The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: Liliy's theme by Alexandre Desplat

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Raphael's hand clutched the side of his stomach where the werewolf had earlier attacked him through its claws. It wasn't just his stomach but also his leg that was right now bleeding because of the chomp that the werewolf had taken before he had successfully broken the glass vial to pour the antidote in Elizabeth's mouth.

If he was a human, he would have turned to a werewolf, leaving him in another condition. But since he was a demon, he was unaffected by the venom of the werewolf. Simultaneously, the bleeding would take time to heal, and the way he had been wounded severely, it seemed like the chances were less.

Beth felt her hands turn to fists. She felt worse seeing the blood that continued to spread on the ground, where Raphael was. Was he going to die? As she had been abducted from the castle, she had missed a lot of events, not knowing Lucy had died only to be healed by Madeline's angelic abilities.

"I will go find someone. Maybe the King will know what to do," said Beth, trying to think of a way, but Raphael only shook his head.

"Relax, Lady Elizabeth. Why don't you sit down," came his slow voice. "How do you feel after having the antidote?" he turned his head to meet her green eyes.

Beth was speechless. Here he was dying, and he was inquiring about her health.

"I feel normal," she whispered, and he nodded.

"That's good to hear. At least I will know that you were saved," he offered her a polite smile, and it only broke Beth's heart.

It was true that in the beginning that she had tried to hurt a lot of people for her selfish reasons, but she had never meant to kill anyone purposefully. In the past, what she did was all because of people's influence. Her grandparents, her aunt, some of the other people and people like Rosamund and Markus. She didn't want Raphael to die, not because of her.

"Why did you come to give me the antidote?" Beth questioned him, "You could have given it to someone else. You could have waited. You knew this would happen." There was a deep frown on her face.

"I don't think others would have done the deed. You would have killed them without a single thought. I know you have a soft spot for me in the corner of your heart. In the most corner place," Raphael joked with her, but Beth was not in the mood to hear any jokes about such things. "If the antidote was not given before the moon would disappear, you would forever end up as a werewolf, and there would be no cure. Giving it after the moon leaves the sun would not help you either."

She shook her head. "There might be something I can help you with. To stop the bleeding," she said, her eyes falling on his leg that looked like it was barely attached to his body. If only she had her clothes on her, she would have torn it and tried to help him, but Beth was naked beneath the coat.

Beth felt terrible by thinking that she was the one who was responsible for Raphael's current condition. She had been trying to turn into a better person, trying to make amends. If something happened to this man who had tried to save her life again and again, she doubted she would be able to forgive herself.

Realizing they were surrounded by snow, Beth moved near his leg and gathered some of the snow from the ground. Pressing them together so that it would hold together, she then placed it on his wound.

"What are you doing?" asked Raphael.

"Trying to stop the bleeding," replied Beth, concentrating on her hand so that she wouldn't press on the deep gash of his wound. His leg was bloody, and the blood that had dripped down soaked the snow on the ground.

When she went to sit on his other side, ready to place the ice on his wound, Raphael caught hold of her wrist. "Let me help," said Beth, staring into the card reader's black eyes that had started to turn dull.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. Beth didn't know why Raphael was asking her questions right now. "Is it because you don't want to feel burdened in the future?"

Beth pulled her hand away from his, her eyes showed a spark of fire in them before she looked away. "Take it the way you want, Mr. Sparrow." She then placed the ice on the wound. "Is it necessary for you to try provoking me right now?"

Raphael smiled, "It is one of the ways to catch your attention. Do you see the amount of blood that surrounds me, Lady Elizabeth? There's a lot of it. The amount of blood that has spilt is more than the blood that is in my body. I am not a vampire but a demon. There is no point in trying to save me."

Beth felt her heart squeeze at his words. Pursing her lips, she said, "It would feel better knowing you died after help was offered than no help was offered to you. Why did you ask me to stay with you?"

"You are free to go. If that is what you want," Raphael hissed when the pressure on Beth's hand increased, and she quickly muttered a sorry. "Are you trying to torture me?"

"I didn't mean to increase the pressure," Beth apologized. She noticed even after she placed the ice on his leg and stomach, the bleeding didn't stop immediately. The wound was large, and it only gave way for more blood to spill from his body.

But Beth didn't give up on her hope. She continued to keep the ice on his wound, waiting for him to get better, but Raphael, who had been speaking earlier, now turned quiet, and it worried her.