The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-376

After entering the room, Beth had locked the door. Her hands shook, and her head hurt as if it was going to burst because of the pain she felt. She didn't know what to think about the woman whom she saw in the village and the memories that were passing one after another in front of her eyes. She felt her breath being caught in her throat, and she wheezed for air before making her way towards the bed.

The memories that her grandparents had hidden and locked away years ago from her were returning as if they were being thrown at her, and she didn't know how to digest it. Her lips trembled in fear. The sight of blood was clear, and it was not just the girl but also her very own sister whose hands were covered in blood.

"Beth?"

Beth whipped her head around to look at the door which she had closed. It was Madeline who had come to visit her. Should she behave like she was not in the room or had gone to sleep already? Instead of opening the door, Beth's feet moved back, and it hit the chair, causing a small creak of sound.

Madeline knocked on the surface of the door, "I know you are inside, Beth. Please talk to me," she coaxed her sister, hoping her sister would not shut herself in here and would speak about how she was feeling right now.

"Go away!" Beth replied from the other side of the door.

"I cannot. Please talk to me," Madeline pressed her hand on the surface of the door in the hope that Beth would open it. Her sister was finally trying to see things in a different light. The last thing she needed was for Beth to relapse back to her behaviour after her grandparents had messed with her memories. "I can explain to you. Everything you ask, I will tell you."

"Is it true what happened? What I saw back in the market?" demanded Beth without opening the door. "That woman whom I saw in the village, and the b-blood on your hands. Y-you killed someone. Oh God," whispered Beth, raising her hand to her mouth to cover it. She couldn't believe Madeline had the ability to kill someone. Beth then said, "You killed the girl...Why?!"

Madeline closed her eyes on hearing Beth raise her voice. She could tell that Beth was hysterical right now as her sister couldn't believe the truth that had suddenly pushed itself on her. Compared to her, Beth was slightly dramatic in taking information, and Madeline pursed her lips.

"She wanted to hurt you," replied Madeline, her speech soft and low just for Beth to hear, "There are more things in this world than what we have known and learnt."

"But you know...Was it just me who didn't know about it?" questioned Beth.

"I know because I met them, her kind," Madeline let go of the door, where she had been placing her hand. She looked left and right side of the corridor and saw it was just her at the front of the door. "Apart from us, there are other creatures, Beth. And the friend we once had, whom you believed that I took her away from you. I never did. The truth is she tried to get between us. She didn't want me, Beth, she wanted you. She wanted to be your friend, but that wasn't all that she wanted from you."

She heard the click sound of the door, and the door opened where Beth stood in front. Though Beth had not shown her reaction in the carriage, she was in complete shock remembering the blood and gore on the snow covered ground. She took a couple of steps backwards, maintaining a distance from Madeline when her sister stepped inside the room.

"Keep the door unlocked," said Beth, her eyes fixed on Madeline. Somewhere, it broke Madeline's heart thinking that Beth was going to put up walls between them again, "She is that girl, isn't she? The woman whom I met?"

"I didn't see her, but if her name is Jennine, yes," Madeline nodded her head, "She is that girl whom I killed in the past."

"How is it possible that she is still alive, and what does she want from me?" Beth had a deep frown on her face because she didn't understand what Jennine wanted from her. Especially one who had come back from the dead.

"I don't know why she's after you," Madeline herself had not met Jennine again, and she didn't know why she had tried to lure Beth, "It might be because of me. I killed her two times," and Beth's eyebrows raised high on her face, "Jennine is a demon, Beth."

"What?" Beth asked as if she hadn't heard it the first time.

"This world doesn't contain just humans, vampires, and werewolves. It is a world that is run in the background by the demons and angels, fallen angels mostly. Our grandparents were fallen angels, Beth. I know it sounds odd, but that is how it is," said Madeline to Beth, "Maybe even Aunt Mary or you can say relatives of ours from father's side."

Beth stood there in her place without reacting, trying to understand what Madeline said. "I guess if vampires exist, demons and angels do too," Beth's words came as a whisper, "How is it that our grandparents are fallen angels? Is that why the demon is after you and me?"

"I think the fallen angels have been taking birth again since the first ones who had fallen from heaven because of their misdeeds. We have been living with different kinds whom we didn't know, or weren't aware of," explained Madeline, "That chain you have around your neck, it isn't any heirloom from our family, but something that brings out the essence of the kind to let another person know who you are."

Beth furrowed her eyebrows, and her hand went up to touch the chain that she wore now, "I find it hard to believe," she shook her head.

Madeline stretched her hand forward, "Give me the chain. I will show you."

Beth pursed her lips, and then unhooked the chain to hand it over to Madeline, "Why don't you have one?" All this while, Beth believed it was because she was special, which was why she had a chain around her neck and Madeline didn't. But with the memories tumbling in her head, she realized it wasn't because she was everyone's favourite.

"I lost mine when I was young. Before you were born, I lost it," and Beth's hands turned cold. Her lips parted to speak, but no words came out through her lips.

Beth laughed, "Y-you are telling me that you are older than me? That cannot be true," and the nervous smile didn't disappear from her lips, "We are only a year apart from each other."

Madeline stared at Beth. Even before she had found out about the truth, she had always treated Beth with care no matter how demanding Beth was. She had always been that elder sister to Beth.

"I am two decades older than you, Beth," she stated and continued to speak, "Look at our parent's closely. You will see something that is amiss. I am going to wear this chain to prove my point, but I need you to remove it right away. Okay?"

Beth didn't know why Madeline said that, nonetheless, she agreed. Cautiously, she moved towards Madeline and saw her sister wear the chain. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Beth then saw the air around them shift like they were standing at the edge of the cliff. But that wasn't all. Beth noticed her sister's eyes starting to change. She would have called it to be a prank, but Madeline's expression changed, and the vases in the room broke into pieces. When the mirror on the wall broke, Beth quickly put her hands around Madeline's neck to remove the chain that belonged to her.

"I don't get it," said Beth and she saw Madeline cough out blood from her mouth. Beth took out her handkerchief from her pocket dress and gave it to her sister, "Why does it affect you and not me?" She had been wearing the chain since she was a small girl, and it had never affected her.

"You turned out to be a normal human being, Beth. At least that is what all of us believe while I...I turned to something different than what our grandparents were," came the whisper from Madeline.

"Were? W-what do you mean were?" asked Beth alarmed.

"They are dead," answered Madeline, wiping her lips with the handkerchief, and walking to the table to pour herself a glass of water. If Beth was getting to know the truth, Madeline believed it would be best to keep her sister informed beforehand so that she wouldn't get manipulated by anyone and would know whom to trust and whom to not when the guests would arrive at the castle.

"Did you kill them?" Beth didn't feel hurt as much as she was supposed to feel, and it might have been because somewhere, her heart had always been cold towards her paternal grandparents and at her aunt, "Wait...I didn't see Aunt Mary. Did she…?"

Madeline nodded her head, "I didn't kill them, but they are dead."

Beth turned around, her hands holding the side of her head as if she was trying to grasp the situation, "I don't understand how you are older than me when you look younger than me," and she turned again to face Madeline.

Madeline explained everything to Beth from the time of her visiting their grandparent's house until now on what happened. Beth unable to take in the amount of information, she went to the bed and took a seat at the edge.

"This makes so much sense," murmured Beth to herself, "I always had these fragments of dreams. When I used to visit grandpa's house, grandma used to whisper something to me as I fell asleep. She would often start with a story before she would say something that never made sense to me. Because I didn't understand it."

"She was trying to hide your memory. So that you would never see what was on the other side," replied Madeline, "They wanted you to live a normal life. Like a human."

Beth shook her head, "All those things were nothing but covered in lies. I cannot believe they had done that to you," she muttered under her breath. Putting Madeline in the coffin for so many years? Did that mean her grandparents were waiting for her to turn like Madeline so that they could bury her too? Isn't that why they gave the chain for her to wear? "I guess I did turn normal," said Beth before looking at Madeline who hadn't moved away from the table, still holding the glass in her hand.

"It isn't safe for you to go to the town or village alone, Beth. At least not until everything settles down. Especially with Jennine out there," reminded Madeline. It was possible that Jennine knew how much she cared for Beth, and it was the reason why Jennine was targeting her, "Beth?" she called seeing her sister staring at the floor.

"Yes," Beth answered before pursing her lips, "What about you, though? Did you ever come to learn where this Paschar is? Wouldn't it be easy to get his help in getting rid of these people who want you?"

"No one knows where he is. No one has seen him in many years. He must have completely disappeared or returned to heaven, after the woman whom he loved died," because that was a possibility, thought Madeline in her mind.

Beth doubted she would even step outside the castle after knowing and meeting Jennine who looked like she was very keen on inviting her to the tea party. "Why isn't she dead?" asked Beth disturbed.

"I think she's a higher level demon and I might have not been strong enough to kill her."

"Maybe you weren't before, but now it's different, isn't it?" asked Beth.

All these years, Beth's memories had been hidden and kept away from her. The bond that she shared with Madeline had been cut-off by her grandparent's such that she forgot how much she cared for Madeline. It wasn't that Beth had stopped caring, but it had evaporated in time. During that same time, she had seen how people treated them differently, it was subtle, but Beth noticed it. There were a lot of things that she had found to be unfair, but she had never been pushed to death by being placed in the coffin. She wondered how Madeline had even kept a sane mind, without coming out to be a vengeful person.

"I don't know," Madeline exhaled the air out of her lips, "I don't know how the wedding will go."

"I will see what I can do," Beth answered before getting up and walking near Madeline. "I am sure the King would not let anyone spoil the day." And even though Beth was still a little apprehensive after remembering the gore on the snow, she stepped forward before putting her hands around Madeline to hug her. "It will be fine."