The Royal Quest

CHAPTER 49. Suited Or Not

"I am starting to think you're a fairy." Massimo suddenly spoke up, which made the princess startle in surprise. He is standing under the shade of the tree while watching the lady talking and grooming the flower plants that surround the palace.

"You always make my heart jump with nervousness." Dahlia hissed at the vampire with her scowling face, but the vampire only chuckled at her.

As days passed, Dahlia felt she belonged to the Castle of Gorgax, doing her usual things and that made Massimo delighted.

"Will you come here in a second, please?" Massimo ordered her, but she just rolled her eyes at him,

"No, can't you see I'm busy here?" She refused as she continued digging the soil around a plant under the sun, but the vampire didn't want her response and stepped out of the shadow instead and rapidly grabbed the lady back to the shade, caging her between him and the tree.

"Seriously!? Look what happened," Dahlia annoyingly said as she accidentally put some dirt on both of their clothes from her hands when Massimo took her. But her eyes widen when he notices Massimo's skin is steaming.

"My goodness, look at your skin! You almost burned yourself!"

"I'm fine. Besides, it's your fault for being stubborn and not following my commands."

"You know you can't just order me around, I'm a princess and not a servant." Dahlia countered, while Massimo chuckled.

"Well, I am the King of this castle, so you have no choice but to listen to me."

"Do you hear yourself, Massimo? You sound like-" but Dahlia didn't manage to finish her words when Massimo suddenly claimed her lips.

Dahlia didn't resist and just let her body follow what it wanted except for getting deeper than a kiss and just giving up everything to the vampire, especially since she is still not convinced about her feelings and Massimo, as Amaia still bothers her. Thinking that the memories of his past love still affects him.

"Hmm, Massimo, stop now." She pushes the man a bit as she feels her body getting softer again and she wants to avoid something happening that she might regret later.

"Why?" The vampire asked with his still dark eyes looking down at the lady while panting, catching his breath.

"I need to finish what I am doing. Just go back inside the castle and change your clothes." She said with her sweet smile.

Massimo heaved a deep sigh before he nodded in response and went back to the palace with his dropped shoulders, feeling defeated. While Dahlia just followed him with her eyes.

"You have no idea what you are doing to that vampire, Your Highness." Suddenly Alice also appeared from nowhere but Dahlia ignored her and just went back to what she had been occupied earlier.

"Don't you miss your parents?" Alice added as she walked closer to the lady's direction while holding her thick and broad black umbrella.

Dahlia halted from digging and stood up, looking up at the taller lady in front of her.

"Why do I suddenly feel jealousy around here?" Dahlia started.

"Massimo and I have something that you will never have because he will never love you, he will never look at you the way he looks at me." Dahlia said with a bit of irritation.

"Whoa! That's not what I asked, princess. Why are you being so freaky? Besides, of course, I understand that the King will never love me because I am not like you or Amaia. However, I still believe that the relationship that we have is much stronger than what you have right now, because I can give him whatever he desires which you can't." She countered with a smirk.

"You may feel jealousy, but you know what I smell?" She leaned closer to Dahlia's ear.

"A threatened princess who doesn't have the courage to say what she truly feels towards the vampire king. And…" she sniffs her neck.

"A smell of cowardness to face her Kingdom and accept the fruit of her defeat."

Dahlia stood still, crumpling the sides of her dress with her hands as she kept herself steady.

Suddenly, the sky turns grey and sprinkles of rain start to drop from the clouds.

"Oh, what a beautiful day for the plants." Alice mockingly said as she dropped her umbrella on the ground and stretched her hands to catch some raindrops.

Dahlia took a deep breath and exhaled it to release the tension that was starting to grow inside her and just picked up her gardening stuff before walking towards the door of the castle, leaving the lady Vampire.

Dahlia tried hard to avoid Alice after their bitter conversation. They both are aware of each other's true emotions towards the vampire king, but Alice is the only one who has the confidence to flaunt it and say it to the man, unlike Dahlia who keeps on denying it.

The night had come and Dahlia was already in bed inside Massimo's room. She's been there for a while, already being awake as she waits for the vampire to join her. However, it's already past midnight and Massimo still hasn't shown up and Dahlia becomes worried.

"Where could he be?" She muttered and wore her robe before stepping out of the room.

Dahlia strolled around the palace in every possible place Massimo could be but still failed to see him.

"Looking for the king?" Suddenly Alice appeared from behind holding a flute of blood.

Dahlia didn't answer and was about to walk away from the lady vampire to avoid another argument when Alice spoke up again.

"If I were you, human. You should get used to our time. We vampires consider night as our day and daytime as the opposite. If you want to squeeze yourself in our world, you should start your clock ticking counter ways."

Dahlia turned to face the lady vampire with her cold eyes.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, and if you haven't noticed, Massimo is the one that's making adjustments for me and if he's not around now, I'm sure he has reasons." She said fiercely with her arms crossed in front of her.

"You have changed, Dahlia," Alice said before she disappeared in front of the lady.

"I didn't change." Dahlia muttered, looking down, and suddenly two strong arms abruptly grabbed her by the waist.

"Massimo! Where have you been? You're making me worried and what is that smell?" Dahlia asked with her disgusted face.

"Why are you still up, huh?" Massimo asked, sniffing her neck.

"You're drunk?"

"I'm not, sweetblood." He declines even though the evidence is clear to him.

Dahlia also notices the tiny blisters on his skin that haven't healed yet.

"Let's go to the room already, can we?" Dahlia insisted and the vampire nodded in response.

"I met with my friend who I asked to investigate about the attack in Haru, but he got no hints yet aside from the fact that it only attacks during the full moon," Massimo suddenly uttered.

"And you know, vampires do not only attack during the full moon if we want to." He added and sighed.

"Dahlia, you believe in me, don't you?" He muttered while they were walking along the hallway to their bedroom.

"I told you that I trusted you, didn't I? Of course I believe you." She responded with a forced smile.

Dahlia takes off her robe when they have entered the chamber already and takes her silver blade from where it is hidden while Massimo went straight to the bed and slumped his body on his stomach and closed his eyes.

"Are you not going to change your clothes? You look so messy, mister." Dahlia said as she slowly pulled the sword from its scabbard.

"Hmm…" but Massimo just whimpered in response, but suddenly his eyes abruptly opened up and moved when he smelled the sweet blood.

"What did you do!?" He asked in his hostile tone.

"I uh… I just thought to… to heal you with my blood." Dahlia stammered with her teary eyes due to the sting of pain in her palm.

"But instead of feeling fascinated with the lady's good intention, the vampire's nose flared with anger and his jaw clenched while his hand gripped the mattress tightly. Dahlia suddenly felt anxious about his behaviour and appearance.

"I didn't ask you to do that, did I!?" He asked, staring at the lady with his sharp golden flared eyes.

"But, Mas-" Dahlia's words were cut off when suddenly the vampire left, leaving the door hanging open and the quivering lady.

Dahlia didn't know what to do or to feel, as her hands were terribly shaking with the pain and fear. Slowly her body dropped on the floor, leaning her back on the wall and curled up her knees and dropped her head while just letting her blood drip from her palm to the ground.

"Why do you always have to defy me, huh?" Suddenly Massimo's voice appeared again but in a calm tone already.

Dahlia slowly moved her head to look up and saw the vampire bringing alcohol and bandages. He then walked in the lady's direction and crouched in front of her.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." He apologised but Dahlia didn't know what to say as her tears kept on streaming down her face.

Massimo sighed and took her wounded hand. He deeply breathed in before he finally washed her hand with alcohol. Dahlia's body stiffened with the pain as she wailed louder.

"See? It's your fault for being stubborn. It hurts does it?" Massimo scolds her as he starts to roll the clean fabric around her hand.

"I'm sorry." Dahlia apologised while crying.

"It is not your blood that I want from you, Dahlia. And you clearly know that. If you really want to heal me, be mine." Massimo said, and finally tied the bandage.

Dahlia swallowed hard and felt her heart throbbing so fast.

Massimo scooped her body from the ground and carried her to bed.

"It is already late, you should be sleeping by now and don't just cut yourself again as your body will not heal itself. You are not a vampire, Dahlia. So don't force your human body to live like one." Massimo told her before he vanished again in front of her.

The princess was left dumbfounded by his words. Mixed emotions and confusion rumble inside her head. He lay down and covered her entire body with the duvet before she continued sobbing with her heart out.