The world around me felt warm yet distant as my vision went in and out of focus. A floating feeling surrounded my body in the dark abyss around me, letting some far away piece of my mind know that I was asleep, yet conscious and aware. Colors soon swirled into view and a landscape was painted before me. A large flat piece of land manifested beneath me sprouting grass between my toes as I landed on it. The night sky was littered with stars, all gleaming and blinking at me as I looked around. Dark trunks appeared on either side of me, their leaves shimmering into existence until I stood in the middle of a large ‘U’. And at the opening a silhouette started to form, emerging from a small twinkling star and growing quickly.
The shadow grew lighter, its form shifting into that of a woman that piece by piece changed before me, taking in color to its dark form. Her legs and arms came in first, bo
My blood ran cold, my body numb to all outside influence as Ivy’s words taunted me. I fought against them, not wanting to believe that my brother had been dragged to the Palace Prison. My knees locked and my body soon lost its will to stand, my body tilting to the side as Ivy held me, stopping me from hitting the floor.“I need to see him.” I muttered, brushing past her and towards the doors.She had to pull me back and remind me that I was in nothing but a nightgown, urging me to take deep breaths before I started getting ready. I tried doing what she said, tried to fill my lungs with air as she scampered around the room, pulling out pieces of my outfit. Still in a heavy fog of disbelief, I followed her orders, not really seeing what I was stepping into or what she had done to my hair. But when she was finished I shook the heaviness away from
After crying in front of Arden and finally calming myself, I left the Palace Prison and made my way back to my room, my mind and body numb to the world around me. As I neared the Queeness Palace, I ran into Prince Dorian who seemed to be upset about something. When he spotted me he stopped, turning his body towards me before walking up to me.“Amara.” He breathed, his eyes filled with worry as they searched my face. “Did you go see your brother?”I nodded, still feeling numb and overwhelmed with everything.“I’m sorry Amara.” He muttered, surprising me as I looked at his crestfallen face. “If I could have done anything to help Arden and you, I would have… but my father is watching everything that the Commander does with this investigation… it could make t
The next few days passed by in a blur, with Dorian and I meeting up nearly every night and exploring a new piece of the Fafner Palace as well as getting the announcement of the next challenge.On the first night we agreed to meet in front of The All Mothers statue that was at the center of a grand fountain behind the Central Palace. I had gotten there before him and turned to look at the Goddess while I waited. She was in a flowing gown that looked like a river of stone with a crown of flowers and stars in her eyes. On her right shoulder was a small dragon with lavender eyes and its tail wrapped around the All Mothers neck. Another small little dragon with teal eyes was encircling her left ankle. And two little dragons were nestled in her arms in front of her with one nearly standing on its sibling. The one beneath the other had icy blue eyes and the other had red eyes. Each one of the dragons not only rep
The fight felt endless as I let go of my burning bow and unsheathed the sword, my amethyst flames consuming the blade. I had raced out and ended those that were cutting into the dragon as he fought those that Shifted. But their numbers were large and a dragon could only move so quickly in his massive size. He was bleeding deeply on his back after a handful of Shifters managed to get onto him, hanging on after he’d shook off a few others. So I raced up his wing and drew the sword, slicing, cutting and shoving anyone that dared to attack from behind.Some managed to dig their claws into me. Some managed to knock me to my knees. But every single one of the Shifters that fought to climb up the dragon was cut down. I swing and slice and cut into each one of them no matter how much I bled or the pain I felt. I knew that I had to get them off of Dorian because they would manage to gravely hurt him if they l
*Prince Dorian*After the fighting I became consumed in the investigation, my desk overflowing with paperwork as my father and the Commander joined me in my office.Many files, names and backgrounds were pulled from those that had been arrested, revealing that a small number of the Royal Knights had been involved with the poisonings. Most of the other men looked to be Unbound to any Noble family or had a history of working for mercenaries, which left us at another dead end. This frustrated the Commander who was determined beyond normal means to capture the culprit that corrupted his men.We also found a few letters that had an unknown sender among the belongings of one of the dead men. In these letters there were clear instructions on who to frame at what time, what evidence to plant and who to target with the poiso
*Amara* I was still struggling with the glaring truth when I heard a knock at my door. Ivy walked over to answer it as I continued to pretend to read the book in my hands, my mind still fighting against my heart while my body remained restless. I had struggled to sleep after the chaotic realizations hit me, the emotions taking over and leaving me in a confused pile of tears and shallow breaths on my bed. “My Lady…” I turned as Ivy cautiously walked over to me, a worried look on her face as I managed to focus on her. “Who is it Ivy?” I asked her, closing the book and glancing at the partially opened door. But she didn’t get a chance to answer as the door was pushed aside and
A few days passed by after that tense and incredibly embarrassing day and I was once again dressing up for a challenge.Ivy had woken me up early and started getting everything ready for me, rushing around the room as she talked to herself. I bathed in a flower and oil infused tub. Had my arms and legs massaged while I lay in bed with a mask of leaves and oils on my face. My hair was treated and washed twice then combed and styled while I sat in my robe. A full hour was spent going back and forth between dresses and then another thirty minutes choosing accessories.By the time I was all dressed and stepping into my sitting room, I found Queen Avelia already waiting for me.She was sitting on the corner of the room on one of the seats to my dinette with a steaming cup of tea in front of her and breakfast already set
The next day I spent most of my morning in the garden with Ivy. Enjoying a nice calm walk through the flowers before returning to my room for some tea and sweets. But when I got to my sitting room I found my brother standing behind one of my loveseats and our father facing him on the opposite loveseat.Ivy quickly rushed around the room as she prepared our tea and called out for sweets while I took a seat across from my father. Arden quickly walked around the loveseat I sat on and took a seat beside me, never once moving his gaze away from our father.“Thank you for the sudden visit Father.” I said calmly, feeling the pure anger emanating from my brother beside me. “To what do we owe this… surprise?”“I just wanted to see how my children were doing.” He said, smiling softly
The chill in the air was biting as I walked through the garden with Lanalee. It had been so long since I was able to spend time with her and I knew that once my baby was born I would have even less time. So, even though Dorian wanted me to rest and keep warm within the Central Palace while he traveled with his father to the Capital, I wrapped myself up in a warm cloak and decided to take a walk. We were enjoying the gentle calm the winter breeze blew in when Calix appeared, running towards us in his own little cloak and boots. “Why are you out in the cold My Lady?” He asked me, his breath making little puffs of white blow out with his words. “Calix.” Lanalee chastised, shaking her head at her son. “I told you, it’s not ‘Lady’ anymore, it's Madam, or Your Majesty.” “Oh, right.” He bowed and corrected himself, maki
The flutters and kicks of my little baby increased as the day of our wedding came closer and closer. And Dorian would constantly stop what he was doing to place his hands over my round stomach, smiling when he’d feel our baby kicking against him. His mother had to kick him out of the office a few times so that I could focus on my lessons, making me laugh when he would pout as he walked away. On the morning of the big day, Ivy and Morina woke me up and helped me get ready. They prepared my bath and poured oils and flower petals into the water while other maids pulled out the dress and all the adornments that were going along with it. I was massaged, wrapped in silk and sprayed with perfumes. I was made to lay in bed with a mask of herbs and flowers on my face and forced to sit still for hours while my hair was treated and combed. A light coating of make-up was placed on me while my nails were polished and
I jumped out of bed the next morning, startling Ivy as she pulled out my dress for the day. I rushed towards the large mirror of my vanity and moved my hair out of the way, smiling broadly as the reflection of the Mark from the dream stared back at me. The happiness I felt spilled over to Ivy who cheered and squealed when I told her how the Mark appeared on me. And when I stepped out of my room I was quickly pulled into Dorian’s arms, laughing at his excitement. The Temple quickly spread the word on the Prophetic dream they had had, coming to look at the Marks on both our necks and discussing how wedding ceremonies would be different now because of them. I also managed to pull my brother aside before my lessons began with Queen Avelia, explaining how the Marking worked in more detail. He took this moment to tell me that he was planning to propose to Morina and wanted to ask if they could hold their weddin
*Amara* After the Queen left I found that Ivy had been brought to my room and had prepared a bath for me. I was grateful for the soothing feeling of the warm water and the smell of my favorite oils and flowers swirling in the tub. Ivy chatted excitedly about becoming the Nanny to a little Prince or Princess while she combed my hair and helped me slip into my nightgown. I hadn’t realized just how tired I was until I caught myself yawning and almost falling asleep to the feeling of Ivy’s gentle fingers in my hair. So, instead of exploring my new space like I had planned, I crawled into bed and muttered a good-night to Ivy, quickly being pulled into a heavy fog of sleep that I gladly welcomed. The familiar feeling of floating came to me and I smiled as the same clearing that I had met the All Mother in materialized
*Prince Dorian* After my mother led Amara out of the room I turned to my father and waited. I knew that there was something important that he needed to say to me, and my mother knew, so she distracted Amara and walked her out so we could speak in private. “Before I tell you anything,” He started, sitting up as a rare smile grew on his face. “I want to congratulate you, on both retrieving your Mate safe and sound, and the baby.” My own smile grew even more at his words, and I couldn’t help but repeat them in my head. My Mate, my one and only perfect half… My Amara. Erebos echoed my words, his own happiness blending in with mine. Our
The silence that stretched on made me feel increasingly more nauseous as I waited for his reaction. I felt as though the entire world around me had gone still and was hanging by a thread as I continued to wait. A sudden pit of fear started to settle in me and I wondered if he would toss me aside because of this, my mind taking me back to the terrible mistakes I made with Kaliden. I soon felt his arm around me and his free hand came up to gently cup my cheek, guiding my eyes back to his. “A baby?” He whispered, his garnet eyes glowing and filled with amazement and joy. “We’re having a baby?” I shakily released the breath I held and nodded, smiling up at him as my brother began to cheer next to us. He pulled me in and kissed me before dropping to his knees, his hands going over mine as he stared at my stomach. Rosa
Unfamiliar faces passed me as I whipped around like a mad woman, pausing for a moment when I locked eyes with Commander Lovarne. He smiled softly then nodded his head towards the main gates. I followed the motion and felt a bright smile break out as my body started moving again.I could see him standing with his back to me as he ordered some Knights to follow my brother into the Greenhouse. He slowly turned as my boots clicked loudly behind him, revealing his handsome bloodstained face. I was just outside arms reach when his eyes spotted me, and I launched myself into his arms, knocking him back a step. His sword fell to the floor with a light clang and his arms quickly wrapped around me as I clung to his neck with my feet off the ground.“I love you.”The words flew out of my lips as I held him ti
After Rosanna left I ate the soup and nearly half of the fruits and vegetables she had left for me. The pitcher of water was nearly empty too, and I changed into the dress and shoes she laid out for me before blowing out the lantern and going to sleep. That night I had the best rest I thought I could ever get within the Du Pleasant estate, and I was pleasantly surprised when I sat up to find that Rosanna had left more food and water for me while I was sleeping.I ate some more while I took the time to look over my dress and the different options left for me to escape.The dress was thankfully long sleeved, with soft white ruffles that opened around my elbows and brushed by my wrists. The bodice and skirt were simple, yet warm and fitting, with most of it in a pale grey color that was accented by white ruffles and trim. The boots were black and stopped halfway u
The next few days went by somewhat calm, with my pathetic meals being dropped at my feet and the nights growing colder. The Duchess didn’t make an appearance and the physician only returned once to check on me. He smiled when he found me lying on my side, too cold and numb to move and expose my body anymore.I was growing weaker as the winds of autumn brought in a taste of the coming winter. It rained on one day and my pitiful self was powerless against the chill that attacked my bones. My fear and worry over my baby grew in these few days and I did my best to keep my center as warm and dry as I could. My arms and legs felt like ice and my lips stung when I tried to move them. The peaks of my cheeks and the tip of my nose felt tight and sensitive too, feeling a slight sting when anything would rub against them.“Amara.”