CARNAL DESIRES | | NCT

Chapter 50

The hunter now looked questioningly at the Fae Queen. Mark had always took pride in the fact that he was able to read anyone's facial expressions. It was one of his many talents. But the Queen had somehow left him dumbfounded more than once with his unreadable expressions. Besides his intent gaze, Queen Doyoung showed no signs of emotion on his youthful face. It had left Mark with such an eerie feeling that all he could do was stare back at the Fae before him.

Then unexpectedly Queen Doyoung said "I'm afraid I must apologize on behalf of my husband. On most days he can be quite nonchalant...but there are moments where he can be frighteningly protective of myself and our children". 

The Queen then took a brief moment to smile to himself as if he was in lost in a thought or memory. Mark noted to himself that this was the first crack in the Queen's impenetrable mask before he continued "usually I would tell you that he meant no harm but that would be a lie and I would like for us to be honest with one another."

The Queen was now looking at Mark expectantly and through picking up the subtle cues Mark then responded "I would like that too Your Majesty."

Taking in a slight intake of breathe Mark then prepared himself to answer the underlying question that Queen had not spoken aloud. So as lightly as he possibly could Mark continued to say "I really don't have anything to do with my father's appearance. I'm not even sure why he's here to begin...we haven't spoken in weeks."

"Surprisingly, that thought hasn't once cross my mind." said the Fae Queen sweetly. "Walk with me?"

Mark found himself feeling perplexed at the question from the Queen. They both knew without a doubt that Doyoung only needed to say the command but instead he had chosen to not too. At this realization Mark's had found that his own feet was moving before he could truly grasp the gift the Fae Queen was presenting to him. After all, who was he to deny a Queen?

As the two males casually strolled the palace grounds, Mark noticed that they were headed towards an open field that was  consumed by an ocean of striking blue flowers that he did not know the name of.
Mark had never seen so many flowers gathered in one spot and he was so mesmerized by the beauty of it that he almost didn't hear the Queen say to him "they're called Wisterias. The King had this garden made for me the day he found out I was pregnant with our oldest."

"It's beautiful" Mark said absentmindedly. Still mesmerized by the beauty of a simple garden.

The Queen then revealed a dazzling smile as he said "it is, I often find myself standing or sitting out here for hours when the weight of my crown seem to much to bare." Mark found himself shifting uncomfortably on his feet as he listen to the Fae Queen. Not because he wasn't interested in what Haechan's mother had to say but because he wasn't sure if he had earn the right to learn something intimate about the Queen. However, this feeling became non-existent to what he felt as he heard what the Queen had uttered next.

"This is also the very spot that I met your father". The words had left a sinking feeling coursing through Mark. He was so stunned that he couldn't even try to hide the surprise  as he said "my father? But- what was he doing here?"

Queen Doyoung looked to Mark with a soft gaze and responded "The same as you of course...to kill a fae." Mark felt as if the very ground he was standing on had somehow been kicked out from under him. The hunter looked at the Fae Queen desperately looking for any signs of anger or disgust but Doyoung only continued to look at Mark with a certain level of fondness as he continued "it would've been around the time of Lucas' first birthday and Haechan was still growing inside of me. I had wanted a break from only seeing the walls of my home and decided that I would visit this lovely garden with my sons." Doyoung then extended his hand and pointed to a spot about 40 yards from where we stood.