The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

The title was plain and simple. Just one word but everything inside of me jumped with excitement.

Seraphim.

The language that was used in the book was very old and sometimes it was hard to understand the meaning of what was written. And yet I managed to grasp the most important parts. Or so I thought.

Seraphim were celestial beings, the purest and the most powerful ones that the Goddess of Light ever created. They were the guardians sent to protect the people and share their light with them. They were said to have six wings of pure light, golden hair as the rays of sunshine, and eyes as blue as the sky that they came from. Each of them possessed unimaginable force. But there were just a few of them since creating each one took a considerable amount of the Goddesses’ power. She only created them when they were needed in the world and when one of them was dying, she was mourning her loss for centuries.

The legend had it, that it was her tears over one of her beloved seraph’s death that fell into the sea and formed the White Archipelago. And then, after a gruesome war, one of the remaining seraphim went to live a life of solitude on the islands and built the Tower of Light there as a means of contacting his beloved Goddess when it was needed. Because once a seraph was descending to the ground, they became bound to it and couldn’t come back to the Goddess Brighta again.

The seraph of the White Archipelago wanted to live alone, but when after yet another bloody war, people from neighbouring kingdoms started to swim to his shore, he accepted them. But he made it a condition that they will all be purified in the Tower of Light. The ones who agreed to be purified stayed. They were stepping into the light inside of the tower that came from the Goddess herself and when they were walking out, their hair was glowing silver and their eyes were changed to golden. A sign of being blessed by Brighta. That’s how the first people of the White Archipelago came to be. While that seraph, whose name was Arinor, became their first-ever leader. Together, they built a new nation, that was pure in heart and peaceful. They were seeking no war and served the Goddess of Light diligently. They were always ready to help others and devoted themselves to making the dark world brighter. People could always seek refuge in their lands.

I rolled my eyes. A lot had changed since ancient times.

Other people found out about the magical islands and as always, greed overwhelmed them. They wanted this power for themselves and prepared for a new war.

The Goddess of Light and other seraphim made a promise to protect the White Archipelago as long as its inhabitants were remaining pure in soul. The Light Source in the tower grew stronger and that light was shared among the people, giving them abilities similar to those that seraphim possessed. That’s how the first Warriors of Light came to be – the fighters for justice, truth, and purity of souls.

I closed the book and looked at Prim and lady Solveig. They were still discussing my dress and not even looking at me.

I stood up and went to a huge window to get some fresh air. Goddess knows I needed it. Because the story of the White Archipelago that I knew was very different from what I just read. Seraphim were never even mentioned there.

According to what was taught to children now, the islands always were there and the people on the islands were so good that once the Goddess of Light decided to make them the chosen ones and bless them with her power. And that’s how the first Warriors of Light came to be. Interesting… What was the truth? And was any of these two versions the truth? After all, they were just legends. And legends are almost the same as fairytales.

I checked the author of the book and was surprised to find out that it was signed by Pheonor Tizar. He was one of the most famous leaders that the Citadel of Light ever had. The books that children read at school were based on his teachings. He was one of the first to write down history. It was his scrolls that our scholars were studying. And I was holding an original of his book!

It felt strange. And why was the information so different then? Here he was writing about seraphim yet they were never mentioned at the White Archipelago! I hadn’t heard of them even in actual fairytales! How so? The first time I heard about the great celestial beings was from lady Iris! A random girl at the Dark Selection.

The more I was thinking about it, the more absurd everything in my life seemed! How did Iris hear of them but I didn’t? Were there more books on them? After all, I was in the Gerdian Empire, the lands of dark magic, and they had a book that clearly belonged somewhere else. What if there were more of those? And why did Iris tell me to read about seraphim? She witnessed my magical outburst and told me to read about them… Golden hair, blue eyes… Did she think that I was one of them?! Just like that?

I remembered the power that emerged from me that day. White flashes of lightning that were shining in the dark sky… Biting my l*p, I opened the book again and found the page with the drawing. Lady of Seraphim… It was a simple sketched in black ink, so it was impossible to say what colour her eyes and hair were. But what I saw for sure – were bolts of lightning coming out of her hands.

“Thank you, lady Solveig!” Primrose stood up and shook the designer’s hands, “Everything is perfect and I can’t wait to see the final results!”

“It’s an honour for me!” the older woman’s face stretched in a wide smile as she curtsied elegantly before the princess and then before me. I waved at her awkwardly and she turned and went to the exit.

“Prim,” I hurried to my future sister-in-law, “Could we possibly have a break?”

“Nice try but not really!” she smirked, “We need to write your vows still!”

“Does it have to be today?”

“Yes, Lara! We are already late with the schedule as it is! And there is also the speech for your first introductions! Are you even taking all this seriously?!” the princess scolded me when a sudden idea struck me.

“You are right!” I sighed, “Those are important. I am sorry. But I will make it up to you!”

“I wonder how,” Primrose chuckled.

“Let’s go to the library – I will do my own personal research and find the best words and phrases to use in those speeches! Relevant and beautiful! And while I go through history books in search of previous speeches and the jewels of gerdian classics for best love confessions, you can sit and work on the menus. That would help you, right?”

“Right,” she agreed hesitantly. But then, after thinking about it some more, smiled. “That’s probably a good idea. Let’s do this!”

I sighed with relief. Now I could look for more information while still staying on her good side.

However, there was no end to my disappointment as even after hours and hours in the library, I found just two mentions of the celestial beings. And both were useless to me. Just what was going on with those seraphim?!

I returned to my chambers late at night and fell to my bed, feeling exhausted and disappointed. Dark flames appeared right next to me and two strong hands pulled me into a warm embrace…