NIGHTS OF HALLOW-Chapter 105: Persuasion

Thank you for the golden tickets @Callie_Vanda. <3

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Perdita cast a side glare at Sthena whose lips stretched into a wide smile.

"You look shocked to hear my answer," Sthena commented.

Why was he smiling and speaking with her like they were all good?!

Perdita refused to reply to him. She tried to remove her hand from his hold but the man wouldn’t budge.

"Your Majesty, people are watching." She said looking ahead of them to see the maids avert their gaze when they saw them.

"Let them watch," Sthena calmly replied.

"They will get the wrong idea," Perdita said with gritted teeth, still trying to wriggle her hand out.

"Let them,"

"Why? To fuel the rumor of how I’m the king’s woman?" Perdita sarcastically remarked.

"Well, aren’t you enjoying it? Don’t tell me you don’t feel good being addressed as my woman." Sthena flashed Perdita an innocent smile that was full of mischief.

Perdita glared furiously at Sthena not minding if he was the king or not. "What are you getting at?" She questioned in a hard voice.

"What does it look like in your eyes?" Sthena questioned back and scoffed when Perdita’s nails dug into his palm. "Continue doing that and I would not guarantee what will happen to you."

"Are you threatening me?" Perdita narrowed her eyes and pushed her nail deeper into Sthena’s palm. He didn’t even hiss or show any sign of pain.

"Are you feeling threatened?"

"Why can’t you answer my questions straight? You always reply with your own. Are you still looking for fun? For something to amuse you? Hah!" Perdita let out a mock laugh "I guess you want to make fun of me and probably make the rumors more believable."

Sthena did not respond to this as the smile on his face fell and he let go of Perdita’s hand.

Perdita felt the heat of his hand leave hers and she suddenly had a weird feeling that she didn’t want to acknowledge what it was. She brushed it off and said to him, "You said you wanted to speak with me. Where are we going or rightly put, where are you taking me?"

"Now you’re asking?" Sthena smirked without answering her again, and this infuriated Perdita more.

The rest of the walk to wherever Sthena had in his mind he was taking him and Perdita to was completed in silence. And soon they arrived at the place after taking many turns in the numerous hallways of the castle.

It was the rooftop of the castle surrounded by glass walls while the top was left open allowing the snow to fall inside it.

The place was windy as it was the rooftop, and Perdita shivered a little from the cold as the dress she wore was an off-shoulder dress with flutter hands.

Perdita loved the view of the rooftop where one could see the castle all over. She also loved the cool and quiet it enveloped one with. A faint smile graced her lips before her attention returned to Sthena who was equally looking at her.

Almost a minute passed they stayed in silence staring at each other and Perdita was the first to avert her gaze.

To break the silence, Perdita said, "You wanted to tell me something, Your Majesty?"

"Yes," Sthena affirmed with a nod of his head while Perdita waited to hear what he was going to say that made him call her out, alone.

A gust of wind blew inside the glass rooftop with white flakes of snow following it. Perdita shivered again and wrapped her hands around herself while wondering why he had to bring her to an open space.

Sthena removed his outer coat and walked towards Perdita to cover her with it, but as usual, Perdita moved away.

"His Majesty shouldn’t give his coat to me."

"Will you stop being stubborn? The cold will affect you more than it will to me. You’re a turned vampire after all." As he spoke he draped the coat around Perdita looking a bit annoyed. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

His hands rested on Perdita’s shoulders which he did not remove immediately. He began to speak, "I know you’re still angry with me, Perdita."

"I told the King that I am not angry with him," Perdita responded and shrugged her shoulders so Sthena’s hand will leave her, but the man still kept his hands on her shoulders.

"Can you leave my sh—"

"Shush," Sthena quietened Perdita by placing his index finger on her lips. "When did you suddenly become so talkative?" It was not a question, but his words earned him a glare from Perdita.

"You said you’re not angry with me?" Sthena asked with his head slightly bent to the side as he watched her. His red orbs reflecting in her green ones.

He went on the say, "If that is so, then call me by my name."

Perdita pursed her lips, refusing to speak.

Sthena finally removed his hand from her shoulders and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "You’re still angry with me. There’s no need to hide it."

"I don’t know how to explain it to you, but you have to believe me when I say I didn’t mean to hide my identity from you."

"When we first met in the market, I never thought I would see you again. Our friendship..."

"Friendship?" Perdita cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"Yes. Isn’t that was it is? Or are you saying we are not friends and are enemies then?" He narrowed his eyes at her and he continued the speak when she did not answer again, something he noticed her doing since he came out with her. Even the way she looked at him was different. Cold and indifferent.

"As I was saying, our friendship started on a weird path, and crossing paths with each other each time I came to the village led to me saving you or helping you out on one thing or the other. Isn’t that right?" He asked but Perdita made no attempt to answer him knowing he was saying the truth.

"My intentions at first, had been to ignore you, but that was until I discovered you and Marco were taking those pills you bought from Mr. Malphus which were originally produced by a man called Vetis Leander."

"It was then I decided to always monitor you and your brother because, from the beginning, I always felt that something was not right when it came to your transformation."

"At first, I thought it was because of the pills that made your eye color remain the same human eye color as they were before, but I was wrong." Sthena paused and turned to look at Perdita who was paying rapt attention to what he was saying.

He went on, "You two were a mystery I wanted to uncover, especially on you, and to do that, I had hidden it from you two that I was the king. The reason was that you two will become guarded and refuse to cooperate if I had told you my position in the Kingdom."

"So, you now see and know why I kept it from you?"

Sthena explained and watched Perdita bite her lower lip in thought. After a while, Perdita hummed "Hmm," She nodded understandingly and further said, "I understand it now you’ve explained it, but you don’t have to worry about it anymore."

Perdita smiled. The smile made Sthena’s lips twist in displeasure knowing she was thinking of something he wouldn’t like to here. And exactly as he had thought, he heard Perdita say,

"You don’t have to bother yourself about us. I’ve decided that after Marco recovers, we will leave the castle." She said and turned the other way.

"You won’t," Sthena shook his head in disapproval.

"I will, Your Majesty. I am not changing my mind." Perdita asserted and crossed her hand across her chest.

"It’s not safe outside."

"And neither was it ever safe inside here." Perdita retorted sharply.

"It is," Sthena answered in the same vigor as Perdita. "With me here, I can protect you." He asserted in a proud tone and it made Perdita blink at the intensity at which he had said it.

Perdita suddenly laughed. The sound of her laughter was sweet and smooth to the ears.

"Why?" Perdita quizzed with a suspicious look in her eyes.

"Why?" Sthena returned her question. "It is because I want to protect you and your brother."

"I know you’re not aware that Vetis Leander the owner of the pills you two were drinking is after you two. Especially you, Perdita."

Perdita’s mouth fell open at what Sthena said, "Why would he be looking for us?"

"Because you and your brother are the first-hand lab rat that drank his pills and he wants to capture you and continue with his experiment, which I cannot guarantee would be successful as you will end up dead even before he starts."

"I’m not telling you this to scare you or persuade you to stay, it’s your choice from this moment. I’m just leaving the alarm bells that you might not be fast to hear when he catches you both."

Now she was scared.

"Who do you think was the man who introduced himself as Samuel?" Sthena turned to face the other way as he continued to speak. "That man was not from me as he had posed to be, he came from Vetis Leander to capture you."

Perdita’s eyes widened on their own together with her already open mouth. She asked, "Why didn’t tell me all this before?"

"I wanted to, but you were sick before you found out about my true identity which is why you are still angry at me," Sthena responded and turned to look at Perdita.

"I would advise you to stay here till things settled down. You don’t know what might be out there waiting for you to step out. And not to add too, we are still investigating what you two originally were."

"I do not forbid you from leaving, but would leaving the castle do you and your brother any good when you have no place to stay at the moment?" Sthena turned his face to look at Perdita, making sure he held her gaze.

"Tell me, what’s your decision? Would you stay here and let me protect you or would you choose to leave and welcome danger into your arms?"