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"I yearned to love you, to offer my soul entire, But destiny whispered other designs, a different fire.
It crafted a path I could never have foreseen, Leaving me with dreams unfulfilled, visions unseen."
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Hello, dear readers, I continue to share this tale and will do so for ages to come, for it endlessly sparks the question, "What if?" in my mind.
Can someone truly sacrifice everything for just to spend a second in their lover's arms? They yearn for years, dying to meet, and when they finally do, destiny intervenes with its cruel tricks, as if the cosmos itself conspires to keep them apart in this lifetime.
Each time I recount the ending of this story, tears inevitably follow. I often ponder, how could that possibly be the conclusion?
I've wandered so long in the telling of this tale that I've forgotten the taste of happiness, bearing the weight of this narrative as if destined to carry it through eternity.
Now, let us complete what Rue has begun. Listen closely...
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As Rue narrated her side of the story to Eryndor and the four ministers of the kingdoms, Aurelia sensed her grip on the meeting slipping. Desperate to regain control and eliminate Rue once and for all, she began plotting her next move. Aware that if Eryndor learned the truth about their pact, it would be difficult for her to persuade him to continue denying what he had long resisted.
Aurelia knew she had to act swiftly. She has been giving a small dose of red stone to Eryndor—a substance that subtly manipulates the mind of its recipient, gradually deteriorating their memory and power. While it worked instantly on humans, affecting magical beings required years to reach a similar stage of deterioration.
Aurelia realized that relying on the red stone would take too long; Rue's presence threatened to unravel her facade.
"What are you implying? A mere human turned changeling has the power to destroy the Mist, when the King and Queen could not?" Aurelia scoffed at Rue.
"Yes, I was there. It was a golden dragon, much larger than any draconic form you've seen. And it certainly wasn't you, Aurelia," Eryndor added, siding with Aurelia, his heart torn between belief and the facts he knew.
Taking a deep breath, Rue challenged, "You are a Fae King, capable of seeing into my memories. Look for yourself and see what truly happened that day."
Aurelia's composure faltered, her breathing quickened—she couldn't deter Eryndor now.
Eryndor stepped towards Rue, gently cradling her face as he delved into her memories. He revisited the dark day of their wedding: a small dragon had scorched the aisle, its roar nearly deafening him. As he watched further, he saw himself battling dark creatures emerging from the mist, while Aurelia, transformed into her dragon form, fought alongside him. But then, a creature bit him, sending him into a haze of semi-consciousness.
Looking up into the sky, he saw a golden blaze, a fire so vast it could blind anyone. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the majestic dragon—it was Taimat, the Queen of all Dragons, saving everyone with a resounding explosion that snapped him back to reality.
Tears filled his eyes as he attempted to probe deeper into Rue's memories, but he was abruptly shut out, left only with an oppressive darkness. A ferocious growl echoed, as if about to leap from Rue's mind and strike him.
Startled, Eryndor stumbled backward, caught by Aurelia. "See what you've done? You're not here for justice. You, bearer of darkness, are here to kill our King. Guards, imprison her!" she commanded, seizing the moment to turn the court against Rue.
As he looked further, he then saw himself he was fighting with the dark creatures coming out from the mist. Aurelia has turned into her dragon form and started burning the creatures.
Everyone has come forward to stop the mist. One of the dark creature bite him and he was in partial unconscious.
He then look in the sky, he saw a golden hue, a fire so immense that it can blind anyone. Looking much closer to the form he saw the same little dragon turned into a biggest dragon ever born As if he was seeing the God of the Dragons. The queen of all Dragon. At the closer glance he recognised it was Taimat, who saved everyone. With load blast sound he was back into the reality.
There was tears in his. He tried to look more into Rue's memories but was banished from her memories. All he could sense the darkness.
There was a growl so load and clear as if it will come out from Rue's mind and attack him.
With a jerk he fall backward, Aurelia hold him in her arms. "Look what you have done. You are not here for any justice. You the bearer of darkness, is here to kill our King. Gaurds imprison her!"
Guards rushed toward Rue. "My King, you must hear me out, regardless of what happens," Rue pleaded, her voice rising to cut through the sound of the guards approaching her.
"Guards! Stand down," Eryndor commanded, halting their advance.
"My King! What are you doing?" Aurelia demanded.
"Aurelia, I will hear what she has to say," Eryndor insisted.
"Thank you, My King," Rue said, relieved. "As I told you, after rescuing you, I searched for you and Aurelia, hoping to retrieve my grandparents and leave this land forever. But finding you nearly dead on the ground, I absorbed all the mist poisoning you to save your life. That's when your Queen accused me of trying to murder you. She had me imprisoned. In your absence, she passed her judgment and was about to execute me. Before facing death, I demanded the truth. She revealed that my grandparents had been seized by creatures from the dark mist and were likely dead. She offered to let me retrieve their bodies if I promised never to return or contact anyone from this land again—including the soulmate I met here."
Rue finished her tale, the pain evident in her voice as she witnessed her soulmate, oblivious to their shared past, entwined with Aurelia.
"Aurelia, is she telling the truth?" Eryndor turns to his queen, seeking confirmation. He suspects Rue is honest; if she were lying, the White Palace would have already consumed her.
Caught in her thoughts, Aurelia remains silent. Eryndor shakes her gently by the shoulders to snap her out of her reverie.
"Yes, my King," Aurelia replies, bowing. Eryndor lifts her chin, looking into her eyes with deep affection. "Did you, or did you not, forge a pact with this human?"
Aurelia nods. She had been safe as long as Eryndor hadn't recognized his true soulmate, Rue.
Eryndor turns back to Rue. "Even if that's true, you are the one breaking the pact. And you know the consequences."
"Yes, my King. But I am not the one who violated our agreement. Aurelia sent her people to the human world to eliminate my daughter, the only memorial I have of my soulmate." Rue's declaration sends a shockwave through the hall, piercing Eryndor's heart as if stabbed with thousands of knives.
"AURELIA!" he bellows.
"My king, I did it to protect our land, for us," Aurelia insists, standing her ground. "Her offspring was born not of love but of the mist. That's why I ordered her daughter's execution."
"You should have consulted me. I could have assisted you," Eryndor says, which horrifies Rue. How could he contemplate harming his own child? How could he act without fully understanding the situation? Disgust twists her features as she looks at him. He was supposed to be her soulmate.
"My King, there's something else," Rue says, calming the turmoil within her. She knows she must lay out the truth. She places the five elements and a lily in a circle on the table.
The atmosphere suddenly chills, and winds howl as if summoned by hundreds of werewolves. Eryndor is assaulted by a flood of memories, causing him a headache so severe he can't stand it.
"PLEASE, STOP THIS!" he yells.
As the room returns to normal, Eryndor's gaze falls on Rue, now clouded with visions he can't quite grasp.
"GUARDS! Arrest her," he commands.
Aurelia smirks, sensing victory, but Rue is not ready to yield. In a twist no one anticipated, Rue transforms into a dark, smoky cloud capable of devouring the entire Fae land. This manifestation, born from the darkness she absorbed during the last war with the mist creatures, now threatens everyone in the hall.
Aurelia shifts into her dragon form, face alight with grim determination. As Rue's monstrous form advances, Aurelia prepares to unleash her fire. Rue was devouring every single creature in the room.
Protected by his guards, Eryndor is caught between the fiery onslaught and the encroaching darkness. Memories of the night Rue left him by the riverside flash before him, centered on the lily he held.
"STOP!" he screams, halting the chaos. Rue looked at him
In that instant, Aurelia incinerates Rue and her monstrous alter ego. Rue collapses with a heavy thud. Eryndor rushes to her, cradling her in his arms.
"Please forgive me, Rue," he sobs, caressing her face. "Don't leave me."
"My King, save our daughter. Bring her back to her land," Rue pleads with her dying breaths, clasping her hands in a final plea. "Call Taimat."
Eryndor strokes her lips, recalling their last kiss. "Forgive me, Rue."
In the waning light of twilight, as shadows grew long and deep, Rue felt the final threads of her existence begin to unravel. The world around her seemed to slow, every sound muted, every color dimmed. Beside her, Eryndor knelt, his face a mask of despair, his hands trembling as they held hers. His eyes, once a vibrant emerald, were dulled by the imminent loss, reflecting a storm of pain and regret.
Rue could feel the life force ebbing from her body, each breath shorter than the last, each moment stretching into eternity. The connection that had once bound her soul to Eryndor's—fiery and fierce—was fraying, the ethereal bond dissolving into the cold air of the coming night.
With her remaining strength, Rue turned to face Eryndor, her gaze piercing through the veil of suffering. "Love me in memories," she whispered, her voice a fragile thread. "Let them be our sanctuary."
Eryndor's response was a choked sob; he clutched at her hand as if by his sheer will he could anchor her soul to this world. But destiny was cruel, and no mortal will could alter its course
For the one last time, she kissed him and . . .
"I lo
Ve
Yo
U
My king"
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My readers, grief enveloped me like a cloak, heavy and suffocating. I sat beside Rue's still form long into the night, my heart was bleeding into the darkness, my tears an endless river of sorrow. The pain of losing my soulmate was not a wound that time would heal; it was a scar that would mark my soul forever, a constant reminder of what had been and what could never be again.
Since that day on I wandering from one place to another telling our story to the travellers.
I love you Rue. My heart belongs to you.
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THE END