Ambushed Carriage (I)

Swiftly, the hours of the morning came by. Feeling the sun's heat radiate on the carriage, Genevieve was awakened from her sleep. She severally blinked her hazy eyelids to get rid of the sleep.

Slowly, her eyes opened, staring around the carriage. However, the moment her gaze landed on the king of Darkshire, she jolted and the haziness in her eyes was instantly cleared.

She gulped, being greeted first thing in the morning by the face of the king. She suddenly began to recall everything from yesterday evening that transpired between them.

Yesterday, she had desperately been trying to wander her thoughts away from him and she didn't realize when she fell into sleep. She thought she could flee away from his presence by giving in to subconsciousness, but here he was, sitting next to her.

Her eyes observed the king of Darkshire who seemed to be asleep and it made her breathe in relief. His eyes were devoid of the constant terrifying look in them but were rather closed and his features looked so very calm, rather than constant danger it screamed.

However, Genevieve, who got lost in her stare didn't realize that the king of Darkshire was far from being asleep and that he had been awake all these while, observing her. It wasn't until she heard his sarcastic utterance that she snapped out of her trance.

"Waiting to see horns grow out of my head or fangs come out of my mouth, Genevieve?" He asked, feeling her curious gaze on him.

In a moment, Maximilian's eyes snapped open and he turned to look at Genevieve's frozen features.

"G-good morning, Your Majesty." Stuttered Genevieve immediately, oblivious of what to do next.

"Have I become so enchanting that you can't help but stare at me first thing in the morning?"

Genevieve didn't know why, but the way he phrased his words made her heart accelerate.

"I-I'm s-sorry, Your M-majesty." She said in an almost whispering voice.

Maximilian's head tilted, "Sorry for what, Genevieve?"

"F-for looking at y-you?" She replied with uncertainty. She wasn't sure she should be apologizing, but his words made her think she was guilty.

The king of Darkshire couldn't help but pull up his lips in amusement.

Either of the people he met in his life were boring, or being purposely stupid to entertain him. But she entertained him, even in her subconsciousness. Maybe that was the reason he wasn't pushed to rip her apart.

His eyes were momentarily narrowed at her "You know, if you keep apologizing to me that way, I might think you've become so into me and can't help but get indulged with me."

Not expecting to hear those words, her eyes widened.

"I'm n-not. "

"Good." He responded, but to her dismay, she heard him question. "So tell me, Genevieve, did you dream of me ripping out your soul?"

Genevieve froze again. She wasn't sure she had even dreamt last night. But the king was already asking her such a gory thing.

"W-what?" She subconsciously asked.

Suddenly, he moved his lips closer to her ear. "Don't look so surprised, Genevieve. With a reaper sitting next to you, you might wake up one morning to find your soul missing."

"R-reaper?" She responded disbelievingly.

When he moved closer to her, coupled with his terrifying utterances, Genevieve unconsciously tried to move away, but to her actions, Maximilian's eyes twitched.

He wickedly raised a brow, "Are you still trying to run away from me?"

I-I'm s-sorry." She responded again, only to press her lips when he threw her a sharp look.

"If I really wanted to kill you, I should have wrung your neck like a chicken while I watched you drool last night on your dress."

When his hands flicked a piece of the blanket that was still spread over her. For the first time, Genevieve took notice of the blanket on her body and her eyes widened in horror.

"Did you somehow think that blanket was magically spread over you by an angel? " he questioned sarcastically to have her shake her head.

Of course, he was wide awake observing her last night. Maximilian should have killed her if he wanted to, but he didn't necessarily see the need to do so. She was an amusement to him.

Genevieve felt a wave of panic wash over her, knowing he had been wide awake, observing her last night. Why did he put the blanket over her, when he was not a savior, but a predator?

He then said in a daunting tone, "You know, Genevieve. If you try to run away from me, I will make sure I find you wherever you go and drag you back to my side."

Genevieve's heart pounded as she took in his words. What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice trembling.

The man let out a low chuckle. "What do I want? I want to keep you close to me. Did you forget you're my possession?"

She shook her head. His threat made her palm turn sweaty. "I-I will not run a-away."

"Good girl." He smirked.

The carriage continued bouncing on and on. Nearly an hour had passed by. Through the window, Genevieve noticed that the carriage had long passed the places filled with buildings and people and they were currently riding past bushes, which made her apprehensive.

With each jostling bump of the carriage, Genevieve's anxiety intensified. The eerie silence of the forests, broken only by the hoofbeats of the horses and the creak of the carriage wheels, added to her uneasiness

Most of all, she was going to a strange land, with a man who had proven himself unpredictable and dangerous.

"Scared?" She suddenly heard the king of Darkshire question.

The king's voice echoed through the stillness, startling Genevieve from her turbulent thoughts. Her head turned towards him, her expression revealing more than she intended. She quickly averted her gaze, unsure of how to respond.

"There's nothing to fear, Genevieve," the king continued. "You're safe with me. After all, I promised not to hurt you, and I always keep my promises. Well...mostly."

Genevieve shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She knew his words were of no real comfort because his intentions were unsettling to her.

A few minutes passed, and the carriage rapidly drove away from the forest, riding on a bridge and entering a vast piece of land with not even a single plant on it.

The heat of the sun, dryly scorched on the ground, making it appear like a desert.

However, the moment Genevieve looked from afar through the carriage window, she instantly froze.

In front of them, from a distance was a gigantic statue of two black eagles, their wings outstretched in a menacing display on both sides of the entrance. But the worst part of it all was the inscription which boldly wrote,

'DARKSHIRE'

Genevieve's blood ran cold when she realized that the forest that they had crossed was the border of Alexandria, and they had now arrived at Darkshire's entrance.

Equally knowing this, Maximilian's countenance turned even darker.

"Welcome to my Kingdom, Princess Genevieve," his eyes twitched, feeling the panic that arose within her.

'You now stand at the gateway to doom.' thought the Maximilian in his mind.

"I-I-" Genevieve trailed, too scared and stunned to say a word. Her eyes was suddenly locked with Maximilian's while a teased silence hovered amidst them.

"GROWWWLLL!!"

However, what broke the silence next, was a large monstrous screech that loudly echoed in her ears, startling Genevieve.

"Your Majesty! We have been surrounded by trolls!!" Screamed one of the king's men from outside.