Belle was soon led into the castle by Rav, who seemed to work as a coachman and a valet all at once. She had also realized he was the same man who, during their wedding ceremony, had walked to her husband to whisper into his ear whenever he stared as if in a trance state.
She'd seen him give orders to the servants before he gestured toward the massive double door of the castle that he had explained to her was a former Royal castle before their late king and queen were dead. He did not say "before the mad vampire killed them," but she already knew because the words had spread to all the lands at their death.
It was said they had been the most generous rulers among all the rulers of Nightbrook until they were brutally killed by their own son one night. He had not denied killing them and had laughed in their faces, saying he would do it all over again if they came back to life. When asked why he had done it when he was taken to the asylum, his reply had been chillingly cold and blank, and many had shuddered in Aragonia when told the story.
He had looked at his uncle, the current king, and said, "Because I felt like killing them." And then he'd smirked and crossed his legs to relax. Belle had thought the rumors might be somewhat exaggerated because the humans hated the bloodsuckers, but seeing his eyes and how he behaved, she would be almost convinced that he was capable of it but did not want to judge him way too fast when he had not done anything apart from infuriating her so far.
If he was half the monster they painted him to be, the vampire king would not risk the peace treaty by marrying her to a completely insane person. The rumors might have exaggerated his madness and his killing of his parents. Perhaps some accident had occurred at that time? There must be some sort of misunderstanding because she could not imagine a child killing his own parents for his amusement.
Even though her parents had not been the best to her, she could never imagine killing them, especially when he was said to have been doted upon as the only heir to his father. She didn't want to dwell too much on the terrifying things said about him in Aragonia, as it would only make her feel even more uneasy in his presence. Instead, she would focus on living alongside him in peace, at least until she found a way to uncover their weaknesses, though she had no idea how to go about it.
She also tried not to think too much about what he had said about tonight being their wedding night. He did not look like he meant it, but the thought of it sent a fiery flame into her blood vessels. She cleared her throat and focused on what Rav was explaining to her about the castle.
"...Your chamber will be different from his lordship's, and unless you are sent for, you are not to venture into his chamber, do you understand?" he asked as he stopped at a bending staircase to turn to her. He saw how she was looking around at the old stones of the castle, but when he stopped, she quickly looked at him and nodded her head.
He thought he saw her even sigh in relief at the fact that she wouldn't be sharing a room with Rohan. He did not know how she had managed to catch his lordship's interest the moment he saw her face in the wedding hall, but he hoped she would not break by the time she had stayed here for years.
She looked like a curious young girl with how her eyes kept straying around her and taking in every dreadful detail Rohan had personally crafted around his castle.
Rohan was a man who did not care about anyone's feelings. She looked quite innocent he could not help but pity her. It was a surprise that Rohan had not thrown her under the moving carriage wheel on their way here_just to see how her organs would burst and crush, feeding his curiosity about human anatomy while ridding himself of the marriage.
He had clearly been against it and swore he would make sure he came back as empty as he had left, without a bride, but he had not only come back with her but also tried to speak to her and treated her better than he did anyone in his life in the carriage.
She could starve from hunger and he wouldn't care or blink an eye, but he'd sent Rav to get her food. Sigh, he'd been serving his lordship for so long, and yet it seemed he did not know much about him. But if he were to judge based on Rohan's behavior, it was possible that he was keeping the girl solely for his own amusement. And once that wore off, he might send her corpse back to her family with a note carved into her hollowed-out chest:
"She's in a better place. Thank me later."
He had done it many times before.
"Whenever you need something in the castle, my lady, you can always ask me. I'll be at your service during your stay here," because he did not believe she would be staying alive for long. But to hide his underlying meaning, he added, "I'm sure you're more than eager to be resting after such a tiresome journey. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your chambers." He said when she hesitated as she came face to face with a deer head hung on the wall leading to the stairs. Her eyes widened in horror as if she'd never seen such a decoration before.
Rav turned to resume walking toward the broad stone staircase that led upward into darkness, expecting her to follow him, but Belle stood where she was as the darkness ahead sent shivers down her spine.
"Pardon me, sir, but why is everything so dark?" she asked.
She was not used to darkness. In her home, as soon as the sky began to dim, the servants would walk around lighting candles and chandeliers around the mansion until every corner was as bright as day.
"Because his lordship prefers it this way. Don't ask too many questions and walk," he said strictly, as he did not like to answer too many questions, and it seemed she would not run out of them, as she had been asking him various questions since he'd begun to walk her in.
"Where is Lord Dagon? I did not see him come in?" she asked yet again as she had thought he would come inside with her but had disappeared by the time Rav began to lead her in. Perhaps she could talk to him about lighting a few candles in the castle—she was no vampire and could not see in the dark.
Rav turned to give her a withering look from beneath his ebony-black brows. "He's out," he said curtly and began to walk up with the small lamp in his hand, knowing she wouldn't want to stay in the dark and would follow him.
Belle stole a glance at the enormous arched window over the door just as a jagged fork of lightning split the sky and a fresh gust of wind rattled its panes. She hurriedly followed the man before he could leave her in the dark. Wherever Rohan had gone, she was happy, she prayed he would not come back until tomorrow. She bit back a smile in happiness.
By the time Belle had followed the wavering light of his lamp up three more long flights of winding stairs, her legs had begun to ache and her spirits to sink. The stairs finally ended at a narrow door.
Apparently, Rohan planned to punish her for being forced upon him for marriage by giving her some airless attic even more devoid of charm than her chamber in the Dawson household. Her legs were throbbing from the walk.
As Rav swept open the door, she braced herself for the worst of the room that would be hers for the time she would be here.
Her jaw dropped when the door opened. "Is this my... chamber?" she asked as she turned to the seemingly bored man who regarded her like she was unwell for asking such a question. For any noblewoman, a room like this should not be a surprise to them as they were used to living in it, but not her. Her chamber in the Dawson household had not been upgraded since the time she turned seven. Everything in it had been left just the way it was in her childhood because her family said it was too much expense to feed the both of them, that Belle, as the oldest, should let her sister have the best in the house.
"Apologies if it does not fit the human chamber setting; it's the least we could do to make it Aragonian-like," Rav said, making her surprised expression for the lack of human touches that must be missing in the room. He would have made it much better had Rohan not told him not to bother because he wasn't bringing any bride home and no human would live in his castle.
Belle looked at Rav with a smile. Was he apologizing for this beautiful room? "You have nothing to apologize for. It's perfect. I didn't expect it to be this beautiful." Belle waved a hand at the chamber before them.
A fire crackled in the hearth, its warm glow reflecting in the glass windows. Tall wax candles in iron holders lined the circular room. The stone walls were painted white with a decorative ivy border. A large four-poster bed stood against one wall, its canopy draped in rich blue silk.
Rav soon left her alone to attend to other things, telling her to ring for the maids if she needed anything. Belle ventured into the chamber, clutching her wedding veil around her as the only source of warmth in the cold. Rohan had kept her warm in the carriage, and recalling how she'd woken up in his arms also made her want to hit herself for it. How could she have fallen asleep not once but twice in his arms? She shook the thoughts out of her mind to look around her.
A plush wing chair was placed near the fireplace, with a tray of meat and cheese resting on it—her dinner. And on the bed, a soft green velvet nightgown that did not belong to her lay across the bed, and she walked to it and lifted it up. She gasped at how low the neckline was and how a slit ran down from the side to the bottom. She would rather wear her faded nightgowns she'd brought with her than this. She put it down.
Everything in the room had been carefully arranged to make its owner feel comfortable and cared for—something Belle hadn't felt since the day her parents stopped caring for her like they did for Eve. Everything had started after that attack on them in the carriage years ago. Her parents had changed towards her since then. And not wanting to dampen her mood and think too much about the past, she decided to look around and take her bath. She did not need maids, as she was used to doing it herself.
Her eyes drifted to the set of French doors on the other side of the room. After putting her veil down on the bed, she took a candle from its holder and unlatched the doors. Just as she had guessed, they led to a stone balcony. The river wasn't visible, but the strong wind carried its faint, metallic scent, and she inhaled it. This was going to be a new life, and she liked new things—only that she did not think she could do this.
'You can do it, my Isa, you are stronger than you believe you are,' Jamie's voice rang in her head. He used to tell her that whenever he wanted her to try something new and she got scared of the challenge, like when he taught her how to play the piano. Remembering him, she smiled somberly into the moonless night sky and then, out of habit, clutched the necklace around her neck. Jamie had proposed to her with a ring that day, and because she had not been able to tell her parents before she was sent here, she had slipped it onto a chain and put it around her neck.
She would return it to him when she went back to Aragonia, but at this moment, she took strength from it. She closed her eyes, hoping to see the blue eyes of Jamie in her mind's eye, but to her absolute shock, instead of the blue orbs, she saw dark, soulless ones that seemed like they held the hate of hell. She forced her eyes open and gasped.
"I don't want to see his eyes. Show me Jamie's, stupid mind!" she scolded herself as she hit her head. Her husband was not the man she wanted to see or to use as a strength mechanism—he was a no-go zone for her, and she prayed wherever he was now, he would not remember he had a wife and stay there.