When Cassian made it to the empty room at the back of the house, Elian was busy toying with Abbot. Since it had been a week he brought Abbot in, he made sure to keep him in the hands of Elian and Orson who were more than willing to play with him, and the result of it had Abbot sweating, his red-rimmed eyes held a slight panic in them, but they made sure not to hurt him.... Too much.
He saw the horror in Abbot’s eyes as if he was seeing a Vampire for the first time. Elian wanted to touch his cheek with his elongated nails, but Abbot was tied to a chair and couldn’t escape from Elian’s taunting approach.
"If you won’t speak, might as well put you into some good use. Drinking a victim’s blood while they are afraid has always been enticing."
"Don’t touch me you freak!" He said to Elian who was basically enjoying his reaction, but he stopped when Cassian stepped in with Orson following behind.
Abbot, who noticed the Vampire’s gaze shifting to the door, also followed it, and he wasn’t surprised when he saw Cassian standing at the entrance. He already knew Cassian had tied him up here, leaving him in the hands of Orson and this lunatic vampire that scared him the most.
"Cassian, you have to release me, this.. this isn’t fair!" He said, the chains clanking behind as he tried to break free, but Cassian merely folded his arms, hardly flinching.
"Are you ready to speak? Or should I take my leave? There’s someone important who needs my attention, and I won’t tolerate it if you waste my time."
"You won’t kill me, I haven’t done anything!" He raged, the fury in his eyes could bring out steam, but Cassian remained oddly calm and rolled his eyes. "If you don’t want to speak, it’s fine. You’ll stay here, and you’re right, I won’t hurt you, that’s too much stress for me, why would I do that when I can leave you here to starve and die."
"Hold on!" Abbot called out when Cassian turned his back to him, already walking out. A smile etched to the corner of Cassian’s lips as he stopped at the doorstep, knowing his comment had hit a nerve on Abbot.
He turned to look at Abbot who grinded his teeth to hold in his anger, and after a few minutes of waiting, his shoulders sunk, and a sigh of defeat escaped his lips. "Fine, Yes, I’m here in Whitebridge, but my reasons for coming here had nothing to do with you. How was I supposed to know you were here in the first place? Listen, I came here for something entirely different. Okay?"
"Which is?"
"It’s personal." He answered, hoping Cassian wouldn’t push further, but the young lad clearly wasn’t done, neither was he moved by Abbot’s solemn expression.
"How can I believe you if I don’t know your reasons? Are you going to speak? Or do you intend on wasting my time?"
"Did you turn colder over the days?" Abbot questioned, simply struck by the madness in Cassian’s eyes, "is this what being a monster does to people? Tying innocent victims and hurting them. Isn’t that what you do?? Oh I heard about the news, and your actions right now prove every single one of them is true! You’re nothing but a murderer and a piece of shit!"
"I don’t care what you think of me," Cassian shrugged, "a monster, murderer, whatever, the things you say have always been meaningless from childhood, and I owe you no explanation, whatsoever, so back to my question, are you going to speak?"
Abbot let out a breath, surprised his words carried no effect. Cassian was never really bothered about what people called him in the past, but he couldn’t deny that it never affected him. But now, he truly doesn’t care, and the sudden change made Abbot shake his head slightly.
Knowing he won’t be able to get out of this, he released another sigh before saying. "I came to see someone."
"Who?"
"Is it Elijah?" Elian questioned this time, but Abbot paused for a second before shaking his head. "No, I came... I came to see my Father."
"Huh?"
Silence filled the room, the three of their faces blank with confusion. Abbot lowered his head and continued. "I found out not too long ago. My Mother had a secret affair with someone before her marriage with the Duke was finalized. At that time, she figured she was pregnant for her first lover, but she didn’t want to call off her marriage with the Duke since he was wealthy, and her first lover wasn’t ready to leave her. To keep her secret and hide her face, she.... She killed him." Abbot closed his eyes, as if pained.
"The hell?!" Orson was the first to express his shock. Cassian was speechless while Elian was equally stunned.
The slight anger that flashed in Cassian’s eyes spoke volumes. He knew Juliana had something treacherous rolling up her sleeve, but death? He would never fathom the idea that she was capable of killing someone, and all this time, she made his Mother seem like the other woman when in fact, she was the other woman.
Just thinking about it made Cassian’s fist clench, and then he arched a brow to himself.
But if Abbot isn’t a son of Richard, that means Abbot isn’t an heir from his Father’s side. Was this what Osvaldo meant??? Madeline was smart enough to have guessed it, but he never believed it.
No one said anything as minutes passed by, as if they couldn’t believe the things Abbot just said, and Cassian, who recovered from his shock, asked.
"Is that why you were heading to the burial ground that evening?"
"Yes." Came Abbot’s blatant response, "you aren’t the only one with problems Cas, I did my own research. My real Father was from Whitebridge, he had moved to Carmarthen to settle down, but ...." Abbot could no longer continue, and he tried to break through the chains.
"I’ve told you already, will you fucking let me go now!"
"No." Cassian refused, letting out a breath, and his head was already starting to hurt from thinking too much. "There’s more, spill it."
"What Else?"
"Elijah," he dropped, "what were you discussing with him at the choosing ceremony? I’m genuinely sorry for your loss, but that doesn’t mean you’re a saint just yet. I need to know everything, Abbot, and right now, I’m angry."
He moved closer to where Abbot had been tied, "so, are you going to tell me what you two were talking about the easy way, or do I have to force it out of you?" His eye color turned crimson, carrying a silent threat that made Abbot break into a cold sweat.