Tap

Tap

Tap

Her index finger kept hitting the glass surface with rhythmic movements as her eyes stared out of the transparent window, looking over the huge property. The dull glow coming from a lone lamp bathed one half of her face in an orange hue, whilst the other half that faced the window was casted in a dark shadow, indicating the arrival of a fast approaching night.

Propped on a wooden chair with her legs curled beneath her, she appeared every bit as lifeless as she felt in that moment.

'He hasn't returned today, either.'

She could feel a lump forming in her throat as the painful thought crossed her mind.

It had been days since he had left the town, days since that omnious incident happend, days since she had had a good rest. Albeit alone physically, numerous thoughts always accompanied her wherever she went, following her like an unshakable shadow, haunting her even in her sleep.

What if she had just stayed with Ares instead of going to look for Henry? What if she had run away instead of staying there to confront the woman? What if she hadn't sought Ares in this world? What if she had just refused to go along with Ruth's request?

The 'What ifs' were killing her, and the most irritable thing out of all the mess was the missing piece of her memory.

She clearly remembered getting injured at the hands of the woman, but everything after that was a big dark blank. Henry had told her that she had fainted due to blood loss when they had arrived and in order to save her from the woman, Ares had to kill the maid.

She curled her fingers into a clenched fist, almost digging her nails into the soft skin of her palm. No matter how much she tried to believe the story Henry had been feeding her for days, she just couldn't bring herself to believe it. It did not settle well.

A man who had let the killers of his beloved go only because he didn't wish to ruin their families—a just ruler, how could he possibly kill one of his citizens?

'Ares...'

She hadn't seen Ares after their wedding night. The news of a citizen dying at the foreign lord's manor had travelled like wildfire, causing Ares to leave for the capital the immediate morning. He was to answer the King's court. Although the King favoured him, but she couldn't shake the fact that Ares was despised by all the other court officals, further complicating his situation.

Heaving out a displeased sigh, she turned her head to glance at the letter resting on the table before her.

It was an invitation from the Abbot of the church to the lady of the manor. He had offered his help in the ongoing matter in return for a meeting.

Gabriel was the head of an ecclesiastical court. Churches held great influence over political matters in this era. She knew he could help them a great deal, but Henricus had asked her to ignore the invitation for now and wait for any news from Ares' side.

'What do I do?!'

A wave of helplessness washed over her hunched frame as she passed a frustrated hand through her tangled hair.

A sudden knock at the door caused her alarmed frame to sit upright. Her hand left her messy hair, letting them fall down her back in a heap of unruly locks.

"May I enter, Milady?"

Henry's urgent voice reached through the closed doors, alerting her further.

"Yes, Henry."

The doors rotated around their hinges, producing a light creak that appeared awfully loud in the pin drop silence engulfing the room in its suffocating clutches. Soon enough, a quiet Henry stepped inside the room. His losely dangling tunic due to the poorly fastened belt matched with the disheveled appearance of his brown tresses, making him look even more miserable.

She clenched her teeth as her gaze zeroed in on the red rims of his eyes,

'He hasn't slept properly either.'

"A messenger came by some moments ago, Mildady."

Her eyes widened as Henry placed a wax sealed envelope in front of her.

"I-Is this..?" She couldn't let the question out of her lips, afraid of being disappointed by a negative answer.

"Yes. It is from sire."

He was now standing in front of her with his head hung low and arms crossed behind.

"Oh, Henry..." The respect and loyalty Henry showed towards her despite the absence of his lord was remarkable. Their support has been the only thing keeping her sane in this unknown place.

"D-Do you wish for me to read it, Milady?" His stare was trained on the ground as he hesitantly asked the question.

She had needed Henry's help in sorting out the documents and making decisions in absence of Ares, and a big problem in her path was that she couldn't comprehend Middle English.

"Yes, Henry."

As soon as she the words, he didn't waste another moment in picking up the envelope, opening it hurriedly to read its contents.

Her eyebrows furrowed with worry as she inspected his big chocolate brown eyes full of excitement and hope soon turn into a gaze full of horror,

"What's written inside?"

"It says.. that as no evidence was found to prove the maid's hostile behaviour therefore Lord's case is to be determined through ordreal by fire."

'Ordreal by... fire?'

She knew it was one of the three famous ordreals of Medieval times. Ordreal by combat, Ordreal by water and Ordreal by fire.

In the ordeal by fire the suspect had to walk a distance of nine feet either by holding a red hot iron in his hands or over a red hot plough share. After the ordreal was done, their wounds were bandaged and they were asked to appear before the court after three days. After three days their bandages were opened. In case, the wounds had started healing, the accused was declared innocent, whereas in case where there were no improvement in the burning tissue, the accused were pronounced guilty and were punished according to their crime.

"I-Isn't fire lethal to vampires?" Her heart was thumping inside her ears as she dreadfully asked the out loud.

"It is, Milady, but only when the source is big enough and the vampire is exposed to it for a long period of time,"

A pained sigh escaped past his lips before he pressed his lips hard, urging himself to complete the rest of his sentence,

"In this case, lord will not be exposed to the fire directly. The burns will be only be superficial, but as soon as he would lose contact with the hot surface, his skin will start healing rapidly... before hundreds of humans present in the court."

'If that happens, they'll know the truth about Ares...'

A cold shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the consequences of the ordreal,

'Is this why he was chained in this manor and burnt?'

The image of a chained burning man flashed before her eyes, reminding her of the time she had first stepped in his burnt castle. Clenching her hands, she shook her head lightly in a failed attempt to get the image out of her head.

"There is more,"

Henricus's stoic voice penetrated through her thoughts causing her to stare up at him,

"The lord writes that he shall find a way to return back soon,"

By the way Henry kept blinking his eyelids she could tell this wasn't the end to the letter,

"And?"

"... And in case he fails, he asked me to protect you."

Her heart dropped as soon as he let out those words, making her freeze with an unknown fear clenching at her insides,

"D-Did h-he say anything else?" Her breaths were starting to come out in short pants.

"Sire says he cannot express how sorry he feels for being an inadequate husband to you, and that no matter what situation befalls upon him, always remember that.."

Her gaze was glued desperately to Henry as she watched him gulped inaudibly for a small moment before continuing the remaining part of the letter,

"... that he loves you."

Something inside her shattered hearing Henry's last words. Tears, she didn't know were gathering in the rim of her eyes, started streaming freely down her face. There was something stuck inside her throat, rendering her unable to let any sound out. The broken shards were digging deeper and deeper inside her chest, turning her breathing laboured with every puff of air she inhaled.

'I can't.. I can't let this happen..'

The trail left by the tiny drops trickling down her face glistened in the orange hue coming from the lamp. Their clear surface not only reflected the yellowish rays produced by the lamp's flame but also the deep burning pain that had set her heart ablaze.

Her eyes swayed side to side in order to figure an escape out of this nightmare when suddenly the second letter resting on the table before her caught her attention.

Her moist eyes turned hard with determination as one name flashed through her head,

'Gabriel..'

"Henry."

"Yes, Milady." His eyes were now back at staring at the ground after he was done reading the letter.

"Get the carriage ready. We're going to meet the Abbot."

Hearing her abrupt request, Henry's head shot up,

"Milad-" She cut him off midway before he could talk her out of her crazy plan.

"This is our only chance at helping Ares. We cannot let them find out about him!"

That shut him up. His glassy gaze returned back to the ground as his eyebrows furrowed with contemplation.

"We have to do this, Henry."

The desperate plea lacing her voice was too hard to ignore.

"I shall get the carriage ready, Milady."

A sigh escaped her parted lips as she watched him walk out of the door without uttering another word.

~*~

Her feet tapped lightly against the stony surface of the ground, as the dark cloth of her cotehardie flowed behind her followed closely by a brown eyed vassal.

This was her first time stepping inside the church yet the place didn't feel alien to her at all. Everything was just as she remembered from her dreams. Numerous benches were lining both sides of the church. Walls were made of plain black stone with multiple windows covered by dark drapes. A large wooden cross hung down the wall in front of her just beside the neatly assembled pulpit.

"I apologize. The mass has ended."

A grave voice echoed around the empty building, causing her to whirl around abruptly.

"Father Gabriel."

Seeing the man standing before them in a plain tunic instead of his clerical attire reminded her of the night he had come begging Ares to save his daughter.

"Milady, " He gave her a small bow of recognition before standing up and staring her sqaure in the eye,

"I assume you are here considering my invitation."

She couldn't mask her icy tone as she replied to his question, "I want you to help clear Ares' name."

"Hm. Straight to the point."

His careless behaviour was getting on her nerves.

"Are you going to help me or not?"

"I shall, Milady. I have every intention of helping you," He gave her a brief smile before letting it drop and staring coldly at the man standing behind her, "Now, ask him to give us some privacy."

"Henricus is not going anywhere." She uttered the sentence through clenched teeth.

"Then I am afraid I can no longer be of service to you." Crossing his arms in front of him, he matched her heated gaze back with equal coldness.

'If only I didn't need you to save my husband, you old bitch.'

In her rage, she had no idea that she had subconsciously called Ares her husband.

"Henry."

She turned her head to face Henry, tilting it a bit—a motion for asking him to leave.

"But Milad-" She could sense Henry's hesitation crawling up the surface.

"I'll be fine, Henry. Please."

Putting emphasis on the word, 'please' she was practically pleading with him through her eyes.

"I shall wait outside the doors. Shout if you need any help."

He said the last sentence out loud as a warning, looking back and forth between the abbot and the sword strapped to his own belt. After he was sure that the warning had reached its destination, he walked out without saying another word.

"You do know the fact I can use your hidden daughter against you. Right?" She found herself threatening the Abbot after Henry was out of earshot.

'He's being too cocky for his own good.'

A little chuckle escaped his lips following her hidden warning, making her furrow her eyebrows at his unexpected reaction,

"Then how shall you be born, my lovely daughter?

"What?"

All colour drained from her face as she watched him stare coldly at her.

"Unfilial child, did you really think I would not be able to recognize you despite looking at your peculiar eyes more than once?"

'Maybe this was a really bad idea..'

Gulping inaudibly, she thought about letting out a scream but then a scene slowly passed before her vision, causing the words to remain trap inside her mouth.

A chained man burning in flames.

She closed her eyes for a moment, contemplating her choices in her head,

'This man is my only hope at getting Ares out of that mess. I can't blow it. I have to choose my words carefully.'

Wrinkling her brows, she pressed her lips for a moment before opening her eyes to stare back at the Abbot.

"I do not understand what you're trying to say, Father Gabriel."

This time, he let out a full blown laugh, sending a cold chill down her spine.

He kept cackling like a mad man till he dropped down, gripping his sides before turning quiet all of a sudden.

'Oh, my God, Is he crazy?'

Her had sneaked slowly towards the pocket of her dress, trying to grip the cool metal inside her grasp,

'Thankfully, I brought a dagger.'

Before she could reach the handle, a cold voice reached her ears,

"I would not want to do that."

Surprised, her widened eyes went up swiftly to stare at the man leaning against a bench lazily, staring blankly at her.

"I sensed magic on you the first day I met you," He had now straightened himself up, ready to take a step forward,

"I knew you belonged to a different era due to the rumors I had heard, your uncanny manners of speaking and most of all, your eyes—they gave away the connection we share with each other," He was now taking slow careful steps in her direction, making her hold her breath instinctively,

"Do you want to know how I am aware of this essence of magic?" The distance between them had been reduced to a few steps,

"Because I, too, am a victim of this." He now stood looming over her making her squirm under his blazing gaze.

"These eyes,"

He paused briefly before leaning down to stare directly into her eyes,

"These eyes are a curse. A token that helps recognize the murderer of the Vampire Queen."

"What?" She felt dumb. His abrupt revealation had caused her to stand paralysed in her place.

'Murderer.. Vampire Queen..'

The words were rolling around in her mind, creating a jumbled mess too complicated for her to comprehend.

"I-I.."

She wanted to say something but the only thing that came out of her lips was air.

"We come from a clan of Vampire Hunters. We hunt the creatures of darkness, doomed eternally to live off on the blood of the living,"

'Vampire Hunters?'

The more he spoke, the dizzier she got.

"I assassinated the queen in her most vulnerable state. She had just gone under childbirth,"

She could hear a warm distant voice whispering to her,

"But I failed to kill the small creature crying by her side. The guards had arrived and I was forced to make my escape."

She could feel her throat tightening with every word that broke out of his mouth, rendering her unable to speak anything.

'You killed Ares' mother!'

She wanted to shout at him, but the shock seemed to have paralyzed her vocal cords.

"What are you wondering? The fact that I know whether Ares is that vampire prince I left alive that night or not?"

Tears pricked her eyes as she glared daggers at the man hovering over her,

"I'm aware, my lovely daughter. I'm well aware."

Suddenly something passed through his gaze, turning it glassy for a mere moment. Before she could pinpoint the emotion, it was gone as if it never existed there in the first place.

She watched quietly as he moved his head away, turning his back on her. After a horribly long silence had lingered for far too much time in the air resting between them, his voice resounded again to brush it away with its solemn tone,

"After the curse had turned my eye colour, I left that country and stopped hunting vampires. Soon enough, my daughter was born and I devoted all my life to her. I came to this town as a priest because only as a bishop could I hold the power enough to protect my family. So far, I had been successful in doing so until the day Ares arrived as the new lord of this town,"

She could see his hands clenching and unclenching as he continued narrating the story to her,

"On top of his unearthly features, the locket hanging down his neck clearly gave his identity away,"

Impulsively, her fingers grabbed the cool surface of the pendant dangling on top of her chest.

"I could not defeat him on my own and morever, I had a daughter to worry about this time."

Her eyes narrowed as she detected the visible change in his tone. Instead of a lunatic, he had started sounding... regretful.

"I did try everything I could do to turn the town against him, but one thing that I had no intention of doing also ended up happening by my hands, and in order to keep my identity hidden, I let those villagers have the credit for it."

His words were starting to make her feel apprehensive. She was dreading every next statement that came out of his mouth more than the previous one.

"One night, a rogue vampiress appeared in town. In order to keep my people safe from the evil, I killed her."

'No...'

She had a fair idea where this was going.

Suddenly, he turned his head back in her direction, holding her gaze with an unknown emotion shinning in them,

"I did not know it back then that she was Ares' beloved."

His statement set her heart ablaze, making her chest ache with an enormous amount of pain. She felt like someone had just knocked the breath out of her, torn her insides into a bloody mess, yet no sound tore out of her mouth to support the presumption.

Her lips were quivering with fright as she lifted her hand to touch them with her fingers. Turning her head side to side, she could only repeat a single word inside her mind,

'No!'

She hadn't had the time to recover from shock of her previous discovery when Gabriel's grim voice once again resonated through the vacant church,

"After that incident, an ailment struck my daughter, almost bringing her to the brink of death. I had learned that a vampire's blood can cure any sickness therefore, out of desperation, a father went to his sworn enermy's door, for the sake of curing his daughter of her pain."