"Are you ready?" Drake enters the room slowly scanning its content. His eyes landed on me. Per the kings request they had brought up a dress for me to try on. A wedding dress. A WHITE wedding dress. He scanned me up and down, met my eyes and then jerked over in laughter. I rolled my eyes because I felt the same way. I looked dumb, WAYYY out of my comfort zone.
"I'm not wearing this, over my dead body." I say taking it off. I throw it into the corner and shake off the lingering feeling. Still I can feel Drakes eyes loom over me. But he lowers them in guilt and turns around with a silent exhale. I put on my clothes and tap him on the shoulder.
"Ready." I say, plastering my Princess smile on my face.
"Where is Damien?" He asks looking around the room for any sign of him. I roll my eyes and he saw me, he raised his eyebrow. I trusted Damien with the darkest secret known about me. My stomach twisted when I found out he kept secrets from me, and it's not returning to normal. It's just lying there, like a pit of despair floating around deepening within me. Drake met my eye narrowing his. An evil grin grew large upon his face.
"Did you guys have a lovers quarrel?" He mocks with a forced sad face. My eyes were cold and his smile fades inwards as he blinks his puppy dog eyes. "Alright alright, I get it, it's too fresh A wound to talk about. But we do need to talk, but first we gotta make it through that dinner without chopping anyone's head off." My smile mirrors his, because we both know it's very likely. He pats my on the shoulder and walks out of the room wanting me to follow him. And I do.
————————
Everything about this place was so different to home. The rooms were blinding, everyone was clean cut and 'proper' in a way. All the ladies floated across the room like angels and the men were as prestige as a pride of lions. Typical. Damien was so different to them, even the way he walked and talked. He was more like us than them. That made me smile, but now I knew why. He had access to darkness, he is more like us than anyone here. We walked into the dining room side by side clutching out swords scanning the movements of the guards. We locked eyes with them but they quickly looked away unable to hold contact. We saw The king at the head of the table. Him and the Queen were in a hushed conversation so we couldn't not hear what they were conversing about. Ryan and Lavria were sitting side by side silently and Damien was sitting at the other end of the table with Ashley next to him. I sat next to Damien and Drake sat next to me. We were seated far away enough from the King and Queen, for us to expect some shit to go down. Damien and Ryan hadn't eaten a thing on their plate, they just shut down and looked dead straight into the Kings direction. He noticed and smiled at them lifting his fork.
"On my word, It's not poisoned." He burst into giggles. I locked eyes with Ryan who just raised his eyebrow cutting the air with his glare. I'm not sure about him, but I was questioning the sanity of this man.
"We're just not very hungry, King Lucent." Lavria says. the king picks at his teeth, his gaze landing on Lavria.
"Who are you?" The king replies and I see Lavria's confidence shrink into a ball of misery.
"Her name is Lavria, she is my friend and soon to be queen of Valtor." Ryan's head snapped up gawking at me in bewilderment. It was obvious. Now that Fosha was out of the picture, Ryan would choose Lavria, if he hadn't already floated the idea around her. I just don't think they wanted to mention it infront of The king and Queen. Considering what happened to Isla. But I didn't care. We now know, they won't touch her. They wouldn't risk it. He smiles at me and picks up his spoon. "Karina, Don't take me as a fool." He said to me. Damien lifted his knife and twirled it on the table. "You didn't come here to tell me who the new queen is or marry my son..so what DID you come here for." He licked his fingers emphasizing the sounds and scanned all of us for some sort of reply. We weren't ready to confront him yet. We had no proof and Something was still bothering Damien that I had to get out of him. He was still keeping something from us. From me. I thought quickly to avoid an awkward silence.
"Well, Damien has made a lot of sacrifices for me. He wanted to get married here so I thought I would make a sacrifice for him..and here we are." I say. The queen's cackle echoed in the hall making me jump, and Drake grip his sword.
"Oh Darling..you don't know what a real sacrifice is. None of you do. You have had food in your mouth and clothes on your back since the day you breathed air. A sacrifice- A REAL sacrifice, is more painful then even death. To be with Floyd, my sacrifice was my name. To give birth to Damien, my sacrifice was my health. And to live, and to save my son, my sacrifice was my sight. Tell me, what TRUE sacrifices have you made? When have you Princess Karina Darvos EVER had to make sacrifices?" She says, with her lifeless eyes burning through my soul.
"Mother.." Damien says the knife now sticking into the wood. He had twirled it so much it now became stuck. "If I remember correctly, you and Father asked me to seduce AND kill Karina when we got to Valtor." I saw that got Ryan's attention and he squared his shoulders narrowing his gaze at Damien. "And if I didn't.. Well, you remember the consequences you told me." He stared straight at her. "I sacrificed my Family, my name, and almost my life on his order" nodding at his father "...so yes.. we do know a thing or two about sacrifices. " Drake smiled at him, but Damien's eyes were killer. Damien is so damaged, but yet It makes him the smartest man in the room. The Queen didn't speak, but Ashley's cheeks looked like they were on fire. Drakes gaze had moved to her. His eyes studied Ashley, I had seen that look before. He couldn't figure her out. It was killing him, he couldn't read her. She didn't look at him, because I was next to him. And she was afraid of me. (I'll fix that later) I thought and smiled to myself.
"Karina did you enjoy the dress?" Ashley said not looking at me. Drake stifled a laugh.
"What dress?" Ryan said still pissed off.
"Oh, father wanted to give her a wedding dress. We didn't know what you wanted so I picked it." I raised my eyebrow slightly. " I have already started making preparations for your wedding." I look to Damien and his eyes are apologetic, but the air was too heavy for him here. So I decided not to pick a fight.
"Thank you Ashley. I want to make a small request though." She still doesn't look at e but she nods. "I want the wedding be small, informal, and surrounded by trees. It's were I feel the most calm. I would appreciate it." She looks to Damien as if to get permission. He looks right through her, as if asking why look at me. "Karina said it, thats how the wedding will be." He said to her. Suddenly the chair screeched and the Queen got up and left. The king got up and caught up with her leading her out of the room. Leaving us alone. We all sat in silence for a moment. Ashley cleared her throat loudly, and looked around the room suddenly shrinking surrounded by Nightslayers. She was intimidated, but Drake smiled warmly, and she sat up a little higher.
"Brother, the wedding will take place tomorrow, at dusk. Everything should be ready by then. Queen Lavria would you mind helping me for a moment." Lavria gleams in a new found respect. Ashley smiles at Damien. He just nods lost in thought. Both Lavria and Ashley leave together chatting as they left. Once out of earshot, Ryan threw his water at me.
"What was that for?!" I shouted.
"Are you delusional?!" Ryan shouted. "No seriously! Are you!"
"Ryan calm down!" Damien says standing infront of me.
"Now If something happens to her because of what you did-"
"Ryan! It won't! They won't touch her now! You should be saying 'Oh thanks Karina for saving Lavria!' Because now they know she is the Queen they can't risk it again!"
"That didn't stop them when they killed Isla-"
"Stop it!" Drake shouts. I now realize we are all standing. Soaked in water I leave and Drake hastily follows me. I run up to Damien's room and smack open the door, The thud hard enough to shake the furniture.
"Karina calm down." Drake says shutting the door. I grab some towels and rub them on my face. I clutch the dresser leaning over it breathing in and out as the darkness swirls. "He misses Isla he just wants-"
"I MISS ISLA! We ALL, Miss Isla! He is not the only one who gives a FUCK about this situation! I'm sick of hearing it, Ryan loved her, Ryan misses her, Ryan's sad. Well the guess the Fuck what drake. I loved her, I miss her, I'm pissed that I wasn't by her side when she needed me.. And if I can Protect Lavria, you best be damn sure I will." The Darkness was seeping through my veins and I realized the mirror was frosting over. "Damien was almost killed for it. And that was the icing on the cake for me. My best friend, murdered. And my soulmate, guiltily charged.. I was in a dark place Drake. Darkest I had ever been. Did anyone of you-did Ryan care for that? No, he didn't even ask how I was doing with Isla's death. He didn't ask how I was doing when Damien was getting whipped EVERY FUCKING DAY!" Drake moved closer to me standing inches away. "He didn't care how the bitter grief set alive a fire under my skin. How it just stayed there. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't control myself. I lost myself completely Drake. And when I looked around, Isla wasn't there." He scooped me up and hugged me dear, his breath shaky as he was sorrowed by what he had heard. He sniffled, and whispered.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me." He kissed me on my head.
"I'm sorry too." I hear from behind Drake. Ryan stood there with a tear in his glassy eyes. And a hand in his pocket. His jaw tightened as he couldn't meet my eye. But he heard the whole thing. He looked up, and his lips quivered. His breath was jaggered as he came inside. I rushed over to him and embraced him. We just stayed there for a while.
"Karina, is this yours?" I turned around to see Drake staring at the painting of the woods on Damien's wall.
"No." I say. "It's Damien's, why?"
"Who painted this?" He said an alarming expression clouded his face as he stared at me.
"I don't know." I say slightly worried. "Why?"
"Karina why would Damien have this? This is the only painting in his room."
"What's wrong Drake is just a painting?" Ryan said patting him on the shoulder.
"Ryan look at it!" He ushers Ryan to the wall. Ryan stares at the image, when suddenly his eyes go wide and his jaw opens up. They both stare at me in bewilderment.
"This wasn't painted recently-"
"What's going on!?" I shout as they snap out of their spiral.
"Karina look!" Ryan says. With an open mind I walk over to the image and gawk at it. When suddenly I see it. In the corner. The cave. The cave to the Tree Iqra. It's the same cave in the image.
"Why does a lightning, who has never been to Valtor before, or has even known what our wood look like in 200 years, have an EXACT painting of the Valtorian forest? Including a direct view to one of the Darks most sacred domains ever to exist? And it's sitting here right on his wall!"