaken. It was the Monarch's blood power. Thoughts regarding the flower and Eona's connection with him flooded his mind as questions arose one after the other.
"Wisteria, turn off the lights for a moment."
Wisteria glanced back at him again but she stood from her seat and followed what he said nonetheless. What's he up to again?
When all the lights inside Eona's room were turned off and what was left to illuminate it was the moonlight that got through the windows, Caius walked towards where the moon was shining through and let the crystallized rose bask in it. Caius didn't have to wait long as the flower slowly glowed under the moonlight.
Seliniakó Triantáfyllo or, in the natural's native tongue, Lunar Rose. For vampires like him, it is something they consider a myth. Something which was only written in the records kept in their archives. It is a flower which was said to only grow on the borders between the territories of Tempestra, the country where the Great Wolves live and Elysia, the country where Pureblood vampires reside, but no one actually knew where that was. Why does a natural have it in her possession? Where did she even get it in the first place? And that blood power that made the rose crystallize, he was sure it belonged to the Monarch.
"That's the gift she received from someone who introduced himself as a friend of the owner of Reliquiae. It is the store in the metropolis known to be selling artifacts and relics that belonged to supernatural beings. She was threatened that they would throw it away if she didn't accept it, so she was obligated by that time. I didn't think she'd keep it until now."
"What?"
Wisteria turned the lights back on before she explained what happened. With every word she spoke, she noticed that Caius' frown grew deeper and deeper, as if he was trying to put all the puzzle pieces together.
"When did you say it happened?"
"Not too long after she transferred to Hillcrest."
Isn't that the time when Rouen and Sin acted like they were hiding something when they got back to the kingdom after hiding from the court for a long time? Is it something that involved Eona? And didn't that follow Eona's appearance in the palace because Cohen had brought the girl with him to meet the prince? For what reason, that is what they need to find out. Cohen seemed to have wanted the two to meet, though they must have met before, prior to their meeting in the palace.
Caius glanced at Eona, who didn't show any signs of waking up soon. Something is brewing and the sleeping girl on the bed is in the middle of it all together with their crown prince. And somehow, the Duke of the Lohengrin Duchy knows something about it. Is it about the prophecy regarding Rouen?
"Do you know who it was that gave this to her?"
Wisteria chuckled. "I don't actually ask everyone their names, Caius," she told him, but he only pursed his lips. "But he's someone with silver hair and golden eyes. He's probably not a natural, because no human being would be able to look naturally in those colors."
Of course, he isn't human at all. Isn't that the Werewolf Supreme who was always with the Monarch? Who really was Eona for two supreme beings to be guarding her from the shadows without her even knowing? But before he could ask any more questions, his phone rang and Sin's name flashed on the screen. Being the only person the crown prince considered as his friend, he was forced to see how Rouen slowly fell in the darkness – a reality that all vampires like them have in their lives, no matter how much they ignore it. That darkness resides in every vampire's heart. It silently waits until it eats them up alive. The only difference is the trigger that would awaken it. And in Rouen's case, what made him into what he is now was the thought of Eona's death, which was fuelled by the belief that he himself killed her.
"Sin…" he answered.
"Were you able to find her?"
"Yes. Though the hunters are intervening by hiding her from us. It must have been Kaien's doing. Eona's family might have asked the association's help to keep the girl from us after what happened. I'd do the same if I were one of them. Eona was drained completely of her blood after all. She's alive, but I can't take her to Laudicea immediately. She hasn't woken up since that night, but what's important right now is that she is not dead as we all speculated. Let's just hope she opens her eyes soon and we can do the rest later. Besides, her family would certainly blame Wisteria if she disappeared tonight, so I can't take her yet just after she was allowed to visit her."
"Hmm... I didn't know you cared about Wisteria?"
"Shut up," he retorted instead of answering Sin, who obviously had a teasing tone in his voice. "How is he?"
"Rouen?"
"Should I be asking for the whereabouts of another person? Of course I'm asking about him."
Sin chuckled on the line while Wisteria smiled at the way Caius answered back with a question.
"He was…"
Caius frowned. That pause sounded like bad news. "What?"
Sin gave out a problematic sigh. "He is still spilling blood and all we can do is monitor him. I've lost count on how many died under his hands within the palace walls these past few days. After all, none of them ever made it out once he calls for them. He gets irritated easily and one mistake would cost someone's life at the most unexpected time. Everyone's on edge lately and every time he was out of his room, death would loom in on every living being around him. Laudicea has turned into a gloomy city because of his presence. He limited himself from drinking human blood for a long time and it seems like his body is coping with the lost chances after his awakening backfired."
"Can't the First Bloods stop him? His killing spree is going to keep us all in trouble, if not with the Hunter's Association, with the Alliance."
"We, Silvers, can't even touch him at this moment. What makes you think the First Bloods can do something about it? And it was only a few hours ago when he sent Sorian to the medical facility. It took four Silver Bloods to restrain him and with a lot of effort, I'm telling you."
"What happened?"
"Being someone who works with him in his office, Sorian tried to intervene with what he had been doing and Rouen didn't quite like what he did. They fought in the hall of mirrors, leaving that room in rubble and broken mirrors. Rouen imposed his authority as the crown prince, which he didn't like doing in normal circumstances. He ordered Sorian to surrender and Sorian was left with no choice but to concede bitterly. But that happened only after Rouen had mangled him to the point that he needed healers to recover."
"Fuck!" Caius thought to himself. If they can't do something to stabilize the instincts of the prince to kill and dominate, they will face a lot of problems later. He brushed his hair back using his fingers with a frustrated sigh. "He's changed that much in such a short time? It wasn't even that long after I left the kingdom."
"What are you expecting? He thought he had lost the woman he ever cared about and he thought it was him that killed her. That was enough to imprison him in the dark. Rouen is in a state where he doesn't give a damn about life. He would kill if he was in the mood to do so. And if I wasn't wrong, he's just waiting for someone who is able to give him the rest he wanted after losing the girl he has always cared about in his entire life."
"Can't you just tell him she's alive?"
"Do you think he'll believe me while he's in that state?"
Damn it! Now that he thinks about it, he won't believe it for sure. That is why they needed Eona. But the girl in question is sleeping like she was in a state of a coma.
"I'll stay here in Cenchrea for the time being. I'll update you if there are any changes here."
After the call had been dropped, silence settled inside Eona's room and even after Wisteria had to go back home, Caius remained there watching her while he stood beside her bed. He knew they were running out of time, but he also knew that he could not bring Eona to Rouen's front door in her present state.
"What the hell do I need to do from here?" he whispered to himself before he disappeared from the room as if he was never there in the first place.
***
"Was that Caius on the line?"
Sin's neck almost strained at how fast he looked at where that very familiar voice came from. He even unconsciously held onto his phone so tightly that it almost broke in his hands without much effort, while his eyes grew wide when he saw the person standing not too far away from where he was at. He had never once felt fear, but at that moment, his heart thumped loudly in his chest because of the danger that was Rouen himself.
Rouen is wearing all black attire. It enabled him to blend perfectly well in the surroundings with the moon solely giving light to the Lunar Garden. If one doesn't have a heightened sense like them, no one would be able to tell that he was there. In fact, if he had not said anything, Sin wouldn't have noticed him at all.
Sin thought he was still confined in his room after what happened between him and the First Blood Sorian Aldestine at the Hall of Mirrors within the palace. He knew Rouen should still be in his room at that time of the night with Mihai and the rest of the sentries under Mihai's command who were safeguarding the door from outside because his punishment had not been lifted by the king yet. But what the hell is Rouen doing in the Lunar Garden? How did he even get past all those sentinels?
Rouen stared at the Silver Blood without another word, but Sin only stared back at him. Rouen's golden-aquamarine eyes glisten under the moon. They are beautiful but at the same time, they hold a danger that can only be projected from those eyes. With Sin's heightened sense of smell, he could tell that the prince was reeking of blood even though no trace could be seen of his lips, nor his hands or the clothes he was wearing. He must have killed someone again. He walked towards Sin at a steady stride and his footsteps left no sound at all. He was like a predator stalking him openly as he waited for the right time to pounce, but Sin had his guard up and he was ready to hold his place if he needed to.
"No, don't answer that. I know it was Caius," Rouen then told him not a minute later, but it didn't make Sin relax at all. In fact, it made him more alert of what he was about to say next. "Where is he?"
Instead of answering, Sin remained tightlipped as he looked back at his friend, but the action didn't sit well with the prince. He took Sin's action as a Silver Blood defying his authority as a Gold Blood vampire. Rouen's eyes narrowed while staring at him with a warning. What Sin did not expect next was him invoking an authority using his voice.
"Sin Aragorn Edelweiss..."
Sin cursed in his mind as he was forced to yield to the authority the prince had used as he spoke his name. It was the second time Rouen had done that to him and, on both occasions, the human girl he had been close to was the reason why. Being a vampire possessing a blood like his, he could even use that authority to order the First Bloods to do his bidding, but he never once used it back then. Invoking authority is something Rouen did not want to do even though he was born having the right to use it. He follows the hierarchy of authority in their kingdom where authority flows down from the King, the Queen in the absence of the King, the Council, the sentinels, the Gold Blood, the Silvers, Nobility and Aristocracy. But ever since his full awakening as a Gold Blood vampire backfired after the severance, he had been using his right unconsciously to get what he wanted from everyone around him.
"I'm going to ask again. The Silver Blood, Caius Cyprian Ahlefeldt, where is he?"
"He's in the world of the living, prince."
"Cenchrea," Rouen confirmed.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Sin pursed his lips. He was torn between wanting to try to hide what they were doing from Rouen and wanting to tell him everything because he had been ordered to do so. It was not like he was completely compelled to answer him, but his blood was still bound to follow his command. He knew that if he said another word with regards to Caius' activity in the world of the living, Rouen was going to search for the girl. With his present state, they cannot let him leave the kingdom. Who knows if he's about to cause another massacre just because for him it was fun? Isn't that the reason why he committed such a crime when he went to get Eona in the first place? He toyed with the girl and he enjoyed it. He did not even take the consequences that arose from that act alone into consideration and they were the ones left to clean up the mess he made.
Rouen sighed in frustration. "I was trying to keep myself from killing, but each and everyone of you just..." he hissed, his lengthened fangs now on display in a threatening way as his eyes glistened even more. "If you don't answer me this instant, I will leave you here with a hole in your chest and your heart in my hand. I'm ordering you, son of Armand Edelweiss, to tell me everything you've talked with Caius on the phone."
Sin lowered his head to show his resignation as he raised his fisted right hand above his left chest. With the order binding his blood as a Silver to a Gold, he had told Rouen everything him and Caius had talked about over the phone and by the end of his report, which was forcedly taken from him, he found himself frowning when Rouen remained silent. When he slightly raised his head to see the prince's reaction, he had a sudden thought. Maybe they had decided to do things that would not benefit them all because by that time, when Rouen found out that Eona was alive, a flicker of life in his lifeless eyes returned. Though only a glimmer, it was still there.
"Where is she?" Rouen asked in the softest voice he had ever used ever since he let himself sink into the dark.
"She's in their home. Though it is presently under the watch of the Hunter's Association. Caius was only able to enter the premises of their residence tonight because of Wisteria's presence inside their house. I'm certain you remember Kaien taking Eona from you that night when we both found you in the villa before they disappeared with the help of Astrid. We didn't have a choice but to take her from you because her life was in danger. In fact, we were prepared to take you down using any means if necessary when we followed you into the world of the living just to get you back here in Aceldama. Mihai was just clever enough to knock you out when you were distracted with her, so everything ended up well on each side without any more casualties. She was not breathing then and, being a human, time was not at her disposal. What we did not expect was that Kaien would hide her whereabouts from us. Her family must have asked him to keep her away from us, so we moved on our own to check whether she died or survived."
Rouen remained silent. It's as if he was weighing things. Maybe he was making decisions in his mind and trying to see each outcome that would come with whatever he might decide to do. But Sin could have sworn he saw tears that were threatening to fall at the edge of his eyes when he told him Eona was alive. Who knew a human girl could affect the prince this much? In their never ending life, for the first time, Rouen's weakness surfaced in the person of the natural named Eona.
"Call Caius back in the kingdom," Rouen ordered as he turned his back on Sin and, before the latter could even ask why, Rouen continued walking away from him as he took a step forward one after the other, "I want him in my office first thing in the morning."
"We were planning to bring her here, you know? Because we are hoping that she might be able to help you return from what you normally are. I know she had that much effect on you. That is why Caius was in the world of the living in the first place, working with the girl he did not want to associate himself with the moment they first met."
Rouen stopped in his tracks but he didn't look back. "If she's still sleeping, let her be."
"You don't want to see her?"
"Do I still have the right to? I killed her that night, Sin. Her blood was spilled because of me. Imagine the hate she had while I was draining her of her blood. That emotion would surely reflect her eyes the moment she opens them." Rouen chuckled bitterly. "I promised myself when I let her come close to me that I wouldn't hurt her, that I wouldn't be the cause that would endanger her life, but look where we ended. Maybe what happened is a sign weaved by the goddess of fate to tell me I shouldn't be associating myself with her, because a human being as fragile as Eona cannot be in the same space with a vampire cursed to depend on blood that was running through the veins of her kind."
"But it was her you were searching for, Rouen," Sin whispered. He knew, because he witnessed how his friend defied everything for her. "It was her you were looking for even while you were not your normal self. Something in you wanted her near you. Are you going to just ignore it?"
Yes, there is no point denying it. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he adored her from them. He openly showed his affection towards Eona, something which they had seen him do for the first time in his entire existence. He knew he should avoid her but he couldn't help but remember what his grandfather told him back then every time he took a step backwards away from her.
"If you cannot trust your blood, leave it to your soul to recognize the one in front of you."
At first he thought what he felt was only a simple attachment to someone he found peculiar. An attachment akin to a strong feeling of infatuation because he had never once met a human being like her. But that infatuation and attachment grew into longing which then grew into an emotion which he never thought he'd feel towards someone who was not fated to become a part of his life.
"Let her in, Rouen. Do not close your heart because you can't feel the spark of a beloved towards her. Our world is vast and many things happen without our knowledge. Don't keep her away from you. Instead, know the reason why she's making you feel that way as you keep her close to you. Answers will show themselves to those who seek it."
Until that moment, he still was not able to find the answers he sought. But one thing he was certain of was that he held her close to his heart. Not as a family member nor a friend, but as someone dear to him. She was so dear to him that he wished that the day he met the woman born possessing half of his soul would not come at all. He knew he was being selfish, but when it comes to loving someone, selfishness and selflessness come together intertwined just as much as love and hate were only separated by a very thin line.
It's as if his body has a mind of its own and he is letting it do what it needs to be done to get closer to her because it is what his heart desired to do. He knew the human girl was not his beloved to the point that he was cursing fate. His mind never failed to remind him of that fact. But something was pulling him close towards her. Every part of his soul yearns for Eona's presence in his life. It was her he wanted to be standing right by his side and the monster in him recognized that need.
"Rouen..." Sin called out to the prince who did not answer him. He could feel it in him that his friend and the human girl had something in between them, but he also knew that there was a factor that was getting in between them. He wanted to help, but damn it, he didn't know how.
The prince stopped in his tracks and glanced up at the moon. "I'll leave all the decisions to Eona if she wants to see me again," he said almost in a whisper before he glanced at him subtly. "Thank you, Sin."
When Rouen walked away from Sin, who had been silent after that, he did not look back at his friend again.