"Princess, the news has arrived. King Lykos has been throned," Maansa announced, her voice trembling with unease.
"What about Prince Pyre?"
"He didn't participate in the coronation contest. He has already withdrawn his position."
"Oh."
"Are you content now? Lunar powers will be bestowed upon him, and we all know who he is and what he does. How are you going to defeat him? He is not just a warrior; he was trained by Yachee himself."
"What? The great Yachee? The one who trained me and Leo?"
"Yes. So, what's your plan? How are you going to reach him?"
"Maansa, who am I?"
"You are our princess, Your Majesty."
"No, I mean, look at me as a woman."
Maansa's eyes widened, horror dawning in them as she understood my intent. "Upon crowning, he will need a queen. If I can get close to him, become his queen, it would be the easiest way to kill him." Relief washed over me as the plan crystallized. It seemed almost foolproof.
"Princess, that is impossible. Rumor has it that last year, the princess of Alsace came to him as a suitor. He refused her, and when she tried to touch him, her finger burned. It means..."
"He has mated but hasn't consummated it yet," I finished, frustration gnawing at me as I realized I needed a new plan.
"Princess, you must understand. King Lykos is the epitome of evil. Name a vile act, and he has done it. He killed men who sought help from Pyre out of sheer jealousy. He burned two villages last year, women and children included. He doesn't pity anyone, especially women. How he found a mate is beyond me."
"Perhaps his mate shares his dark soul. Now that he is king, they will unite."
"Yes, my dear. Whenever someone is throned, no matter the distance, their mate will find them."
"Maansa, if I had been crowned, do you think Leo would have come back to me?. After all I am his mate or maybe was" disappointment laced my voice.
"Yes, without a doubt, my daughter. He would have returned."
"I often wonder how he has changed, where he is, what he is doing. Does he remember me? Or has he found someone else?" his golden hazel eyes reflected in my memory. His kindest and softest gaze when he used to look at me.
"That could never happen. If he betrayed you, your mating necklace would crack. Yet, it still glows as brightly as the day he gave it to you. You know how much he loves you." sh pointed at my neck adorned with the blue cool crescent mating stone.
Every couple who was mated was given a mating stone, the legends told that stones had power that we don't know of. But they were used as a symbol of companionship and commitment. Mating stones turned warmer and warmer as they would be closer to the mates.
The colors would change too. Leo got us necklaces, sun for himself and moon pendant for me. My fingers traced the cool pendent in longing.
"But Maansa..." Tears began to roll down my cheeks. "He never came back. He left me here alone to fight those wolves... to..." My voice broke, and tears poured from my eyes.
Maansa gently rubbed small circles on my back. "He lost his father too. Being apart from you is difficult for him as well, but unlike many men, he hasn't stopped loving you."
Leo left me soon after we got to know about our mating bond, I was only 15 and he was 20 at that time. He went to the BERSERK the enemy kingdom. It was something about the rules, when his father died. He left to be the part of their army.
"Maansa, how much can a person change in thirteen years? Will he be the same? Will he love me the same way?"
"Let time reveal the answers, my dear. What's yours will find you or eventually you would"
She planted a kiss on my forehead and a knot in my chest eased with the care and touch she would invest in me.
The glum air shifted my focus to the warmth in my blood for revenge and I knew everything else is only a distraction right now.
" I need everything in our libraries about our neighbors" I hissed.
I needed a plan to get to the palace and I needed a map itself of the palace. I was not a frail object that people of berserk can chew and eat. I was the power itself, the majestic royal blood.
Only thing that I needed to think of right now was how to get to the palace without being noticed as the royal elegant lady. If I go as I was they'll only welcome me with flowery pretenses and sweet fake lies.
The crimson sun was setting in the horizon, I could see the faint towers of the far castle through the forest. It was the home of my mother's killer. I never wanted anything In my life so badly as much as I wanted to bathe my skin in silver blood of that cruel royal.
The kingdom of zephyr was built by the women of power 3000 years ago, when men came they were allowed to build their empire in berserk (a deserted lush deep forest) as a treaty was signed. The kingdom of zephyr was considered one big friendly home for both ruling powers.
But as the women dwelled here first, they set up their own rules and their own wards.
The treaty that was signed established the fact that the whole kingdom would be ruled by the first born woman from the either kingdom. The royal women were the goddesses of epitome, strength, grace, beauty and healing. They were born with golden blood.
The royal men with silver blood as in the moon who gets the light from the sun. THE GOLD SPECS of women strengthened the men.
Rest of the population had bronze blood running through their veins.
Only the princesses and queens had the ability to heal anyone and everyone but not without their consent. Only with their permission their blood was used to mend wounds and scars.