The Blood King's Bride

Wazir ran towards the servant who had collapsed on the ground, screaming. She had her

hands covering both her ears, as the flood of information was too much for her. Around them and Wazir was sure the whole castle too, screams of pain were heard. The queen's death had caused a chain reaction, causing everyone to remember everything simultaneously.

"Hurry!" Wazir said, lifting the servant into his back as he addressed his partners. "We

have to get out of here before the queen's brother finds us!"

Svetlana and the short spy nodded their head and started to scout a path for Wazir and themselves as they ran along the castle's hallways, Wazir still holding unto the screaming maid who was nudging her body about, making their escape quite tricky.

Once they reached the lower level of the palace where they first found her, she had gone limp. They ran to her room, and Wazir didn't waste time to open it. They entered and saw the maid's friends also collapse.

"Take them." Wazir commanded. "We move to Neba."

They nodded their head, and each carried a servant. If Svetlana was surprised that her small partner could carry one of them, she didn't show it. Together, they hurried out of the castle's lower level, following the hidden route they had passed earlier. They made sure not to bump into the Allikan warriors who swarm everywhere, wondering what was happening. Once they reached the outer gates of the castle, they ran as fast as they could to their hideout. They finally arrived, and as they entered inside, they dropped the maids in the only room in their hideout. Then they all came out, tired and hyped.

"We did it!" Svetlana said, grinning. She had no care that she had just been part of the

plan to kill her aunt, even though she was indirectly involved.

Wazir collapsed on the chair while the short spy took the ground.

"I would admit," the spy began, "I had already started looking for an escape path. She

was taking too long. I suspected she couldn't do it."

"To me, it seemed like she was having a really good look at the queen, something she hadn't ever done." Svetlana said.

Wazir raised his head, then a huge smile slowly lit his face.

The war was now in their favour.

The king of Pres didn't know what was happening. He was in his royal room, just sitting,

when he was overcome by a headache so powerful He had collapsed on the ground, screaming in pain. The inflow of memories was so much for him. He placed both hands on the side of his head, screaming, then finally collapsed.

He dreamt of everything. When he first met his wife. Her father, the king of Neba, had

been against it heavily, saying that there was something about him that he didn't like. The king of Pres couldn't blame him. He knew he was an ambitious lot, but he loved Neba's princess dearly.

Anna. That was her name. Princess Anna.

She was the most beautiful princess in all the four kingdoms. The kindest, the nicest, and

the most playful. She was a bit naïve, but not too much, and despite her father's disagreement against her relationship with her, he still went ahead to allow her to mar him. That had been his mistake.

He remembered it now. Remembered how he had kissed her before he travelled to the unknown Allikan for power. His father had been weak and about to die. As a prince, he wanted the throne. In Neba, the prince isn't chosen by who had been born first but by the most powerful. He didn't tell his love what his plan was. He supposed he could have told her and used the Neba army, but her father was against her marriage, and he wanted to prove to the old man that he was just suitable enough for his daughter. He did a lot of research and came upon a remote town. There was not much information about them, but he decided to take the risk. He went to Allikan's city and came back a different man.

On the route to the town, he had come across a heavily beaten and scarred man. He came across the man and took him to an inn close to the city, where they had stayed for one night before he moved again. He and his men took care of the man that night, and when the stranger awoke, he thanked them. The king asked about what had caused his injuries, but he refused to talk. Seeing as it was a personal story, he didn't push, inviting him to his kingdom. Before the stranger could reply, he called two guards out of his entourage to escort the man back home and give him a house. The man hesitantly agreed. But he was against staying in the town and just wanted a simple Cabin house for himself. The king didn't mind. As they were leaving with him, the king noticed that he didn't have the strange man's name, and so he asked. "Darukï. My name is Daruki."

After that episode, the next day, he left for the Allikans. He had gotten his power but in a sad exchange of his mind. The woman who was so fixated on him had given him blood to drink, then had commanded him to ask for her hand. He didn't even know her name, yet he had driven that strange woman home to his house where his love lived. Knowing that there would be problems while still under the influence of the strange power, the queen understood enough that it would be odd for her to go into the castle. He commanded him to finish the battle and come to her. He told her that he had a wife, and the woman exploded in a bout of rage, commanding him to treat her worse than death.

He did as commanded, and after he won the war, he brought in the woman. She was his mistress, but she acted as the queen. He remembered the pain that went through Anna's eyes every day as he hurt her. Once he was annoyed, he raped her, causing her to become pregnant. He choked on a sob as he remembered that scene. He remembered the woman finding out

what he had done and commanding him to sleep with her. He did so without qualms. Anna remained with him in his kingdom, perhaps knowing that something was wrong with him, decided to stay in case he came out of it. But he didn't.

Their child- he recalled it was a girl, was born, and he didn't care.

She was not introduced as the kingdom's princess, as was the custom, yet he didn't care.

For fifteen years, his wife and daughter were treated like slaves, and he had a hand in it by doing absolutely nothing.

His heart broke into pieces as he remembered that he had planned with the strange woman to kill his love. His Anna.

As if that wasn't enough, three years her death, the woman-now the queen, commanded

him to send his daughter to the Blood King. She was an angry lot. He remembered her asking about her mother and the horrible things he said about his love.

He saw the extreme hate in her eyes as she was dragged away. He remembered finding out the next day about her escape and sending his men after her. Strangely he remembered Daruki, who he also sent after her.

As he thought of all this, he slowly opened his eyes from where he lay. His eyes were dead. Not an ounce of emotion. Though he wondered why he could finally regain his memory, something told him that the woman who paraded as his wife was dead. He remembered the strange men he had allowed in his kingdom. With quiet eyes, he looked around his room, slowly rising.

It was time to correct his mistake.

Firoza was in the room of Calhoun's parents. His mother lay bleeding, unconscious on the ground, while the father, though awake, was weak. She felt sad when she overheard them talking about her. After sending her minions to go cause some destruction, she had wanted to play the dutiful daughter-in-law, only to realize that they were planning to match their son with someone other than her. She couldn't believe it. She had been lovely; she had been the best anyone could ask for. Why couldn't they just like her? Overcome with rage, she smiled. Ever since she started this journey, she acted as the weakling who couldn't even hurt a fly.

She had detested it.

Now, it was time to show her true power. The Supreme Being had wanted her to cause chaos in the blood realm, and that was what she would do.

After it all, Calhoun would understand. Who wouldn't want to be associated with the

most vital being in the kingdom?

She knew that her powers would call out to Calhoun once she released it. He would like

her, just as his powers had called her, making her like him. But first, she had to teach his parents

a lesson.

No one got in her way.

She opened the door, and everywhere became silent as the king and queen looked at her. They were good at hiding their reaction, she realized, because they neither looked at her in curiosity nor fear.

"Firoza," the queen called out in that soft tone that always seemed to make her itch. "We never invited you here. Is there something important you want to tell us?"

Firoza smiled. "Yes, there is." Before they could see it coming, Firoza had already sent

the queen flying across the room, crumpling in a disorderly heap on the floor.

The king screamed, and in a mask of rage, he leaped over, attacking Firoza. But his attack was futile.

Firoza smiled once she caught him, using her power to raise him in the air as if in a chokehold.

"I was always told the blood of the blood king, whether present or former, was good for me." She said, circling the king. "As the former blood king, you should be accommodating in allowing me to have a taste of your blood. Who knows when next you would have the privileged to stand in front of so great a being, which is I, of course."

She dragged her fingers slowly down his arms while he still hung in the air. He wanted to talk, to scream out in anger, but something was against his mouth, preventing him from doing it. "You know, I loved your son. If only you had allowed me, I would have treated him right. He would be by my side once I conquered all the Kingdoms!" she shouted, now agitated. "Why can't I have the man I love? Why? Why? Why do you all keep taking from me?" She screamed. The king, though still not talking, could see clearly.

Firoza was crazy.

"Every time! One of you always sought to destroy my plans. But it's not a problem any longer. The being wanted to use me for his centuries feud? Tch! I feel insulted for his thinking that I am the same as my predecessors. I am more powerful! Stronger. I can destroy a city with just the snap of my fingers. Does he think he could use me? That was the mistake he made. I do thank him dearly for his teaching. They impacted me so much. I least I know how to get even stronger." She said, smiling evilly.

"And thanks to you, I get even stronger." She caused the king to go even higher, then threw him down heavily to the ground. She heard the snap of bones and the painful groans of the king, but she didn't care to think much of it. She walked to where the king lay on the ground, crouching next to him, then picked up his arm that laid limp on his side.

"Thanks, for aiding me." She whispered, then bit into the king's arm.