alone in the night

"Seriously, what brought you here?" Henry asked with a raised voice.

"I went over to your house only to find an abandoned wife and a six year old beautiful girl. Do you know what people say, that if such a child dies, their souls go straight to heaven." Henry was not stupid not to know what Richard meant by that.

"Don't you dare!" He warned him but that only widened Richard's smile. "I can, if you are not up to the task that I want to give you." At his statement, Henry laughed hysterically.

"It's really funny how Richard Conley the great is using threats to get a favour from me." Henry remarked sarcastically. "I always feel like killing you." He added when he saw that his words were not affecting him but still even after voicing his thoughts, Richard did not falter . With the lifestyle he had, he knew that many people wanted to kill him but that never worried him.

"I need you to do something for me Henry. You can spare your grudges for some other time." It was not an order but neither was it a request. Standing up, he came to stand in front of Henry who was the same height as him, "Your daughter's life depends on it and if you try playing games with me, I will give her a free ticket to hell." His calm demeanor when he uttered those words rattled him more than that devious smile that was on his face and before Henry had a chance to voice his opinion on the matter, Richard placed his hand on his shoulder and the two men disappeared.

They came to re_appear in one of the guestrooms in the palace in which Henry who was caught by surprise took a seat on the edge of the large empty bed. "What do you want me to do?" Henry asked while gazing up on Richard who was now holding a jar that had a green liquid in it. "I want you to morph into the palace head cook and switch the liquid he has with this one. You have until midnight to do this." With that, he apparated from there leaving Henry who was now looking at the jar in his hand.

This palace was once his home and even though it had been years since him and his mother got banished from the kingdom, he could still remember how it looked like. Snowfall was now replaced by a windy chilly weather and when he was about to take a turn to his left, he saw her running towards her room. He had seen her for a mere second and he would have thought that it was just an imagination but he was no saint to believe in visions.

He had no plans of going to her tonight but now that he saw her, he changed his direction and headed to her chamber. The guards were sleeping which made him wonder if they were posted in the palace for decoration. Knocking on her door, she did not open and instead he had her voice asking, "Who is it."

When Princess Lilith didn't get any response, she dragged her feet to open the door. It was him again which made her want to close the door on his face but he saw through her plans. When she pushed the door, it didn't budge as he had placed his palm on it and he pushed it more creating a space for him to enter and once he did, he closed it.

"That was rude." Richard remarked dramatically as he made himself comfortable on her bed. When she locked eyes with him, he saw that the rim of her eyes was red which was evident that she had been crying. "You should not come into my room."

There was only a single candle that provided light in the room and the fire in the fireplace was about to burn out making the room dark and cozy. She had seen something that pained her more than a physical torture and the more she tried to forget it, the more she remembered and all she needed was space so that she could sort out her thoughts.

"I saw you coming from the direction of his quarters." He said as he got down from her bed. "Don't you have your own life Richard?!" She asked with a frustrated sigh and for a second, his eyes turned red upon hearing her say his name. He wanted to be that person that she would always run to any time she was bothered by something.

"Did he hurt you?" Even though she could not see him properly, she felt a chill run down her spine due to the angry and agitated tone he used. She didn't know how quick he was but in a blink of an eye, he was standing in front of her, his height towering over her such that she had to crane her neck to look at him.

"Nobody hurt me. And it would be best if you left." Princess Lilith who could not keep up with unwavering gaze stated while looking away but her heart skipped when she felt his fingers on her chin whereby he raised her head such that she was staring back at him.

"Why don't you tell me that while looking at me in the eye princess." His voice was hoarse as his eyes held her captive. When he let go of her chin, a tear that was threatening to come out made its way down her cheek and finally, it fell on his hand.

"He hurt you." Richard who felt the warmth of her tear on his hand affirmed angrily.