Hazel looked up and saw a carriage flying through the sky and whatever serenity she felt before vanished into thin air.
When Hazel saw the carriage in the air she seemed to snap out of whatever daze that she was in. She remembered the words of the Centaur and the elf and became scared. Was that the king coming? Will he save her or will he condemn her to her death? She asked herself. She started to wonder what exactly made her so relaxed in a situation such as this...
She looked closely at the carriage that was descending slowly and she could see that it was being guarded by creatures with wings flying in front, behind, and on both sides, two were at the front, three on each side. It was a mix of males and females on both sides, there were also a few flying behind it following it closely.
The closer the carriage got, the stronger the pull she felt towards it was becoming and she became impatient waiting for it to land.
She was curious as to what could make her feel so restless. They were a mixture of excitement and fear as she watched in along with everyone else.
Hazel saw as everyone in the coliseum rose to their feet the moment the carriage was about to land and silence ensued. The carriage lands safely and slowly, making no sound at all.
All the creatures guarding it maintained their positions with no one moving to another, they stood like statues with no expressions on their face. They looked human besides the huge wings on their backs and some other minor differences like their eyes, some of their eyes were multi-colored.
The door to the carriage opened and Hazel found herself holding her breath without knowing why. She stared at the opened door feeling a sudden tension in the air. She could not tell if it was because he would be the one deciding her fate or something else. Her heart was beating against her ribcage louder than it had ever before. She felt the pull towards it become stronger and she has become a bit more restless.
As if sensing her restlessness, the creatures that were standing around the circle looked at her and were surprised that the effect of what they had sprinkled on her had worn off. She has regained her senses completely and that worried them as it has never happened before. They wanted to move closer and check on her but they could not go beyond the circle that was drawn out on the ground so they just stood and watched with sweat rolling off their backs fearing that they had something wrong which made the effect wear off so quickly.
Hazel was oblivious to their fear and stared at the figure that was slowly emerging from the carriage. Everyone bowed as soon as he stepped out and stood facing the sacrifice.
He then took a few steps forward toward where she was tied. There was a deep frown on his face as he looked at her while approaching her. His actions caused a commotion among his subjects because he was never meant to go down there and see the sacrifice by himself, he usually sends someone else to do that and then reports to him but now he was going there by himself.
The creatures that guarded the carriage followed behind at a steady pace without a second thought. He continued walking until he was right in front of Hazel and stopped walking. He looked at her as if trying to read her. Looked into her eyes as if he was looking for something in them.
Hazel was spellbound when she saw the man who emerged from the carriage. He was... Beautiful. He had long and dark hair that cascaded down his shoulder and fell freely on his back. His features were refined with a pointed nose, sharp jawline, a thin pair of lips, and the most beautiful pair of lilac eyes that she had ever seen. When he approached her, she felt... Safe? It sounded unbelievable to her but that was how she felt.
When he looked at her with interest she found him cute seeing the frown on his beautiful face. Slowly he stretched his hand towards her and stared deeply into her eyes. Just when his hand was about to touch her, Someone called out to him.
"Your grace!"
His hand paused in the air but he did not respond and still proceeded with what he was doing. Hazel looked past him and saw the centaur, elf, dryad, and a few more creatures that she did not recognize immediately standing behind him. She darted her gaze back to him and his hand finally touched her cheek. Hazel closed her eyes at the warmth of his touch, she subconsciously leaned closer to his palm.
"Your grace, what are you doing?" Someone asked among the people standing behind him.
"Mate!"
That was the first word he said shocking everyone who heard him. They all looked at him with shock and then looked at Hazel who looked very lost with complicated looks on her face.
The elf smiled lightly as he looked at her and that was also when Hazel looked at him and saw his soft smile. She knew immediately that she would be okay.
"Your grace, what did you say?" The dryad asked. She felt like she did not hear him clearly and from the look of it, she was not the only one who needed confirmation.
"She is my mate." He said without wasting more time. "Release her at once." He ordered. His hand was still on her cheek holding her as if he did not want to let go of her even for a second.
Hearing his command, the guards moved the fastest reaching them before anyone else and cutting her loose.
Though she was free, Hazel still could not believe that she was freed just like that. She looked at the man who had her released and wondered what he would do to her. She had no idea what he meant by, "She is my mate" and didn't want to believe that he did not have a hidden motive.
"Thank you." She said with gratitude and attempted stepping away from him but he used his other hand to hold her waist and pulled her even closer.