Have you read Elves Part Three - Lethal?
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Time had moved at such a blinding pace, yet so slowly at the same time. My mind was struggling to grasp how long it'd been since father declared Lirien was captured. It had to be less than six hours ago. Yet my panic and this strange forest was distorting my perception of time.
Thain and I flew back in the direction of the castle. As we moved, I reflected on what we’d learnt from the monstrous spiders. No one had entered this forest for a millennia, I don’t doubt that considering how quickly they located us. If the castle grounds were cleared looking for Lirien, and whoever had captured hadn’t taken her into the forest, there’s no other place for them to go. The reality that Lirien is still somewhere in the castle settles like lead in my stomach. But if Lirien was still in the castle and father's guard had searched for her, why had she not turned up? How did father know she was captured?
My stomach rolled as Thain and I approached the entrance to the castle once more. Just out of sight, he pulled me to a stop.
“Ari…” Thain trails off, taking a deep breath. Magic crackled along my skin at his touch. All these close moments. I’ve never felt anything like it before, but it also felt so natural.
“What is it Thain?” I breathed.
Thain stared at me, opened his mouth, then closed it again.
I waited a beat, but my impatience got the better of me. “I asked what you want?! You are wasting my time!” I pulled out of his grasp and turned towards the entrance, but he grabbed me again. He turned me back to him, directing my eyes to his with his hand under my chin.
“I’m sorry Ari. I don’t mean to be so mysterious and closed off. I promise I’m only this way because I’m trying to protect you,” he murmured. His eyes shuttered as they stared into mine. “As I said before, I have been investigating your father’s comings and goings on the Royal Path and things don’t add up.” He stopped again, hesitating.
“Just spit it out Thain!”
“I just want you to understand that your father is not what he seems,” he said, before letting me go and striding past toward the castle. I shook my head, trying to clear it as I followed.
As soon as we entered the castle grounds, I knew something was wrong. The guard posts were abandoned. My ears twitched as I caught faint shouts floating through the open castle doors. From the look Thain shot me he’s heard it too. Sprinting, we head for the throne room.
Common Elves fill the room, shouting at the raised dias where the thrones are. They’re armed with whatever they can get their hands on, candle sticks, bowls, and even small statues. Soldiers form a formidable line in front of them, positioned between the mob and King Theoden, who’s sitting casually on his throne. I froze at the sight. The Common Elves were finally rioting against their king.
Thain grabs my hand, skirting around the angry crowd. We’re stopped at the edge of the dais by the soldiers.
“Father!” I yell over the shouting of the crowd. His eyes snap to us, a cruel smile spreading over his face as he pushes himself up from his throne and stalks over. I resist the urge to cringe. The man on the dais is not my father.
The soldiers grab us. My heart races as I thrash, but their grip is firm. I turn panicked eyes on Thain, but he is standing stock still in their grip. His face is dark with hatred as he stares at the king.
“What is the meaning of this?” I cried as I turned my attention back to the king.
“You see what they are, Aerin?” he asked, flinging his arm toward the crowd. “Heathens! Determined to destroy us.”
I looked out at the mob, anger flaring through me. “You have caused this! Can you not see that!” I yelled up at him.
Beside me, Thain moves in a sudden blur. The soldiers holding him fall to the floor. Before the others can react, he races up the steps, unsheathing his sword in one fluid movement. He approaches the king, sword raised. I stared in shock.
“Restore their rights! The common folk have done nothing to deserve this treatment!” Thain shouted, breathing heavily.
A roar of agreement erupts from the mob.
“Oh Thain,” the King laughed, waving off the soldiers racing to grab Thain. “I knew you would be a problem, what with your mother being… common.” The king’s face twisted with disgust.
Thain snarled at the king, sword raising higher.
“You common elves are all alike, caring more for nature than the livelihood of our people.” He sneered at Thain. ”Your father was an exceptional elf, exceptional enough for me to look past his… transgression. As his sole heir I allowed your presence. You’ve proven your strength with your attempt to join the Royal Guard, but do you truly believe I would allow you to know the truth of how I sustain my empire? Do you truly believe that I’d allow you to be with my daughter? She’s your future queen. You’re just a half-breed.” He spat the last two words.
I gaped. Thain’s mother was a common elf? How had I not known? I stared up at Thain, his tunic and overlaying armour stretched across his muscled body. He glanced back at me, expression full of longing. My heart clenched. His mouth moves, but I can’t hear him over renewed shouts from the crowd. The king heard him though and started laughing.
“I think this mess has gone on long enough.” The king’s voice carries effortlessly over the crowd. “Kill them all.”
Without hesitation the soldiers surged forward, cutting down the common elves. The front line tried to fight, but the household items were useless against the swords. The shouts changed, pitching up with fear as the common elves tried to escape. Brutal slashes spurt blood in every direction, pooling thick and red on the floor.
Time slowed. I swung my head back toward Thain to see him run toward the king. With a flick of his wrist, the king’s magic had Thain by the throat. Thain’s legs thrashed as he was lifted into the air, sword clattering to the ground as his hands clawed at his neck. I screamed, but the crowd was so loud I couldn’t even hear myself. I heard nothing but ringing in my ears as Thain crumbled to the ground.
Time stopped. Electricity shot through my veins. The guards holding me were suddenly thrown back, sprawling around me. Golden light invaded my peripheral vision. My hair whipped around me with a life of its own.
“Enough.” My voice echoed around me, pulsing through the room. “I have had enough of your lies and deceit. I have had enough of your tyranny. Enough.” I glided up the dais, my father staring at me in shock. “You are cruel and malicious, and your time has come.” Power ran hot in my veins as I raised my hand.
The king snarled at me. “You dare defy me! My own daughter!” he yelled, raising his own hand. His snarl turned to shock as he looked at his hands. “It cannot be,” he breathed before turning his shocked expression to me.
Another gut-wrenching scream ripped from me, tears streaming down my face, as the golden light filled the entire room.
My thundering heart is the only thing tethering me to the earth as the light fades. My knees buckle as I hit the ground. Pitching forward, I land on my hands and knees, breathing rapidly. It is eerily silent.
I turned to see what had happened in the courtroom. Everyone was frozen, staring up at me on dais. I turned my head back to the dais to see my father lying on the ground, eyes blank, staring up at nothing. My stomach rolled. It took everything I had to not vomit. I turned once more to look to my other side, where Thain's body leid crumbled. My stomach disappeared.
I scrambled over to him. Kneeling beside his head I gently lift his head into my lap. His eyes are closed, mouth slightly parted. I try to steady my breathing, fingers shaking as I unfasten his armour. “Thain,” I gasp in a frantic, broken voice. “Thain. No, no, no. Please.”
“Ari,” he croaked.
I pressed my forehead to his. “Hush, don’t speak,” I whisper. Taking a deep breath I sit up. “Healer!” I yell. “Someone get a healer!”
Blank, blood splattered faces stare back at me. Groans of the wounded fill the room. So many need a healer. A hand reaches up and cups my face. I bring my eyes to Thain’s.
“Ari,” he croaked out once more. “I…” He struggles to draw breath. “I w-was… trying to find my way-” another rugged breath “-to you.” He lets out his final breath and goes limp in my arms. Something inside me crumbled. I slumped, burying my head in his chest as broken sobs rack me.
***
Time was still stopped.
Lirien was found in the dungeons. It turned out the king had ordered her to be taken down. She was to return after he had convinced me of the common elves' involvement, even having three of them down there to put the blame on. Despite the numbness surrounding me, I couldn't help but think it was all for nothing. If I was somehow convinced, I would have still blamed him.
I could feel my new-found power thrumming through my veins with every breath I took. Something had awoken in me. I had been bred and trained to have the crown passed down to me. Never had I imagined I’d take it before my time. The sight of Thain's crumbled body at the hands of the king sparked a fire that now encapsulated me. It felt strange to not regret my actions in eliminating the king. Our relationship had been strained for years, but I did not realise how much love was lost. I only felt a hollow void yawning in my chest. A broken kingdom with a broken queen.
But Thain. Oh, by the gods, my Thain.
Without conscious thought, my feet had taken me to his lodgings. I had been here for hours. The breeze from his open window swirling around me, the scent of smoky pine filling my nostrils. The scent of him. My chest tightened as I realised that scent had followed me everywhere, but I hadn’t noticed it until now. Knowing that scent would now fade with time…
The tears slid down my cheeks as I stared at the hand-drawn picture of me hanging above his bed. My lips were stretched, and cheeks bunched in one of my goofiest grins. The paper was worn as if he’d taken it down every night for a closer look. I took a shuddering breath as my eyes moved to the unmade bed, a book open face down in the middle. A story half finished.
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Thank you for reading! Want more? Check out Spring Royals Part One - Seed now!