Bride To His Darkness-Chapter 322: Key Problem

—--

"Marius, I need you to gain control over that orb woman, there’s no time." Carmela voiced out her thoughts after returning to the grand chamber she rarely shared with Marius. Although they were married for a reason, there were times when she seeked affection from the Demon facing the window with his back at her, and although he gave her that, it was not at all satisfying... It’s strange how she came to the sudden realization only after hearing a few words from that vampire.

"Why the abrupt rush? Didn’t we plan to get rid of the vampire tonight? It’s barely past sunset." He replied, whilst his gaze remained fixed to the world outside. "I had my reasons for telling you not to go there, did he perhaps provoke your incompetent heart?"

"Why do you mock me?" She came to stand beside Marius, and for a moment, no words were exchanged between them. Gazing at the outside world together, she took a deep breath and said, "his feelings for that girl are unlike anything I’ve seen. To be clear, it had been a long time since I’ve seen such devotion in one’s eyes, it–"

"It reminds you of your runaway lover who abandoned you for greater power?" Marius interjected grimly, and then he corrected himself. "I mean to say, how he had treated you before his vile intentions were revealed?" He cast a side glance in her direction, eyes narrowing suspiciously at Carmela’s hesitation.

"What are you thinking?"

"It does not matter," she tried to ease her tense shoulder, whilst she cleared her throat and turned to face Marius, "my past lover betrayed me for power, and he’s six feet below the Earth. My family wanted to sell me off for power, but where are they now? Gone! The rest who are waiting for my downfall will incur the same inevitable wrath, and I have come to understand that power is the only thing that matters in this world. There is no such thing as love, as they are nothing but illusions used to deceive the heart, so you needn’t worry about my actions."

"Who said I was worried?" His hand found her chin. He carefully lifted her head so she could meet his eyes, and his lips curved into a sly smile, "I’m the only one capable of getting you to the top which you desperately seek. The title you wish to bear. Knowing this, you have to trust me, and only me. Okay?" Releasing her chin from his gentle grip, he turned and walked out.

Carmela watched his broad back exit the grand chamber, and her eyebrows creased upon realizing Marius had never once tried to kiss or touch her intimately. She hadn’t bothered much about it considering he was a high Demon who probably didn’t have those desires, but each time she caught him staring at that Orb lady, there was a dangerous spark in his eyes. For the first time, she saw a raging jealousy in the eyes of Marius when she stepped into the room the Orb lady had been kept in.

She had arrived too late to grasp their conversation, and she wondered what the lady might have uttered to enrage Marius in that manner. A peculiar feeling gnawed in her chest each time she recollected his expression, and she couldn’t shake off the intruding feeling that they knew one another before now.

Releasing a sigh, Carmela’s gaze shifted to the unfinished liquid potion she was working on on the table. A lot of things were happening so fast that she needed time to grab a firm hold of herself. She needed to complete the concoction soon or else, that little boy’s energy won’t be hers to take. Reminding herself of what she needed to do, she shook every other thought away and carried on.

—--

In the oppressive dungeon cell, the four little children huddled together, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear and despair, and so far, there hasn’t been any sign of the evil witch. Alain’s Amber-brown eyes scanned the cell once more, and the number of childrens in each cell were decreasing to a noticeable rate. If he doesn’t act now, he could be the next one picked and taken into the room where everyone here is clearly afraid of.

Truly, the ones who go in there never come out.

Unable to endure the confinement any longer, little Alain sprang to his feet with a loud cry leaving his lips, whilst causing a ruckus that echoed through the damp walls. His unexpected cry startled the remaining three, and they looked at him with urgency in their eyes. Knowing how much the grotesque guards hate noises, they immediately tried to quiet Alain down.

"Stop! You’ll anger those monsters!" Lily’s tiny voice pleaded to Alain who didn’t stop with his relentless cries, so much so that he had tears leaving his closed eyes. The remaining children already had their eyes on the crying little boy, and they knew eventually that he could not keep up with his stubborn facade, however, his loud cries could warrant problems for all of them.

The grotesque guards, who were on monitoring duty, grabbed the commotion that was coming from the last cell. Unable to deal with the annoying cries of a child, one of them approached the cell with a menacing scowl.

"You again!" The guard growled, and frightful screams erupted from the cell when a massive hand reached through the cell bars to seize Alain by the collar of his shirt. It pulled the crying boy closer, and despite having him in his clutches, his irritating cries refused to seize.

"Enough!" The guard bellowed, its voice sending shivers down the spines of other children, and Alain instinctively stopped. "Keep quiet, or the consequences will be severe."

As the grotesque guard released Alain, its menacing presence lingered. Bound by the Queen’s orders not to harm the children without explicit permission, it left, whilst its heavy footsteps echoed until it was no longer heard.

When he was gone, the other children huddled around Alain, with visible fear and concern etched on their small faces. "Why did you do that? You could’ve gotten hurt!" Liam whispered, his voice trembling while also making sure the monster would not return.

Alain remained quiet, and he no longer looked like the pitiable child who was in tears a few minutes ago. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the stolen key, "sometimes, I guess you do have to face the beast in order to beat it. I swiped the keys when the monster wasn’t looking."

"You got the..!" Lily’s nearly raised voice had Alain and Liam covering her little mouth with their palm. Her big eyes grew wider, and they hushed her up in unison

With the stolen key in hand, they understood that sometimes, facing danger head-on was the key to overcoming the darkest challenges. There was a mix of relief and pure admiration in their eyes, after realizing that Alain had staged the whole thing in order to get his hands on the key.

He used his baby instincts!

"You must feel lucky I’m in your cell." He self-praised and hid the key back, then his proud gaze turned hesitant, as if he just recalled something important.

"Ali?"

"I have a question to ask."

"What?"

"How does one use a key?" He blinked innocently.

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