Chapter 34: The noble country of Syldavia!

“Shush!”, Selena snapped at a flustered and timid Demetri as his hands accidently brushed against the Victorian vase which Caro had displayed proudly in his home. Be an avid rule follower, this just might be the first time he was sneaking out. Selena being an expert at sneaking out was wary of Demetri’s poor skills afraid that he might get them both caught.

Demetri having the instincts and vitality of a hunter, immediately caught the vase before it touched the floor and put it gently back on to its original place.

“We are going to get caught!”, Demetri whispered and Selena rolled her eyes at his cowardice.

“I have already noted. The Guards change their shift every two hours. We have precisely twenty seconds to get out of the gate before the next set of guards arrive so stop wasting time”, Selena snapped at Demetri.

He nodded at her meekly and followed her out of the palace and fidgeted through the town, making sure as to not make any noise.
“If we get caught. Your fiancé is going to kill us both.”, Demetri whispered and Selena scoffed at him in arrogance.

“Relax we will be back before daylight and even if we get caught, I will deal with the old man”
With that they easily passed the gateway and out of the Kingdom of the West and made their way towards the noble kingdom of Slydavia, Demetri’s birth place.
As Selena eyed the grasslands stretching before her eyes, she frowned as she realized that they had quite a way to go and took into a run, with Demetri right at her heels.
As she approached the wastelands and ruins of the Syldavian city, she slowed down and eventually stopped and waited for Demetri to catch up to her.
She pressed her mouth firmly into a thin line at seeing the sight unravelling before her very own eyes. The ruins were enough to make a grown up wail out loud. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see one of the most beautiful and serene kingdoms turned into nothing but a mushy eyesore of a land. Not one lifeform still existed on this land, not even weeds.

Demetri arrived right next to Selena and he found himself frowning at the wasteland before his eyes, which was supposedly his homeland.

“I always guessed that you might be from a royal family since you are a blue blood too because of your powers”, Selena said calmly, referring to Demetri’s tracker abilities and Demetri nodded at her. He too had figured that part out.

“What exactly happened here?”, Selena asked in a tight, strained voice and Demetri winced.
“According to history, the Syldavians were slayed by the Vanhuesans brothers. The reason still remains a grey area that no one really speaks off.”

Selena eyed him warily, a sudden thought entering her mind.
“Do you hate Caro because of what happened to your family?”

Demetri eyed her intently, then sighed as he decided not to hide anything from his best friend.
“I would be lying if I say that the thought never crossed my mind. Caro Silva even though he changed his last name will never escape my wrath once I actually uncover what exactly happened to my family. I am sorry to put you in such a tight spot.”, he said apologetically.

Selena let out a sigh and said in a clear voice, already making up her mind, “If Caro really has something do with the death of your entire family and clan, then I will never stand in the way of your revenge. I am not too fond of him either and I am thinking of a way to break this marriage. But god forbid, even if I am heads over heels in love with him, I still will take your side unconditionally when the time comes.”

Demetri softened his eyes at her and let out a relived sigh. This thought had been eating him alive ever since the King had announced their marriage.
“Why?”, he asked in a small voice.
Selena punched him playfully in the shoulder and replied as a matter of fact, “Because you are my best friend. And no one will ever be able to replace your place in my life.”

Touched by her sincerity, Demetri pulled her into a bear hug. Selena smiled as she patted his back affectionately. She had been worried that the demise of his family as well his entire clan was bugging him out. She wanted to make sure that he always come to her for help instead of doing anything dangerous on his own and putting himself in constant danger.

“Hhm”, a loud voice cleared and they jumped apart, startled to find that someone else had been there in the ruins at midnight.

Selena narrowed her eyes in the dark, as she realized who the person was who had disturbed their rather touching bonding moment.
“Caro”, she muttered under her breath, taken aback, a thousand questions flooding her mind.
Why on earth was he here? How long had he been here? Had he been following them from the palace itself?


“You were following us from the all the way from the palace, weren’t you?”, Demetri asked him snidely and Caro snorted at him in response.
“You seem to forget that I am an original vampire and I have an eyesight, hearing ability and strength which are far superior than normal ones, even if they are royal born with blue blood per say.”

Selena frowned at the way Caro had enunciated the word ‘royal born’. Her gut feeling told her that he already knew Demetri was a Syldavian descendant, just by the way his eyes were fixed sternly on Demetri when he mentioned him being superior than even royal born vampires.

Selena feeling violated pf her privacy, snapped at her fiancé furiously, “How dare you follow me around? I am a grown up and I can handle my affairs well by myself”

“And what urgent affairs do you have to deal with in the middle of the night?”, he said tightly, a composed expression on his face as if he was barely controlling his fury.

“I don’t think what I do in the middle of the night is none of your business. Plus, since when have you been following us?”

Caro took a threatening step forward and fixed his bride to be with an incredulous look as he murmured stoically, “I followed form the moment you left your room. We have a joint room and with my advance hearing, I could easily hear you sneak out and I was curious as to where you would go in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar place, so I followed you and my dear, I do have a right to know about your little escapes. After all, we are going to get married.”

Selena eyed him warily and snapped at him, “We are not married”
“Yet!”, Caro enunciated at the end of the sentence, further irking Selena out.