The Crown's Obsession

Mr. and Mrs. Harris were startled to think that the world was so small. They had heard that Markus worked for the King, but the vampire had never mentioned that he was the King's cousin. How strange, thought Mr. Harris to himself. One had sent his men to tear down the shop while the other was helping to rebuild the shop again, so much of a difference in nature within a family.

He smiled along with his wife, not wanting to cause any trouble for their daughter Beth.

"Yes, we have met already," answered Mr. Harris without bringing up the time and situation of how they met. With the King here, Mr. Harris believed it was better to avoid the topic. The King had set his eyes on his younger daughter Madeline, and he was about to marry her soon. Mr. Harris wanted both of his daughters to be happy, and not wanting the other family's rage to befall on his daughters.

"How wonderful. I wonder why I didn't hear about it," remarked Lady Rosamund, "It is good to know and make connections with the people who the King knows. It has been a while since most of the family members have sat together at the table. Doesn't it feel nice, milord," Rosamund asked Calhoun.

Calhoun who was looking and listening to the two families converse, smiled at his aunt's question,

"Very much so. The last time when these many related family members sat down here at the table was, when the King and the Queen died," he offered his aunt a smile who awkwardly returned it, "It is good to have people at the dining table," he paused for a second before saying, "Still, I believe it is also good to have one or two, people whom you can trust, right?" he chimed in question.

"Yes, but it gets lonely. Doesn't it," replied Lady Rosamund, "Even a small house is much better than the bigger one and living alone in it."

"Hm," Calhoun responded to say, "We all shall take it that uncle and you will move to a small house once Markus and Sophie get married else that would be like going back to the words you spoke now."

"My nephew likes to joke at the table," said Lady Rosamund to Mr. and Mrs. Harris who sat in front of her.

Calhoun didn't ignore it and said, "That is what my aunt likes to think," and he raised his glass of wine to take a drink from it.

Whilst they were having their supper which was extravagant in Harris' eyes as they were not used to having so many varieties and delicacies to eat, Beth couldn't help but take a piece of everything that she could taste with her right hand.

"What happened to your hand, Elizabeth?" asked Lady Rosamund after noticing how the human girl was making use of just one hand instead of two. Unable to hold and cut the meat with only one hand, Beth was struggling when it came to the cutting the food.

Beth smiled, "It was nothing, just a small wound," she replied to Lady Rosamund.

She could hardly believe that she was meeting Markus' family.

Beth was intrigued when Markus mentioned that he worked for the King. A man who worked in the court was not someone who belonged to a lowly family but someone who belonged to a high status. But to think that Markus was the cousin of the King, Beth's mood now elevated itself compared to the time at noon.

With Sophie, who had already informed about the human being bit by the wolf, Lady Rosamund responded, "A small wound and such a big kerchief to be wrapped?"

"That's what happens when you step out of line," murmured Sophie under her breath, who was seated diagonally from Beth.

Beth gave out a small laugh, she didn't want to admit in front of everyone that she had got bit by a wolf, "There was too much of blood-"

"I am surprised, Miss Elizabeth," came the voice of the King from the head of the table. Beth turned and leaned forward with a questionable look on her face.

"Milord?" asked Beth. Her skin tingled when she looked at the King's handsome face this close. The truth was both of them were sitting on far ends, but to Beth, it wasn't every day she got to see the King and not everyone were lucky to be in his presence.

Calhoun took his time to sip the wine he had raised, making the girl wait along with others who were listening in on the conversation that was taking place at the table.

He said, "What did you do to get bitten by the wolf? My wolves don't indulge themselves in something that doesn't interest them unless they find a person to be a threat."

Beth's face turned red with embarrassment, "I was just standing there, milord," she answered, her eyebrows furrowed before looking at her food. She then heard Calhoun ask,

"Are you sure about that?"

Calhoun had not toyed and teased Madeline today. But that didn't mean he would spare others who were at the table. Making people uncomfortable was his forte, and it delighted his eyes to see them squirm.

Madeline wanted to warn Beth not to lie and make up reasons with Calhoun as it would be nothing less, to her sister digging the ground for herself.

Beth gave out another surprised expression on her face. The King was there with her when her hand was bleeding, why was he asking her again? She nodded her head, "I wouldn't harm animals, milord. I love animals, especially the wolves you have in here, they are gorgeous. I didn't know what happened," she feigned innocence.

Calhoun continued to stare at Beth as he chewed the food slowly and a knowing smile appeared on his face.

"The wolves must have sniffed the bad odour and character," said Sophie who looked at Beth with raised eyebrows, "Wolves are allergic to the lowly cu-" Sophie stopped when her mother's nails dug into her hand under the table.

"Everyone appears to be in a good mood today," Lady Rosamund laughed while her nails continued to dig into Sophie's hand so that her daughter would not cause any damage, "Did you get the wound cleaned? Sometimes it can cause infection. A wolf's bite can be fatal," she told Beth.

Beth bowed her head, "Madeline helped me with it."

"That's good to hear," Lady Rosamund replied and finally let go of her daughter's hand to pick up the food near her, "It must be tough eating with just one hand."

"I am managing it. My sister had the maids help me in the room," answered Beth to have Lady Rosamund give her curt nod.

When Lady Rosamund went back to eat her food, Beth's eyes fell on Sophie, her eyes narrowing at the vampiress. The impudent girl had gone to badmouth her in front of everyone. Beth was only glad that Lady Rosamund was being nice to her.

Madeline felt the tension at the table that came from her sister Beth and Sophie, who were sitting near each other. She was glad that she was sitting next to Calhoun and not on the other side to witness and be asked by her sister on why she failed to inform Beth about Sophie being Markus' sister.

When her eyes looked at Calhoun, who was looking at his aunt and his sister, his gaze shifted to look at Madeline. She wondered if Calhoun was thinking about what she had told him earlier in the chapel.

Calhoun who was eating his food while looking at her, raised his hand with the fork and meat in it, "Try it," he said loud enough for everyone to hear at the table.

Madeline's eyes widened, and she felt the table go quiet.

Not wanting to prolong people watching her, she leaned forward to take a bite of the meat and to chew it. Her cheeks turned pink without looking at anyone else before going back to eat.

Calhoun was not done feeding her, he cut another piece of meat, adding pepper on it before bringing it back in front of Madeline's mouth. Madeline wanted to remind him that she had hands and had access to pepper but with many people in the dining room, being rude to the King would only land her in trouble while also dragging the time unnecessarily.

It was only the King who was forward while the rest looked at the action with an incredulous and shocked look on their face.

Sophie's mood turned worse as she witnessed the scene in front of her. She had somehow tried to hide her displeasure about Madeline's marriage with Calhoun. From worse it turned to a foul one after she found out who her brother was pursuing and now this. She gripped on the knife that she held in her hand.

The crown was slipping through her fingers which she thought she had held on was something hard for Sophie to digest. She saw how Calhoun raised his hand for the human and looked at her with care in his eyes. Even though they were close cousins, getting noticed by the King was hard.

Sophie seethed in jealousy and anger. But she wasn't the only one at the table whose thoughts were warped in envy. Beth until then, who had a smile on her lips after Lady Rosamund spoke to her thoughtfully, her smile fell, noticing how the King looked at Madeline. Unashamedly, the King was feeding her from his plate.

Mr. and Mrs. Harris turned back to eat their food, and so did Lucy with a small smile, not wanting to interrupt the couple.

Madeline who leaned forward to take a bite felt the fork being slightly pulled back playfully by Calhoun. From the fork, her eyes looked up to meet his eyes that stared at her.

He didn't let her take the bite; instead, he took the meat to swipe it across her bottom lips before putting in between her lips and letting her eat. Madeline ran her tongue over her lips, and a wicked smile appeared on his lips with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Sophie, who was watching the scene gripped the cutlery even tighter in her hands.

Imagining the food was the human on her plate, she moved her hand with the fork straight at the crab while her eyes were still on Madeline.

The force she used was so much that it not only shook the plate which was in front of her, but it also toppled the crab from her plate to go flying and fall on the person's face sitting one seat diagonal in front of her.