Prince of Darkness

Chapter 9

Rose smiled as Adam helped her up onto Midnight. She could have mounted her horse on her own, but the prince had insisted. "I have to become more accustomed to showing my gentlemanly side," he replied, as if he could hear her thoughts.

"Well thank you," she answered. The woman found it...strangely pleasing that he was taking so much care into impressing her. Grabbing Midnight's reins, she watched as her horse glanced nervously at Adam. With a small smile she joked, "You don't have to worry about me running away this time. I'm staying."

The werewolf's smiled widened, "That's good," he answered.

Rose nodded and flicked the horse's reins, sending it into a trot. Taking a deep breath she continued to lead him steadily around the gardens, admiring their beauty, and occasionally stopping to smell the many multi-coloured flowers.

The young woman released a contented sigh. Father is being looked after, Adam didn't try to kill me...perfect. Why, however, did Adam care so much about her? Why did he bother coming to the cottage for her?

The sudden sound of a second horse's hooves on the grass caught her immediate attention. Heart racing she turned her head. Charles rode on a horse that had many similarities to Midnight, except its mane and tail were black, and its eyes were an enchanting light blue.

The man caught up to her, riding beside her. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Oh no, not at all. It's good to have some company," she replied. They rode in silence for a few minutes, until the psychic questioned, "If you don't mind me asking...are you...anything, ahem, different?"

Knowing what she meant, Charles smiled. "Yes. I told you before, but I believe you would have been too concerned about the Master to remember. As it happens, I'm half-angel."

Rose stared at him, "Really? That's amazing!"

"With some things. For example, like everyone here, I'm immortal. However, there is one thing..." he started.

"What is it?" The young woman inquired carefully. I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable.

He sighed, "I...I can't...feel. I can't physically feel anything."

Rose drew a quick breath. She tried to speak, but could not find her words. What she had just heard was unimaginable. Swallowing, the woman responded, "I'm sorry. That must be horrible."

Charles bit his lip. "It is. But we all have our problems. I can't feel, Vincent has to drink blood in order to remain healthy, and Adam has permanent claws and glowing golden eyes."

The woman remained silent. She had never thought of such things before. It was true that eternal life came a price.

The half-angel commented, realizing she was not going to speak. "You're lucky, Rose. You don't have any such consequences."

The young woman responded, "I was always treated as an outcast by the villagers, but...but that's nothing compared to..." she trailed off.

Charles finished, "To not being able to feel? Look at it this way," he chuckled, "I don't have to worry if I accidently mention a sensitive subject to Vincent or Adam."

She nodded slowly. Changing the topic, she asked, "Has Adam always had such a horrible temper? Or does he just not like me for some reason?"

He chuckled, "He's blindly in love with you." He continued, his tone becoming serious, "I think he's just worried that you'll find him hideous and therefore he gets angry. But yes, he always has had an awful temper."

Rose bit her lip. She remembered Adam telling her he admired her, and his shocking proposal. That didn't exactly go well. That's what caused this whole mess. Glancing at the half-angel riding beside her, she said. "Thank you so much for answering my questions Charles."

"It was no trouble at all." he responded.

***************

Walking back into the castle, Rose pondered her conversation with the half-angel. She did not get the opportunity to talk to him very much, but when they did speak, she got the impression that he knew a lot about the castle's history.

Vincent's voice came from in front of her. "Did you have a nice ride?"

Startled, the woman's heart quickened as she turned to the Halfling leant against the doorway to another room. He casually sipped a glass of red liquid that was far too thick to be wine. It was blood. "Well? Did you have a nice time?"

"Yes," she replied. Her gaze flickered to the silver bracelet around the man's left wrist. How did she never notice it before? The bracelet had two silver heart lockets attached to it. One of the lockets suddenly fell open when Vincent moved, showing a picture of a beautiful woman.

Rose asked, gesturing to the bracelet, "If you don't mind me asking...who is she?"

All humour suddenly drained from his face, replaced by seriousness. He quickly flicked the locket closed. "That's my mother. You would have liked her." He turned, preparing to leave.

Moving closer, the psychic placed a hand on his shoulder. "Where is she?"

Vincent tensed. He glanced over his shoulder and hissed, trying not to get mad at her. "You ask too many questions sometimes. You need to let some things go. All you need to know is that she was a vampire, and killed by my sorcerer father, before I killed him. Does that satisfy you, sweetheart?"

Despite the affectionate term, Rose shuddered and quickly removed her hand.

Vincent sighed, running a hand through his hair before scratching the back of his neck. Wanting desperately to change the subject, he asked, "Why did you come back?"

"Adam asked me to," she replied.

The assassin raised an eyebrow, "Really? Last time I checked you weren't exactly on speaking terms with him."

The voice of the werewolf prince came from behind him. "Well, things change."

Rose turned her attention to Adam, who had just entered the room. She stepped forward, "If you came to check on me, that's not necessary. I didn't run away," she said.

He nodded, "I know. I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" she questioned.

The werewolf asked, catching her off guard, "Would you join me for dinner?"