𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 (𝙔𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚!𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙭𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧)

Chapter Forty-Two: Flick

Nikolas leaned on closer, tilting his head to side with a smirk on his face. "You still look daringly charming, my dearest (y/n)! even if you look as if you saw a ghost!" Nikolas laughed with a closed-eyed smile. I backed away slowly, inches away with every tick of the clock.

"You...you killed--" my words were cut off after Nikolas pushed me against the wall, with my legs trembling in fright and knees wanting to reach for the floor. He stroke his fingertip to my cheek, looking back at me with a sincere look on his icy blue eyes. "I'm only doing what's right, my dearest (y/n). I'm doing this...for us." Nikolas pushed his head forward, his breath tickling against my skin.

I wanted to set off, to run as fast as I could, to leave the sense of trepidation that lingered through the taut air. "You killed your mother, Nikolas." I reminded him, but he was far from the word concerned and had long lost the faze that had gotten into him from when I heard his voice cracking from inside.

Nikolas moved back, batting an eye as he pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. "She deserves it, my dearest (y/n). She wanted to get rid of you, and I didn't want her to do that!" Nikolas frowned, showing emotion over the fact of losing my grasps rather than the death of his own mother. My mouth went agape, I was inadequate.

Nikolas crashed his lips against mine, giving me a soft yet passionate kiss as I pushed him away. "You murderer!" I raised my voice high as Nikolas gave me a cheery smile, leaning his index finger to my lips as to shush me quietly. He rest his chin to my rigid shoulders as I felt restrained from his touch, unable to move nor suspire.

"Shall we play a game of hide and seek, my dearest (y/n)?" he whispered through my ear in a question, backing away to meet eyes with my perplexed look. "This...this isn't a joke, Nikolas. You stabbed your mother, Nikolas! Can't you see that?" I shook my head with a cry, trying to knock some senses into him but failed to.

"I'll be the seeker, my dearest (y/n)!" he chuckled, taking out a pair of golden scissors from behind as he snipped. "And if I find you, I'll kill you." Nikolas explained, making me gulp down in terror to the words he chose rather not kindly. "You...you can't do that!" I protested, pushing myself farther to the wall as if I were to sink in.

Nikolas shrugged his shoulders and pointed the pair of sharp scissors right in front of me, his smile never seemingly to vanish. "I just did, my dearest (y/n)," he winked and withdrew his weapon back. "Now...run, little rabbit. Run as fast as you can!" he taunted, doing what as he said as I run, faster than I could have ever run in my whole life as if I were to be chased down by a lion.

If this is some kind of nightmare, I wish to wake up. I pinched myself on my shoulder, but it only gave me a painful squeeze. My eyes darted everywhere, feeling lightheaded from the panic and the rush of adrenaline from inside of me, one that didn't seem to be a good one that is.

A hand grabbed me from inside a dark room, making me yell but only for it to be muffled by a strong, firm hand. I felt my body fall to the ground and onto a lap, I turned around while my eyes adjusted from the dark. I yelped off of his lap and sighed in relief, "Your...your highness," I bow my head as if I were to nod.

"What...what are you doing here?" I asked with wide eyes, he leaned closer and covered my mouth with his palm. Heavy footsteps were heard from outside, the sound of the stomping metal armors of the sentinels stopping from the storage room where we were at present. I looked back at Aleksander who kept his leaps sealed with a narrow gaze, locking his eyes to the door.

The shadow from beneath the door dissipated away, the sentinel's dragging their feet away from the door in front of us. Aleksander let go of his hand from my mouth while I wiped my lips with the back of my hand, unable to make eye contact with him. Aleksander attentively listened and finally leaned back on the wall, "What's happening, your highness?" I questioned in inquiry, gazing back up at him with fiddling fingers.

He pressed both of his hands to my shoulder blades, the warmth giving me a sense of tranquility in the midst of this terrifying situation. "I am to die in the hands of those rascals, lady (y/n). Your husband is deranged, and will run the kingdom of Stormbore to the grounds," Aleksander explained, with each sentence making his grip tighter on my shoulders.

"Which is why we must go to the king and end all this once and for all." Aleksander added, giving me a heeded gaze. "The queen is dead, your highness. Nikolas...he stabbed her." I bit my bottom lip down in hopes of biting down a teary eye, uncapable to overlook at the flashing image of the limped queen on the ground.

Aleksander took notice and pushed my head gently to meet his hazel eyes as we stared at each for a moment in time, only for him to push me closer to a tight, yet affectionate embrace. "You'll be alright, lady (y/n). I'm here now..." he whispered quietly, soothing my back with a circular-motion of his hand to calm me down.

The door came a low creak, making us both froze in place and look up slowly. We were met with one sentinel, glancing back down at us. Aleksander got up while the sentinel lunged forward, Aleksander pulled me up from the floor and slithered his arms around my waist as we hit the wall.

He turned around smashed the giant jar of pickles from the sentinel's head, making him tumble backwards as the clang of metal hits against the shattered glass. "Let's go, lady (y/n)! Aleksander said in a hurry, taking my hand as I intertwined it with his own, fearing to be pulled back.

I turned around, the sentinel catching back his momentum. I slammed the door close and ran beside Aleksander, trying my best to keep up with his phase. Heavy running footsteps were heard from behind, the loud, booming voices trying to stop us. We turned to the left side of the hallway while I stumbled from my heels, I shouted curses to myself from my head as I hastily took them off and threw them to the sentinels from behind while I ran shoeless.

Aleksander closed the door shut, my eyes darting around to recognize we were back to his study. I flinched back, almost letting out a fright after encountering with a sentinel armor across from the room. "Your highness, we're trapped!" I said in a shriek, looking around while I squeezed my hands. Aleksander pointed at the window while I raised a brow.

He pushed it open as the cold, midnight breeze hits my skin. He gazed outside, craning his neck from left to right. "We need to jump, lady (y/n)." Aleksander said calmly, a booming, aggressive knock to be heard from behind the oak doors. "I know you're in there, my dearest (y/n)!" he roared with a hoarse tone.