In Queen's chamber,
Lothar could feel Alora shaking. The best person to take care of her at the moment was Zander. But Lothar was aware Orla won't let Alora lean on Zander or Eugenie for any support. So he sat on the edge of the bed, holding her delicate hand in his as he gently patted her in assurance.
However, it still wasn't enough for Alora. She was restless as she tried hard to be strong. Without a wink of sleepiness in her eyes, Alora started to find the silence terrifying. She hesitantly spoke without knowing if Orla would command her to sleep, "Grandmother…"
Orla had her eyes shut but she wasn't sleeping. Probably she won't be able to sleep if Alora stays awake. Hearing Alora's voice, she hummed in response, allowing her to speak.
Alora tried to think about what she could ask and what she might not know. She recalled a mystery about the Roosevelt family that wasn't well written in the books.
"Grandmother, why does the Roosevelt family not have an heir but princesses?" Every princess of the Roosevelt royal family gives birth to baby girls.
After reading a lot of history books, she knew many lies, and loopholes written in them. As if Anka was trying to hide some things for the future.
Orla glanced at Alora hearing her hush voice due to lingering fear. Alora needed distraction from her fear and the horrible experience she had just gone through.
In Orla's opinion, it was just the beginning of Alora's nightmarish life if she doesn't get stronger and learn to tackle the people and problems wisely. Or else her innocence will end her in a coffin soon.
She wasn't going to comfort Alora as her father or mother or Lothar. She will provide her time to find her solace. "Have you heard of Gotham city's destruction?"
Alora hummed, "Yes, I have read about it, grandmother." She also knew there were unsaid events during that time.
Orla continued in a low, calm voice, elaborating everything that she heard from her grandmother.
"There was a large witches' coven in Gotham city. The chief of the witches' coven was a powerful, young, and beautiful witch. She fell in love with the prince of Anka."
Alora never heard about it. The history she read has that witches tried to dominate the humans and mages to control the Anka. She didn't pose any questions and silently heard Orla.
"The young witch wished to cross the two races and marry the prince. However, the king stopped her advances when he heard the prophecy. The marriage could bring destruction to Anka. There will be a decline in the mages. The witches will overpower the humans."
Alora deduced the meaning behind the prophecy. The marriage between the witch and the powerful mage royal family member would have encouraged the commoners and nobles to cross the races.
Mages or nobles marrying the commoner will reduce the growing number of mages in the nation. That will lead to many issues, especially with the safety of the kingdom from the enemy or neighboring kingdoms.
"Prophecy started the panic in the nation. However, the young witch used her special ability to make the prince fall for her and follow her to Gotham city."
Books about witches were prohibited in the Anka. Thus Alora has only read the fictional novel where witches are shown as villains. Alora doesn't believe that. If Anka was in its most splendorous days while co-living with the witches, then witches were also like humans with special abilities.
"The king demanded them to return the prince but the coven listened to their chief. He had only an heir and an heiress. So he was desperate to bring his son back.
He gathered the mages, and army and attacked the city of his kingdom. There were innumerable losses of life as both sides were stronger in their way.
Anyhow, Roosevelt overpowered them with the help of high-priestesses of witches' covens as she believed in prophecy and shared the same view as the king. Then the high-priestess released the prince from witchcraft."
Alora smiled hearing witches were also good and she wasn't wrong about her judgment. Lothar smiled seeing his granddaughter and Orla caught sight of them.
Orla didn't smile, because what she was going to tell will disappoint Alora, "However, the young witch couldn't bear to part with the prince. She wanted to follow him but the prince turned her down.
She wasn't ready to witness the prince falling for somebody. Hence she killed the prince, then she stabbed herself into her heart."
Alora frowned. Did the witch truly love the prince? How could she kill the prince?
"Until that high priestess didn't know the young witch that fell in love with the prince was her daughter. She got angry for bringing disaster to her daughter's life and furious at the king who cunningly lied to her and hid his daughter's name while asking for help."
Alora didn't like the king. Since the high priestess shared the same opinion as him, he could have handled it in a better way.
"Thus the high priestess burned herself in front of all and she cursed Anka to bear no heir."
Alora gasped. She has heard that high priestesses are the most powerful witches and their curse wouldn't be easy to break.
"The nation was in chaos with the curse and no heir to the kingdom. The king got himself mistresses to have an heir and had many daughters. So he tried to release the curse by catching the witches who eventually died in his hands. Other witches fled away from Anka in fear. Eventually, the king died in over-excretion.
Then my great-grandmother, the king's first daughter took the throne and gloriously ruled over Anka more than any of the kings could rule.
She married a powerful man of the nation but he eyed the throne and attempted to kill her. So she exterminated him and his whole family who knew about it.
She gave birth to a beautiful daughter who carried the legacy of Roosevelt with that silvery hair, and bright eyes. Rather than its father.
However, she was worried, that another man might try to kill her for the throne. Hence rather than breaking the curse, she changed the royal edicts and made the Queen regnant and King Consort.
Nevertheless, her worry didn't subside. She saved the royal bloodline, what about the nation? A nation also needs a capable king who should protect the family and nation with the queen.
They prayed to the guardians and gods of the nation to find a solution. They met sages and looked into prophecy.
During that time, the great queen suddenly disappeared one day, leaving a letter to my grandmother.
[The man with the crescent is your and the nation's future.]
My grandmother told me that the great queen sacrificed herself for the solution she found. Nobody knows what she did or how she did it.
Thus the throne chooses the man, giving him a crescent mark as the king of the nation. While the queens protect the nation, their kings will be the guardian of the queens and the nation."
Lothar and Orla heard Alora mumble in a half-asleep state. "Crescent is a mark of eternal love." It has lied to the people as Crescent was a mark as the king of the nation so that they could believe in the non-royal bloodline king.
Orla and Lothar looked at each other in amusement because Alora was right. True love never betrays, whereas the power of the throne could turn any man greedy and forget every relationship.
Both breathed in relief when Alora fell into a deep slumber. Lothar affectionately kissed his wife's backhand and went to the unused king's chambers, which he hadn't visited since the time they were married.
Orla watched Alora sleeping peacefully with a faint smile on her petite face. Making her happy is too easy but she will have to live a hard life as she couldn't forget the bad memory. Her inexplicable memory was a boon and also a curse to her.
His wrinkled fingers caressed Alora's head, "Grow stronger and support your mother. Grandmother doesn't have much time left." She whispered before closing her eyes to sleep.
—––––––
In the manor, far away from the palace,
The brightly lit manor had fallen into darkness. The moonlight passed through the windows and fell on the man who was sitting on the cushioned hair, breathing heavily. His obsidian eyes were furious and darker than the night.
The blood was rolling down his fingers and dripping on the floor carpet, drop by drop. The items in the spacious room were broken and scattered, the red wine had stained the carpet. The dark energy around his body made the air more tense and suffocating.
He was always proud of his ability, thinking nobody could find him. Getting excited at Alora's reaction, he had forgotten, that Anka will find him as soon as they hear about him from Alora.
"Alora, you are going to be mine. I will come for you soon." He said through his teeth, before preparing to leave the manor.