Part 4.

The Day Of Arrival.

It was long night ride for king Ramuel and his knights , he didn't bother to bring least twenty of them , all of highest top ranks among his trained ones , weapons and armors for them was like an accessory as their true strength hid in their brute force , his pet devil dwelled in darkness following equally fast to the war horses above all of them.

All seemed to be in a rush as King Ramuel forbid them to take any rest through entire trip , even if the trip was dangerous ,wild animals and creatures lurked in forests ,not afraid even of a single presence .Not to mention the distance wasn't short to Eramus kingdom ,it would have took least few days for average knighthood to arrive there .

But the Sun rised and they arrived at the gate of Eramus kingdom ,As shabby it looked, Ramuel didn't judged , he was familiar with the struggle of managing kingdoms .

At that certain moment a chaos was erupting between the walls of kingdom ,King Ramus nearly got a heart attack once he heard that Dracarys has arrived with his mans just like he promised yesterday's night .

"Let.....them in " he commanded his loyal knight whom stayed beside his daughter as she grew up into a lady . Knight Robert despite lacking capabilities , he grew up in Eramus family circle , while the previous Queen ruled with Ramus , It was glory days ...and now....now he hated to his guts his Lord decision , if such option wouldn't have been decided he wouldn't have hesitated to lay his life to protect princess Elaine and king.

But things were different now and he headed to open the gate .

Minutes later ,King Ramus Throne been approached by the feared Dracarys himself ,

a sword in one hand and werewolf head in other , tainting the floor beside him red .

Old man's stomach twisted even more from gory sight but he swallowed it away hard .

"Good Morning king Ramus ,as promised I have came to take my soon to be wife , as well a tiny present for perfect timing of agreement" With those cold words and sharp glare he tossed the head and it rolled all the way to Ramus Throne , making him slightly shrink away from it .

" Can I have your word..you won't harm her ? she's the only child of mine ,Lord Dracarys please understand" The old man still begged ,his voice slightly trembling even as he hid it deep away .

" That will depend entirely on her ,How much she can cooperate through our marriage.. Where is she ?"Ramuel looked around ,his eyebrows furrowing in displeasure as he placed his sword back to his belt . Gaining a small ching sound from his armor .

"Lord Dracarys...she's sick...very badly sick..i don't think she could handle a long trip to your palace ..maybe a few days rest here before going back" The trembled king spoke in calm manner as much as possible and chose his words carefully or it would have beheaded him certainly. Yet the negativity was clear as Dracarys anger been slowly rising from such carefully chosen words .

" Sick ? and you haven't bothered to mention that ,How caring of you as father to delay your daughter marriage, no worries ,as we speak I've sent my butler and doctor to her room ,if any dares to stop them ,order to kill has been given " With those words Dracarys walked out to hallway not hearing another word old man wished to say.

He leaned against the wall gazing through the window ,folding his hands on his chest to prevent his itching fingers to burn this place at once .He couldn't help but wonder what kind of girl he choose himself to be his wife and whether it will be waste of time or not.

The maids been chased away at the moment from Elaine room ,most of them angry and panicked as one of knights pointed his sword at their necks and told to move so doctor and butler Adam could make their way to sick princess bed .Once the knight left and it was only two mans left in room watching over her sleeping they spoke cautiously silently

" What do you think Doctor ? "Butler Adam asked out of curiosity regarding her condition.

But the doctor only shaked his head in disapproval.

" I'll need further investigation but she definitely lacks vitality, I'm afraid little lady has suffered for very long in here , Butler Adam would you please give me private moment to check her up ?" Doctor Martinez asked politely as he always did in past , The man himself was well trusted by Dracarys for years ,always patching him and his mans after ruthless battles and wars. So butler Adam didn't even though of hesitating, nodded and simply left the room to wait behind the door .

With that Martinez tapped Elaine cheek and she slowly opened her eyes ,puzzled and confused of who this well dressed stranger was .

"wh..wh..who are you" her throat been dry until he offered a glass of water and smiled warmly.

"You're thirsty princess ,would you allow me to help ? I'm a doctor sent to check you up " With that he offered her a hand to assist .

And like that the check up had started ,It lasted for couple hours before Doctor Martinez stepped out allowing the maids to enter her room as he spoke with butler Adam .

Even he couldn't have a empty expression after hearing everything the girl in room went through .So he immediately rushed to his Lord Ramuel who still remained gazing through the window in hallway .

"My Lord ,I have truly bad news " nearly out of breath the butler spoke , seeing his highness peer at his side with even less calm then before .

" Speak " One word ,One command you couldn't deny from that deep tone ,It sent shivers even down his butler spine.

" I'm afraid the girl truly might not handle the trip , She has sliced open injuries on her back ,several of them and deep ,from upper back to lower , her joints weakened as she been poisoned causing the high fever , injuries inside mouth as well , precisely burn marks ,fingers has pierced tiny wounds as well ,I would think from something sharp .The fever has lasted for several weeks without easing down which slows down all the injuries healing" Once the butler finished his words .

Ramuel was on verge of rage , how foolish the king has been not to see his daughter in so much pain, That was his thoughts but aside of all of them .

" Who's in her room now ?"He asked , already ready to rush there by himself .

" Maids has entered to dress her up for trip"

That was the only words needed as King Ramuel hurriedly walked away before turning around to look at his butler .

" Prepare a carriage of highest Quality as soon as possible ,Warm sheets and blankets as well ,furrcoat of her size to" That was his last words before he rushed away .not caring that each step of his sent a heavy tremble through castle walls .Not caring either way of reason why he was so urgent to keep the girl safe .

He slammed the door open not hesitating , Seeing his soon to be wife ,forced to stand and already dressed with tight corset dress around her waist ,while maids already been gathering the make up brushes with laughter and giggles . The girl barely stood from fainting ,her face twisted in pain and eyes full of tears as she held her best not to show any of them .

He had to admit she was breathtaking even in her sick condition,and his heart beated faster then adrenaline ever pumped his veins .But that was not the main concern now .

"OUT NOW !!!" He yelled louder then he ever did in his life and all maids ran out panicked for their life . He shut the door behind him not hiding the aggression .

"Stand Still " He commanded with the authority tone once again as Elaine whimpered like a scared child .

"Please..I don't want to ....I don't want to die ..not here " she choked on gasps of air , begging for her future husband .

But he did rised his sword and she shut her eyes closed ,so hard it hurt .

But nothing happened for seconds ,only the pressure around her waist had slightly relieved .

" Little fool ,You won't die ,Not here ,Not anytime soon ,I guarantee you on my word " The words he spoke still were cold but she forced herself to believe it , forgetting the fact they been spoken abruptly close to her face .

Elaine opened her eyes and saw the corset she wore around her dress now down on the floor ,with it's strings being cut apart ,covered with blood from back side .She realized her back was bleeding again ,her legs tried to step back and she nearly fell back which would have resulted her hitting back of head on bedside table .

But in gentle manner hands wrapped around her waist as if she was the most fragile doll in world,He leaned her close to his chest , letting her stand supported by it .

His eyes looked directly at her face ,cold and dark ,but with a hint of compassion .

" You don't have to fear me so much " It was much warmer voice then before and she wondered to herself what caused it .

Elaine thought he was the most brutal in entire kingdom ,But now the same brute was showing sympathy to her . She foolishly would have even thought his eyes could kill anyone if he wished to .

Not realizing it was actually her own golden eyes that pierced his soul , making his heart beat fast like a war drums .He didn't knew what was that feeling ,it was uncomfortable but yet soothing of being close to her .He wanted to know why , but not now .

With that he scooped her off the ground into his arms , sitting on bed himself and letting her lean on him as he pulled the blanket covers around her along with his cape from side .

" Why you're being so kind to me " She asked curiously as the small red appeared on her cheeks , looking directly at his face as he avoided it .

" You're the future Queen of Dracarys ,You deserve it ...little stupid you should have spoke rather suffering here all this time " he answered her as she wanted but maybe there was more to his words then that.Even he knew it but couldn't understand why . So he turned it into small lecture instead to distract her .It worked perfectly.

" I couldn't...He suffered to much when mother died " she looked away ,at last starting to feel the warmth in her body from the very core .

Even despite his hard cold armor ,somehow she could feel more comfortable then on bed itself .

" Due of your compassion,You suffered ,that could have been your end .Never again.

Now rest before the trip ,if you'll fall asleep on me .. I'll wake you up later Princess Elaine."

His face been neutral but the words weren't, his ears been slightly turning reddish to despite his pale skin tone .

" Thank you..Lord Dracarys " It took one smile of hers ,Even if it was as small .and he had to look away ,she snuggled comfortably on his chest and minutes later slept.

"What have I gotten myself into ..." he whispered to himself , looking down at the helpless girl sleeping on him as he stroked her red as fire hair .