AVERYSilently, I remain sitting on my bed. I have a hunch that soon, Aleister will come for me too. He won’t be satisfied with just locking up Renee in some dungeon.As expected, a few hours later, the door to my room opens again. The darkness meets me on the other side.Slowly, I pick up my head and look at the empty doorway. After a moment, his big frame appears there. My heart leaps to my throat. The energy in my veins gradually calms down as the small sparks run up my spine.Our eyes meet. I don’t see any emotion in his eyes—just pure malice—like the day we met in the throne room. Me, on my knees. Him, standing proud like the cruel King he was.Did I think something changed between us until yesterday? Yes. Yes, I did.I thought we both liked each other and would be getting close. I thought he would come to me every night. We would talk about our lives. We would find comfort in each other.And I…I will find a home. In him. With him.It was all a lie.Aleister walks inside the r
ALEISTER My rage knows no bounds. I want to hurt her in the worst way possible. How could she fucking ask me to spare others instead of telling me that she regretted hurting my ego in front of my people? If only she opens that fucking mouth and spits out the needed word to soothe my anger, my concern for her might win. But she is so fucking stubborn! If it’s like that and she thinks she did a great job by making a joke out of me, then I will hurt her too. I don’t fucking care about her. She doesn’t hold any power over me. “ What is your decision? ” My hand reaches out to her lips again. I imagined feeling this mouth around my cock every fucking night. These plump lips and that sassy voice silenced, as she pleasures me. But I never thought about going through it. I didn’t want her to get on her knees and suck me off. That felt too degrading for a Princess to do and I believed she wouldn’t like it. How fucking stupid! Here I was…thinking about things she would like or won’t
AVERYShortly after Aleister left, Draven came again. I had fallen out of Aleister’s list of favorite women. I was just a girl in the Harem now and that’s where I was supposed to be, to stay, to live.He took me straight to the Hall and sent me to a room in the corner. It was just a simple room—a single bed, a chair in the corner, a cupboard beside the bed and that’s it.I didn’t fight back. I sat down on the hard mattress and stared at the floor in a trance.It was safe to say that my mind was completely numb. I couldn’t make sense of what Aleister just did to me in the room.“ You don’t need to concern yourself with anything now. ” Draven says, standing beside the door. I don’t need to reply. I can’t even think of anything.“ Relax, Avery. If you stay away from him, your life will be easy from now on. ” He sighs. “ And don’t worry. He won’t do anything to Renee. ”“ Why are you saying all this to me now? Are not you happy after seeing me like this? ” I wonder, looking up at him.“
AVERYWhen Aleister and Agrona leave the next day, the witches gather to swoon over the couple.I stand in the corner and watch them both. Aleister doesn’t show any emotion but Agrona greets everyone with a smile.They are off to war and the Kingdom’s people seem to be wishing them all the luck. If Aleister hadn’t betrayed me, perhaps, I would have been among those people praying for his safe return from the war.Now, it doesn’t matter.I won’t be here for him.That’s why, the moment he meets my gaze, I turn around and leave from there. His gaze follows me until I turn the corner but I can’t care anymore.In the book of my life, the chapter of Aleister Anasazi has ended. As I came alone, I will leave alone. *******Like Agrona promised, Sinara came to meet me in the room the next day. I was already dressed in a casual blue dress that made it easier for me to move because of its light weight.She led me to a silent corner of the castle and that’s where I met Renee as promised.“ Pri
AVERY~One Month Later…I often heard people say before.Times fixes everything.With time, you forget your pain.With time, you forgive the people who hurt you.With time, you feel as good as new.That’s a lie. It’s not the time that fixes everything. It’s the people you meet and the way your life changes and something more—something that I still don’t get until now. I am lucky that I got both. I got to meet people and my life changed.But that something…a small element is still missing from my life. As a new day comes, and the darkness clouds the South, I find myself in search of that final piece of the puzzle but fail every time.“ Avery! Nellie is calling you over! ” The small child shouts from the distance.I snap out of my thoughts and glance at the girl from over my shoulder. Her round face reminds me of Celia. The sweet girl who smiled at me and told me she liked me, missed me, wanted to stay with me. Now, I can’t see her anymore. “ I am coming, Belle! ” I shout back with
AVERY“ Noelle wants the Village head to send you back to her for the time being or to hide you in a safe house so the King can’t find you, Avery. ” Sara reveals and rubs her temples.“ Does it mean he is close? ” My heart misses a beat.No. I don’t want to see him. I can’t bring myself to even imagine that.“ Calm down, Avery. ” Nellie squeezes my hand gently. “ We are all here to protect you. The King will never find you and we won’t let him take you back. ”“ No. He—He will. ” My voice breaks.Does he already know that I am here? Is that why he is coming?Will he continue to humiliate me if he finds me? Will he embarrass me in front of the whole village? Will he make me kneel and—“ Princess! ” Renee’s voice brings me back to the present. “ Calm down, Avery. We are here for you. ” Sara whispers, rubbing my back.I look around. All three of them are beside me. I blink.When did they get here? I couldn’t even notice it.What am I doing? What am I thinking?How can I be like this in
ALEISTER “ Found anything about her? ” I ask my brother after sensing his presence behind me. “ Nothing yet. ” The reply is the same as ever. It’s been twenty-eight days since I got to know that she ran away from me. She left me behind to spend her life somewhere else. To say that I searched the whole South’s territory for her is an understatement. I looked for her in the North, in the East, in the West…everywhere she could go. But there is no sign of those golden locks and electric blue eyes. The beauty seems to have disappeared from my life, never to be found again. No. Not a never. Forever is too long. I can’t spend it without her. “ Leister. How long are you going to keep at it? The rebellion is over. You don’t need to personally search for those hidden fuckers. I can do that. You need to return home and take your throne again. ” Draven sighs. “ Don’t give me advice. Go back and look after the Kingdom until I return. ” I reply blankly and glance at the open box beside me.
AVERY“ So you mean to say he is not coming here? ” I wonder, my body stiffening.“ The word was delivered early in the morning. ” He replies. “ My King trusts our loyalty towards the Kingdom. There will be no visits because they need to move on to the next village. ” The village head, Marco is a soft-spoken man who seems to be in his thirties but is much older. His kind eyes gaze at me as he waits for me to digest the truth.I couldn’t sleep last night either. I was too busy thinking of different scenarios where Aleister managed to get to me. I have not realized it until now. But more than fear, I feel a simmering rage towards him. That’s why those scenarios always ended with me hurting him in some way. “ Princess, are you alright? ” Marco asks.I blink, my eyes dropping to the glass of water on the table. The water is beginning to freeze, from the bottom to the top—slowly and dangerously.As the rage grows, the powers grow too. It’s like misery and hatred fuels it.I swallow, tak