The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: A secret within by Alina Yanovna

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It was hard to know if Calhoun was angry.

They had left the horses behind, walking further and further into the forest and Madeline could only hope that this wasn't about another cliff ahead of them, "I can walk myself!" she said.

Calhoun instead of letting her go, answered, "You were the one who said its a cage. Shouldn't I make your words come true, of what you said in the morning?" he taunted her.

"When did you last listen to what I said?" came the quick retort through Madeline's lips.

"Like now? I am only complying to your thoughts," Calhoun said and Madeline felt her heart was going to jump out of her throat any moment. She didn't know where Calhoun was taking her and what he had on his mind. She wanted t go back to the castle, back to the room. No, she wanted to go home.

She tried to pull her hand away from him, and when Calhoun did let it go, Madeline staggered back. Her back hitting the closest tree to lean back. Both Madeline and Calhoun glared at each other.

"What is wrong with what I said? You keep me here by force, not letting me go back home. Twist and turn my words, so that you can use it on me. This is a new and unknown place that I have never been to, and I don't know anyone with whom I can normally speak to without having to watch every word of mine. I get looks by people as if there's something going on, hearing words that is untrue! I am not that kind of woman! A whore," Madeline whispered the last word, stopping for a moment before she continued, "You cannot expect to get a woman's heart by force! This is not how it works. Maybe it is how other woman liked it. I am not that kind of person. I-I never heard or been called by those words before and because of you…" she trailed.

Tears filled up her eyes, refusing to spill out as they sparkled, glaring at Calhoun.

She saw Calhoun's eyes narrow down that looked furious and she was sure he was going to push her off the cliff himself this time. It didn't take much time for Calhoun to close in the distance and stand in front of her. Madeline continued to lean against the rough bark of the tree for support so that her knees would not give away.

"Who did you hear it from?" Calhoun's eyes had turned dark, similar to what she had seen last night, but it was for different reasons.

With all the things she had tried to keep a lid on, trying not to offend the King had gone in vain. In an emotional breakdown of anger, she had blurted out something which she had thought not to mention to Calhoun before.

The tears in her eyes had slowly evaporated, but her face turned pale.

"What?" she whispered, her voice came out lower than the one she had used during the time she had vented out at him.

When Calhoun raised his hand towards, Madeline closed her eyes quickly out of her fear. She heard him say,

"I won't hurt you, Madeline. Haven't I said that before to you?" Calhoun asked. Madeline found it hard to believe, with the way he had looked at her in pure anger even though it was not directed at her, "I want you to react to me, to my words but I won't hurt you physically nor let someone else hurt you. Look at me," he demanded, and she opened her brown eyes.

"I want to go back to the castle. I want to rest," she said.

"We will go back, but I need you to tell me who said that to you?" Calhoun asked her, his hand petting on the side of her head with gentle hand movements. Since the day Madeline had arrived at the castle to stay, he had given orders to the main in charge that was to be passed to the other servants on how to behave with the human girl.

It seemed like there were some insolent beings in the castle who didn't get the message.

Calhoun believed that it was only him, who could do things to Madeline- if it was to make her cry or make her uncomfortable. But if someone else was making her uncomfortable, he would have to make sure it didn't happen.

The girl was his and no one else's.

Madeline who was already upset, had felt even worse, when she had overheard the maids speaking ill about her. That she was another whore of the King, who had been bedded by him. She didn't know how things in the castle worked. Maybe it was common for Calhoun to take women into his quarters and the maids liked to gossip, but it didn't sit well with her. But at the same time, she knew the consequences if she informed it to Calhoun what she had overheard and who it was.

Trying to calm her breath, she tried to shift the conversation by asking, "Was that all you heard from my words?"

His hand that was still petting the side of her head slowed down and her heart hitched, "I hear every word that leaves from that lips of yours. I don't miss them, sweet girl, because everything that you say does matter. Let's see how we can work out things but before that, I need you to tell me where you heard it."

Unlike the teasing expression, he often used on her, Calhoun was quite gentle with her and Madeline was not used to this side of him. Given he had never physically hurt her, she didn't know if the people she would mention would continue to exist the way they did right now.

"Who was it?" Calhoun coaxed her for an answer, "Tell me," came his patient voice but only someone who knew the King personally, knew that there was nothing patient when it came to his actions and that it was only temporary.

Madeline parted her lips, "I was just upset." Sure she was angry, and people gossiped all the time. It is what they did, but she didn't expect anything ill towards them, "I am okay now."

But Calhoun was not ready to let it go. To him, Madeline was the precious thing he had found out of luck, and she belonged to him. And if a person tried to so much as even look at her way with an intention to harm her, he would deal with it in his own ways.

Calhoun then said, "I might let things slide when it comes to you, but it doesn't mean it holds the same when it comes to others."

Seeing that Calhoun was not going to let it go, Madeline finally said, "It was just something I heard in the castle."

"That is obvious. Who was it?" he asked her, "If you don't tell me it will only repeat. Is that what you want to hear?" If he let her go, there would be none of these situations arising, but there was no point bringing it up as Calhoun appeared to have made up his mind to keep her here forever, "Madeline," this time his voice was low and stern on her ears.

She finally answered, "It was the maids."

Upon hearing Madeline's words, Calhoun returned back to the castle with her. His shoes on the floor made a sharp noise on the floor of the castle as he walked and Madeline followed, keeping up with him.

"What are you going to do with them, Milord?" she asked in a hurry. She was the one who had blurted out the words, and she was the person who didn't want Calhoun doing something bad to them.

"To talk to them," he answered, his expression had turned from anger to a certain calmness that worried her. It was because of the way he walked. It didn't seem like he was only going to talk. The servants who were walking in the corridor halted their steps to let the King pass with a bow to raise their heads only when the King had walked past them.

Madeline closed her eyes, cursing herself internally for the folly she had made and she continued to walk next to the King, "Please wait!" she pleaded.

Calhoun listened to her and stopped- as if to heed the words she had spoken to him during her little vent, something that had not come to his notice.

"Yes, Lady Madeline," he said, facing her, his voice coming out politer than ever before.

"People speak all the time…" she trailed. Her eyes requesting him not to do something bad to the maids.

"But they don't speak about you in a distasteful tone," remarked Calhoun before saying, "You said you wanted to go back to your room. Go rest," he offered her a serene smile which made him look like a devil.

She wanted to rest before he had decided to speak to the maids. Even if she went to the room, she would not get a wink of sleep now.

When Calhoun started to walk again, Madeline was quick to follow him on her heel, and the King didn't object her from following him. It wasn't every day the lady took an interest in what he was doing.

With the King back in the castle, Theodore was quick at Calhoun's service. Calhoun ordered, "Get the servants in the courtroom."