“What, what is the meaning of this?! Where are you taking me!”I pushed myself away from the palace soldier’s tight grip on my arm. He was too strong and I couldn't even move him an inch away from where he was standing until he started dragging me along with them.“Soldier! There is no way you can treat one of the Emperor’s concubines like this! The lady is pregnant with the Emperor’s child and once he finds out about this, he will surely send you to the guillotine himself!” The polite Talaphatian soldier warned the palace soldier who was the captain of the troop that came to take me from somewhere.The captain stared at the Talaphatian soldier condescendingly, displeased by the presence of a foreign soldier inside their territory. He must have contemplated what the soldier had told him and he released my arm from his cruel grip.Nina and Cecil immediately pulled me closer to them and they both shielded their bodies between me and the ruthless soldiers. I glared at the captain of the
[ASTER’s Point-of-View]“LAURENT!”I called his name as loud as I could.All my senses are on full alert while we all look for King Laurent on the outskirt of the west premise of the realm. The forest was thick with old giant sequoias and the mist was thick, making it so difficult to search for a person’s body— no… I shouldn’t think that my best friend died in that ambush that happened in one of the brothels in one of the alleys downtown. One of his men survived the attack and managed to follow the assassins in this part of the forest. I just wish we are not too late. I wish he was still alive and just unconscious somewhere.My sense of smell doesn’t work in this kind of place when all I can smell is the musky scent of the forest trees, the bushes, and the freshly moist dirt. I filled my lungs with the cool, fresh air, hoping it can somehow calm me down while I keep the pace of my horse slow, my ears sensitive to any rustling sounds surrounding us.“LAURENT!”I heard Lady Marian’s des
“Aster!”I was ready to rip off someone or something else’s shoulder and I am thankful I recognized her scent right away.“Marian!” I exclaimed, a little upset, “You made everyone worried about you! Where did you go? I told you not to get too far from me!”“I know, your Grace, I deeply apologize for what I did. But I have to!” she apologized with despair in her voice and I sensed the distress in her as her body trembled in fear.I looked at her and held her in both of her arms, “What happened? Are you hurt?”“NO!” she shoved my hands away from her until I realized she was in a panic. She grabbed my coat and looked at me straight in the eyes with her eyes wide with fear, “I-I found him!”The way she looks at me, I know that Laurent is not in good condition. I shouldn’t waste any more time, “Lead the way, Lady Marian.” I firmly uttered and she immediately moved, almost half running towards the place where she found Laurent.I couldn’t figure out how Lady Marian found Laurent through thi
“Aster! Your GRACE!”I heard Lady Marian’s hysterical scream as the creature behind the white fog stood at its full height, towering over all of us with its gigantic length. I watched it, wide-eyed and waited for it to attack the three of us. My mind registered the next things I have to do to fight the wild beast and thought of putting down Laurent on the ground gently, not wanting to agitate the creature more.Then loud, aggressive snorting and deep grunting noises filled the place. As the creature approached closer and the thick cloud of white mist subsided, Lady Marian and I’s tensed bodies relaxed, relieved that it was just the horse that the Emperor left in the middle of the forest.“D*mnit, horse! You almost gave me a heart attack,” I hissed nervously at the animal. Of course, I am not scared. I am not ready to kill any wild creatures that might attack us. But with Laurent with the bones on his limbs all broken, there is no way I can fight back, knowing that Laurent is as fragil
[EODELLE’s Point-of-View]Nina and the Talaphatian Guard whose name I learned was James didn’t leave me inside my room unattended after what happened to Cecil.Both of them are on full alert, agitated every time they see a shadow under the door of my bed chamber. James, the soldier, holds his spear tight while guarding the door with his life, and Nina made sure to calm me down after three hours of incessant crying, worried for Cecil and what the palace soldiers did to her. I can’t lie to myself. I feel terrified because I know what they do to people they throw in the dungeon. I have experienced it myself and just remembering it brings a huge trauma to me that makes my whole body tremble in fear.“I have to do something to get to her, Nina! We have to make sure they don't hurt Cecil!” I cried to her and she couldn’t do anything but give me a cup of warm tea to calm me down. “That is not possible, your Grace. It will only endanger your life and the future heir of this Kingdom. There is
I flinched from my bed, making myself ready for whatever Emyr would do. I saw James step forward with the spear in his hand pointing at Emyr but it was too late for me to yell at him not to fight the Beta.“Your Grace, I apologize but you are not to—-”Without saying any word, Emyr caught the Talaphatian soldier’s neck with one hand and lifted him up in the air. I watched them, wide-eyed, as the soldier did his best to get out of Beta's hand while Nina stayed behind me, her hand holding my shoulders, stopping me from running to stop Emyr from breaking James' neck.Emyr glared at me with an evil smirk on his face. The tension rose like wildfire inside my room when I heard James wheeze and grunt in pain, gasping for air. I see the dread in his eyes and that’s when I found out he was dying already. Panic-stricken, both of his hands are on Emyr’s hand, pulling it away as hard as he could. But the Beta’s strength is just so formidable that no one in the room dared to attack him.“NO, EMYR
“What does this all mean, Emyr? Why did you bring me here?” “Relax, m’lady,” he chuckled after he heard the nervousness in my tone, enjoying the taste of fear that was spreading inside the carriage. I can’t stop my body from trembling. My throat felt like I was being strangled by an invisible hand. I could barely breathe. My stomach tightens and my shoulders are so stiff. Beads of cold sweat ran down my face as I suppressed myself not doing anything stupid in front of the two werewolves in front of me, knowing there is no way I could escape from them alive even if I ran as fast as I could.“Just go on with the flow, Lady Eodelle… which you are supposed to do. Now, everything got complicated because you always think you are better than me,” Helena raised an eyebrow at me, her condescending look made me feel so small. She is like a dangerous animal ready to devour me any moment and I am nothing but a pathetic rabbit being cornered inside her den of despair.I couldn't do anything but
“AHHHH!!!”I screamed at the top of my lungs and Helena flinched away from me, shocked at what was happening. I can’t process where the pain comes from. It feels like every inch of me is aching. Especially my hips. It was just so excruciatingly painful that I had to stand up from my seat and prop my arms on the balustrade of the balcony, begging for someone to help me.“Help me, please! My baby!” I screamed but no one made a single step forward to see my condition. My eyes are getting blurry and I am in a deep panic. My whole body is already trembling in pain.“Get her inside,” Helena commanded the soldiers, and two of them pulled away from the balustrade to push me inside that building. I have no idea what kind of building it is but I saw that there are rooms inside. Helena led me and the soldiers inside until she finally stopped in one of the rooms and opened it.“Get her inside.”They dragged me inside the room and placed me on the bed. I can’t do anything but clench my teeth, supp