"How was your journey? I hope the road favoured you. What would you like to eat? Drink? Should I prepare you a fresh bath? Oh, dear sister, tell me of your distress and what you need for ease. Tell me everything!"Aniya was too happy to see her, at least that was what it had looked like --sounded like. She wouldn't take her veil off no matter what, and that confirmed Belladonna's suspicion that the fire had left her little sister scarred. Aniya's beauty was something she had always treasured, losing it must be painful. Belladonna couldn't bring herself to imagine the pain and strain it must have caused her both physically and mentally. There was no way Aniya would be so welcoming towards her with everything that had happened to her, this had to be a front!"You should come home to rest tonight. I have prepared you a place to sleep. Where are your sacks? Let me help you." Aniya said, looking around the room in search of the sacks, while she quickly said words of greeting to Zesika
"Good evening, sir. It is I, Aniya. Do you remember me?"Aniya. That was his Donna's sister. Of course, he remembered her and all the things she had done to his Donna. How would he ever forget?Why did she have a veil on though?Was this a result of the fire that her father had caused?"It is so good to finally see you, sir. You are nothing like I expected." She stated and Eli frowned.Of course, she could now see his face just as many people could. "What do you want?""I need your help." She looked around. Aniya's movement wasn't difficult for Eli to assess, he had once been the person with a concealing object over his face. "May I come in?"He stood rigidly at the door. "Whatever it is, speak your mind here, I will listen and tell you if I can render my help."It was obvious that just like her sister, he didn't trust her but she couldn't blame them. Besides, this would change very soon.Aniya was quick to reveal her need to seek and acquire the forgiveness of her sister, laying
The red watery sky above gave no light, but the blue flames on his head, partly covered by his hood, were enough for him. The silence that surrounded them found a way to convey messages of the chaos that had once happened in full force here some hours ago. The war had happened, and there had been no winner. Death had left in anger - surely he would return, and The Mother's thirst for revenge against her son grew hotter. Thanatou was forced into hiding, a whole Thanatou, King of his whole Realm. A pathetic sight. If he had his Bride by his side, this would never have happened. His power would never have been challenged and put to shame in such a way. If only that ritual had been conducted, everything would have been perfect for him and his realm. He needed his Bride. He needed her now. But there was no way he could leave his Realm and go to the Realm of the Mortals, he had no more messengers to send either, he was completely helpless. Except, that he wasn't. He had hope. On
It had been three days since Belladonna had arrived in Inaymi, three days since Aniya had tried to help her sister and fix their failing relationship, three straight days of complete rejection. Belladonna was very busy, she was always visiting the homes of the past brides and fulfilling their quests. It was an ironic thing for Aniya to watch, considering that her sister was a bride herself. She seemed so tired too.There were bags beneath her eyes, and Aniya noticed no matter how hard she tried to hide them with a smile. She wished she could help, do something and for once feel useful towards her, but Belladonna obviously didn't trust her with anything. Could she blame her though?No. If she were in her shoes, she would do the same. She wouldn't trust her, not after every scheme she and her mother had pulled to take her to where she was today. She would trust no one. But her sister cared, her coldness couldn't hide it.Aniya was sure that in a way, she was the reason she was st
Trigger Warning - Violence, blood. It might get a little murderous, please read with caution. ______Her heart raced with fear, but she refused to run this time, instead, she tried to search for this person who was terrorizing her.The low chiming of a bell could be heard and just like that, the dog ran towards her. Stupid Aniya!This dog would rip her into pieces because of her stupidity. But the dog didn't do that, instead, it ran past her, and like the most stupid person in Ignas, she chased it. Chased it!Why?Well, because she knew where it would be headed or rather, who it would go to. Today, she would discover the owner of this beast. Today, she would silence the one terrorizing her with the knowledge of her secret. The cloud darkened with heavy rain and within the shadows of the trees, she disappeared.The weight of her sacks became a burden, an obstacle in her chase, yet she pushed through the struggle (they were worth too much for her to just throw away), chasing the
Her hands trembled by her sides, and she slipped to the floor, crying as her body shuddered with tears. She didn't know how long she had been crying but when she was done, Zesika and her son were gone, believing that the rain had caught up with her in the market. It was still raining. By Ignas, what an attitude.Quickly, she stood up and cleaned the room. Took a bath and pretended that this had never happened. She decided not to step out of her house that day so that whatever was triggering the thing in her would not come in contact with her again. That dog. That person. Until she could figure things out, she wouldn't leave this place. She didn't want to bring harm to anyone.Her plan would have gone alright, but then, once again, there was a knock on her door. She froze, hoping whosoever it was would go away. "Aniya, are you home?"Her eyes went wide beneath her veil, because she knew that voice. Belladonna?!Oh no.If this had been any other time but now, she would have b
Aniya woke up in her bed. Her heart raced with fear the moment she remembered what had happened yesterday, she had lost control to "it". She jumped to her feet, as her body trembled, and found a mirror searching for any sign of the blood of another. She found none and that made her scared even more. In fact, she realized that the dress she was wearing was different from the one she was in when her Sister Bell had paid her a visit.Now, that was a cause for more panic. She did notice that she had a cut around the base of her neck though, down to her chest. That seemed to not be healing and it hurt terribly, but that wasn't what she was worried about right now.She needed to find out if she had attacked her sister last night; needed to know if she was still alive. Quickly, she grabbed a black scarf and tied it around her neck then she put on her veil, before rushing to the Village Head's house. She decided to take "everyone's road" because it would lead her to Lytio's house faste
Boots pounded above while below, Aniya's heart was pounding in her chest. The search had been quick but to Aniya it felt like it had gone on forever. It felt like she could hear every movement they made, everything they disassembled to conduct the search, every single thing they took out of place. Her mind replayed all the times she had returned home with blood on her dress and how she had neatly disposed of them as if she had known this moment would come. However, for the times she had just woken up and met herself in clean clothes, she was scared. Had she neatly disposed of the evidence of those times too or had the thing that usually possessed her carried out a messy clean? For this, Aniya was afraid. "The monster has been here?" Zesika said once again, looking around absolutely worried. "You need to leave this house once they are over. Come and stay in the guest quarters in my house. You cannot stay here. What if the monster comes back?"Aniya appreciated Zesika's worry and
Her stomach rumbled, but it was quiet, and for the sake of her dignity, she hoped that he hadn't heard it. “You don't need the sun, you need food; I know a place.”“Get out of my sun.”“I’ll take you there.” Quickly she was on her feet, his arm along her waist to keep her stable. “Are you even listening or are you just deliberately ignoring me?”“Deliberately ignoring you.” “What? I expect the elderly to behave with more sense,” she jabbed, annoyed with his interference. “There are no elderly here.”In a flash, he is with Arlo. Then before she could tell, they were before a table that must have been prepared for them only moments ago. She was dizzy from the speed but the lovely aroma in the air could not be mistaken; there was food here. She felt Ikrus push her into a chair and she took her seat, blinking to regain her stability and clear vision. When she finally did, she looked around. They were in a kind of glass room with flowers on the ceiling. The table before her was smal
She cleared her throat, changing the topic. “Is my age a problem for you, Ikrus?”He sucked in a deep breath, looking away, still thinking about why he had brought her and Arlo here - still trying to figure out his thoughts. “No. I was merely surprised, that is all.” “I’m not bothered either.” She leaned closer to him, a hair’s breadth between them, catching him off guard with her action. “Don’t worry,” she skimmed her fingers over his hair and he stilled, forcing himself not to move as more of her fragrance consumed his air. “I have always fancied old men.”What?!Old men?!Old men where?!“I’m not old,” he said, clearly offended. “You are thirty-two,” she said as she lay down and closed her eyes. “Exactly. I am not old.”She felt his shadow over her and she sighed, wanting the warmth of the sun on her skin once again. “You are thirty-two… and blocking the sun.”“That is not old at all.” He sounded like he was losing his mind, but his voice was leveled. She shrugged nonchalantly
She turned to him sharply, wheels turning dangerously in her head already to come up with a lie, her lungs clogging with fear, only for her to discover that he wasn't looking at her but at someone else. “Look! Arlo is walking!” He declared in hushed excitement. Aniya rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath of relief, tucking away the poison bottle. He didn't catch her, she could still kill him. “Arlo can walk.”“For long distances like that?” He turned to her, surprised. “Yes.”“Oh.”“In fact, we must redesign the room to accommodate him. He keeps on trying to pull things down.”Ikrus frowned. In a flash, he was holding Arlo who was strongly protesting against being held. He certainly wanted to play on the ground. “How old is the little one?”“Arlo,” she said, emphasizing his name, subtly ensuring that he wouldn't call him “little one” again, “will be two soon.”Ikrus nodded, taking the information in as he easily moved Arlo from one hand to another in his struggle to get down. “H
Aniya told her about the strange lily she found in her coin bag while telling her how she had come by it, although leaving out part of the poison, while watching to see if the witch had told Oana about what she was searching for. It didn't seem like the witch told her anything. “I have seen something like that in my room before,” Aniya said. “I’m scared of what it means and I am afraid—” she looked over to Arlo for the umpteenth time, “of harm coming to Arlo or me.” Oana was very concerned and she said she would tell the Alpha and Luna about it so that they could give orders for the Pack House to be thoroughly searched. Then Aniya asked, “What about last night? Why did the sun suddenly come up and merge with the moon?” She rushed to the window. “Everything seems normal now.”“Elder Superior said it was a result of something that happened in another realm. It is none of our concern; our Realm stays unaffected, and all the portals remain sealed.” Aniya panicked.Another realm? Wha
That night, after they had both eaten, Alaris took Belladonna to a nearby river, where a burning incense was placed on a leaf pad to float away. “It is to let go of the past and begin anew,” he has explained. It was something that helped Belladonna even though she hadn't known she needed it. Her heart felt lighter and with a more positive perspective, she left the river bank.The Belarion Rebellion and the rest of the Cave had fully returned now. Shortly after, Belladonna and Alaris started trying to create the army. They were once again under an open sky. Nyka watched from a distance, just like every one of the dragon people had been advised to do. Her father was right next to her, he wasn't supposed to be here. He was still injured from the torture he had received from the White King’s warriors that had captured him but he was terrified that if he as much took a step from her, the Heir would seize her and kill her. “What do I do?” Belladonna asked, trying to shake off the press
[LYCANS’ REALM]The coins vibrated on the floor, clanking as they added to the slight trembling she could feel around her. Aniya’s heart jumped. Quickly, she dashed to her bed and grabbed Arlo, taking him swiftly into her arms. She could hear a bell ringing from a distance. Voices of terrified people seeping into the air, even with her ordinary human hearing, the building chaos felt loud to her.What was going on? Before she could make it out of the room, though, she felt someone sweep her away, and in a flash, she was in an enclosed space, an arm around her, so that she held Arlo between them. She knew it was Ikrus; with such speed and the feeling of momentarily ease that went through her, it could be no one else. She hated the Matebond for many things but for this little ease that she could feel right now, she appreciated it a little. Even if this relief was a lie that everything was alright, it was better than the sheer terror she had been experiencing.The rumbling continued,
Finally, they were under an open sky.The Moon was full in its glory above them. “It is a perfect night,” Ny'ka said before intertwining her with Belladonna's.“Close your eyes.”She obeyed. “Think of the Bearer, of her grave, of her presence, and connect with her.”The Bearer. Belladonna allowed her mind to roam, remembering the silver-haired woman she would always dream about. She had never seen her face so there was no way she could see that. The image was blurry and soon it was nothing but darkness. “Open the windows, open the door,” she could hear Alaris' voice. Then she remembered her way of sealing the windows and the doors of her mind. So many things were happening in her mind. She could see the path to the castle, down to that room, to that sarcophagus, Then she was back in that room again - with the windows sealed and the doors locked.There was a white beam outside the window and a woman with long silver hair that shadowed her face.“Open the doors and the windows!”
“Don't kill me please, I believe now. You are the Heir, you are the savior. I see it.” Ny'ka begged. They were in one of the underground rooms, away from the people of the Belarion Rebellion and those of the Cave. This was something Alaris didn't want many to know about.“Please, take my life instead and spare my daughter,” Leader Tyrek begged. He knew what crimes Nyka had committed, the Priest told him everything.“You tried to kill me,” Alaris said to Ny'ka who was still on her knees, begging, tears running down her cheeks.“It was a mistake. It won't happen again.”Alaris smiled. “It won't.”He held her wrist and pulled her up, but while he did that, he crushed her bones, and pressing his flames into her skin, he healed her, just like he had seen it happen with Nightshade and that stranger in the Castle during their escape.It was an excruciating moment for Ny'ka and it didn't help that he did it again and again and again…By the time he was done, she was back on her knees, breat
The moment the ambush came upon them, some guards had taken Ny'ka and discreetly escaped from the scene. They were headed to the White King’s Castle to be highly rewarded for bringing to him the daughter of the leader of the revolution against him. They were supposed to take Leader Tyrek along too, but it seemed the guards who had him in captivity had been attacked. There would be much to tell the King upon getting to the castle. While they silently snuck away, Ny'ka found a way to free herself from the bondage and attacked them. She would rather die than have them take her alive; it was looking like that was the only option for her until she felt she had until Alaris' showed up. He descended from the sky with his massive leathery wings and he saved her; he killed the guards and swept her up into the air in his arms. In that moment, she saw what the others saw in him. A saviour.In that moment, something changed. “You saved me,” she said, the wind almost stealing her words away