Conquering His Cold Heart
Chapter 488 - 488: Piggyback Ride

"Is it really necessary that you carry me?" Anastasia hesitantly scratched her head. When she had agreed to Ruby's plan, she didn't know that it included her getting a piggyback ride from a woman who barely looked strong enough to carry her.

Ruby, however, was insistent. "Yes, please. Otherwise, they will catch us before we can even make it past the gate."

What Ruby said made sense to Anastasia because she knew that there was no way she could outrun the men. Still, she hated relying on Ruby even for such a basic thing as running.

"Get on, please. Quick." Ruby turned her back on Anastasia and knelt on one of her knees. Then she urged the Queen, "If you don't hurry up, we will miss the chance to run away tonight. And I don't want to wait another day because we will miss the chance forever if someone finds out that you have regained your consciousness already."

Anastasia obviously didn't want to miss the chance to run away and create problems for everyone. So, without fussing over it again, she leaned on Ruby's back and wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulder.

Unlike what Anastasia had expected, Ruby got up with ease. It almost felt as if Ruby was carrying nothing but a light feather.

But then again, Anastasia wasn't shocked. 'Right! She is just like Everard, isn't she?'

"Is everyone here like Everard?" The question escaped Anastasia's lips before she could properly process her thoughts.

Ruby stopped in front of the door of the room they were in and asked in a whisper, "How do you mean?"

Anastasia cleared her throat and spoke under her breath, "You know… fast… and strong enough to take down vampires."

Ruby was a little surprised that Anastasia knew about werewolves. But she brushed it off and gave a nod. "Yes. Almost everyone in this mansion is. That's why I was asking you to get on my back. Humans can't keep up with them."

Ruby then braced her heart and waited for the wall clock to strike 11 PM. That was when the current patrol guards would leave to hand over their duty to the others. The new team would take around 5 minutes to get to the vicinity of the guest quarter. And Ruby had wagered her and Anastasia's freedom as well as their lives on that 5 minutes.

With the ticking of the second hand of the clock, their heartbeats also kept on rising.

Anastasia was glad that she had her dinner hours ago. Or else, she would have puked by now.

When it was finally 11 PM, Ruby gestured for Anastasia to remain quiet. She then slowly opened the door and looked outside. Just like she had expected, there were no guards around.

Ruby slowly snuck out of the room while carrying Anastasia on her back. She was very careful not to make a single sound while she walked barefoot. She was vigilant of her surroundings as she headed towards the low wall far away. She was taking cover wherever she could and was advancing towards the wall very stealthily.

Ruby was happy when she reached the wall without being spotted by anyone or without having to fight anyone. 'Now, all I need to do is jump the wall, and then I can run without looking back.'

She gestured for Anastasia to hold on tight before taking a deep breath and leaping. Her heart was filled with the adrenaline rush when she safely landed on the other side of the wall, with the Queen safely clinging to her back.

However, her excitement was short-lived when she heard several footsteps approaching them at a high speed.

"Oh, hell!" She cursed under her breath and ran without caring about being stealthy anymore. It was already clear by the nearing footsteps that they had already been discovered. Now, all she needed to do was keep on running until she reached the safety of the castle.

But it didn't look like the Lady Luck was on their side.

Someone suddenly swooshed in from ahead and stood while blocking Ruby's path. "Stop right there if you don't want to die tonight." That man snarled while glaring down at Ruby.

Ruby, however, had no intention of slowing down.

"There's something there…" Anastasia whispered in panic when she finally saw a dark shadow that looked like a huge bear in the dark.

Ruby clenched her teeth and grunted, "It's just a man." She protruded her claws and kept on running towards that man to face him head-on.

That man read Ruby's intention and prepared to strike Ruby down. However, just when he thought he had her, Ruby abruptly stopped running and threw a butter knife at him. Though it was just a blunt butter knife, the force with which Ruby had thrown that knife allowed it to scrape that man's shoulder like butter.

The injury was too shallow to incapacitate that man, but Ruby took advantage of the distraction and ran right past him.

Ruby increased her speed even more and the two of them were already getting further and further away from the Atkinson Mansion. The sound of footsteps that were coming after them was also getting fainter and fainter.

However, out of nowhere, Ruby got hit by a fist-sized rock at the back of her head. "Ow! Whoa… Whoa…" The force made her stumble and fall down on her face. Ruby had luckily stabilized her leg and had slowed down before collapsing, preventing Anastasia from landing headfirst on the rough road.

"Oh my god! Ruby! Are you okay?" Anastasia quickly got off Ruby's back and nervously shook her.

"I'm okay. Are you?" Ruby quickly pushed herself on her feet and offered a hand to Anastasia.

"I'm good." Anastasia took Ruby's hand and got back up on her feet. She was glad that Ruby wasn't badly hurt even after taking such a bad fall.

"Get on," Ruby knelt again and asked Anastasia to climb on her back.

When Anastasia was about to do as she was asked, she saw a dry leaf stuck at the back of Ruby's head and subconsciously helped Ruby remove it. However…

"R-Ruby?" Her eyes suddenly widened and her lips quivered when the tips of her fingers felt something warm oozing from Ruby's head. She looked at her wet fingertips and said in a trembling voice, "Y-You're bleeding."

"I will heal. It's not a big–" Ruby suddenly stilled midsentence but then immediately recovered and pointed to her left while instructing Anastasia in a wary voice, "Hide!"

Anastasia didn't need to hear that twice because she also saw a black shadow swooshing towards them like a blur.

Ruby took out another butter knife from her pocket and shot it at that approaching shadow.

The man from earlier emerged from the shadow and chuckled. "The same trick won't work twice on me, woman." He was playing with the butter knife that Ruby had just thrown at him.

Ruby bore her fangs and claws and snarled at that man, "Then let me show you another trick of mine!"

She ran without wasting another millisecond and then jumped at that man.

The man didn't try to dodge since he was confident that he could take Ruby down with one single blow. However, not only was Ruby able to overpower that man, but she was also able to bring him down with a single punch to his head.

This time, Ruby made sure that the man wouldn't wake up soon before taking off to get Anastasia.

"Come on," she asked Anastasia to get on her back with a breathless whisper.

Although that earlier encounter didn't take much of her energy, it did make her feel scared since the situation was very similar to the time when she was being hunted by the vampires. No matter how shaken she was right now, she was still trying to maintain her composure for the Queen's sake. She didn't want Anastasia to panic.

Once again, the duo rushed down the dark and empty road.

Ruby was focused on getting Anastasia to the safety of the castle. She was running as fast as her feet could take her. But the footsteps that were following them were now getting closer than ever. Ruby's heart was clenching with fear. Even then, she didn't want to give up hope yet.

'Let there be a miracle, Moon Goddess…' she prayed in her heart as she forced herself to pick up the speed.

Ruby was hoping to stumble upon a squad of royal guards. She could then ask them for protection from her pursuers.

Sadly though, that miracle didn't happen in time. The Atkinson Mansion was on the outskirts of the capital and rarely any royal guards patrolled the area, especially because it was the Atkinson clan's territory. And before Ruby could get any help, the duo were surrounded by the pursuers.

"Quietly follow us back to the mansion and we will forget that you ever tried to run away, that too with our important guest on your back," one of the men asked Ruby while warningly glaring at her.

Though the man was implying that he wouldn't hurt Ruby for trying to run away, Ruby could clearly sense the underlying malice in that man's tone.

Even though her heart was starting to tremble, Ruby put on a brave face and talked back. "Why don't you go back to the hellhole yourself? I am not turning around. And neither am I allowing you to take the Queen with you."

All the men burst into laughter when they heard Ruby.

"Allowing?" The man who seemed to be leading the group snorted and asked mid-chuckle, "You seriously think we are here to ask for your permission?"

He then suddenly stood right in front of Ruby's face and said in a chilling tone, "You two are coming with us, whether you want to or not. If you aren't willing to walk back, we will gladly carry you…after breaking your legs."

Ruby didn't even blink even when that man was literally breathing on her face. Instead of obediently doing what she was told, she calmly spoke to Anastasia while looking directly into that breather's eyes, "Your Majesty, I need you to stand in the corner for a moment."

Anastasia slid down from Ruby's back and went to stand far away in the corner. She didn't know what Ruby was planning to do but she had faith in her.

Suddenly, something moved at the speed of lightning. Anastasia couldn't see what was going on but she could feel the gust of wind rushing left and right, followed by growls and the thudding sounds.

Even when the wind stopped blowing, Anastasia was still trembling like a leaf because she had also heard Ruby's painful grunts.

"W-Who's there?" Anastasia asked in a low voice when she saw a shadow approaching her.

"Don't be scared. It's me."

Anastasia let out a huge sigh of relief when she heard Ruby's voice. But she got worried when she saw the silhouette of Ruby limping slowly. "Are you hurt badly?" she asked and ran to give support to Ruby.

"Just a little sprain," Ruby spoke breathlessly. She was glad that Anastasia wasn't able to see her bleeding from a lot of places. She had taken down all those pesky men, but in the process, they had hurt her as well.

"Let me help you walk then." Anastasia held out her hand as she closed the gap between her and Ruby.

However, just when she was about to grab Ruby's arm, she felt another presence nearby.

"Oh, god!" Ruby suddenly widened her eyes and turned stiff. She looked like she had forgotten how to breathe. "Not him…" She mumbled to herself in terror.

"Yes, him." The man who stood not too far away from the two of them spoke in his blood-curdling voice.

Ruby was now visibly trembling at that man's presence. He was exuding such a bloodthirsty aura that Ruby felt as if she would crumble apart just by standing in his presence.

"I can't believe that you defeated six of my men on your own."

The eerie sound of that man's boots clicking became closer and closer, scaring both of the women to their core.

"I have to admit, Everard created a strong werewolf. That man could dominate the world if he wanted to. But he is nothing more than a man-child who doesn't realize the value of the power he holds."

Ruby drew in a sharp breath and flinched when Regulus suddenly swooshed in and brought his face close to hers.

"Good for me though. All I have to do is lure him in and kill him before he raises an army of superior werewolves." He smirked at Ruby and said in a low growl, "I will be killing two birds with one stone – take revenge for my brother's death, and save the current werewolves from ever feeling inferior or worse, going extinct at the hands of the superior breed."

Regulus' face suddenly contorted as he looked at Ruby through his brows. "I kept you alive until now thinking I could use you in some way. But I don't think you're of any use to me. So…"

Ruby could tell that Regulus wasn't joking around. He was going to kill her. Right now. So, before he could make a move, she abruptly grabbed Regulus' arms and shouted at Anastasia, "Run!"

"But–"

"I said RUN!" Ruby's eyes glowed in the dark as she shouted in a hoarse voice, which almost sounded like a growl.

Anastasia hated how helpless she was. She couldn't do anything to help Ruby even when she wanted to. So, she ran as fast as she could. The last thing she wanted was to become a hindrance to Ruby. At least Ruby could fight properly if she was alone.

She ran for what felt like forever. She was already out of breath. But she still kept on pushing herself, not wanting to go back to being a hostage again. If that were to happen, she would bring misfortune to everyone around her.

*Thud*

Anastasia abruptly halted her feet when something suddenly dropped right in front of her feet.

"Aahhhhhhhh!" The very next second, she covered her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. That something was definitely someone...dead.

"Where do you think you're going, Princess?" Regulus grabbed Anastasia's wrists and made her remove her palms from covering her face. Then he demanded, "Look at your little savior. Look what happens when you try to run away from me."

Anastasia felt goosebumps running down her whole body when Regulus grabbed her with his wet hands. She didn't need to guess why they were wet. And she didn't need to see to know who was lying at her feet.

Regulus clenched his jaw when Anastasia defied him and didn't open her eyes. He leaned closer to her ear and breathed, "I said, look."

Shivering with fear, Anastasia slowly opened her eyes and looked down, only to be horrified by the sight of Ruby's arm that was bent in the wrong way. She quickly pulled her hands away from Regulus' hold and sat down, crying. "Ruby! Ruby! Open your eyes! Ruby!"

Ruby coughed.

A slight sense of relief enveloped Anastasia's chest. 'She's alive. Thank god, she's alive.'

However, that sense of relief didn't last for long as Anastasia saw Regulus grabbing Ruby by her hair and pulling her up as if she was just a tattered rag and nothing more.

"What are you doing? Put her down!" Anastasia glared at Regulus and shouted.

"Gladly." Regulus laughed before punching Ruby right in the gut and letting her drop to the ground. Then he lifted his leg with the intention of hitting Ruby again.

Anastasia was quick enough to jump on her feet and shield Ruby with her back.

"Step aside, Princess. She is getting what she deserves," Regulus said in a calm yet chilling tone.

Anastasia hadn't stopped trembling. But she gulped and then steeled her face with resolve. She had to do something before the beast killed Ruby.

She slowly looked over her shoulder and then gambled with her luck. "I will kill myself if you hurt Ruby any more than you already have. When my husband discovers that I died because of you, he will torture you until you beg for your death. So, do yourself a favor and keep me alive. At least then, you might not suffer for long for your impudence. Also, I am not a Princess, I am the Queen of Sorvando.

I hope you know what it means."

Regulus smiled wryly. He was obviously aware that Anastasia was the vampire King's wife. That was why he was going to frame Everard for the kidnapping. He wasn't going to tell that to Anastasia though. And he still needed her alive to lure Everard into his well-set-out trap.

Thus, he made the deal. "Sure. I will let the woman live for now. Let's say that I am fulfilling your last wish, Princess." He made sure to call Anastasia a Princess just to mock her and make her feel powerless. Then he ordered the Queen of another nation, "Now, carry your useless savior yourself and follow me."

Anastasia closed her eyes and gulped. She was at least relieved that Ruby was still alive, and so was she. As long as they both were alive, there was hope.

'Caspian might find me before I die. Yes. He definitely will.' She smiled dejectedly and thought, 'And he will save us both. Until then, we have to keep on surviving.'

Anastasia picked Ruby up from the ground with great difficulty.

Ruby was still half-conscious. So, she dragged her feet while leaning on Anastasia's shoulder for support. However, as soon as she took a couple of steps, she felt her head spinning uncontrollably. She had lost a lot of blood. So, even though her super-healing was kicking in, she was too weak to walk.

'Everard…' Ruby earnestly called his name as the darkness was trying to claim her consciousness.

She had no hope that her voice would reach him. After all, when she discovered that Regulus had taken Anastasia as a hostage to hurt Everard, she had tried countless times to contact him via telepathy but failed.

She had regretted locking Everard out of her mind because she couldn't open up her mind to him again.

'Ruby? Ruby, is that you?'

Hope flashed in her eyes when she finally heard the voice she was longing to hear for so long.

'Where the hell are you, Ruby? Answer me!'

Ruby scoffed softly. She wanted to reply saying that she was indeed in hell. But her consciousness was slipping faster than a squirming eel.

'At–'

Before she could finish saying 'Atkinson Mansion', Ruby slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.

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