Hearing Darfin's words, Valindra was first stunned but then began crying into his chest.
She still had hope that there was an elixir that could heal her husband or that he would miraculously recover, but after hearing him, she realized that even Darfin had given up.
Valindra felt cheated. She felt betrayed. After her tragic life was finally showered with hope, that hope was quickly taken away.
She now had to choose if she would kill her husband and live with his blood on her hands for the rest of her life or selfishly let him live, but at that point he would become a living corpse.
He would basically enter a comatose state, and in a week or so, Darfin would pass away.
Valindra wasn't sure if he could still feel pain, but if he could, then that week would be hell for him, and she didn't want her husband to suffer.
Deciding on fulfilling his wish, she got up with her tears rolling down her cheeks and blood dripping from her lip because of how hard she bit down on it.
She first grabbed a potion that had anesthesia inside and fed it to Darfin so that he wouldn't feel any pain.
After that, she grabbed her spear from her storage ring and placed the tip on his chest, where his heart was.
Valindra didn't want to push down. She didn't want to destroy her happiness. And most importantly, she didn't want to see the man who had always loved her and comforted her die.
Darfin would always wake her up with a kiss every morning, and he would kiss her whenever she was going to sleep.
Every time she had to work until late at night, he would wait for her in the bed because he didn't want her to go to sleep alone.
He also loved baking for her and bringing her snacks into the office whenever he had time, and the more he baked, the better he became at it, so Valindra came to love his cookies the most.
Each time she felt sad, he would comfort her.
Each time she felt tired, he would let her sleep on his arm, which would make her instantly fall asleep.
Darfin was a person who didn't treat her like a queen but like a woman. A woman that he loved with all his heart and cared for every day.
As Valindra's spear hovered above his heart, she reflected on all the happy and sad memories they had shared.
The pain in her chest caused her to cry, wail, and scream.
But Darfin couldn't hear her cries, nor could he see her tearful face.
STAB SPLURT
She stabbed the spear inside his chest, and his heart was pierced.
Darfin couldn't feel anything, but he still felt how his heart, which was keeping him alive, stopped beating and how his diseased body was finally being put to rest.
"Thank… you… my love…"
His soft voice reached Valindra's ears one last time before he passed away.
Valindra sobbed as she supported her body with her spear, feeling as if the world was telling her that she didn't deserve to be happy, and she was sick of feeling that way.
She wanted to follow Darfin, but since she still had Erelith, she somehow managed to stop her suicidal thoughts.
On that day, the nation that had celebrated a royal wedding fifteen years earlier was filled with grim silence.
The king had died, as the guards announced and all the newspapers reported.
Erelith, who was only fifteen, was devastated.
His loving father, who always had a gentle smile on his face as he taught him mischief because he wanted his son to have fun in his life, had died.
Valindra never told Erelith that she was the one who killed him, so he always thought that he passed away due to a disease.
Darfin's body was burned because the doctors were afraid that his disease might spread if his body was left to decompose, and the only thing that remained after him was a silver ring.
A ring that Valindra also owned, and it was the ring that had tied them together on their wedding day.
After Darfin's death, Valindra became stricter with Erelith, and she always rushed him to do his best.
She still loved him, but she wanted him to be able to rule as soon as possible because she wanted to stop being the Elvish queen.
Valindra returned to her past self, and she no longer smiled. It was like her ability to smile had died with Darfin.
Erelith would always try to make his mom smile, but it would never work. It was like she was a completely different person.
The only reason she chose not to die when her husband died was because having Erelith by her side kept her from becoming completely filled with despair.
Valindra only did her work and nothing else, and as time passed, she even stopped speaking with Erelith because he began to resemble her late husband.
Each time she would look at him, she would see Darfin's face, and tears would start rolling down her cheeks. She loved Erelith, but the way he reminded her of Darfin made her heart ache.
She lived her life like a warrior who never gave up, no matter how many sticks and stones fate threw at her.
Her parents died when she was young, but she clenched her teeth and planned revenge.
She had to sacrifice her siblings, who would ruin her plan if she didn't, but she ignored their pain and continued striving for her goal.
Killing her real father, Morrsath, felt good because she had managed to avenge her parents, but the sacrifices she had made for it remained rooted in her heart.
The most pitiful person that she killed was Aron. Out of all of his brothers, he was the only one who felt normal, pure love for Valindra, and he was even willing to follow her into her grave.
But she clenched her teeth and continued being the queen she wished to become.
And when she was on the brink of a breakdown, she found Darfin, and her life had regained its colors.
Valindra didn't wish to become immortal. She didn't wish to become the strongest. Nor did she wish for eternal beauty.
All she wanted was for Darfin and Erelith to stay by her side.
Every time fate kicked her to the ground, she clenched her teeth and stood up. It kept kicking her down again and again, but she didn't give up and kept standing up.
Alas, Darfin's death was the final kick.
She didn't have the strength to stand up anymore.
Valindra struggled, fought, and refused to fall, but it seemed as if the world did not want her to be happy. It didn't want her to smile, and it didn't want her to feel loved.
And after five years of teaching Erelith, she finally decided to retire.
Now that Erelith knew everything he needed to know and she didn't have anything left to teach him, she had lost her purpose once again.
She was sick of being the queen, but there was nothing else she could do or enjoy once she stopped being the queen.
The only thing she could do in her life after Erelith became king was watch over him while he ruled the country or wait to see her grandchildren, but she was scared that something might happen to her family members again if she were to stay.
Valindra didn't know if she was cursed or not, but she was just so tired of her life that she decided to freeze her body and force herself to sleep.
So, she gave Erelith the crown and entered the innermost room of the palace. This room was beautiful because it looked like it had its own world inside it.
Valindra would always visit this room with Darfin, and they would laugh while flirting with each other on the grass.
In one of the corners was a tree that had Darfin's ashes spread around it, and inside the tree was an embedded silver ring with a message on top of it.
It read: "A loving husband and father that didn't stop loving his family even after the world had abandoned him."
As Valindra looked at the text and gently caressed the tree with her palm, she decided that she wanted to sleep next to her husband.
She told Erelith about how she would make her body sleep and also told him not to wake her up.
Valindra told Erelith how she felt like she had lost her purpose, and that was the biggest reason she was putting herself to rest.
He wanted her to stay, but he didn't know what purpose he could give her that would make her remain by his side, so he reluctantly accepted her decision.
In the past, she had read a book with an ice spell that could freeze a person and make them fall asleep.
Valindra used a spear and wasn't a magician, but that didn't mean she wasn't able to use magic. She could use it, but she just chose not to because she preferred using a spear.
However, this spell wasn't perfect because Valindra would continue to age inside the ice coffin as time passed, and her body would still be susceptible to illnesses if she had any.
That's also why she couldn't just freeze her husband until a cure for his disease was developed.
Hell-bent on going through with her decision, Valindra took her clothes off because she needed to be naked and stepped into the center of the room.
She then started softly mumbling some words, and soon the spell activated.
FWOOSH
After casting the spell, she felt an incredibly cold air envelop her, and soon her eyes started to close, making her fall asleep.
Only a few seconds later, the room was calm again, but it now contained an ice coffin with an incredibly beautiful elf sleeping inside it.
This elf was Valindra.
The unwanted daughter who murdered her father for the throne.
The sad queen who acquired happiness by falling in love.
And the woman who had wanted almost nothing but lost just about everything.
[End of Volume 1: Hello! I had a lot of fun writing this novel, but as there are currently things that are happening in my life and I don't have the time to write more chapters, I decided to not accept the contract that was offered to me and just release all the chapters I had saved up for free and end my first volume.
There may not be that many people who are reading this novel, but I would still like to thank you all for giving it your time. I worked really hard on it, making sure that every chapter was perfect before releasing it, so seeing people put it into their libraries or give me power stones always brings a smile to my face.
Also, I did say that this is the end of the first volume, so there is a chance that I might return with another one because I had a lot of things planned for Finn, but there is also a chance that I won't. Either way, as long as you keep this novel in your libraries, you will be able to see a new chapter pop up as soon as I decide to return (If I do, that is).
Okay, I think I rambled on for too long, so I think it is time to say goodbye, and once again, thank you all for the support you have shown my first novel. <3]