"Do you all wish to kill me?" With shaking hands, Castiel threw his plate at the maids. "You're all trying to poison me!" He was certain that someone had been trying to weaken him for some time.
He was sure of it.
'Too bad for them, they would have to wait until the curse reached its final stage.' He kept telling himself.
The group of a dozen maids stood frozen in their spot. "No, Your Majesty—we aren't!"
"No, Your majesty—no, Your Majesty." He mimicked the ridiculous tone of their voices.
One of the maids met Castiel's eyes, and he lost it.
Through gritted teeth, he grabbed the spoon from his plate and grabbed her by the neck. "Taste!" Aggravated, he pushed the metal object down her throat before pushing her onto the floor.
"Useless!" He growled, his body aching all over.
It hurt, everything hurt—and he couldn't take it anymore.
For how much longer would he have to endure this?
Bowing deeply, the maid trembled. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, Y-Your M-Majesty."
Sorry?
"Why do you all hate your king?" It was a question that had been on his mind for too long. "Is it because I do not treat you well?"
"No, Your Majesty!"
"Or is it because of this!" He pulled the mask, which covered his scar, down his face. "Look at me!" The room was filled with gasps and cries as everyone turned their heads.
The scar the witch gave him was horrendous. He couldn't even look at himself. How would anyone else be able to look at him?
"My king, no one was trying to poison you." His secretary, Georgie, tried calming the situation by readjusting the mask on his face. "The spoon is merely black due to the herbs." He wiped his finger along the edges, resting Castiel's nerves.
Georgie had been by his side for years.
After Castiel had stolen a rose from the moon goddess, Georgie had been granted a petal for his loyalty.
He had become immortal, and even though one could see that was clearly not his wish—he had still stuck by his side.
Not that it mattered.
The moon goddess had given Castiel 124 years to find his true love, and only one year was left. Their end was nearing, and while everyone who was granted with a petal's powers would eventually vanish—his punishment of eternal pain, in his shifted form, was slowly awaiting him.
The Lycan.
Once in a while, the beast would take over, and when it did—Castiel would either go deep inside the woods or lock himself in the basement. As he was supposedly not a chosen one, and had betrayed the moon goddess, the beast refused to let him control him, nor would he connect with him.
All the others who had benefited from the petal did not have a problem with their Lycan. It was just him.
Not wanting to ruin their happiness, Castiel kept the curse of the Moon Goddess a secret. Only his secretary, his closest friend, the evil witch who had scarred his face, and of course the Prophet also known as the Soothsayer, hidden in the caves, knew about it.
The petal receivers thought they would live their immortal lives without anyone or anything being able to touch them.
They thanked him, and they worshipped him.
In return, he had given them false hope.
"Everyone out!" He took Georgie for his word, allowing the maids their freedom.
Yes, he was crazy—and no, he was not ashamed. After ages of searching for his true love, Castiel was slowly prepared to accept the unfortunate outcome and ready to endure his days in pain. Being a kindhearted king was the least of his concerns.
"Georgie?" He turned to him. "Georgie, where is sir Landon?"
"He has been traveling the woods to bring you more herbs, Your Majesty."
"These herbs?" His throat felt dry. "They're not doing anything!" Frustrated, Castiel pulled his hair and laid down in a fetal position.
Landon was also someone who he had blessed with a petal. He had been his best man from a young age, and not involving him was not even an option.
He had worked his way up to commander, and led a special force of supernatural knights, called the Electi.
Castiel had started the group to collect maidens and had been doing so for centuries hoping to find his true love. Ten years turned into 100, then 123, and now they were here.
There were many mistresses in the palace. His trusted court had even put a queen on the throne. A Lycan princess from a neighboring kingdom. The queen was a bit too fond of him, but even that didn't help as she was not his true love.
He had done everything he could to protect the kingdom, but in the end, Castiel remained a failure.
"Your Majesty, I know you're stressed, but we must not lose hope." Georgie attempted to encourage him. "A lot can happen within a year."
His lips curled. "No, it can't." Castiel chuckled at whatever rubbish the man was feeding him. "I have done everything, Georgie!" He yelled. "Everything!"
"Your Majesty, Queen Meria is here to greet you."
Instantly, he released a growl upon hearing the announcement of the queen's arrival. The only thing worse than the Moon Goddess' curse would be her presence.
There was no time to prepare himself as the door got opened by the queen herself. Holding the sides of her dress, she entered his chambers with her head held high.
His jaw tensed. "What are you doing here?"
"Georgie, leave us." Meria glared at his secretary, showing him the door.
"Georgie, stay." Castiel stopped him before he could take another step.
Meria huffed through her nose, shooting the man a second glance. "Georgie, leave us."
The man grinned uncomfortably, giving him a final bow. "Y-Your Majesty." He followed the queen's orders rather than his king's and found his way out.
Besides being a powerful Lycan from the kingdom of Laure, Meria's manners scared others the most. Her hair was as fiery red and blinding as her personality.
Three years had passed since he had made her his queen. After hearing the news of a young Lycan princess, strong and powerful enough to meet his standards—Castiel had stopped his search, convinced she might've been the one.
It didn't take long for him to find out he was wrong.
Meria sat on his bed and reached for a cloth to press it against his face. With a look full of hatred, he looked into her deep blue eyes.
"It has been months since you've last visited my chambers."
He didn't give her an answer.
He would not give her what she desired.
"Last week, Landon brought two more concubines inside the palace." She smacked her lips. "You visited them every single day."
"Are you taking note of everything?"
"Yes." Meria narrowed her eyes. "When you're giving these fustilugs all the time of the day and do not find the time to visit your daughters…I'll have to do something about it."
He had instructed Landon to forbid any maiden from marrying. They were not allowed to wed until Castiel had seen every single one of them, and had found his true mate, hoping a genuine connection would reveal itself when he would bed them.
Each year he would choose three suitable concubines, in the hopes of falling in love with one of them.
Years passed, and at one point, he had lost count. After taking their innocence, he was gentlemanly enough to give them a title and let them reside in the palace.
When they'd reach a certain age, he would allow them to leave the palace and live their mortal lives, while the very few female Lycans from other kingdoms received higher ranks and had vouched to stay by his side for what they had thought, would be centuries.
Over the years, a few of them had birthed daughters—but he was too selfish for his own good.
All Castiel cared about was breaking the curse.
May it be a human, Lycan, or a werewolf, the queen was not that fond of anyone and despised all the chosen concubines.
"You can return when you can do your rightful duty as my queen and grant me sons," Castiel told Meria.
They had three daughters. They were active little pups—but they were of no relevance to him.
There was no point in getting close to them when there were bigger things to worry about.
Even if the curse were not in the way, they wouldn't be relevant until they hit adulthood and become immortal.
"You're evil." Meria gasped, standing straight.
"I've been taking your disrespectful behavior for too long, and I've had it."
"I told Landon to stop bringing in more maidens." If he had to listen to her voice any longer, he was afraid the beast might come out. "That's what you want to hear, right?"
"Very well, then." Meria twisted her neck. "I hope he keeps his word because the next lady to enter the palace as your mistress—I swear I'll sink my teeth into her neck and kill her myself."