"How Not To Get Chosen," Belladonna mumbled to herself in her silvery voice, her blue eyes on the cover of the thin black book she had just picked.It was fairly covered in dust, making the letters on it a little unreadable.She went down the ladder, then blew the dust off the book which made her cough lightly."By Moria Nakuriver," She mumbled the name of the author to herself and instantly shook her head.This book would be of no help because the author actually ended up being chosen as a bride.Moria was the daughter of the Village Head of Nakuriver, one of the seven villages that made up the mighty Kingdom of Ignas, which was ruled by the dreaded Dragon King. When Moria was 18, she had participated in the Choosing Ritual, as the rules had demanded, and had somehow been lucky enough not to be chosen. That was when she had written this book. Almost every lady across the kingdom started reading it, so they could be as lucky as she had been. But then she got chosen at 25, and people
Aniya was on her knees on the bed, resting heavily on her two hands as they held on to the sheets tightly while her silky black hair fell over the sides of her face, wet and glistering with sweat.Her full breasts dangled slightly as the man behind her thrusted into her over and over again. She took it all in, her eyes closed, her pink round lips, slightly parted.All the room had to light it up was a dim lantern on the dressing table, yet the images before Belladonna seem to burn her eyes. "Oh... Lytio." She heard Aniya whisper through trembling lips and she looked up at the face of the man that was behind.Indeed, it was her Mr Perfect. Lytio's hairy chest was glistering with sweats, his slim hands firm on Aniya's small waist, pulling her closer to himself, all his attention on what he was doing.Belladonna took a step back instinctively, her lips pressed together tightly, her eyes blank while her heart crushed into many pieces. "Oh... Lytio." Aniya moaned again and she opened he
"...I was drunk and the timing of your sister..."She gritted her teeth.The feeling of this betrayal by her family felt mightier more than yesterday's. How could her family do this to her?When she spoke though, her voice was controlled and firm. "I see that. I see it all. But I am not about to cry over split milk."Lytio froze for a split second before his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he straightened up, his hands falling to his sides."Your parents have discussed with mine on the 'incident'."'Incident? Of course, that was how they would refer to it.' Belladonna thought but she instead, she asked, "and...?""Bell, I want you to know that I love you very much.""I am sure that wasn't what they concluded on."Lytio clenched and unclenched his fists before digging it into his pockets. "I have to marry Aniya. It is for the best. For my reputation and your sister's. Also to prevent any more unfortunate incidents.""Of course. Do exactly what they want.""I don't have a choice. D
It was a long black leather whip splited into eight pieces.It swept through the air and landed on her back. A gasp of pain escaped her lips as she tumbled to the floor, her long black curly hair scattered to the sides of her face. She immediately curled up on the floor, her folded arms protecting her face.She knew how this went. This wasn't the first time, nor the second or third. She couldn't even count how many times her mother had done this to her and she knew this wouldn't be the last.Isa swung the whip, striking it countlessly against her, on her back, her hands, anywhere it landed on. She was breathing heavily and although her hands were arching her from how long she had been flogging her, she was blinded by so much anger that she just couldn't stop."H-how-- dare you?!"The beating continued, then Belladonna heard her dress ripping from how much the beating was, the whip cutting into her flesh and blood seeping out of the long cuts. She bit her lips till she tasted blood
It read: "Just wait for me, my love. I will find a way for us to be together again." Lytio must have had his brain replaced with one of the fishes that he captured to make such ridiculous promises. She looked at the piece of paper blankly once again and muttered to herself, "such terrible handwriting." She threw it into the fire, where some women were cooking for another wedding. Then left for the library. The moment she stepped into the library, the Librarian greeted her. "There you are, child. My wife told me everything. That mother of yours is a witch." Gladies, his wife, always some how knew everything that was going on in Inaymi. Belladonna had always thought they were a match made in heaven. While she knew about the things going on in town presently, her husband knew very well about the things that happened in the past. Soulmates, she often called them. "And that sister of yours is a snake. Spineless man, the father you have." "Technically, he is not my father."
Everyone fell on their kneels immediately, their heads bowed. Although Belladonna had been a little clumsy about it, she had managed not to draw any attention to herself. "Rise." The Dragon King commanded, his voice was deep and it commanded respect, a sought of authority that couldn't be ignored even if one dared. Indeed, even a flick of his finger resonated power.They rose up to their feet."Sit."They did.Then the Dragon King started walking towards the Possible Potentials section, the woman who had arrived earlier following after him.Belladonna quickly casted her gaze to the ground, her arms around herself protectively. Then she heard them stop right in front of them."Begin." The Dragon King said to the woman that was now standing behind. She stepped forward, looking from one lady to another while she went through the space between the benches. "Up." She commanded.Now that she wasn't announcing the presence of the King, her voice sounded firm yet sultry. The lady stood u
It was all a blur, right from the moment when she realized that she had failed herself and allowed herself to be chosen. All while the seven Potential Brides were led into the long carriage that had come to take them, while the carriage journeyed into the night, through the forest, down to the castle, while the ladies sat side by side, their hands curled up in-between their thighs, their eyes fixed to the carriage's floor under the strict gaze of the woman who had chosen them, until they finally got to the castle and stepped out of the carriage one after the other.Everything just felt like a huge blur.Belladonna had expected some dark, desolate castle with distant eerie sound of a forest, in the middle of no where. She had been wrong. Very wrong.The castle was the most beautiful building she had ever seen. There was a huge beautiful water fountain and a long colorful garden along the walkway. The lights illuminated the whole castle, making it look magical in combination with the
Just like that, she turned away, up the stairs and the servants started leading each down the hallway, to seven different doors. Everyone got a male and a female servant to help them to their door. The female servant helping Belladonna was a couple of inches shorter than she was, although she looked older, like she was in her early thirties. She had bags underneath her eyes and a few wrinkles by either side.The male servant on the other hand was just an inch or two taller than Belladonna. His face was calm and he seemed collected.Asides that, they were both wearing sought of deep blue uniform and they looked like as if they are well taken care of.Belladonna got the fifth door.Hung on it was the kind of slate which had a name carved on it. Moria Nakunriver.She furrowed her eyebrows at that.That was the name of the previous bride, the one who had authored the book containing all those rules she had read. The bride whom everyone had thought would be the last.Had this been her r
“What is this?” Ny'ka asked, racing up to her feet.“The Stones of Prophecy. I already told you,” Ka'el replied, rising to his feet too. He groaned a little, his ribs hurting from the force that had tossed him aside.The stones had suddenly fallen to the ground, scattered; they were still glowing though. “I mean, what do they do?“I don't know!” There was a bit of panic in his voice, then he started to mumble to himself as he fell on his knees and started trying to collect the stones. “The King believes his daughter is in the Rebellion, and there are rumors of the Heir; he thinks they are working together.” He stopped and stared up at Ny'ka who watched him with a frown on her face. “That is why the Moon and the Sun came up in the sky because she is really here? But you said it didn't happen here, that it was from another Realm. It is from another realm, right? It isn’t true, Is it?”Ny'ka tried to grab one of the stones from Ka'el but it held it away from her. “Is his daughter truly
Then she felt like she was drowning and her words vanished from her lips. It felt like she was right in the lake and above it at the same time, hovering over the water and looking at the drowning child, while the drowning child looked back at her, struggling. Then she was finally in the baby and she could see Xinora floating over her as she felt herself dying in the baby — felt the baby dying. She saw Xinora stare right at her mother, who froze immediately like she had seen a ghost - it was what she looked like anyway, what she seemed to be. Then Belladonna felt the presence slam right into her immediately. Xinora had vanished and was now inside her as one being, the moment of her almost death creating the perfect space for Xinora to fit in. But just as Xinora had merged into her, she dissolved into the back of her mind like a mere pest fighting against a strong host. Her mother pulled her out of the water, her gaze blank and cold. Without a word, she wrapped her in a piece of clo
Trigger warning: Dealing with rape aftermath (from victim’s perspective) on page, and baby drowning on page. _________Belladonna paced the room. Two nights have passed since Alaris and her had discussed about Xinora. The Rebellion was healing, and she had sought out Ny'ka to help her with creating portals; although she knew that it might not work, just as it hadn't been working, but that was just how unpromising Channeling had been, and it had worked eventually. That wasn't the problem though. The thing was that Ny'ka was nowhere to be found. It didn't take long for her to figure out where she was.She was with Ka'el, most likely inquiring about their recent failure.Alaris had confirmed her suspicion, and here she was, in the room, trying not to drive herself mad with every single possibility that was crossing her mind.The Priest had drawn a tattoo on the top part of her chest, a little distance from her neck. He had smeared it with the blood of an animal, chanted some things th
Ny'ka went to Ka'el that night as the Heir had ordered, only to find out that he was with someone. Tsiri?What?What was she doing here? Why was she here? How long has she known about Ka'el? How did she get here?Why was she here?By Ina, what had she told him?!The White glow of the crescent moon above glimmered down on them through the shadows of the scanty leaves of the tall trees around them. The smile on Tsiri’s face was plain for Ny'ka to see, just as obvious as the doubt that dotted Ka’el’s eyes. What had she told him?!“Is it true?” Ka'el asked, his fist tightening around the small bag he had in his hand. She wondered what was in that bag but his next words made her aware of the greater problem she had before her. “Are you just fooling me?” He asked as his free hand anchored around Tsiri’s waist, making her smile widen. Disappointment flashed in Ny'ka's eyes and she frowned, blatantly ignoring Tsiri. “Fooling you? What nonsense are you talking about? And why are you with o
“Nightshade, do you have any memories of Jyris?”He was crouching in front of her. This room suddenly felt too small. Where was the air of ease?“No, except that he healed my ankle, gave me that gold ring that you tossed away and he was at the table with the King. Nothing else. I’m trying to but I don't remember anything else.” She wouldn't tell him about the strange feeling of familiarity she had when she had first seen him. That would be too dangerous. “You were in her dreams even when you weren't in captivity. So can you just go into people's dreams? Can you still do that?”“No. Her dream was the only one I could get into without being in captivity. But My freedom does come at a price. It was hard to lure the brides with my soul, and certainly, I prefer this freedom to that.”“Did killing her hurt you? Since the gems are supposed to be a pair.”“I struck her stomach.”“Why didn't you strike her in the heart or behead?”“I wanted to behead her and take her heart as my own; a litt
He heaved a sigh and sat next to her. “Well, it was after being King. I think the wars I had fought strengthened the connection with my gem; the lives I had taken fed it, and I dreamt of Xinora — well, she dreamt of me. It was the first time I would be in anyone's dreams.”Belladonna nodded, taking a mental note of that. “She was crying and lonely, and because the Gem perceived its master to be distressed, it sought a connection and found me. Xinora was terrified when we met; I was confused, too; it was strange. But then, I realized who she was and why I was there. At that time, I really wanted to come back here, to Vestros, but I knew it wasn’t time, I wasn't powerful enough back then.” He paused, before he continued. “The White King would kill me easily, but being in her dreams was like fate being on my side. She was the only weapon that could be used to kill me—”The only weapon?“Wait. Only a Bearer can kill a Bearer?”“Yes.” “So,” she turned to him squarely so she wouldn't mi
“And you didn't tell me? Why?”“It was over two centuries ago.” He stood up. “She stayed dead during those times, why would I think anything would come out of her now?”Belladonna said nothing and Alaris continued. “With you, I believed she had already been replaced. A new Master, her time was over, gone. The gems will always have their masters, I have discovered. At first, I was worried, but then you proved to be more than one with a mere link.”“I had visions of her. I told you everything.”He shrugged. “I thought it was just her lingering presence since she was the one who was connected to the gem before you. They are just mere visions, they don't suggest a powerful presence to get bothered about.”“You must be joking,” she stated, flabbergasted. “I had dreams of her every time and nothing ever really happened as a result,” he replied with a dismissive tone.“You know that is not true.”“Nothing “real” ever really happened.”With a realization, she stood up. “You are doing it aga
It felt compelling to desire more, it felt right… yet it didn't.Alaris pulled away being the first one to snap back from the spark pulling them together. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have done that.” He was gone in a flash, leaving her flustered. She couldn't think; the foreign and overpowering feeling was a driving force that sent her out of the room to go after him. She did, reaching the surface, however, and feeling the warm glow of the moon on her skin. Something else seemed to have possessed her, and she went towards the lake instead, strangely seeking the comforting feeling of the water and the floating relief. The reflection of the full moon was cast over the still water and the trees seemed to create a path for her. She walked into the water as a shadow warrior emerged from behind her; the only one of Alaris' shadow warriors that wasn't killed. It swiftly moved into the water, reaching out to pull her back but she turned sharply to it. “Go Back!” She ordered, her voice a gr
Breathing heavily, he turned back to her. “I’m sorry— I just— I was afraid that you’ll shift—”“I have been terrified that this day would come but I thought I was stronger, as strong as I was in your Realm. I knew I would be lacking the moment I saw that annoying thing healing your ankle with his flames,” he laughed, the sound dry of humour as he swept his hand over his hair, pushing it back. “At that moment, I knew there were many things that I lacked, many skills, so many things. I might have been a King there but here, I am like a child. I’m not better than any of those dragon shifters. I’m useless.” “You are not.”With a huff, he sat down next to her, feeling exhausted. “My pretense to know what I am doing can no longer save me. I’m fighting a lost war, Nightshade and you can see it.”He turned to her, to find her shaking her head. “Don't lie to me.”“I’m not.”“Alaris—”“Don't try to inspire me, it won't work.” “I wasn't trying to inspire you, I just want to tell you how disap