Chapter 120: Monster
[Music Recommendation: Mozart: Requiem – Lacrimosa]
Far away from Versailles, in a dark, dense forest, hurried footsteps rustled the dried leaves on the forest’s uneven ground. A girl in tattered clothes ran for her life, gasping for air, her chest heaving. She didn’t see the thick root jutting out from one of the trees. Her foot caught on it and she tumbled hard onto the floor. The girl groaned as pain shot through her body as she tried to push herself up, but with all her energy spent, she collapsed back on the ground.
Soon she heard a low, chilling whistle slice through the night air, making her freeze in terror. She pressed her hand on her mouth and quickly dragged herself behind a nearby tree. She prayed silently to every god she could name, begging not to be found by the monstrous man she had just fled.
The crisp sound of footsteps approached, crunching over the leaves as if to announce his arrival, making her shrink further in fear.
When she heard the footsteps stop a couple of feet away from her, his devilish voice came through, "Come out, come out... wherever you are, my little lamb."
He stepped closer, "I know you’re here," he drawled as if bored, "And you should know...you cannot hide from me any longer."
When she didn’t respond, the man smirked and stepped back a couple of steps. Then...complete silence.
She heard the footsteps recede, and after a few tense moments with no sound, she wondered if he had gone in a different direction. Swallowing hard, she slowly peeked out from behind the tree. As she did...she saw no one.
Thinking that he’s gone, she leaned back against the tree and exhaled shakily in relief.
But her relief was short-lived when a cold whisper slithered from the shadows from the other side, "Found out."
Snapping her head in the direction of the voice, she froze. There he was...the same monstrous man, emerging from the darkness, grinning with a cruelty that made her blood run cold.
A blood-curdling scream tore through the forget, before a swing of a bat struck her head, silencing her.
Some time later, the man dragged the girl, who was bleeding through the head, navigating out of the forest, whistling in the same ominous tone, as if strolling the night without a care.
After a while, he noticed a man approaching him. "Your Highness, let me take her inside the castle," the newcomer said.
"Ah, Jareld, you’re here," the man said, his lips curling into a grin. "I was beginning to wonder how long I would need to drag this dead weight around,"
"Forgive me, Your Highness," Jareld replied, lowering his head, "A messenger had arrived from the Kingdom of Luminear, so I was taking a message for you."
"Ohh...the Kingdom of Luminear," he drawled again, "Let’s hear it, then."
Jerald bowed deeper, "The messenger said that King Solan wishes to have his daughter, Princess Evelyn, married to you."
"Princess Evelyn..." He burst into a fit of maniacal laughter, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "I heard she’s quite a beauty, isn’t she, Jareld? And a lumen-blood at that."
"I heard she is, Your Highness," Jareld replied quietly.
"Hmm..bring me her portrait, let me see what my future wife looks like." He said in a lazy voice, before dropping the legs of the unconscious woman he was dragging.
He then said, "Get this one cleaned and bring her to my bedroom along with the portrait of that Princess. I shall give my reply after...mother must be waiting for her next bath."
"Yes, Your Highness."
With that, he started whistling in his eerie tone again as he strolled back to his palace.
....
A couple of days had passed since the new rules were in effect in the academy. It was nighttime in Blood Moon Academy when the clock hit nine o’clock. The curfew had already taken effect, and the academy grounds had fallen silent as students retreated to their rooms. No one dared to venture out after hearing that darkrots had entered the premises, despite the Headmaster’s reassurances.
Inside Ivan’s room, Eve sat cross-legged on his bed, facing him with her eyes closed in concentration. Both were dressed in their casual night clothes and had been like this for the past thirty minutes.
Ivan had volunteered to personally train Eve in controlling her unstable powers because this was something Edward wouldn’t be able to handle alone anymore, with her locket gone. As her powers were far stronger than most, making Ivan the only one capable of restraining her should she lose control again, just like he had during her kidnapping incident.
Each night after dinner, he insisted they practice so that Eve could become more capable of defending herself should the need ever arise.
Currently, a faint crease formed on her forehead as she focused, just as he had instructed. Soon, a soft glow began to radiate from her body, but then it started to fluctuate as her mind flashed with unpleasant memories of her kidnapping, followed by the haunting nightmare she had endured a couple of nights ago.
Seeing her growing uneasy, Ivan spoke in a calm voice, "Calm down, Eve...try to push away any negative thoughts that come to your mind. Your powers are yours; think of them as second nature. Only you can will them to obey you...so command them to simmer down."
Hearing his soothing voice, Eve focused on pushing the turmoil back, steadying the glow around her slightly.
"Good," he said softly. "Now, try to draw your powers to your palms." His sharp eyes stayed fixed on her as he continued, "Feel the heat in your hands, focus your energy, bring it all to one point."
She followed his instructions carefully, "I feel it...the warm sensation in my palms," she murmured.
"Good. Now hold on to that and slowly open your eyes." He coaxed gently.
When she did, her eyes shimmered golden as they met his molten red eyes. He gave her a faint smile, "Now, watch how I do it, and then follow."
He brought his hands together, and when he separated them, his eyes blazed deep orange. Between his palms, a ball of fire materialized, glowing brightly.
Shifting his gaze back to her, he said, "Now you try. Try to summon a ball of light, just as I have summoned my fire." He then closed his palms, and the fireball vanished with a trace.
Her golden gaze shifted to her open palms. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her glowing hands together, and as she slowly separated them, a thin strand of golden light began to escape from the space between her palms.
See that, Ivan instructed, "Control it into the shape you desire, Eve. Remember, these are your powers. Command them."
Her hands trembled as she struggled to contain the surge of energy spilling from her palms. She pictured a ball, just like the fireball Ivan had created, and soon, the threads of golden light began to swirl, intertwining with one another until they formed a wobbly sphere of golden light. Beads of sweat glistered on her forehead as she focused.
"That’s it," Ivan said calmly. "Just like that. Now call them back."
"I-I don’t think I can," she huffed, her breathing uneven.. "It feels like it’s going to burst!"
"No, it won’t," he reassured firmly. "Remember how you circulated your powers in your body earlier? Do the same... draw them back in, let them flow through you again"
"Easier said than done," she muttered under her breath as she struggled to call the light back.
Ivan smirked, "It will be as easy as breathing, you just need practice, and...I believe you can do it."
Her eyes flickered to him for a brief second before she concentrated on the glowing ball of light in her hands. Slowly, the light began to retreat, streams of gold slipping back into her body. After much effort, when it was finally absorbed, she closed her eyes and tried to stabilize it in her body, just like Ivan had taught her earlier.
When she was finally done, she let herself fall onto his bed, releasing a soft sigh of relief, "I feel like I just lifted something extremely heavy. This is exhausting...why is it so hard?"
Ivan chuckled quietly at her complaining and hovering over her, letting his shadow fall across her face as he fixed his crimson eyes on her flushed face.
"I’d say you did pretty well for your first try," he said, his voice holding a hint of tease, "But if I were to grade it..." his lips curved into a faint smirk, "you’d only be getting a passing grade."
He chuckled softly and nuzzled his face against her neck, making her tremble slightly at his ticklish touch.
"Why?" he murmured in his velvety voice. "I believe in giving rewards rather than talking."
He pressed a kiss to her neck, making her breathing hitch. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back just enough to look into his gorgeous face. "You’re so sly," she breathed, staring at him.
