Hell's Consort

Chapter 448 - Vulnerability

****************************

Vampire King Apollyon

****************************

"Wow.The Hedge Maze in the Summer Palace is beautiful." Parting her lips in awe, Luna glanced around the intricate network of winding pathways, and he also did the same.

Apollyon couldn't see anything specific aside from one or more blind alleys, but his wife didn't mind.

Glorious in the summer sunshine, the Hedge Maze in the Summer Palace, occupying a quarter acre of space, was a retreat for the Summer Aristocrats to escape from the political intrigues in the royal courts.

The maze's dividers between the passages were made of vertical hedges or green shrubberies—cut with a square top--growing more than six feet so that nobody could see through them.

The hedge maze also had flowerbeds and sculptures of gods and goddesses made out of marble. Pixies and sprites flew around within the folds of the edges.

Hedge bushes were made of yew, boxwood, and hollies thick with branches and leaves.

A fancy gazebo towered at the center where lovers have a romantic tryst on the second floor.

It was an effective place to hide.

That day, Apollyon made it a point to haul his wife when he sensed her feet sending them astray to their destination.

She observed everything as if she owned a new set of eyes, her amazement bottomless as they walked hand-in-hand. "All the flowers are lovely."

"Not as lovely as you. You are the most beautiful flower in this garden." He replied, holding her hand in a tight clasp as he placed his right hand to the wall's surface connecting to the outer boundary so that they wouldn't get lost on their way to the central gazebo.

Apollyon would never let her out of his sight.

It wasn't like the Archdemons can take her, but he had to be careful as a husband.

There was a slight hesitation in him, but he decided to let his wife know how he truly felt as he stared ahead. "Other people might downplay you as if you are a weed but to me you are a rare wild flower."

"One thing which always stuck to my mind was when you told me when we were newly wedded that you want to be free. I knew you were different. You have an adventurous spirit who just desired to be free." Turning his head, Apollyon squinted at her in jest. "Hopefully not free from me."

"Don't worry I love you too much to be free from you." Luna promised in a husky voice.

Raising an eyebrow at her, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Really?" He smirked. "I will shackle? you to the bed tonight."

Without warning, Apollyon came to a standstill, and Luna drew to a halt as well.

Without letting go of her fingers, Apollyon's free hand plucked a hibiscus from the hedge and placed its stem behind her ear. "There. Flower meets wildflower."

When he saw how his wife's countenance blushed at the same color as the flower, heat radiated through his chest because he knew his wife was a bit embarrassed by her blatant adoration.

"If you love a flower, don't pick it up because it will die and you wouldn't love it anymore. If you love a flower just let it be. Love is not about possession. It's about appreciation. " Frowning, Luna scolded him, but it wasn't that serious. "Why do you keep on placing flowers in my hair, Apollyon?"

He shrugged and kept walking with her in the bright, early morning. "Just because."

She retorted with an impish grin. "You also did it at the mountains."

Unnatural silence.

Apollyon recalled that fateful day and he couldn't help but clench his teeth until his jaw hurt. "You look like a spring goddess to me at that moment and? you ruined it by revealing—"

A tight smile didn't reach her eyes. "We promised each other? that we wouldn't go there."

"Yes. I was the one who told you that." Apollyon stated, "I will keep my promise."

"I heard that this maze garden was created for your mother ever since she came back from the Vampire Realm."? Luna said almost half an hour later of strolling on the empty pebbled route without meeting anyone else in the maze.

"I already guessed that." Apollyon laughed a harsh sound, but it came out empty and hollow. "I heard she liked to be surrounded by beauty because that's her only saving grace."

"Apollyon. Don't say that to your mother." Reading the tension from his legs and his rigid spine as if he would rather be anywhere but here, Luna said gently, "I might hate her for abandoning you but we have have no idea about her story so I can't judge her yet."

A strong breezed ruffled both of their hair as it rustled the hedges. "Everything I would hear from her mouth would probably sound like a pathetic excuse to me." Apollyon said, voice devoid of emotion, "I don't even know what to talk about. I'm glad that you are here."

The gazebo was a narrow summer house that came straight right out of a fairytale.

Hmm, a fairytale indeed!

The petals scattered at the stairs made it even more inviting.

Located at the center of the hedge maze, the gazebo was elevated for about six feet so that the guests could take a look at how the entire labyrinth appeared from above.

That would make sense because they are still one of the territories in the Faerie Realms.

The foundation of its columns was made out of strong solid wood as painted with a muted gold.

The bright color sparkled when the sunlight hit the gilded crown of the dome.

The bougainvilleas and honeysuckles were wrapped around the copula as their delicate vines circled the pillars.

Wearing an ecstatic grin, Luna pulled at her husband's hand while they rushed through the stairs so that they could take their positions and pick from the empty seven chairs from a large circular table.

Apollyon, the gentleman, pulled the heavy black chair, giving her an expectant gaze, and gestured for her to sit.

He gave her a questioning glance.

Luna wasn't used to this that she couldn't figure out what Apollyon meant.

When she finally did, she smiled from ear to ear and kissed him lightly on the cheek before brushing the invisible lint off her skirts and sat down.

Glancing up at him, Luna began as she rested her elbows on the glass table. "Are there people arriving in the garden besides us? Empress Ourania isn't here yet."

There was no grand entrance when they visited the Summer Palace.

It wasn't like Apollyon desired the Summer Monarchs to roll down their red carpets for them like the Spring Courts.

He preferred meeting his mother in a calmer setting.

Apollyon had no idea how he would react to someone if he felt…

Apollyon clutched his heart and asked himself, 'What did I feel for his mother right now?'

Nothing.

He went still as a statue.

His heartbeat became erratic before it slowed into calmness.

'What did he feel for Empress Ourania?'

When his sister told him the first time his mother was alive, Apollyon was fuming with anger, but now he wasn't sure.

He felt detached.

Indifference was the right word.

He couldn't care less about her business.

If she wanted to meet her son right now, Apollyon would talk to her, but that's about it.

Empress Ourania might have given birth to him, but they were practically strangers at this point.

He didn't miss her at all because the tears he shed for his mother, who refused to see her when he was a boy, were twin wells that were dried up a long time ago.

As far as he was concerned, his mother was already dead.

He only had his mate to love and cherish, and he was satisfied with that.

Why was he here, ready to meet Empress Ourania then?

Was he seeking a fight, or was he seeking closure?

The only closure he got from this relationship was time.

He was used to her absence—her perceived death—that it became normal to him.

The painful sting of her abandonment in his heart had come and gone.

Apollyon already had the closure he needed by accepting the fact that his birth mother wouldn't love him as he loved her.

There was no point living a life in denial.

"Apollyon." Luna placed her hand over his and her brows furrowed in concern, distracting him from his thoughts. "You have gone quiet. Are you alright?"

He shook his head and pulled himself together before sitting down. "I don't know."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

No.

He liked to say no, but this was his wife who he trusted—his blood mate.

A pregnant pause filled by the buzzing of the bees and the quick flutter of pixies' wings surrounding them.

Apollyon thought that Luna would ignore the question, but she waited for him to speak.

He felt immense pressure—a dullness in his chest that wouldn't go away.

But she was more patient, letting the awkward tension hang in the air.

Apollyon couldn't stand it.

He wanted to brush his wife off by not responding or scaring her to drop the subject, but he was determined to change his initial reaction.

He told her the truth instead because insensitivity might hurt his beloved.

"I want to. I'm just nervous. But maybe after meeting my family…" He blew out a breath. "I don't know what to expect."

"Everything will be alright." She reassured him. "I will be by your side throughout this whole ordeal."

This anxiety...

The last time he felt this was when he married his wife.

"Hold my hand?"

"Yes."

"Do you think—" Apollyon asked softly as he wore that stoic mask he wore to shield himself from the hurt, "Do you think she would accept me for what I have become or would she be disappointed?"

"I don't know. I might not be your mother but as your wife, I am not disappointed that you are my blood mate." Luna's green eyes were calm and full of love. "When you truly love someone, you are all in, always trying your best to develop not only for yourself but for me."

"Sometimes people will struggle to understand you and when they have this trouble, they may well try to fit you into one box or another they are already familiar with. When you don't fit any of those boxes, you are likely met with disapproval. Let them do it." Lifting a hand, she caressed his face as her fingers lingered on his jawline. "You are not perfect in my eyes but I love you just the same.? As long as you are real, the right people who match you will always be there for you no matter what. And that would also include your mother, Apollyon."