Heart of Darkness

Angelica could see her friends' envious faces as she was escorted out of the party with the King. Hilde looked like she wanted to fight her. Her eyes blazed with anger and hatred. Angelica became sure that her friends would now exclude her even more from their friendship circle. They had already been jealous of her ability to attract men, but since she wasn't interested in marriage; they hadn't been worried. Now they would certainly worry.

But Angelica had other things to be concerned about other than her envious friends. Things like, why the king wanted to be with her in private? What would he do? How could she escape? Or what should she say or do to make him lose interest in her?

Her mind flooded with many ideas as they walked through the large halls of the castle. She was walking beside the King and two of the six men that were close to him walked behind them. One being the scarred man.

Angelica could feel their dark auras surrounding her. Her brain was sending her warning signals, as if she was walking into fire. She couldn't understand why, but something about them screamed danger.

"You need not be afraid, Angelica," the King spoke.

How did he know she was afraid?

"All I want is to have a conversation with you," he assured.

His voice was so smooth and soothing that she almost believed him.

They entered what seemed to be the parlour. It was a large room with grand chandeliers hanging from the roof. Several paintings decorated the walls, and a thick rug covered the floor. In the middle, there was a rectangular table surrounded by two sofas and two couches. Each on the opposite side.

"Have a seat," the King motioned for her to sit on a sofa.

Angelica did as she was told and the King sat on a couch to her left. She thought they would be alone, but the other two men joined them. They sat at the other end of the table.

Angelica's gaze accidentally fell on the man sitting right in front of her, and she almost froze in horror. Up close, his face looked even more appalling. The right side of his face was completely damaged. Some places had no skin and she could see raw flesh.

The scars seemed deep, and Angelica wondered if they reached into his mouth. But more than his scarred face, his dark eyes frightened her as he met her gaze. Eyes that dared her to keep looking at him. He knew that she had been repulsed by his face, but she couldn't control it. She didn't mean to offend him.

Angelica tried to smile at him, but her lips refused to move. Nor could she look away. He held her gaze with his.

"Angelica."

"Yes." Angelica called, startled. The King's voice pulled her out of the scarred man's dark eyes and she turned to him. "Your Majesty." She added quickly.

He smiled at her. "This is Lord Rayven." He introduced the scarred man. "And that is Lord Quintus." He motioned toward the one sitting next to him.

Angelica avoided looking at Lord Rayven and went straight to look at the man sitting next to him. Lord Quintus was as beautiful as the King, but Angelica didn't look at him for too long. She was still shaken by the scarred man's gaze, and she could still feel his eyes on her.

"Both unwed," the King added.

Angelica smiled, feeling uncomfortable. Was he trying to set her up with someone? She thought he was interested in her.

"Why is a young, beautiful lady like you still unwed?" he then asked.

The King tilted his head to one side and studied her curiously. "How so?" he asked.

It was time to pull out her cards. "Men don't like free-thinking, educated women with ambitions and dreams." Angelica replied. "I have read over three hundred books on more than a hundred different subjects. My dream is to open a school for young girls and teach them how to write and read, Your Majesty," she said.

Hopefully, this would be enough to scare him.

The King leaned back on his couch with an amused smile. "Interesting," he said, then turned to the other two men in the room.

Angelica's heart skipped a beat. She could feel the scarred man's dark gaze on her again, but she didn't dare to look at him. She didn't want to do anything to offend him again. She already felt bad for how she reacted before.

"So you are looking for a man who will let you follow your dreams?" the King asked.

"I am looking for a man who will treat me as his equal, Your Majesty," she said, knowing that this sentence rubbed men the wrong way.

But not the King. He seemed to be even more intrigued by her.

"And what will you do if you don't find such a man?"

Angelica knew she couldn't live alone in this world where women didn't have a voice. Her father could die in battle anytime, and then she would be left alone with her younger brother. Life would become very hard without a man on her side.

"I am hopeful, Your Majesty," she replied with a smile.

The King nodded thoughtfully. For some reason, she felt that he liked her and not the way a man liked a woman.

"She would be a good Queen," Lord Quintus spoke, who had been silent the whole time.

No! That is not what she expected to happen.

The King chuckled. "She is not the one."

The one?

Was he looking for someone specific?

"But she is something," he added, turning to her.

For some odd reason Angelica thought his icy blue eyes were gleaming. And then he leaned closer to her, trapping her with his eyes. "Tell me Angelica. What are you?" he asked.