Unwanted Mate

Alyssa fluttered open her eyes to find that it was dark on the outside. For how long was she unconscious? The hearth in the corner of a small room was the only source of warmth and light. Slowly, she turned her head and found old Coira, her childhood nanny, sitting on a chair next to her bed, her head bent forward in sleep. A look of surprise crossed her face. How did Coira find her? She tried to get up, and as soon as she did that, Coira woke up. 

“Don’t move!” Coira chided. 

Alyssa looked at her nanny, happy that she was with her, but not knowing how she ended up there. The pain in her body had started throbbing intensely but she masked it under her smile. 

“How did I end up here, Coira?” she asked. 

The elderly woman got up from the chair and went to the cabinet on the opposite wall to fetch fresh bandages for her wound. When she returned, she said, “Benny found you this morning, curled inside a hollow trunk in east Vonhurst. What the hell were you doing there? And who wounded you?” She removed the fur on her and looked at her wound just below the ribcage. 

Alyssa closed her eyes and winced as Coira peeled off the bandage and applied a new one. 

Alyssa was fatally attacked by her stepbrother, Izahl. A few days back their mother had left the kingdom of Yezia for some personal work. He took the opportunity to attack her. She didn’t know of his intention until he did that. There was a buzz going on in the corridors of the castle that it was possible that Magda would name her first born, Alyssa, as her heir to the throne, because that was the rule. 

After Magda left, things were absolutely fine when only a few days later, Alyssa was lured out of the castle in the late hours of the night by none other than her friend Auria on the pretext that she was being molested by her stepbrother. The information was sent through her maid. Alyssa didn’t think twice before wearing her cloak over her nightgown and riding off to where Auria’s maid had indicated. She took two guards with her. However, when she reached there, two arrows whizzed past her and killed the guards who were behind her. A group of four men led by Izhal came out. Alyssa was shocked. In the dead of the night, she saw a man with a torch in his hand, the flames of which were casting light on Izhal’s face that was gleaming with murderous energy. 

“I had been waiting for this day!” Izhal had said and spit on the floor. “You bastard! Do you think that you will become the heir of the throne when me, the legitimate child of my parents, is alive?” He took his sword out. 

Alyssa was stunned. “Where is Auria?” she asked in a stern voice, masking her fear, eager to protect her friend. What happened next left her shocked. 

Auria stepped from behind Izhal. There was a vicious smile on her face. “I am right here!” 

“But—” she appeared absolutely fine. Goosebumps pimpled her skin. Auria had set her up. It took two minutes for her to guess that Auria was in cahoots with Izhal. The revelation came as a shock. They would kill her behind their mother’s back under the perfect excuse that she had gone to save her friend. “You are sick, Auria!” 

Izhal chuckled. “Once you are dead, she will rule as the queen of Yezia beside me.”

“And what about mother?” 

“That slut is not worthy of the kingdom! I will ensure that she is also eliminated!” 

“Are you mad, Izhal?” Alyssa said as she judged her situation. Surrounded by four wizards and a witch, Alyssa had only one chance at survival—run. She was good at dodging spells, even though her own witchery rarely worked. She needed time to distract them. 

He laughed with lunacy in his eyes. “Maybe I am!” he said and flung his sword forward. 

Alyssa knew he would throw the spell at her with his sword. She ducked and pulled her horse’s reins. Her horse reared, scared by the white beams and then turned on his own to gallop in the opposite direction. Izhal followed her along with Auria and other guards. They threw a dagger at her, which struck her right shoulder. She cried in pain, but didn’t leave the reins. Suddenly an arrow came that struck her at the back. It pierced her flesh and stuck its head out in front right below the ribcage. “Ah!” She fell on the saddle on her front. 

She didn’t know how long but after being chased for almost an hour, she had lost them on her trail. And she didn’t know where she was now. She slowed down the horse. Blood was oozing out of her wound. In the dead of the night, she knew that she was about to faint. She didn’t know what it was, but it was a good place to hide for the night. She entered the hollow and curled up inside it. 

“Ah!” she shouted when Coira applied tincture to her wounds, pulling her out of her thoughts. After putting on fresh bandages, she gave her a potion to drink. “You should heal in three days and then you have to tell me what happened.” 

Although the pain didn’t let sleep, but as the medicine took effect, she drifted off in deep sleep. 

One month later. 

Coira hadn’t allowed Alyssa to leave the cottage. Since Magda hadn’t returned, Izhal and Auria were looking for her frantically everywhere. More so because Alyssa knew their ugly truth now. 

At the same time, twenty-year old Benny, Coira’s son, was earning a little and managing the house with difficulty and Alyssa knew that she couldn’t be a burden anymore. Since she had to hide here till her mother showed, until then she resolved to work. The first thing she did was to give her gold ring to Benny to sell.  

She decided to use her knowledge of herbology. Under a disguise she set up a small healer’s shop. 

Little did she know that her efforts to help Benny and Coira only ended up inviting more trouble.