Into the Devil's Lair: Chapter 6
Cornelia hurries through the dark corridors of the castle. She can hear a baby crying nearby and somehow she is drawn to it. She wants to see the baby, to hold it, to comfort it. She runs and sees an open door on the corner; she comes inside the room and founds herself in a nursery. There was a crib in the middle and the cries of the baby seemed to be louder here.
She slowly walks towards the crib and peeks at the crying angel. She immediately smiled as she saw the beautiful baby lying inside. The baby opens its eyes and stares at her; her eyes; it was the most beautiful and warmest set of emerald eyes she ever saw. She gently bents to reach for the baby but the little angel touches her arm, she gasps and closes her eyes.
"Mommy!" Cornelia turns as she hears a sweet voice, the scene has changed and now she was in some kind of meadow. A beautiful girl of three was running towards her. The girl's golden hair bounced as she paced off and the beautiful emerald eyes seemed to be so familiar. Behind her was a man, a tall man with long silver hair and the same set of emerald eyes yet compared to the angel, his eyes were very cold and emotionless. He stares at her and his lips curls into a malicious smile. He reaches for something from behind his back and hurries behind the girl.
"Daddy." The little girl turns to the man. The man picks the girl up but gives her a quick glance before revealing the dagger on his hand. She immediately realized what was going to happen. The man holds the dagger between the girl's neck and collar bone.
"No!" She screamed as the man runs the dagger along the girl's neck.
Cedric was doing his daily late night patrols around the castle with some of his subordinates when he heard a scream. It was coming from one of the biggest chambers of the castle and he immediately recognized the owner of the voice. Something's wrong. He thought. He better checks it out, something bad must have happened and he knew that Phobos won't forgive him if he does not act.
He hurriedly ran towards her room and pushed the door open.
Cornelia was sitting on her bed; her nightgown was wet with sweat, her hair dishevelled, the knuckles of her hands were white from clutching the blankets, her chest rose and fell as she catches her breath and tears were streaming from her blue eyes. It was the first time that he saw the guardian in that condition. A nightmare. He knew that she had a nightmare basing from her current state.
He walks towards the side of her bed and looks at her with worried eyes.
"Are you alright?" He asked and the girl turns toward him. Instead of answering the girl throws her arms around his neck and he gasped at her action but he didn't mind it at all. Her dream must be very bad and right now the best thing to do was to comfort her.
But something stirred inside him, his thoughts clouded as he inhaled her scent; lavenders and lilacs. It was very intoxicating and his mind became heavy. His heart thumped loudly and his can feel the rush of blood through his ears.
Cornelia sobbed like a baby on his chest and he absentmindedly wrapped his arms around her. He didn't shove her away nor complained that her tears already wet his robes. He felt the sense of responsibility over her. He wants to protect her. He wants to chase her nightmares away.
He didn't know how long he stood there; he just regained his composure when Cornelia finally stopped crying. He looked down and realized that the girl was already asleep. He sighed and he carefully placed her back to the bed. He pushed away the hair covering her pretty face. He gulped. What was he doing? Why did he do that? And what if Phobos will know about it? What will he tell his master?
He took one last glance at the girl who was now peacefully sleeping and moved towards the door. The two other guards just looked at him with confusion. It was their first time to see their master comforting someone. He had always been cruel and strict like Phobos and he never showed compassion to anyone before.
"Don't tell anyone about what happened tonight." Cedric told the two guards standing outside Cornelia's quarters. They nodded and did not dare to speak any questions. He closed the door of the guardian's chambers and tried to erase the memory from his mind.
But her scent, it seems to linger on his nose. He can still remember the tenderness of her arms wrapped around his neck. Her softs sobs were still echoing on his ears. And her peaceful image was still on his mind.
What are you doing to me, guardian?
Sunday. It was another day for the earthly guardians of the veil and usually they spend their Sundays crammed in the basement of the Silver Dragon. They often talked about their battle plans and how to help the rebels steal food and crops from the castle. But now everything has changed and it has been a long time since they last entered a portal to Meridian.
"Hey girls." The four girls turned to see Caleb enter the basement through the backdoor, Blunk was trailing behind. He was wearing a rather wary expression.
"Caleb." Will greeted the newcomer and wasn't surprised that he showed up today. After Cornelia's predicament, he started to spend more time in Meridian, trying to figure out a way to break in the castle and to check Cornelia's situation. But it was with no avail, Phobos had the castle heavily guarded. It seems like he doesn't want any of them to visit his little bride.
Caleb sat down on an empty stool near Taranee and gave out a long sigh. They were all worried about him. He seemed to be down lately due to Cornelia's decision. They didn't try to comment about it but they have tried their best to comfort their friend. He was heartbroken.
"How's Meridian?" Irma then broke the loud silence. Caleb looked up and took something from his cloak. It was a red envelope and they immediately figured that it came from the castle as they saw the Escanor family crest embossed on the paper.
"What is that?" Hay Lin asked. But Caleb handed the envelope to the red head leader who took it in surprise. She started tearing the sides and a parchment immediately slid down on her hands. Everyone looked at it suspiciously. Was it a death threat? Or was it Cornelia's final words to them? Everyone wore a dark expression on their faces.
Will raised her eyebrow as soon as she saw what was written inside after silently reading it she expressed relief but her girlfriends were interested with what was written so she cleared her throat before reading what's inside.
"His Highness, Prince Phobos Escanor cordially invites you to join the Masquerade Ball in honor of his fiancée, Lady Cornelia Hale, Guardian of the Veil. The ball will serve as the celebration and announcement of their engagement. The ball will be held in the castle's ballroom and will start at 8 pm, Saturday. Everyone is required to wear their best dresses, suits and masks." The girl said without even stopping. Everyone sighed in relief after hearing the letter. It was an invitation and not Cornelia's death letter.
"A masquerade?" a surprised Taranee asked and Will nodded.
"But who would have sent an invitation to us guardians? Phobos won't just invite us to come." Since Cornelia left Irma started to belt out a few jokes and was rather serious with their discussions.
"Cornelia?" Yes, it may be Cornelia but then they doubt that Phobos will just allow her to invite them. Last time, Cornelia told them that Phobos will let her visit Earth but it seems like the term didn't even happen. She did go back but her tyrant fiancée was trailing behind her and his actions seemed to be very fishy.
"Maybe. But we can't be sure." Will answered. "It may be a trap." She then added.
"We still need to see Cornelia. We need to know if she's doing fine or if she's even alive." Taranee said and Irma nodded to her words.
"But how about our costumes?" The keeper asked and Hay Lin's face lit up. Well, it was expected. Hay Lin loved designing clothes but the schedule of the event was close enough so she may not be able to finish their costumes in a short time.
"I know someone who can help." The air guardian said and winked at them, they didn't ask who she was pertaining to their minds were more focused on the invitation. What if it was a trap? What will they do?
"We need to blend in the castle and as much as possible, Phobos can't know that were there. The mask will be at our advantage. We will need a plan."
Gravesheart- Thank you for your kindly words and encouragement. Somehow it inspired me to write some more chapters (I will be posting one chapter per week or per 2 weeks). Yes, this is going to be a love triangle between Cedric, Cornelia and Phobos. I agree with you Phobos is indeed an idiot, a hot idiot. Hopefully the story is not confusing, I sometimes don't reread the chapters when I write an update. "Phillip's" visit to Earth may become frequent after a couple of chapters. ;)
-Next update will be next week, same day. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you. Sometimes my mind doesn't just work well and I don't know how to describe my characters emotions as well as the places. Keep in mind English is my second language that's why the fic isn't that perfect. I only use some simple and familiar words and sometimes the grammar is also wrong. Also please review, I would like to receive some constructive criticisms from my readers so that I know if something is wrong. Thanks- kkwaii