The Crown's Obsession

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Music Recommendation: Panic by Kensuke Ushio

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Vladimir himself didn't understand why his daughter, Constance, had not returned to him. His servants were scared to wake him up from his slumber, but one whisper from her would have been enough to have his eyes snapped open. He would have torn the man into pieces before rejoining him back to torture the disgusting man all over again. Since he had seen his daughter in the coffin of the graveyard, he questioned himself again and again. 

Calhoun then said, "She went through a time far worse than Hell can provide. Do you know why she didn't seek your help? Because she was scared that she would live the same life before she stepped out of your shadow." 

"That's bullshit!" Vladimir scoffed.

"It is the truth. And I found out about it after spending time with her," Calhoun's eyes shifted to look at Madeline. "It isn't that she didn't speak about you, but when she spoke to me about the life she had before meeting my useless father, they were very minimal. It was when she was on her deathbed. No mention about who you were or what kind of person you are. She did mention you were hibernating in one of these mountains."

"And you didn't come looking for me?" Vladimir questioned, disappointment in his tone. 

"You aren't a child that I come looking for," retorted Calhoun. Madeline didn't know why, but it felt like both the vampires were mirror images of each other when it came to speech. "I came to believe that someone who didn't bother to look for his daughter all those years." 

"Constance knew I would do anything for her. Tell me why she didn't return to me. Did she tell you...before you killed her?" 

If Madeline had not mentioned about the cursed chain, Vladimir would have ripped Calhoun's head from his body. But she had been suffering. His dearest daughter, thinking about her, he felt the heaviness in his heart. Something he hadn't felt since the woman he remotely fell for had passed away. 

"You should know that your daughter would not have uttered things as such. Even on her final days, she shared nothing but her goodness," Calhoun had a frown on his face, and he continued, "Things like these aren't hard to figure out." 

Calhoun then continued, "You made sure to protect her, not knowing if it was suffocating her. Your demon blood might have been coursing through her veins, but she was still human-like. She wanted to breathe, and she couldn't do it under you. When I figured it out, I realized I was doing the same thing as you. Trying to control things, and understanding what the person did and didn't to make sure no harm would ever come to befall on that person." 

Vladimir's face contoured into a sneer, "You are telling me it is my fault? If she hadn't met that worthless man and met at least half a decent one, she would have still been alive."

"Maybe," Calhoun nodded his head.

Silence fell in the room, and Vladimir then said, "If time allowed me, I would fix my ways. My emotions were lost long ago, and I did what I thought was the right thing, not knowing that I was sending Constance away from me. I also wished I didn't bring her up how her mother would want her and instead show her the world through my eyes. I would have at least been able to get a hold of her. To see her again."

The main person to be blamed was his father, the previous King, and even though Calhoun had killed the man with his own hands, he hadn't found the complete satisfaction he was looking for. His mother's absence had left a void in his heart, something that had taken a lot of time to fill it, and strangely it continued until he found something worth protecting. 

Madeline turned to Vladimir and asked, "Do you have the cure for the werewolf's bite, Vlad?" 

"Why, I do," Vladimir answered, and she couldn't tell how happy she was. He then said, "Follow me," and without waiting for them, he started to walk away from the hall and Odin was the first to follow his Master before Calhoun and Madeline followed the man. 

The path was moderately dark because of the torches that continued to burn. Madeline took note of how they didn't come across any servant, and it almost seemed like Vladimir lived only in the company of Odin, until she caught sight of a demon with horns. Was this the true form of a demon? She asked herself. 

Entering a cold room where snow fell through the open grills of the window, Madeline finally caught sight of a glass vial. It was placed in a liquid-like closed vessel as if to keep it cold and a burning hot iron like rings surrounded it so that no one would get close to it.

"Do you think we could borrow it for my sister?" Madeline kept her tone polite, and the older vampire stared at her. 

Vladimir raised his hand and said, "On one condition."

Calhoun asked, "What is it?" Time was of the essence, and right now, it was passing like liquid through their fingers as they didn't know when the demons would find out that they had caught the wrong girl. 

"I will be the Godfather to your children." 

And Calhoun, Madeline and Odin stared at Vladimir. 

"I understand your ire that I didn't take good care of your mother, but-"

"Okay," responded Calhoun, and Vladimir stopped speaking.

"You're not telling me so that I shut up now and then you pull a leverage on me, are you?" Vladimir narrowed his eyes at his grandson. 

"I am mad at you for certain reasons, but I am not someone who would keep you away from your family. The last thing I need is you abducting them in the future," Calhoun put his point across, and Vladimir chuckled. 

The older vampire nodded his head, "Yes, I might have to do that if you don't allow me near them."