A dark figure was walking towards the Scarlet castle, the guard was vigilant as the figure came into light. He saw Cassius, so pale as if he was at the end of his plight. The guard took Cassius inside the castle, where the butler carried him to his temporary assigned room previously and laid him in bed.
The butler informed Isabelle, who ran worried sick of what might have happened to Cassius.
"Will he live?" she asked, her voice trembling with concern.
"His energy is drained," the butler replied. "We might need to spend a few hundred high-quality crystals to revive him."
Isabelle's face was etched with worry. "Anything, give him anything, just wake him up," she said, her voice laced with desperation.
The butler collected a few hundred crystals from the treasury and brought them back. He started pushing the energy of crystals into Cassius, who lay motionless on the bed.
Isabelle looked at Cassius from a distance, thinking that he must have come across one of her enemies and got hurt. She blamed herself for letting him go, her eyes welling up with tears.
It had been three days since Cassius's return, he was still in a coma. But the glow in his face had returned, and now all he needed was to wake up.
A rumor had been circulating around that the Roland family had met with a disaster, and it seemed as if a sun had fallen on the Roland castle, none survived.
Isabelle and the butler were suspicious that it might be the doing of Cassius, she didn't know he was capable of taking out an entire family.
She had passed on strict orders to the staff of the family to not let any rumors about Cassius be spread.
Unbeknownst to her, a meeting of the heads of the neighboring families was taking place.
A group of three, their faces covered in shadows, were having a conversation. "It was worth sacrificing the idiots of the Roland family," said a middle-aged bearded vampire. "At least they forced the little Miss to finally reveal her cards. If we had attacked her without knowing about the powerhouse, it would have been us getting destroyed."
"Back then... were the rumors about the little Miss's lineage true?" asked a guilt-ridden middle-aged female vampire, her voice laced with concern.
"We know as much as you do," replied another short middle-aged vampire. "Killing her parents was a decision we took in unison, there's no going back from it."
The bearded middle-aged vampire spoke up, his voice cold and serious. "We had to do it. That time, I found out from a reliable source that Isabelle Scarlet's mother, Johanna Blackwaters, heritage came from a distant dark dragon. A dark dragon's power is not something we can control, our race too... must remain pure. Now, she is the only remaining thorn, Isabelle Scarlet must die."
The female vampire, Alison, pleaded, her voice shaking. "D..do we have to, she's j..just a child."
The short middle-aged vampire's voice was firm. "Steel yourself, Alison. True, she's just a child now, but once she reaches her adulthood, she can kill all of us with just a wave of her hand."
Cassius twitched his eyes as he woke up from a dream that seemed to have lasted an eternity. As he looked in front of him, he could see a blurry image of a little girl. It got clearer and clearer, and then he saw the whole picture clearly.
"Belle," he called out, his voice weak but full of affection.
Isabelle threw herself into Cassius's chest, and he let out a moan, unprepared for the sudden impact. "Ah, did I hit you too hard?" she asked, concern etched on her face.
"No, it's fine," Cassius replied, smiling at her. He was relieved to see her, and his smile was a testament to his happiness.
Looking at him, fine and alive, finally, Isabelle let her emotions out. The tears that she had contained inside for so long flowed out of her eyes as if they had found a way. She clutched his clothes tightly, her small hands grasping the fabric as if it was her lifeline. Her head was buried deep inside his chest, the warmth of his body enveloping her as she burst into tears. The sound of her sobbing filled the air, a heartbreaking melody that seemed to shake her entire being.
Cassius looked at her, his heart aching at the sight of her crying. He felt a surge of protectiveness towards her, and his mind was filled with a resolve to keep her safe. She was just a small girl, innocent, and she didn't deserve to go through all this.
"Why are you crying, Belle?" Cassius asked, his voice soft and gentle. He stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.
Isabelle didn't reply, she just kept crying, letting out all the emotions she had been holding inside. Cassius held her close, letting her cry, and as he did, he felt a sense of determination wash over him.
He would protect her, no matter what. He would keep her safe, for as long as she needed his protection. His eyes filled with determination, and he made a silent vow to himself to be her shield, to keep her from harm.