Wait.” She called out in panic. Though the commotion stopped and all of them paused in their places, her handmaids gave her a sideline glare as if telling her to back out of it. She read the letter. ‘Dear Princess Laylin of Ehan, I request your presence at the intimate gathering I have arranged in my garden. The gathering could serve as an olive branch in more ways than one. I shall await your presence this fine afternoon.’ Laylin stared at her credentials for a while, before looking up. She stared at the expectant eyes of both parties ready to pounce on her and dipped her pen in ink. In fine penmanship, she drafted a letter and handed it over to Melissa. Melissa clutched and ran with it as if her life depended on it. Her maids turned to her with their sore faces as if belittling her. Laylin ignored their imposing stares and instead focused back on the documents at hand. She was tired and the King's consolatory massages hadn't helped her. She should be rightfully resting but t
“Then why don’t I let you in on a secret?” Scarlett leaned forward with a sickly sweet smile. Laylin remained seated but parted her lips at her dramatics. ”I’m all ears.” Her reply was unenthusiastic as she felt at the moment. Princess Scarlet was a serial schemer and if Laylin wasn’t desperate she would never even bother conversing with her. “King Ambrose can never have resolute power over Rakhbar. That’s why he will take in another Queen.” Laylin furrowed her brows. She had heard hierarchy among the beasts was very strict and their law was blindingly their King’s will but even she had noted the political factions in the Palace. “Why can’t he have absolute power?” Snorting the Princess chugged down cold tea as if it was a drink, “Do you see this White Wolf seal everywhere.” Laylin gave a nod, the flag of Rakhbar had the white wolf insignia and so did the imperial seal. The garden too was shaped like a wolf and she had heard when it snows or white flowers bloom, it is a sight to
Laylin couldn’t understand what Scarlet obsession was with the White Wolf when there were only two living members left of the Rakhbar Royal Bloodline and one couldn’t shift while the other had demonic blood in him but was clearly a black beast. Instead, what interested her was Scarlet's surety that something would surely happen to alter the Government Policies in three weeks. With a sigh, she crossed the hallways. The Palace was quiet unlike the bustle of the day, the nights were hush as graves. Her mind drifted to the letter awaiting her and of course, her husband who would be aware of her meeting with his political rival. How frustrating! Somehow she wasn’t as scared of him as she was before but that may be because she hadn’t seen him or any other beast in their other form since that night. She involuntarily assumed them to be humans. As she was about to enter the hallway of the King’s Palace, her feet halted. A woman, barely dressed in red lace with straight black hair, was l
A transformed beast on his hind legs and bared teeth crouched there, glaring at her with crazed eyes. Her breath came out in puffs. Her whole body trembled. Laylin breathed hard as the predator approached her slowly. “Help me.” A weak whisper left her parted lips. With no other resort, she resorted to the most foolish thing she could do. She ran. She gave chase and the beast on her tail leaped at her. She screamed like a banshee, hoping any savior would come but none actually did. Scrunching her eyes close, she summoned her aura and threw him back at the end of the hallway to buy enough time. The corridor was too long to cross, no matter how fast she was, so instead she banged and shouted at the King’s office backdoor. “Help! Please, there’s a beast!” She banged with all her might. As expected the backdoor was locked, only the King had the key to it. Her anxiety shot to the ceiling, when the beast snorted in a rage at being tossed away and ran to her. She shook the door harder a
“Huh.” She scoffed, slamming her head back on her pillow. The suite was too big for its own good. She felt suffocated. It had been almost a week now but he didn’t even bother checking up on her which wasn’t really surprising. He was probably comforting his bitchy mistress. She had horrifying nightmares, where she is trapped somewhere unknown and the 'Foretold' rings in her ears. She groaned, throwing the pillows at the front wall. Why did she even bother with that cold-hearted man?! To him, she wasn’t anything more than a skirt that was readily available to him! Clenching her fist, she let out her aura. The temperature in the room rose from dead-cold to scorching hot to the point where she ended up sweating in the middle of winter. It was a ritual, she did regularly. Whenever she was in a bath or if she was alone. She exerted every single speck of aura from her body so he couldn't feel it. He wasn’t coming. His carefree indifference should only hurt her pride, but why did it pric
Her eyes were stuck at the scenes, despite her eyes that stung and the tears that streamed down. Her heart beat loudly as she stared at the broken smile of her beloved nanny, Hessy. A woman who was akin to her mother. A woman who was her only pillar. The only one who killed, lied, and betrayed for her without blinking. The only woman who cared for her. She tightened her fist on the rail, her whispering prayer yearning for the impossible. Hessy was on her knees, with her hands tied cruelly behind her back. Her body trembled in the insufferable cold but even her rugged appearance couldn't hide the benevolence she exuded for Princess Scarlet. The dagger was placed on her neck, but the woman didn't even flinch. She mouthed the words 'Live Well.' The Princess's breath hitched and the executioner raised his sword in the air to strike her neck- A hand covering her eyes pulled her back. "No... No! No... Stop it!" She struggled and sobbed wildly but then a menacing slash in the wind, f
The next time her eyes opened she felt every muscle in her body ache. She groaned trying to turn her body but everything was stiff that she couldn’t even get up. Her eyes fell on the closed window with curtains drawn. She was sure the windows were all open when she passed out from overexertion. Frowning, she moaned in an effort to rise from her place when eyes fell on the dark figure in the dim light of the lamp. Was he sick of his other mistress and decided to visit her out of pity?! “Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.” Ambrose mumbled tearing a seal on a letter. Giving a glance at the miserable man, Laylin turned away from him. Right now even his shadow disgusted her. She had tried to persuade him several times before the incident but the man was unrelenting about the 'Witch Hunt'. He killed dozens just to state his pride... She blinked at the opposite wall when it registered in her head that she recognized the letter he was reading. Summoning every bit of her
She was outright dragged into the hall. As all the lowly peasants and slaves testified, it was a time for highborn women to take the burn. The men were already tested. In the end, the people who were discarded were either spies, suspicious, or just an eye sore to the King. She had heard that wretched woman Sayon's brother, was there at every point. Even now Sayon wasn't present, instead, her brother stood firm there sneering at every woman here. She wanted to shout and curse at the King for letting his bitch of a mistress slip through without testing. She realized then that maybe if she had been his 'ideal mistress' and lived as a corpse, she wouldn't need to be here like Sayon. It was disgusting, but Laylin was desperate to live. And when her temper subsided, she guessed as much. She was no better than a lowly slave, ready to bend her head as long as it saves it from being cut. Her eyes fell on Scarlet, who was glaring with puffy red-rimmed eyes at the floor in resentment. Beh