The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-284

Madeline and Calhoun left the gallery, making their way towards the dining room as it was the time of supper. Her mood still hadn't gotten better, but Madeline had stopped worrying about what took place post morning. Coming to terms that her grandfather was dead was something she would need to sleep on for the second time, and this time she hoped she wouldn't dream about him in the coffin.

Even though her grandparents had tried to kill her in the past and this morning, there was a part of her that was sad. Unlike what her grandparents presumed her to be, Madeline could feel pain. The uncertainty about who she was going to turn to be didn't disappear, and it weighed on her mind.

"You should stop thinking about it."

Madeline turned to look at Calhoun who was walking beside her, not a step forward nor behind, just at the right pace to keep up with her. "He was my grandfather," she whispered.

"Someone who ordered his wife to kill you right away," stated Calhoun, whose eyes met Madeline's as they walked down the corridor. "The more you worry, the more it's going to wear you down. It will make people question your actions, and the decisions that you want to make will be hindered."

Calhoun knew in what state of mind Madeline was in right now. He didn't know if she killed someone out of vengeance or self-defence, but it didn't matter to him. In his eyes, she was that girl who was delicate whom he had first met at the time of Hallow. It was strange how he was attracted to her who was not a human but an angel, someone who her very own family was scared of.

Madeline was about to question if Calhoun had killed someone who he was close with, before she remembered he had killed his mother. As they continued to walk next to each other, she heard a howl coming from the other side of the castle grounds.

Pursing her lips, she asked,

"Is he forever going to stay like that?"

"Pitying the tailorman," hummed Calhoun and Madeline bit her lip. "It's only during the time when the light of the moon falls on the ground," saying this, he halted his footsteps for a second before moving to the side of the corridor, looking up at the sky where the moon was, followed by Madeline.

"It's going to be difficult. Is there no cure for it?" The sight of werewolf had scared Madeline, and she had stepped out of the room before James could claw her. "How strange," she murmured.

"Hm?" Calhoun gave her a questioning look.

Madeline wondered if she should say it out loud as it was something unimportant, but now that the words had already left her mouth and with the way, Calhoun looked at her curiously, she cleared her throat,

"You cannot be the big bad wolf anymore."

Calhoun stared at her for two seconds, "That one is a useless wolf in the dungeon. Regardless of me being a vampire, I will still be that. Unless…"

"Unless?" Madeline prompted.

"Figure that one out yourself," Calhoun stepped back to walk, and Madeline quickly followed him.

When Calhoun and Madeline entered the dining room, their family were settling at the table, taking their seats, and Madeline and Calhoun joined them.

"You missed a wonderful hunt today, Lady Madeline," Markus was the one to speak to her, "Isn't that right, Elizabeth?"

Her sister Beth would not have bothered to answer her if it weren't for Markus striking a conversation and pulling her into it.

"Yes, it was one of the hunts I enjoyed the most. The first one being our first hunt together," Beth smiled before going to place the napkin on her lap.

"It is a pity that the future Queen doesn't share the same interest as brother Calhoun," commented Sophie, who had decided to sit in Lucy's seat as Lucy had arrived late at the table with her husband, Samuel.

"I don't think there's any compulsion for a Queen to enjoy hunting," Madeline replied to the vampiress who sat right opposite to her at the table.

Sophie smiled, "Of course, not. There are other things that the Queen can do. Pardon me, but knowing where you come from and hearing Lady Elizabeth's hobbies, I don't think it would suit you and maybe you should try to fit in."

"I think I am fine the way I am," Madeline remarked in a polite tone, "I think after the arrow that was shot at me, it would be best to be careful."

"A Queen should know how to protect herself than hide-" Sophie's were interrupted by Calhoun,

"Are you in a different mood today, Sophie," he asked to have Sophie's attention move to Calhoun.

Sophie gave him an innocent smile, "Mood? Lady Madeline is going to be my sister-in-law. Wouldn't it be nice to share common interests?" Calhoun's eyes narrowed at his cousin's words.

"That is very sweet of you, Lady Sophie," said Madeline, "To think of spending time together with each other and strengthening our bonds. I enjoy gardening. Pulling out the plants and planting them in a better place. I am sure you will like it," she suggested.

"I think it's settled then," Calhoun who was holding the glass, toasted it towards his cousin.

"That's not even a hobby," Sophie scoffed.

Beth didn't want to lose this opportunity, and agreed, "Yes, Lady Sophie should try it. It is something Madeline and I used to do."

Sophie sent a silent glare at Beth for trying to dig her grave deeper. The last thing she wanted was to get her hands dirty with mud and worms. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl. "If you are good at what you do, I think you should take extra lessons when it comes to horse riding. We don't want you falling in the mud."

Madeline sensed the heated gaze both Sophie and Beth shared with each other. Somewhere she was glad knowing that Sophie was not happy with the idea of Beth being her sister-in-law, but then Sophie was not happy about her being Calhoun's wife either. Madeline didn't like Markus, not after yesterday at least. There was something very uncomfortable when he looked at her like he was trying to instigate something.

She still felt sorry for Beth's memories that were meddled with, not knowing what else her grandparents had done to change her sister.

"Why are you sitting there today, Sophie?" asked Markus, slightly annoyed by the fact that his sister was back to pushing Elizabeth's nerves.

"I wasn't sure if Lucy was joining us for supper. She has been feeling unwell lately," Sophie replied. She turned to her cousin sister and asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Madeline's eyes fell on Lucy, who offered Sophie a kind smile. Her eyes then fell on the cheating husband who was behaving like he did nothing wrong. She didn't understand how Lucy was able to sit next to him, sharing the same room. Asking about the matter would be intrusive, and she hoped Lucy was alright.

"My King," Lady Rosamund interjected the childish retorts that were going around at the table. "I was wondering if you will be inviting the neighbouring King's for the wedding. Also, some of our relatives who would love to wish well to both you and Lady Madeline." The maids had started to bring in the food and place it on the table.

"Did they write to you about it?" questioned Calhoun in a casual tone.

"Oh, no! It has been quite some time since I last spoke to them," chuckled Lady Rosamund.

Calhoun then said, "That is a pity," his gaze went to meet Theodore's who sat on the far end of the table, on the right, "Are there any more spare invitations left?"

"No, milord. The ones we sent two days ago were the last one's," Theodore answered promptly.

"With the card maker who has closed his shop to go to his village, I guess they can visit some other time or when word reaches them." It was evident in Calhoun's tone that he was hardly bothered when it came to inviting his relatives, and maybe if the Wilmot's didn't live this near, he would not have bothered to invite them either.

Madeline wondered which other relatives she would be meeting during the time of the wedding who were related to Calhoun. Though he said his maternal grandfather lived somewhere in the mountains, she questioned if he had ever attempted to meet him. She wondered what kind of person his grandfather was.

Since how many years was Calhoun's grandfather hibernating? And whether he had come looking for his daughter? Or maybe his grandson?

During the time of night it wasn't easy to sleep. Madeline tossed and turned in her bed thinking over what happened. She had lost a family member, and she couldn't share the grief over what took place with her family. Raising her hand in front of her, Madeline stared at her palm. She had hurt her grandmother, and it worried her.

Pulling her blanket closer, she wondered what awaited ahead of her in the future which she was still not aware about. Silently she prayed for the family she had possibly hurt in the past, hoping they would forgive her for her actions.

The next morning, Calhoun took Madeline to the dungeon, where her grandmother and James were staying right now. It was hard to get rid of the memory when her grandmother's expression changed when the old woman was about to stab her.

"The dungeons are safe, and so are the cell rooms," Calhoun let Madeline know after noticing the distressed look on her face. "After the old Queen, and my father and step-mother died, I got a lot of things altered in the dungeon. Anticipating the possible guests I would have. Though I doubt your grandmother possesses any abilities, it would safer to keep her in here for the next few hours."

Few hours, thought Madeline to herself.

Making their way through the passage, Calhoun took out the key from his pocket. When they came to stand in front of a locked room. Madeline asked,

"What about him?"

As they were standing at the front of the door, Madeline's words were short. Calhoun didn't need her to elaborate that it was her grandfather whom she was speaking about, and he responded,

"I got him moved to the forest. Do you want to visit?"

"Maybe later."

Calhoun opened the lock, pushing the wooden door and stepped inside with her. Madeline saw her grandmother sitting on the ground and staring at the wall. Her lips parted to speak, but she was unable to bring herself to speak.

"How are you doing, Gemma?" asked Calhoun, dropping the honorifics with Madeline's grandmother.

When Madeline's grandmother turned her head, the old woman glared at Calhoun and Madeline, having a scornful look on her face.

"You killed my husband, and are asking me how I am doing?"

Calhoun gave a slow nod, "You didn't expect me to let you kill Madeline, did you?"

"What if I said, not only will she cause our death but she will also kill you?" questioned Madeline's grandmother, sending a glare at Madeline as if she couldn't stand her presence.

Calhoun said, "Have you met your granddaughter or is it the first time you are meeting her now?" he asked the older woman in a sarcastic tone.

Madeline saw her grandmother laugh, "You don't know what dark angels are capable of, are you? What we were doing was protecting our kind and our family. Her existence is worse than a demon. Someone of our own kin turning rotten to the very core who will come to kill anything and everything in front of her."

"She," continued her grandmother, looking at her and it took everything in Madeline to not let the hurt to be seen on her face. "Dark angels are not like us. We were only protecting, but she is nothing but bad luck. A doom."

"I think the term you are using here is a demon?" Calhoun raised his brows to see the older woman shake her head.

"What is the difference between the two? Apart from being light and dark?" Madeline finally asked, "You could have helped me instead of trying to kill me."

"Dark Angels are beyond any help. It is like asking someone to turn an adult into a baby, which is possible only by dying and then reborning again. How dare you stand in front of me after what you did to your very own grandfather?" her grandmother didn't stop glaring at her.

Madeline wasn't the one who had killed him, and it was Calhoun. But he had done it for her sake. Taking a deep breath, she commented,

"You paused the process of me killing people by stopping my time. You could have done it again."

"You are not a child anymore. It is difficult to control a grown dark angel compared to when they are small," her grandmother responded. And she then turned to look at Calhoun, "Kill her now, and save yourself and the people you care about. Else you will burn down with her."

"Sadly I have nothing to protect but her. I think I am fine," Calhoun answered, smiling as his fangs appeared.

"What if I do not cause any destruction? What if your notion is wrong?" asked Madeline.

Her grandmother stared at Madeline before saying, "I won't be there at that time. But you will, Madeline. Maybe he is right," agreed her grandmother. "Maybe it is the root. Because you're the descendant of that first fallen angel. No one in our family ever turned to the dark side, which is why we thought we had a clean family. You see...angels have wings, fallen angels don't have wings. Some of the fallen angels never wanted to turn the way they were, but they were tricked. A dark angel, he or she receives the wings from the first fallen angel."

Was her grandmother saying that her great... and God only knew how many generations, that the first fallen angel was related to her?

"Where is that first fallen angel?" inquired Madeline.

"Nobody knows. The last I heard, he associated himself with the dark beings." Her grandmother gave a look at Calhoun. "Some say he's living amongst the humans. The unwilling angels who were kicked out of heavens were granted with one redemption. To kill every dark angel."

Calhoun's eyes narrowed, "Let me guess. An entry back to heaven if you showed your loyalty."

"You are not sure if the dark angels will actually cause destruction," whispered Madeline. "Just because they show the traits of the first fallen angels you believe that the dark angels are bound to harm people."

"Every dark angel is bound to cause harm. It is an inevitable truth, Madeline," replied her grandmother, "And there's no redemption for your kind."

"I will make one for myself then," said Madeline.

After a moment of silence in the room, Madeline and the rest heard a man groaning in pain. The groans echoing louder in the rooms which were near to them, "Well, this was lovely," commented Calhoun. "We have another guest to greet. By any chance would you know any antidote for a werewolf?"

The older woman only glared at the vampire's audacity and Calhoun chuckled, "We'll see you later."

"I thought you were going to kill me," Madeline's grandmother instigated.

"Hm, I thought to keep you around for a little while longer." Calhoun wanted to kill the woman but at the same time, he felt she was hiding something.

"In the meantime, please enjoy my grandmother's company. She is a little shy, so she might not talk."

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NOTE: I will be busy from today to this Friday. Please expect 1 or no update. Thank you for patience~