The hand that clamped tightly over her mouth was sweaty and a little shaky, yet too firm under her quick attempt to yank it away. The saltiness of sweat that jammed on her tongue as her teeth locked on the flesh, was disgusting, but she was ready to withstand anything to ensure she wasn't taken away from the palace or harmed right here. The threat of the villager rang in her mind over and over again, making her struggles increasingly frantic and rough, before a strained voice cut through her thoughts, and seeped into her ears though her struggles."...Raquel!" Came a painful squeak. "Pl..please stop! It is yo--ur ma--id, My Lady!"Raquel?She loosened her teeth's grip around her flesh, as she stepped back quickly, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her gown. She could still taste Raquel's sweat and nothing about that did she find pleasant. Panting from her earlier struggles and still feeling very on edge with the dark, Belladonna's hands moved on the surface of her dressing table
It was spiral line, that extended to three different angles, curled at each end. It was small, black. She had never seen it before until tonight."You have it too." She looked up at Raquel, but when the oblivious look in her eyes didn't change, she added, "the tattoo.""Oh, that." Raquel chuckled. "Everyone has it." She squinted her eyes, looking at Belladonna as if searching for something that should be there, before she relented and looked back at her quizzically. "You don't?"Belladonna dropped her hand from Raquel's shoulder, shaking her head. "No.""B-but everyone has it." A grin stretched across her lips, one too wide "Once a child is born, he gets the tattoo. It is a sign that you are one of us.""One of you. You mean the people?""Yes, people of Ignas. I thought everyone had it." Raquel moved closer, her eyes searching desperately this time, the urge to find so immerse that she held Belladonna's wrists in her shaky hands before dropping them. "You don't have it in Inaymi?"B
Her search was futile, although she should have known right from the start that it would lead to a dead end. It was an absolute wishful thinking to believe that the ceremic she had used on the Bride Thief many months ago could be retrieved or even found to begin with.She couldn't even remember where she had put it that morning, she couldn't remember if she had seen it after coming back to the room that very day. It was like the broke piece had just faded into, like the stains of the rainbow river on her dress, but that was impossible.His blood couldn't have been an illusion. It was real, she had felt that it was. So the only explanation for why the ceremic piece was missing, was if Raquel had thrown it away when she was cleaning her room. Belladonna huffed. Stepping away from the mess she had made as a result of her fruitless search. Her clothes had all been pulled down from the hangers and searched thoroughly, her drawers were in no better shape. She had indeed made a mess an
The sound of birds singing from a distance away sipped into the room. The cold of the early morning, the aftermath of the dew, the raising of the morning sun... and those birds again! Must be because of the field that was just below her window. The only sound disturbing the morning wasn't just the birds though, but the musical instruments from a distance away, most likely the Temple.The four walls of that worshipping place had known no rest since it had been declared that the King was yet again in need of a Bride and it was Inaymi's turn to provide one. The Choosing Ritual was in a week, the weddings would be unending till the last moment they had to match to the village center. Belladonna forced her eyes opened, but all she could see was darkness, the smell of old and dusty book filled her lungs.Ah!She had slept with a book on her face. Her bed frame creaked as she sat up slowly, feeling exhausted, as of she had slammed herself into a wall before dropping on her bed. The boo
There was something she was trying to remember but just couldn't, like a memory she couldn't quite reach into. She smiled, her smile shaky, giving away how nervous she was."His whole family will soon be at the Temple." Aniya continued in a sing song voice. "You'll be the wife of the next village Head! Fortune for all of us.""Stop being so materialistic. Just be happy for your sister.""I am!" Aniya words were jumbled with her giggles.At that moment, they heard someone rushed into the room, the door creaking before it was slammed shut."There you are, Jasper." Her mother declared, her voice light with care."Bell's dress." He smiled, holding the box in her direction.Belladonna stepped forward, opening the box, and reaching for the white dress in it."With all the correction you said you wanted." Jasper added. Her hand grasp a piece of paper along with the gown, and she took that out instead, reading what was written on it in a jammed handwriting.'For my Electric Blue Eyed Bride.
Belladonna staggered away from his grip, leaving him at the podium, while she looked around at the guests and families that had gone unbelievably still around them, their faces no longer held happy smiles, neither did shocked gasps slip out of their mouths and fill the temple at what the lovely bride had done to the unsuspecting groom.They just suddenly froze.All of them.Her gaze snapped back to Lytio, who was brushing his finger lightly over the cut on his face, blood trickling down his neck and dissolving into the collar of his white wedding robe. His demeanour, unmoved.Seeing the blood, he looked up at her, an unreadable expression in his blank eyes. He should be groaning in complete agony but he wasn't. For someone with that huge, fresh, bleeding cut, he was too calm.Slowly, his brows knitted together, his forehead creased into a frown. Then, it happened.A force exploded in-between them, pushing them both back, like some invisible entity made to rip them apart. The people
Although she already had his blood, Kestra wasn't back yet to be able to do her witchy thing on it, and she felt that being able to describe how he looked like might help the King in his findings. This would be the last time she would allow herself to dream of him and she was trying to get everything she could from this one time risk."I can't. I am--""Weak." She said, her voice laced with mockery and he hissed, almost sounding like a snake.Wasn't that what he was anyways?A snake."What even can you do?"The Bride Thief did not miss her belittling tone in her voice but he was too weak to fight it.Good. At least now he could feel how it was to be consumed by a feeling he had no control over, something he was forced to feel."I can show you the truth. Let's make a blood oath." He rose his head, looking at her and blood dripped from beneath the mask, unto the sand.Belladonna scoffed, staring at him through slanted eyes, to see if he was weak enough to at least show the slightest fea
A knock. Finally out of the bathroom and dressed in her plain, silk, A shape, gold dress with blue designed lace, tapped around the neckline, Belladonna swung the door open, expecting Raquel as usual but instead there were guards at the door, with different boxes in their hands, stacked on top one another, tall enough to cover some of their faces.As if the helmets they had to wear weren't already enough trouble for them to begin with.What was going on?"My Lady. You are up already. Good."Raquel flashed her a smile. "What is going on?""Gifts from the people, from last night. Please, can we come in?""Of course," she stood aside so that they could come in and the guards rushed in, putting the gifts at one side of the room, till they finally put down the last box, then finally left."This is all so much." Belladonna said with a gasp.She had never received so much gifts in her life, it made her temporarily forget her sadness on her earlier wasted efforts.Raquel squealed with excite
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