Memories to nightmare

Claudette had been so engrossed in her own curiosity and questions that she did not notice someone come to stand at her corner. And just as she placed some pressure on the door to get it to open,

Ralph caught her off guard. "His highness will not be pleased if he finds out you stepped in here."

His voice alone was enough to make the lady jump away from the door and turn to look at him.

"Huh!—I heard some strange sounds while taking a stroll."

Seeing the lady lie about not intending to be there, Ralph decided to play along, as he knew well that sounds from this side of the castle would fade away even before they reached the wing's entrance.

Pretending to be trying to pick up a sound, he said, "But I can't hear any strange sound, except for the whistling of the wind, milady. Unless—"

"Are you trying to insinuate that I'm making up stories?" She demanded, now getting irritated at the servant, who, despite being a vampire, was not up to her status. "It sounded like an animal."

Internally smiling at his thought. 'Was she referring to the king as an animal? If only he were here.

"An animal?—oh! It must be the king's dangerous wolf." Stressing out the 'dangerous'.

"Wolf?!" a look of doubt in the vampiress's face, as if not believing what the servant said.

"His Highness usually feeds his enemies and lawbreakers to him." He stated. "Since you are already here, why not show you?

Ralph went to hold the door handles, but Lady Claudette was quick to wave her hand in dismissal.

"That won't be necessary. I was already leaving; maybe next time when King Theodore is around."

"But—"

"Tell his highness I came to see him." She said and walked away.

Ralph quietly closed the small space that had formed in between the doors before leaving there also, following the vampiress to make sure she was really leaving the castle this time.

He watched as she entered her carriage and the coachman rode it away from Grey-Forest Castle.

Ralph had only gone to see the vase that had been broken so he could pass a punishment to the maid for her carelessness. But he turned back halfway when he recalled that Lady Claudette was still in the castle after seeing her carriage still parked outside.

He wanted to suggest that she visit another day, as the time of the day was getting late, but when he reached the drawing room, it was empty.

And he wasted no time to ponder where the lady might be; instead, he went straight to the west wing. He had sent the guards out, as he didn't think they would be needed for a while.

The servant reached there just in time to see the vampiress about to open Theodore's private chamber. Ralph shook his head, not the least surprised; he had met people like her since he started working in the castle.

'They are just like annoying pests, who are always looking for things they don't work for and wouldn't ever have.'

Finally, Theodore's agony ended, and Ralph informed him of Lady Claudette's visit.

"Seems like you handled everything, fine." Placing down some papers he had been holding.

"What can I say? After all, I learned from the best."

Theodore's lips curled up at his servant's response.

"Indeed," he said. "Find me information about the girl."

"Yes, your highness."

In the castle's dungeon, Vanessa woke up on the cold ground. Her eyes moved around in the darkness. Not knowing why or what she was doing here, she tried to get up, only to wince in pain.

Memories of last night quickly flooded her vision, and her body went numb with all the emotions flowing in.

She continued to lay on the cold ground, with tears coming to stand at the rim of her eyes, slightly blurring her vision.

The night soon caught up with her, and when her eyes flutter closed, the tears roll down the side of her face.

But it didn't end there, as her memories turned into a painful nightmare, making her cry silently even in her sleep.

Vanessa held a basket of fruit in her hand as she walked back to the village. But as she continued to walk, her nose caught the smell of smoke.

Her eyes moved up to the sky to see the smoke coming from her village. The basket in her hand fell, the fruits rolling to different areas. She ran to the village and was met with the sight of every house on fire.

Fire?

The once noisy street where children usually ran around was now eerily quiet.

"Mama! Papa! Becky?!" She called out anxiously when she reached their house.

Before she could enter, her gaze was drawn to someone who lay motionless on the ground. Vanessa had no idea, but there were more motionless people on the other side, away from her house.

And when she noticed that it was their neighbor, Vanessa went to shake the person's body. "Mrs. Harold!" But she got no response, and when she looked at her hands, she saw blood.

She staggered back from the person and quickly dashed inside her house. What she saw…

Vanessa was awoken by the hasty creaking of her cell's gate. The ray of light that managed to seep in through some cracks on the wall allowed her to make out things.

A huge man came to pull her up from the ground, and there was nothing gentle about the way he did it.

Vanessa tried to protest, but when she saw his scarred and stoic face that looked angrily at her, as if ready to tear her apart, she quieted down.

She had not forgotten the pair of red eyes she had seen before falling unconscious.

The man pushed her to start walking. Vanessa noticed that her wounds had been treated and wondered why her adopter bothered with them.

It was no wonder; she was alive. She thought.

As they continued to walk, Vanessa's eyes secretly moved around, trying to find an escape route. She didn't bother to look at the guard, as she could already feel his piercing gaze watching her every move.

In the courtroom, a few courtiers were present, watching their king pass a punishment to Elliot.

"Your highness, please pardon my actions," Elliot begged, pretending to feel remorseful.

Theodore had only strip Elliot of his status of being a court official.

"I have served this kingdom for centuries," Elliot said, raising his head.

Theodore's chin rested on his knuckles, staring blankly at him. "Aren't I nice?" His lips twitched.

Seeing that King Theodore wasn't going to change his verdict, Elliot cursed, "You can't do this to me, you evil beast." Eyes red with anger.

'What more could he do apart from what had already been done?' He thought.

Elliot continued, "You should have rotted in hell along with your—"

His words were left unfinished, and he stared at his own heart in Theodore's hand, which dripped blood. "Listening to people speak out of place isn't my hobby, but this is." His lips curled up into a sinister smile with a wicked glee in his eyes.

Vanessa was brought in just in time to catch the scene, and she gasped, bringing Theodore's attention to settle on her.

Her heart raced when his eyes fell on her, looking at her like she would be next.

Theodore sensed her fear and wondered why she wasn't being foolish enough to start running. 'A little bit of sense didn't hurt anyone, did it?'

Vanessa would have started running if she had known there was a chance, but this was a room full of creatures capable of killing her in an instant. And the one in front of her looked like a merciless tyrant.

A servant offered Theodore a cloth. His eyes were still on Vanessa as he wiped the blood from his hand.

"I am famished." Were his words, which was heard by every person in the room including Vanessa.

It could have been ignored, but then he started taking predatory steps towards her.