Chapter 3: Compromised

Her mother was dead and had been for a long time so it was Lady Celine who tied the knot of Hercules around her waist on her wedding morn, over her long white robe. Lady Celine also escorted her to the palace grounds where the wedding was taking place. The people were all present in their numbers to witness not just the wedding of the King Janus's beloved daughter to the great warrior Sebastian of the Jerash empire but to witness the bonding of the two rulers.

Sebastian was already at the altar, dressed in all his princely glory.

"Jupiter's blessings," Lady Celine murmured as she placed her hand in Sebastian's.

She took one last long gaze at her godmother, her freedom before facing her to-be husband.

The priest of Jupiter arose. Sebastian cut off her locket given to her by her mother and threw it in the purifying fire.

"When and where you are, I then and there I am; when and where you will be, I then and there I shall be." Sebastian recited slowly, his sharp gaze locked on hers.

"When and where you are, I then and there I am; when and where you will be, I then and there I shall be," she followed.

"And may the blessing of Jupiter…"

The rest of the wedding proceedings went by in a blurred haze and by mid-afternoon, she was on a horse with her new husband set to travel to her new life.

Her father, the great king Janus, was on the verge of tears, only she knew that. All her belongings and the gifts she received from her people and her husband's people were loaded in a horse-drawn carriage.

"Bye father, Lady Celine," she smiled at them before Sebastian kicked off.

It was the beginning of a new journey. 

They rode all day, through forests and wastelands and little cities, stopping only a little to let the horses get a little rest. Sebastian wanted them to get to the Jaresh empire in a day and a half rather than the two days it took. He was anxious to see to the affairs of the empire. She wondered if he would remember he now had a wife.

"Are you tired?" He breathed down her neck. She hugged her tiny frame.

"A little."

"We will stop for the night in another hour. Are you sure?"

She looked up at the dark skies.

"Yes."

He placed a soft kiss on her cheek and increased the horse's pace.

They were almost at the shelter they were to spend the night in when the horses began misbehaving, including the fine breed she and Sebastian rode on.

The horse jerked and zigzagged roughly, its speed increasing alarmingly.

"What's going on!" She asked, seeing that the soldiers were suffering the same fate.

"I have no idea!" Sebastian held on tight to the reins, his arms pressing painfully on her waist, "hold on tight!"

He pulled at the reins, attempting to slow down but the horse jumped so high that she feared they would fall off, then it began speeding roughly.

"Everyone, halt! Stop your horses!" He barked, pulling sharply at the reins. Suddenly, the horse lurched to the side with a loud painful neigh.

"The legs are broken! The horses' legs are broken!" A soldier shouted.

In the chaos, Aurora looked into the dark forests. Pairs and pairs of glowing red eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"Sebastian…" she called, beginning to get terrified.

"Aurora, I am going to jump off the horse with you! Hold unto me tightly, do you understand?"

"Yes, yes!"

She grabbed his arms with all her might and before she could process the situation, he let go of the reins and they were flying through dust-filled air. He landed first and she on top of his iron-plated shield.

"Are you okay?" He queried immediately, pulling her up. Her back hurt from where it hit him but she shook her head and forced a smile.

"Aurora…" he started to say with displeasure but was sharply interrupted.

"Prince Sebastian, it's the bloodsuckers! They are here!"

Sebastian's eyes widened. True to the soldier's words, creatures with glowing red eyes zapped in with horrifying speed and attacked.

Sebastian had a stake in the heart of the one who attacked them. She held on tightly to him as he fought with the strange creatures. She had heard of them, the bloodsuckers. They had been a perpetual enemy for as long as she knew.

"Sebastian, to your right!" She exclaimed. Another stake went through and the creature slowly disintegrated into dust.

The fight was terrible and bloody and the bloodsuckers had the advantage. She noticed the carriage the emperor rode in was compromised, the soldiers were all dead and the last was about to get finished off.

She sharply withdrew a sword from Sebastian's sheath and raced across the arena. Sebastian was alarmed and furious.

"Aurora!"

He chased after her, killing bloodsuckers along the way.

"Aurora!"

She was astonishingly too fast for a pampered princess.

She had her sword, in a jiffy, in the heart of the bloodsucker who was about to attack the emperor.

"Sebastian, look out!"

She climbed into the carriage and grew worried, seeing the emperor's sickly face.

"Your honor, are you all right?" 

He sat up weakly, his face was pale even in the darkness.

"Princess Aurora," he called in a hoarse trembling voice. She laid a hand on his forehead and panicked.

"Your temperature is absurdly high, your honor. You have to get treatment."

She looked out the opening anxiously. Sebastian and the soldiers were in a bloody battle with the bloodsuckers, guarding the carriage.

"I'm afraid I've been poisoned,"

She gasped, looking back at him.

"That's… that's…"

She grew frantic, he was getting weaker and weaker and she couldn't risk leaving the carriage for fear of getting bitten by one of those hideous creatures.

His wrinkled hand grabbed her frail ones.

"It's… it's not… it's not your kingdom… it's not your fault. Tell Sebastian not to go after your people."

"Your honor," she supported his head against her shoulder, glancing anxiously outside.

"Sebastian must not avenge your people, you're innocent," the aged emperor murmured again before slipping into the darkness.

"Sebastian!" she screamed.

He was in the carriage in a jiffy.

"Aurora, what's… what has happened to my father?"

She stared tearily at his suspicious eyes.

"Your honor, watch out!"

"Sebastian!"

The sharp-clawed creature lunged at Sebastian, his teeth bared for the kill. Sebastian dodged, his stake plunging sharply into its heart.

"Bloody creatures," he cursed, kicking the body away.

"We have to get him into town quickly," he drew the curtains down and settled down beside his father.

"He isn't dead but he's terribly sick and I fear he may die before sunset," she informed him, her gaze fixed on the bloody scratch on his neck. Her palms grew sweaty and her breathing heavy.

Her mother… her mother had the same scratch. Her mother was a fierce warrior. She went out on a mission to eradicate the bloodsuckers and she got scratched. She was never the same after that. She grew angry and irritable and one day, she died or they thought she did. She awoke and suddenly lusted for blood, any blood, even that of her daughter.

"You're injured," she said softly. He froze, his wide eyes meeting her.

She laid the emperor to rest on the seat and quickly tore a piece from her gown.

"Nobody saw it so you're fine," she whispered. She hurriedly cleaned the blood and pulled his gold-embroidered collar up to conceal the injury.

The fight was over and the surviving soldiers were preparing for them to flee. She knew the consequences if the soldiers knew that their emperor was compromised.

He cleared his throat and moved to the horse seat. He barked out orders to the soldiers and took off.

"We will arrive in town soon and we can get treatment for my father."

She said nothing but a million thoughts ran through her mind.