After few minutes of silence, Sebastian found himself amused and even more interested in the human girl. He then said.
"Well, that's a large pill to swallow. Mister Nolan, Father Roberts and I have somewhere to be. I'd require that you both stay in the palace till I'm back. I'm running out of time and your village is over an hour from the palace, it is only reasonable you wait here till I'm back rather than having to go then come back" He paused.
"Unless you have somewhere to be; you can run your errands and leave your daughter here till I'm back, after all she's the one I really want to have a word with" he concluded and mister Nolan blinked, surprised by the king's request.
Mirabelle who felt someone's intense gaze on her, which was none other than the king's, stiffened hearing the king's words.
"Oh don't you worry Milord. We can wait, so we'd both be here till you return". She heard her father say.
"If you say so, the servants will take care of your needs till I return" Sebastian said standing up, taking a last glance at Mirabelle before walking away. Mischief was evident in his gaze but only Benjamin who was now walking beside him caught sight of it.
Father Roberts stood up and followed the retreating figure of the king and Benjamin. Seconds later, a servant walked up to Mirabelle and her father.
"Please follow me" she said and Mister Nolan held Mirabelle by the hand and followed behind while Klaus wandered around with intent to catch up with his fellow guards here in the palace.
The servant took Mirabelle and her father to one of the guest rooms. "You may wait here till the king returns, do make yourself comfortable. I'll have snacks be brought minutes from now" the girl slightly bowed to both of them before leaving.
Mirabelle thought the servant was being too kind to treat peasants like them so nicely. The servants voice was calm and gentle and she even mentioned offering snacks to them.
That was a nice and noble thing to do. Mirabelle thought.
But even as sweet as the servant seemed, Mirabelle couldn't shake off the fact that being in this castle made her feel uncomfortable. She felt like a dark presence was hovering over her while she was here, she couldn't find words to explain it.
She couldn't see the king or how the palace looked like but from all she had heard, the castle was ethereal and the king's looks was unmatched. But she still felt the king and the castle was shrouded in an inexplicable darkness. All she wanted was the king to return quickly so she'd leave.
Mirabelle's hunch wasn't so wrong because hidden perfectly in the shadows was Sebastian's distant cousin, Hades.
Smirking, watching, scheming.
"Papa, how long do you think the king is going to take?" Mirabelle asked and Mister Nolan who was looking out the curvlinear trachery windows slightly turned to answer.
"I don't know sweetheart, but I think it won't take so long okay?". He had made Mirabelle sit on the soft bed while he looked around the room in awe.
It was neat, beautiful and a lavender intense had been used to make it smell good if someone walked in.
"Okay" Mirabelle answered. Mister Nolan was looking out the window once again when he saw some grasses which had grown taller from the length which he had last trimmed it.
"Hmm..why hasn't the king asked me to cut those up? Well, I'm here after all. I'd go do it" He said to himself.
Hearing her father's mutter things to himself, Mirabelle asked "Papa, is everything alright?".
"Everything is fine. I'd be back, I can see some grasses up front, I want to go take care of them. Don't leave here okay?".
"Okay father, please be quick. I don't want to be alone for long" Mirabelle answered.
"I will".
The moment Mister Nolan left the guest room, the being who had been watching the father and daughter, revealed himself.
Hades stood before Mirabelle, with his eyes scanning her from head to toe.
Mirabelle felt a chill on her spine as her fingers trembled in fear. "Who's there?". Her voice shaky.
Hades made sure his steps didn't release a sound, he was as quiet as ever but this little human girl still managed to notice his presence, the corner of his lips lifted in a smirk.
Impressive.
"Who's there and what do you want from me?" Mirabelle asked again.
Hades' dark eyes glanced at her once more before he disappeared from the room. As usual, leaving a trail of his darkness and choking scent in the air.
Mirabelle felt strange anytime she was at the palace but the presence that just overshadowed her was a rare one. The air felt harmful to breathe in when the being was here and it felt like her lungs were being squeezed.
She held her chest, coughing. Though, she still felt it wasn't as dark as the king's. Or maybe it was because the being left?.
She didn't feel it's presence anymore.
Mirabelle didn't know how long she sat there but it was a long time. The door to the guest room creaked open and Mirabelle was alert once again. She hated the fact that her fragile heart was beating so fast she feared it might burst.
The fear of the unknown is truly the worst kind of fear.