Her King, His Slave

5- Decision

Merylle's POV

I ran the remaining distance. I caught the attention of the palace guards however, it is not my top concern. Before they can stop me from intervening, I hardly slap the hand of a man piercing a knife at my father's chest.

The knife fly out of his hand, and my father was relieved in pain.

Everyone was stunned by my sudden entrance. It took them a matter of seconds before realizing what I did.

The guards immediately hold me still. One of them kick me on my leg to make me kneel and the other catches both of my wrists and places them at my back.

"D-Don't kill m-my father... please! He didn't do it! He's not a rogue!" I defend. Two of the guards hold me. One of them held my neck, forcing me to stay down.

My father is the only family I have left. I couldn't let them kill him. Plus, they do not have evidence! What if he was just accused?

"We don't have the right to kill the murderer, miss. We are tasked to bring him in the court," one of them explains.

One of the guards picked up the knife and dip it in the blazing torch.

“Then why do you have to stab him with that blazing knife? You’re trying to kill him!”

What if they will tell everyone that my father tried to fight them back and accidentally killed him? That was rampant here! Some vampire councils often power trips.

“We won’t.”

"I told you, my husband doesn't kill humans!" Livda, who's trying to free herself from the two guards, shouts. If there is something I agree with her in this lifetime, this would be it.

Like Livda, I tried to stand on the ground. However, the more I fight back, the more they are pressing my knees on the damp muddy soil.

"Father! Explain to them, please!" I plead. The guard holding the blazing knife walk to my father. "No! You told me you won't kill him. Stop it, please... please!" I cry, but none of them listens to me.

Hot fluids are falling from my eyes as I watch my father screams in pain when the guard presses the knife into his chest.

"We won't kill him. If he managed to kill a number of humans, then we have to weaken him before we drag him to the court," said one of them. My eyes land on my father.

Before I can speak, the guard stabs the knife straight into his chest. I notice that he did not fully stab it since I can still see half of the blade of the knife.

“ARGGHH! STOP, P-PLEASE, STOP!” My father screams.

I shut my eyes tightly. I couldn’t afford to see and listen to his pain. I am helpless. I couldn’t even stand for him.

"You should be glad if we were ordered to kill him. You won't be happy if he will ask to stand in the court.” One of the guards holding me says.

I cry louder. I definitely understand what he's saying. The council will torture my father. Unlike humans, vampires who go against the law can't be slaves. It's either he will be imprisoned... or he will be sentenced to death.

"W-Who told you that -my father is a m-murderer? I told you, he d-didn't do it! You don't h-have evidence!" I tries to think rationally in this situation even though my head is haywire.

My father indeed changed after he married Livda, but I doubt he can kill a human. Worst, a number of humans!

However, what the guards said made me freeze in my place.

"Prince Enzo himself told us."

Stunned by what I heard, I slowly turn my head to the palace guard who spoke.

"W-What did y-you... s-say?" I ask in almost a whisper.

"Prince Enzo was the one who ordered us to capture Gregor Ovia."

My whole body weakens. I feel the restraint of their hands on me soften. They probably notice I have no energy or the strength to fight them back.

The guards holding me let go of my hands. My arms fall right onto my side weakly. I flop on the ground. I couldn't move. My father is too weak to even hold his body together. Without the guards holding him, his body will definitely kiss the ground.

If Prince Enzo himself was the one who declared my father a murderer, then this is not something we can take lightly. Prince Enzo won't accuse someone if he was not sure of it.

“He is not a murderer. You got it all wrong!” Livda screams.

Is this the reason why the Bathorys keep asking about my father? But what if they got it wrong? What if Prince Enzo was wrong?

He is the most sensible member of the royal family. He is the brain of the council. Yet, here I am, questioning his judgment.

“We are just following orders.” They started dragging my father away from me. I open my mouth for a protest but no voice escapes my mouth.

I am too surprised, exhausted, and confused about what is happening.

Livda's scream echoes in the forest. The guards did not let go of her until my father was out of our sight. We were left on the ground while mourning the possible death of my father once he stands in the court.

"Merylle..." Livda crawls to me. She deliberately shook my arm, trying to get my attention.

I weakly turn to face her. Her eyes are red and swollen due to crying. While I feel like I am slowly losing my sanity.

"Y-You have to stop this! They will kill your father!" she hysterically yells. She held both of my shoulders and shakes my body when she realizes I am not paying attention to her.

My mind is not with me at this moment. It still hasn't sunk into me that my father was accused of murder and he will be sentenced to death after a few hours.

"Listen to me!" I'm trying to hold back my sanity as I wipe the tears escaping from my eyes. "You have to help your father... they won't believe me if I will be the one begging them since I am a vampire. But they will listen to you," she utters with full dedication.

I nod my head. She's right. This is not the time for me to be weak. My father needs me.

With my quivering legs, I stand from the ground. I take a deep breath and eyed Livda who was still kneeling.

"I'll ask for help. I got a plan," I bravely answer. I sniff and brush off the remaining tears away—determined to what I'll do next.

"I suggest you stay here. It won't be good for father if you join me in the court." She nods her head.

I faces my back at her and ran out of the forest.

'I need to find Luther. I need him in my plan.'

When I reach the mouth of the forest, the small town welcomes me. Some are eyeing me. I have no idea if the news already spread in the kingdom, and I do not care what they think of me.

I ignore their looks and start running toward the other side of the river. Luther lives near the palace since his family is a member of the council.

I get past our school. At the back of it is another forest where most vampire lives. I don't usually go here without my friends. But this time, I don't care about the fact that I entered the dungeon of blood-sucking species.

Behind this forest is another small town exclusive to the elite vampires. It is near the palace. The members of the council live here. They have their own training grounds. Since this is an exclusive zone, I was barred from entering by one of the guards.

"What are you doing here, miss? Humans are not allowed inside." I peek behind him to check if there are any signs of Luther.

"Please, I have to go to my friend!"

"You're not allowed in here."

"Merylle!" I almost cry in relief when Luther suddenly jumped from a tree. He lands in between in front of us. "He's my friend," he coldly utters to the guard.

When he faces me, his eye softens. I guess he already knew. His parents are members of the council. If there is news, we often got it first even before the palace announced it because of him.

"Merylle—"

"I need your help," I say in a begging tone.

He stares at me for a moment—probably contemplating how he will help me if we are going against the word of a royal member.

After a long silence, he replies, "How?"

I take a deep breath and blow out harsh air to motivate myself to keep being strong.

"I—I will offer -myself as a s-slave... in exchange for my father's freedom," I say with conviction.

"What?! You can't—" He shakes his head, completely disagreeing with what I said. “Are you even aware of what being a slave means?” he asks.

I look him straight in the eyes. Being a slave means my life isn’t mine anymore. So what? If my father will get killed, what would be my purpose here in this world? I do not even know if I will have a future here.

I’d rather leave this world if it means I can save my father.

"Will you help me or not?" Luther is my one and only resort.

He massages the side of his head—as if my idea caused his headache. He looks at me and sighs.

"What do you want me to do?" he says. I can sense the disagreement in his own voice but I ignore it.

Tears of joy formed in my eyes when I heard him agree.

"I will offer myself as a slave," I repeated. "And you will buy me."

"We have a stock of animal blood in our house. But I am not sure if it is enough to buy you. You know members of the council couldn't own a lot of blood bags, right?" he explains.

I nod. He's right. Any members of the council, especially those who are in higher positions like them, where refrain to stock blood bags for their own personal benefit.

The Verlice law states that members of the council should display a sense of control with their cravings for blood. Hence, as the considered leaders of the Kingdom, stocking blood is prohibited. You can only stock animal blood if they are up for donation.

Animal blood is used as an alternative to human blood. This is also used to buy a slave.

"W-We have to m-move now... I h-have to s-save my f-father."

Luther agrees. He faces his back at me and kneels on one of his legs.

"Hop on my back,” he says.

I didn't argue anymore. We got no time.

My hands grip his shoulders tightly. Luther runs to their house to get some blood. I close my eyes when he starts jumping from tree to tree.

When we reached his house, he grabs fifteen bags of animal blood. There is none left in their storage room.

"A-Are you s-sure you're going to get all your stocks?" I'm afraid he'll get in trouble. They only have 15 animal blood bags. I don't watch slave selling but I am aware of how much a slave costs. It depends on their crime. The heavy the crime, the more blood bags are needed to buy you. In my case, I have no idea.

I bet his parents are not aware of what he'll do. I don't want to be the reason why his relationship with his parents turns sour.

"Luther... thank you."

He shakes his head. "Thank me after I bought you."

If ever this plan would be a success, I will not take it for granted. I will fulfill my duty as a slave. Luther is my friend, but I respect the law.

I just hope none will buy me. This is the only way for my father to be freed. Moreover, I have to request a re-investigation. Even I am not sure if the council will permit since it Prince Enzo himself claimed that my father is a murderer.

I don't want to agree with him. I believe in the innocence of my father. But the fact that the words come from him made me doubt what I believe. He is the head of the council. His words are precious. He won't spit the name of a murderer if he's not sure about it.

"We got to go. Your father is already in the courtroom," I turn to face him. I saw his eyes turn red and eventually went back to their original black color.

The eye color of vampires turns red whenever they use their skills or emotion is building up inside them.

I nod my head to him.

"Let's go..."

No matter what happens inside that courtroom, I will certainly not let my father get killed.

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Unedited. English is not the author's first language so expect grammatical errors.

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Her King, His Slave

by: Joanne Cristel

©2021