To His Hell and Back
Chapter 47: Gordes Town--I

Chapter 47: Gordes Town--I

Their ride was accompanied by the moon and the stars. The dark inky sky had caused the trees around their path to look dark and she couldn’t differentiate between their twisted branches and the shadows that stretched across the road. The forest seemed endless, like an abyss of darkness that could cause anyone to lose their sight.

It had taken them a long time until they reached to a stop and even as they stopped, Arabella was still confused as to where they were, noting the gate of the town that had a weathered wooden plank bore a single name, carved deep into its surface which said "Gordes"

"We’re here," said Cassius and this was the first word he had said since they entered the carriage.

For some reason throughout the entire ride, this usual nosey vampire was quiet in his thoughts and although she would have poked him about his sudden silence, the empty gaze he had as he looked at the road outside the carriage made her feel too awkward to point out his odd quietness.

She was surprised that he would speak now, and when she peered at his face, she noted his eased smile and his relaxed expression as if what she had seen earlier- that bleak expression- was nothing but an illusion in her head.

Cassius stepped out first, his boots hitting the cobblestone with practiced ease. He barely glanced at the town’s entrance before turning back to her, offering no explanation. The torchlight from the nearby watchtowers flickered against his sharp features, casting shadows that only made him look more untouchable.

Arabella hesitated before stepping down, the cool night air curling around her which made her shudder a little.

"This is... the place where we could find the person you’re searching for?" She asked and he seemed to be looking at the sleeping guards outside the wooden gates who seemed to have forgotten the rules of not sleeping on their job.

Turning back at her he hummed, "Maybe."

"Maybe?" He doesn’t know?

"The King sent me here to find someone, that someone could turn a vampire into a monster," explained Cassius, brief but straight to the point which was enough to make her dread as she looked again at the town.

"But this place doesn’t look like it," sure it seemed somehow eerie but every town looks eerie at night and to be fair there were a lot of torches hung around which lessened the possibility of this place hoarding a dangerous entity.

"You will be surprised by how a lot of things don’t look dangerous but could kill you," Cassius then stepped aside and kicked the gate, the single kick caused the wooden gate to echo and tremble, a loud noise that caused the sleeping guard to fall on his knees as he was jolted awake so suddenly.

He seemed angry at first by the one who had dared to annoy his sleep only to see Cassius and realize the wealthy clothing he wore alongside the expensive carriage. Though Cassius was too well known as the Crown Prince, Gordes was located far from Dravail, and most people here only heard Cassius’s name, unaware of his appearance.

"My apologies! You must be the merchant who had come here for the trade. I heard you will be coming here in two more weeks."

Bella raised her eyebrows and turned to Cassius. Well, it’s true if someone didn’t know who he was, they would believe him as a son of a wealthy merchant.

Instead of fixing the misunderstanding, Cassius also played with the guard, "Things happen. Open the door," he then demanded, "My men are exhausted and find me an inn."

The guard immediately turned upset at his demanding tone but when Renard who had also walked down the horse slipped a single silver coin, the guard was immediately full of smile, eager to do what was told as he opened the door by pulling a lever, "Of course! I shall find you the best inn possible. Enjoy your time in Gordes, sire!"

Cassius rolled his eyes and ignored the words, walking in as Arabella followed him behind, stealing another glance at the wooden gate before she heard Cassius who had muttered something deadly, "...off with his head."

"What?" she asked him, walking faster and he sighed.

"That fool, he didn’t ask for any merchant seal," Cassius noted, "Which means this place is full of corrupted people. No wonder it’s easy for someone dangerous to slip inside and sell things that they shouldn’t."

Now that she had thought about it, though the guard had mistaken Cassius after a single silver he didn’t ask any more questions as if this wasn’t the first time he had let in people he shouldn’t in exchange for a few coins.

"What kind of thing are you searching for here?" she whispered to him, walking inside the quiet town that was dark with a few torches hung outside their houses.

Cassius walked beside her, his stride unhurried yet purposeful, as if he already knew every shadowed corner of this town. At her question, he let out a soft chuckle, low and amused. "You assume I’m searching for something."

Arabella frowned, glancing at him. "Aren’t you? You speak about someone who could turn a vampire into something more monstrous, then you speak about being a merchant, which means that person had changed a vampire using an object, am I wrong?"

He tilted his head slightly as if considering her words. Then, with a smirk, he leaned in just enough for his voice to brush against her skin. "Have anyone ever told you that you’re perceptive?"

"Well, my father despised me for being too preceptive, because I could easily tell whether he had used the money we made to pay for rent or... for gambling."

She could hear him chuckle, not out of mockery but as if finding her words genuinely funny. A chill ran through her, but not entirely from the night air.

"So am I right?"

"What do you think?" He asked her back. Cassius was like that, never offering straightforward answers, always keeping her in a game she hadn’t agreed to play.

She exhaled, her eyes scanning the deserted streets. "This place feels... wrong."

"Does it?" He mused, pausing at a narrow alleyway. "Or do you simply dislike stepping into the unknown?"

Arabella hesitated before answering, "It’s not the unknown that unsettles me. It’s the feeling that the shadows here aren’t empty."

Cassius’s smirk deepened, "Ah," he murmured, voice laced with dark amusement. "Then you’re learning."

And with that, he turned into the alleyway, disappearing into the dark, leaving her with no choice but to follow.

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