There is always light.
Only if we are brave
enough to see it.
There is always light.
Only if we are brave
enough to be it
Rane was anxious.
Her husband had been missing for a day. Charle never hid anything from her not even his whereabouts which made her feel worried this time. She hadn't eaten nor slept a wink since he disappeared.
She needed to wait for a full day before reporting to the authorities. She stayed up all night to watch the sun rise, her eyes never left the gloomy skies until streaks of early morning light broke through. She left before her son early before her son could wake up.
S
he needed to be one of the if not the first to lay a complaint to the authorities.
"My husband is missing"
The man she met there eyed her up, a look of disgust etched on his face but he still had to do his job, "Since when?"
Rane was uncomfortable with the look the man had given her but searching for her husband was enough to distract her,"Two nights ago" she answered him.
The man told her to leave that the authorities have been made aware of her situation and they would be looking into it. They had even asked her to return the next day although she pleaded to come back later in the evening but they refused threatening to not work on the case again if she didn't do as they wanted.
She was angry but she kept it to herself and as she walked away from the place she heard the man give out a curse word to her.
She held back her anger and clenched her fists. Fate had done her wrong. If only she was of a high class then she would be taken much seriously.
~*~
News had gotten to Leondre about the antidote having been intercepted and the death of his men. He was pissed and had almost snapped.
"My lord you have to calm down" The royal advisor pleaded with him.
Leondre began taking deep breaths, his shoulders shook and he was close to shifting into his wild.
"My Lord, please you need to calm down"
Leondre clenched his teeth trying to suppress his anger as his eyes had now turned a different color. Golden. He kept taking deep breaths until his anger fully subsided and he became calm, "Fraden, it's time for that stuff we talked about"
"Yes my Lord"
They rode out on horses. Leondre had taken two of his men with him to his said destination, the temple.
The temple was were the maidens worshipped, a similar coven of his mother's.
He had sent a message to them few days ago through the royal advisor requesting for their presence in the castle but they had turned down the request. He hadn't wanted to deal with them since they were independent and not under the royals and had focused more on the antidote coming from the monastery.
The maidens were a respected order and as such Kings held them in high regard. They were always treated with respect.
They got to the temple around mid afternoon, the scorching sun wasn't a bother to them since his Father's life was at stake.
They unmounted from their horses and walked into the temple. The sound of their boots echoed in the quiet halls.
They weaved through hallways and finally came to an open place. The smell of incense hit their noses, herbal scents filled the room. An altar was at the end of the room and smoke could be seen coming from it, a faint one. A woman knelt in front of the altar making praying gestures.
Leondre signaled to his men to wait at the door which they obediently did. He took a final glance at them before walking into the room.
"Why did you reject a royal summon?"
The woman turned her back to look at him before slowly standing up. She was dressed in a red gown and her face was covered with a red veil, "My Lord" she gently took off her veil revealing her face then lowered her head. She may have been a priestess but she was a beautiful enough to entice anyone but Leondre was oblivious to it.
"Why did you reject a royal summon?" He repeated his question again.
"The heavens wanted it"
"Why?"
"They see what we do not see, they know what we do not know, they give life to whom they give it to" Her voice echoed in the room and she began walking down the stairs away from the altar and towards him, "And they take life from whom they want to"
Leondre knew that the last part of the sentence was directed towards him, "So the heavens are refusing for you to heal your King?"
The maiden remained silent and she casted her eyes down. When she finally spoke, there was no sympathy in it. Her mind had already been made up. She spoke callously, "I do as they bid"
Leondre laughed, the sound was low and dark, "Whatever they bid, you follow?"
"I'm afraid so"
Leondre began walking in circles and he started chuckling "So whatever happens, happens?"
"Yes"
Leondre stopped walking and closed the distance between them. The woman remained standing, not feeling the need to cower under his regal presence. Leondre drew out a small sword and pointed it to her neck. Her eyes suddenly widened "So tell me, if I run this through your neck right now, does that mean the heavens wanted it?"
Her gaze flickered from his face to the metal he held against her neck.
"My Lord"
"What? We both know the heavens don't reveal to you when you die or how you die"
She nodded
"I bet it is the heavens will for me to slit your throat right here, isn't it?"
She watched him closely, she could see the pain and anger swimming in his eyes. He meant every word that he had just said to her.
~*~
Cyane stayed in the King's room like Leondre had asked her to. Her eyes were sleepy but she still tried to stay awake. She watched the King closely, his breathing was very shallow. It looked as though he wasn't breathing and to clear up her doubts she walked over to his side and plopped on a chair.
She reached for his hand and turned it over slowly then checked for his pulse, it was still pumping but it was slow. That alone was enough.
A smile found its way to her lips then she tried retreating her hand only for her hand to be grasped tighter.
She was stunned at the action and when she turned to the king, his eyes were already on her and familiarity didn't sink in them.
~*~
"Do you think we should let a Royal know?" Cyane's spoke low, her voice was almost a whisper
"No, not until Leondre gets back" Fraden was elated at a progress in the King's health, "We should be getting the antidote anytime from now"
He was careful enough to not let Cyane know about the change of plans,"Welcome back, your grace" He lowered his head in respect towards the King but the King shut his eyes.
"Where's my son?" His voice was barely audible and held a rough edge
"He would be back soon your grace"
The King shut his eyes once more and the royal advisor thought he must have gone back to sleep since he barely had his strength. Then he tells Cyane not to stay with the King to which she obliges.
Fraden had gotten a little soft with her, he could see with his own eyes that Cyane could be trusted since he could saw the works of her hands.
Cyane sat on a chair beside the window, her hands were firmly clasped in front of her. She avoided glancing towards the King's bed, she had gotten uncomfortable ever since the King woke up. Not that she was afraid of him but she was just too shy. His presence intimidated her.
"What's your name, child?"
The King's voice surprised her, she turned towards him
"Your grace?"
"What is your name?" The King asked calmly again for the second time.
"It's Cyane, your grace"
"Thank you"
Cyane didn't understand why the King would be thanking her, if it was because she treated and took care of him then she was only doing her duty, "I only did my duty as a servant of the crown"
The king's eyes flickered open and he found Cyane staring at him before she threw her face away, "You are right, your duty is to treat but bringing someone back from the darkest part of life is beyond your power which not even Leondre can do but you did or better still your voice did"
Cyane was stunned at his words, the King had been listening to her all this time when he was in a coma. During the times that they were alone, she had talked to the king, told him stories of her childhood.
She was bored and wanted someone to talk to and chose to talk to the King seeing as he was the only person that wouldn't remind her of her place since he barely awake.
Finding out now that the King had heard everything she had told him made her feel embarrassed.
"It guided me back each time" The King continued, "And so for that, I thank you"
He closed his eyes once again and this time she knew without a doubt that he had fallen asleep as his breathing evened.
~*~
The maiden had accepted to follow Leondre back after he had threatened to kill her and destroy their temple if she still remained stubborn. She was one of the few maidens who could heal from their coven and if Leondre did kill her like he had promised to then her power would only pass to the next person coming after her but she didn't want to die. She told her sisters that she would be back and they didn't question her seeing that she stood with their future King.
So they set out on the horses and began heading back to the castle. They had gotten back to Ixar when Leondre brought his horse to a stop.
"Escort her discreetly back to the castle, no one else should know why she's there, if they ask tell them she's a special guest"
Then he turned his horse to the opposite path and kicked its saddle, the horse took off leaving the other three behind. They couldn't question his whereabouts since he had left in a haste but instead continued on their path back to the Castle.
~*~
The royal physician and advisor now stood in the King's chambers besides Cyane.
"What's holding him?" Fraden was tensed, he could no longer restrain himself. The antidote should have arrived earlier so he asked Lerman quietly trying not to let the King know.
"I don't know"
"The antidote should have arrived by now"
"I have no idea what's going on anymore" Lerman shook his head in disbelief
Cyane had overheard them and she was worried about Leondre's whereabouts. Truly, he was supposed to have been back a long time ago and it was already night.
The chances of the King living after this night was beyond her now. She had tried her best, given her all to it but it was as though fate was against her. While worrying about the outcome of the King's health, she was also worrying about Leondre's safety.
Had something happened to him?
Was he safe?
She was so deep into her thoughts that it took a commotion outside to disrupt her. The sound of metals against each other could be heard from the distance.
"What's that sound?" Fraden furrowed his eyebrows, the commotion outside had only gotten louder.
"Let me check" Lerman opened the door and went outside to check where the sound was coming from only to rush back in and close the door. He rested on it like his whole life depended on it.
The sound of the sudden rush back into the room woke the King up and startled the rest of them in the room. Lerman was panicking, Cyane had never seen the royal physician like that before
"What is it?" Fraden asked, he was anxious but had to subdue it.
Lerman spoke in between heavy breaths,"We are under an attack"
I bet you didn't predict this 😁