The Atherian kingdom had been in an uproar for the past 3 days, Both of the High King's heirs had been declared missing. The search for Princess Amora had been expanded to now include her elder brother Prince Lewan. In contrast to the outward chaotic state of his kingdom, King Nolick now sat upon his throne silently, his queen was absent from his side. The halls inside the castle were quiet. Eerily peaceful. Queen Amarha was too grief stricken to leave her chambers and had stopped receiving her subjects since the disappearance of Princess Amora.
Nolick sat upon his throne, idly tracing the intricate artwork on the arm of the chair. His mind replaying his last conversations with each of his children. He had carelessly chosen his words. And now those words haunted him. He had all but turned his back on Amora as she had begged him to let her stay until the wars were over. "Enough!" he had said, "My decision is final." The look of defeat in her eyes had been obvious, but he hadn't cared.
Maybe she had known somehow, he wondered. Is that possible? Maybe if he had listened to her, this whole ordeal would never have taken place. The Lethorian Prince would still be alive. Had his choices really been so poor? He tried to sneak her out in the dead of night like a coward. She should have been sent to Lethoria with a full Battalion at her side. Instead, he had only sent her with a handful of Knights, in the middle of the night.
Then there was Lewan, in his haste to try to make his son accept the fate of his sister, Nolick had pushed him away. No one knew where the young Prince had run off to. The forest kingdoms perhaps? No one would know who he was if he did not want them to. But what if he went to the Dark kingdoms…surely, he would not be so foolish. A knot tightened in Nolick's throat…his gut reminding him that his son wasn't thinking clearly when he left.
The sound of footfalls brought the High King out of his thoughts. One of the king's guardsmen stepped forward and opened the door to allow a small figure in. Rhya, the young woman his son favored, stepped in her head down, in a respectful gesture. As she approached the throne, his majesty noticed a small silver tray in her hands. Two letters sat in the tray, Nolick felt his stomach drop as the young woman came closer. When she finally reached the High King, she gave him a formal bow, "Your Majesty, you have received two messages, One came by Raven, the other from a Lethorian Emissary."
Taking in the sight of the young woman he could see why his son liked her. She was beautiful. Petite. She had fiery eyes that were almost brown in the center, giving her a doe eyed look in contrast to her Golden hair. Hair which was long and intricately braided. She had high cheekbones and a prominent button nose. Her gentle smile could light up a room. But the dark circles under her eyes bared testament to the worry she held in her heart. "Thank you, my child." He spoke as he stood to take the letter from the tray. She averted her eyes to show her respect and nodded to him. "My Pleasure" she responded, curtsied the king and began to walk away, as not to be a disturbance anymore. "Rhya." She froze, obviously afraid she had offended the High King. "You're not in trouble. I know you care for Lewan." Rhya turned around, and he could see tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "We will find him. I give you, my word." Nolick said, consoling the girl. She burst into tears, Nolick wasted no time reaching the young woman to pull her into his arms, as she began to quietly sob against his shoulder. "Shhhhh,You will see him again!" He patted her on the back, Consoling her as if she was his own daughter, "I will get them both back. Even if it's the last thing I do."
After a few moments Rhya's tears subsided, rubbing the last of the tears from her eyes she spoke. "Thank you, my King. I must return to my duties." She looked up to him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. He returned the kiss, placing one on her forehead and gently dismissed her by patting her upper back, and motioning toward the door.
Nolick returned to the throne and sat down. He picked the two letters back up from the armrest where he had placed them when he had stepped forward to comfort the young woman. One held the Lethorian Crest, the other held the Crest of Nyberius. He chose to open the Lethorian letter first. This letter was not written in the traditional royal decorum of a Court Scribe. The king of Lethoria had apparently written this one himself.
Nolick,
I am certain that you are keenly aware of the loss of our two children. With that in mind we must regroup and find a new way to make this binding of our nations happen. The loss of Torwynn has devastated our lands. And to be frank, If not for your own loss, I would have thought this a strategic move to weaken the Lethorian kingdom. It would definitely have made it so that your own son would have fewer challengers to the High King tower. Definitely seeing as Torwynn and Lewan were equally yoked in capabilities. But no matter, my beloved son, Torwynn, is gone and our kingdom goes without a future king. Seeing that your request to send our heir to retrieve his future bride resulted in our loss. We must ask that your Son, Lewan to lead the Lethorian kingdom, by offering our daughter as his future bride, our lineage may continue. Remember that your queen is still capable of producing a male heir to take the throne of Atheria. Mine is not. Do the right thing and honor my request. It is not one we make lightly.
-Taresys
High King Nolick sat with a large frown on his face as he finished reading the letter. They were demanding the Atherian prince in place of their own. The letter was a warning, that the alliance of the Golden Kingdoms was on the line. "Hmph." Nolick rubbed his sore temples…It would make more sense for them to marry that strange daughter of theirs to one of the two Princes in the Golden Kingdom of Atulles. Their King, King Valta would be more than happy to insure each of his son's had a kingdom to preside over. But Valta had no blood debt to Taresys. When Lewan was found…he would be sent to Lethoria. And when he found Amora…she would stay here, where she wanted to be. And an offer would be made to the Kingdome of Atulles, for one of their princes.
Sighing heavily the King picked up the other letter and opened it. A loc of hair fell out as he popped the wax seal of the letter. Picking up the bundle of hair he noted it was luckily not Amora's, as blood stained the tips of it. But something about the hair felt off, something about it made him feel slightly nauseous. Queasily looking at the letter he noticed it was a formal announcement as he began to read it.
Royal Announcement of the Nyberian Kingdom
Let it be known that a Royal Twin Flame Binding between the Dark Prince of Nyberius and the Grand Princess of Atheria is to be held at Midday, This day. The Fates have blessed this union to be a Traditional Soul Binding. This is a Celebratory occasion of both the Nyberian and Atherian kingdoms.
-Royal Court of Nyberius
Nolick could feel his blood start to boil. Even though he had known the dark kingdom would use Amora to their advantage, He never would have thought that they would permanently bind her to them, as of today he would not be able to free her from them, ever. The Fates have never unbound Twin Flames before, knowing that he knew He would never see her again either. Nolick closed his eyes crumpling the letter, if it wasn't for the fact that he knew she would be leading a life of misery, he would have been grateful to know that she would at least live. But knowing she would have to endure a lifetime of torment broke his heart all the more. But how were they able to convince her to agree to this. Surely The Fates could see it was a lie. Amora and the Prince were not lovers, She naturally would have hated him…
Nolick looked at the small loc of hair in his hand. "No!" He shot up and ran from the Throne room. He began running to the Mystic's Tower. The elves who practiced and devoted their magic abilities to the kingdom resided there, and there he would find answers. He ran until he arrived at a large staircase and began to climb as fast as he could. His elven body carried him at a blinding speed. He finally came to a stop in front of a large dragon-oak door, it was beautifully adorned in silver and quartz. Before he could begin to knock, the door opened on its own, as if it was expecting him. An eerie blue glow emanated from the room. "Please come In your highness" a voice called. Nolick was familiar with the voice. It was Yaresii one of the divine mystics who resided in the castle, and the oldest elves in the kingdom of Atheria. Nolick took a moment to compose himself, "Yaresii… Good Day…how are you?" he asked as he stepped in.