-Katherine- I looked at Darius, confused, as he spoke of being afraid for me. I didn’t understand what that meant. He smiled at me a little, then reached out, bringing me closer to him. His warm hand rested on my hip, and I looked up into his dark eyes. He smiled at me, and it made my heart pick up the pace. He continued to gaze at me, not really speaking, and it confused me. "Are you okay?" "I am afraid to never hold you again," he whispered before moving his hand from my hip to my cheek. "I fear I will never touch you again. Never get to love you." "Darius… I’m still here," I told him. "I know you’re clever. I know you’re strong. But we have no idea what’s going to happen. The Dark Ones are powerful and tricky. They are just as clever despite their hunger for power. I don’t know if I will be coming back, and what then? Your plan relies on me as well, does it not?" I sighed, nodding a little. I couldn’t replace Acan, it had to be Darius, and it only showed me how patient I truly
-Katherine- The doors to our bedroom burst open as Darius and I hurried into it. We refused to let go of each other at any moment because it felt like the moment we did, we would slide away from each other. We would be unable to hold on, so it was now that we held on tighter than anything else. We pulled each other’s clothes off, moving further and further back until we fell down on the bed. Darius was too impatient to get my dress off and decided to cut it open. "Shit, Darius, the doors!" I gasped as he split open my dress. Darius looked behind himself, realizing the doors were still open. He hurried away from me, only wearing pants, then closed the doors, locked them, and then came to me again. I smiled, and he continued his work, splitting open my dress and getting it off me. "I did like that dress." "I will give you more," he promised before leaning over me and getting me higher on the bed. He kissed his way down my body, going to one of my breasts and sucking on it, making m
-Katherine- I skipped breakfast, lying in bed most of the morning, but I knew I couldn’t hide. I knew I couldn’t let people see how much it crushed me that Darius was gone and would not return to me. I had to seem strong. I had to prove this wouldn’t crush me. I would show them all the true power inside me, and they would know I was not one to mess with. I was someone to be feared because I was coming for those who had used me as a stepping stone. I was coming for those who were part of killing me. They should be afraid, because taking Darius from me had only made me angrier, and I felt something dark and powerful swirl inside me. I would show them no mercy. I would show them what a true queen could do. I jumped out of bed, summoning some servants, then got ready and left my room. I walked to where Silver and the rest were relaxing, chatting, and enjoying their time. I had to be smart after all, and that meant getting close to Silver while working behind her and Acan’s back. She woul
-Katherine- My visit with the orphanage had gone well. The children were all waving at me as I left, telling me to come back soon, and I planned to, but I had also promised Silver I would come back as soon as I could. So with the guard behind me, we began finding our way back to Silver. I found them at a big shop, where they were eating food and enjoying the luxury of it. I could see it was specially made with extra care. The queen didn’t eat food made by just anyone. She only ate the best, or it wouldn’t even come near her. When she saw me, she waved me closer, making me put on my fake smile before I walked over to her and joined them at the table they sat at. They were sitting under the sun, talking and eating. I was served some food as well, and I began enjoying the deliciousness of it. "So how did it go?" Silver asked. "Huh?" "With the orphans?" "Oh, just fine. They were happy about the gifts." "I do not know why you spend your money on them," she complained. No, of course
-Katherine- The next day, I went to town on my own. I went early, so no one would find it weird that I could not be found at the castle. I had brought even more supplies with me this time, and I was going to the hospital in the city. I had asked the physician what they might use. He was a kindhearted healer, so he would gladly help me find the right herbs and potions to take with me. They received me with much gratitude and smiles as I delivered the necessities to them, making it clear who was providing them, which was the prince and princess, not the king and queen. I wanted everyone to know what their true royals were doing for them, not the ones exploiting them and making them go hungry. No, they would know who cared, and that was Darius and me. I walked around the sick ones as well. I knew I had to be careful. Without powers, I could get infected quite easily as well. Witches got sick too, but the people at the infirmary were mostly humans. People without powers, and it wasn’t alw
-Darius- The journey was long. We had to gather more men on the road there. It wasn’t an easy trip, and we did meet some obstacles along the way. Such a giant group gathered often attracted the wrong kinds of people, hoping to gain something from it, so we had to take care of them as well. But we manage to make it close to the dark side of Adoran. We stayed on the light one, with some good distance, and then we set up camp. I made sure everything was in order before I went to my own tent to relax after the harsh journey. I needed a moment to gather myself. I knew we had to have a meeting and decide how we would attack now. I didn’t want to rush in. I wanted to survey the area first. I would take some scouts with me, and we would ride along the dark side for a while, checking it out and seeing what we might draw out of hiding. I knew the Dark Ones would feel the shift in the air. They would see we had made camp and know we weren’t just travelling through. No, we had come there to ruin
-Katherine- Silver’s birthday came around, and I was missing Darius like crazy. He had been gone for almost three weeks now, but I knew he must only have just arrived on the dark side of Adorna. I knew the journey would take a while, especially with the number of men following him. So, I hoped the battle hadn’t begun yet. I hoped Darius would be smart about this and not charge headfirst into danger. It would kill me if I received a message about his demise. I begged every night for the Goddess to look after him. I begged her to bring him back to me, and I begged that she listen to me. I had my own battles to fight, though. Every day, I had to act like I was on Silver’s side. I had to stroke her ego and Acan’s. I had to act as if I was actually on their side, even though I wasn’t. Every day I proved to the people why their king and queen never cared about them and why their princess and prince took their problems and issues seriously. I proved to them over and over why I was a person
-Katherine- The night went on, and Silver continued to chat and drink, getting a bit drunk. I settled for that one cup of wine, even though I would have loved to forget about the whole night. Soon Silver found it hard to coordinate her own limbs, and I knew she was making a slight embarrassment out of herself. I didn’t try to stop her, but I poured more wine into her cup, making sure it was never empty. This way, everyone would see what a drunk their queen was. I saw the dirty looks Silver got as her ladies did their best to keep her under control. Soon, her noise and yelling drew Acan to us. He did not look very pleased as Silver hung on one of her ladies, talking loudly and laughing. "What is going on here?" he asked. "Are you drunk?" "Noooo," Silver said, waving a hand in the air. "We haven’t even danced yet," he scolded lowly. I could see how his face almost turned red as he looked at his drunk wife. I took a small sip of my own cup, acting as if I wasn’t at fault for her dru