Chapter 50Kyle'You're the best person ever.'I was someone's best person ever. Even if that someone was my king's wife and the person I was to protect. She was always touching me; something that people didn't do often... Women didn't do often. And she was not an ordinary woman. She was someone's wife. My king's wife.The more I thought of her, the more complex things seemed to be. I looked down on the hand that she grabbed without permission. The hand that she held and didn't let go of until I told her to. I caressed the palm with my other hand, then lifted it to my nose.Her fragrance still lingered on my hand. Vanilla. That was what she smelled like. With a flowery hint, due to the time she spent in the garden today. She seemed so happy, despite the horrid things that had happened to her here.Despite the number of times that I had failed to protect her. I was a good-for-nothing guard but it seemed like she preferred me that way. Hah... "What are you doing?" Someone said as the d
Chapter 51HopeKyle and I were sneaking out of the castle. I was dressed in commoner clothes which consisted of a dark cream long-sleeved top and a long brown apron. My hair was packed into an untidy bun and I wore a heavy cloak to cover myself.Kyle was dressed in a different fashion. I hadn't seen what he was wearing underneath his own cloak but I could tell that it would be drastically different from the uniform I always saw him in. Somehow, that thought excited me.We were going to use the fence at the back of the garden to leave. It was dark and only a half moon was out, so it would be quite hard to sneak out. Not only because of that but because of the knights patrolling around. They were never this much during the day, so how come they were hundreds of them at night?It was like they knew I was planning to sneak out today and posed as barriers in my way. But no matter, I trusted Kyle to get me out of this prison. He was going to take me to a festival in the village but only fo
Chapter 52 Hope Life here in Moratia has been peaceful in the absence of my husband and his comrades. Or should I say too peaceful? That was if such a thing existed. The goons still hadn't returned from their travels even though two weeks had passed. I have been living too freely that I was always scared that while doing something I wasn't supposed to do, Darius would pop up and catch me in the act. But that didn't make me act any less carefree. I visited Amara more frequently than I ought to by giving Gwendolyn impossible tasks to keep her away. I got on with my training and hung around Kyle's friends, who might've been wary of me when the commander was around but treated me fairly now in her absence. I also got to sneak out of the castle a lot after that day Kyle and I went to the festival. He had eased up on shielding me from the outside world after letting me have a sweet taste of it. I appreciated him so much. I have visited bars, plays, markets, eaten street food, so on. Dar
Chapter 53HopeI was freshened up and ready to let loose with the soldiers all while Kyle was voicing out his opposition to my decision. Of course his words were going through one ear and leaving through the other. According to him, it was unbecoming of the wife of the king to frolic with mere soldiers.I begged to defer. If I didn't frolic with mere soldiers, who was I to frolic with then? The nobles? Members of the council? Ha, I think not."Is there any way I can convince you not to come?" Kyle said as we spotted the bonfire at a fair distance and a large group of men and a few women (soldiers) lounging around."Too late," I told my guard, adjusting my hair properly into the messy top bun it was tied in.Kyle huffed out a sigh and I couldn't help but smile and prod his side playfully."Everything is going to be fine. He's not here. And even he was, he wouldn't care," I told Kyle, referring to Darius.It was an obvious lie. Darius would've kill me and the soldiers if he were here.
Chapter 54Hope"And he said, 'Will you take your sister's place?' I was so surprised! I-I wanted to say no but how could I have said no to such a scary person? I foolishly nodded my head. That, my friends, is why I stand before you today!" I explained to the soldiers. "I remember that day. You even cried when it was time to seal the bond with blood," a soldier, who I couldn't remember the name of, spoke up and I nodded in agreement."Whaddya mean?! Of course I cried. Did you see how sharp that knife was. I never want to do such a thing again! Never!" I emphasized, then jumped on one of the empty logs of wood and started to walk on it while tilting uncontrollably since the world was spinning a bit.Ever since I drank that sweet ale, the world has been spinning and a lot of soldiers became twins and triplets. How wonderful that so many of them were here and listening to my stories. Whereas, Kyle was sitting at the far back behind the soldiers, exactly where I had told him to sit a fe
Chapter 55HopeWhat a horrible dream I had. I dreamt that I had been partying with the soldiers and was making fun of Darius, then he appeared and looked like he was going to kill me. A horrible dream indeed. I opened my eyes and saw that I was back in my room. "Phew," I breathed out, taking a sitting position on my bed."You're awake," someone said."Argh!" My heart flew out of my chest in surprise. I turned to check who just spoke and saw Darius seated on a chair beside the bed with his legs and arms crossed. There was also an expression on his face that I couldn't decipher.Oh no. It wasn't a dream. Darius had really barged into me singing a song about him. And what happened after that? Did I faint? I think I did. So how did I get here? Did he carry me here? Oh my gods, no. This couldn't be happening to me."You've become more notorious in my absence, haven't you?" Darius began saying.I started recalling everything that had happened in his absence. I hadn't done that much. I was
Chapter 56Hope"... And so I told him that the only way I would ever sleep with him was if he was to coronate me and make me queen." "My lady, I don't think this is something you should be sharing with me," Kyle forced out from his mouth and attempted to stand up from the bed. I pressed one of my hands on his shoulders to stop him."If I don't tell you, who am I supposed to tell?" He didn't have any comebacks for that question so I went on."Of course he ignored me and acted like I had asked for the most ridiculous thing in existence. I knew that chances of him saying, 'sure, why not', to that demand were slim to none, so I dropped the matter and moved on.""Can I go now?" Kyle asked.I glowered at him while saying, "No, you can't. I'm not done yet." Kyle let out an exasperated breath though his nose after I said those words, but I ignored his frustration and continued talking to him."He left for the trip after that. Yesterday, he told me that he was going to get me coronated. And
Chapter 57HopeMy coronation was in four days. It was neither a trick being played on me by Darius nor was it a game. The entire castle was buzzing with news of my coronation. Earlier today, I was told to write an invitation letter to my parents so they would come for it. I wondered what the two of them thought of me now. Did they think that I had stolen what was never meant to mine? Were they proud of me for seizing this opportunity? I desperately wanted to know.Since I'd gotten married, I haven't communicated with either of them. I had no clue what was going on in the human lands. Whenever I started thinking about my parents, of course thoughts of Light swooped in.Was she communicating with our parents? Were they aware of her being the leader of rebels? Were they part of her plans? Was everything that was happening to me part of Light's plans? Did she run away fully knowing that I would take her place and get married to Darius? Did she want me to get coronated as the queen of Mo
An excerpt from the diary of the last Vitalis Princess to ever marry a Lycan King:My name is Hope Vitalis-Moratis. I am the last Vitalis princess to get married to a Lycan King. Hundreds of years ago, humans were the only superior species on Earth. However, Lycans suddenly invaded the earth and dominated humans—this is what is written in the history books.The truth is that, more than thousands of years ago, humans and Lycans lived in peace. But humans grew afraid and envious of Lycans who were more talented, stronger, and powerful than them. They all put out their hands to drive away Lycans and surpress them within a hidden kingdom known as Moratia. Many years after, a Lycan King decided to change history by coming out of the shadows and breaking out from the hidden Kingdom, making it known to everyone.The king did this with the help of a powerful witch who only appeared when the situation suited her. Thus, this particular Lycan King and his descendants punished humans for drivin
HopeI could sense everything and nothing at the same time. I could hear everything and nothing. I could feel everything and nothing. All this without opening my eyes.As I finally pried my eyes open, I saw a little crack on the ceiling above my head. I have been living in this chamber for months, but this was my first time seeing this crack. Every single morning when I woke up and looked at this ceiling, I have never seen the crack before. Where did it come from?I turned my head around. I could hear thousands of footsteps from outside. I felt like I could hear the footsteps of people outside the castle as well.My entire body felt light, as I thought I could rise up and fly. At the same it was hard for me to lift my body up. But once I managed to do just that, I realized something."I should be dead." I said out loud.I looked down to my stomach. I was wearing a blue night dress. I rolled it up to check my stomach, and there was no mark of the stab wound that Light had designed on
Hope "What are you doing?" I asked Light, trying my best to keep my voice leveled and hide the fear I felt in my chest."You are not ready to join me. Without you being with me, I can't let other people have you and use you against me." Light explained with a detached tone."Are you crazy?! You want to kill me just because I don't believe in your nonsense and cruel actions!? Light, what is wrong with you?!" I exploded at her, but she wasn't fazed by my words."You are a disappointment to all Vitalis princesses." With that said, Light lunged for me. The angle she used was well thought out, and I wouldn't have enough time to dodge the knife even if I attempted to move.I closed my eyes and waited for the impact. However, it did not come. But I heard a clank and a thud sound. I opened my eyes to see that Light was on the floor, and that the Morati knife was at the far corner of the kitchen. This scene was not as surprising as seeing Thaddeus in front of me, standing like a shield."Wh-w
Hope "A way to redeem myself?" I asked Light slowly.Light nodded, the light in her eyes brightening even further. "Your child... The child you have with that monster. It could guarantee peace forever. After you give birth to it, we will work to permanently separate his human and beast side, killing the latter off. Then follow through to do the same with every other surviving Lycan to exterminate all beasts."My eyes widened in surprise as I didn't bother to hide the shock in my expression whilst staring at Light."Light, are you listening to yourself? What do you think you're talking about? Even without the child and this lunatic idea of yours, there would have been peace forever! That was what the treaty was for! You-""Oh, stop that! Don't talk as though that nonsense treaty was fair to humans. We basically became a different type of slaves to these monsters because of that treaty!" Light exclaimed."A treaty that we, humans, came up with!" I fired at Light.If she wanted to prete
Hope After receiving the report from Orion, everything happened so fast that I didn't get a chance to understand anything. One second, Darius and I were sitting next together, the next, he was locking me inside my room for protection and leaving the castle with a large army of soldiers.My heart was in my mouth, I couldn't breathe. Badum. Badum. Badum. Badum.I could feel my heartbeat in every part of my body. Why was I so afraid? Why did I feel there was something terrible waiting for me? I managed to get myself a glass of water but it did not calm me down a single bit. I looked out the window. The army who had been waiting around the castle on standby were no longer there.They had been moved to the scene of action. As for the few soldiers remaining to protect the castle's gates, I couldn't make them out as they were too far away from my line of vision.I knew that this castle was safe, but I still felt like there was trouble lurking around. "Darius isn't here anymore." I told m
HopeToday was the day of the Blood Moon. But everything was weird. Things were too peaceful. It was like the calm before the storm. From morning till this very evening, there have been no reports of rebels, attacks, riots, or anything.However, that didn't mean that things were fine. Light might as well be bidding her time until the Blood Moon was fully out. From the room's window, I stared at the red moon hanging on the dark night sky that was shrouded with dark clouds.It was seriously ominous, to the point where I got chills just by looking at it. However, if things went according to plan, I would be fine. And I would also carry out a personal plan of mine.Soldiers and guards were stationed all round the kingdom and this very castle. We were prepared for anything. Yet, I still felt like we were missing something.I couldn't place my finger on what exactly it was, but I knew that something was wrong somewhere. If I could bring this to Darius' attention, maybe he would do something
Kyle "This is all your fault!" I accused Thomas, cutting off his air supply.To this, he smiled maniacally, but there was a hint of regret and guilt in his eyes. He didn't hide them well."You're a fool. Did you expect me to blindly follow your commands and help that queen of yours?" Thomas spat.I tightened my grip on his throat. "Don't you dare!"Thomas coughed and said, "I did my best. She wanted to be stabbed. So I stabbed her. What are you getting so worked up about?" I wanted to kill the fool right now. But I couldn't. At the end of the day, it was all my fault. I flung him away and turned my back to him.I shouldn't have asked him to be the one to fake stab the queen. I should've done so myself. I should've obeyed and sealed my feelings to myself. Instead, I'd done something stupid—placed my trust on a fool and betrayed the trust of someone dear to me.Fuck!I kicked the air, not knowing what to vent on. I heard a mocking scoff from behind me. I was forced to turn around and
Hope The baby was fine? How could the baby be fine? I had taken an abortion tonic. I had also gotten stabbed in the stomach. How could the baby still be fine after all of that??"The baby's fine? Did a physician check me and-" "Don't worry, Hope." Darius said with soothing tone, placing a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "The physician checked. I even had other renowned physicians check as well. The baby is fine. Everything is in order. You shouldn't worry so much."This child is a royal Lycan. Nothing can harm him. Everything will be fine." A royal Lycan. The kid growing inside of me was a royal Lycan. I had forgotten about that. How could that important fact slip from my mind?This child was not a regular child. It had the Moratis blood. The only thing that could end its life was the Morati knife.And that was in Light's hands! Shit!"What happened? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Darius quickly came closer, questioning me with a worried tone.I must have worn my disappointment an
Hope I was still alive. Barely. Surprisingly. But still alive. As soon as I opened my eyes, I let out a sigh of relief. Pain was not fun at all."Your Majesty, you're awake!" I heard someone say.I didn't have the strength to sit up from the bed yet and look at the person. I could only shift my eyes. I saw Kyle already down on his knees on the side of my bed. I instantly managed to find a way to frown."Did you plan to kill me?" I asked, my voice was void of anger and sadness. My intent was to show annoyance and anger, but I didn't have the strength to portray those emotions. "Of course not, your Majesty. The person I hired to... do it, did more than I instructed. But I've disciplined him very well and ensured never to-" "Are you mad?" I cut Kyle off.His throat bobbed, he didn't respond."I ask again, are you mad, Kyle Arsen?!" "... No, your Majesty." Kyle said after a beat."Then why did you let another person in on the plan!? Weren't you supposed to be the one to stab me?! Why