Markus's expression softened when he saw how difficult she was finding to speak.
"Which gardener do you want to take?" Markus asked.
Hazel's heart skipped a beat.
"Gabriel," Hazel said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Markus raised an eyebrow.
"The son of Thomas?" Markus asked.
Hazel nodded.
"Yes, Father," Hazel said. "He's kind and trustworthy."
Markus sighed.
"Fine," Markus said. "Gabriel can accompany you to Alvana."
Hazel's face lit up.
"Thank you, Father!" Hazel exclaimed.
But as she left the study, Hazel knew her troubles were far from over.
In Alvana, darkness lurked.
And Hazel was walking right into its path , where not only the lord of darkness rules but also it's higly populated by vampires and other creatures of the dark .
Hazel went to her room to take some few things she wanted to take with her .
She got out of the mansion with the carriage taking her well packed stuffs with all her trunks .
Vanessa hugged her daughter feeling both sad and relieved at the same time.
"Just take good care of yourself" Vanessa muttered pulling back from the hug .
Markus patted her head and she nodded looking around to catch a glance of Caroline but she was nowhere to be seen.
Hazel sighed and climbed the carriage feeling sad and glad that Gabriel was going with her.
It was a three day journey and her father instructed the coachmen not to stop but rather rotate when one is tired .
Gabriel tagging along was in another carriage which was full of her trunks.
The horses were whipped as the carriage took off and Hazel waved at her family before looking away from them with her eyes tearing up.
Two figures stood in their respective windows staring at the carriage leaving the estate.
Caroline's hand clenched on the railing of her windows feeling bad for not seeing her sister off but her jealousy wouldn't let her .
Hazel stared at the fast moving trees in silence until her eyes became drowsy and she slept off .
"Councilman Evan, the mole we planted in the Wiltchiz manor just reported that Lady Hazel just left to the land of Alvana"Evan's assistant reported.
Evan chuckled his had pausing on the paper he was about to sign. He chuckled removing the small glasses resting on the rim of his nose .
He had never thought that the Duke could be that smart but too bad because they could never out match him.
"Reach out to the house and tell them I accept the case they gave to me in the land of Alvana "Evan said and the man nodded.
He just needed to prevent Hazel from meeting the lord of darkness.
As the carriage gilded across the dusty road it stopped in between for Hazel to eat at some reputable inns and Gabriel shared a meal with her throughout on Hazel's insistence.
The carriage finally entered the land of Alvana on the third day in the middle of the night.
The plush road of Alvana reminded everyone at first glance that it was a land ruled by vampires who live life lavishly and sophisticated .
Hazel opened the windows and gazed out at the beautiful landscape of the land of Alvana.
Their carriage finally arrived at the Wiltchiz manor with both the old lady and old man in sight to welcome her .
The carriage stopped in front of the mansion and the coachman was quick to open the door for her .
Hazel got down of the carriage and smiled to welcome her grandparents.
"You've really grown my dear , I'm glad you decided to visit us " her grandmother Aurora muttered hugging her .Her grandfather too hugged her before urshering her into the mansion.
Hazel was led to her room which had been beautifully decorated to perfection.
"If you want to change anything tell me and I'll make sure to get it to your taste"Aurora said .
"Everything here is perfect grandma"Hazel answered with a smile. Aurora nodded and excused herself.
Whiles in the Reigns Mansion Sylvester lips curled in amusement upon Hazel's arrival , he had made no attempt to approach her because she was barely of age but had never thought that someone would try to tie her down.
"Hazel "he muttered the eerie night wind carrying her name.
That night Hazel felt that same mysterious man in her dreams presence in her room .
She held her breath when she felt his presence in her room. She had to stop this mysterious man from visiting her.
Bracing herself she opened her mouth to talk but held her tongue when his red eyes looked directly into hers .
Who was this man and what exactly did he want from her .
Unlike always this time around he didn't come close to her but stood at a distance for sometime before vanishing sniffing out her only source of light as if he has never been there.
Hazel sighed clenching her fist , she really needs to deal with this mysterious man .
The next day came with Hazel helping her grandparents tend to their garden since they wanted to do it themselves.
Gabriel also did his best to assist her grandparents stealing glances occasionally at Hazel .
The days flee by and it was finally a month since Hazel visited the land of Alvana.
Aurora hosted a tea party one morning inviting some few friends .
"Your granddaughter is very beautiful " one of the women commented her red eyes scanning Hazel .
Hazel did her best to smile even though she didn't like the presence of the vampires around her .
"She'll be of age soon and it would be better if she starts going for soirees "another one chimed and Aurora smiled but didn't comment on it .
"My daughter would be going for shopping with some few friends and I think it would be better if she tags along"the woman proposed and Aurora nodded not finding anything wrong with it .
The conversation steered to the awakening of the dark lord and Hazel strained her ears to listen.
"The current lord of our land , just awoke not so long ago"A woman announced and the rest tensed as if he could hear them .
Aurora who had no idea of what was going on queried "Is it Sylvester Reigns we're talking about?".
The other ladies nodded unsure of whether to reveal the secret no one was willing to say out loud.
"He's the one the prophesy foretold described as the lord of darkness, he's the one that can harness black magic and will rule upon the land ruthlessly"the woman whispered and Hazel arched a brow .
She had never heard of this before.
The woman continued "Not much is known as to why he went into hibernation but we all know that he's the reincarnation of the first demon to have graced this our land ".
Aurora nodded overwhelmed by the news , she knew about the first demon to have graced the land and the chaos he caused.
Her face wore a grime expression knowing full which human family had locked him up and his promise to unlesh hell on them .
That family was none other than the one Vanessa was from , the Aston family.
Aurora turned her worried gaze meeting with Hazel's before she smiled.