Chapter 21: The Hunting Melody..

The room was silent again, but it was a different kind of silence. It was as if the walls were also holding their breath and waiting for the princess's response. 

Aurelia didn't turn around, because her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. And she didn't want anyone to see her in this condition. She felt emotional after whatever Cassian had said. Like her emotions were ready to come out at any time. She wanted to tell him, she really liked his response. It had touched the deepest part of her heart, where she never tried to look. 

But she was a jumbled mess of emotions, and her throat fell choked, making her unable to say any words. So she waved her hand to dismiss Cassian. She needs some time alone. She will thank him later for his enlightenment. 

Cassian looked at the unresponsive back of the princess, and his spirit died down when he didn't get any response from her. 

Now worries start clouding his mind, he should not have said something casually. He regretted opening his loud mouth. Can't he just shut up? 

After all, it is not his place to advise someone who has a far superior status than him. And his face became even sadder when he looked at the cold dismissal waved by the princess, indicating that she wanted him gone. 

Cassian bowed his head further down in shame, and his eyes also became teary. It was his first time giving advice to someone, but he never thought he would be dismissed like this. 

He bowed to the princess and said, As you wish, Your Highness. I will take my leave now. Please call me if you require anything further.

And then he quickly started walking towards the door, and as he was about to step out, he heard a small voice. Thank you. It was so quiet that he would have missed it if the chamber was not already dead silent. 

But it brought a smile to his face, and the dark cloud in his mind also dispersed. He looked back again to find the princess giving him a small,  genuine smile. 

~~~~~~

In the dead of night, far away from the grand palace where nobility slept in comfort. There was an ancient and silent forest. The trees stood tall with their branches woven together to form a covering that allowed only slivers of moonlight to pass through. This light reflects on the surface of a hidden lake, which is nestled deep within the forest's embrace. The lake was calm; its waters were still and glistening under the pale light of the moon, as if it were a mirror reflecting the heavens above.

The silence of the forest was profound; it was broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves or the distant call of a night creature. But then, without warning, the surface of the lake began to stir. Ripples formed, and started spreading outward in concentric circles, as though something was rising from the depths below. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the water parted its way, revealing the upper body of a man emerging from the lake.

He had dark black hair, which was slicked back and wet and clung to his forehead and the nape of his neck. His face was chiseled, with sharp, defined features that held a certain allure, but also a hint of danger. Water droplets clung to his skin, trailing down from his hair to his face, then to his lean, muscular torso. His chest was broad, his muscles tight and well-defined, and his body was sculpted to perfection. As the moonlight caught the water running down his body, it made his skin glisten, adding an ethereal quality to his appearance.

With each step he took, the water rippled around him, shimmering under the moonlight. He walked slowly, deliberately, towards the edge of the lake, the water parting easily as he moved through it. When he reached the shore, he paused, surveying his surroundings with a careful eye. 

The man walked toward a large rock that jutted out near the edge of the lake. It was smooth and cool to the touch, its surface reflecting the moon's light. He leaned his body against the rock, letting the coldness of the stone seep into his skin. He submerged his lower half in the water, finding comfort in its embrace, while his upper body remained exposed to the night air.

As he leaned back, his gaze turned upward, locking onto the full moon that hung low in the sky. A wicked smile spread across his lips—a smile that was more evil than it was joyful. There was a darkness in his eyes, a shadow that hinted at something sinister lurking just beneath the surface. The man closed his eyes, his smile never wavering, and began to hum a tune, low and soft at first, almost like a whisper carried on the wind.

The melody was haunting, a sound that resonated deep within the soul. It was beautiful, yes, but something was unsettling about it. The tune held a sadness and a palpable longing, and yet as the melody progressed, it took on a darker tone. The once-soothing sound began to twist, becoming deeper and more ominous. The music seemed to pull at the very fabric of reality, warping it in a way that was both terrifying and mesmerizing.

Anyone who might have heard this song would find themselves unable to resist its pull. It was a tune that enchanted and ensnared, capturing the listener's attention and holding it tight. It reached into the deepest recesses of the mind, drawing out desires and thoughts that were usually kept hidden. The man's voice, rich and powerful, carried the tune into the night, letting it weave through the trees and across the lake.

The longer the song played, the more it seemed to infiltrate the mind. It planted seeds of temptation and desire so powerful that they could not be ignored. For those who heard it, resisting was impossible; they would be drawn to the source, losing themselves in the melody and the emotions it stirred. The song would push them to act on their darkest impulses, to do things they might never have considered in the light of day. And when the spell finally broke, when the melody faded away, they would be left with the bitter taste of regret, knowing that they had given in to something they could never take back.

As the man continued to hum, his smile widened, as if he were aware of the chaos he was capable of creating. His fingers traced the surface of the rock absentmindedly, his mind far away, perhaps lost in the very tune he was singing. The night around him seemed to grow darker, the shadows deeper, as though the forest itself were reacting to his presence.

For a moment, the man paused, opening his eyes once more to gaze at the moon. The song lingered in the air, its final notes hanging like a thread, before fading into the silence of the night. The man's wicked smile remained, but his expression was one of satisfaction, as though he had accomplished something significant.

Then, without another word, he leaned back fully against the rock, his body still half-submerged in the water. The lake, which had been disturbed by his emergence, began to settle once more, the ripples subsiding as the water returned to its previous calm. The man closed his eyes, allowing the silence of the forest to envelop him once more. The wicked smile faded, replaced by a look of contemplation, as though he were waiting for something—or someone.

"One day, I'll find you... and when I do, you'll wish you had stayed hidden in the shadows of my mind." The man murmurs with an evil smile on his face.