A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 44: Who Took Darion?

The door stormed open, Jophiel’s figure coming into view. Elena frowned at the unannounced intrusion but Jophiel’s expression made her curious. Elena had never seen her so scared and sweaty.

"They took him My Lady!" She said, trying hard to catch her breath.

"Who took who?" She asked, a frown settled on her face. The maid was still trying to catch her breath.

"I heard from... from the knights. They arrested Darion in a tavern!" Elena’s eyes grew wide in surprise and realization. She instinctively climbed off the bed, slipping her feet into a pair of sandals.

Jophiel, whose expression now turned to an apprehensive one, asked, "Where are you going My Lady?"

"They’ll have him executed if he’s turned in. I have to do something!" She walked past Jophiel who was left undecided whether to follow or not. After giving thought to it, she ran after Her Lady.

"Do you even know who ordered his arrest?" Jophiel asked when she caught up with Elena. They paced through the hallway and appeared in the corridor that led to the throne hall.

"Who else if not the king?"

The double doors swung open revealing a council meeting in progress. All eyes fell on Elena, bloody red eyes! Fear instantly jolted through every fiber of her being, and she instinctively swallowed the lump in her throat. It was as if a reminder that she was still in the vampire lands.

But she didn’t want to falter, not in the presence of the king. She ascended the flight of stairs to meet with the parallel ground, Jophiel naturally disappearing from sight. And though she retained a calm expression, her heart was racing. She lifted her eyes to meet with the vampire Lords and Ladies gazes that appeared to pierce into her soul, and some, an appetizing meal in the walking.

Thoron stood, resting his hands on the edge of the table. He let his eyes travel around the council members before shifting them back to Elena. "What brings you here, Lady Thornhart?"

Elena halted three steps away from the king, offering her curtsies. "Sorry to disturb your meeting, Lords and Ladies, Your Majesty. If I may," her voice wavered a little despite the courage she had mastered, "A word with Your Majesty."

Thoron’s eyes fell on the council members again before he nodded at them. The younger ones were quick to leave, followed by the slightly older folks before the room was cleared. But not without the council members throwing dissatisfied looks on Elena’s way.

Silence fell in the room for a fleeting couple of minutes before Elena spoke. "I demand the immediate release of Ser Darion, a member of my and Prince Gabriel’s kingsguard. He was arrested and detained today by your command."

Thoron’s face switched to that of confusion and Elena was quick to notice it. Was she wrong.

"I ordered no such thing Lady Thornhart," he said, a frown settled on his face.

"It was foolish of me to accuse you of such slanders," she said, her eyes apologetically casted to the floor. "Maybe it was someone else’s command."

"No one would do such a thing without my consent!" He fumed. "Brandon would be the supposed suspect but he left with all the knights in his kingsguard today."

Elena looked up surprised by the new information. Why would Brandon Sinclair leave with every member of his kingsguard. Was there war, or one about to happen?

"Where did you get this information?" Thoron asked, eyeing the human curiously.

"From My Personal maid," she replied. And when Thoron gave her a longing look, she added, "She heard from knights in your kingsguard!"

"I’ll confirm if the information is indeed true and get back to you," he said, giving no more room for discussion. Elena simply nodded in acknowledgement before she left for her chambers.

*****

Darion groaned, holding his head in pain. Everything appeared blurry in his eyes before his vision came into focus. He withdrew his hand when he felt a warm liquid in his palm. Blood! It was his own blood. What the hell happened?

The last thing he remembered was enjoying ale in the tavern as usual. And ... there were chaos everywhere... and he was knocked off. That’s all he remembered!

His eyes surveyed his surroundings. He was in a dimly lit room with only a tiny window at the far too that let in controlled amounts of light. The door was made of iron, one too strong for a vampire to break. And it dawned on him!

"Oh shit!" He cursed, supporting himself up with the solid wall. These were the infamous dungeons of Eldoria. They were made to confine a long forgotten breed of vampires... He tried to remember the name but it was vague in his mind. In the end, he gave up.

Walking closer to the door, he slammed on it. "Anyone can hear me?" He called but no one responded. He slammed it again, thrice now with his fists to create an even louder sound. "Anyone out there?" He placed his ears on the cold metal but nothing, just total silence!

Disappointment, Darion kicked the door but ended up groaning in pain at the impact. Damn, the metal was hard!

And in his pained state, he heard footsteps approaching, louder with each passing second. The sound of a bunch of keys rung on the other side, and upon selection, the person from the other side turned the lock before pushing the metal open.

Darion was prepared to spear whoever wanted to come in and run away from this damned place. His timing was perfect, and with the door slightly open, he moved with all his might. His shoulders however met with hard flesh that jolted a fresh spasm of pain coursing through his cleavage.

He slowly lifted his eyes to meet with the length of a giant vampire! His eyes were freakishly red, so red the white in them had already dissipated. His height was twice that of Darion and a dwarf on top. And his face, it was the perfect definition of serious business.

The giant vampire’s hand moved, and when Darion raised his eyes, a fist closing on him was the last thing he saw before he succumbed to darkness!