Two Hearts: The Hunt [Slowly Editing]

Chapter Ten

Adrianna's POV

Knock, knock, knock.

I stood in the center of a dark, candle-lit hallway that eventually led to the castle's grand dining hall, staring expectantly at a chamber-like wooden door that was rounded at the top. If my father was still King, I would have simply barged in and sat down on one of the leather seats he kept in his quarters and tried to bother him while he did some busy writing on his desk. I remember he would smile at me and play along, probably eager to get a break from many of his tiresome duties as King. And if I were a little girl again, I would have begun to spin around on the chair, my giggles being accompanied by my father's hearty chuckle. Sometimes he'd get off his seat and spin me around himself. Sometimes we'd both spin around in the chairs.

But this was King Alexandru we were talking about here. And who knew what the hell he was doing behind those closed doors? For all I knew, he could be torturing a conscious uncompelled human or having a threesome with some disgusting, slutty vampires.

"How many times must I tell you fools, this is my time to be alone with myself!" A loud, angry growl penetrated through the wooden door, causing my body to involuntarily shiver. "Do not disturb."

"It's me," I said simply, my voice clear and strong and even sounding a bit annoyed. I crossed my arms and waited.

I caught the sound of shuffling and scraping on the other side of the door before it swung open. King Alexandru stood tall, towering over me in his black cloak. His clear blue eyes had a look about them that was verging on psychotic as he looked down at me, holding the wooden door open with his cloaked, muscled arm.

"Ah," he sighed with a wicked grin. "My dearest Adrianna. I have been expecting you."

He held the door open for me as I stepped inside his study. I struggled to suppress a gasp as I took in all the changes that had been made to the once warm, cozy room that used to be my father's favorite area in the entire castle.

The high wall of windows that stood behind the wooden desk was shrouded by a thick black curtain, blocking away any thread of bright light that attempted to make its way past it. The glowing stone fireplace that my father had always kept warmly lit at the corner of the study was off, and instead there was only charred wood and grey charcoal in its place. Its hearth looked like it had not been used in months, which gave me an empty feeling inside my already-hollow chest. The large, comfy leather chairs that were once situated in front of the long wooden desk were gone, replaced by a large grey rug made out of what smelled like wolf fur. And there, in the center of the study standing on either side of the desk were two human women, both of them half-naked with ripped clothing and ragged looking, breathing heavily with eyes that were filled with a crazed excitement that I didn't think was normal.

Evil, I thought. Evil, evil, evil---

"Please," I heard his thick, gruff voice say behind me. I then heard the door close shut and the turning and clicking of a lock. "Have a seat."

That would have been fine if there had been any seats for me to sit down on to begin with. So instead I stood there, staring at one of the young women who had a breast exposed and matted brown hair strung all across her face.

King Alexandru chuckled darkly. "I must say, my ability to amuse myself never ceases to amaze me." He walked with deliberate slowness over to his desk, the bottom of his shoes clicking against the cold, hard floor as he took his time to reach the woman I was staring at. He wrapped an arm roughly around her waist and yanked her to him.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" He asked me, once again exposing a set of white shiny teeth in an evil smile. "Her name is Miranda." He dug his face into the woman's neck and inhaled deeply.