A midnight visit PART 2

"It is right here." Theodore waved the book in his hand before giving it back to her. He said, "Let's go."

'How did it get to his hand?' She frowned at the thought.

Reaching outside the castle, Vanessa noticed the two horses that stood close to the fountain, with their heads ducked into the bowl of water.

"I hope you are good at riding a horse." Theodore stopped to look at her as he questioned her.

And Vanessa slowly shifted her head and eyes to meet Theodore's question.

She bowed and said, "Yes, your majesty." A bright smile broke into her lips. "I might not have learned any spells since I was young, but I did every other fun thing." She spoke fondly.

He watched her for a moment and said, "It seems you had a great childhood." His words were calm as he started walking towards the horses, and Vanessa quickly caught up with his pace.

She asked absentmindedly, "What about you?"

Her head snapped back to look at Theodore after the words escaped from her mouth.

"You are also a curious cat. I wonder if it will kill you, just like the others."

The color in her face drained out, making it appear pale. 'Me too.'

"If you must know, it definitely isn't as interesting as yours." He said.

"But it was interesting."

"Mm," He nodded before his lips pulled wide into a sinister smile and said, " Amazing sight of blood all over me and the excruciating painful cry of people begging for their lives."

Vanessa shook her head and blinked when she saw the vampire king smile, as if people's painful cry was something interesting.

Her hand moved to pet one of the horses' forelocks, but it aggressively shook its head so that she staggered back and landed on her bottom.

"AH!" Why does it hurt so much?

She tried to adjust her weight on the ground as she stood up. Recalling who was standing outside with her, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

Vanessa dusted her hands against each other. "I have not been so greatly humiliated until I stepped into this place." She muttered under her breath, and her eyes glared at the horse.

'It doesn't even feel remorseful for his action.' She thought as she watched it cautiously enter the king's hold.

"Stick to your size, forest girl." He commented and mounted the horse in one smooth movement.

She mounted her horse without any further ado. Looking at his broad back as his horse stood just in front of hers, she asked, "Won't you be needing your coat?"

The cold night breeze had not been going easy on her, and seeing the king wearing just a plain shirt and black pants, she wondered if he wasn't feeling cold.

Was it a vampire thing?

"Don't tell me you care?" He teased, but his words lacked any humor.

"Huh?" She paused. "Absurd. Why would I care about someone who wants to kill me?" She murmured and moved the reins of her horse. "YAH!" she yelled.

Her horse rode past Theodore's, taking the lead as it went outside the castle.

After hours of riding, she trotted the horse as it came slowly to a stop in front of the ruined town of Mistleville.

Theodore, who was now in front of Vanessa, was the first to come down, and she followed suit.

Vanessa's eyes roamed the town's street as they walked further into it.

She had fond memories of some parts of the street. She remembered playing the seekers game with her sister a lot during most of the town's busy fairs.

Not too long, they came to stand in front of her house, and she stared at it for a brief moment and said, "Good thing nothing has been damaged."

With Theodore's help, one of the lamps that was found outside was lit. "Don't touch anyone." He warned, knowing how well humans could get unnecessarily emotional.

She nodded. When Vanessa went to step into the house, Theodore did not go along with her and instead went somewhere else, as if there was another different work he came for.

The bare wooden floor creaked as she stepped inside the house. She raised the lamp in front of her face.

She scrunched her nose at the stench of blood and corpse that wafted inside the room and quickly brought her hand to cover her nose and mouth.

Inside, she saw her sister and father in the same place she had seen them last.

Vanessa tried her best not to cry at the sight of their lifeless bodies, which lay pale and shriveled on the cold floor.

Her mother's body was no different. "Mama!" She sniffed. "What am I to do now?" Why did you all have to die?

Now that Vanessa thought about it, she wondered if everyone died just to protect the bluestone. If so, was it right to give it to the vampire king?

Not once did her parents ever mention the krispadal to her, and just to protect it, it was handed to her.

"Was it that important? Why didn't you save yourself first?" The desperation and frustration in her voice could not be missed.

She wanted answers. 'Would my being the curious cat kill me?' The feeling she got when it came to the stone wasn't as bright and shining as it appeared.

Everything around her now felt suspicious. Her mother could have told her what to do with it during their last moment together, but she didn't.

Having had enough, Vanessa stepped out of the house and brought the book out.

Apart from seeing her parents, she had other things in mind to do. Like, casting a barrier spell around the house.

"Restringe.. Onia estia.." she began, reciting one of the old spells she had been practicing in her room. And nothing happened to show if the spell was successful.

But that didn't deter the human girl, and she tried a second and a third time.

And at last, she saw the book in her hand appear to be illuminated by a bright light other than her own lantern.

'Was that how it worked?'

For a moment, Vanessa's eyes brightened, and she felt she must have succeeded. "Did it work?"