Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

Ruelle lay on the bed with her eyes fixed on the ceiling. The wooden box had been opened many times before, yet never once had she imagined she had been holding something more valuable than a gem.

"Lucian… are you awake?" Ruelle asked softly.

There was silence except for the winter's wind howling through the night beyond the walls and windows.

"No."

A small, unconscious smile tugged at her lips at his response from the other side of the bed. She turned to her side and asked, "Where did you learn about the other belladonna ingredients? Mr. Savnitique only spoke about extracts from rare plants. The books never mentioned the rest."

"From the witches in the deep woods," Lucian replied.

She asked, "But aren't they notorious for hoodwinking people? Wait—you mean that's how the books got it wrong?"

"Witches don't speak for free," Lucian said. "They speak when the offer interests them."

"What did you offer?" she asked curiously. Humans? Land? Jewels? She doubted any of it would interest witches.

"My time," Lucian stated.

She frowned slightly and repeated, "Your time?"

"I worked for her. For a month," came Lucian's unbothered words. "She was an old witch who made me work in the swamps. Digging for bones and dissecting dead animals, running errands for her. In return, I learned everything there was to know about forbidden potions. The only flaw was her trying to kill me when she thought I wasn't looking so that she could use a vampire's body."

Ruelle's eyes widened and she sat upright. "Your family didn't mind?" A lord's son working as a witch's helper would have caused chaos. She couldn't even imagine him doing that. "How old were you?" she asked.

"Thirteen," Lucian answered. There was a small pause before he added, "I told them I was spending a month at a relative's place. Said I needed time. Dane was in his third year then."

"And no one found out?" Ruelle asked him with interest.

"My father did," Lucian replied before continuing to speak, "A couple of days after I returned home. My aunt sent a letter saying it was a pity I hadn't been able to visit." He let out a small exhale.

It was hard to imagine Lucian as a troublesome boy. She wondered what else he had done that no one spoke about. After a moment, she murmured softly,

"I wonder how it would have been if we had met when we were little."

Lucian stared at her in the darkness for a long moment before questioning, "Why?"

When he had first realised who she was, he had been quietly annoyed by how easily she had forgotten him. If he told her now, she might feel indebted to the past, and Lucian had no interest in affection that came from debt. He would rather she walk toward him of her own will.

"I just thought it would have been interesting," she said before pursing her lips. But then again she doubted he would want to do anything with her at all. He would have probably killed her, she thought dryly.

After a moment, she spoke again, her voice softer this time as she changed the subject, "Did something happen this evening? For the minister to come all the way here to see you?"

"It was about June Clifford's case," Lucian said. "We have found something worth investigating."

"Really?" Ruelle pushed herself up slightly on one elbow, turning toward him in the dark. "Does that mean the murderer will be caught soon?" she asked, a note of relief in her voice whilst a yawn escaped from her lips.

"Yes. And if not caught, then at least they will be forced to make a mistake," Lucian responded, watching her nod.

She lay back down, pulling the blanket to her chin as her thoughts returned to her mother's box.

"Lucian. Will you help me create the potion?" She asked.

"No."

That was fast, she thought to herself. Blinking at the darkness, she replied, "Oh—okay."

"Do you know why the potions of Belladonna are famous?" Lucian asked her.

Ruelle slightly scrunched her nose and answered in doubt, "Because it lets you see the dead?"

"Belladonna is not famous because it lets people see the dead. It is famous because it uses the living," Lucian explained and Ruelle quietly listened. "A single breath, a whisper, even a thought from anyone in the room can change what answers. If I were to so much as whisper, it might answer to what I want to summon, not what you want."

There was a small pause before he added, his voice quieter now,

"My soul is touched with corruption. People have tried before. Some meant with corrupted heart tried to call angels and summoned something else entirely. If it were my potion, I would not care what answered, so long as something did. But this one is yours."

For a moment silence filled the room before Ruelle asked, "The witch who taught you… did you not ask her how to get rid of the corruption in vampires?"

"Witches don't go out of the way to help humans or vampires. Unless they fall in love with one of them," Lucian explained in a matter-of-fact tone, sliding his hand behind his head. "I will write everything down for you so you can follow the instructions."

"That would be helpful. Thank you," Ruelle murmured, grateful for his help. The books only had half the truth, while Lucian seemed to know the rest.

She turned her head to look out the window, where snow was falling quietly. She then murmured,

"You know…My mother and I share similar names. Ruelle and Mirabelle." After a pause, she added, "There's a 'Ell' even in–"

"Belladonna," Lucian completed her sentence. "It was probably your mother who gave you the name. Belladonna must have passed the box to her daughter, and that daughter passed to the next until it came to you."

Ruelle smiled, responding to him, "That's like telling me I am a witch." And when she was met with silence, her eyebrows rose in surprise, "That's not possible…"

"I am not certain. But the potion requires your blood. When you attempt the summoning, we will know." He noticed the surprise on her face turn into worry. "It is not a terrible thing, if you are a witch."

The descendant of a witch?

Witches were burned when they were found. Everyone knew that. So how could she possibly be one? Ruelle asked herself.

The following day in the afternoon, Ruelle and her classmates stood before the maze, their breath visible in the frozen air. The ground was hard with frost beneath their boots, and the snow along the hedges had turned to a thin sheet of ice. The first years stood in a line, and beside them, the final years waited in silence.

"Mr. Jinxy, there's snow on the ground," Hailey said, as if the weather itself should have been explanation enough.

Like the rest of them, Ruelle had hoped for the class to be cancelled and stay inside. But Mr. Jinxy has decided to freeze them to death.

"Attacks do not wait for good weather or your convenience," Mr. Jinxy said, rolling his eyes. "There is a bucket of sticks beside me, dipped in red and blue wax. Blue are the hunters. Red are the stakers."

The instructor then turned to Edward and spoke in a polite tone, "Your Highness, if you would begin."

"Of course," Edward said as he stepped forward and pulled a stick with blue wax at the end. He huffed at the obvious truth. He was born hunter. Then, as if suddenly remembering, he turned and called out, "Ruelle, pick blue!" He lifted the stick slightly in the air so she could see it.

For a moment, the gesture made the prince look less like royalty and more like a boy, and Ruelle couldn't help but smile.

As if sensing someone's gaze, Ruelle looked up and found Lucian already watching her. For some reason, it made her feel as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to, and her cheeks warmed at his attention.

Edward had been watching Ruelle, and he noticed when her attention shifted. He followed her gaze across the space and his expression soured when he saw Lucian Slater.

Ruelle turned back her attention to the bucket and caught her sister pick up a stick.

"Looks like you are on the hunters team with his Highness, Mrs. Henley," Mr. Jinxy noted. "Stand here," he waved his hand.

Ruelle then followed Hailey and Kevin, who picked their sticks first. Hailey ended up with a blue and Kevin with a red waxed end.

When Ruelle stepped in front of the bucket, she ran her fingers through the sticks, as if trying to choose carefully. Then another hand slipped into the bucket beside hers. She had seen that hand enough times to know who it belonged to.

"You're taking too long. Want me to pick one?" Lucian said from behind her.

Before she could answer, he placed a stick into her hand as his fingers brushed her palm and picked one for himself. Red.

Then he walked away toward where Sawyer stood.

When Ruelle looked down at the stick in her hand, she realised it was the same colour as his. She turned to Edward and Hailey and said, "I am on the other team."

"That's alright, Ruelle. You have nothing to worry about," Edward assured her before turning to look around him. "No one is to go after her. Unless you have grown tired of breathing."

"Your Highness, you can't say that!" Mr. Jinxy protested and went to explain to the prince why this game was important.

The students shifted in their spots as none of them had intended to go after the groundling anyway.

"Slater," Edward called Lucian, he then grinned, saying, "Make sure she doesn't get hurt. I will keep her safe after the game."

Lucian glanced at him briefly. "Try to keep up, Your Highness," he replied.

Edward gave a short laugh as he cracked his knuckles. He said, "That's the best part of these training games. Accidents happen."

"Then do try not to have one," Lucian offered him a faint smile.

Ruelle was worried. Not for herself but with how Lucian and Edward were with each other.

Twenty minutes later, Ruelle and Kevin were still searching through the frozen bushes, their bare hands numb from the cold.

"I doubt you'll find anything there. Jinxy's back is too bad for him to hide anything low," Sawyer chuckled from where he sat in the tree, his legs swinging. "You should check the river."

Kevin straightened his back and turned to look at the pureblooded vampire. He asked with a frown, "Aren't you going to help...?"

Sawyer gave him a puzzled look. "Why? You two seem to be doing a perfectly good job on your own. I doubt you need my assistance," he said with a bright smile.

From somewhere deeper in the maze came shouts, then a scream, then the sound of someone running over frozen ground.

Sawyer went on, "You think the Elites care about winning a game? This is just an excuse to break a few bones without getting into trouble. Of course, humans are allowed to stab us."

"By the way, Kevin, how was your first kiss? Assuming that's what it was," Sawyer asked casually. Kevin immediately lost his footing and fell straight into the bush. "That bad, huh," the vampire murmured.

Ruelle noticed when Kevin pulled himself to stand up, he had turned red as a tomato. He muttered, "Can you not talk about it?"

"Well then, how about your lesson, Ruelle?" Ruelle's eyes turned wide at Sawyer's question. "Did Lucian teach you how to kiss? Wa—"

His words were cut short when an arrow flew past his face. Startled, Sawyer lost his balance and grabbed the branch before he could fall. He looked in the direction the arrow had come from and muttered under his breath,

"Didn't someone say it is rude to eavesdrop, cousin?"

"Be careful what you involve yourself in, Sawyer," Lucian said. "I would not like to waste a second arrow."

Lucian was farther away from where Ruelle and his cousin were. He continued walking, heading toward one of the humans whose heartbeat had turned erratic. His footsteps were clear against the frozen ground as he turned the corner, and the human there froze upon seeing him.

"I don't want to play this anymore!" Caroline said, backing away, but the path behind her was closed.

Lucian's gaze dropped briefly to the dagger in her hand before returning to her face. He said, "If you are holding a weapon, you should be prepared to use it."

Caroline shook her head quickly.

"Perhaps I should end the game here," he continued, pulling a knife with an aloof expression. "It would be quicker."

"NO!" Caroline cried, terrified.

When he charged towards her, Caroline let out a terrified scream, waving the dagger blindly with her eyes shut before she slipped and fell backwards onto the frozen ground. Finding silence, she opened her eyes to catch the pureblooded vampire, who was watching her.

There was a slight frown on Lucian's face. Usually people often fought better when they were frightened even when the mind failed.

"You're afraid. That's good. Fear keeps people alive," Lucian said calmly, slipping the knife back in his pocket. "Next time keep your eyes open if you want to live," and with those words he left a very scared Caroline behind.