"A black gown? My Lady, you can not. The Choosing Ceremony is today."Ceremony? Belladonna scoffed, internally while she looked at herself in the mirror.'sounds more like a funeral.'She had cried so much for this past one week that she now felt absolutely drained and empty. Her eyes were red and puffy. If anything were to sadden her right now, she would have no tears to shed.After her outburst in the he presence of the King, she had decided to stay in her room without coming out for anything. Her servants Plea to Lady Kestra on her behalf had been denied, not that she cared to begin with, and the rumours were flying around that the King wouldn't pardon her disrespect in any form.Rumours said that she would indeed be a dragon's meal by the end of the Ceremony, which was to happen tonight.Her punishment was sure.The rumours also conveyed that Lady Piper would most likely be the bride as Lady Kestra was most pleased with her performance at her dinner test.As much as Belladonna did
Once again, her mind went into a blur. Her environment fading into a distance while she remained stunned by the crazy thing that had just happened. How was it that she was the crowned the Bride? How was it even possible?Her mind was so occupied that by the time she realized that she had been brought into a room that wasn't hers, the guards were already gone and the door had been shut firmly. She jumped to her feet with a start, looking around the red painted room, it stung her eyes somehow considering red wasn't even really her colour to begin with.She yanked at her hair, pacing around the room, mumbling inaudible frightened words underneath her breath. At that moment, she heard horses neighing, a carriage driving out of the castle and heavy gates been pulled open from a distance away.She looked around the room quickly searching for a window, pulling open all the red curtains she laid her hands upon till she eventually from one with just the right view.From here, she could see
When next she opened her eyes she was greeted by Raquel's teary face. "My Lady." Raquel fell on her feet by her bedside. "You made me so--so--" more tears. "So worried!" She finally blurted out. Belladonna blinked, just trying to catch up with the world after returning from the land of sleep. Then she remembered, her eyes widened as the memories flooded in.She jumped with a start, looking around like a frightened deer, her head ringing from how swiftly she had moved."I slept!" She exclaimed like it was the strangest thing that had ever happened to her. Her stomach growled at that moment and she fisted her hand against it, leaning forward slightly. "I'm hungry too! Arrgh, I'm so hungry."Raquel's eyes lit up, she rushed up on her feet, stretching her hand to drag the trolley of food she had come in with. The wonderful aroma seeped into Belladonna's nostrils and it took everything in her to be patient for Raquel to hand her the plate instead of yanking it right out of her hand."I k
Red wasn't a color she particularly fancied because she believed it always clashed with her eyes, but she didn't complain about that when the dress Raquel had picked for her turned out to be a long red dress. She had bigger problems right now, like finding out why the King had sent for her and why he was been absolutely nice to her.There were so many servants in the castle and they all seem to be going around minding their business, while Colin led her to wherever it was the King was waiting for her, lighting up the way with the torch in his hand.Colin led her down so many dark stairs that she started to suspect that he might just be leading her to her death.As much as she had found the idea of death pleasing yesterday, today however, she felt totally different about it. She now had questions that demanded answers and to get those answers, she had to stay alive.They took another round of stairs lower and the whiff of a disgusting smell in the air stung her nose.Finally Colin sto
The strange caring royal gestures continued, from the King inviting her for breakfast, lunch and dinner every now and then, to ensuring that she was alright, to her going back to spend the night in his chambers because he wouldn't let her go back to her room.She could at least bare with that, considering the fact that he was never in his chambers anyway.Still, Belladonna was completely at a loss. She had no idea what the King was doing nor what she would have to do come one year.Was that thing she had to do, the same thing the former Brides had done in the past and failed? She was certain that they had failed because if they hadn't failed, he wouldn't keep being in a need of another Bride. If what they were to do was so hard that all the past brides had failed, then what was the assurance that her own would be different. In fact, it was most likely that she would fail too!The other thing that had been making her completely restless and worried was the question of 'what happened
As Belladonna would have it, Lady's Kestra bold request of her liking to the King was nothing compared to the strange things that happened afterwards.The invitation for dinner, lunch and breakfast became even more consistent. The time spent in the dinning hall became longer as the King would always want to exchange small talks with her. Lady Kestra was always coming to her, to help with her dress and hair to make she looked even more beautiful before going down to the Dinning Hall. All while she talked on and on about how wonderful the King was.Wherever this was heading to, Belladonna didn't know, nevertheless she kept jotting it all down, hoping that soon she would be able to finally connect all the dots and it would make sense.At a point, with how much care and grand gestures the King was showering her, she had written down Niti's theory as one of the possible outcomes of this strange situation.After all, it was starting to look like he indeed wanted a Queen, a marriage. But it
Had anything strange happened that night?Well...Despite Raquel mumblings and jitterings on their way back from the room like something terrible had befallen them, nothing strange had happened that night.At least none that she knew of."You didn't touch anything, the King doesn't have to know of this. N-no one saw, no one can say they saw. If he... if h-he doesn't ask and you don't tell, that is not lying.""Silence, Raquel. Your incessant mumbling is scaring the Lady." Colin had cautioned and for once Belladonna was grateful for that. Immediately she got back to the King's chambers, they bade her goodnight and she shut the door.She had fallen asleep in fear that something might cease her in her sleep and kill her. Earlier, she had tried to tell them that she had indeed touched a couple of things in the room and even admired a gem, but Raquel had been too wrapped up in her worries and Colin had been too focused on his own questions getting answered, to care about any other answer
For days now, she continued reading 'Heart of Fire', finding it hard to put down, taking it everywhere and not paying so much attention to everything or disturbing her servants with questions as she used to. This wasn't just because of how interesting the book was but because of the King's comments that was thrown here and there in the book. Those were the ones that kept her the most interested. Some of the comments she would argue against, some she would laugh about, and some she would nod her head in agreement, like he was right there in front of her, talking to her as they read the book together. Another thing was that reading his comments made her feel like she knew him. Through the comments, she grew to know some of the things he like, a few things he had done in the past and fewer of the things he hated. Not just that, each of his comment usually ended with him asking about her opinion on what he had discussed and she would reply. Talking on and on like he was right in front o
“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