The Vampire Prince's Blindfolded Bride
Chapter 32: Gloria, the Witch’s Head

Chapter 32: Gloria, the Witch’s Head

Magnus greeted his father before sitting in front of him. He noticed the setting of the living room had changed completely after his last visit. "Your mother chose to change the interior here," King Esmond pronounced and placed the silver cup beside him on the ornated side table.

"Mother doesn’t keep things intact for a long time," Magnus remarked and realized he was the opposite of his mother. He would love to keep the things they initially were.

"So, how is Prince Magnus’s wife doing?" King Esmond was curious to know if any kind of tragedy occurred in the South Residence.

"Alora is careful with her eyes. I have commanded the servants well," Magnus answered.

"Your mother is still upset about your marriage with Alora. We wanted you and your wife to stay here." King Esmond pondered what his son saw in Alora that he married her in such a hurry. "You were living alone in Elmswood for more than two centuries. Suddenly, you liked a woman, whom the entire Kingdom refused to marry. I’m surprised by your choice."

Magnus smiled a little. "Alora is a perfect woman for me. She is innocent and sweet," he asserted.

King Esmond nodded in acknowledgment. "So, what does the Prince want?" He knew Magnus would not come to him unless he wanted something.

"I want to meet the Witch’s Head," Magnus replied.

"That was not what I expected," King Esmond replied.

"Father is the King, so he can give an order to the Witch’s Head to see me," Magnus stated.

"I cannot invite the Witch’s Head to the palace. Instead, you need to go to a place in the capital, where the meeting between you two can happen," King Esmond clarified to him.

"Then, what is this place called?" Magnus inquired.

"Why do you wish to see Gloria?" King Esmond directed a question instead of replying. "Is it because you wish to know more about Alora’s curse?" he arched his eyebrow at his son.

"Yes, I would like to know why Alora has such special eyes." Magnus didn’t find any reason to lie to his father, so he told him the truth about his intention to meet Gloria.

"The day news about Alora’s eyes reached my ears, I met Gloria myself. However, her answer surprised me. According to her, a witch could not do it. However, everyone believed it was a witch since Alora’s mother claimed it," King Esmond explained to his son.

With such unique eyes, even the formidable vampires were terrified.

"Did Father ever try to find out why a human got such eyes? There must be a purpose behind it," Magnus said.

"There should be a purpose, but I’m unaware of that," King Esmond stated, his tone reflecting his uncertainty. "Neither have I tried finding the reason behind it."

"A werewolf attacked Alora on her way to Elmswood. Her father wanted to send her away from the capital. And that’s how I met Alora. Strangely, I can peer into her eyes," Magnus explained.

"That is what I find strange. Why only you can look into her eyes and not the others," King Esmond affirmed, his expression turning serious as he contemplated the mystery at hand.

"I will meet Gloria. Father shall send her a message," Magnus announced his decision to the King. "Also, what’s the place called where I can meet her?" he inquired.

"The Trident," King Esmond answered. He never saw his third son filled with such a zeal to know about anyone. "Keep in mind the place also has werewolves," he said.

"I understood from the name. It is a hub to meet the three supernatural species," Magnus asserted.

"Yes." King Esmond nodded in acknowledgment. For some reason, he was worried for Magnus.

~~~~~

Alora put down the quill pen and looked at the sheet in which she wrote the alphabets, which Magnus asked her to. She checked the two writings and murmured, "Prince Magnus has written well. It will take me time to write like him."

Unbeknownst to her, Alora brushed the back of her palm on her forehead and the black ink covered it completely.

A sudden knock on the door made Alora attentive and she looked for the blindfold.

"Your Highness, this is Tobias. You have been inside for an hour. Do you wish to come out? Shall I take Your Highness to the garden?" He humbly inquired.

Alora put on the blindfold quickly. "I was writing," she said. "You can come inside since I’ve my eyes covered."

Tobias pushed the door open and entered. He looked at the pages spread at the desk and smiled a little. "It seems Her Highness was busy learning alphabets," Tobias said.

"Yes, I was," Alora answered and stood up.

"Your Highness shall walk around in my opinion," Tobias said.

"Yes, I should," Alora agreed to him. Tobias gestured to the maidservant to come forward, who assisted Alora in walking.

"Will the Prince come late?" Alora asked Tobias.

"Since he’s in the main palace, I think he will return in the afternoon," Tobias explained.

"Okay."

"Your Highness, do you wish me to give you some basic books to learn? If you want to read and write, I can provide them," Tobias suggested.

"I’ll be happy if you do that. His Highness taught me how to write my name. Also, he told me the meaning of my name. And he asked me to find the meaning of his name," Alora shared with him.

"Does Her Highness not know the meaning of Prince Magnus’s name meaning? I can tell her the answer," Tobias said.

"Do you know? Please tell me," Alora was inquisitive to know.

"It means the greatest. A person with strength and power," Tobias informed her.

"Prince Magnus is just like his name," Alora remarked, a smile gracing her lips.

"Absolutely," Tobias concurred.

"For how long has Tobias been with His Highness?" she inquired.

"It has been more than two hundred years, Your Highness," Tobias replied.

"Such a long span of time you’ve spent in Prince Magnus’s service," Alora pronounced, impressed by Tobias’s enduring loyalty toward the prince.

She slowly descended the stairs with the maidservant’s help and soon, she was in the garden.

"I’ll make sure no one comes here. Princess Alora can enjoy her alone time here," Tobias said, signaling the maidservant to leave.

"Thank you, Tobias."

"I take my leave. Please don’t go too far," Tobias stated and stepped back to go inside the residence.

Alora removed her blindfold and looked in front of her. Seeing the bed of roses, her heart overjoyed and in excitement, she touched one of the roses.

"Ahh," Alora’s finger got cut with the rose’s thorn and the blood poured out of it. She brought the finger close to her mouth when a hand grabbed it.