Hate or Love

The Murderous King

Time stood still for some long, long as lifetimes seconds.

There was silence. A deafening silence.

Estelle looked at Lord Wilton, and then she shifted her gaze on David, looking for any kind of contradiction in his face, anything to let her know he too thought that what she had heard coming out of David's father's mouth was the most foolish thing she had ever heard.

And there was none. David wanted this marriage, it was written in the way he looked at her. There was a kind of promise in his eyes that formed a lump on her throat.

He wanted her. 

"What did you say?" The voice made her snap her head at her mate that was standing right next to her. For a moment she had forgotten he was there at all, listening as a man proposed him to let his mate marry someone else for the sake of his politics.

And a shiver ran down her spine when she looked at him. Estelle had expected him to look mad, start shouting or even threatening Walton for even considering such thing. Instead, Victor looked cold. He always looked cold, but this was another kind of cold.

This was deadly.

He was thinking of million of ways to kill them, Estelle could feel it, see it in the way his eyes turned into emotionless, void pits of blue. If she was Walton or David, she would be running for her life by now.

"Victor," Estelle whispered his name, not really knowing why. Maybe just so her voice could calm him down somehow, but he didn't even spare her a look.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Victor repeated every word separately, in between gritted teeth, the threat obvious in his hiss. "Did you even hear yourself?"

If Walton was scared, he didn't let it show on his face. "The truth is, Your Majesty, no matter what a show you two put here, I know the Princess isn't really planning on marrying you," he said. "And I'm going to be honest, this is something we all can benefit from. I can have an alliance with the wolves' royal family, my son can have heirs from royal blood, and you'll have my loyalty and your influence in all the lands I own."

The crystal glass of red wine Victor had in his hand got shattered into little pieces, and still he squeezed it in his hand until the hand got bloody. Another time, Estelle would take his hand on hers and tend his wounds, but she was suddenly too angry right now to think of such thing. "Are you really talking about me as if I'm not even here?" She demanded, finally gaining the attention of the two elves in front of her. "You're talking about your son marrying me, and the benefits from it, like you're already sure I'd accept."

"Estelle―" David cut in, but with a raise of the palm of her hand, she stopped him from talking.

"It's 'Your Grace' for you," she snapped at him as her voice kept raising, standing up furiously, showing how upset she was at such misogynistic males that could get her for granted, only because she was a female in a world that was ruled by males. "Because Lord David, you and your father must have forgotten, but I'm not only Princess, I'm Regent of my Kingdom. Who are you to think you have any chance of marrying me, to consider getting me for sale, for closing your politic deals as if I'm a servant that you can order around?" She slammed her hand against the surface of the table, not caring that all eyes were on her. "I can have your heads for only disrespecting me to such lengths!"

There were some traces of pride on Victor's eyes when she caught a look of them, but he still held a murderous look in his face.

David looked away, and for a second she thought he looked hurt and even ashamed, but on the contrary, there was no sign of shame on Walton's expression. "With all due respect, Your Grace, you're Regent only for a few months. Marrying such powerful Lord would benefit you and your image in the eyes of your people. I don't think they want you to marry the murderer of your father, and I don't think you want to, as well."

The table, which had been full of different kind of food, was crashed against the wall and Victor didn't even moved a finger to do it. His eyes could do it all.

It caused a disturbing noise, and all shuddered back in fear at the sight of their King that they all would start calling The Murderous King, only if they could survive this.

Because this was it. The control Victor had been holding into had snapped and there was nothing that could save his enemies now. His dark side was out, and it was out for blood.

"This is your end," Victor threatened. "Your bloody end for thinking you can get what is mine." He didn't move, he stood still but his eyes had turned completely white and there were waves of wind coming off his body, lifting his long hair upwards.

Walton's face squeezed painfully as he started letting out scream after scream. Estelle couldn't even understand what was happening to him, Victor hadn't attacked him directly. Only by staring intensely at the old elf, Victor had caused blood coming out of Walton's ears.

He was killing him, Estelle realized. Victor was agonizingly killing him, and only the sight made her insides clench in fear.

The white eyes moved at David for only a second, and she waited for him to feel pain too, but surprisingly he didn't. Victor was only challenging him in a magic duel, giving him a chance to save his father.

But it was more than that. Victor was challenging him for Estelle. Letting him know with his eyes only that David could fight for her if he was brave or stupid enough, Victor was giving him this opportunity.

And David didn't. His head hung low as he kept hearing his father's painful screams and doing nothing for him. He was a coward. A wise coward, who knew there was no one that could save him from his King's wrath if he tried opposing him.

"Victor," Estelle called him, with tears in her eyes. Sure, she hated the old elf in front of her, but the last thing she wanted was his blood in her hands. "Victor, please stop," she pleaded. "Please, don't kill him."

However, Victor didn't stop. Estelle wasn't sure if he could even hear her right now, he was completely out of control. There was something dark that had taken him and even her voice wasn't bringing him back to reality.

She took hold of his hand, trying to make him look at her but still he didn't stop causing pain in Walton's body, that was eventually dying.

So Estelle did the first thing that came in her mind. She crashed her lips in him, running her hands in his hair and kissing him with everything in her.

It took Victor two seconds to respond. He took hold of her waist, flushing her to his body and kissing her almost harshly. And he didn't kiss her lips, he kissed her mouth. Owned her mouth actually, right in front of everyone. It was a kiss of belonging, of possess. Teeth crashed on teeth, tongue inside her mouth but Estelle responded swipe for swipe, kissing him with just as much passion as he kissed her.

When he let go of her mouth, she opened her eyes slowly, looking at his eyes that had eventually turned a deep blue again. "Oh, Victor," she whispered, still holding on his neck for her dear life as she panted hard and tried resisting the hunger in his eyes.

"Mine," he claimed, gathering her in his arms possessively. "Mine!"

"Calm down now, I'm not getting married," she reassured him in a soft voice, stroking the end of his blonde straight hair. "I won't marry him, Victor. But don't kill anyone, please. Let's just get out of here."

Victor snapped his head at the elf that had barely survived as he was getting the first help from his son and the healer that run to him, but was shaking in fear himself. Something inside almost made him finish what he started, but the feel of Estelle in his arms stopped him.

He couldn't have her hate him even more.

"My mate saved you this time," Victor told him in an angry, deadly voice. "But I won't spare you another time. If you don't bow down to me in my coronation ceremony, along with every other Lord, I'll have you hanged on my court for everyone to see what happens if they ever doubt me or my reign. This was just a warning, Lord Walton," he threatened, a cruel smile invading his lips, and this time Walton looked terrified and he didn't try to hide it. "Your son is next if he comes near my mate ever again."

Without losing more time, Victor held her hand and walked out of there, feeling everyone's scared looks on them.

The whole time as they reached the horses, he didn't say a word. But just the way he held her hand told Estelle he was still out of himself.

"Victor," she called.

"Did you consider it?" He questioned all of the sudden, holding her gaze. "Tell me the truth, Estelle, was there a moment, a fragment of time when you considered marrying that ugly excuse of an elf?"

"No," Estelle answered truthfully. There was no lie there. She hadn't. "No, not even for a second, I did not consider it."

Victor let out a breath he had been holding. "Fine," he simply said, getting on the horseback and waiting for her to do the same.

The whole time they traveled back to the court, Victor didn't speak. Nor did Estelle. He was still tensed and mad, she didn't want to cause any reaction from him. No matter that she knew he would never, ever harm her, no matter that she knew already he had claimed her in front of everyone, there was a part of her that feared Victor.

There was something mad about him. Something dark that scared her. And intrigued her and turned her on in equal measures. It was twisted, but it did, and that was what scared her even more.

"You have been silent the whole time, what are you thinking about?" Estelle finally asked when they were in front of the golden gates of his court that the guards were opening for them.

Victor didn't answer at first. Then he looked at her as his eyes bore into hers, suddenly making goosebumps erupt on her skin. "I was thinking of all the lengths I would go, all the things I would do, just to call you mine," he said.