The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-167

Back in the castle, Madeline stood in front of the tall window that was made of glass. It had started to rain an hour ago. The surface of the window was getting blurry and hazy because of the temperature that had begun to drop. Due to this, she was not able to see anything, but that didn't stop Madeline from trying to continue to watch the rain that was pouring outside and the lightning that was taking place up in the sky.

Bringing her hand forward, her fingertips touched the surface of the window to clear the glass that had fogged itself. Once she cleared the surface, she could again see the clouds and the grounds of the castle but not as clear as she did in the beginning. The surrounding right now was quiet under the sound of the rains that nulled everything else to bring in different kind of silence.

Madeline had been standing in the high tower after Lady Lucy left the castle. She was spending her time alone by herself with no one around her.

Moving closer to the glass, she leaned towards the window like a child. Madeline placed both her hands on the glass and continued to stare when the glass suddenly disappeared beneath the surface of her palms. Her heart slipped from her chest as she felt herself falling out of the window, feeling drops of water falling on her and she tried to stop herself from falling, but there was nothing to hold on to.

"AHHH!"

Before Madeline knew it, she was already falling with her feet that twisted, to see the emptiness that she had fallen through that had caused her downfall. The rain and the force pulled her downwards because of gravity. She didn't know what just happened except that she was going to crash straight on the ground.

In time, something swooped through with black wings that carried her just before her body would hit the ground like a broken watermelon.

"What is wrong with you?!" came the growl from Calhoun when he placed her back on the ground, "Were you trying to kill yourself?!" he demanded in anger.

Madeline shook and shivered under his voice. She closed her eyes, flinching when she said, "I don't know what happened! Why are you yelling at me!"

Hearing not another word except for sound of the rain, Madeline opened her eyes to find Calhoun standing in front of her, his eyes glaring at her. She moved her hands to hug herself. The rain was ice cold. Madeline was drenched in the rain, and so was Calhoun who was yet to put his wings away as they were in display.

"I don't know what happened…" she whispered, her heart continued to thud in her chest over the slip that took place.

Calhoun ran his hand through his wet hair, a tired sigh passing through his lips. He had been on the other side of the castle, looking at the rain like her, but when he saw her falling from the high tower…he gritted his teeth. If he weren't there to catch her, she would have fallen flat on the ground.

Madeline could still feel his glare, and she said, "The glass was there, and then it disappeared," she knew it sounded bizarre, but it was what had happened unless she was hallucinating, "I didn't do anything..."

"I don't want you catching a cold. Let me take you to your room," he said, his black wings ruffling as if to shake the water out before they disappeared behind him.

Madeline moved away from the windows and walked towards the side of the walls so that even by mistake, she wouldn't fall as they walked from there.

In Calhoun's eyes, it looked nothing less to her trying to jump down from the tower to kill herself and his eyes narrowed as he walked with her. If Madeline had such thoughts about killing herself, Calhoun would not let her. Now that he saved her, her life belonged to him. She belonged to him.

Madeline reached the room with shaky legs because of the memory of the fall that kept repeating over and over again in her mind.

"I will have the maids sent here. Don't leave the room," ordered Calhoun. Her words didn't add up right now and he didn't want her falling again. Especially with the heavy rain pouring it would be hard to hear anyone screaming.

She only nodded her head.

Upon the King's orders, two maids had been sent to Madeline's room to tend to her. In the hot bath, she felt less cold. The maids helped her wash as much as they could before she stopped them so that they wouldn't touch things she didn't want to as she was not comfortable with it.

She didn't stay in the bath too long and stepped out, to be helped by the maids again who dressed her and dried her hair by wiping it gently before Madeline dismissed them from the room.

One second she was there leaning against the window, and the next second, the glass was gone, and she was falling. Madeline tried to comprehend what had taken place but she didn't know what happened.

Calhoun left the front of the room, making his way back to the tower where Madeline was standing earlier. While checking, he noticed all the glasses were intact and none of it was broken. His eyes continued to search when his shoe made a splash like a sound because of the water that was present on the ground. His eyebrows furrowed. The water had got in even though the window was closed and there was no proof of water that had come from the stairs.

Out of mere curiosity, he placed his hand on the window and his eyes narrowed, feeling the scorching heat under his palm. When he turned his palm around to look at it, he noticed how the skin on his hand had burns before it healed itself in a few seconds.

Something was not right here, thought Calhoun to himself.