NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Without wasting time and glad to finally leave the presence of the church members, Perdita was quick to stand and follow behind Sthena. As quickly as she stood up to leave, was the same way Churchwoman Martha’s glare was quick to follow her.

Princess Sarah and Prince Regan who hadn’t spoken a word since the arrival of the church members simultaneously stood up and excused themselves, leaving only Lady Rosamonda in the presence of the church members.

Headchurch Donovan was the first to turn towards the embarrassed royal family member and said to her, ”Lady Rosamonda, if I may speak and question, didn’t you say that something happened here the day before that had the involvement of witches in it and it led the disappearance of someone?”

”Ah,” Lady Rosamonda cleared her throat to get rid of the weird feeling in her throat. She replied, ”I did report that to you but—”

”But?” Headchurch Donovan questioned back with an obvious frown on his face. ”But what, Lady Rosamonda? You clearly said a totally different thing when the king questioned you about it a while ago. Isn’t that right, Lady Rosamonda?”

Lady Rosamonda stood from her seat and walked towards Headchurch Donovan and uttered in a slightly hushed tone, ”I know why I answered that way earlier, but if you choose to believe me, the King is a cunning man and he is obviously up to something. Believe what I reported to you or not, but if you truly want to get something against the king—”

”I do not wish anything against the king or anyone else, Lady Rosamonda.” Headchurch Donovan interrupted with a disapproving look. ”What I wish and want is for peace to reign between the vampires and the humans.”

Lady Rosamonda rolled her eyes with a small laugh and dismissed the word of the Head church member with a wave of her hand. She said, ”Call whatever you are doing anything you like, but I must tell you that the king has got something hidden and dangerous he is planning. Did you say to make peace between vampires and humans? I think you should have a rethink because as I’m speaking to you, the king has witches working for him and you and your church members know what that means, don’t you?” She turned to look at the church members to confirm if they were following what she had said.

Headchurch Donovan without saying more bowed his head at the Royal family member and said, ”Thank you for your concern in setting things right, but I’ll be more than glad to take it from here. We do appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

”Hm,” Lady Rosamonda harrumphed with her chin raised in pride while the evil glint remained hidden in her eyes. She uttered in a low voice, ”Do whatever you think is right, it’s part of your work anyway. I only wanted to see that everything went smoothly in the kingdom without more deaths happening again. Do have a nice day.”

With that, Lady Rosamonda stepped out of the dining room, stopping at the door to instruct the guards to see the church members out of the castle and to their carriage.

Outside and in one of the hallways walked Sthena and Perdita who was a step behind him. They hadn’t spoken to each other since they left the dining room, making Perdita worried and curious to know why Sthena asked her to follow him.

Perdita slightly slowed in her steps with her mouth open to call Sthena. ”Your—” She began and quickly corrected herself, ”Sthena?”

”Yes?” Sthena promptly answered without turning to look behind him. Noticing that the gentle footsteps on the ground had stopped, he finally turned around to see that Perdita had stopped following him. He asked, ”What is the problem, Perdita?”

Perdita didn’t mean to stop walking but she did anyway and now she had stopped, she didn’t know what to answer Sthena. She shook her head and simply replied, ”Nothing.”

Sthena’s brows slightly arched upward in a subtle frown. He walked towards Perdita and stood before her, his eyes trained on her to catch every expression she displayed. He remarked, ”Your nothing makes it a something, Perdita. Come on, tell me what is bothering you.”

Feeling the intensity of Sthena’s gaze and the way he was being gentle with her caused a ripple in Perdita’s heart. She looked up at him, the thought hitting her that there was no one she could confide in but only him.

Perdita took a deep breath that shuddered as she let it out before replying, ”I’m just worried.”

Sthena’s gaze softened the more he stared at Perdita’s vulnerable face. His hand greatly itched to hold her close to him but he didn’t want to overwhelm her yet with his protectiveness. What he didn’t want was having her run farther away from him after his confession.

”Are you worried about your brother or about the church members, Perdita?”

”Everything,” Perdita’s voice came out small when she replied, her voice breaking at the end when she continued to speak, ”I am worried about everything and everyone.”

”Your brother? We will find him. They are not going hurt him because you two are the great witch siblings they have been looking for, so hurting you two would not only endanger them but everyone else.” Sthena assured in a calm reassuring voice.

”It feels surreal,” Perdita confessed and heard Sthena question her.

”Which of everything happening feels surreal?”

”To be called a witch or will I say to find out I am a witch and also a vampire? I still can’t believe any of these things happening right now.” Perdita let a small laugh at the end to ease her uneasy heart.

”A rare one of your kind, Perdita,” Sthena stated and one could detect the pride he had in his tone of voice. It had been ages since there was anyone who was a witch and a vampire at the same time. He went on to speak, ”Do not worry, Perdita. Everyone experiences a change in their lives at some point. You are going to pass this stage smoothly and confidently.”

”Well, I hope so, and thank you for always being here to help me out.” Perdita smiled as she couldn’t help but feel thankful towards Sthena who had always been there to help her regardless of their huge status difference.

”You are always welcome, Perdita.” Sthena acknowledged with a smile. ”Can we start walking now?” He asked in a playful tone that made Perdita’s smile widen.

”Yes, Your Majesty.” Perdita playfully replied too with a bow and Sthena chuckled, the sound of his laughter causing a funny feeling in Perdita’s stomach.

When they started to walk again, Perdita asked the question that had been on her mind. ”Where are we going?”

”To the witch house.”

”Didn’t she ask us to bring a belonging of Marco, I’m not with anything here.”

Sthena turned to look at Perdita and replied, ”I got everything covered, Lady Perdita. I am with his blood.”

Perdita’s eyes widened and narrowed almost immediately. She quizzed, ”How did you get his blood?”

”I drank his blood one time and this is what was left from it.”

”What?!” Perdita exclaimed, hitting Sthena’s arm in the process. Her loud voice made Sthena let out the laugh he had been trying to hold. He knew she would have this reaction.

”Relax, Lady Perdita.” Sthena smiled and gently explained, ”Remember when your village was exorcised and I took your brother to the royal doctor—well, you were unconscious then—, that was when I took his blood. The royal doctor needed it to test his blood.”

Perdita’s mouthed an ’oh’ as she nodded her head in understanding. She asked, ”What about Mr. Perkin and his wife?”

Sthena halted in his steps as they rounded another hallway that led to the outer part of the castle. His red eyes took in the snow that was still falling and the chilly coldness it brought with it. He responded to Perdita’s earlier question, ”You worry about too many things at a go. Let’s go look for your brother and then come back for the old couple. If it makes you feel better, they are in good hands and are being taken care of.”

”Okay,” Perdita mouthed though she felt that Sthena was not entirely saying the truth. She saw him widen his hand and immediately understood what he was doing.

”Ready to teleport and conquer the world?” Sthena asked as he watched Perdita step closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and heard her whisper a yes against his chest.

Perdita on the other hand couldn’t agree more that she was slowly getting addicted to being in Sthena’s space and arms each time they wanted to teleport. It was a feeling she was scared to admit. Not yet, at least.