The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-314

Four cloverleaf? Madeline stared at Calhoun's smiling face.

"I don't understand," she said to him, and Calhoun gathered her closer in his arms.

"Do you remember where you started to see the past?"

Madeline nodded her head, "I was in the alley," she replied to his question. Even though in the real world, it took only two hours before she returned from her sleep, she felt as if it was only yesterday that she was walking in the alley that was wet and muddy.

"My mother was looking for me, and we then went to my grandparent's house."

"It was also the same time when I first met you," hearing the words from Calhoun, Madeline's eyebrows raised. They met before the ball? "It was years ago. A lost memory that happened to resurface a few days ago. With you being introduced as a human when we met at the ball, I didn't connect it to you because of the age and time frame as it didn't add up. But it does now. It was also the time when I had started to live in the castle."

It was strange to think that she had met Calhoun before. Not in years would she have thought about something like that to happen.

"It must be around the time when you first went to sleep in the coffin. Right?" asked Calhoun in confirmation.

"It was. The very next night I ended up in the coffin," replied Madeline, "But I didn't get to see you," she murmured under her breath. Somewhere it would have been nice to have met the young Calhoun. To see how he was back then and how much he had changed since then, till now, "What were you doing there?" she asked him curiously.

"My grandmother sent a few men so that we could play catch," came the nonchalant reply from Calhoun, "She had ordered them to get rid of me, hoping the action would threaten me enough to not step back in the castle. But that only made my decision to stay and eliminate others instead. You gave me your cloverleaf and handkerchief that day. Hold on."

Calhoun placed Madeline on the bed and stood up to walk towards one of his many cupboards in the room. Pulling it to open, Madeline heard him rummaging through the things, and he turned around.

"This," Calhoun had a chain in his hand, and it had a similar pendant that her grandfather had shown in her past.

"I think my grandfather made that," said Madeline and Calhoun walked back to her, handing the chain for her to take a look at it. "He said it would protect me. I am not sure what it's supposed to protect me from. My sister wears something similar to this. He made two of them. I think my family didn't know that I wasn't wearing it at that point in time."

"Can you try remembering when it came off your neck, Maddie?" asked Calhoun, his voice filled with curiosity as he wanted to make sure about something else. Believing things were meant to happen.

Madeline didn't have a speck of memory about her being in the alley or meeting Calhoun there. Regardless of it, she closed her eyes, trying to recollect anything connected to it. She had to tell herself that she wasn't any ordinary person anymore. She was an angel, someone who once had wings.

She saw flashes of green behind her closed eyes. There were many grass blades. Her small hands were trying to search for something, and she saw that cloverleaf which she picked. But at the same time, the chain around her neck fell, and she put it in her handkerchief.

"It was after picking the cloverleaf," she said, opening her brown eyes to meet his that looked enthralled.

"You wouldn't mind if I continue to keep this in the cupboard, do you? I rather prefer you wear something that doesn't come from your grandparents or your parents, or what once belonged to them," the last thing Calhoun needed was them trying to trample both his and Madeline's relationship.

A thought crossed his mind and his lips twisted, wondering how things would have been if he had been attracted to the wrong sister. With Elizabeth who wore the chain, Calhoun would have been possibly misinterpreted the whole scenario, thinking it was Madeline's sister whom he had met because of the identical pendants. But instead of Beth, his eyes had fell straight on Madeline even though there were plenty of other people in the ballroom.

Taking the chain from her hand, he put it back in its place. His hand brushed the handkerchief that was folded which was in the corner of the drawer.

Things like these, it meant little to nothing to Calhoun. Not just in the present, but even in the past. At the same time, it wasn't many who had shown him comfort without expecting nothing in return. Years had passed by, yet he had not thrown this little trinket of chain nor the piece of old cloth which he had not bothered to clean. His blood was still stained in the cloth. Brushing his fingertips across the handkerchief, he brought his hand up to his nose, smelling the sweet fragrance. Here it was, thought Calhoun to himself.

The smile continued to spread across his lips, broader and broader before he turned to Madeline, who looked slightly worried by his smile.

"Do you understand what it means?" asked Calhoun, his hand pushed the drawer to close it and he returned to sit next to her, "We were meant to meet again. Even if it meant you were going to end up in the coffin again, you would still come out and we would meet."

Madeline felt her hands being taken by Calhoun, "My grandparents, they spoke about the fallen angel who would come looking for me."

"Did they say why?" She shook her head.

"I don't know. They appeared to be worried about it. Also, I think someone let me out of the coffin after I was put in there," she relayed the information and Calhoun tilted his head.

"That was definitely not me," joked Calhoun, "It is okay, whoever it is. It must be someone who wanted to awake you." Madeline didn't see what the point was to wait until morning, and she told him what she saw, and what happened. When Calhoun had heard every bit of what she had to share, giving her his time and attention, he finally said, "Your grandparents are unintelligible creatures," was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

Calhoun said, "Which parent or family member jumps to the conclusion that you are an evil being without seeing if you were at fault or not? You were a child, a small girl. I remember you were only this tall," he used his hand to give her an approximate of her height. He rolled his eyes, "And your parents," he tched.

"Fallen angels don't kill people. And there was just too much blood in the room. I think they got scared and worried," frowned Madeline in thought.

"That they would be next to die?" asked Calhoun, "It is still ridiculous to jump into conclusion without trying to find out what happened. Even the humans and vampires have better way of dealing with things unless you trap people. For example, Markus got caught because there was enough evidence against him. And even though there was no reason for me or Catherine to go under trial with the High House members, they still did because they had a speck of doubt on us. Of course, more than a speck on me, but with no evidence against me, there's nothing anyone can do. The only results out of this is, you get to know who is vouching for you and who is ready to throw you into prison and have you go through a possible execution."

"I thought King's didn't undergo trials," replied Madeline to his words. She felt him brush the back of her hands with his fingers.

"Normally, they don't. But the charges on me are glaringly too much that sometimes the High House members feel like there is a need to do it, just to show people that they are fair. You should already know though, nothing is ever fair. The tables can turn any side, at any point of time," said Calhoun, "Some are waiting for my downfall, while some don't care about it."

"Doesn't that mean you will have to watch your back constantly?"

Calhoun gave her a thoughtful nod, "That is true. A King always has enemies," seeing Madeline's mind drift towards his words, he said, "Anyways, we were speaking about your grandparents. I must say we have had some very antiquey ones."

"I feel terrible for what they did to Beth," confessed Madeline. The reason why they even tampered Beth memory was so that her sister would not remember a single thing of what happened, "She's not a bad person," Madeline said to Calhoun, knowing how he didn't mind dangling Beth in front of his wolves, and the only reason he wasn't doing it for her sake.

"It is still hard to believe that what your sister has turned out to be today is because of your grandparent's actions. Memory can be tampered only to a certain extent. And we all are selfish in our ways," stated Calhoun, "There's always the external influence, but I am not sure if it could be fixed. Imagine it to be like, you constructing a tower with the cards. There might be a loose card in the middle. You want to fix it, but you should also know that fixing it might tumble the entire tower down. Many times you cannot fix things."

It wasn't that Madeline didn't love her sister the way she was, but after hearing Beth had gone as far as to try poisoning Calhoun by listening to Markus' words, she didn't want Beth repeating it again.

In her memories of the past, Beth was kinder, and they were closer. It made Madeline wonder if things changed once she returned back from the graveyard to East Carswell after the second time she was put in the coffin. Did Beth perhaps build competition with her?

Pursing her lips, Madeline said, "I know the things she has done, it could warrant her for treason, and I am thankful that she is still alive and breathing."

"You know I would do anything for you, don't you?" asked Calhoun, "But, that doesn't mean I will keep harmful things around you. Raphael can watch over her. Hopefully, she will mend her ways before it's too late."

"Where is grandma right now?" she inquired.

"In the forest, in the company of the wolf," he answered her casually.

Calhoun took her into the forest, walking deeper and deeper where no one would ever come to wander. They reached a cave that was hidden by bushes. The night was colder than the previous night, a sign of the oncoming Winter that was soon going to arrive in the lands of Devon.

As it was night, there was no light, and Calhoun held Madeline's hand in his as they walked towards the cave. He raised his hand to have fire light in the torches that were on the walls. When Madeline stepped inside, she caught sight of two cages that were occupied. One that had her grandmother who looked like she was ready to kill her and in another one...the other one there was a werewolf. She instantly frowned as she had not caught sight of the moon in the sky.

"How are you doing in here with your new company?" asked Calhoun to her grandmother who raised her hand towards Calhoun and Madeline noticed the cage vibrate, "Still angry, I see. I thought you might be bored because my grandmother doesn't speak and is as useless as she was in the past. He is a much better company, isn't he."

"How dare you put me next to a werewolf," her grandmother asked through her gritted teeth, "And you," she turned her eyes at Madeline, "How can you let him treat me like this. Do your parents know what you did to your grandfather and to me?"

When Madeline was small, she remembered how her grandparents were strict and how she feared them. But now the fear seemed to have disappeared after seeing what they had done. She could hold her gaze with her grandmother without looking away because she knew she wasn't wrong. She had done nothing wrong, said Madeline to herself.

"They will know about it tomorrow," Madeline replied to have her grandmother raise her eyebrows.

"You feel no guilt for what you did do you? Do you understand the severity of the matter, Madeline?" questioned her grandmother.

Madeline took a step towards her grandmother, and Calhoun let go of her hand so that she could take another step forward. "I do. More than before. Tell me, grandma," she began, "You said angels are not supposed to kill or be tainted by murder. What were you trying to do with me then?"

Her grandmother gave an oblivious look, "What did we do to you? We were protecting you!"

"Right," agreed Madeline, a small smile appeared on her lips which didn't quite reach her eyes, "You try to protect people by keeping them safe, but when you try to nail them in the coffin, that means you want to get rid of the person."

Her grandmother stared at her for the briefest moment, not responding to her words. "What do you know about the trouble that you will cause in this world. The chaos that you will bring upon the people whom you love and care. Your grandfather and I were only doing our jobs. To put you to ease-"

"You mean to put her to rest in the coffin?" interjected Calhoun. He was amused with the way the older woman continued to glare at him, bringing him that much entertainment.

Madeline said, "I know what you and grandpa did to me. I saw it." Having already witnessed the past, she didn't need to hear her grandmother trying to defend their actions, "I had some questions to ask. Grandpa said he would come for me. The first fallen angel. Why did grandpa say that?"

Her grandmother's eyes widened on hearing this, "Because the first fallen angel is trying to collect the dark angels to go against the heavenly people. All the fallen angels, they have been trying to prevent anything remotely close which would come in line with the first fallen one."

"Why?" questioned Madeline.

"Even though the dark angels are born through the fallen angels, they still hold the traits and abilities of the angels. They hold enormous power that can be harnessed and used to destroy unimaginable things. Things that are fallen cannot be angels, they are not pure," explained her grandmother.

Calhoun sighed, "Thank you for some insights, but the rest is utter garbage. You know the existence of the demons don't you?"

"Creatures that ought to be burned in hell. I should have known the first time you stepped into the house when I felt something very different about you," said the woman, her eyes narrowed at him.

"I have that effect on people. If angels exist, demons do too, but I doubt you realize that there are different types when it comes to demons," he tried to educate Madeline's grandmother, "The first time little Madeline killed those people, they were not humans but demons. Soul eaters, in literal sense. What your granddaughter did was due to her instinct to protect."

"Even if they are fallen angels, one is not supposed to hurt another!" exclaimed the older woman and Calhoun chuckled.

"What a hypocrite. That's rich coming from someone who tried to attack and kill their own granddaughter. You know you should practice what you preach, which is why I never preach," as he grinned, his fangs came into view.

Madeline noticed how her grandmother's eyes flared up at Calhoun's taunting words, "What we are doing is trying to redeem ourselves. To protect catastrophe from taking place. You didn't see what we saw." She turned to look at Madeline as if her granddaughter was a stranger. "Her eyes, they turned white. The look on her face, maybe she failed to notice it, but my husband and I did. The pleasure of blood is never a good trait. The demon was torn to pieces."

"It doesn't justify what you did to me," Madeline frowned deeply at what her grandmother said, "You didn't even ask why it happened."

"Because the fallen ones don't harm others. Especially not when a person is that small. It was enough to know, and we did what we had to do, but we never knew you would return," her grandmother had a look of horror on her face just by recollecting the memories, "It's not too late to kill yourself."

Calhoun's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand forward. In the next second, her grandmother fell on her knees, screaming in pain, "You fallen angels have fucked up theories that makes no sense. What part of self-defence doesn't go through that rusted head of yours, milady?"

"Have you seen this first fallen angel?" inquired Madeline.

"We do not associate with the ones who pushed us into this lifestyle," her grandmother folded both her hands against her chest, "We don't know how that person looks or where he is."

"Do you know who might know about him?" Madeline continued to question, "What about that man. Walter."

Madeline's grandmother didn't look pleased that Madeline knew so much about what happened in the past. "Your grandfather and I didn't know where he went. After we were done with nailing you in the coffin, he had disappeared."

"Sketchy people sure associate themselves with sketchy people," hummed Calhoun.

Next to her grandmother's cage, the werewolf that was bigger than Maddox in size growled at them, "Get this thing away from here," complained her grandmother.

Madeline turned to Calhoun, "Why is he in his werewolf form? There's no moon."

Calhoun's eyes shifted to the werewolf that appeared to be in a rage, baring its teeth and ready to take a bite. He wondered if the werewolf would find the granny in here to be appetizing, but then there was no telling who would kill whom. For someone who appeared to have no ability like her husband, Calhoun saw how every time she got angry and raised her hand, the cage she was in shook.

"Mr. Heathcliff decided that he liked his wolf form and he would enjoy his time as a werewolf," came the dull answer from Calhoun which Madeline didn't find it to be funny.

"This is that tailorman?" asked her grandmother, surprised.

"How long has he been like this?" Madeline didn't want James to be forever stuck as a werewolf. That would only mean death, not that it didn't warrant one with just a bite from another werewolf.

When Madeline stepped forward, the werewolf jumped forward and tried to bite her, "You should get it killed before it infects others."

"How can you say that?! He is still a person!" Madeline couldn't believe how swift her grandmother's decision was when it came to killing someone.

"Theodore said James didn't change since last night. James has been like this for almost a day. I hate to agree, but your grandmother is right. As time will tick, it will be hard for him to keep himself in his human state, and he will fall into the second category of no point of return."

"What about the antidote?"

"Antidote's do not exist, Madeline," huffed her grandmother, "Not everyone can be saved in this world. We protect what we can. Better to see him die than writhe in pain."

When they were ready to leave, Madeline couldn't resist but ask, "Is there a way to fix Beth's memories?" She and her grandmother looked at each other in the eye.

"No," came the answer.

The fire that was burning in the torches extinguished themselves when they left the cave. Calhoun and Madeline walked in silence, listening to the crickets chirp around them.

"Don't worry about the werewolf," she heard Calhoun speak, who was next to her.

"You said we have to kill James," came Madeline's small voice in worry.

Calhoun offered her a smile, "I wanted to rile the woman in there. I have sent a letter to a man who my mother once knew. I don't know if the address is still the same, but hopefully, he will have something for James. Until then, he will need to stay in there."

"And my grandmother?" asked Madeline carefully.

"If you have all your answers, I will be more than happy to get her a place in the graveyard. I thought it would be better to have lesser people to worry about before the day of the wedding," Calhoun conveyed his thoughts. His aunt and her family were not allowed in the castle, Madeline's grandparents were kept to the side where one was dead, and the other would soon come to follow. Calhoun could finally have some peace in the castle.

Madeline didn't know what to answer. Death was not easy, but she wasn't naive to think that her grandmother would happily welcome her back in her arms. Things weren't the same as before. But at the same time, she wasn't her grandmother to wish death on someone.

Seeing her take time, Calhoun decided not to pressure her for an answer, but he said, "It is okay to be selfish in this world. If you aren't, someone else will be selfish enough to impose it on you. Take your time."

Calhoun wanted to ask if Madeline encountered any strange person in the past, but with her gentle and angelic nature, who once saved the man who was about to drain her blood, he kept the question to himself. Madeline had told that someone had let her out of the coffin, and it wasn't by herself, he wondered who it could be.

"I don't know how I will break down the news to my family about grandpa," came Madeline's worried words.

"I will help you with it," he offered her with a bright smile.

When Calhoun said those words, Madeline believed things would go much more smoothly with his assistance. But next day, after breakfast, Calhoun summoned her parents in an isolated room with just four of them in there.

"Mr. Harris, I heard you and your family put Madeline in the coffin while she was still alive…" started Calhoun and her parents turned stiff by his words.