Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

Ruelle’s eyebrows furrowed as her mind struggled to process what she’d just heard. Her sister had murdered June? This was the person who wasn’t capable of killing a fly, let alone a person, without shrieking.

"M—Murder?" Caroline’s voice came out strangled with her face white and looking like she was about to throw up blood.

"What rubbish is this?" Mr. Eustace interrupted them. His bewilderment quickly turned to anger. "This is MY slave. I bought her for six thousand gold coins and I am taking her with me."

But the officer didn’t flinch. He instead pulled out a rolled parchment from his coat and handed it to Mr. Eustace which carried an official seal. He then said,

"As you can see here, she has been found guilty and it has been ordered to take her." Soon a long chain with metal rings were placed on Caroline’s wrists.

Mr. Eustace’s face darkened to something murderous. He demanded, "And who is going to fix my loss?!" He turned to Caroline and went to grab her, "I will see you are ruined!"

But the officer was quick enough to pull Caroline behind him and instructed, "Please keep a distance from the person. Or I will be forced to detain you as well."

Mr. Eustace glared before he stormed back towards Sexton’s building, where he wanted a refund for the property he had just bought himself. When the men began to walk, taking Caroline with them, Mrs. Belmont’s voice rose in desperation. She stated,

"This is a mistake! Caroline couldn’t have killed anyone. She is just seventeen!" She followed them, abandoning her dignity in the face of her daughter’s peril. "Where are you taking her?!"

"To the dungeon in the courthouse. You can take permission to meet her before she is executed for her crimes," the officer replied calmly while Mrs. Belmont’s eyes widened. "And milady, age is not an excuse. She had reported that her chain went missing and it was one of her servants who stole it when the very chain was found near the victim’s body. She was creating an alibi."

Mrs. Belmont looked like she was losing her mind. She had protected her daughter, raised her with love and sheltered her. She couldn’t bare the thought of Caroline being beheaded.

"It must be the servants then! Vampires kill humans all the time, and I don’t see you catching them," Mrs. Belmont accused bitterly with the resentment she carried for the other kind.

The officer’s footsteps came to a halt and he turned to look at her with a frown, while assessing the woman. He asked,

"My lady, are you saying that your daughter indeed did murder and we should let her off the hook?"

"Of course not! My daughter is innocent here and maybe your investigation wasn’t proper, is what I am saying," Mrs. Belmont corrected herself. But her words fell on deaf ears.

Soon the carriage door opened and Caroline was guided inside, not roughly but not gently either. The other men followed, filling the carriage and the door closed before the vehicle began to move.

From afar, Ruelle watched her mother beginning to cry.

"Megan! Where’s Caroline?" Her father arrived as he hurried towards her mother, oblivious to what had occurred a few moments ago. "Ezekiel said we can pay half of the price—"

SLAP!

Mrs. Belmont had slapped Mr. Belmont right across his face, and silence fell around. She shouted, "They took Caroline away! They arrested her for murder! What are we going to do?!" she sobbed, covering her mouth.

Ezekiel, who had followed Mr. Belmont, his eyes met Ruelle’s before looking forward. He asked in shock, "What do you mean, arrested for murder? Who took her?"

"It was four officers. I told them she couldn’t have done it!" Mrs. Belmont wiped her tears.

"That is absurd!" Ezekiel snapped in anger. "How dare they do that? We should head to the courthouse right away. I will go find Mr. Lorenzo and see if he can help her out."

"Yes, do that quickly, Ezekiel," Mr. Belmont nodded while still feeling the sting of his wife’s slap. "It is good that you know people."

"It is the least I can do. I cannot let my wife be punished for something she hasn’t done. Let us go," Ezekiel ushered them into the carriage and soon the vehicle moved through the gates of Sexton.

Watching the carriage disappear, Ruelle finally realised she had seen the head officer this morning, outside their room. The officer had bowed to Lucian and had mentioned something being ready. Her eyes snapped at Lucian, who stood there with a detached expression without a flicker of surprise crossed his features. It was because he was handling this case.

"Caroline couldn’t have killed June, Lucian. I know her," words tumbled out of Ruelle’s lips. "She doesn’t have it in her. She would think it was too much work. I can guarantee you that she is innocent."

"I know," his eyes held hers with patience.

"...you do?" Ruelle’s words were barely a whisper, her eyebrows furrowing. "But she’s being taken to the dungeons..."

"The victims share something common. They were young women and each one conducted business with your family," Lucian explained to her, his voice even.

"But... that would mean that I could be the killer too. June was my roommate in the beginning," Ruelle frowned.

"True," Lucian answered. "But it wasn’t your chain they found near the victim. It was Caroline’s. She is impulsive but I needed to see if she did it herself or someone set her up." After a pause, he added, "I thought you would find it better for her to stay behind bars than with Eustace."

Ruelle’s eyes subtly widened. He had saved Caroline from misery. She murmured, "It is better... What will happen now?"

"She will be interrogated. They are the usual procedures and I intend to keep her there for a little. She will be of use in more than one ways," Lucian remarked, as if everything was already set in motion.

"Who would even want to set her up?" Ruelle asked, her mind racing through memories where Caroline had the habit of getting into verbal fights. Could that have earned her enemies, who would go so far as to frame her? Noticing Lucian stare at her, she asked him, "Do you know...?"

Lucian hadn’t forgotten the faint scent of rot coming from the person that day. He was silent for a moment, and then responded,

"I have an inkling, but there’s no definitive proof about it. Her husband."

"How can that be—" Ruelle shook her head. "I mean, Ezekiel wanted to marry Caroline. He asked my parents for her hand and it isn’t like my father owns money that Ezekiel would be after it."

Just a moment ago, she had seen the look of worry Ezekiel had for her sister before they had rushed from there.

Lucian’s hand lifted, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, the gesture tender. His fingers then slowly slid down her hair and he remarked,

"There are things more valuable than money, Ruelle."

He had asked Dane to investigate from his end as he had been busy. But Ezekiel Henley’s background was spotless. Like a stained cloth washed over and over again.

"Stay wary," Lucian instructed her before adding, "You won’t be able to see and talk to your sister today. Once there’s clearance for visitors, you can make a visit if you wish to."

"Okay..." Ruelle placed her trust in Lucian. He had always handled everything with ease and she believed this too would pass like the other things. With a slight hesitance, she asked, "Why didn’t you tell me about it sooner? I am not terrible at keeping secrets."

"I guess I was being selfish," the admission came with a thoughtful hum, as if Lucian were examining his own actions. Ruelle’s eyebrows furrowed subtly.

His fingers found the ends of her blonde hair, holding them with absent possessiveness. He murmured, "I wanted your undivided attention on me alone and not on anything else."

Warmth spread traitorously beneath her skin chasing away the worry that had been gnawing at her moments before. She should have been upset for delaying the information, but instead, she found herself leaning into his touch.

He had successfully redirected her thoughts from Caroline’s plight to what lay between them.

Soon from the corner of her eyes, she caught Mr. Eustace stomping with a bag swinging in his hand, while he grumbled under his breath.

"Lucian Slater," Mr. Oak addressed him as he stepped out of the building with King Septimus. "It would be nicer if you were able to give me a heads-up beforehand. I had to compensate Mr. Eustace. It didn’t help that King Septimus decided to start so low with the bid for two of the groundlings."

Mr. Oak’s eyes then moved to Ruelle and he murmured, "And for the third to turn invalid." Ruelle offered a small bow to the men.

Lucian turned to the men with the fluid grace. He replied, "The courthouse prefers some matters be kept under wraps until the time comes. You must be aware of how it works."

"Still, it was quite a loss," Mr. Oak sighed as if displeased.

When Ruelle caught sight of Hailey and Kevin at the back, she quickly excused herself from the men and went to her friend. She had barely taken five steps before Hailey launched herself forward. The hug was desperate, arms wrapping around her.

"Ruelle, what am I going to do?!" Hailey whispered with worry and her eyes wide.

"I am sorry I couldn’t be there during your bid. I heard what happened..." Ruelle felt guilty and she patted Hailey’s back to console her. "I know it must be hard."

It was because she had been there in the same place. When they pulled away, Hailey asked, "Where were you? I thought Edward took you to the castle already."

Ruelle explained what happened last night and Hailey’s eyebrows rose before her mouth fell open. She muttered, "I can’t believe no one knew. But this is great! I am happy you are able to follow what you want," Hailey’s words were sincere as she smiled brightly.

"Thank you," Ruelle murmured, the words not enough for the gift of such gracious friendship. "I hope the same for you."

"I have been thinking about it, and I am going to request for a high pay. Not to mention, wealthy men come and go to the castle. That must be my calling," Hailey nodded, squeezing Ruelle’s hand. "There is nothing that can rattle me—"

"One shilling."

Hailey’s smile dropped to be replaced by a controlled scowl. It was Sawyer Ravencroft, who had laughed during her bidding. She couldn’t believe she was being called a one shilling. He then said with a chuckle,

"I will see you around," before walking away with Blake.

Hailey turned back to Ruelle and Kevin with her gritted teeth before she whined, "Why did the king have to do that?"

And while Ruelle was talking to her friends and their parents, who had come to see them off to the castle, Mr. Oak left King Septimus and Lucian alone.

"You should come visit me. I am sure Ruelle would appreciate seeing her friends there," King Septimus hummed with a pleased expression.

Lucian stared at the king. "Aren’t you old to be using tricks?" he asked, his expression barely changing.

"The older you get, the more tricks you collect up your sleeve. It would be a sin not to use it," King Septimus answered. He then said, "You should visit this time properly, instead of just taking a look around."

King Septimus had been surprised to find Lucian in the castle three nights ago, and before he knew it, his nephew had disappeared like a ghost.

"I will think about it," Lucian replied while his eyes followed Ruelle even though she was afar.

The king, upon noticing this, chuckled and said, "Very well then. I should take my leave, as there’s nothing else to do here." He raised his hand and snapped, and the guards quickly brought his carriage forward.

Lucian offered a slight bow, and soon King Septimus climbed inside the carriage. Kevin and Hailey took themselves to the carriage behind the king’s and soon they left Sexton.

Ruelle made her way toward where Lucian stood, and he turned as if he had already sensed her with Claude bringing the carriage around. It finally sunk in that her time in Sexton was over and he said,

"Let me take you home."