Chapter 213: Casted Aside
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"You got my journal." Maurice received the book that had a brown-leathered cover from his sister’s grip. He took a seat on his bed as he flipped through the blank pages, his eyes focused on the notes almost as if he was trying too hard to avoid meeting his sister’s gaze, and his lips frustratingly thinned at the thought of her alliance with a vampire, not just any vampire, but King Ivan himself.
Samantha took her seat beside Maurice, silently jabbing her fingers together as she rested them on her thighs. Her eyes monitored Maurice’s body language, and when she still said nothing to him, he let out an exasperated sigh and glanced her way.
"You’re going to marry a vampire King." His voice was tinged with concern, and he exhaled warily before averting his gaze from her own. "I don’t know, maybe I’m still having a hard time trusting His Majesty, or maybe I’m trying too hard not to trust him, but getting married to him... I honestly don’t have a good feeling about it but as I’ve said, I... should feel this way since I don’t trust him. Nevertheless, your happiness matters more to me than my opinion, so if getting married to him makes you happy, then I won’t hold you back." He assured his sister whose expression softened.
When he heard the announcement yesterday, he was slightly upset about it, but not as much as he expected himself to be. He knew the vampire King would never hurt his sister, and he also knew that he had taken a great liking to his sister, which relieved him to some extent, but even so, nothing about the alliance felt right, and he couldn’t discern why he felt like this.
"Now you’re beginning to sound like Father." Samantha’s songbird voice snapped him out of his pondering, and she tried not to get too emotional. An effortless smile graced his lips when she rested her head on his shoulder, linking her arm around his own, and she sighed softly.
"When I went to Fernwood, when I saw our home, I was reminded of how we lived, how we played, how we worked, the love that once filled the present abandoned cottage. It feels like everything happened yesterday... You know, I was starting to make these cute scenarios in my head that will never happen, like Father coming back, or seeing Mother again, but it made me so happy so I kept on imagining them. Do you indulge in this type of daydream?"
"Even in my sleep." Maurice answered heartily as he leaned his head to the other side so it would connect with that of his sister, "do you think they’d be proud of us if they were here today? Being here, the circumstances we’ve encountered to this point. Father always wanted me to be a scholar, but... I guess I’m meant to fight for my Kingdom, not spread awareness."
"What did you intend on asking His Majesty if you win? I know you said you were doing this for me but there must be something you want from His Majesty asides using your achievement to make us leave. What was it?" Samantha pulled her head away to gaze at him questioningly, and he answered her with a slight nod of his head.