Guinevere was shocked and livid upon hearing this; she felt betrayed and broken. Hot tears quickly pooled in her eyes as she stood up from her seat. No one noticed, as they were all focused on the new couples-to-be. Guinevere bit her lip hard as tears dropped from her eyes. She looked at Nikolai, who was staring back at her with his usual indifferent gaze. He knew, she thought, he knew and he didn't see fit to inform her.
Her father, too, they were both aware, yet no one told her anything. She sat back in her seat instead of storming out as she had wanted to. Her eyes caught her mother, who was staring at her sadly. She could see her mother was sorry for her.
Only her mother and brother cared about her, Guinevere told herself. Her stepbrother proved he was only her stepbrother and cared nothing about them. Their father cared about him most because he was the son of his beloved first wife.
Straightening her back in the seat, Guinevere wiped her tears with the sleeve of her gown. Maybe this was why Quill hadn't picked her to be his duchess; she acted immature. Looking at Violetta, she looked bold and womanly. This was the kind of woman Quill must like, not innocent and shy like she had thought. And maybe she had misread his intentions whenever he asked after her well-being every time he visited the castle.
But enough of the maybes, she was done being an immature princess. She'd be what her mother wanted her to be. Smiling sadly, she tore her eyes away from Quill and breathed out aloud. She didn't listen to anything else being said in the courtroom, and when it was time for everyone to leave, she was the first to step down from her seat and make her way out of the courtroom.
"She is beyond broken, mother," Lucian said to Margareta as they watched Guinevere walk out of the room.
"Just enough to teach her what to follow," the woman smirked to herself. Guinevere wasn't completely like her, and she didn't see it befitting as her daughter.
One cold night, far away in her dream, Jasmine sweated profusely with a deep frown on her face as she shu
t her eyes tightly.
"Open up! Open your eyes and see what we'll do to you," that voice haunted her again. The man poked his fingers in her eyes, making her scream as he forced them open. Teary and bloody red, her eyes fell on her mother, who was slipping in and out of consciousness as the vile humans continued to molest her.
She shut her eyes again, and the man punched her hard on her sides, causing her to fall to the ground with a whimper, her head hitting the cold ground and knocking her out immediately.
"Aaarrgghhh!" Jasmine sat up in bed with a loud scream, her body heaving up and down as she breathed hard. Her hair was stuck around her face, and she placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. When was the last time she dreamt of the past? She always avoided thinking about it.
She saw a reflection in her room and quickly turned to the open window, but there was no one there. Standing up from her bed, she clutched her head, feeling the headache ramming in, and staggered to the window, pulling the white curtain away.
The cold breeze made her shiver lightly as the sweat had dried on her body. "Mother..." Jasmine whimpered softly, tears pouring from her eyes. Those men had snatched her mother's life; they snatched her freedom too. She wished them nothing but horrible deaths, very horrible ones.
After crying her heart out from missing her mother, Jasmine moved to close the window when she noticed two figures standing far away. From the silvery locks shimmering under the moonlight, Jasmine was sure one of them was Prince Nikolai. What was he doing out at this time? Who was he talking to? Peter?
As she watched, the second person suddenly grew wings on his back, which made her gasp. From the two-colored wings, she knew it was Peter, and she saw him bow at Nikolai before turning and flying upwards.
Suddenly, Nikolai turned in her direction, and she moved away from the window just in time. She breathed out deeply out of relief, closing her eyes. She almost got caught! What were the two of them talking about? And why didn't Nikolai capture Peter and lock him up? Because he wasn't completely a black fae? She had seen his wings, black and white but not like her mother's.
This brought a question that Jasmine had never thought of since she saw her mother's wings. If her mother was a Fae, does that mean she's one too...?
"What did you hear, little cat?" That cold voice reached Jasmine's ears and caused her to scream in panic. Her eyes snapped open to stare at the devil who stood outside her window. His hands we
re pushed into his pockets, and his long silver hair swayed gently in the breeze.
"Master- P-prince Nikolai?" Jasmine stammered, not expecting the man to be there.
Nikolai continued to stare at her with his multicolored eyes, and she opened her mouth to speak but closed it again.
"I-I didn't hear anything, Prince Nikolai," she replied to his waiting question and bowed her head. No one could hear anything from that distance.
"Why are you still awake?" She heard him ask again.
"I-I was thirsty."
But Nikolai knew it wasn't true; he had seen her struggle in bed and sweating earlier. She had a bad dream, he knew.
The way he continued to look at her made Jasmine almost cower in fear, but she stood, waiting for him to leave before deciding to ask him a question.
"Can I ask a question?" Nikolai didn't answer her, and she wanted to let it go when he asked.
"What?"
Huh? Uh... what was her question again?
"Why did you not lock Sir Peter up like the rest of the Faes you caught?" She didn't know if he'd answer her question, but she asked anyway, and surprisingly, he did.
"He's useful," Nikolai replied simply.
Useful? Jasmine wondered what he meant by that.
Another question popped up in her mind, "Are you... like him... a Fae?" She dared to ask, but there was no change in the man's expression. He simply said,
"You only requested to ask one question; you've done that." Before Jasmine could request another, he added, "Now, you answer, little cat."
Little cat? Why was he calling her little cat?
"Are you a Fae?" Jasmine heard his question.