Damien's jaw clenched when he watched the human in his arms bury her face in his chest. After taking a look at her, he continuously leapt over the countless roofs in the surrounding area, with a very fast speed, sometimes skipping two roofs at a time.
It was only the beginning of the dawn, and Damien quite did not understand what Duke Sullivan meant by her wedding that must be going on now. He thought the humans celebrated in the very pit of dawn not when dawn barely showed up.
Though his ears could ignore the persisting scream that was booming in front of the woman in his arms, he still felt bothered.
And after some minutes, he arrived at Beddington, not the palace like he was ordered to by the duke. He knew despite it being a little dark, some humans would soon be awake and they must not see him leaping through their roofs and dropping a human. It was already a disaster exposing themselves to a human outside of Ashbourne, not to talk of more humans.
Seeing a secluded place, he immediately launched over a small roof and finally, his feet stepped on the ground.
For a moment, he watched the fragile lady whose scream had by this time lightened but seeing that she wasn't going to get down knowing that he had stopped his flight annoyed him. Contemplating on harshly dropping her to the ground surface, he finally opened his mouth to speak, "Young Lady Maxine."
There were no words from her nor were there any sign that she heard him. He spoke louder this time, the hoarseness befitting of waking anyone from a deep slumber, "You can now open those eyes of yours, My Lady."
At the harsh tone, Maxine jotted herself out of the semi-consciousness she had found herself in. And slowly, she unlocked her face from his chest, letting go of her arms tied around his neck.
Seeing her pull, he took it as a response to release her to the ground and when he did, she stumbled but he helped her from falling.
Maxine's eyes slowly raised to look at him. Her body was shivering, it was as if an angel of cold had finally decided to visit her, taking its pleasure to fill every portion of her chest. She could see herself freezing already as her fingers had turned white. "Ah... what...what just happened?"
"You will get used to it, My Lady," was the dark-haired man's response. Damien, who was about to tell her more, heard some footsteps approaching from afar and he took that as a need to go. Before he turned away, he stared at the frightened young woman, "My Lady, I will be back on the morrow when the clock strikes 12 after dusk."
As soon as he was done with his words, he disappeared from her sight. Learning of his disappearance, Maxine's eyes slowly raised to look at the surroundings and was startled that the man was nowhere to be found. "Where...where did he go?" She asked herself, trying to let herself not be bothered by what just transpired.
She took a step, testing her turgidity, before taking another step and looking around. She found herself on the lonely path heading to the palace. Having forgotten that she was initially scared and unable to move, she ran, heading to the palace as soon as possible, to avoid seeing herself in a random dark place as before.
Shivering to the depth of her bone, she ran, not caring that as the noblewoman who she was, it was not good etiquette for her to run. Well, who would see her, anyway?
When her eyes met three palace maids heading towards her, she stopped. Itching to ask if her brother was alright and if her other family had safely arrived at the palace.
The exact moment the three palace maids looked her way, they immediately ran to her.
"My Lady!" She heard three voices at the same time.
However, she didn't take much time to ask what she wanted to know, "The carriages. Arrived safely, did they?"
The three looked at one another before nodding.
However, one of the maids, a woman of colour with large brown eyes, uttered, "My Lady, where have you been? The whole palace has been in disruption ever since the carriages arrived without you and the maid to escort you."
Maxine, not in the mood to answer any of them, told the maid holding a basket that seemed to be bearing clothes, "Let me have the clothes."
Though her words sounded a little persuasive, her action did not at all showcase her request, she didn't wait for any reply and immediately took the clothes from the basket.
The maid with the basket immediately said, "My Lady, it belongs to Prince Grayson. It is his clothes that I am requested to wash in the ri—"
"She is shivering, let's take her inside," another maid interrupted as she spotted the young lady's shivering stance.
Just after Maxine had worn the clothes she saw, did she realise what the maid said.
It was the second prince's night robe. The second prince was barely a year younger than Prince Maverick. He was the first child of the first concubine and Maxine and him both didn't get along. How could they when he never got along with Prince Maverick?
But now, who cared whose clothes she put on? She was freezing.
However, she was inwardly embracing herself from the ire she would get from him. Praying at the same time that it didn't cause a fight between the two brothers.
As they walked through the lonely path, they finally stopped at the palace's entrance. Maxine asked the maid, "Prince Maverick. How is he?"
"He is not in the palace right now."
Her heart clenched from the deep feeling of longing towards him. She wanted to curl up in his embrace after experiencing her worst nightmare. "Why...why?"
"Ever since he was reported to about the footman and the guards missing and Hannah's death, he hasn't been in the palace. I heard he ordered more guards to trace the path in which you might have gone."
No!
Prince Maverick couldn't do this. What if he stumbles upon that devil?