"Long ago, a young prince came to our village, claiming he wanted the hand of a maiden. She was tagged as a cursed maiden but our village put our life at risk to protect her and her family"
"Blinded by the gestures of the kind prince, my grandfather blessed the marriage of the prince and the maiden. Years passed and word came to my village that the maiden had bore a cursed child just like her. Her child could heal and grant life"
"My grandfather wasn't fazed by it, but sent a message to the prince, pleading he should protect the maiden and her child. Though words never came back my grandfather was certain that the maiden was safe, or so he thought. The prince soon took over the throne and ruled the land"
"Years passed away and we never heard from the maiden, some of the villagers claimed she was killed, others claimed the king had thrown her into prison. One ungodly night we were all struck by the truth of the maiden's existence"
"The king and his men raided our village, I was fourteen when my parents were slaughtered by the King's men. At the entrance of my village was a child sitting on the blood stained ground, the full moon bloomed and radiated her pale unearthly skin. Her white garment soaked in the blood of my people. Her eyes were blindfolded to the gore some scene as tears fell down her eyes like streams"
" There we stood after the long death parade had come to an end. My grandfather was kneeling before the king with his unfazed eyes. He didn't even show any reluctance or disgust from the betrayal"
"The king stabbed my grandfather, ensuring he wouldn't die from the single blow, I kneeled behind him shivering in fear, my siblings were all motionless on the cold floor as blood rolled doen their body"
"I don't really remember much after that, but I do remember something.
'and as his hand stretched out to the lands, he granted her a gift. The gift to give life unto whom is bestowed upon and the gift to give death unto whom earned it'
This was the power of the maiden in our village"
"Quite a story, it relieving that you aren't wallowing in tears right now " Manasseh replied calmly
"Your brother has found her" Larkin turned to him with a sharp gaze. "The Maiden of Death"
"It seems so"
"He now has the power to kill you and bind you by his will" Larkin turned to the flowers in her hand.
"So..." Manasseh sat on Larkin's bed, it was a simple bed nearly arranged with a red blanket and pillow, her fireplace was at the south wall of the room and a few shelves stood at the west. There were different books with different handwritings on it.
Manasseh stared at her like Larkin had just bored him with a story "what are you trying to say?"
"Lord Manasseh, don't you get it? . The maiden of death will kill anyone who has ill intentions towards her, consciously or not" Larkin crawled to Manasseh's feet.
"Hmm... Are you trying to say I'll get jealous if you get too close to her?" He teased with a charming smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Larkin glared at him in frustration, it was almost an impossible task to reason with him."You have to stop this plan. It's not going to work"
Manasseh sighed "to think you were on my side" his finger trailed down her cheeks to her chin. "Do you realize how important this is to me?"
"I do but you will die if you go ahead with your plans" Larkin's eyes were sobber. "Life is a better trophy than untimely death for a reward"
"Then so be it, I have committed a lot of atrocities to earn death, don't you think?" he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Besides it Sage, I can take him down even without trying"
"Do you plan to die for something as worthless as that? You can't put your life at risk for a fruitless plan" Larkin snapped at him angrily, but she regretted the next minute. Manasseh's eyes were glowing red and his hand was tightly gripping her neck.
"I am in a sour mood today Larkin, don't add more salt to my wound" Larkin held his hand and closed her eyes. Manasseh threw her on the floor and stood up. "I believe I've heard enough of your bedtime story" he walked to the door and slammed it.
Larkin closed her eyes and heaved in and out, bottling the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks. Her peach eyes gradually lost shade and turned caramel brown. "Why is he so stubborn?"
OONA'S POV
I couldn't hold back my yawn, I was beyond exhausted and fatigued. Sleeping on the cold field in the cemetery was beyond uncomfortable and terrifying. I planned on sleeping the whole day right after breakfast but Lady Cornette had other plans.
My eyes scrolled through the letters in the huge textbook opened in front of me. Having stopped education at a tender age, I could barely read anything here. All I could pick were words I've pronounced and analyzed by my own discretion.
"In the fifty sixth year of the seventh full moon, the Rolfe family was established and adorned the honor of crescent section in the army."
Presently I was taking history lessons, one of the many boring lessons I took with Lady Cornette. I turned to her escorts who all stood on a straight line in front of me. Even if I tried to get a shut eye for at least a second, one of her escorts would tap my shoulder till it gets sore.
"... The Gryphon family assumed the title of Annika's shield. They are a family of resilient knights that have accomplished outstanding deeds on the battlefield. One of them is Lady Olivia Gryphon, the third daughter of the royal general Theron Gryphon"
I'm sure I've heard that name before. Sighing tiredly I turned to the book and flipped a page, my head ached lightly but I knew that won't grant me a pass. I couldn't even put my hope on Sage, he left the manor immediately after breakfast.
I looked up to the glass ceiling that revealed the blue sky, I decided to take a look at the library a little. There were so many huge shelves that rounded the center of the library, they were as tall as the building itself. Each had sections, one facing north of the glass, other East and the last which was where i was facing west. The huge library door was South of the room. All sections and shelves had it's own regalia colour of red for history, golden for the scriptures and green for the rules and conduct of the kingdom.
"Milady" Lady Cornette tapped my shoulder, she broke my trance and continued her lecture. No matter how hard I tried to pay attention in her class, I found my mind drifting off in the waves of my past, present and possible future.
I wasn't sure I had a solid position as Sage's wife. It kept me pondering on what might be my future if he decides to cut me off. Death was on the list but I'd rather not think about it. He might also decide to make me a figurehead wife, not a committed one or he might decide to cut ties with me and send me off to fend for myself.
I sighed heavily, there was so much happening right now that I could hardly keep up. Last night made me realize that I had to live up to Nohr's sacrifice, I had already decided that I'd live up to his expectations but then again how? Up until his death, I hadn't thought about my life getting better. I believed I would be a murderer till I ate the dust as well. I yawned once more.
"A lady should never yawn more than once in a day" Lady Cornette's voice echoed in the room. She always had an irritated and disappointed gaze on me. I didn't quite mind, after all I lived with worst gazes than hers. I could easily sense that she didn't like me. Though she had no ill intentions towards me. It was very hard to not spot her distaste lurking in her eyes.
"Let's call it a day, I've gotten a headache from having to correct you so much" she scoffed and closed the book in her hand with great force. I felt a pinch in my chest, but at the same time I was ecstatic. I could finally close my eyes.
Her escorts all cleared the library table and began to return the books on the table to their shelves. Cornette picked a fan from her pocket and fanned herself.
They left one after the other end Cornette bowed before shutting the door behind her. I stared at the door with was at least half a mile away from me. But to me it seemed like a day's journey, I felt weak in my legs. Resting my head on the table, I cushioned my head on my arm and sighed. It wasn't all bad sleeping here. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
I opened my eyes slowly as I finally walked back to reality. It's been years since I slept so peacefully with a nightmare as an alarm. I stretched out my stiffen limbs and bent on my aching back. "ouch!!" It was less sore than this morning.
I looked at the ceiling, the sky was now orange with slight hue of peach in it. "Evening already?" I could only wonder how long I had slept.
Raising my heavy body, I staggered to the door and walked out. Though I had just woken up, I still felt tired and exhausted. Trailing back the hallway I was most familiar with I headed for the kitchen, but for some reason I ended up lost in one of the numerous halls in this manor.
I turned to my left, trying to remember which route I took. Maybe I wouldn't be here if I had paid attention to my destination and not get side tracked by the paintings on the ceiling.
I began to retrace my steps, by then the sky was completely dark blue and the moon had already risen to shine. I took so many turns that I ended up confused not knowing a single thing to do.
"Where I'm I ?" I stood in the center of the hallway, looking at the two ends. There was one more in front of me so I guess that was the last route I hadn't tried.
Just when I was about to walk in, I spotted something no someone. She wore a dark green dress and a matching hood over her head. I couldn't see her face because of the hood but she also seemed lost like I was.
"Excuse me?" I walked towards her.
"Milady!!" I turned to my right, it was the maid who assisted me in the preparation for my wedding. I think her name was Gry.
"Good evening" I bowed to her.
"Milady, what are you doing in this parts of the manor?" Gry looked worried, she was frantically looking left and right. "Milord doesn't permit anyone in this parts, except I and his butler"
Gry quickly pulled my hand "come on, let me get you back"
I quickly pointed in the direction of the lady "what about her, she's lost too"
Gry turned to the direction I pointed at then to me "who milady?"
"The lady that's standing over..." I turned to the lady but she was no where to be found "... there" where did she go?
"Come on milady, let's hurry before Milord gets back" Gry pulled me quickly, I still had my neck outstretched trying to spot the lady. Where did she possibly go to? Most importantly who is she?