Hellbound Heart

Something suddenly shattered and the light from her flashlight was gone before Elle could see the face of the person.

Her heart drummed in panic as she flicked the button on her flashlight on and off, trying in vain to turn the light on again. All the while, she took a few steps back. To her chagrin, her flashlight was not working anymore! Could it be that it was broken? Was it the shattering sound that she had just heard?! Oh lord!! How in the world did it get broken like that? Her flashlight was small, and it would require extremely good marksmanship to aim and break both the protective glass and bulb. Who could it be? Was that even possible?

She jerked her head forward, now keeping herself alert as she continued clicking the button of the flashlight, hoping that it would turn on.

The silhouette was still there. Even without the light from her flashlight, she could still see the dim outline of the person. He was sitting on top of a stone. She could not see his face, but she just knew instantly that the person was not Sebastian.

With her heart drumming up a quick beat, Elle tried to calm down her panic. She told herself that there was no use panicking. She needed to calm down and be alert. This was a good time to utilize all the training she had been doing with Rion the past few days. Running back to the passage was not a good choice for her right now. She was not confident that she could outrun whoever this man was in the dark without her flashlight. Though she could somewhat make things out in the dark, it would not be wise to run when her vision was nearly zero.

The peeking moon came out a while ago, giving a slight light to the darkness. It cascaded onto the silhouette and Elle saw a familiar pair of gleaming grey eyes.

"Hello there, Sunshine…" came a smooth, a little deep, and pleasing voice.

"E-Elijah?!" Elle exclaimed, eyes circling wide. What on earth was he doing down here?

His response was a soft chuckle. It did not sound sinister or anything bad, but Elle's heart somehow shivered anyway. She could not believe that the silhouette was indeed Elijah! "I'm flattered you managed to recognize me so quickly, Princess Izabelle."

Elle swallowed nervously and fought for calm. She did not know how to react to this. Why? Why was it him again? What did he want with her?

"W-what are you doing here? What… do you want from me?" she asked, trying her best not to show him how terrified she was. It was just so unsettling… everything about him was just so unsettling. And the realization that he had toyed with her just by using a piece of paper to lure her out like this… it made Elle want to scream at herself for being so rash at her decision. She had not thought that she was so silly. For being so easy a prey to be lured out like this. She shouldn't have gone ahead by herself. She should have at least called Rion to accompany her!

"Don't be scared, Sunshine. Don't worry. I won't hurt you I promise." He sounded serious.

"My name is Izabelle, Prince Elijah. I'd appreciate if you use it." She retorted, fighting for total composure and alertness.

"I like giving nicknames to everyone I like. And Sunshine really suits you…" he tilted his head as he looked at her, squinting his eyes a little. "Because you seemed to glow even in the darkness."

"P-please get to the point, Prince Elijah. What do you want from me? And how did you… how did you manage to put that paper in my room? Did you have a mole in the castle?" Elle bombarded him with questions. There was no way Elijah could have placed that note in her room himself. The only logical way she could think of was that someone among the servants and or guards were under him!

She blinked once and he was gone, causing her to gasp in shock. She looked around, her heartbeat racing so damned wildly. What… what was… that…? G-ghost? Did she just see a ghost?! It… he… disappeared…

Gooseflesh crawled violently across her skin. The fear seeped through her first, paralyzing her for a moment.

The next thing she knew, a hand was wrapped around her neck, holding her securely in place. She stopped breathing for a couple of seconds.

"Breathe, Sunshine…" he whispered out a reminder softly. "I don't want you passing out because of fear. Easy…" he coaxed. "I told you, I'm not going to hurt you. I've already promised that."

"T-then let me go… this instant." She replied, panting heavily. "You… you are contradicting your words with your actions, Prince Elijah. You are scaring me to death right now."

"I will, don't worry. Just give me a few moments. I just need to do something to you…" his words drifted into her ears. He was speaking so closely to her that she could feel his breath blowing over her left ear.

Elle used her elbow and jabbed it back into his abdomen, now putting the lessons that she learnt from Rion. But to her shock, he seemed to have seen it coming, which was supposed to be impossible. He grabbed her hands, locking them behind her. He was… so strong… as if he was not someone made of flesh and bones but metal and rocks. However, he did not lock her hands hard enough to hurt her. He was still confusingly careful not to hurt her.

"Stay still, Princess Izabelle. If you don't, I might be forced to do something bad to you and ended up hurting you." He threatened in a soft voice that had Elle instantly going still. She could not help but feel scared. "What I'm going to do to you is a little… hmm. But don't worry, I will not do anything more than that. You have my word." And his fingers gathered her hair to the side, exposing her neck.