Getting married to someone he liked would only make them a target for his enemies to use against him, which is why he thought deeply about marrying someone based on politics, with no emotions attached to it. Ivan didn't want to marry just anyone cause his Grandmother suggested so, but if he did, he was going to make sure that the woman he married was capable of protecting herself, and of course, someone who has more familiarity with the dangers of his Palace, and has experienced a few tragical scenes herself to know what she would be up against, and the only princess he could think of was Ivy.
Ivan was straightforward with what he wanted from her, with no hidden intentions or ulterior motive attached, and Ivy folded her arms. She could feel her heart swelling with a tinge of anxiety just by looking into those eyes that could smolder her into heat, and she said. "I do not know about that Lord Ivan, am I not entitled to think this through?"
"Take the time you need, I am the least person in a hurry to get married. To make this clear, I am not forcing you into marrying me, so don't think in that direction, and don't expect anything from me cause I owe you no rights. A marriage of love leads to both parties becoming vulnerable, and that is not what I'm looking for considering the dangers in the Palace." He stated.
"I don't do love, I just need a wife that will end my Grandmother's tantrum, someone who won't disturb me, and you're the only one who seems to fit that role, cause we are both skilled when it comes to minding our businesses and personal matters."
"Is that a compliment? My Lord?"
"Deem it as you see fit." He took a step closer to Ivy, but she didn't back away, neither did her eyes flinch when he was standing so close to her.
"Do not fret, I am only harmful to those who hurt me."
"I do not know of this fear you speak of." Ivy quipped, and when she felt her walls starting to crack by looking into those eyes, she immediately looked away, and a smile he didn't notice crept up to her lips. "I shall think about your offer and give you my response when I am ready. As of now, how are things with the royals, and the court?"
Ivan's lips dangerously twitched, "It was to my expectations, someone's trying to poison me." He dropped.
Meanwhile, as the celebration went on, a certain human had successfully sneaked to the back of the Palace garden unnoticed. She was dressed in all black, and even dared to steal Ivan's cloak as a camouflage. The guards were on patrol during the celebration, and the security was tight. She knew her chances of getting caught were extremely high, and she needed to act fast.
"God help me!" She whispered to herself.
Tying the spare sheets Lucy had kind-heartedly borrowed her, Samantha was quick to make a makeshift rope and throw them up the fence till it got stuck to an iron handle at the top. She pulled hard, wanting to confirm if it was strong enough to hold her weight. With her hands firmly gripping the makeshift rope, she knew it was time.
With each deep breath she took, Samantha began to climb, her heart raced, but she was driven by the desire to escape from here.
When she finally reached the halfway point, Samantha paused for a moment to catch her breath. The garden fence still looked far as she gazed at the top, and when she made the mistake of looking below her, the height difference made her body jerk as she gripped tighter onto the rope, but she couldn't let her fears take over, not when she has made this much progress.
"Come on, you can do this." She motivated herself.
In her attempt to continue climbing, Samantha's body immediately froze in her position when she heard an unfamiliar voice speak behind her. Although not harsh, it was enough to jolt her into freezing.
"What are you doing?" Came a question that already had an obvious answer, thought Samantha, but when she dared to look below and see who had caught her, whilst praying silently that it wasn't Ivan, a silver-haired Vampire Lord was standing there, crimson eyes staring lazily at her as he tilted his head to the side, and an unknown fear gripped her nerves.
The lone Vampire Lord who couldn't stand the attention from crowds had escaped from the celebration and chosen to relax in the garden, but who knew he'd catch sight of a human trying to escape. As amused as he felt, his expressionless face hardly showed it, nor did he have any intention of going after the human.
Samantha had opened her mouth to utter a lie when the Vampire Lord suddenly bent over to pick a silver hairpin from the ground. "You don't see things like this everyday." He mused, and then suddenly turned to walk away with the silver hairpin, to Samantha's awe.
Why didn't he stop her?? To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Or maybe he was drunk? Afraid he might change his mind and come after her, Samantha continued to climb.
When she made it to the top, it took a good amount of self control for Samantha to hold back her scream of triumph as she clambered to the top. Quickly picking up the sheets she had turned to a rope, she dropped it on the other side so she could get down, and when her bare feet touched the sandy ground, Samantha quickly slipped away into the dark forest.
The silver-haired Vampire who rested against one of the big pillars only watched the human struggle till she succeeded, as if he was seeing a cat struggling to climb a tree.
It didn't take too long before Alistair showed up in the garden, and he spotted Tobias sitting at the end pillar on the other side, staring into space. The sound of Alistair's chain alerted Tobias of his brother's presence, but not a single jolt of reaction was displayed on his handsome face, he looked like a man devoid of emotions.
"What are you doing here? You look like a ghost." Alistair walked up to his weird brother. Tobias's crimson eyes lifted from underneath his fair lashes to look at Alistair who came to stand beside where he sat, and he let out a hum.
"Has Ivan chosen a bride yet?"
"How would I know when I'm sent to find you like a watchdog," retorted Alistair, "Father requests your presence at the celebration, come see for yourself."
"I hate crowds," Tobias responded in a weary tone, "just leave me here."
"I feel sorry for you."
"Better than nothing." Tobias pulled his back away from the wall and slipped the hairpin into his hair. "You missed an interesting scene in the garden. Some lady went over the walls a few minutes ago, I don't know why but I think she wanted to escape." He nonchalantly shrugged like he was reporting something natural, and Alistair, who was about to take his leave, halted.
"You saw what?" He asked again, turning around to look at his brother.
"I think she's human." Tobias answered, "if you had gotten here a little earlier, you'd have witnessed it. She was amazing, daring to go over the walls like that. Too bad though, I heard those witches would be rampaging the woods tonight, I should have told her."
"And you let her leave?????" Alistair couldn't believe his brother.
"I only kill witches, I don't care what humans do." He sighed again, not even flinching at his brother's harsh tone.
"You're sick! Where's Ivan? He needs to know about this." Leaving the unbothered Tobias behind, he went to find Ivan. From his interactions with Ivan's blood servant, she seemed to be the only one capable of pulling this stunt, but her success he greatly admired.
"Ivan, it's good that I found you." Alistair stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Ivan and Ivy who were about to join the crowd downstairs. Ivan motioned for Ivy to go on without him, and his expression remained indifferent when he looked at Alistair.
"What is it?"
"I found Tobias in the garden, he said he saw a human escaping through the walls of the garden, and I have a feeling it's that lady you brought with you. Witches will rampage the woods tonight, and if she's out there, she won't survive. Hold on, have you checked on her?"
"Garden…. Walls?" Ivan didn't believe it at first, that little lamb barely showed signs of someone planning to escape when he returned, and she was obedient throughout his return, which he found unusual. He made sure he locked the room as well before coming here, but who else would be daring enough to do something like that…!!
"Damn it!"
To confirm if it was true, Ivan turned around and went to his room to check. When he got to the door, he pushed it open and saw it unlocked.
When he looked inside, the room was empty, and his little lamb was missing from her bed space.