Hellbound Heart

The sun was already up when the door opened. It was Caelian.

"Princess..." the man looked disheveled. But what made Elle's heart sink was the blood that had stained Caelian's white undershirt. There were even rips of his jacket. "I just came to confirm that you had not left the house. Well then –"

"Wait!" Elle looked at him worriedly. "What happened? They're okay, right? Abi and Alicia and Azy are fine, right?"

Caelian hesitantly nodded. His expression was a little weird as he looked at her, unlike the usual carefree way he had been when he was with her the last time. "They are safe for now. So please don't worry. The problem has been solved and everyone's already settled down. I was ordered to tell you that you still can't leave the house today too. This is for your own safety."

He then nodded at her and turned but he stopped upon holding the door knob and spoke without looking back. His voice was a little strained as he spoke. "Uhm, princess... I really hope you have explained your side of the story properly and told the whole truth about what had happened to you in the market that night. If you have not done so... please consider preparing yourself to explain your side of the story. I know it's not my place to say anything much, but I really hope you would not even try to lie about anything." He looked over his shoulder and smiled gently at her. "I was the one who saw you in that state that night so I really don't believe that was all an act. However, everything that happened had obviously been masterfully planned and I believe you were used to making this attack plan in the Black Forest to succeed. Thankfully, we were not too late and there was no major injury that happened. I wasn't supposed to tell you this but I think you must know beforehand because... one of the rogue vampires we tortured mentioned your name."

Once Caelian shut the door closed, Elle just stood there, stone cold. She could not believe what she just heard. What?!! H-how...?

She had a hard time even processing everything that Caelian said but after several minutes, she managed to calm herself and thought hard about it.

What she came to understand from those little bits and pieces Caelian had mentioned had her body turning cold. Now that she thought about it, the Black Forest had been attacked while Sebastian and Alexander were busy hunting for Boone. The Boone that even both Alexander and Sebastian could not find despite their thorough search. If she would think from someone else's perspective, she would be a major suspect. Because the series of events that had happened seemed to have brought everything to this one conclusion. That everything started since she had gone missing that night. The fact that she had told Caelian not to tell the truth and her lying about it, would also add up to the idea that she had deliberately diverted Alexander and Sebastian's attention so the Black Forest would be left unguarded. And then she could not even prove her claims that she really did see Boone, because he might never have been there in the first place.

A bitter, almost hysterical laugh left her lips as she sunk on the floor, burying her face into her palms.

Somehow, she could already see the end of this. She would be left without any evidence to prove that she was innocent and did not have anything to do with what had happened. All she could cling onto was the tiny sliver of hope that they would believe in her words.

But would they? As far as she knew, she had not done anything big yet to earn anyone's trust. And the fact that her name was even mentioned, was... would anyone even believe her now?

Another hysterical laughter echoed softly as Elle gripped the shirt over her heart. She did not understand what was actually going on. Why? Why was her name mentioned? Was it because she was truly used like a puppet without even knowing? What do they want from her? Why... why was this happening to her?

Hours had passed but Sebastian and Alexander did not return. No one came to question her either. The fact that even Alexander was not coming back to check on his kids made her realize whatever happened in the Black Forest, must have been really serious. Caelian said that they were safe for now and there were no major injuries. But that only meant that they got hurt. No major injuries... that meant that there were some minor ones?

She bit down hard on her trembling lips at the thought that the poor child Azy, who was already in a bad situation, must have been hurt as well. The thought broke her heart all over again that she had to reassure herself that the poor child was fine and safe now. There were so many adults, plus his mother, uncles, and aunt there to watch over him. Certainly, he would be well taken care of. Right...?

Looking outside at the already darkening sky, Elle squeezed her eyes closed. A suffocating sense of helplessness enveloped her and she felt as though she was fighting for breath. She was tired... so very tired... and hurt... Would it be too selfish of her if all she wanted for now was to disappear? To have all of these problems and pain go away? If she could... she would want to just disappear somewhere... anywhere that could make all these feelings go away... even for a moment. She would want to disappear to a place where no one knew her and where she could finally find relief. Better yet, she wanted to disappear to a place where she would stop feeling anything at all.

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Dear Hellbounders,

I just want to say thank you once again for all your support guys. I have been dealing with something devastating and I feel like you guys unknowingly decided to cheer me up last night and made me feel your immense support. I just want you guys to know that I am forever thankful that I have readers as supportive as you guys.

Love, kazzen