The Royal Quest

CHAPTER 52. Bloodline

Dahlia woke up, lying on the bed as she felt numbness in her arm, which was already dressed with a bandage.

"You passed out." Suddenly she heard Sebastian's voice. Dahlia looked around and saw the man sitting on the couch beside the fireplace.

"How is he?" She asked,

"I expect him to wake up tomorrow, but his wounds have started healing already. Thanks for your precious blood." He said, while pouring tea into the cup and serving it to the princess.

"Here. It'll help you to recover fast."

"Thank you."

"By the way, I'm here because I have news from Haru." Suddenly, Sebastian let out.

"Wha-what?" Dahlia was confused.

"Your guard is coming for you with a bunch of soldiers," he started.

"Are you talking about Baron?"

"Exactly. He is about to start a war between Haru and Gorgax and that can't happen or else both kingdoms will have a river of blood, streaming into your lands." He warned.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I need to stop him."

"But you can't do it alone, you need Massimo. I mean, once they enter the dark woods, the vampires that lie there will attack them and that's when the battle will start. Without their king's decree, they would not step back. Holy water and silver are not enough to protect them.

"No, I will not let them sacrifice their lives because of me." Dahlia felt uneasy, pressing her temple with her fingertips.

"I should leave and stop them before they reach the dark woods."

"You can't do that either without the King. Don't you know how many immortals are patiently waiting, eager to have a chance to taste your blood since you got there? Have you forgotten how Massimo fought for your safety the night you stayed in a tavern in the middle of the forest?"

"How did you know?"

"I already told you earlier that all of his stories are about you."

Sebastian sighed before he pulled a chair and sat beside the bed.

"Our family has been looking after the vampire King ever since it all started. My ancestor has a good relationship with the royal family in Gorgax, and they knew how Massimo turned into a monstrous vampire."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Dahlia was confused about his confession.

"Because you are his soulmate."

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Dahlia inquired with furrowed eyebrows.

"Way back more than three hundred years ago, my ancestors investigated what happened to the youngest prince and found out that he was possessed with black magic which had gone wrong and caused him to never restore his true form. They started making potions and rituals, hoping to ease the devil inside, but they kept on failing. Massimo Gor is disastrous, a killer back then until he met Amaia, who made him control himself. He said that Amaia had sweet blood that made his furious nerves calm. He didn't bite her, if you ask. She was already bleeding and smelled her scent, that's how he found her, just like how he found you."

"But why do I have the same blood as hers? Of all people?" Dahlia interrupted.

"Simple, because she is your kin," Sebastian straightly answered.

"What? Ho-how? You know, we have a library full of books with the stories of our ancestors and Amaia wasn't written there. That's impossible." Dahlia countered.

"You know, when Massimo told me about you and your blood. I started making my own studies and opened the oldest crate to review about Amaia and it turns out you are family. Interesting, isn't it?"

"I don't know," Dahlia mumbled.

"Are you saying that every member of our family has the same scent of blood as ours?" Dahlia inquired.

"I don't think so. I bet it's a rare kind of thing in your family since your father is still alive even after many wars he attended. I'm pretty sure that the vampires will not let his blood be wasted on the ground. Also, it is also because your family also welcomes another blood when your ancestor got married and had a child and so on.

"Did Massimo already know about it?" Dahlia asked.

"No, I haven't told him yet. But I'm pretty sure he already felt the connection between you two."

"Connection?"

"Yes, your spiritual force perfectly blends with his and the universe agrees with it," Sebastian said while dramatically raising his hands on the sides as he breathed in.

"You look like a weirdo," Dahlia suddenly commented.

"Well, that's the nicest word I ever received, some call me demented or mad and such." Sebastian countered with a smirk.

"So tell me, how did Amaia belong to my lineage when she didn't have a child of her own?"

"Alright, so based on the books, she is from the land of Haru. Your kingdom was not that prosperous before as it is now. Her parents sent her to the north at a young age to be engaged to a widow minister in the most powerful kingdom, assuming she could save them from deprivation once their beautiful daughter was married. However, the rampage happened and it saved her from marrying an old man."

Dahlia listened very carefully to the stories and felt moved, thinking that she and Amaia almost had the same path in life.

"As my ancestors wanted to keep the remaining royal blood in Gorgax, they protected Massimo from every possible danger and that included following Amaia's every step, making sure she would not do any harm against the prince. While attending to the people in Northriver, she also took the chance to send letters to her family. Her parents were begging her to come home as they saw no future for their daughter with a vampire and thought that he would only kill their daughter like what he did to his own family. Also, because they will not have a chance to have a better life once that happens, as Amaia was the only daughter of the family and could only be betrothed to a well-off man. They also witnessed when Amaia started stealing some of the castle's wealth and gave it to her parents as a payment. She bought herself. Together with that, she also cut the bond she has with her family and chose the vampire."

"Interesting, now you're telling me that the Kingdom of Haru stands because of Gorgax's equity.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't matter now. But at least your concern about your blood is answered. Now, about what's happening in Haru, it wasn't caused by a vampire."

"Are you that someone who Massimo asked for help to find the real culprit?"

"No other," Sebastian responded.

"Haru is surrounded by a dark soul. We need to find out where it is coming from before anything worse could happen. So tell me, have you noticed any malicious activity inside the castle?"

"I-I don't know." Dahlia hesitated.

"What do you mean you don't know? You are the sole heiress, aren't you?"

"Yes but, I don't understand what dark soul you are talking about." Dahlia retorted, pouting her lips.

"Yes, of course. You are not a weirdo like me." Sebastian scratches the back of his neck as he chuckles.

"Well, these are the people who praise the devil as their God, they do rituals and some magic tricks to acquire what they want, just like what happened to Massimo. Now I believe that Haru is in trouble. They are maintaining the fear of the people around it to make their power stronger and to make that effective, they are using the identity of the vampire king."

"So what do I need to do to stop whoever it is?"

"It's time to go back to your Kingdom and face your fear."

"You mean to get married already?" Dahlia muttered, looking down.

"Don't worry, Massimo will not allow that to happen. You just have to trust whatever his decision will be when he wakes up."