-Katherine-
The evening was magical, just like I had expected. Acan stood by my side, holding me close. We were both dressed in the dark red colors, representing his powers, with a drink in our hand, and conversing with other lords and ladies. But we invited even commoners. Everyone was there, and the garden and the lawn were filled with as many people as it could fit. It was so excited and I loved every moment of it. Planning and doing a well succeeded party always made me happy, and I could only believe this was a success.
Soon, though, I saw a couple coming down a little path and I let out a happy squeal before waving my hand in the air. They looked amazing, I noticed. Silver was dressed in a dark blue color, the dress flowing and fitting her perfectly, but she always looked her best, and her silver hair was blowing in the wind. She held Darius’s arm, and my eyes wandered down his body, seeing he had matched her tonight. They radiated power almost, and it surprised me I had never considered them a couple before. They would fit perfectly together, but why had no one else seen this, either? It was clear as they walked by people they stepped away, bowing their heads as if Darius and Silver were the king and queen. It was an interesting sight, and they looked magnificent together.
“You’re here!”
“Sorry, someone took a while to get dressed,” Darius apologized, but was glaring at Silver, who rolled her eyes, and then smiled at Acan and me.
“The party is wonderful, and so many have attended,” Silver said.
“All thanks to my wonderful queen,” Acan praised me and kissed the top of my head.
I chuckled happily, always enjoying his praise and leaning closer to him, feeling my heart filled with pure happiness. When I turned to Silver and Darius, I found a strange look in their eyes, and I couldn’t quite decipher them.
“You look amazing together,” I compliment, but the moment I said it, they glanced at each other, pulled away, and looked the other way.
I stared at it, shocked. I knew they didn’t like each other that much, but they seemed repulsed. I turned to look at Acan, who gave me an assuring smile, telling me without words it was just the way it was. But why? No one had ever given me a proper reason for their dislike towards each other.
“Your cup is empty,” Acan suddenly noticed, but I knew he was only trying to break the awkward tension that had spread between us.
“Well, I am thirsty too,” Silver said as Acan took my cup. “Shall we go get something to drink together for the rest?”
“Let’s,” Acan said, and I shook my head slight before turning to Darius, my hands on my hips as the other walked away.
“What?” he asked when he saw the look on my way.
“Silver!”
“What about her?”
“Do you not see how perfect you are together?” I asked, and he recoiled, looking like I had told him to go kiss a frog.
“You must be teasing me, my Queen.”
“No, when I saw you together, all I could think was… wow!”
“Ew, you mean,” he corrected me.
“Wow.”
“Ew, I want to throw up, must have been your thoughts,” he said, and I saw the teasing look in his eyes.
I moved closer, shoving him back a little, but he barely moved.
“Consider it!”
“We hate each other,” he reminded me.
“Hate is a strong word.”
“It fits when it comes to us.”
I shook my head, not agreeing one bit, but if I couldn’t change his mind, so be it. Acan and Silver came back shortly after anyway, and Acan handed me something to drink, kissing me before someone came to tell him it was time to light the torch. He kissed me once more, before he moved to the platform, making us all turn to look at him, and quiet down. He reached out, touching the pole and lighting the torch so easily. We were all in awe and clapped and whistled, before we quieted down and he began speaking the old speech that was always performed at the festival and how the fire represented the burning heart of our world. There was a reason why the fire element ruled us. We clapped again as the speech was done and people began to scatter. Acan had his eyes on me, and was coming towards me, when suddenly someone yelled out, and the pole of the big torch began creaking and breaking. We all watched in shock, since it had never happened before. Everything happened so fast, Acan jumped to the side, people hurrying out of the way, as the pole broke, and sent the burning flames towards us.
“Katherine!”
Darius grabbed my arm once more, and we hurried backwards. The end of the torch landed not far from us, and because it was magically fire it spread faster, catching onto the grass and the tents around. I slipped from Darius’s grip as the people surrounding us began to panic. We were a sizeable group trapped by the fire, none with water powers, but I could see others trying to get to us.
“Darius?” I yelled, but couldn’t find him in the crowd, who were all pushing and trying to get away from the fire that seemed determined to keep us enclosed. It was like it was hunting us.
“Katherine!” I heard Darius yell, but I couldn’t see him anywhere and the fire was creeping towards me.
I ran away, not sure what else to do, but wherever I went, it seemed to guide me away from the others, trapping me. I didn’t understand. Hadn’t Acan made this fire? What had happened to it after it hit the ground? I was forced into a tent that quickly lit on fire, and it blocked my only exit. I stopped by a table, pressing myself against it as I saw the flames high and rising around me, almost keeping me in a cage. What was happening?!
“Acan!” I yelled, the only person I could think of who might get me out of this, but why would he hear me? How could he? I had been pushed far away from the larger crowd, and he had been on the other side of the flames. “Acan!”
I tried in vain, and began coughing as smoke filled the tent, as the flames came closer, and I felt the icy fear and panic spread in me, but where could I go?
“Acan!”
“Katherine!”
It couldn’t be… but then I saw someone emerging from the fires, completely untouched by it, and there he was! I smiled as I saw my husband appear before me. I didn’t think. I sprung forward, clinging to him, and noticed how warm his body was. He was always warmer, but he almost felt burning, and I stepped back, not able to hold on for long, but I felt so relieved. He would save me, I knew it, but when I looked up, I saw his eyes burning. His eyes only burned when he was using a significant amount of his powers. I didn’t get it.
“Acan?”
He stepped closer to me, and I felt a strange energy surrounding him, making me take a step back.
“Acan? What are you doing? Let’s get out of here.”
“You aren’t going anywhere, Katherine.”
His voice… it was cold. I had never heard him speak like that.
“I don’t… understand. What is happening?”
“It seems fitting, doesn’t it? You had no powers. You have weakened me.”
“Weakened you?”
“Yes, you have weakened me. Who could ever support a queen without powers?”
I didn’t get anything. He had never had a problem with it before. Who was the man in front of me? It was like in a second he had transformed into an evil twin, who now came to… hurt me? I was not sure, but I didn’t like any of it and kept backing away until I was pressed against the table, but my husband came closer and closer.
“Acan… please…” I pleaded.
“I hated you from the moment I saw you,” he said. “But I didn’t have a choice. Neither of us did, but my father has been gone for a while. I rule now.”
“Then why wait?” I growled, feeling anger rise in me.
I was scared, angry, confused. I felt so many things, but I wanted answers.
“Timing,” he answered.
“Timing?”
“Exactly. I couldn’t just end you at any party. It had to seem like an accident. Mistakes happen, you know,” he taunted me, and then I saw something completely different in front of my eyes.
“Mistakes…” I whispered.
“You always slipped your way out of them.”
“Earlier today…”
“Earlier today,” was all he confirmed, but I saw many mistakes appear in my head, being saved every time at the last moment. I swallowed hard.
“You?”
“Me.”
“But… I… I love you,” I said with tears in my eyes. “I have only ever loved you and I have been a good queen.”
“You have been a weak queen!” he yelled. “A queen who has no powers and cannot even provide an heir. Tell me, Katherine, what the fuck are you good for?!”
“Acan… please…”
He had begun to burn all over, and I was sure he would strike me down where I stood, but then he calmed his flames, and smiled evilly.
“I don’t even have to do anything,” he said and looked around. “You’re already dead.”
“Acan? Acan!”
He began moving away, smiling and never turning his back to me. He disappeared, and I kept calling for him while the flames came closer and closer. The tears were streaming down my cheeks. The smoke filled my lungs, and I fell to my knees. I knew I was a goner. I wouldn’t make it, but then as my blurry vision focused on the entrance of the burning tent, I saw a figure, someone appearing out of the blue, like he had always done.
“Katherine!”
I fell to the ground, before I felt cool hands on me, turning me. I forced my eyes to stay open, finally able to focus. I was being suffocated, but I saw him. He shouldn’t be here! He would die too!
“Darius…” I whispered.
“It’s okay. I’m here.”
He was here… he had always been there, hadn’t he? In my last moments, I saw it. It was too late, but I saw it. Who had always saved me from those accidents? Who had always appeared when I needed him? But he couldn’t save me now. My eyes fell closed, and I felt nothing but peace.
-Katherine-It will all be okay…The words echoed in my mind, but I wasn’t sure who spoke them. They calmed me though, making me feel at peace, but then another sensation spread through me. Warmth. It was an interesting kind, making my body burn almost, but not hurt. It was a pleasant warmth that spread through me, as I felt hands on my body. I smiled, hearing a dark voice in my ear.“Missed me, my Queen?”I chuckled happily, feeling the throbbing feeling between my legs, while a hand wandered lower, finding just the place where I needed it, touching me, making me burn even more.“Ah… yes,” I whispered.“You know how much I need you every time we have been apart,” he whispered in my ear. “You always taste so sweet when you have been missing me.”Acan was never this vocal when we were intimate together. It was enjoyable, but then the hand kept teasing me, and I felt something explode inside of me as pure pleasure spread, and I gasped, clinging to the body on top of me, while lips kisse
-Katherine-“Goddess, I want you all the time,” he said, making me feel warm over, and he was still inside of me, growing hard again.“We need to talk!” I told him, and he looked at me confused. “So let’s dress.”“Dress? Now?” he asked with a smug smile, like he couldn’t see why there was any need to dress when we were naked and clearly burning for more, but this made no sense, and I believed Darius was the source of my answers.“Yes, dress. Now.”“As my Queen commands.”He moved away from me, and I gasped as I felt him slip from my body. I watched him as he left the bed, completely naked, and for the first time I saw him. I saw him as someone to be desired, and I certainly did. His body was so strong, and Goddess! How tight was his ass? No, I scolded myself. Never had I had such thoughts, and I was still a bit confused since my mind remembered Acan as my husband, and I should only desire him, but now he… wasn’t. It made me notice something else.“Why do you keep calling me ‘my Queen’
-Katherine- It was so unreal. Darius was kissing me… and I was enjoying it! I couldn’t help it. It felt fantastic, and I was absorbed by the powerful sensations he was bringing out in me, making me feel so good. I moaned a little as his tongue slipped into my mouth. It felt almost natural for him to claim me like this, but I couldn’t forget the questions. “Darius…” I pulled back and whispered, but he caught my lips again, and I hastily turned my head. “We are talking.” I heard him sigh in my ear, and it sent pleasant shivers through me, while his body shook with pent-up need, but then he let me take a step back. I watched as he shook before me, clearly trying his hardest to calm down. “Sorry, I don’t… know what happened,” he said. “You just… make me go a little out of control.” I still held the sheets tightly around me, but his words warmed me a lot. I had never thought I could make anyone go crazy like that, but Darius was shaking in front of me, and it made me feel very good. “
-Darius-I watched as my wife—Goddess, I loved thinking about her as such—turned in front of the mirror, now dressed in a beautiful dark green dress that complimented her eyes, and her almost orange hair cascading down her back, making her look like something out of painting. The floor had been cleaned by some servants, and we were both now dressed, but my wife kept turning from side to side, trying to see any changes around her stomach, but as the memory we both saw appear in our head, she had only recently found out she was pregnant, and we had had a physician confirm it a few days ago. So there was nothing to see. But she kept doing it anyway, almost like she didn’t believe I had managed to get her pregnant. Wow… I had gotten her pregnant. We had been married for three years, but Acan had had her for ten, and he had not managed it even once. Katherine was actually pregnant this time, and I smiled as I stood from a distance watching, resting my shoulder against a stone pole, and jus
-Katherine- It felt strange not being shot daggers at as I ventured through the castle. It was only nobles who did it to me in my former life, but they barely even looked at me and Darius. We were like air to them now, but maybe that was because he was still the Dark Prince, the one everyone avoided, and I was no longer queen… meaning no pressure! I couldn’t believe how refreshing it felt, even though I had to die to experience the freedom of it. Darius seemed very content as well. I understood, of course, he liked this world. He enjoyed the past… future… the life he had created for us, but I couldn’t forget. It lingered in my mind… I died. I was killed. I was still young… Darius thought it was best to let it go, but I wasn’t sure if I could. I didn’t speak of it though, as he led us to the dining hall. We were the only ones there, sitting down and grabbing something to eat. Darius seemed happy to serve me the food almost, bringing lots to my plate, pouring me some fresh water, able
-Katherine-“You’re pregnant. Like you were a few days ago,” the physician said after holding my hand.He knew just from touching me. His healing powers were incredible. They originally came from earth powers, but they didn’t come out in the sense of talking to animals and such. Even though our powers were given by the elements, they could be expressed in many ways. Just because you had water powers, didn’t mean you could freeze things.“You’re sure?”He chuckled a little, because it was the third time asking him. But after a ten-year marriage with no kids, I was still finding it hard to believe. I mean, three years Darius and I had been together in this life, and he had managed to get me pregnant. Was there something wrong with Acan? Or did he just not want to get me pregnant?“Look here,” he said.He had drawn a little blood, putting it in a small glass vial, and I watched as he held it up, using his powers to make me see something the eye couldn’t see. Soon my blood glistened almos
-Katherine- I didn’t really want to leave Darius I realized as he kissed me and walked away to meet his brother. He was comforting, especially now with the whole new life thing, and me being trapped in a world where things seemed to have been turned around. I knew only small things had been altered. Or maybe it wasn’t small. My marriage to Acan was one of the greatest events there had ever been because such big families were joined together. Another memory sprung forward, and I saw how big Darius’s and my wedding was as well. I couldn’t quite remember yet why it was I had ended up with Darius. I was a princess. Shouldn’t I have been given to the king? Or future king at least? I thought it over as I went to join Silver and the others in one of the big common rooms used for the queen and her ladies. They were lying around, laughing, floating plates of goods around them. They had pillows and blankets everywhere, books and clothes placed around the room, and small birds were sitting by th
-Darius- "You and Silver seem quite in love as well," I said, and my brother looked at me confused, turning in his saddle a little. "What?" "Why do you almost sound surprised by it?" he asked. "Well, eh…" "I know you don’t like her, but you know I have loved her since we were kids, and she has loved me." "What?" I didn’t mean to blurt out the word, but as he spoke of loving Silver since they were kids, I was learning something new. In our old life, he had never confessed that to me. He had never even shown Silver the same interest he showed Katherine, or the interest I thought he had shown her. It seemed now all to be an act. Maybe he had tried to make Father happy, or maybe because he knew he was stuck with Katherine, he tried to make it work. But he had eventually killed her to free himself of her. It was crazy to think about. I had never seen my brother as a cruel person, and even now, despite knowing what he was capable of, I felt no darkness. How could that be? I knew it was