chapter twenty two: dinner with the ghostly ruler
"We can't fucking find him." Feitan's shouts jolted me out of my head. Even from the garden I could hear him arguing with Chrollo in the dining room.
I watch as servants who were nearby run to the shadows, completely getting out of their sight. Part of me wants to go and see if everything was alright but my legs didn't bother moving. I could hear everything from where I sat.
"We've searched every inch of the forest and there's nothing. He must've crossed the river that night."
"It's fine. I wouldn't worry about a single human-"
"It's not fine, if the town finds out he's the only one that survived then they're going to believe him and come for revenge. Imagine a town, all coming to kill us. We might have a kingdom but we're really not a kingdom."
Ugh, I feel so sick. I glare at my hands, frustrated of the past sticky feeling of dried blood staining my fingers. I wiped them on my dress repeatedly, hoping the feeling would wipe off as well.
It hadn't been long before the vampires realized that a single human had managed to escape the fire. Phinks said that the man had ran all the way back to his town and if he spread the word- which he most likely did- another group of hunters would be heading our way sooner or later.
Feitan had gone days without sleep, constantly searching through towns in hopes of finding the missing man but there had been no sight of him yet. It was stressing him out, and seeing his king completely unbothered stressed him even more.
"There's really nothing to worry about."
"You're doing it again, Lucilfer."
"Doing what?" He finally snapped.
"Not taking anything seriously anymore. You're letting Hisoka take over the meetings and you're not even bothering to send out a group to find this man." He pointed out. "If we don't find him then eventually more hunters are going to find us and then next time we might actually all end up dead. Why can't you understand that this is all we have left? This is all of us."
"Then find him and get it over with." He pushed past him. "It's really not that big of a deal. If you're truly the man you say you are then you wouldn't be complaining to me about it."
Feitan clicked his tongue and watched as the ruler of the ghostly kingdom walked away. I see Chrollo walk down the hallway through the open windows and when my eyes flicker back to Feitan I find him already staring at me. He's the first to look away and then he's gone in an instant.
I turn away and focus back on my book.
"An unbothered king is often frowned upon. This is why he hid for years in his castle while his people parrished." His voice has me rolling my eyes. I look up to see Hisoka towering over me and then he's crouching down to reach my eyes. "You're now seeing who he truly is. Did you really think he was such a great ruler of a ghostly kingdom?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do. You're the one who goes into his room late at night to see him writing those letters. It's like he's put into a spell, a never ending torture of writing until his hand finally gives out on him."
"You seem to know everyone very well. What do you want me to do? You don't think I've tried to stop him from exhausting himself every single night?"
"Well you wear his colors so proudly." Hisoka pointed out. "The least you could do is help him pull himself together."
I nearly crush the page on my book and look up at him to see him already scowling at my dress.
"As far as I can remember the colors red and black were just...colors." I scoff, returning back to my crumbled up page. Shit. Chrollo's going to get really irritated when he finds the page all messed up. "Quit bothering me already."
"He's using you, how do you think this looks to other vampires? A human wearing royal colors to a unbetrothed king."
"Why do you care so much?" I almost burst out laughing at the thought of being seen as the new queen of the ghostly kingdom. My eyes dart to the empty throne that no one, not even Chrollo himself had taken a seat in for years. It was abandoned as well, just like this land. The words sounded a lot worse out loud so I stay quiet.
"Hisoka if you truly don't have anything better to do then I can speak to Feitan, he needs help hunting down that missing man."
"You don't see it but I do." He grabbed my arm, his grip so tight that I almost drop the book out of my hands. "A new era is coming. If mortals see a human girl as the vampires wife then they'll think that not all vampires are truly evil as they think they are. They'll bow for you and then...history repeats itself. A wave of new servants and mindless soldiers are going to be at our side."
"Is that not a good thing? Anything for the revival of this kingdom should be a good thing." I hold my chin up so he would know I was not intimidated with the thought of it either.
Hisoka studied me for a moment, his eyes darted back to the throne behind me and then sighed deeply to himself.
"You're cruel and I was wrong. You don't care at all about your people." He chuckled in disbelief, backing away. He looked at me, a ringing in my ear caused me to freeze and without thinking I slap him across the face.
"Don't you ever try to read my mind again!" My shouts echoed throughout the castle, freezing time.
He stood still, staring at me as if he had been shouted at by god himself.
His face grew red but I wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or the hit. My palm stung as well, aching from the slap. There was a small cut on his cheek bone, one of my rings had cut him. I didn't even realize how hard I had struck him till now.
Embarrassment flushed through my cheeks and I pushed past him, storming back to the safety of my home.
For the next few hours I can't stop but take a glance at the mirror. I'm not wearing the dress from earlier but I am wearing a black one with gold embroidery. The top is low, steeping over my breasts and a (gold/silver) necklace is resting over my collarbone. Neon gifted it to me a few days ago and I hadn't had a chance to wear it until now.
Hisoka worked fast. He liked to cause problems just to entertain himself and because of my slap from earlier he decided to get back at me by inviting everyone to dinner. He had already seen the situation with Lucilfer and Feitan, he was just adding more gas to the fire now.
"Did he touch you?" Chrollo asked as he tightened the strings on the back of my dress.
"No. He just tried to read my mind."
"Why? What's he trying to look for?"
"I'm not sure."
"I'll make sure after this he stays completely away from us." He assures me but I'm no longer listening.
Is he working with Kurapika? My blood runs cold and I glance back at Chrollo. He was too busy buttoning up his shirt. He stared at the mirror, as if he'd eventually catch a glimpse of his reflection if he stared long and hard enough. Something was bothering him. He was quieter than usual and honestly that made me feel a little better. Since he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts he wouldn't bother reading mine and definitely not after Hisoka had tried to do so earlier. So I continue to think and wonder about his intentions. Why he kept bothering me and why he kept trying to scare me off.
Is he trying to scare me off that way Kurapika doesn't have to risk coming all the way over here to get me?
Kurapika hadn't stepped foot inside his own home for years. Even before I left he never spoke about Lucilfer or anything about his past. It truly made me wonder what could have happened for them to all separate. What horrible events had happened that made an entire kingdom almost disappear?
I blink, suddenly remembering about his book. All the letters he constantly wrote, all the nights he spent wide awake writing in his locked room. I was sure that everything that happened was written in his diary.
"We don't have to have dinner with everyone tonight." I finally say and he tears his gaze away from the mirror.
"It'll be good for everyone to be together."
"But...it's not like you'll actually enjoy it. You don't like eating dinner with a crowd."
"They'll enjoy it."
I smile weakly at him. "You're the king, we do as you like. We'll have dinner with or without a crowd but if you continue to not speak your thoughts then people will eventually start to worry about you."
I could feel his eyes on me, watching as I carefully put my lipstick on.
"Feitan's still worried about that missing man. I'm not sure why he's still bothering about it if we already know we're not going to find him." He sighed and then smiled, shrugging all his worries off. I reach out to grab his arm giving him a gentle reassuring squeeze that I was always there for him to ask for help. He only grabs my hand and kisses it.
"Should we get going then?"
I return the smile. "How about you go on ahead? I'm still not done getting ready yet."
"Alright then, I'll wait for you downstairs."
I watch him leave and listen carefully to the sound of his footsteps vanishing. I wait only a few seconds and then run out of the room. I rush to his office and slip in before any of the servants could notice me. My heart was drumming in my ears and part of me wants to stay as far away as possible from his room, but my eyes immediately find his desk. My fingers lock the door and I get to his desk.
The more drawers I open the closer I feel of finding the book. It's as if it's shouting my name in the distance, desperate for me to find it. I rip nearly every drawer in his desk only to find nothing but junk. I frown, scanning the room instead. Nothing under the bed, nothing in his closet. Nothing under his pillows or sheets, not even hidden in his coats which he usually tends to hide stuff.
Where could he have it? I wonder, climbing onto his chair and looking over the bookshelves. All dust and spiderwebs.
Where are you? Where are you? Where- the meowing from his cat startled me, nearly having me screaming. Only another reason why this is a horrible idea. If he catches me lurking in his room he'd never trust me again, we'd be back at the very beginning. I watch as the black cat jumped onto the table that had a leaning portrait against the wall. I'm in front of it in an instant. My fingers carefully pull the portrait and there it was.
His book. Packed with secrets that would answer every question I had. I eyed the cat but still thankful it arrived at the right time.
I'll be back for you.
