Chapter 197 - Damsel In Distress
The haunted house actors wondered if it was a bad time to interrupt them. They were waiting in place, confused as to why no one was coming their way. They heard a feminine scream not long ago, meaning they should've passed the carriage and ballerina by now. Where were the two couples?
Unbeknownst to them, both of the couples were in their own worlds.
"What if there's cameras?" Adeline asked, pulling away from the kiss. Elias gripped her chin tighter, kissing her cheek and forehead.
"I'd blind whoever's watching," Elias responded, pulling her close, but with her large belly in the way, it was difficult. And the babies had just kicked him. He felt their powerful jab and she winced.
"Brats," Elias hissed. Nonetheless, he placed his hand upon her stomach and rubbed it, soothing her pain. She relaxed a bit more, her shoulders loose.
"They're just eager to come out," Adeline calmly said, affectionately placing her hand over his. His palm was cold and made her shiver a bit. The babies had stopped kicking at his touch. She found their reaction to him interesting. Sometimes they'd kick when he was around, other times, they relaxed at his touch.
"First they've been cockblocking me for weeks, and now, won't even let me kiss you," Elias sneered, his lips curled in irritation.
Adeline chuckled and shook her head. She couldn't even rest her forehead comfortably on his chest, for her belly was large. Sometimes, she felt like they grew in a span of a night. It'd only be four weeks before she reached the third month of her pregnancy.
Adeline was scared. It usually took four months and a half for Half-Bloods to be born, but she was developing way faster than any other human. Then, she began to worry.
Adeline had read it in a book about how large the stomach and baby should look with each passing month, and her growth was abnormal. What if Elias was right and it'd only take her three months to give birth?
"Your mood changes too quickly," Elias commented, seeing her go through three different emotions in the span of a minute.
Adeline went from happy to fearful to concerned. His fingers caressed the side of her face and he grabbed one of her hands, wanting her attention. She was lost in her own world, and he was jealous of her own thoughts.
"Tell me what's on your mind, darling. I can't tease you if you don't tell me what's wrong," Elias said.
"You tease me too much," Adeline responded, finally snapping back into reality.
Adeline remembered he liked to mock her when she was upset. The more she'd scowl at his jokes, the more he'd tease her. Despite that, he'd still comfort her. She still didn't understand him.
"That is how I show my love," Elias mused, his lips curling upwards when she glared at him. She looked like a little cat that was poked. Cute.
Elias simply caressed her cheek even more, his thumb brushing her smooth skin. He could feel his icy fingers warming up from her heat, and his smile died down a bit.
Elias was jealous of her humanity, of the light in her eyes, and the flush of her face. He loved that she was human, for she had a heart and mind completely different from his.
"That sounds like an excuse to bully me," Adeline grumbled, moving her face away from his hand.
"Does it?" Elias asked, even though he didn't care. He grinned when she began to sulk, her eyes glued to the ground. She'd occasionally look at him, with that adorable little pout of hers.
"You bully me too much," she said.
"That shows I love you too much," he responded.
Adeline couldn't understand his skewed mentality, her brows drawn together. Just then, she heard approaching footsteps and perked up.
"Liddy," Adeline instantly said.
"Your friend is a coward, Your Majesty," Lydia said to the King just as she grabbed Adeline's hands.
"I don't know this man," Elias simply responded.
Elias eyed Weston who wryly smiled, as if none of them witnessed his horrified screams. A Pure-Blooded Vampire, and he was terrified of ghosts? Really?
"Hmph, I'm taking my brave hero with me. You can keep your damsel-in-distress," Lydia told the King whilst holding hands with Adeline and beginning to walk.
"Don't take my damsel just because yours is in distress," Elias snapped at Lydia, grabbing Adeline's other hand, yanking her towards him.
What the hell was Lydia going to do to protect Adeline from the ghosts?
Elias didn't trust anyone else with his wife, other than him. He'd keep her the safest. No one would dare to hurt her in his presence. Hands will fall and heads will roll before she'd get injured.
"I don't want my damsel-in-distress! I'm not some knight, Your Majesty!" Lydia tugged Adeline in her direction, just as Elias tugged her back.
"I am not a damsel!" Weston growled, grabbing Lydia's wrist and pulling her towards him.
The nerve of his woman, right after they had that make out session against a wall!
"You act like one," Lydia said. "What kind of boyfriend uses their girlfriend as a shield?"
"Only to a ghost," Weston quickly rebutted. "I'd protect you in any other situation—"
"Sure you will," Lydia scoffed with a roll of her eyes.
Immediately, her bratty behavior irritated Weston. He thought of so many ways to punish her for the way she treated him. Of course, all of which mixed pleasure with pain, and her wrists tied, eyes blindfolded, and her body writhing for more.
Seizing the arguing couple as an opportunity, Elias pulled his wife towards him. She landed perfectly in his arms, and looked up at him, confused.
Adeline didn't understand why they'd fight over her, when all four of them could just go together. She wondered if Weston realized Lydia had just declared they were in a relationship.
"This is boring, let's take you to the Ferris Wheel you wanted to go to," Elias said, immediately finding an excuse to have the two of them alone.
"But we can't leave until we find the keys," Adeline responded when he guided her down the hallways.
"That's easy," Elias mused, kicking a door open. Even the ghost jumped at the loud bang, spinning around. The ghost this time was a pianist, with the most haunting music.
Elias stalked into the room, his aura more menacing than the ghost itself.
The poor ghost trembled at the suffocating aura of the King. If he wasn't the King, he'd be the final boss of the haunted house. The ghost felt a chill go down his spine when the King stopped directly beside him.
Without warning, Elias slammed his hands down on the piano, creating a panging noise. The ghost shrieked and cowered back. What a frightening man…
"The key, where is it?" Elias demanded.
The ghost usually couldn't respond to the guests, but he was too scared to ignore the King. He had never met someone with this kind of aura, enough to drain the joy from a room, and fill up the atmosphere with his enormous presence.
"T-that way… Your Majesty."
Elias glanced in the direction, seeing a black box conveniently placed near the corner of the room. Adeline stared at him with disappointment, as she crossed the room and picked up the black box, revealing a silver key.
"That's cheating," Adeline told him, approaching the poor ghost.
The actor was shaking in his shoes, and she wondered why. Elias wasn't that scary. Was he? She looked at his bright red eyes, pale skin splashed with the red lighting, and his eerie smile. So maybe he did look like the King of Hell…
"I'm sorry," Adeline apologized in Elias's steed.
"N-no, Your Grace, it's fine," the actor stammered out, not believing a Queen would apologize to him.
"Let's go, we have one more key to find, darling," Elias said.
Adeline was confused. "But we found one."
Elias arrogantly smirked, revealing a key in his hand. "I stole it from Weston."
Adeline nervously laughed. Poor Weston… he worked so hard to get it, only to lose it to his friend.