Chapter 3: The Beast Was Here!
"Who are you?"
Adda suddenly entered. With a frightened face, she prostrated until her face touched the floor. "Your Majesty."
Holly still stood stiffly on the spot, too confused to do something. The Sleeping Man suddenly woke up and sat in his glass coffin with a confused face.
The scent got stronger, but this time it was different. The aura that this man gave made Holly feel frightened but awestruck at the same time.
His eyes were so dark, even darker than Dark Forest. He looked soft and beautiful when he slept, but he was very intimidating after he woke up like this. Holly's knees turn to jelly. She barely stood with his sharp gaze over her.
"How long?" The man asked Adda.
"Six hundred years, Your Majesty."
The man turned his attention back to Holly and asked again, "Who are you?"
Adda raised her head. She motioned for Holly to get down too, but Holly didn't get it. "She just human, Your Majesty."
Holly knew this person must be her master, and it was rude to look at him directly like this. But no. She couldn't take her eyes off him despite her body shaking due to the overwhelming scare.
"I know she is human. I want a name." The man looked furious. Holly knew he wasn't a nice man, judging from his coldly gorgeous face.
"My name is Holly," Holly answered in a soft voice. Even though her body was shaking, her voice remained steady.
"Answer me properly!" The man snapped at her.
"Holly Reloux, My Lord." Finally, Holly lowered her body, but her eyes were still on him.
"Reloux? A human?"
None answered. Honestly, Holly wasn't sure what to say. Of course, she was human. Why did he have to ask again?
"Well, after six hundred years, good to know there are still Reloux remain here." The man sighed.
"It's only me now, My Lord."
His sharp eyes widened. "Did your family die?"
"Yes." Holly looked down and finally took her eyes off the man. It was difficult to discuss about her family. She must remember when her father was beheaded right in front of her.
"Who dares to kill them?" That man growled. His jaw tightened in anger.
"The King. For treason." Holly answered quietly.
"The King? Your father should be the king himself."
Why was he angry about her family? Holly didn't even know who this man was. Holly shook her head confusedly. "No, my father was a duke. He wasn't a king."
"Many things happened while you were sleeping, Your Majesty." Adda interrupted.
Holly could breathe a relief after Adda told her to go back to her room. "Don't leave your room until I tell you to," Adda whispered to her.
Walking backward, Holly came out of the room. A weird feeling started to hit her. Holly paused in front of the door, exchanging glances with the man who still sat in his coffin. She missed him already. This was strange and didn't right. She barely knew him, but Holly didn't want to walk away from him.
The man's gaze sharpened as Holly slowly stepped backward. Holly was still standing behind the door's line as Adda was about to close them.
Just then, everything was going very slowly. Holly could see everything through the gap in the almost closed door. The handsome man who had been sitting in the coffin suddenly jumped out. In a few seconds, his muscular body transformed into a furry figure with sharp fangs. Black wolf.
The door closed, leaving Holly alone in the hallway. Her eyes were wide open.
[This isn't a dream, is it?] Holly swore she had actually seen the man turn into a black wolf. But that didn't make sense.
Fear gripped her. Trembling, Holly ran downstairs. Luckily she immediately met Hugo on the stairs.
"Help me!" Holly cried out in terror.
"You okay, Miss?"
"There's a wolf inside, and Adda is still there! Please do something!" Holly panicked. Adda and the wolf were still in the same room. What if the wolf hurt Adda?
"Wolf?" Hugo was silent for a while. A second later, he looked surprised, but Holly didn't catch any worry on Hugo's face. That was strange.
"Miss, you'd better go back to your room. Let me take care of it." Hugo continued on his way. Holly wanted to follow him. She had to confirm what she had seen.
"If you want to live, please go to your room, Miss," Hugo said without looking at Holly.
Holly froze on the stairs. With a heavy heart, she turned to her room. Holly hasn't calmed down yet. Se locked her room, dragging a few chairs to block the door.
***
For two hours, Holly waited while walking back and forth around her room. "Everything will be fine. It wasn't real," Holly said over and over again.
There was no way a human could turn into a wolf. Holly tried to convince herself that it was just a hallucination. She must have been so influenced by the rumour about the beast in this castle. Perhaps, she was hallucinating.
A knock on the door made Holly jump. Holly didn't open it right away. She waited until she was sure who was behind the door.
"Miss Holly, this is me." Adda's voice! Holly hastily removed the item blocking the door and unlocked it.
"Adda! Are you okay?" asked Holly frantically.
Adda smiled, and she looked just fine. Even her face looked more cheerful than before.
"What about the wolf? I might be crazy, but I swear that guy turned into a wolf!"
Adda's smile disappeared when she heard Holly's explanation. She went into Holly's room and sat on the edge of her bed.
"It seems you came to this castle without knowing anything," Adda said seriously, but her eyes were so gentle.
Holly sat beside Adda. There were so many questions in her head, but Holly would give Adda time to answer them.
"First, I must say thank you for waking up our King."
"King?" Holly didn't understand. She knew what King Grisia's face looked like and he was very different from the man earlier.
"He was cursed. Our King. He has been asleep for six hundred years. Neither live nor death. So far, no one has been able to take the flower he was holding. But today, you managed to take the flower and wake our King."
Holly's eyebrows rose. Sleeping for six hundred years didn't make sense to Holly.
"But several things happened, and we had to stay in this castle," Adda added.
"Wait- I don't understand. Is he also cursed to be a wolf?"
Adda did not immediately answer. She was silent for a moment, then replied, "No. He wasn't cursed to be a wolf."
Holly wanted to ask again, but Adda said, "He is a wolf. We are wolves."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone