The Kingdom of Lethoria:
King Taresys of Lethoria sat grimly upon his throne, He wore black robes to signify his grieving. His Queen sat silently beside him. Her heart having turned to ice, she had resigned herself to let no more tears fall from her face. The halls of the entire castle were adorned in black tapestries with the family's Royal Crest.
In the center of the throne room, sat a Casket, surrounded by a mountain of flowers. Torwynn's disgraced body lay inside. Tomorrow they would take his body to the river to release it to the Netherworld. But today…today the people of Lethoria mourned for their Prince, for the Future King that would be no more. The Queen who was no longer able to bear children meant the only possible heir left was their Princess, The Cursed One. She who has not spoken in a half millennium, whose eyes cannot see, yet they have no ailment.
She was never meant to hold an office, nor provide an heir, yet now the Lethorian Kingdom has been left with no choice. They had to have a future king. A Prince for a Prince, as it was only fair. King Taresys and his Queen had already come to the decision. Nolick must provide this kingdom with a future Ruler, and if he refused, then they would take him by force.
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The morning came quickly. Amora was startled awake by the sounds of large horns blaring in the distance, they were deep and felt as if they shook the entire castle. The sound was eerie and off putting. Her door was then flung open by the Elderly elf woman named Arda. "You must get up immediately, the King requires an audience with you."
Arda pulled the Fur blanket off of Amora and grabbed her hands yanking her to a standing position. Amora's sleepy eyes stood wide and confused at the sudden start to her morning. She had only been asleep for a couple of hours. "There is no time to get dressed up, you can do that later, right now you must go to the Dining hall with the King and the Prince."
Amora walked out of the door following the briskly moving Arda. Struggling to keep up. They came to a pair of doors that stood nearly 20ft tall. The elderly woman stopped and turned to the Princess.
"You will enter here, they are waiting for you" she stated, waving her hand towards the door. The blaring of horns in the distance shaking the castle yet again. Amora's groggy eyes were wide, she was still sleepy and weary, and now something strange was happening. When she opened the door she saw both the king and the prince standing and waiting for her at their seats upon the table.
Drogath motioned for her to come nearer, his voice filled with a false kindness "Come child, we have much to discuss, and a short time to discuss it."
Hesitantly the young princess walked closer to the Dark Royals. She could feel herself waking up fully, the closer she got. Her anxiety slowly building and putting her on high alert.
"Good Girl, now sit down." Drogath came up to her and pulled a chair out for her at the table, right beside him, across from the place Godwynn was to sit. Amora lowered her body into the chair and the King pushed her in. An unnerving smile plastered across his lips. He then moved to his seat and the two men sat down at the same time. Staring at her…she couldn't help but to stare down at the table under the pressure of their domineering gazes.
The dark King cleared his throat, "Now then, today you will both be getting bound together. I command it to be so, Are we clear?"
Amora wasn't entirely sure she heard him correctly. "I'm sorry my Lord. I-I don't believe I heard you correctly…do you mean married, as the humans do?" Drogath cut his eyes sharply at her.
"No…I did not stutter, and I do not speak before I think, unlike you. You and Godwynn will be bound by the Fates…the Horns you hear are to announce their arrival in our lands." They will be here within the next hour. My Mages have been working tirelessly to request their audience and have finally managed to summon them forth for a Royal Binding of Souls."
Amora's face paled and she suddenly felt as if she would vomit, or pass out, or both… "Y-you mean, a a-"
"-A Twin Flame Binding, Yes." Godwynn cut in, Matter-of-Factly, suddenly irritated that she seemed so repulsed by the idea. A low guttural growl emanated from him unintentionally.
Amora's eyed both of them fearfully, "I'm sorry, I just haven't heard of this being done in so long, I didn't mean to offend." She looked down at their palms, shrinking back in her chair, remembering her interaction with the king last night; she made sure not to anger him. She couldn't help but hope to herself that perhaps the fates would be able to sense she was not in love, or that Godwynn was not her destined soul mate, and would not allow it, perhaps even help her get away.
Then…almost as if he could read her thoughts, Drogath stood up. "In the event you decide to back out at the last minute, or cause some sort of issue with this arrangement, I want you to be made fully aware of the consequences of you actions."
The Dark King's eyes were boring through her, the blackness in them, gave her a piercing sensation in her chest, he snapped his fingers and the sound of large doors groaning under their weight echoed through the hall. She could hear chains rattling as the guard's drug a nearly lifeless body into the room. It took her less than half a second before she recognized who it was.
"LEWAN!!" She screamed and attempted to cross the table to get to him. Tears began pouring down her face. "Oh Mercy my Goddess! LEWAN!!!" As she came down the other side of the table, she was caught by Godwynn. His arms trapping her like a steel cage.
"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" She yelled and fought, but the prince held her firm.
**WHACK!**
Stars suddenly filled her vision, and she could hear Godwynn growl. The King had just smacked her…
"Not so fast Princess" Eying Godwin cautiously, Drogath returned his focus to her, he confidently spoke. He knew she was in his trap, and she couldn't get out. She had no choice but to obey. "You will be Bound to Godwynn…there will be no sign of hesitation from you, for the fates will sense it. If your binding is not successful?" Drogath pointed in the direction of Lewan, "Well… I'm afraid I will have to cut him, limb from limb…while you are forced to watch." Frustrated tears poured from Amora's face.
"I cannot stand the sight of you" She spat.
"That's fine. But are we clear?" Drogath continued arrogantly.
Amora refused to speak. Godwynn tightened his grip on her, warning her.
Noting her resistance, the king nodded to one of the guards who proceeded to start slicing at Lewan's index finger.
The Atherian cried out in agony his voice echoing as it grew louder.
"OKAY! OKAY! Please stop! I'll do whatever you ask of me! Just let him be! PLEASE!!!" Amora begged, her body weight dropping as she tried clasping her hands together, pleading. She would do whatever she had to do to ensure that her brother was ok. They had her, by the throat…and they knew it. With a wave of his hand the king concluded the meeting, "We are done here" Then looked at her one last time before motioning her away. "Remember what I have said.."
Within seconds she was being rushed out of the hall, by the guards and Arda, back to the guest room. She only had a moment to look over her shoulder, her brothers' eyes met hers, as they were being dragged in opposite directions. His eyes looked empty; all she saw was a broken man, no longer the Knight in shining Armor he had always been for her. She felt what was left of her heart shatter. Would her family's reign coming to a bitter end?
Drogath Turned to look at his son, he was deep in thought "You will have your hands full with that girl, if you do not break her soon. Waste no time in taming that little elf princess." The large King turned to face his son, "I plan to use the two of them to our advantage, there can be no mistakes made. They will be the bait to lure Nolick out into the open…and that all rides on you doing your part"
"I see…" Godwynn ran his fingers through his hair thoughtfully, "and in what manner do we plan to use them to do that?" Godwynn asked, curious of his father's intent, although he was certain he already knew the answer. It would probably be the same thing he would do.
"Do not play daft, my son," Drogath mocked, "Obviously a Union between you and the princess, and a few body parts of the young prince, sent to the Atherian Palace, will be more than enough to drag that pathetic High King out of his little fortress."
"I suspected that was your plan." Godwynn agreed.
"Well, The Fates will be here any moment. Finish putting on your ceremony robes. They are returning a favor showing up so quickly, we do not wish to test them." Drogath said, dismissing his son.
"Of Course, father" The dark prince bowed, and left the dining hall, his father was still sipping on his cup of wine when he looked back, A scowl stuck on his face as he drank.