The dungeon was scary before, now it was scarier. It seemed like the King had grown larger and he was towering over her. She sank into herself, shaking slightly. She had never seen the King like this before and if she had, she couldn't remember. Why was it that there were a lot of things that she couldn't remember? Could it be the fear that was pumping quickly through her veins? "Your M-majesty?" she stuttered. "You should have told me the moment you started having those dreams!" Her foot moved slowly against the stony floor, taking an unnoticeable step backward. "I--I--- didn't know," she cried, tears in her eyes. Was it from fear or from the fact that she sensed that she must have done something wrong? She really didn't know. There were a lot of things she didn't know right now. All the certainty she had in her theory and how sure she had been about everything a while ago, seem to have immediately vanished from her. "I---I--- didn't know." Her voice broke as she sp
Had he read her thoughts?Was that possible? Could he even do that?He had magic, although she had only ever seen him use it on his dragon, there was still a lot she didn't know about him. "In your dreams, had he been intimate with you in any way?" The King asked again, this time his voice angrier.She didn't know what things would await her if she admitted it, told him the truth, but from the looks of how he was clenching and unclenching his fists and how he had stated that this Bride Thief was an enemy that had to be fought against, she knew it would be nothing good."N-no, your Majesty," then she added quickly, "Not that all."He seem to have retrained into himself with relief, because suddenly he didn't look like a mighty beast of a man towering over her anymore.He looked straight at her and for the first time in a long time, she wished he wasn't wearing any mask. He was trying to see if she was lying and the fact that he had a mask on couldn't allow her to read his emotions to
The goblet hit the floor, the ringing sound filling the dinning hall as it bounced across the floor, stopping right in front of Lady Kestra's tall red heels.Long, red polished nails snaked around the cup, picking it up before the sound of heels clicking away on the floor as she approached the dinning table, filled the hall."Please, calm down, your Majesty," she said, placing the goblet gently back on the table.The day had gone by now and the darkness of the night was once again upon them, yet the King still remained furious about the reappearance of the Bride Thief."I cannot be calm!" He slammed his hands on the table with a force that dent it. His golden mask was still over his face but his eyes showed just how much anger he had within him. It was consuming."You are the Witch!" He snapped his attention to her and she stood still, folding her hands calmly behind her. "You performed a ritual to get rid of him last time. Why didn't it work?!"His voice thundered across the room bu
A week had passed but the palace was still filled with tension, one that held Belladonna in a tight grip.Although Lady Kestra had been coming as usual to style her hair while chit-chatting with her, like as if nothing had happened a week ago, the King wasn't keeping the same ignorant energy.He had not invited her for any breakfast, lunch or dinner as he used to, even though what he would have normally done during those times was to pay attention to his scrolls while he kept a mindless and dull conversation with her.In fact, not once had she come across him in the hallway, that could be owing to the suspicion that he might be avoiding her, but for the fact that she, herself, had been spending a lot of time in her room, she couldn't be so sure.Either ways, Lady Kestra had told her not to worry about it, but she couldn't help but worry.What if the fate that had befallen the other Brides, causing them to be replaced wasn't from the hands of the Bride Thief, but from the hands of the
Sleep vanished immediately from her eyes, she didn't know when she rushed out of bed, but soon she found herself sprinting across the hallways, following Raquel blindly to wherever it was that the fire was happening.The closer she got, the more she could smell the burning books.The smoke was thick in the hallway, filling her lungs and making her cough.Finally, they got there.It was the King's Study and it roaringly with flames. There were guards and servants there though, trying to quenched the fire with water while the guards went in to rescue the King.They brought him out soon, his hands over the guard's shoulders while they started leading him up to his room.Was he alright?Had he taken in too much smoke?Did he pass out?Had he been burnt?"Call the Physician!" She recognized Colin's voice in the midst of the commotion.Without thinking, she snapped her hand from Raquel's fearful grip and followed right after the guards who were helping the King to his room. ***No burns,
She had expected him continue, to go down into full details of his woes because that one statement he made, sparked the flame of a long aged question.She was shocked truly, even sympathized with him despite her herself. Although she didn't know the relationship he had with his family, whether good or bad, she knew that a family was a family no matter what. If something were to happen and she lost her own family, as much as she hated them for how terribly they had acted to her, it would still hurt.Because she had loved them once.But he hadn't, instead he continued to look out through the window and a silence settled between them."How did it happen?" She found herself asking once again.Belladonna, have you no patience!If he threw her into the dungeon for being such a talkative right now, she would understand.Actually, no. She wouldn't."I can't---" he paused. "I was too young to know and I just can't remember."A memory flashed in her mind.The framed pictures she had seen in th
"You-- how---"There were too many questions she had to ask and they were crashing against one another."Listen to me," he turned away from the window, looking at her once again. "...a person planned a fire to kill the whole family, one survives. Definitely the fact that one still lived would, in some way, affect the plan of the one who wanted every one of them dead," then his voice dropped and became even darker for emphasis. "What do you think would happen if this killer finds out about this one that survived?""Come for him," she answered immediately."Exactly! That is how I know who the Bride Thief is. His reason, everything! I finally know it," then his voice became lower as he got lost in his thoughts. "That is why he wouldn't leave. He is torturing me."Belladonna staggered back, the more she knew about the Bride Thief in her dreams, the most she hated the times that she had allowed him to be so close to her and how her body had reacted to his touch, how her body had wanted eve
Two weeks had passed and Lady Kestra was still not back. During this time though, a lot of things had changed in the Castle... for Belladonna and the King.Ever since the night in his room, that he had told her about his certain death intent for the Bride Thief and what had happened to him and his family in the past, they had grown closer and closer by the day.Now, they were even more closer than they had been after he had gifted her books for apology and taken her to see his Dragon.Talking of seeing his dragon, she had asked him sometimes if she could see Pamela again but the King had refused, saying that she was being very violent these days and it would forever haunt him if any harm were to come upon her by the claws or flames of the beast. Also he had backed up his reply with the words that Belladonna was starting to believe was his best way of expressing his affection and care for her, while tucking a strand of her curls behind her ear, an act she believed meant the same thing