Valerie can hear the footsteps following after her. The person following her tried to catch her in his dragon form, but she began hiding behind trees, bushes, and boulders, and it became hard for him to track her location. So he is forced to shift back into his human form and run after her with the sole intention to catch her. She realized that the intention of the person is not to hurt her, but he wants her alive. She understood that he is working for 'him'. Her fear to escape and not becoming a prisoner again fueled her body and gave her strength to keep going, even though she has been running for a long time now. When you are running for your life, every minute and every second counts. 'Prince Raphael ' she tried again to connect with the prince, but like all the other times in the past hour, it failed this time as well.'I just hope to survive this. Please God, didn't you give me enough hell to last a lifetime? I don't know what my sin was that you gave me this kind of punishment
Raphael is exhausted. He searched everywhere for Valerie, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He shifted into his dragon form and searched the surroundings and the entire Windsor. But there is no trace of her as if she vanished into thin air.He alerted Roland and sent a troop for Valerie. He just couldn't sit still when she might be suffering somewhere. Then, he remembered the house Valerie showed him. The house where she was kept a prisoner for years. He flew near that single isolated house in the middle of the forest. His dragon landed soundlessly on the ground in front of the house before he shifted back into his dragon form.The house is old as if no one touched it for years. Cobwebs, anthills, overgrown trees, and their hanging branches. Nothing about this place is telling him that someone could use it to lock up a girl out of her will.He walked inside and slowly took in the house, which has seen better days. The house is not big, but at the same time not so small either. It ha
One month passed by, and Valerie is almost happy. Now she has a family for whom she was searching and wishing. But the title of the princess began to feel more like a weight than anything else. Except when the name of the Raven clan comes up, King Arthur and everyone in the palace become furious. But apart from that, they all are so sweet with her. She is overwhelmed and basking in the joy of their love. They showed her the portrait of the woman, who is looking exactly like a replica of herself. She is the late queen of the Ernest clan, Queen Alicia Valerie Ernest. Her father has given her the name Valerie because she looked like a miniature version of her grandmother when she was born. But everyone in the Earnest palace is under the belief that the Ravens kidnapped her. No matter how much Valerie tried to make them understand that it is not true, non of them are ready to believe her words.Despite expensive clothes, fine jewelry, and luxurious life, she is missing Prince Raphael more
In the Raven palace, Raphael is tired, frustrated, and angry. One month, it's been one month since Valerie disappeared. No one could trace out where she is. Raphael all but destroyed the house where she was held in the beginning. But he couldn't find out where she is and who took her. The Cadmus is in a very serious condition as well. His chances of recovery are low. They couldn't find out who did that either. "Greetings Your royal highness Prince Raphael" Roland walked inside his office and greeted him.Raphael looked up from the piece of cloth that he brought from that house. That belongs to Valerie. That old fabric still has traces of Valerie's scent attached to it. But it's fading. When she was his slave, he used to detest her. But after he learned the truth, he used to feel guilty and responsible for her. But now when she is gone, he is feeling strangely empty. As if she took a part of him along with her."Any updates Roland?" Raphael asked. He has been given the task of searchi
After three months..."Very good Princess Valerie. You are excellent. You are a quick learner. Now I can proudly announce to His highness King Arthur that you excel in the art of fighting" the trainer whom Arthur appointed to teach Valerie the art of fighting so that she can defend herself and protect the one in need when the situation arises.Valerie just fought with one of the guards of the Earnest clan and to the amazement of everyone, she defeated him. He is stronger than her, but she is faster and smarter. Where he used his brawn, she used her brain. "Thank you" Valerie thanked politely. Just like her sister advised a few months ago, she learned the art of masking her true emotions. Everyone is praising her for the quick progress she made. But what none of them knows is that she is intentionally keeping herself busy, so that she wouldn't think about the prince whom she didn't know she liked. But now, it's in the past and he is pretending that she doesn't exist. She is a good da
In the Nester palace, where the engagement announcement of Liliana and Hector is taking place. The entire Royal family of the Earnest clan has come a little early. The Nester queen thought that it would be wonderful if they can host the Earnest family for a couple of days, as now they are going to become relatives. "There, now you look like an angel," Anastasia said with a grin. The stylist her mother hired to get her daughters ready has done a wonderful job. Valerie smiled at her mother. "Mother, I think you should be more worried about how Liliana is looking. She is the bride-to-be" she pointed out softly. Anesthesia waved her hands dismissively. "Liliana can take care of herself. But this is your first party as the princess of the Earnest clan. You should look your best" she said while fussing some more with Valerie's hair. Valerie sighed heavily. This has been going on for the last five hours. But she is looking absolutely stunning. Her mother picked a red body con slee
"That was then and this is now. Now we belong to rival clans. Now let me go" she demanded.That's when he realized the most important thing that has been moving right in front of him and he couldn't see it sooner.'I am in love with her' he understood. That realization shook him to the core. Nothing changed from the day he first saw her. He was affected by her even when he used to hate her, and he is obsessed with her when he began to care for her. His obsession increased as the days passed and their distance made him miss her more. Their bond is stronger and he is obsessing over her more. When he saw her wearing that dress, he noticed that she has all the male attention in the room, which made him jealous and possessive. He wanted to hide her away from everyone and demand that she only wear clothes that would cover her head to toe. He was waiting for a chance to speak to her alone. He wanted to know where they stand. But now, it doesn't matter. She is his, and even Arthur cannot ch
"What? No" she protested. As long as she knows him, everyone always used his title while addressing him. And she saw how angry he was when king Cadmus used his given name. Moreover, using his given name feel so intimate. Raphael was expecting that. So he is not surprised. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him. No matter who her father is, she is his. He shrugged casually. "Your wish" he let out. "Valerie" Liliana's voice rang again, a little closer to where they are standing. Valerie began to get panicked. For some reason, no one in the Ernest palace likes the Raven clan. If her sister sees her like this with Raphael, then she will not be pleased. She likes her family, and she likes Raphael too. She doesn't want to hurt her family but at the same time, she cannot leave Raphael. He holds an important place in her life. "Please" she begged while peeking inside the banquet hall from around his shoulders. He is enjoying this. "Say please, Raphael. Then I will let you go" h
After one year....Raphael wanted to hide everything Irina did, because she was once a queen of the Raven clan. Her black deeds will forever become a black mark on the Raven clan. The hard earned reputation of his ancestors would be ruined, which he doesn't want to happen. So he hid her death when it happened. As everything happened in the middle of the night and as the Raven palace is sitting at a fair distance away from the town, no one knew what happened or suspected anything. By morning, only ashes were left behind. The dead army and even irina who brought them to life are all gone. Cadmus lied to everyone that irina went on a spiritual journey to find peace. Everyone believed that lie as Irina made sure to keep her reputation spotless when she was alive. Only peace was left behind after she passed away. "Raphael? What are you doing here?" Valerie asked from behind him. He is standing in the palace court yard while looking in the exact place where his mother died. Valerie noticed
Raphael and his men together surrounded the dead army from all four directions. They start to burn the dead army with their dragon fire. As Irina is momentarily disoriented, the dead army stands still like statues, while their bodies are burned down to ashes. When Irina realized what was happening, she gained back the control she has on the dead people again. "You dumb idiots, attack" she screeched loudly. At once the dead army started charging toward the Raven palace again. As their bodies already started burning, they are now walking fireballs charging towards the Palace gates. At once the palace gates shook with the force of the dead army. It creaked loudly, protesting from the force with which the dead army was pushing at it and trying to breach the palace walls."Guards, shift and stop them from entering the palace. The gate will not hold that much force for longer. Barricade the gates with sandbags. Quick" Raphael instructed his men while he resumed burning their decayed bodie
"Your Highness, dead bodies are walking," he said in a rush. The guard is pale and looked scared. Raphael and Angoori ran outside and were shocked to see an army of dead and decaying people walking towards the Raven palace. Their bodies are muddy as if they just came from inside a grave. Bones can be seen in their half-decayed bodies. Most of them are just walking skeletons, and the rest are in the process of decaying. Irina is leading them in the front. She looked happy at herself. Raphael thought he was prepared to deal with anything Irina threw at them this time. But no amount of mental pep talk would have prepared him for this. 'How does anyone fight with already dead people?' he thought while taking in the walking dead steadily approaching the palace. The Raven guards look scared out of their minds. But the guards are trying to look brave and do their part by locking the tall wrought iron palace gates and positioning themselves to shield the entrance with weapons. That dead ar
In the dark forest, Irina is pacing the uneven land with fury. She is furious with Raphael who destroyed her lab and then ruined the souls for the dark powers. Out of all her enemies, she never imagined that it would be her own son who would destroy everything. The years of planning, pretending and after a million cunning ideas, everything was burned down to ashes because of Raphael."No one, I mean not a single soul dared stand against me. But now, after twenty-five years of unhindered rein of only victories, my own flesh and blood is standing in my way" she screeched with anger and frustration.The dark forest shook with the intensity of her anger. "After everything I gave you, you decided to take up my enemy's side and betray me. Now, after I learned that you stole my dark powers, there is no going back for you from this betrayal. You have to join your dear Father in heaven. You never really saw my true nature, Raphael. I only ever pampered you and hid my true self from you. I onl
Cadmus understood what Raphael meant by 'Our plan ' after half an hour. They are standing in the palace Courtyard and all the Raven guards are standing in front of them. Confusion is seen on their faces. It's almost midnight and a meeting with their king at this hour is not common. But Cadmus understood why Raphael is doing this now. Because they cannot afford to waste any time, especially when they don't know where Irina is and what she is planning. "You must be confused and thinking about why your new king wants to speak with you all at this hour. But I understood that this is the best time to speak about things that all of us want to hide from others" Raphael spoke.His words left everyone confused in the beginning, but then the men who are loyal to him understood where this was going. So they looked at each other and nodded their heads in understanding. Stealthily they changed their positions in such a way that they are now surrounding Irina's loyal men whom they are sure would g
After her failed attempt to threaten her enemies, Irina left the Coronation party in a fit of murderous rage. "No, if they think that they can intimidate me, then they are dead wrong. Raphael might not know about me, but Arthur, how did you think that I would let you go so easily? We grew up together. You know how stubborn I am. If I set my eyes on something, then that should either belong to me, or it should be destroyed. Just like you. I wanted you, but you rejected me and married anesthesia. I thought of killing you, but that would be an easy punishment for you. I want you to suffer. And your suffering would only end on the day you die. Now, your daughter made a huge mistake by taking over my position as the Raven Queen. You made my son go against me. That is a sin deemed to be punished by death. Now she will die, and so will you. None of you know what I did for two years after I left the Ernest palace. I practiced dark magic. All these years I was trying to amplify my dark powers
Irina has a malicious smile on her face. She is hiding how angry she is. She never thought that there would come a day when she might have to see her son laughing and chatting with the people she hates the most. What's worse is, he made her the worst enemy and made Arthur's daughter his Queen. "Hello Eugene" Irina greeted the Nester king. She intentionally skipped his title. This is the same way she used to address him when she used to stay in the Ernest clan. But after things turned bad between her and Arthur, she distanced herself from Eugene as well. Because she knows that he is loyal to Arthur.Eugene became stiff and so did the others. Raphael tightened his fists. Valerie's eyes flashed with anger. Anesthesia, Arthur, and Liliana have matching frowns of disgust. Hector and Cadmus look uncomfortable."Hello, Irina" he replied with a blank face. Irina turned her gaze towards Arthur. She wanted to disturb their happiness. "You look happy Arthur. I saw this kind of smile on you on
After the coronation of Raphael and Valerie as the new king and Queen of the Raven Kingdom, Cadmus is given the respectable position of the Royal advisor and the Royal godfather of the Raven clan. He is given the power that he can involve in every matter that concerns the Raven clan. His position is equal to Raphael and Valerie's. He is overwhelmed with joy and his happiness has no bounds. But the same cannot be said about Irina. She is not at all happy. Raphael gave her no position to hold in the Royal court. He decided that it was time for her to rest. He made it look like he is doing her a favor and all of this is for his good..'The previous queen of this clan has given her everything for the well-being of this clan. After my father's unfortunate demise, she took it upon herself to take this clan under her care. She worked restlessly toward her goal. I think it's time for her to leave these heavy responsibilities to us and rest. She deserves this more than anyone ' he announced.
The entire Agnes clan bowed their heads when Valerie approached them. They don't have a choice. Going against a gold dragon is like going against a mountain that is taller and stronger. It's useless to fight with a mountain when you clearly know that you cannot win that battle. A gold dragon's wrath can destroy an entire clan. Her blessing would help any clan flourish and grow. The land that she touches will be greener than any other land."I am not killing you merely because I don't want my mate's coronation to be remembered with a blood bath. Ravens are known for their hospitality. You came here as a guest. I don't want to hurt a guest. But be aware, Princess Tasha. I will not tolerate disrespect either. If you open your nasty mouth to pass cruel comments, then I would not hesitate to kill you in the future. Keep your judgments to yourself. Me, Valerie Ernest, daughter of King Arthur, princess of the Ernest clan, and the mate of the Raven King here by declare you, Princess Tasha as