Faith loved being in William's arms more then she cared to admit. The car pulled into a warehouse in the busy harbour, the heady scent of fish assaulting her senses as they stepped out, the fishermen taking no notice of the seemingly suspicious vehicles coming in through the back entrance and skidding to a halt. Faith flinched as she watched one man lopping the fish's heads off systematically with no remorse, but she didn't have much time to feel uneased about the amount of thick red blood as William swooped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her along. They escaped down through the basement, William stopping every few minutes for yet another retina, finger scan or password to be put in to release the door or wall from its clever locks. She had no idea how he could remember it all! Eventually they passed into a dark room with a winding metal staircase leaning against the far corner, with two guards following behind them.
They started up the staircase, Faith realising how unfit she was becoming when they reached the fourth spin of the corkscrew steps, and her breath was coming out in short puffs. William simply scooped her up in his arms and carried her the remainder of the way, much to the chagrin of Faith – although she didn't complain. When they reached the top of the stairs Faith was blushing as she could not help but admire how strong William was, and how hot his muscles were that flexed with each movement. She had always been a bit self-conscious about her weight, not fat but not necessarily thin. She had a little extra meat on her bones, which William didn't seem to mind as he carried her effortlessly up the stairs. Once they got to the top, they encountered a very real looking rock-face, sharp and wet just like the rest of the room. William placed his hand upon a piece of the rock, about level with Faith's face, and a green light hummed around it, before the rock slid open and a key pad was revealed. William typed in a long number – around 16 digits, before finally, the rock slid to the side and they found themselves in the kitchen pantry. Faith wondered how many other secret tunnels there were connecting them to the outside world.
Faith noticed a camera on the back wall, just above the shelf containing sixteen different kinds of flour, which obviously the guards were monitoring from the control room. They didn't stop for long, Faith being led by William out of the pantry, out of the kitchen, and into the hallway. Faith instantly found a sense of peace and home as she entered into the familiar candle-lit hallway with its gold decorations. They entered into a room where Hope, Duke Hartley, William's brother John and someone undisclosed were seated around a mahogany table. Hope gasped as she saw Faith, springing up from her seat and into her arms with a flurry of tears.
"Oh Faith! I was so worried about you!" Hope cried as she clung to her elder sister.
"I was worried about you too! Are you ok?" Faith asked, checking her over for damage.
"Yes I'm fine – it's you I'm worried about! Were you tortured? Did they make you do unspeakable things?"
"No Hope, calm down – I'm fine. They let me go, you see." She explained calmly.
"And why, may I ask, would they do that?" A deep voice from across the room rang out.
"Faith this is General Lorin. He is the head of our Guards." William explained.
"Oh hello, it's nice to meet you." Faith hummed; quite unnerved by the fact General Lorin looked just like her deceased father, from the haughty look in his eyes down to the curly moustache dancing upon his top lip.
"I'm glad you have been returned to us safely Miss Halsey, although I'm going to have to inform you that as General I take my role very seriously. It is my duty to protect the crown, and I will not let my guard down for a minute. It seems highly suspicious to me that the rebels would just let you go. There must have been a reason for that, perhaps a less then candid one on your part." The general announced, causing panic to flare up in Faith.
"Sir, I assure you that nothing dishonest has gone on here. When they pulled me away after the failed meeting, they blindfolded me and took me to their compound. They interrogated me for hours and kept me locked up, although I had nothing to say to them so they put me in a room with a... intimidating to say the least, person called Scar. They came in this morning and hauled me out of bed then dropped me off on the outskirts. They told me to tell you that they are going to destroy you all." Faith explained as William pulled out an elaborately carved chair for her, and then sat next to her.
"Did they tell you their plans?" The general asked, his dark eyes assessing her suspiciously.
Faith tried to keep calm as Nancy told her to, otherwise they would identify her speeding heartbeat as guilt and she would be condemned as a traitor. She gulped in response to her thoughts.
"No. Only that they want to destroy all vampires." She responded.
"Well that's plausible." Duke Hartley murmured.
"I'm not sure whether it is." General Lorin interrupted. "Let us keep in mind these are the same people who are trying to mercilessly wipe out our race and have already succeeded with a few. The only plausible reason I can think of, is she is in cahoots with them and is planning to take us down from the inside!" He exclaimed, scowling at Faith who realised he was fostering a dislike for her.
"General Lorin, whilst I appreciate everything you have done for this throne and your judgements, I do not appreciate you accusing Faith of something she would never do." William interrupted sternly, making Faith feel even guiltier. He was defending her and showing just how much he trusted her, and she was going to stamp all over it.
"My sister is the most trustworthy person I know! She would never betray anyone she cares about." Hope chipped in, staring at General Lorin defiantly, just as she used to do to our father.
"William, don't let your feelings cloud your judgement. Faith has a block around her mind... I cannot read it. Why would the hunters do that to her if there is nothing to hide?" John said doubtfully.
"Enough!" William exploded. "Faith, is there anything you need to tell me? Anything at all? You can trust us, if they're trying to make you do something, just tell me and I'll sort it out, I promise you." William revealed tenderly.
"William... I..." Faith had never felt so terrible. But she had to do it; otherwise, they wouldn't be given a chance at life and would be wiped out of existence. She couldn't deal with that amount of blood on her hands. "There's nothing to say. I would never betray you. I don't know what they have done to my mind, but I'm sure it was an accident I haven't been feeling well." She sighed, explaining with a weak smile.
"There we go then. Faith would never betray me, so let's drop it." William said in a strained voice. Faith's heart throbbed with anxiousness and sadness. She was doing the right thing though, that's what she sincerely believed.
"Faith, why don't you and Hope go and catch up and do whatever you girls do, whilst we... talk about something." John suggested, but from the dangerous gleam in his eye, Faith knew it was more of a demand.
"Ok... I'll see you later." Faith quipped before William could deny the request.
She did not want her composure to crumble and reveal the ugliness of the truth.
"I'll come and find you later Faith." William said gruffly, as she exited from the room with her sister.
"I can't believe the audacity of that man! Accusing you of being a traitor! You would never do that would you Faith? Someone ought to teach him a lesson!" Hope raged once they were on their way to their bedroom.
"Oh Hope, its fine calm down. I understand - he's only trying to do his job." She counteracted.
"You're always so kind and understanding Faith." Hope tutted.
Faith wanted to scream out 'no, I'm not – I'm going to betray them all!', but she knew the implications of what would happen if anyone heard.
"At least William supported you." She said with a sly grin.
"Yes, it was sweet of him." Faith chuckled whilst closing their bedroom door.
Hope flopped on to their messy bed, watching Faith closely. "You know, William has been so worried about you and in such a terrible mood."
"Oh really." Faith hummed whilst looking in the wardrobe for some fresh clothes.
"Yes really. He was out all night searching for you, even when the doctor told him he needed his rest."
"Well, that's sweet." Faith blushed as she pulled her jumper over her head. She was desperate for a shower. "How did they get out of the building? Is everyone ok?" Faith asked worriedly.
"The backup troops realised something was wrong and managed to disable the alarm. Nobody died, but quite a few have problems with their ears. The guards that were shot are in comas, but they should make it though. Most healed super quickly – a perk of being a vampire I guess." Hope explained.
"How are you dealing with... that?" Faith asked, making wild hand gestures in the air.
"Ok actually... I've accepted it. It's still really weird, but I don't feel under threat here. And I can tell that William really cares for you. I was so worried when you were gone, but they looked after me really well. William even said I could go back to our house, but I refused. I knew he would find you soon. Florence told me he nearly cried when he saw you on the surveillance walking into town." She cheekily revealed.
If Nancy was lying about Hope being forced to stay with the vampires, was she lying about everything else or simply exaggerating? Faith had no idea, and could not think of a way she could find the answer.
"Well... he's very sweet." Faith admitted, incredibly flustered.
"I like him Faith. I really do. He is good for you... much better then Sampson. I'm so glad you've broken up." Hope wrinkled up her nose whilst remembering her sister's stupid boyfriend.
"So am I." Faith chuckled as she made her way to the bathroom, wondering if William really did like her more then as a friend. Of course, it would not matter if he did. In three days, he would probably hate her.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter guys! Please vote if you did xoxo
Edited