(Miller's House)

It was already late in the night. Inside Matthew and Anna's room, there was silence. Matthew was seated on the bed, while Anna sat down on a chair beside the bed. Worries could be visible on their faces, like they have not had a good sleep in the past few days.

"We need to do something about this issue on the ground. We need to take Moira far away from the palace." Anna says it with a concerned voice.

"That's not even possible. How are we going to get her to escape the palace? The palace is not anywhere; one can just go in and come out anyhow. The palace is always fully guarded." Matthew replied, moving his hand up to his head in frustration.

"Oh goodness. What are we going to do now? I'm scared something bad will happen to her if we don't take action. It's been two weeks now since we added salt and potash to her water." With a shaky voice, Anna says.

"I can't even think of anything now. I'm confused. We have to tell her the truth." Mathew conclude. "If that will work, then... I will write a letter to her." Anna says.

"That's risky; what if the letter falls into another person's hand? We should just find a way to see her."

"You don't have to worry yourself. Moira will be fine, dear. Let's have sleep." Anna stood up from the chair to the bed and lay beside her husband.

~~~~

(THE PALACE)

Lucy is in her room dressed up in sexy nightwear. She's now putting on some fragrance oil on her body and rubbing it all over her body.

"Tonight is gonna be great. He won't be able to resist me." She says this before fixing her hair. She exited her room and headed to Leander's chamber on the third floor.

Getting to the entrance, two guards are stationed there. She tries to move past them, but they block her way. Annoyance could be seen on her face as she stared hard at the two huge guards.

"How dare you stop me? Block my way." She points a finger at them.

"We are sorry, Milady. The king does not want to see anyone tonight as he's resting." One of the guards said it with a straight face.

"Do you know who I am to the king?" Lucy shouted. The argument between Lucky continued as the guard didn't allow her in. The noise became loud. Leander, on the other hand, was in his room, taking a nap.

He noticed the noise coming from outside, and he then called for one of the guards.

"What's happening? Why is there so much noise outside?" Leander is rubbing his palm on his face. The guard said, "Your highness, it's lady Lucy; she wants to see you, and I told her you don't want to see anyone this night as you are resting, but she insisted." He explains, keeping his head down as he talks. Leander signs, "Let her in."

"Yes, your highness," the guard says, bowing once again before exiting the room. After about two minutes, Lucy walked inside. Leander could be seen sitting on the couch as he stared at Lucy. Lucy walked up to Leander, swaying her hips left and right in a seductive way.

"What do you want, Lucy? It's late; you're still awake." Leander says it in a hoarse tone. Lucy took a seat beside Leander, facing him directly. She smiled sweetly at him as she bit her bottom lip.

"Your highness...huh, I know you had a very stressful day. I just wanted to ease your stress," Lucy says as she moves closer to Leander.

"You don't need to worry yourself; I'm alright. If that's all, you can take your leave now," Leander mutters as he stares at her. He then notices her revealing night dress, but he's not moved by it.

Lucy smiles once more, moving her hand to Leander's chest. She started moving her pointed nipple in her thin cloth close to Leander as she rubbed her hand on his chest. But Leander caught her hand and pushed her away lightly.

"Are you out of your mind? Get out of my chamber now before I do what you will later regret." Leander speaks authoritatively as his eyes turn red with a hard face. Lucy immediately rushed out, as she knew what Leander was capable of. She's also a vampire, but not as strong as Leander. It won't take him a minute to tear her apart. The guards at the door share a meaningful glance as she rushes out.

~~~~

(POV LUCY )

I left Leander's chamber in tears; he treated me like a stranger. I sat down on the bed, sobbing. The leander I know very well can never resist me with the way I dress, looking sexy. Or is she a witch? I thought inwardly.

"I need to take her out of my way at all costs," she murmured.

"I promised to do what it takes; a mere human can't be a threat to a vampire. Humans are meant to be submissive no matter what."

I stand up from my bed, undress, and head to the bathroom to take my bath. I walked out of the bathroom with a towel around me. I wore another nightgown before laying on the bed.

I started thinking of another plan that would work while staring at the ceiling of the ceiling of my room before sleep took her away.

*******

(POV MOIRA)

The sun is so bright, peeping through the window of my room, waking me up from my sleep. I stretch out my body, opening my mouth wide to yawn.

Surprisingly, today I woke up before my personal maids woke me. Looking around the room, I already accepted my fate, as there's no way to escape and there's nothing I can do about it as my family does not know or recognize it. I miss my family so much, and then when I follow my dad to the farm, I went out with Elizabeth to see our friends and fetch water from the stream.

I remember those memories. Here, there's no freedom to do or go anywhere. I sign out of frustration before getting up from the bed.

Feeling thirsty, I walked up to the table to take some water from the jar. As I was about to drink the glass of water, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

I already knew who was behind the door. The door opened, and Ava walked in.

"Good morning, my lady. How was your night?" Ava bow

"It was cool." I remember, with a smile, removing my nightwear with the help of Ava. We both headed to the bathroom. Ava smiled.

"I can see you are already getting used to this place." I lay inside the bath tube filled with warm water, which feels relaxing, with my back facing Ava.

"Not really."

"With time, milady. The king says I should tell you to join him for breakfast in his chamber." Ava stated,

"In his chamber?" I asked, shocked and surprised, as I turned to face Ava.

"Yes, milady," Ava says.

'What does he want again? Why in his chamber? What is he up to?' I keep asking myself. And I can't reject his offer or go back to him because he might do something worse.

"Don't worry, milady, everything will be fine. It's just breakfast, and as a matter of fact, his highness loves you so much, he can't hurt you."

Ava assured me, trying to smooth my mind as she grabs the shampoo opposite her.

"Love my foot. You don't know the definition of love; someone in love won't force you to do what you don't want." I murmur.

"Huh. Well, I have never seen the king look at any woman the way he looks at you. His highness has never for once taken an interest in a woman, despite the fact that different ladies try to seduce him; you are the first lady to gain the king's attention."

Ava says this as she rinses my body with water. I didn't respond as I'm not interested in his personal life; he's the king, and he should do whatever he chooses. I and Ava walked out of the bathroom. I then sat on the chair, facing the mirror, while Ava got me ready for breakfast with the king. In no time, Ava is done doing what she knows how to do—beat, dressing, and beautifying me.

(LEANDER'S CHAMBER)

Leander could be seen seated on the couch, cross-legged, in his personal living room. He is dressed in a shiny blue royal robe, looking cute, handsome, and elegant. His dark, long hair is neatly packed to the back.

"Deliver the letters to the chief arm," Leander says to a guard standing before him.

"Yes, Your Highness," the guard said before exiting his chamber. Immediately after the guard left, four maids entered, each with a tray of food. They all bow, dropping the trays on the table before leaving.

"What's taking her a long time to arrive?" Leander murmurs. He called for one of his guards outside the door of his chamber to get Moira.

****

I have already dismissed Ava, telling her I will go to the king's chamber myself. I sat before the mirror, looking at my reflection, contemplating whether I should go or not.

A knock interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to the door.

"Who's that"

"It's Philip milady; the king seeks you now."

"Ohh. Alright."

"I'm waiting, my lady."

"You can go? I will come afterwards."

"His highness says I should come with you, milady," I sigh, looking at herself in the mirror again before standing up to the door.

I opened the door, and Philip bowed at me, which is weird. Philip is one of the trusted men of Leander.

He followed behind me as we both headed to the king's chamber. Getting to the king's chamber, Philip knocked, and we entered after Leander answered from inside.

He waved his hand at Philip to leave. Leander gave a devilish chuckle, gaining my attention. We both stared at each other for some minutes before I broke eye contact, not comfortable with the way he looked at me.

From the corner of my eye, I could still see him staring at me, like he hadn't seen me for long.

"Seat down here," he finally said. Just right beside him, I sat down.

"So what kept you so long?" He questioned. I didn't say anything, as my gaze was fixed on the table.

"You don't have a reason; I don't know why you just find pleasure in disobeying me. You will be punished for your little disobedience."

Leander says it coldly. Moira moved her gaze from the table to Leander's cold face. Punished, what did I do now? My eyes move from his eyes to his sharp nose down to his thin pink lips. I wonder how such a cute and handsome person could be a devil in disguise.

"Yes, you will spend your night with me in my room."

"Huh," not sure of what I heard just now.

"Yeah."

"That's not possible." I moved my head from left to right, disagreeing.

"Why not?" Leander smirked.

"I can't sleep in your room; it is not proper for an unmarried lady to sleep in an unmarried man's room." I responded sharply.

"I'm the king, and I make the rules. Anything I say is what you do." Leander says it with authority. Just too arrogant.

"And I'm sorry to disappoint you, my king; I can't sleep in your room. And I mean it." I said fearless. He smiles wickedly, trying to maintain his composure.

"You will sleep over in my room whether you like it or not; it's an order, not a request. And if you disobey, you will be punished again," he threatens.

I stare at him speechless. What punishment is he talking about again?

"Let's eat before the food gets cold." He opened the food, and the aroma of it passed through my nose.

"I'm not hungry." Leander looks at me for a second.

"Eat now before I feed you, and I bet you won't like the way I will do it." He says his voice is a little bit flirty and serious. I pick up the spoon, not ready for any trouble or drama, as I know he's capable of what he said just now.

"Good girl".

"Prepare. We have a noble gathering to attend", the king said.