Conquering His Cold Heart

However, it was his heart that hurt the most. Outside of the window, he noticed how the area was covered with tall trees as far as his eyes could see.

“The castle is in the middle of the woods?” Prince Alexander asked Tilla when they were approaching the Kilerth Castle.

Tilla turned her head to look out of the open window and gave a nod. “Yes, Your Highness. We will reach there soon.”

Since Alexander had sent his carriage to Orsenia, Vincent had offered to travel with Hamilton and let Alexander use the carriage that he had shared with Tilla.

Normally, Tilla wouldn’t have traveled along with the Crown Prince. However, when Alexander saw her standing next to the carriage that he was supposed to use, he asked her to ride along.

This was the second day that they were traveling together.

And during the travel, Alexander asked thousands of questions to Tilla. Though initially, he wanted to sit down with his sister and listen to her point of view before listening to anyone else, he got all the information from Tilla first so that he could later verify what his sister told him.

“Didn’t you two ever feel scared or lonely?” Alexander closed the window again and asked Tilla. “It looks like you two didn’t have any place to go to when you felt like escaping from the castle, even if it was for a few hours.”

.....

Tilla took a deep breath in and answered, “To be honest, it does feel lonely at times. We felt like prisoners when we first came here. Everywhere we looked, all we could see were the vampires. But we soon started getting used to it. And now, we have other humans as well. They look after the needs of Her Majesty.”

Alexander looked down at his hand and heaved a deep sigh. The more things he listened from Tilla, the more powerless he felt.

Tilla’s face turned sad as she watched the lively Prince looking so gloomy. The frown lines on his face hadn’t disappeared from his face since yesterday.

She gulped and then tried to show the upsides of the Kilerth Castle as well. “You don’t have to worry so much though, Your Highness. The Queen’s health never allowed her to travel around while we were in Orsenia as well. And this Castle is spacious as well as has a huge library. You already know she doesn’t need anything more than that.”

Tilla subtly smiled and added further, “Besides, the King frequently takes her to the nearby towns and other places. I dare to say that she is happier here. We even went to Lord Hamilton’s mansion once. But she got sick after we returned. So, it’s for the best I guess… how the castle is in a secluded area.”

Alexander nodded his head and looked at Tilla. And he murmured, “It amazes me how you two are able to stay this positive even after all the things that you two went through.”

“We have to stay positive.” Tilla gave a smile and said, “Else, I don’t know if we would have survived this long if we constantly feared everything and everyone in this land.”

The two of them continued to talk until the carriages came to a halt.

“I think we arrived.” Tilla slightly pushed the window and peeked outside. “Yes, we are here,” she announced again.

Alexander was also about to look out of the window when he heard someone open the door.

The coachman looked at the Crown Prince and then said in a polite voice, “We have arrived, Your Highness.”

Alexander gave a nod and stepped out of the carriage.

He was then welcomed by Caspian. “Welcome to the Kilerth Castle, Prince Alexander. I hope you will like it here.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Alexander responded with a subtle bow and then turned to look at the century-old castle that stood tall in front of him.

His lips slightly parted on their own when he looked at the castle that looked like it was straight out of some fantasy novels – old and dark grey, slightly cold, and mysterious.

‘The castle looks amazing,’ he thought to himself with a stunned look on his face.

Caspian, on the other hand, felt as if the Crown Prince didn’t like his castle which had outdated architecture. He also looked at his castle and said after sighing, “It looks a bit old and outdated, but we have everything that we need here.”

Alexander looked at Caspian and said with a smile on his face, “No, I really like it. It’s hard to see this kind of castle in other Kingdoms. So, I would love to explore all the corners of your castle.”

“Ah! Of course. Anastasia and I will give you a tour around this castle.” Caspian instantly smiled and then looked at his castle once more, this time with a little pride.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Zenon stood in front of the King and bowed to him.

Caspian gave a wide smile and nodded. “Zenon! I hope nothing went wrong in my absence.”

“Of course, not, Your Majesty.” Zenon then turned his gaze towards the Crown Prince and bowed. “I heard you would be joining us, Your Highness. I would like to heartily welcome you to Sorvando.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Alexander said with a soft smile on his face.

“He is my Advisor, Zenon.” Caspian introduced them and then gestured his hand toward the main entrance of the castle. And he asked the Crown Prince, “Please, let’s go inside. I will lead you to your chamber.”

“Sure,” Alexander said with a nod and then looked around to spot his sister. He found Tilla already standing by Anastasia’s side.

Caspian followed his gaze and when he saw the Prince looking at Anastasia, he understandingly said, “I will visit your chamber along with her after freshening up.”

“Thank you! I would really appreciate that,” Alexander gratefully replied. He had a lot to catch up with his sister.

Zenon then led the way while Caspian and Alexander followed him. Hamilton and Vincent also came and joined them soon after.

“It’s been a while, Zenon,” Vincent said from the back.

Zenon looked over his shoulder and said after giving a subtle nod, “Good to see you too, Vincent. And it’s nice to see you again, Lord Hamilton.”

“It’s always good to be here,” Hamilton mumbled while looking at the tall ceilings of the castle.

Caspian turned his head to look at Hamilton and Vincent and then asked, “Why don’t you both stay here for the night?”

Both of the lords readily agreed because they had a lot of things to talk about, with each other and with Caspian.

The King looked at Zenon and asked him, “Zenon, prepare the guest chambers for them as well.”

“I will, Your Majesty,” Zenon agreed and kept on walking down the long corridor, while all the others followed.