Chapter 10-2

"I'm...I'm not r-ready for this," I said, shivering. "I can't face him." "Little girl, don't be afraid. If anything goes wrong, although I doubt anything will go wrong, I will personally take you far away from here and you can continue to live your life as boring, old Emily. Okay?" he said, trying to comfort me but, of course, his effort failed. Nodding and taking deep breaths to calm my sensitive nerves, I walked closer to the door. Harry twisted the door knob and slightly opened the door. When I tried to look at Harry, he disappeared. He just left me alone with Prince Nathan. Harry's absence did not appease my tensed feelings at all. In fact, his absence made my feelings worse. That blood-sucking traitor! Breathing in one more time, I pushed the door open with my back and entered the dark room. The pungent smell engulfed me, which nauseated me, and I reluctantly took about three steps forward and it was eerily quiet. My heart beats were vigorous and, suddenly, the door closed shut which made me jump in surprise and in shock. I couldn't speak. I was too scared to. I was also distressed since Prince Nathan killed the guards of this castle all because I left him. Harry wasn't kidding. Prince Nathan had been negatively affected greatly when I ran away from him five years prior. The darkness surrounded me completely and I couldn't stop shivering. I swore that if I get killed or even harmed, I would never ever stop haunting Harry. Then, I felt two muscular arms wrapping my waist protectively and I felt someone's breaths against my neck. I knew that it was Prince Nathan, no doubt. It was dark but I could tell that there was a large amount of blood in this room. Shoving the thought about the presence of the blood into the back of my mind, I finally spoke carefully, "I can't see you." He remained silent. He slowly tightened his grip on my waist. I could tell that he was trying to calm down. "I want to see you," I said again reluctantly. I turned around and his arms were still tightly around my waist, and I tried to discern a glimpse of his face. "Please...I need to see you," I begged, trying to be valiant. He placed his head on my right shoulder gently. "No..." he whispered after a little while. "I don't want to scare you..." Then there was silence for a few minutes. I knew that he was broken. I broke him. He needed to be fixed. Tears were still running down my cheeks and I was scared. "Please...I really want to see you. Just you. Please?" I pleaded, desperate. "And I'm sorry that I left you again. I won't leave so please let me see you." Reluctantly, he pulled his arms and head away from me. Then, I felt him place one of his hands underneath my knees and the other on my back. He gently picked me up without any effort and opened the door. When he walked through the doorway, I squinted due to the sudden change in brightness. He walked through the lit corridors while I scrutinised his face only. He had blood stains on his left cheek and he had blood on his lips as well and his eyes were black. He didn't look at me at all, though. He just looked straight as if I wasn't in his arms; as if I wasn't with him at all. I placed my right side of my face against his firm chest and just stared at his handsome face. He was broken... I did this to him... Opening the doors that led us to the balcony, he gently placed me on a comfortable chair. He still didn't look at me. He was staring at the vast, beautiful view while I was still staring at him. His black shirt was ripped and his hair was untamed. He was covered in blood which I knew was not his. But, he was injured though. When I saw deep cuts plastered on his left arm, I stood up instantly. I examined the bloody cuts and then I looked at his face. "Does your arm hurt?" I asked, concerned. He shook his head slowly, still looking at the view while I watched him. How much I wished that the severe tension between us would just dissipate. How can I calm him down? Confused, I then placed my head gently against his firm chest. "What should I do to calm you down?" I asked. "I'm sorry. I now realise that I should never have left you. Please forgive me...?" Then, he finally looked at me. His dull, blue eyes finally landed on me. He placed one of his hands under my chin and the other on my cheek. "You're back?" he asked. Surprised, I nodded. "It's actually you, right? I'm not dreaming, right?" he asked again, desperate for my affirmative reply. I nodded again. "Yes...I'm back. I'm with you," I replied. His blue eyes became a shade brighter. He finally came back to his senses. That was when I realised that the brightness of his blue eyes determined his moods. The darker his eyes were, the more angry he was feeling and vice versa. "You left me again..." he stated. He then looked at my shoulders. "I'm a monster; a beast. I hurt you, even though I promised you that I never would." He gently trailed his finger tips along my shoulders. Then, he hugged me, placing his head on my shoulder carefully. Shocked, I didn't move a muscle. "I'm so sorry. Please don't leave me again. Please! I beg you! Don't hate me and don't leave me ever again!" he begged, sounding very vulnerable. "I never wanted to hurt you," he continued. I couldn't control myself. I started to cry again just when I stopped crying. When he lifted his head from my shoulder, I noticed that he was very upset. He wiped my tears away, trying to calm me down. "You should never have hurt me... You just suddenly told me that I am your soul mate and I was so confused and I needed time. But, you injured me. Not just physically, but also mentally. I did absolutely nothing and you just crushed my shoulders. I am only a human, and that too a delicate one," I admonished, sniffing, tired and upset. "I'm so, so, so very sorry," he replied sincerely. He then gently hugged me for quite a while; probably about ten minutes. I didn't like it though since I didn't particularly like him. So for ten minutes, I had to conceal my discomfort and it wasn't easy. "I'm not asking for you to forgive me, but, I do want you stay with me...please?" he requested. "I know. Why should you stay with a beast like me. But I need you. Please?" "I won't leave you," I replied. He looked at me and I noticed that he was shocked to hear me acquiesce. "Thank you... Thank you," he whispered, closing his eyes. "Okay then. It's settled. Now can you please let me go?" I requested. He didn't like it but, thankfully, he let me go. "Oh and just because I decided to stay with you, doesn't mean that I am happy with this decision," I said firmly. I needed him to know that I was still unhappy with him. His eyes turned a shade darker. "And I have set some conditions." "And what are they?" he growled. I knew that he was getting angry but I didn't stop talking. "Call me Emily. I don't know how Sertia was and I know that I am not like her at all. So, I think it's fair if you call me Emily instead." "Go on," he said, unhappy. "My family is my priority. I do not want any harm done to them at all. So, I want you to keep them safe. And I am allowed to keep in touch with them anytime," I said. "Thirdly, you are not to be cruel to me. You are not to harm me physically or mentally or both," I informed. Looking at his expression, I noticed that he blanched. Maybe it was because he felt guilty. I continued, "And you are not to kill anybody because of me. If I made you upset or angry or anything of a sort then you shouldn't just kill people to vent your emotions." "That's all?" he asked. I shook my head. "No. There's one more," I informed. I knew that he wasn't going to like it, so I took a deep breath. "I reject any titles of royalty."