Bride To His Darkness-Chapter 303: Silent Burden

Ivan couldn’t comprehend the mixed signals he was getting from Alistair’s action, but even if he wanted to assume the worst of it, he trusted Alistair a bit too much to see him in that kind of light. Exhaling softly, he quietly dropped the herbal cream on the wooden table adjacent where he stood, whilst his gaze returned to the vampire who appeared mentally disturbed– from his perspective.

"You sound like an ungrateful wimp right now, do you know that?" Replied Ivan, "you should be thanking me, not forcing your irrational demands down my throat. Save your threats for someone who it horrifies, cause they have no effect on me." He softly tsked and turned to face the mirror. He took off his shirt and carefully applied the herbal mixture to the fresh scar on his shoulder.

"If you got hit, you would be dead. Be grateful we’re both alive instead." He added, stealing glances at Alistair whose eyes subtly narrowed from the reflection of the mirror. Ivan didn’t have that time to ponder on what has already happened, and the only thing he could think about was healing quickly so they can resume journey tonight. No matter what happens, he wasn’t going to let anything get in his way of finding Samantha, regardless of what the Shapeshifter had said to him.

"No, you don’t understand." Alistair murmured beneath his tone, his voice laden with what Ivan perceived to be a sense of regret, "if you died, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. Listen, you need to stay alive till the end of this, that’s why I’m warning you not to try something this insane in the future. My death won’t be as significant as yours, it wouldn’t matter to anyone and it is only right that I remind you of that. It is my duty to keep you protected."

"I don’t need valid reasons to save someone I consider family." Ivan asserted sharply, "and as we speak, you’re being a nuisance. Now you listen, if I call you family, don’t take it lightly because at that moment, I just told you that I would die for you. You staying alive is as important as trying to keep me alive, and if you believe there’s no one out there who considers it significant, I’ll pour you hot water in your sleep, cause that’s an insult to me. If we’re done with this awkward conversation why don’t you make yourself useful and apply the herbs on my back. There a certain spots I can’t reach."

He picked up the small glass jar from the table and gave it to the bewildered Alistair, "here, you still owe me for saving you. I have some scratches below my spine if you could get to it quickly." He stood straight before the mirror, his eyes conveying that Alistair should begin with his treatment.

Asides this, he still had a format to complete before they can start leaving tonight. Thankfully, the wounds he incurred wasn’t the type that would hinder him from making any progress today– it also confirmed his suspicioun concerning the reason why he can’t die. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"Alistair." He drawled lazily, snapping the tranced vampire back to reality.

Alistair’s expression softened slightly, and there was a heavy weight in his heart that he could not bring himself to get rid off. When he was done attending to Ivan’s wounds, he stepped out of the tent in silence, not bothering to say a word to Ivan. The guards outside swallowed their fears as he walked past them, feeling the cold intensity that emanated from his being.

When he was out of sight, Ivan leaned his lower back against the table, arms folded, and he wouldn’t deny that Alistair’s sudden behavior was starting to get him really concerned. As concerned as he was about finding his wife, that didn’t mean he was oblivious to what was going on around him.

He could sense there was more to what Alistair intended to tell him, the vulnerability in his voice was unlike the Alistair he knew. The vampire had clearly spilled less than what he intended to, and that made Ivan wonder if he should go after his cousin or not.

"No."

He immediately shook his head at the thought; instead of Alistair, he’d find out what the problem was from Tobias. If there was one person who was capable of figuring out Alistair better than him, it was no one but Tobias. If by chance Tobias turns out clueless, then they’ll both have to figure out the cause of Alistair’s worrisomely behavior over the past few days.

"The stress..." he sighed at the amount of problems he has to deal with.

Moving away from the table, he exited his tent.

Lucy had rushed to his side the moment he stepped out, and she lowered her head in a polite bow before asking in a concerned voice. "Is his Majesty alright?" She laughed nervously, as though she just asked something stupid, "of course his Majesty is alright, but I wanted to make sure–"

"I’m fine." He cut her off with some assurance, "but do you know where Tobias must have gone?"

"He’s with his Majesty Duncan, he’s also interested in learning how to deactivate those explosives. Should I relay your request to see him? You just survived a blast and should get some rest before tonight."

"I don’t–"

"His Majesty needs to recover quickly so we can find Her Highness soon." Lucy added, knowing only the effect of her friend was capable of making him drop his guard. "I shall send your message to Prince Tobias, you can go inside and get some rest."

While everyone was staying alert in the small camp they had made, Alistair chose to take a stroll in the woods. Under the canopy, his footsteps were laden with the weight of his memories, and the rustling leaves whispered tales of his past as he walked through the dense woods.

The path he walked mirrored the twist of his moral quandary, and the whispers of remorse followed him.

The words of Ivan lingered in his head like a haunting melody, and he was tempted to punch a wall or anything that wouldn’t ease him from this inescapable burden weighing on his shoulder. He wouldn’t be in this predicament if he had avoided the the crystal... his mind wouldn’t be under the control of Marius if he hadn’t gone near it in the first place, and he could vividly remember how it all started.

That night when Ivan and Samantha sneaked out of Aunt Lucinda’s Palace, he had traversed the walkway on his own terms, whilst searching for his brother who seemed to have vanished from his side as usual. He couldn’t call out to him as they had to keep their presence unknown. He found solace as he strolled by, yet his respite was short-lived when his gaze fell upon a small, dark crystal gem, inconspicuously lying in his path.

He tilted his head slightly as he approached the gem cautiously, inexplicably drawn by the mysterious glimmer. He crouched before the harmless-looking thing, wondering if his Aunt had left them here, or a maid must have dropped it without realizing it.

He had no intention of returning it back, he literally considered it a win for himself, cause it seemed like a valuable piece. Smiling at the mischievous thought creeping into his head, he extended his hand to inspect it, but then, an action he never saw coming made him halt, whilst the crystal responded to his touch, cause presently, it was levitating with a surge of energy he failed to detect.

"What that..." he slowly rose to his feet, his eyes fixed on the crsytal before him, but when he sensed the malicious intent emanating from it, it was already too late, cause in a swift motion, the crsytal had shot itself straight into his chest– like an arrow piercing through a bullseye.

It knocked off the air from Alistair’s lungs, draining half of his energy in the process.

Minutes passed by, and Alistair could not bring himself to speak as a newfound power had inadvertently surged through his system. He staggered back when the effects of the crystal began to leave him dizzy, his vision hazy, like a water painting.

Through the blurriness of his gaze, he could see Tobias’s figure approaching from behind. The vampire appeared to be saying something to him, but he couldn’t hear it, and then it stopped.

His vision cleared, and for a moment he felt absolutely nothing. When he lifted his awestruck gaze, Tobias was already gazing at him with evident confusion in his eyes, and despite the amount of times he asked if he was fine, he could not bring himself to utter what had happened to him.

At first, he assumed it wasn’t a big deal, he never believed that he had a crystal pulsating inside his chest. Although he had felt the stabbing effect, his mind refused to accept it. Whenever he felt like bringing up the topic to Tobias, to clear his doubt that Tobias was probably fooling him with his silly tricks, his words would automatically hook at his throat, as if he had no command to say it.

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