Chapter 23: Not Enough

On the other side of the door, Elys waited anxiously for the attendant's return.

Her brows were practically knitted together in worry. Cordelia might not be in the encampment anymore – worse, she could be dead.

The former lady-in-waiting followed Elys' demands even before she could utter her first words. She couldn't dare to imagine what Cordelia would have done after they were separated.

Elys sucked in air and held her breath.

How stupid she had been, letting her emotions get the better of her when the overseer raised a heavy hand over Cordelia.

It had been the same back then when the vampires attacked their kingdom. She lost sight of herself when she let her emotions take the rein.

By doing so, destruction spread out like wildfire despite her good intentions.

Her power, which supposedly was her strength, turned out to be a curse.

Elys clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. She swore she wasn't going to do the same mistakes again.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Your highness? I have arrived with the woman."

It was Henry!

Elys stumbled in her chair in surprise, almost falling to her face. She immediately stood up; a bit embarrassed but relieved nobody saw her blunder. She fixed herself quickly and then spoke.

"Bring her in," came her quick reply.

'Did he really bring her? Is it really Cordelia that Henry is with now?' she worried as the doorknob began to turn.

The second the doors of her bedchamber opened, Elys almost choked from preventing herself from crying.

"Your highness," Henry began, "is this the woman you were looking for?"

Henry didn't hear a reply. But he did see how the slave beside him rushed inside to kneel in front of the princess.

Was his ear playing tricks? Or was the woman crying as she held on to the princess' skirt?

"Your highness," Cordelia sobbed, "forgive me."

Elys bent over to touch Cordelia's shoulder, noticing how thin she had become since the last time she saw her.

"Cordelia - " she said as calmly as she could, but still a tiny cracked voice escaped her lips. Elys remedied it instantly as she cleared her throat and continued, "lift your head."

"How can I ever lift my head to meet your gaze, your highness?" Cordelia continued to sob ugly, "I was a worthless, useless even. I stood idly by. I didn't do enough. How could I ever repay your selfless act back then to save me from the overseer?"

"It's fine Cordelia. I am fine, we will be fine," the princess tried to console the woman.

Tears threatened to break through the strong dam that Elys built in her eyes. It was quite funny how both of them had worried so much for each other.

Suddenly, she heard a series of slow claps coming from outside her door.

Elys raised her eyes and looked past Henry who stood stiff as a dead log. He turned swiftly, eyes wide, and bowed down.

"What a touching scene, I see," Aleksander drawled with a sarcastic tone, "so touching my eyes even began to sting."

The bastard prince wiped an imaginary tear away. He stopped just by the entrance of Elys' bedchamber and Henry instantly made way for his master to pass through.

Aleksander's image was unlike what Elys saw of him yesterday. He was unkempt, his bed hair still left uncombed. His pristine white shirt was crumpled.

He obviously had just awoken from his slumber.

Cordelia stood straight, reflex telling her that the new man that came into the room was not as friendly nor sympathetic as his words had been.

She stepped in front of Elys, a sudden wave of protectiveness coming over her.

The woman knew the man wasn't a friend. The way the princess stiffened when she heard his voice spoke volumes to Cordelia.

"Husband," Elys spoke behind her.

Cordelia was taken aback. Husband? Why was the princess calling the walking danger sign her husband?

Suddenly, the things that Henry said to her back at the slave's encampment came rushing back.

Cordelia had totally forgotten. Henry did mention back then that his master had been arranged into an unfortunate union with a slave.

Her brain had been flooded with thoughts of the princess that she carelessly overlooked the reason she was taken away from the encampment in the first place.

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle finally came together for Cordelia to fully grasp the whole picture.

The princess had been married to the Prince Aleksander Ardorlean. A royal prince, the second son of the vampire king of the Western Kingdom.

Aside from the fact that the princess was now married to the enemy, Cordelia couldn't help but notice one tiny peculiarity - why was the prince living in a rundown manor instead of the castle?

Her eyes turned to the princess for an answer.

+++

Elys' teeth ground in frustration.

There were still a lot of things to discuss with Cordelia – why did Aleksander have to barge in again unexpectedly?! It was as if he was doing it on purpose.

"Is this the woman?" the vampire prince asked. One of his brows lifted as if unimpressed by Elys' choice of a maidservant.

"Yes," the princess replied, "this is Cordelia. Cordelia, this is Prince Aleksander."

"Your highness," Cordelia bowed, "I am Cordelia Sashnu. Sir Henry told me the princess needed a maidservant. I look forward to my stay here."

"You don't look much," Aleksander scoffed as he eyed Cordelia from head to toe.

"She has been through a difficult situation, but with proper rest and sustenance - " Elys began to defend Cordelia, but was cut off by Aleksander's harsh words.

"She isn't enough," he said with a dismissive hand. "If I drink her blood right now, she will probably die on the spot."

"!"

Cordelia froze in place.

She didn't understand why the prince mentioned himself drinking her blood. What did it have to do with her becoming the princess' maidservant?

"I only agreed on you having a maidservant if she could be a blood servant to me as well," Aleksander unenthusiastically told Elys, "I am disappointed to say the least, livid if I should be honest."

The prince looked irritated.

His pale skin was almost translucent from the abstinence since the wedding. Aleksander turned to Henry and then said, "Return the woman wherever you got her from."

Elys' heart sank.

There was no way she could let Cordelia go now.