44

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR.

ROSALIE'S POV.

'The garden of pain.' I muttered in my heart, I was too shocked to say anything to them.

I watched as Dracula moved towards a bed of lavender and touched its thorns, smiling, "Do you know that one has to feel pain one way or the other for like a million times in a lifetime?"

I sighed but replied not to him.

"Hey," The fairy queen called me and I took my attention to him/her, "Are you scared?"

I shook my head, "No."

I was not close to being scared, I was just astonished since everything seemed strange and abnormal.

Okay, maybe nothing was to be normal about things relating to these people. They were abnormal themselves, and it could have been better if they could pretend to be better people, but Dracula was just doing everything too much.

I didn't blame him, though; he only wanted my blood, but he had to experience pain and endless wishes, and he was almost ripped off what he craved.

"You're a strange woman, anyone will be scared at this moment. Aren't you scared of what we can do to you?" The fairy queen questioned me.

"I'm not 'anyone'. I'm Martha, a Luna who rarely gets scared of anything."

He nodded smirking, "I like you."

I chuckled, "What's your name?"

"Elayne."

I nodded at him.

I stared at him. He was good, and I almost felt sorry for him, for I knew that Jacqueline would not spare him, Jacqueline wouldn't forgive, and who knows, Elayne might be pretending to be good.

Dracula returned to us and crouched before me since I was still in my seat from the party. "You are a doctor, you said and proved."

I glanced at his white face, avoiding his eyes with everything in me, "Why do you bring that up again?"

"Nothing much, you just have to choose, though you do not have many choices to choose from."

There, I dared it, I dared a look into his eyes. Unlike the several eyes I've seen, which would have different colours with white surrounding them, his was fully black. Completely black.

There was no trace of white in it.

"Lost?" He questioned me, tilting his head to the side.

I chuckled, then burst into a laugh. I covered my mouth and glanced at him before bursting into another laughter. "You're too full of yourself."

"It's a normal thing for me."

I crossed my legs together and leaned towards him, "Do you know that I prefer warm and fair to cold and white?"

He turned expressionless. "Why?"

I shrugged, "Who knows? I might just wake up to see myself being drained to the last drop of blood."

"I won't. You'll be my favourite."

I folded my hands together and stared at his face, "What are you doing to Jacqueline? I know you lure me away from the hall for something." I smoothly changed the topic.

"You're smart. That's why I want you to choose. You have to choose your life or his."

"His. I choose his."

He chuckled and stood up to his feet, "I was not expecting something else, but I'm angry, you don't even give it any thought."

"There's nothing to think about, Dracula. If you've ever been in love, you will understand what I'm saying."

"All good, I never. Even if I am, I would have murdered her myself, so that she won't be used against me just like you right now."

Something about the way he spoke told me that he had a horrible plan in store for me. Maybe not for me, maybe for Jacqueline, through me.

I became uncomfortable. I wanted to leave as quickly as possible so that I could save Jacqueline and deliver him back to his people, and everything would be back to normal.

I stood up to my feet, "Get me back to the hall, I want to see Jacqueline. I think I've kept your company enough," I told them.

Dracula chuckled, "Maybe the reverse is the case. We are keeping you company til we say you can leave, but right now, I don't think you can. We're not even done what we are to do here."

I glanced between the two of them, "What are you talking about? I said I want to leave." I didn't shout at them, but I was already feeling mad.

"Leave, if you can." Dracula dared me.

A frown finally found its way to my brows. "Just get me out of here immediately." I snapped at him.

"That's a wrong move, Martha. A very wrong one which might get you to hurt yourself." He warned me.

I became conscious of what I was to say and the situation surrounding me. Here I was, in the garden of pain, surrounded by flowers with sharp thorns and two powerful creatures, who were ready to use me for their gains.

"What's the big deal? I just want to leave." I was sober.

Elayne, who had been quiet, stood up from his seat and faced me, "Stop talking, Martha, you shouldn't make it complicated more than it has."

I shook my head, "No, I don't want to."

I saw that none of them was ready to teleport me back to the hall, so I decided to help myself.

I turned back to pick up my chair to at least use it for defence so that I could be able to plan an escape, but when I turned, my chair was not in sight. It was gone.

"What the...." I was shocked, and fear crept into me, "What are you both thinking?" I questioned them and began to move away from them.

"Don't!" Elayne warned me.

I was not ready to listen. I took a step backwards anyway, and I felt something piercing into my leg immediately. It was by the side.

An excruciating pain hit me. It was sharp, and I realised the thorns were all poisonous. No wonder it was called the Garden of Pain.

"Aish!" I groaned and got my leg away from that spot. I stared at it to see what had happened, only to see myself bleeding. I had stepped on a long thorn which immediately cut into my flesh.

It hurt.

"Get me out of here immediately!" I lost it and shouted.

Dracula frowned and took a step closer to me.

When I was trying to get away, another thorn cut into my skin. "Arg!" I let out another painful groan.

"Damn!" Dracula muttered and sniffed the air, then he muttered, "Sweet."

"Get me the fuck away from here!" I snapped at him, and I couldn't stop wobbling.

Each step all the way got me a fresh cut, and my heels soon became wet with blood. If not that my dress was a short one, its whiteness could have been tainted red.

Dracula didn't listen to what I was saying, he moved closer to me and got hold of one of my legs, "Stop wasting the food." He said and licked my wound.

"Let go!" I shouted.

I tried to get my leg away from his grip but I was unable to can. He held me firmly, and I couldn't move any part of my body more than my toes.

"Let me out of here!" I said again, now with a shaky voice and with tears building in my eyes.

I was irritated by what Dracula was doing to me. He was licking my blood with a satisfactory grin while I was there, feeling a mighty pain like poisonous needles were tugged into each tiny hole of my body.

It was like the needles were broken into my flesh, and his mouth on each cut was more like he was pushing the thorns deeper to produce more blood for his greediness.

"Please, let go!" I begged him.

I was in that pain when Elayne stretched a weird-looking cup to me, and I took no details at the circumstances, I was too pained to think of anything else, "Drink it. It will get you back to the hall and escape from him." He said to me, pointing to Dracula.

I couldn't move my hand to collect the cup, I was paralysed.

I just wanted anything to be at ease, and Elayne had been nice to me, so I willingly opened my mouth to welcome the liquid in the cup.

He helped me to occupy my mouth with the drink, and I closed my mouth to swallow, but I couldn't.

I couldn't swallow whatever the liquid was. I couldn't spill it back out either, it was stuck in my mouth.

"Hmm mmm....." I kept on murmuring. Something was stuck in my mouth, and I couldn't talk. I badly wanted to get on my knees and beg them to let me go, but I couldn't.

All I was feeling was pain, even from my occupied mouth.

"This is what we want you to do for us. When you see Jacqueline, kiss him and give him the liquid, and you will be fine. Your pain will go and your wounds will dry up." Said Elayne to me.

Then, I understood why Carl told me repeatedly that I shouldn't trust anyone, not even a pinch. I felt betrayed by Elayne.

"Dracula, take us back and let's finish the job."

Dracula growled, but did as he was told, "I get to drink from you anyways." He spoke proudly and in a blink, we were back to the hall, which had miraculously gone empty.

It was like the party had ended.

"Rosalie!" I heard Jacqueline's voice calling me from the side, and my head snapped to him.

"Oh, my goodness. Rosalie!" He called again and ran to me since I was barely standing on my two feet for I was wallowing in pain.

"Are you okay?" He questioned me.

Instead of answering him, though I couldn't, I felt a force pushing my head towards Jacqueline and he closed up the space between us and locked my lips with his.

I poured the liquid into his mouth and quickly disengaged from him, gaining back my strength, "Don't swallow it! Spit it out!"

"Uh?"

I grabbed his mouth, "Spit the damn thing out!"

He furrowed his brows, "But I swallowed it already."

"Damn!"