In her dream, Viella saw a majestic dragon with scales so dark in their blue shade that they changed in the light.
Its breath was like heavy smoke, falling from its mouth, and the fire in its throat burned blue between the gaps of its jagged teeth.
Like the predator that it was, its mouth was filled with teeth all shaped like the scales that covered its whole body.
Its long and slim figure was beautiful under its massive wings. Its eyes, ever-changing in color, looked straight into hers.
Its voice, deep yet soothing, asked, "When will you come for me?"
Viella woke up with a gasp, faced with the horrible stench of the lower dungeons and the pale grey of its old walls.
A little ray of sunshine poured in through the small gap at the top of her cell, accompanied by the sound of soldiers' boots stepping outside along with wooden wheels.
She looked around, cruelly reminded of what had happened and why she was there.
Her dress, which was the white gown of her failed wedding, had been exchanged for dirty rags of old potato sacks.
The material was rough and itchy, offering no protection from the cold cobblestone beneath her.
Last night, after she was brought back, Viella received the hardest slap of her life.
It swung her on her heels, sending her flying against the wall. If no one had loved her before, they hated her now.
Not a single kind word or sympathetic look comforted her, and like the fool she was, she looked for it.
"Viella," a guard's voice said, his heavy-armoured body coming to stand in front of her cell. His blue eyes looked at her with disdain.
"The King is waiting for you. Get up!"
Viella stood up. Then, without looking up this time, she followed him to the throne room, where dozens of the king's loyal subjects stood watching.
The lords of Iron House, the ministers, his advisors, the secretary, and even the treasurer all stood in their beautiful silk robes.
Even Raden, who was usually dressed in shabby robes, seemed to be dressed for the occasion—of her great punishment.
The sea of men parted before her, looking back with pity in their eyes.
She ignored them, forcing an expression of indifference until the sight of Gideon and his crewmen greeted her.
Even the captain, still in his formal clothing, was put on his knees in front of the king.
King Peter leaned back against his throne, his face shrouded in shadows.
Then their gazes met, and for a moment, he looked saddened.
She looked down, suddenly wishing he could have just spoken to her in private rather than making it a spectacle.
The way he had treated her siblings. In the end, she was different.
"Today we are gathered here to punish these men who think themselves worthy of taking one of my daughters and marrying her to one of their men," King Peter started.
The room fell into a hush. Viella looked over at Gideon, but his face remained expressionless, ignoring her.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Gideon, son of Emmeth?"
Gideon looked up. "I plead guilty. But don't bring these men down with me—they're innocent. Even my captain.
He was just happy for me until everything fell apart," he said. Viella felt the heartbreak in her chest.
"Captain, speak for yourself," King Peter said.
"It is… unfortunately true, Your Majesty. If I had known who Gideon wished to marry, I would not have supported it. I would do everything to dissuade him from making this mistake," the captain spoke.
His voice was gentle but strong, like a father's. He looked up with his graying eyebrows over the blue of his sad eyes.
"Your Highness, if I may speak boldly. This is the absurdity and mistake of youth when the heart seems to speak the loudest. I beg you, if you can, please spare us and spare this young man's life. He will learn from his mistakes," the captain said.
It seemed to have fished sympathy from among the onlookers, their hushed words agreeing with the old man. Slowly, hope began to rise in her heart.
"And you, my daughter?" King Peter asked, turning to Viella.
"It was as much my stupidity as it was my selfishness, Your Highness. I knew what it would mean for him if we were to get caught, but I love him. I wanted to be with him—to be with him still," Viella admitted in front of the court.
The resounding shock was like a wave through the room. To admit love for someone was as vulgar as being naked.
King Peter's jaw clenched, the muscles on his jaw working as he looked at his daughter, hard.
He leaned back, then raised a hand to silence the audience.
"It was my fault for abandoning you to work in my castle, Viella. I should have instead disciplined you. That way, you would know when to bow your head and when to rise," he said, rising from his throne.
Slowly, he stepped down the narrow stairs to their level, everyone witnessing holding their breath.
"And you, Gideon? After knowing your sweetheart was engaged to someone else and did not tell you, do you still want to be with her? Because if you do, you can be with her. I'll marry you off, the two of you in exile," King Peter said, bowing so that he could look at Gideon closely.
The two men looked at each other in silent conversation. The captain beside him stared daggers, as if in warning. It's a trap. Don't fall for it.
"No," Gideon said, even without looking at the captain. "It was a mistake. Forgive me, Your Highness… I will know my place from now on," he said, bowing so deeply his forehead was almost on the floor.
Viella looked down, understanding why he said it but still felt her heart ache.
She was willing to fight to be with him, but he wouldn't fight to be with her.
It seemed, that even when death was knocking at the door, Viella was still selfish enough to want him to fight.
"This is a difficult situation indeed. On one hand…" King Peter started, leisurely walking to one side, "I understand what young love is. But on the other hand… a traitor is a traitor. And many have been punished for less in the past," he said, his eyes turning cold.
Viella looked up, a tight grip in her chest pushed tears into her eyes.
They fell over her cheeks, and her sobs started to surface.
"Please! Your Highness! Please! Punish me instead! I should have known better!" Viella wailed in the silence. King Peter glanced at her, unimpressed by her plea.
"Punish you how, dear daughter? Will you take his place on the chopping block?" he asked, waving for the rest of the crew to be taken away, leaving behind only Gideon, who was now sobbing silently.
"Let the rest go," King Peter said.
"If that's what it means! Please, no! I'll do anything!" Viella screamed, watching as King Peter pulled out the sword resting in his belt.
The metal captured the sunlight, glinting at the sharp edges.
Viella cried and cried and cried. It felt as if he was ripping her chest into shreds, the sharp pain of losing someone who had brought so much joy and love to her life tore into her.
"This way, you will learn to obey," King Peter said, his words were cold as he raised his sword. He stood beside Gideon, whose neck was in perfect position for him to cut clean. He knelt there, resigning his life to fate.
"NO!!!!" Viella screamed, pushing out within her an explosion of energy.
Long, sharp vine-like branches sprouted out of the ground like live snakes. Its black color was so dark it seemed to absorb light.
The once bright throne room was now drowned in a shade of black hue. The anger inside of her, she knew, caused greenish smoke to escape its pores.
For once, she wanted them all to know what fear was.
Raden screamed behind her, his voice hoarse against the screams of the men who rushed to exit.
Their feet slipped on the polished floor, as a large vine now big enough to cover the entrance fell heavily in front of it, blocking their escape.
King Peter screamed, calling for the knights whose breath was knocked out of them when they were slammed against the wall, so hard that even their armor bent under the pressure.
"Viella! Stop! You can't take back a life once it is lost!" Raden screamed at her as a warning.
Her body was wrapped by the very same vines that had trapped her last night, lifting her ten feet off the ground.
Even Gideon, who was close to death, yelled at her to stop the madness. But Viella couldn't, wouldn't.
She was always so helpless, so powerless against all of those around her. That for once, sending them all scrambling on the floor felt like a shot of joy. Happiness.
This was what it felt like to have power.
"Why didn't you say the same to the King?" Viella asked, her voice now doubled. As if there were hundreds of her speaking through the same mouth.
Before he could say something else, she knocked him to the side, like a doll falling helplessly.
Then suddenly, a sharp sensation ripped through her chest. It was like a stab, weakening her body, sucking away all the power she was releasing.
Suddenly she fell, her body taken down until someone caught her. Gideon.
Viella looked up, expecting a worried expression or even relief.
But instead, there was disgust and coldness in his eyes.
"All this time I was kissing a monster."