Fantasy I Was Sent To Kill You |Closed|

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yesterday, she thought that was the happiest she would ever be around someone but that was trounced by this afternoon. The lesson was that he made her happier than she would ever be. Yesterday, even in moments of joy it had been hard to forget who her mother was, the fact that she would one day be queen to a nation that wouldn’t trust her and the fact that she was surrounded by strangers. However, now that was all, she only thought about the man on top of her.

Her reaction to the peacock was a breathy laugh because of course, it was better that the peacock see them than one of his parents or worse Reina. She would not say it out loud because even Yaena, in all her experience knew what a mood was and how to kill it. But Briar reminded her of that, a pale, well-groomed peacock and when she no longer had concerns, she was sure that she would tease him about it.

“No,” Yaena giggled, “I think the peacock is staring at you,” She teased before putting her hands up and playfully messing up his hair. The peacock in question was already bored considering that the two had neither bread nor attention to lavish onto them, so he trotted off, presumably hoping to impress someone who actually had something to offer the regal bird.

Now that they were alone, Yaena could not stop smiling. How often had she ever been giddy? She’s been excited for things, before and she’s been around people she cared for before? If Briar wasn’t on her she was sure that she would float up into the air, never to be seen again. She couldn’t believe this was real and like Briar, she was actively suppressing the side of her that tended to be pessimistic. For now she wasn’t going to think about all the things that could happen to them, if they did happen then it would be vital that she had this moment to look back on.

All those thoughts happened in the span of a few seconds before she leaned up to kiss him again, wrapping her arms around his neck. Reina, her mother, and her long dead father could walk up to them right now and she wouldn’t notice.
——-


Reina had a lot of flaws when it came to her style of instruction. However, one mark that she had in her favor was this:

It was a lot harder to be distracted by her.

“I got it that time!” Yaena insisted, trying to roll her ‘r’s the way Briar wwas able so so effortlessly do it. “You’re just being mean!” She “complained.”

She had prepared for a lot of situations before she left Zhicra, she prepared for meeting someone who wanted absolutely nothing to do with her, she prepared for meeting someone who would bore her more than even Reina could and she prepared for someone who wanted too much to do with her. She never prepared for this. It was amusing, her mother probably thought she was miserable right now, crying into her pillow about how she wished her mother was here to protect her and how she wanted nothing more than to leave this scary land.

They were in Briar’s room, going over the second book from his reading list, one good trait was that they both generally got through books at the same speed. Yaena was able to tell when certain letters were silent, when to use certain prefixes, but she was convinced that she just didn’t have the kind of mouth that could roll her ‘r’s. When she became queen, she would just have to find a way around it, rather than talking about ‘bread’ she would instead have to call it ‘wheat and flour cake’ in order to avoid having to say that word.

They have been spending a lot of time together as though they were well a couple. Even Noura, one of her serving ladies noticed. Of all of them, Yaena had gotten to befriend Noura because she was the first one of her serving ladies who appeared to be comfortable around the human. When she went to her room last night (alone, sadly) Noura took a risk and asked if she would be reading with the prince tomorrow and Yaena (still radiating in the glow) was just happy to have someone else in this kingdom who was willing to talk to her.

Yaena kissed him, “Here’s the deal, if I ever have to say a word with that sound,” She began before kissing him again, “You will say it for me, okay?” She asked.

Because it was important that she learned Elvish (she didn’t just have to, she genuinely wanted to), she leaned back only because she wanted to point out a different book only to notice, something glinting between two books, it was purple and thin enough that she wouldn’t have noticed it in different weather. Usually, Yaena would just inspect but she already knew Briar well enough to not touch his bookshelf so she just pointed, “Do you see that?” She asked.

 

[Average.]

This time, they were able to get through the reading material a little bit faster, however they still could have been getting through it even faster if they just weren't so distracted with each other all the time. Briar was showing pride in seeing improvements in Yaena when it came to her elven speech, however he would always have tiny little things he would correct her with - mostly her r's. Perhaps he was being so picky with her because he wanted her to be perfect at elven, or because he just really enjoyed teasing her. The latter was more likely, since he would always have this shit-eating grin on his face whenever Yaena started to pout about him nitpicking every little mistake she made.

"Nope. You sound like you got something stuck in your throat." he shook his head. "Try again." and then she would try yet again. "... Well now it just sounds fake." he laughed. And so on. He would give her a couple more examples of him rolling the r's before they would just leave it and move on to the next few sentences on the page. "You know, I hope that you're focusing at least a bit on the story as well." he rose a brow, though his smile was still there. He was rarely ever not smiling when he was around her. "Wouldn't want you to just remember all your failed R attempts and nothing else." he teased her.

Before she kissed him again. And again. He welcomed every kiss she gave him, and she would welcome anytime he wanted to kiss her too. They were truly like a young couple, completely obsessed with each other and nothing else. "So, you're just giving up? Aw, but I'm sure it'll come to you with practice. Let's just hope that it does come before our coronation though, otherwise that'll be a little embarassing." he winked at her.

Do you see that?

Briar blinked, and his eyes followed to where she was staring at. She was looking at his bookshelf. At first he wanted to ask if she was serious, since he assumed that this was the first time Yaena even noticed the bookshelf, or the bow hanging above his bookshelf, or anything that has already obviously been there for a very long time.
However, soon he caught a glimpse of the tiny purple glint as well.

He stood up and headed over to the shelf, reaching in between the two books. His eyes widened at what he pulled out. A silver amulet, with a strange purple gem, shaped like a beating heart. He has never noticed it, but when he was holding it he sensed a sort of.. strange aura about it. If this was his amulet, he would have tossed it in some canal by now and let the water take it. He simply didn't feel comfortable even holding it. However, he knew how important it was to Yaena, so he slowly turned around and held up the amulet.

"Uh.. it's your.. amulet." he frowned, heading back to the bedside before handing the amulet over to her. "Alright look, I know how it looks like but I swear I didn't take it, and I swear that I don't know how it ended up in my room." he cut in before she had a chance to speak. He didn't want her to think that he was responsible for taking the amulet, since he wasn't. He would never do such a thing! Even if upon closer inspection he no longer liked the amulet, he would never take something from Yaena that was important to her. All he could do for now was hope that she believed him.

Briar headed over to the window, propping his elbows up against the window sill, staring out at the land below. The sky was like a painting; there were streaks of yellow, orange and purple going through it. A sunset. Briar would enjoy watching it once in a while, whenever he caught it of course and didn't have his face buried in some book instead.

"You really think that Reina would've taken your amulet?" he asked, still staring out the window. He knew that Yaena also noticed that look, that shift in Reina's facial expression. Upon Yaena mentioning the amulet, she seemed to have gotten more nervous.

He couldn't help but feel curious about why Reina would even want her amulet. He and Yaena had enough clues to be able to at least assume that the amulet had some sort of connection to her curse. After all, her monster only emerged not long after Yaena lost her amulet. But then.. did this mean that Reina was aware of this? He had to admit that it was a little worrying knowing that there may be someone in Eurus except for him and Yaena that knew of her curse. It didn't sit well with Briar at all, and he doubted that it sat well with Yaena either.

Reina was a noble woman - a shrew, but still a noble woman - so if his parents were to find out that she stole an amulet from his betrothed... she would get into a load of trouble with them. She was a noble woman, even a crime as insignificant as stealing an amulet could cause a serious scandal. If his parents believed them, that is. Which they probably wouldn't. They would most likely see them just as kids who are fed up with their teacher and want to do everything in their power to get that teacher out of their lives.

Briar would have loved for that to happen. He would be so thrilled if he saw Reina - along with that nosy servant of hers - walking out the main doors right now with their bags packed. But alas, that was not going to happen. For now.

Right now, all they could do was pout and complain about her.

Or just act like immature children. Something was pulling Briar more towards the latter...

Suddenly Briar headed over to Yaena and took the book from her, closing it shut and tossing it carelessly somewhere onto the bed - or off it. He didn't really look where he was aiming. Soon, that oh so familiar devious grin appeared over Briar's face. "... So I had this idea." he said. "We both hate Reina, and we can't exactly tell my parents because they'll think we're being stupid and they won't believe us anyway." Pause. "But, what we could do is make life just a little more miserable for that old shrew." his grin has now turned into a smirk.

He rubbed his hands together with eagerness. This was going to be good. "I'd say we go in there and wreck that bitch's room. And I mean everything." Pause. "Also, I call dibs on pushing the bed off the balcony."

Of course. Because the best way to show that you hate someone is wreck every piece of furniture in their room!
It was immature, and extremely petty.. but damn it, it was going to be so damn fun!

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena may not have known about her curse, but she could put two and two together, the only thing that had changed from her first night in the kingdom to the night where she did something unspeakable was her amulet. Her mother always told her it was to protect her, to stabilize her magic, it acted for her the way a familiar acted for a witch and Yaena believed her. Not just because she tended to believe her mother whenever she said something but because her mother had always been more fixated on Yaena’s powers than even she herself was so if her mother said something made her more powerful then odds were she was right.

But why didn’t her mother tell her this? What if she had lost the necklace? What if she had left it by her bath and simply forgotten for a day? She looked at Briar and her stomach turned. Maybe her mother did have a back-up plan for if Yaena fell for her husband to be, maybe she was hoping that even if Yaena didn’t kill him, the monster would. Imagine they were married and sleeping in the same bed and just one night she forgot to put her amulet on? No, surely her mother would know that Yaena would have been executed and her mother was many things but a kinslayer she was not. She would not lay that isn at her feet.

Wait did Briar steal it? She had lost her amulet after the hippogriff ride where she assumed they had become friends, but was she wrong. Even Yaena did not know of her curse before that night so if he didn’t she would have assumed it was an act of mischief not him trying to see what would happen when you let the beast out of it’s cage.

However, even if he didn’t intend to, it would still be hard for her to forgive anyone whose actions had such consequences on her. Whoever stole the amulet even if they didn’t mean to, made her a murderer and that was hard for her to stomach, even if she got a pretty elven partner out of it. However, when he quickly defended himself, she ended up breathing a sigh of relief. Anyone else, she could be fully angry with but never him.

She gingerly took the necklace and stared at it, she had forgotten the energy it emanated, and to her surprise she didn’t want to wear it. She could feel the dark part of her, the monster thrash against it’s cage as though the necklace was burning it. That alone was enough for her to immediately put it back around her neck, not just because she genuinely liked it but because she would do anything to keep that night from happening again. If she had to chain herself to her bed in order to ensure people’s safety she would.

Once the amulet landed on her chest, her walls went back up. It didn’t change much, she still loved the man in front of her, but it was as though someone closed a door and now she was stuck in a stuffy room without windows. The amulet kept the monster locked up and out of sight, but every time she wore it, it kept a part of her out. Her night with Briar was perhaps the first time since she was thirteen that she got to be her truest self (a part of her self that she didn’t even know existed.)

“I believe you,” She reassured him just in case there was any doubt.

“"You really think that Reina would've taken your amulet?"

“Yes.” She said without a moment of hesitation, Yaena had been confused why the amulet was such a topic of conversation with her. Reina had insisted that she take it off, and she had no reason why. At the time, she felt nothing but distaste for her betrothed so the idea that she had to take off her amulet given to her by her mother on the off-chance that her husband had something made for her was completely unrealistic. Did Reina somehow know about the necklace or was it just so important to her that Yaena be the perfect elven queen.

If Briar hadn’t spoken up she would have spiraled down, wondering if Reina knew, if her servant knew and if anyone else had an idea about how dark she could truly get.

So I had an idea.

She raised her eyebrow with a small smile, this was probably going to be terrible and unwise and she was still probably going to do it anyway. Then her face went to a grin, oh yes, she would love to cause some mayhem for Reina. Honestly, if they caused her a headache, Yaena would be more than willing to be a perfect student for her. Often it felt like despite Yaena being a princess and Reina being a lady she had no true power over her. Even if their positions were different, Reina was everything that Yaena was not nor would ever be and they both knew it.

“T call going into her closet, because apparently she had no problem going through mine.

——-

Couples who smash together stay together.

Although Reina’s room was smaller than both of them it was impeccable, which only made it more satisfying for them. The poor serving woman was probably going to have a heart attack when she saw this.

At the moment, she was going through every piece of jewelry that Reina had and throwing it about, the bed was now making a beautiful avant-garde garden decoration.

Truly this was like therapy, after Reina had seen the two of them together, their last lesson was literally hellish. Yaena could understand why it was important for her to learn Elvish and learn their customs, but Reina hated her humanity. To her, Yaena was a stain on the pristine portrait of Elvish royalty her very presence offended Reina and she was sick of it. She would learn how to roll her ‘rs’ she would learn every form of address (she was a princess and there were some terms even she had never heard of) but she would always remain human.

She looked at Briar with a grin on her face, “We’re really good at this.” She laughed as she “accidentally knocked over a dresser.

Meanwhile the woman herself, the devil walked in the room with her little servant beside her and she was so shocked that her face became bright red. Never in her years had she ever seen something like this, Yaena almost worried that she was going to have a heart attack with how much the older woman was spluttering.

“What the hell are you two doing?” She demanded storming into the room, going to grab Yaena’s wrist before the other one lurched it back to avoid her. “Stop that at at once, now.” Her yell would have broken a window if one of them hadn’t done it already.

 

[Average.]

Briar was having the time of his life. He was throwing anything he could pick up. A vase, a clock, a box? It soon ended up smashed on the floor somewhere. It took him the longest to push the bed out through the balcony as it was incredibly heavy, however once he did, it was the most satisfying feeling ever watching it fall and crash near the entrance to the gardens.

On one hand, he knew that they were going to get in heaps of trouble once they would be discovered, however on the other hand he didn't care. He was hoping to get discovered, and he couldn't wait to see the shocked expression on Reina's face.

He would pause to look around the room, trying to find anything else that was worthy of breaking. The room needed to look like a literal hurricane went through it, and so far Briar believe that they have done a fairly good job. Taking one final critical room at the look, Briar has came to the conclusion that there was nothing else worthy of breaking... except for that one vase in the corner, which he was quick to head over and smash against the floor.

Usually when he would hear the sound of heels clicking from down the hall he would feel dread, however this time Briar couldn't help but feel joy. His smirk broadened when he glanced at Yaena from the corner of his eye, and soon the doors burst open, and Reina along her little servant stormed right inside.

Elide gasped and let out a horrified shriek at the sight of the room, covering her mouth with her hands. Everything... they broke everything! How did they even manage to do this?
She probably would have fainted by now if it wasn't for her lady's yelling.

"We were just waiting for your next lesson, ma'am! But alas.. you never came." Briar could barely keep himself from laughing as he turned to Reina, an innocent look on his face. Innocent if you didn't take note of the little devil horns on his fucking head. "Then a bird flew into the room and it went crazy! And then..." he couldn't hide his smirk anymore, and he suddenly pointed at Yaena accusingly. "She did it, not me!" he exclaimed before grabbing Yaena's hand and fleeing the room with her. He couldn't stop laughing as they ran down the hall.

They knew they couldn't hide in their rooms, or they would most likely be found. Of course, they had to face their consequences eventually, however Briar preferred to face them later than have to face them now. So, the couple fled into the gardens, and decided that the best place to hide and wait it out for now would be within the undergrowth. Another goddamn pair of clothes ruined.
And besides, if anyone had the idea of checking the gardens, they would probably be distracted by the huge broken bed right outside of the entrance. It was genius!

The two couldn't stop giggling, and they tried to quiet each other down by at least muffling each other's giggles by placing their hands over their mouths. "Ohhhh, did you see her face? It was red like a tomato!" Briar laughed, rolling onto his back with the soft grass cushioning him from beneath. "And then her servant! She looked like she was about to faint!" he was practically howling with laughter by now. Well, if people weren't going to find them by simply looking, they were definitely going to find them with how loud they were being. Their attempts at muffling each other's giggles were pretty much futile at this point.

He couldn't help but lean in and kiss her, letting himself enjoy the sweet taste of her lips for a few moments - and at least it shut both of them up for a few moments too - before he pulled away. "So, if my parents don't crucify both of us after that little stunt... we should do that again one day." he grinned.

Indeed they should, however that still did not eliminate the question. What of the amulet? What of the curse? What of... everything.

Briar's grin soon faded from his face, and it was replaced with a frown. He seemed deep in thought for a moment, eyes darting from looking at one patch of grass to another. "But... what if she does know about your curse somehow." he murmured. "I mean... she did steal your amulet. And for what? Would Reina really go through such measures to steal someone's amulet just because she doesn't like it?"

No. He doubted that she would. Reina was not a pleasant person at all, however she would never sink as low as theft simply because she doesn't like the way something is.

"Yaena.. this is serious." he said, soon looking her in the eye. "It would be chaos if people found out. Sure, they know that there is a beast out there.. but they don't know that it was you. And they can't know that it was you."
If people found out... then he would honestly prefer having both his parents and Reina yelling at him non stop twenty four seven rather than Yaena facing the consequences. It was beyond her control, it was not her fault.

"... Could it be that your mother may know anything about the curse?" he asked all of a sudden. The idea... it unsettled him. That would mean that they- no.. that she would have to go to Zhicra. He cannot go, the lake refused. It forbid him, like it always has. However, he has thought about maybe trying to bring a sample of the river's enchanted water with him... he was always too afraid to do it, but if it meant that Yaena wouldn't have to go back to that place alone... he was willing to at least try.

He wasn't sure why he hated the idea so much of her going back to Zhicra. It was her home, for crying out loud. She had nothing to fear there, unlike here. But he still didn't want to be away from her, and any excuse he could come up with just to go with her.. he would use it. Even if he wouldn't get the approval of his parents to go - and he may not because of how risky it was, and let us not forget that they literally just wrecked Lady Reina's room not too long ago so they definitely wouldn't be on very good terms with the King and Queen from now on.

"If you're planning on going back then I'll go with you. I will go with you." he insisted. And he wasn't planning on taking no for an answer from anyone.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

There were so many reasons why Yaena did not want Briar to go to Zhicra.

First, the most obvious one, he had just told her about the lake, he had told her that without it he would be dead, and while usually Yaena loved performing experiments and testing the boundaries of rules, she didn't want to do it when it had to do with the man she loved. She could not ask someone to do something that would risk their lives, and how would it look to the king and queen? They already hated her, she was probably worse than even their preconceptions and now she would have Briar requesting their permission for something that they thought would kill him? They probably thought she was her mother reborn, a foreign seductress who managed to beguile a future king.

Then, she didn't want him to be around her mother. She had told her to kill him, but Yaena used to think he was telling her that as a way to get out of a marriage that she thought was going to be miserable. But if her mother was the kind of person who would not tell her about a curse? How would she know that Selantheia wouldn't want Briar dead simply because she was at her most powerful when she was at war? Her mother was smart, she very rarely used her abilities on Zhicran politicians, but at war, even the most traditional, close-minded human hoped that her mother would use her 'sorcery' to tilt the tides in favor of Zhicra, what place was there for a witch in peace?

But, Briar didn't back down and she loved him for it even if it still scared her. She wasn't going to be alone here, for once she wasn't going to be alone around her mother. And even though she wished nothing but joy for her partner, she was excited to see his reaction to her country a chance for him to be in her shoes. His position would be less precarious, he wasn't coming to be their king, he was coming with his Zhicran bride-to-be. However, that was almost worse, Briar was the embodiment of the long line of Elven kings who brought bloodshed to the good innocent Zhicrans who have done nothing wrong ever. She loved all her siblings, but she was thankful that her other living brother wasn't here because he hated elves, he roared against sending Yaena's to be an elvish man's whore.

Yaena was not used to being optimistic but she tried to focus on the things she was excited for, mainly she was going to see Tristan. They didn't leave on good terms,he had spoken to her alone, explaining that he wouldn't have agreed to the marriage if he hadn't thought Yaena would be safe and she simply didn't respond. When their father died, Tristan did what he could to take not he "patriarch" role and despite him only being thirteen years her senior he always attempted to be a fatherly figure in her life. She decided that if he was at the dock, she would hug him when she saw him, in front of everyone. It would be so sweet to see him again.

Once again, she was on a ship, but this time she wasn't alone. It felt good, despite their reason for leaving to be away from the castle, there was no Reina around her, it was just the captain of the ship, his workers, and of course guards. She distantly wondered how her people would react to seeing armed elves. Cuddling into him, she couldn't help but think about just how much these moments to themselves would be. One day, he would be king and there would be a wall of advisors between them, he would be in meetings about granaries and military funding while Yaena would be...she still wasn't sure what she would be doing. Sometimes she thought about asking his mother for advice, but that ship had sailed. She was sure her mother wanted her to remain in a tower, out of sight, out of mind.

However, despite her attempts at optimism, she knew there was something she needed to tell him so she sat up and hold one of his hands with both of hers, "Before we get to Zhicra I have to tell you about my mother." What did he know of her? Perhaps it was a minor tidbit of intrigue that the king of Zhicra married a woman who owned a Brothel (she was very adamant about the fact that she never worked at one), but there were rumors that humans, who were mostly without magic had a dark sorceress working for one. One who performed rituals of blood on elven soldiers, there were rumors that she had even been able to raise the dead, elvish soldiers would have to fight their own fallen soldiers.

"I'm terrified of her," She admitted softly, "I love her, but I'm scared of her," She told him honestly looking down in shame for a moment, "When I was younger, she used to make me hurt animals and even," Her lower lip quivered, "People when I was learning how to use," He would have to know everything about her, "Blood magic, and she hated me coming here, and..."

Shes swallowed hard, not knowing what else to say.

"I think she knew about my curse, and she never told me, she never even hinted at it and I can't trust her and neither can you."

 

[Average.]

Briar felt as if he had butterflies in his stomach when he stared up at the massive sails of the ship. He always remembered himself being so angry at everything that he couldn't leave Eurus.. and now - after dozens of fights between him and his parents - he finally was here. On a ship for the very first time in his life. He didn't notice how hard he was squeezing Yaena's hand as they headed up onto the ship.

He was able to take one final glance at his city. At his people. The crowd were not as joyful and bright as they were upon Yaena's arrival. They stood and watched the ship, their expressions difficult to read. It was one thing having a stranger princess shipped into their country, however it was a whole other thing having their prince and heir sailed away to another country. The country of the enemy.
He had to tear his stare away from them, for if he stared too long he feared that he would lose all will and courage to continue forward and just flee from the ship, all the way back up to his chambers and hide under the bed.

With one hand, he gripped Yaena's hand, and with the other, he gripped the amulet around his neck. It's glow was dim like an ember's, and cyan in colour. A little vial filled with the lake's enchanted water, attached to a silver chain. This amulet; it was like the one Yaena wore. This was his heart, his life essence. And if it he somehow lost it... if he lost it then he would..

He didn't look back at all, even when the ship left the docks. He couldn't dare look back. He hated to admit that now he was leaving.. he realised how much he would miss home. How much he would miss feeling like he was simply part of a puzzle, and not a piece that didn't even fit. He would miss Talula, he would miss his parents.. heck, he might even miss Reina - only because in Zhicra there would be no opportunity for them to barge into the older woman's room and wreck it whenever they needed to blow off some steam.

Everything will be fine, he reassured himself... all he had to hope for was that he wouldn't get seasick...

He only looked back once he was certain that the place he called home was curtained by fog. It was very early in the morning, and the air felt crisp. The two retreated to below deck, into their own private cabin. Briar couldn't help but blush upon noticing that there was only one bed. Surely his parents wouldn't organise this, right? Or maybe they actually believed that the two have already done things, which he supposed that many others in the palace also believed as well. After all, where would most people's minds go upon realising that the two would go up into each other's rooms at night. But of course, if Yaena wouldn't be comfortable with sleeping with him yet, he would sleep elsewhere.

He sat down on the bed, haven't saying a word to her since the moment they left the palace, until he almost jumped when he felt her cuddling into him. He almost purred at her warmth like some cat, and he wrapped an arm around her instinctively. It was still difficult for him to get used to the fact that there was actual romance that existed between him and another person. Not too long ago, he felt dread whenever he laid eyes upon Yaena, not in the same way as the dread he feels whenever he sees Reina, but it was still there. Now, they felt inseparable. They felt.. perfect.

Before we get to Zhicra I have to tell you about my mother.

Briar let out a sigh, almost as if he didn't want to hear about her. All he wanted was to lose himself in her, it helped him forget that he was leaving home. To him, Yaena felt like home. She would always be a little piece of home that he now had with him.

But he also understood that it was important for him to be informed about Yaena's mother. He needed to know what he was getting himself into and not only rely on rumours. So he remained quiet, and listened. His stare was soft, eyes a little glassy from how tired he was from having to get up so early in the morning. It wasn't like sleep ever came easy to him, but knowing that he would have to get up much earlier than usual also put him under pressure to get some sleep... which just resulted in him barely getting any sleep at all.

She would make me hurt animals, and even people.

Briar frowned and he gently pulled her close into a hug. A memory flashed of them together, bloodied and crying inside that cottage. To say that they were a mess was an understatement. He made a promise to himself then, that she would never be scared like that again. She would never be terrified like that anymore. Deep down, the pessimist inside him knew that was a promise that he could never keep. But he would do anything... all he had to pray for now was that him willing to do anything was enough.

"I'll be careful." he smiled softly. "Everything will go smoothely." Another promise that he can't keep.

He would try to remain optimistic though. For their sake. "Hey.." he tilted her chin upward gently to get her to look up at him. "What if I told you that I brought a couple books from your reading list?" his smile broadened into a grin. He was clearly very proud with himself on that one. "Don't think that you can escape from your elvish lessons just because we're going to Zhicra." he gave her a little wink before getting up to grab one of the bags he brought. It was full of books, and he pulled out the book that they were currently in the middle of reading through. Of course, Briar would miss his bookshelf. To him, it was a crime seeing books just stuffed into some bag like this, but it's not like they had many other options while out at sea.

It would be a long while before they would reach Zhicra. At least two weeks if everything went according to plan - so in other words.. if no storms decided to ruin their day. And if Briar wouldn't have problems with seasickness, this would be a perfect opportunity for the two to bond.

It felt so strange knowing that there were no obstacles here. Nobody would disturb them or distract them from each other. There would be no Reina looming over their shoulders, there would be no nosy servant girls eavesdropping on them, there would be no judgemental glares from his parents... there would be none of that.

Briar couldn't feel like they were about to go into war. Like they were moments before diving deep into some terrible battle, and these two weeks were going to be their last few moments where they could embrace each other. He knew that wasn't the case, but he was about to visit a nation for the very first time that hated him. It was like a slap to the face to his ego and pride for sure, but now he would truly understand how Yaena felt, and probably still feels.

He definitely wouldn't have the courage to just go out into town like they've done in Eurus. Not even with Yaena at his side, who most likely knew Zhicra like the back of her hand. But on the other hand, he also felt excitement. The petty side of him felt satisfaction upon knowing that the lake doesn't have as much power over him as it thought it had. He didn't need it. He didn't have to be chained to it.

That is what he thought, however the lake - the mysterious entity within it - also knew another truth; no matter how far Briar would distance himself from it... in the end he would always be forced to come back. Whether he liked it or not.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Let’s just say she left Zhicra a girl and came back a woman.

There simply were not many things to do when one was on a ship, there were no libraries to visit, no cities to explore and no rooms for them to destroy. Technically, they both had their own rooms on the ship like they did in the palace, but unlike the palace most of the sailors did not care enough to even try to keep one of them from visiting each other. In the palace, the highest authority were the king and the queen but on the ship the highest authority was well..them.

She was having such a fun time on the ship that she almost forgot that they were still going somewhere, that every day they got closer to her home. When she had first left Zhicra, the voyage felt like it took years, all she could do was stare at the vast sea around her. When she finally got her first glimpse of the palace that would one day become her home she wondered the merits of her jumping out of the sea. She would have been great story, the princess who would have rather drowned to death than become an elf.

“Look,” Yaena pointed out to the window, they were nearing the private port and she couldn’t help but feel warm when she saw the black tiled roofs that made up her family’s seat. Even from afar, there were things one could notice about Zhicra, first they clearly had a darker color scheme, Yaena’s own family tended to wear a palette of purple, black, red, or silver and there were banners depicting a silver dragon flying against a black sky, waving as though they were greeting her and warning him.

The one thing that Yaena had always appreciated was that the castle had access to the city, sea, and forrest. It was harder to see now as they were in the same boat but the royal family’s place of residence was what the barrier between the city and the wild forrest, one of the last places in human society that everyone could agree was still magical.

However, the closer they got she realized they were being greeted by a crowd. She could understand why so many elves wanted to see her, she was the human sent to be their queen one day, for many of them she was probably the first human they had ever seen. If the situations were reverse, she would have certainly wanted a glimpse. But even if Briar wasn’t their future king, he was still Eurous’ future king and they wanted to see him for themselves.

“They’re excited to see you,” She whispered into his neck with a weak smile though she did not think that he was that naive.

The ship inched closer and closer to the dock and she could see the king and queen, her brother and sister in law. Although Yaena didn’t think she looked like any of her siblings, there was a resemblance between her and the king mainly the fact that they both had impossibly dark hair and freckles that scattered both of their noses. However, while her eyes were a cold violet his were a warm hazel, a field of green and gold. He was only thirteen years her elder and only eleven years Briar’s but he looked like he’s lived a lifetime more of experience.

As far as kings went, he was dressed fairly simply, his lovely auburn-haired bride being the radiant sun to his moon. The queen had a proud round belly with the future heir of Zhicra and Yaena’s future niece or nephew…and Yaena realized there was a very good chance that she would be pregnant one day.

“Do you think if we stay inside, they’ll forget that we’re supposed to be here?” She asked Briar with a wry smile on her face, she couldn’t help but notice he was nervous and while she understood why he was (and he was correct) she stills anted to comfort him so she kissed him hard before getting up, “I can see my brother and my sister-in-law and they are perhaps the two easiest people to get along with in all of Zhicra.”

____

When they finally got out, she took a deep breath, as though Zhicran air was different and it at least felt difference, she could feel the woods calling her from here and even if she couldn’t see her mother at the moment she could sense her.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, she ignored the fancy presentations as she now knew Briar intimately and of course knew her brother. She instead took her time to look at every one of the faces who stared at them now, unlike in the elven kingdom, she recognized a fair share of them. There were all the royal advisors and ambassadors who appeared to at least be trying to mask their curiosity in order to not offend any of the people here and of course there were the serving staff, and even some other shopkeepers who managed to make it here. She knew so many of them either by name or face alone, she could see a little girl smile before whispering something to her father, probably asking if the tall pale man besides her was an elf.

Tristan was the first to speak and Yaena wondered if he felt as nervous as she did. However, he simply put out his hand for Briar to shake, “It is an honor to finally meet you,” He said his tone warm but formal as Inka curtsied behind him, “I hope to become better acquainted with you during your residence.”

When Tristan let go, hyaena couldn’t keep herself from wrapping her arms around her brother, although he seemed visibly surprised he, hugged her back anyway, giving her a brotherly kiss on the top of Yaena’s head. He was thankful to see that at least she didn’t seem to hate him.

However, a woman who looked like the spitting image of Yaena except that she didn’t have her freckles and had minimal signs of aging embraced Briar. Like her daughter, she was dressed in purple velvets and had that same aura of intensity around her, but to anyone who didn’t know better, she looked like simply a woman excited to meet her future son in law.

“Oh, you’re more handsome than I’ve heard of,” She complimented before looking down to give Yaena a look that made her daughter want to shudder. "You two look absolutely perfect together."

 

[Average.]

Briat too has forgotten that they were even on their way to Zhicra. Despite the lack of activities on the ship, the two still managed to keep each other well entertained. Even when they have gotten bored of reading books. The weeks have gone by so quick, and when Yaena pointed out the window, he was almost shocked. Now instead of an image of Eurus getting smaller and smaller, it was replaced by this... dark city. If he had to think of a direct opposite to Eurus... the image that would appear in his mind would be exactly this. It looked like the city was buried in ash and later excavated, and the citizens weren't able to clean the buildings of the soot that covered them till this day.

He felt a shudder go down his spine upon seeing the flag of Zhicra waving in the wind. Upon seeing the city it made him wonder if the city has been burned before by a dragon and that's why it looked like that, and that's why they've chosen a dragon out of all things as their sigil. Dragons symbolised power, wisdom, strength and hidden knowledge... however to some they also symbolised evil. He tried to believe that Zhicra would offer the former, and it only looked evil on the outside.

To Yaena, it probably didn't look like that. She grew up here after all. To her, this was probably as homey as it could get. He tried to imagine himself in her shoes; maybe upon seeing Eurus for the first time she thought that it was too bright. Maybe she feared that she was going to become blind from how bright the city was before the wedding!
Either way, it opened up his eyes to how different the world was outside of Eurus.

He had to admit that ever since he has left the watchful eye of the lake, he felt slightly disconnected from the magic that was within him. He hated to admit it, but he felt as if he has left a vital part of himself behind. He felt weaker, however whenever he started to feel craving for sleep or for caffeine (more often it was the latter) he would take a look at his amulet. He would stare into it's depths, and usually it would make him feel a little better. He doubted that it was the actual water that was helping him - the water could only help him so much. No, he believed that it was the awareness of the amulet being around his neck that soothed him.

They're excited to see you.

He didn't believe that. He didn't believe that one bit. But unlike Yaena, there was no need for him to trip over himself just for the sake of impressing the people of Zhicra. Zhicra already had a King and Queen who were still young and more than fit to rule. He already could guess that the people of Zhicra were uncertain about him, and that is how he wanted it to stay. All he wanted to ensure was that he wouldn't make them hate him (althought there probably were more than a handful of Zhicrans that already had their minds made up about him anyway) and that was all.

He felt like some helpless newborn seeing the world for the very first time once he stepped off that ship. In truth, he was seriously contemplating taking Yaena's question into consideration. He knew she was only joking, yet deep down he was starting think that maybe if they didn't leave they wouldn't notice them after all. Maybe. Obviously not but... he had the right to hope.

He held Yaena's hand tightly, treating it as his main source of comfort. It took every damn fibre of his being to restrain himself from turning tail and running back below deck. If this wasn't Zhicra, he would've been bubbling with excitement by now. But this was the place that he was conditioned to hate. He never as a child would have pictured himself strolling right into the heart of Zhicra, with a crowd of people present to welcome him.

Gingerly, Briar shook Tristan's hand. "Likewise." it took every bit of him to sound this calm and collected. He nodded his greeting towards Inka, and to anyone else who greeted him.

He couldn't help but smile at the sight of Yaena hugging her brother. At least Yaena was happy about being here, and while he was excited about the exploring part... the people definitely made him feel nervous. In Eurus he felt like a lion, yet here he felt like some tiny ant amongst giants. And that didn't sit well with him, with his pride at all.

However, he barely noticed Selantheia making her way to him until it was too late.

He froze upon feeling Yaena's mother embrace him. She embraced him. Him. If he had to think of a list of people who would hate him the most here in Zhicra, Selantheia would definitely be on the very top of that list. Yet here she was, sounding so excited about meeting him. It comforted him a little by assuming that all she was doing was putting on a show for the crowd around them. It would make sense if she did, after all why would she show disdain towards him when they were surrounded by hundreds of prying eyes.

You two look absolutely perfect together.

Now he was certain that she was just putting on a show. They did not look perfect, even he was able to realise that, and he was Yaena's partner for fuck's sake. Now he realised that he needed to tread carefully. Selantheia was like a viper in the grass, and if he would get careless with his steps, he would get bitten.

Yet now it was his turn to put on his own show, so he forced a smile at Selantheia. "I'm glad you think so. I've been looking forward to get to know you." he said, giving her mother a slight dip of his head.

______

Briar felt so relieved that he actually felt a little lightheaded. The fresh air of the forest was probably the only thing keeping him from fainting right now. He was so glad to be out of that castle; he could argue that it felt even colder inside the castle than it did out here in the woods!

He held Yaena's hand, not as tightly as last time anymore. They were calmly heading through the forest. The air felt fresh and crisp, and there was a soft layer of fog surrounding them. Moss cushioned their every step, and Briar allowed himself to just get lost in the moment for few seconds. He could feel the soft breeze, the swaying branches, and soon a woodpecker echoing somewhere in the distance. The forest quickly became Briar's favourite place in all of Zhicra. It was definitely different than the woods they had near Eurus - the tree bark was darker, and it felt less warm. Yet it fascinated him. It held this mystery about it.

"I can see why you wanted to take me here." Briar smiled as he looked around.

They soon came across a patch of white mushrooms, all arranged in an almost perfect circle. Briar blinked and carefully made sure to walk around it and not step into it. He believed that it was called a... fairy circle. Yes, that sounded right.
Yaena has told him about them before they arrived. It was a part of Zhicra's legends, where they believed that if you step into the fairy circle, you would be forced to dance with fairies until you either die of exhaustion or simply go mad.

Sounded like a bad way to go, so Briar made a vow to her that he would never step into one.

"See? I remembered." he grinned proudly. "Don't ever step into a fairy circle, and I didn't step in one!"

He was definitely looking forward to learning more about Zhicra's culture and the myths and legends they believed in. Even though he didn't have to, he may as well learn more about it since he already knew the language that they spoke fluently.

Briar's smile soon disappeared from his face, and the image of Selantheia embracing him flashed in his mind. "Your mother seemed happy to see me... I'll assume that was just an act?" he rose a brow as they walked. They were nearing a small stream, he could hear the water trickling nearby. He wondered how big the forest was and how deep they would go.

Suppose he was about to find out, as Yaena was his tour guide around here.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Things had been too quiet.

Yaena’s mother was smart, she didn’t expect the queen-mother to just slap Briar or openly deride elves, but once they all got the palace, her mother simply wished that both of them get comfortable before she went up to her chambers. It terrified her, maybe her mother wanted to be sought out. Maybe she still expected that Yaena was miserable and was hoping that Yaena would seek her out with tear-strained cheeks and a plead at her lips. Please mother, I require your help, you were right. However, despite rules around decency she had tried to communicate to her mother and her brother (though for different reasons) that she was more than content with her marriage.

But, she tried not think about that much in the woods, much of her happiest memories both relating to her powers and to her siblings happened here. This was where Tristan and her father taught her how to climb trees, and this was where she and Viria bonded over making flower crowns for her niece, one of the few moments where the sisters were able to bond. And she just liked coming here too see her mind, to Briar this place was probably ominous, but to her it was beautiful and it was how she reminded herself that magic wasn’t just curses and blood spells.

See, I remembered, don’t ever step into a fairy circle.

Yaena grinned beaming, “I’m so proud,” She giggled.

Honestly, it meant a lot to her that he remembered what she told him. While she certainly had a lot of fun learning Elvish and learning about Elvish history (even if she didn’t get to kiss her tutor she just liked learning). As they both knew, he didn’t need to know about Zhicran history the way she needed to know about Eurous, but she loved being the one to teach for once and it wasn’t that she wanted him to learn about Zhicra because she thought it would make him abetter king, she wanted him to learn because it was important her.

“Okay, I’m going to show you something, she thought excitedly.” She could feel it’s location getting stronger as they padded through the woods. It called to all Zhicrans in a way, but she had always felt a special connection to the Blood Tree, maybe it was because the magic in her called out to the magic in it, or because she was simply a quiet, strange child who loved learning about the world, so she would of course be drawn to a tree.

Technically, the blood tree did not have blood in but it’s trunk was iridescent, with rivers of a shimmering deep crimson liquid perpetually going through the cracks of the bark, some of them seemed to be coming from the roots to the trees and some appeared to going into the earth. There was a legend that the tree held the memory of every Zhicran, it was their memory, sometimes people would come to commune with their gone loved ones, sometimes people would go there to think on a heavy decision. Recently, Tristan decided to allow people of all backgrounds into these woods (provided they come unarmed) so that they could too could be a part of the history.

It stood taller than all the other trees, possibly even as tall as some of the towers, as they walked closer to it, the roots seemed to call to them, like an ancient greeting, or trying to get to know them in the case of Briar. There was a time, many many many centuries ago where elves and humans were not enemies, they shared in each other’s magic and culture, and there was a time when elves were even able to be in the shadow of the tree. Maybe Yaena bringing him here wasn’t a change in traditions but a return to them.

“Remember what I said about this tree?” She asked softly, looking up, the leaves were even thicker than the rest of the forrest only streams of light were coming through the sky. Her words were hushed as though the trees were listening, “Think of a memory that I don’t know about, a memory that you cherish, and then put your hand here.”

Yaena already knew her memory and in case he had any reservations she closed her eyes and placed her hand on the tree and suddenly she felt full. Not like she did when she had that horrible night, she was filled with love and warmth.

When Briar touched the tree, the first thing he would feel was the love that Yaena had for him. It was obvious she had feelings for him, but the love she felt for him was deeper than even she had conveyed to him. It wasn’t just that she loved him as a romantic partner, it was encompassing. He was her lover, her friend, and her partner, he truly was everything to her.

But then he would see one of her memories.

“Come on Yaena you can do it!” On the top of the tree, you could see someone who he would be able to intuitively know was Tristan and her three other brothers. Tristan was the oldest and the youngest appeared to be her age.

She was only five years old, her dress already ruined and her hair in a long braid. There was some dirt on her face as she clung to her father. “I don’t know how to climb!” She complained, “I keep falling.”

It skipped a few seconds, as very rarely were memories perfectly sequenced and she was now using her little arms and legs to navigate up a tree, her father behind her with his arms wide just in case his little girl fell. Little Yaena had never seemed so determined even now and eventually she saw her Tristin brother extend his arm and she held his hand. Eventually, with the help of all her brothers she was now sitting with them, the tree big enough to hold all their weight.

“Papa come up!” Yaena giggled, waving through the leaves at her father, clearly proud of herself.

Then the scene shifted, not a memory but a desire. She and Briar were in the library like they usually were, but instead there was a little boy whose features seemed to change regularly between them looking over a book with them. Yaena had always wanted to teach a child how to read and she never thought she would be able to teach her own.

The boy couldn’t be more than three as he was going over the elvish alphabet, practicing basic words.

“Look, you obviously got your skill of reading from me,” Yaena teased kissing the top of her son’s head before smirking at Briar.

 

[Average.]

Briar too was able to feel a faint presence of magic, like something was calling to him, however it was nowhere near as strong as the pull he felt every time he was near the enchanted lake back at the gardens in Eurus. The tree felt ominous by appearance, yet it's aura was not the same as what he felt when he first laid eyes upon Zhicra. It was welcoming.. comforting even. It made him want to put his hand on the tree.

When he put his hand on the tree, he felt warmth. Warmth, as if the tree was alive. A living, breathing being. He was suddenly filled with emotions, with love, joy.. everything. He felt overwhelmed by them. He felt like he was radiating, and he closed his eyes to be able to focus more on what he was feeling. He knew that his own love for Yaena was indescribable, yet being able to actually feel it and witness it from someone else... it made him so overwhelmingly happy. He never thought that there would ever be a person in this world that could love him like this...
She was the sun during the day and the moon during the night. She was his everything. His sali.

Her memories were playing out in front of him, and he watched with great intrigue. He felt like he was there, like he was present in the moment, although of course none of them could see him since he wasn't part of the memory. He couldn't help but smile warmly at the scene before him. It reminded him so much of himself and his brother.
He watched little Yaena as she struggled to climb up the tree.

Papa, come up!

He couldn't remember the last time he had such a good relationship with his father. In fact, he doubted that he ever had one like that. He remembered himself being a lot closer with his mother as a child, although even they grew distant as he got older. Yet Briar never felt lonely because of that, for instead of them; he had Lhoris. The time where they started growing distant was after his brother's death. Despite his parents not showing as much grief as he did... he knew that they grieved. They had to. Lhoris was their son too.

Briar couldn't help but cheer a little when little Yaena finally made it up the tree. They looked so happy together, he could only imagine how much Yaena treasured such a memory.

But then, the image shifted, and Briar at first felt confusion. It was difficult to keep up with how fast the memories were changing.

However, he felt even greater confusion upon seeing that the next memory was of.. them. It was him and Yaena in the library like usual, and at first he thought that the memory was of the time not too long ago where they would be picking out even more books to add to their reading lists.
He was just a little surprised to see it, as while he did remember that fondly, it definitely would count as one of Briar's most treasured memories.

But it didn't take him long to realise that this was no memory at all. Was this a prediction of the future? It could be but.. no. He sensed the sudden change of emotions within Yaena. He realised that this was desire. Her desire. This is what she wanted for them to be like in the future.

That little boy... he taken a closer look at his features. Blonde hair, violet eyes, freckles and pale skin. The features would change, however they would always be a mix of Briar's and Yaena's most promiment features. This was their son.

He could see them- himself.. so happy. They were glowing, they were so perfect. Briar wanted to reach out, he wanted to merge with the Briar that he was seeing in Yaena's memory. He wanted to become that Briar. He never wanted anything to be real so badly...

He was disappointed when the memory faded. His mind remained blank for a couple seconds, until he came to the realisation that it was meant to be his turn now to think of something. He was finding it difficult to recover after witnessing that. He was so.. glad to have seen it. He didn't want to put any pressure on Yaena, however now that he knew for sure that she wanted that kind of future too... he never felt more confident.

So he focused on his thoughts, allowing himself to get engulfed by them.

"Ha! Bullseye!" a small boy with dusty blonde hair cheered, throwing his arms up into the air with triumph. The boy couldn't have been older than ten. He was younger than the boy with the paler blonde hair next to him, yet despite that he was still taller than him. "What about you? Still struggling?"

"N-No! I got it all under control!" the shorter blonde haired boy snapped. He seemed to be getting frustrated with the bow, having immense trouble with nocking the arrow properly to the bow.

Little Briar heard Lhoris laughing behind him, before approaching him to help with nocking the arrow. "Like this." Lhoris smiled.

"Whatever." Briar rolled his eyes, before carefully pulling the string back, taking a deep breath... and releasing. The arrow hit the bullseye mark too on the target, right next to Lhoris' arrow. Immediately, Briar's beamed with joy and pride, and he threw his bow down dramatically onto the grass. "Yes! I did it! Did you see that? Did you, did you, did you? I told you I could do it!"

Soon, the memory switched, and the image changed.

Instead, the two boys were now sitting on a pile of hay, inside of what looked like the hippogriff royal stables. "One day, imma' get my very own hippogriff!" Lhoris grinned at his brother. "Then I'll ride it into battle! And be the best soldier ever! We'll be unstoppable!"

Briar was sitting next to Lhoris, listening carefully to his brother, yet he seemed to be holding something in his arms. It was a little bird.. no. It was a baby hippogriff. The boy already seemed very attached to the hippogriff, and cradled it like a baby.

Once again, the image suddenly changed, and just like Yaena, the final memory was in fact no memory at all.

He was with Yaena, yet they were in his bedroom. Yaena was on the bed, her hair messy, looking exhausted and out of breath. Briar was there next to her, sitting on a chair near the bedside, holding her hand with both of his hands.

Soon, the door opened, and in came an elven woman dressed in a nurse's clothing. She held a little tiny newborn in her arms. She approached the couple before gently placing the baby into Yaena's arms. "She is perfectly healthy. Congradulations on your new daughter." the nurse smiled before leaving the room.

Daughter. So then Briar must have imagined a daughter instead of a son.

The scene then skipped forward, and now Briar was lying beside Yaena on the bed, gazing down at their newborn daughter. "She's perfect.." he smiled warmly, gently resting his head against Yaena's.

She truly was perfect. She was wrapped up in a fluffy little blanket, her sleeping chubby little face so adorable and calm.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Soon she saw two little blond boys and she wondered if that was another one of her desires, but she was surprised. Not because she didn’t like archery but when she thought of the things he was excited most about when it came to children, archery wasn’t one of them because to put it bluntly: she was not good at archery.

But as she watched she realized, this was his brother, Yaena wanted to know more about Lhoris, she’d seen him in royal portraits and Briar had told her about him their first day of meeting each-other. It was a terrible thing to lose a sibling, and even though no human being could place another, Yaena at the very least had not one, not two but three siblings after their brother was killed whereas Briar was alone.

She would never know Lhoris, and perhaps the elf would have disliked her had they actually met but Yaena felt love towards him. Even if she didn’t know him, she did know Briar and she had such a deep immense of respect and empathy for him that if someone had a special place in his heart, they would automatically be invited to her own.

Just like him she couldn’t help but cheer when she saw the arrow hit its target. She had never learned archery but she had seen all three of her brothers participate in it to various degrees. The two bothers were just so happy together, just two children who had the world in front of them, two children who were naive of just how cold and unfair life could be. If they ever had children, something that seemed incredibly likely considering that they both clearly want it, she would protect them. She would not let them go through what she did, and she would do everything in her considerable power to prevent.

She wondered if she Briar would have gotten along if they were children, she was a nightmare of a child and there was a good chance that she would have tried to push him over. Besides, as adults they made the decision to absolutely destroy a woman’s room, imagine what would have happened when they were younger and at least a little stupider.


Your new daughter.

Yaena felt tears prick in the corner of her eyes, she was always afraid of having a daughter, she didn’t know much about how her powers were inherited, but she was the only one of her siblings to have them and her mother always talked about the women in her ancestral line and she wondered if only women could inherit blood magic. She would never want her child to be burdened with it, she appreciated her powers but even in the best of circumstances they casted a shadow over life.

But the baby was perfect, too precious, with both of their hypothetical children it was hard to imagine that she had anything to do with them. She was dirty, impure she was made of shadows and curses, since thirteen there had always been something dark and malignant lurking in her. But both their son and their daughter were so good, that she almost wanted to believe that they came from Briar alone. Who would have thought that someone like her would ever be able to create life?

Eventually the memories, the dreams all of it faded and all she could do was stare at him in amazement. It was one thing to love and be with someone, but he wanted a future with her. Yaena was usually someone who focused ahead, tried to formulate plans but since she arrived in the kingdom, she tried to take it one day at a tme. There were just so many things out of her control that she didn’t think of because she wanted to savor the time she had now.

She couldn’t control how the elven court would react to her, she could speak elvish so perfect you thought she was an elf, she could only wear elven dresses from now until the day she died. But in the end, if the court didn’t want to accept her as their queen, all she would be able to do is accept that fact and push past it.

This didn’t make her forget that there would be obstacles in their future, but it reminded her that they were not the only things to expect. They could have a family. Any child of theirs would be half human and half elf, and they could make a world where the idea of those sides ever being at odds seemed foreign to them.

She looked up at him, this was worth it, she had no idea how their trip to Zhicra was going to end but this one moment was worth it. He was just as emotional as she was, tears in his blue eyes, he was so excited at the prospect of a little girl. Outside of her fear about her powers, another reason why she imagined a boy was that she thought he’d might want to name him after the brother he had lost. Yaena herself was named after her father’s older sister who had unfortunately passed, and he always told her that she saw her in him.

There was so many things she could say, all of them mushy and sappy, things that would make even the tree blush. Instead she grinned, a watery grin with tears in her eyes, “You’re crying.” She teased softly, fully knowing that she was as well. “Why, did you see something you liked?” She asked joking softly.

 

[Average.]

When she pointed out that he was crying, he just started crying like a complete baby. He didn't know why, but no matter what, whenever someone pointed out to him that he was crying or asked him why, he would just cry harder. He tried holding back his sobs, and he just ended up burying his face in Yaena's neck in attempt to hide it from embarassment. "N-No... I'm not crying." he insisted.

Yeah, sure he wasn't.

Soon, he managed to stop, and he let out a sigh, wiping his tears away with his sleeve, sniffling. His face was red and puffy, and his eyes were glassy from the tears. By the time that they would return back to the castle, his face hopefully would return back to normal. He wouldn't want anyone else knowing that he was recovering from bawling his eyes out. "But I did see something that I liked, yeah.." he gave her a teary smile, voice sounding a little raspy. "Don't you dare tell anyone about it though... fuck, this is embarassing.." he was already embarassed enough with Yaena seeing him like this, he didn't need her family to see him like this too!

Before he met her he didn't want a child. He hated the idea of having one, as he knew that he would most likely be terrible at it. He simply didn't feel ready, and he didn't believe that he ever would be. And here he was now, wanting a child. He wanted one with Yaena. He wanted that more than anything.

They held each other like that for a little longer, feeling safe in each other's embrace, until it was time for them to return to the castle. Briar - with his usual flair for the dramatic - would have probably preferred to tie himself to his very tree forever than return back there, however there was no other way around it.

So he took her hand, smiling at her. The pure, raw emotion was still there, visible in his eyes. For her they were like windows. Windows to his emotions, to himself. For her, they would always remain open.

The way back to the castle felt shorter than Briar would have liked. It didn't feel like this when he first step foot in the forest, most likely because it was all so new to him. However now, they have returned along the same exact path, he has seen it all before. And of course the more he dreaded something, the quicker it tended to come, that's how it always felt.

They were back within the coldness of the castle - well, to Briar it was cold anyway - and it felt so quiet. Not a servant in sight, no one at all. Briar figured that this was normal for the castle, as it was slightly bigger than his palace back in Eurus.

Before they left to go to the forest, they have informed Selantheia that they would want to speak to her this evening. Briar was most certainly nervous for that, however he hasn't forgotten why they came to Zhicra in the first place. They were here because of Yaena's curse and nothing more. Any moment they had to themselves, whether it was exploring or simply spending time together.. it was a treat. It was never meant to be their top priority.

"So.." Briar soon turned to Yaena. His face no longer looked as red or puffy anymore, which was definitely a good thing. A mischievous grin appeared on his face. Oh no. Last time he looked at her like that he had an idea in his head about wrecking the room of someone that he didn't like. And while he didn't like Selantheia, he somehow doubted that her mother would just yell at them a little if they wrecked her room like that.

But luckily, that wasn't what he had in mind.

"You're my tour guide now. I'd like to know where my room could be." he teased.

________

Evening was approaching, and Briar was on his way from his room to see Yaena. Before they parted, Yaena has made sure to show him where her room would be. He wasn't happy about not being able to go with her, however he couldn't be following her around everywhere, not here. It was not the same like it was in Eurus.
In Eurus, his parents wanted to see them together at all times, however here in Zhicra it was not just them visiting to find solutions for Yaena's cure... it was also Yaena's reunion with her family. A reunion that she needed to enjoy without his presence.

He wasn't part of that family, and he didn't need to be. Only Yaena needed to be a part of his family. And she was.

Briar assumed that she would be back by now, and they have made plans to get through some nightly reading material so that Yaena could practice her elvish. On top of that, they also agreed for Yaena to share a couple of books with him that originated from Zhicra. He was most excited for those, if he had to admit. The books that he was going through with Yaena he has read every single one. However any book that came from Zhicra he has never even seen before, hence his excitement since the reading material would be completely new.

Briar felt his heartbeat quicken when he heard steps echoing on the other side of the hall. Anytime he heard someone coming he felt nervous. He didn't trust anyone here except for Yaena. Not the servants, not the nobles. Nobody.

He rose both brows with surprise upon seeing that it was King Tristan. He dipped his head slightly, simply out of respect that he was in Tristan's home. If he was back in Eurus, he wouldn't have had to. "King Tristan." he gave him a slight nod.

He wasn't counting that they were going to get into any sort of conversation. He wouldn't try to force one upon him, despite the fact that he couldn't help but feel curious about the King. He remembered Yaena telling him that Tristan along with Inka are probably the kindest and most easygoing people he was going to have the pleasure of meeting in Zhicra. But still, Briar wouldn't blame him if Tristan had no desire to speak to him.

He wanted to ask what he was doing here, yet that of course would be rude. Once again, this was Tristan's home and not his.

Either way, Briar was definitely more fine with speaking with Tristan than with Selantheia - which is something that he would have to do later this evening. So if Tristan did end up wanting to talk, he would not mind that at all.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Tristan had left Inka so that she could talk to her sister-in-law, he hoped that Yaena would share some things with the woman that she would not share with him.

However, he wanted to check in on her as well. It had been a difficult decision to make to send Yaena to the elven kingdom. He had so many responsibilities he had, to his kingdom, to his name, and to his family. No matter what, it always felt like he was neglecting them, if he spent too much time attempting to be a suitable brother, husband, and (soon) father, then the kingdom suffered. However, there were older duties people had. Even if he was born the son of a butcher, even if he had no name to speak of and no throne to sit on, it would still be his duty to protect his sisters and his wife. Had he thought that Yaena would truly have been harmed, he would not have sent her there.

He would not pretend he could tell how people felt for each other, he was observant but in matters of personality and character not in matters of the heart. It wasn't until a few years ago where he even suspected that his mother had anything to do with his father's death. He had always imagined his parents as a happy couple, he was never close to his mother, she seemed disinterested in him after he showed no signs of magic but she had always seemed to do all her power to defend her husband.

Because of this, he tried not to read too much into Yaena and Briar's interactions with one another, he had only seen them when they arrived and got a glimpse of them when they returned from the forests. Granted, Tristan had been busy with growing accustomed to rule at the time when most young girls explored their feelings but he never recalled even hearing rumors that the princess was ever attracted to someone that way. But the two were holding hands, and she certainly looked content at the very least.

However, he would hear it from her, he didn't know what that would serve. Betrothals didn't end because two people were not compatible, especially betrothals that were about tying two nations together. But if she was suffering because of a decision he made, he deserved to be able to hear about it.

Now imagine his surprise when he saw Briar going towards her room as well. It shouldn't be that surprising, he tried to put himself in the younger man's shoes; Yaena was the only person the prince knew in a nation of people that didn't trust him. Tristan was among those people, and it wasn't because had heard anything that suggested that Briar was less trustworthy than other people, it was just that he couldn't trust anyone.

"Prince Biar," He greeted respectfully.

He glanced at the doors of the room before back at him. Subtle amusement in his hazel eyes but more obvious protectiveness. While he attempted to be open to what his sister wanted, he still did not like the idea of someone defiling his sister before her wedding night.

His dark eyebrows raised, "Do you need help finding your own room?" He asked dryly, "I have a meeting in that wing as well, we can walk together."

He had seen elves before when he had left Zhicra to embark on the peace talks, Zhicrans didn't want to go to Eurous and elves didn't want to go to Zhicra so they found a neutral, third party country to have the talks. The setting had been so serious that he hadn't even had the chance to see if elvish ears were as long as the drawings depicted them (they were). While Tristan was still formal, he did seem to relax a little, he didn't have the heavy intensity that Selantheia or even Yaena had to have didn't have the cold aloofness that Reina so proudly had. No, instead he had dark circles under his warm eyes and a smile that however small, did seem to come easy to him.

"Tell me, how have you two gotten along so far? It occurred to me now that you've both gotten to see each other's homes."


-

Yaena had never realized how much she would miss her home until she was away from it. Embarrassingly to her, when she thought of the things that she would miss it was her medical laboratory, it was her library, it was the cliffs it was never the people who were around her. However, she missed her brothers, she missed her sister-in-law and she even missed Viria. She would rather spend a year with her sister than talk to Reina ever again.

While her brother was talking to his husband, she was talking to her sister-in-law and she was positively relieved. Inka had always been a part of her life, she got married to her brother when Yaena was only two years old lived in the palace ever since and she was finally pregnant with her first child after twenty years. How embarrassing; to be thirty-four and have no child to show for it? Originally, most people did not pay attention, Yaena and Tristan's shared father was king and while surely Inka's parents wanted their grandchild on the throne, Yaena had two brothers who could very well become king if Tristan died without a child. But rumors were put to bed and the queen who was so perfect in so many ways finally corrected her one flaw and had a round belly to show for it.

Their talk had been lovely, Yaena told her about the impression about the elven kingdom, and finally, she had a chance to share with someone just how happy she was with Briar and Ikana talked about how things have evolved in Zhicra. Tristan was much more comfortable being a peacetime king than a wartime one, not because he was lazy but because the things that interested him were the details, the fine lines, he knew how every penny of the treasury was being spent and how much wheat, eggs, and oil was in every wintertime ration. Perhaps none of that would give him the glory people often took but it was just as helpful.

However, she ended up meeting Briar near his quarters, she didn't have much time to question him before they talked to her mother so she just grinned a little, "How much did you miss me?" She teased him gently before her face growing concerned. Her mother was waiting for them, she had the ability to somehow cast her entire mood throughout the palace. Maybe it was a power, maybe Selantheia was simply an abusive narcissist so Yaena always thought about her.

Before they went into the room, despite knowing people may see him, Yaena stole a kiss from him, maybe her mother saw it and if she did it was good.

Selantheia was already sitting, in a long black gown and unlike her daughter, her hair was neatly in a long braid, her violet eyes looking at the both of them, and there was a light to them. But it wasn't the same warmth that Yaena, Briar, or even Inka and Tristan had, it was the light a cat had when they found a prey. Her mouth, however, was a warm smile as she waved them over.

"I have to admit, I was surprised that you both wanted to talk to me," She greeted putting her hand out on the table for either of them to hold.

Yaena didn't have time for small talk so she put her hand on her amulet, "Mother, what is this?"

Selantheia blinked, "I've told you this many times, it protects you, my own mother gave it to me, her mother gave it to her, one day you may give it to your own daughter if you have one."

Yaena's fist clenched, "Tell me the entire truth, and think about why I would be asking you those questions now."

Her mother paused, because she had a point, if Yaena was asking all of these questions it could only y mean that at some point, the amulet had been taken off and she had unfortunately encountered her curse. That wasn't her plan, but she took the cards she was given, she looked between the two of them. Her shrewd gaze landing on Briar now, "Is that why you two came here? By chance are you having second thoughts about marrying..." What was the nice word, "A witch?"

 

[Average.]

Briar expected the response, and he was just about to walk straight past Tristan, focused on where he wanted to go. However, what he didn't expect was to hear the King speak again to him. It caught him off guard, as he didn't expect him to even want to strike up any sort of conversation with him. While it shouldn't be surprising that his soon to be brother-in-law wanted to know more about him, he would have been less surprised if Tristan wanted to talk to him if he was human. He imagined that would be more comfortable for him.

Do you need help finding your own room?

Briar at first tried not to bristle at the question, though he had to remind himself to remain understanding. Tristan was Yaena's eldest brother; if he was in his shoes, he would have been this way too. There was no doubt that Tristan must be feeling protective of her, he must think that Yaena is miserable with him. He now felt the need more than anything to prove to the King that Yaena was happy with him. She was happy with him, and he was happy with her. And that was all.

But when Briar caught the softness in Tristan's eyes, he could feel his expression soften as well. He immediately couldn't help but feel a sort of liking towards Yaena's brother. It was true what Yaena once told him; Tristan and Inka would be the most welcoming people he is going to meet in Zhicra.
There was still a feeling of judgement in Briar for the King, and Briar didn't doubt that Tristan was also judging him deep down. But it at least made him believe that there was a slight chance at Tristan one day accepting him as part of the family.

It seemed crazy to think about, but maybe this was a sign that in the future elves and humans will be able to get along with each other just like they have been able to centuries ago. He has heard the stories, he has read them, and till this day it was so difficult for him to believe that such a thing ever could have been true.
They have become so used to hating each other, so conditioned into it that it felt wrong to believe that there one day could be true peace.

While there was peace now, it wasn't true peace. It was like a wooden table, and it's legs were being eaten away by woodlice. True peace wouldn't have to be held up by an arranged marriage between two royals. True peace would just exist, without the need for any crutch or cane to support it.

"We have gotten along fairly well, Your Majesty." he nodded slightly as they ambled their way down the hall. He would not try to go out of his way to prove that to him. He knew that answer could mean nothing at all to Tristan, since anyone could just say that everything was fine where really they would rather tie a noose around their necks than to even look at their betrothed. "Of course, not everything was perfect in the beginning." he admitted. Most would choose to leave all the bad details out, however for some reason Briar wanted to admit that to him. Not because he trusted him, but because he felt like he owed him at least that much.

"We could barely look at each other. It was to be expected. But upon getting to know each other better, we started getting along." he shrugged, though there was a slight smile on his face now. The castle, it felt cold around the lower levels, however further up the stairs it began feeling a little more cozy. But maybe that was because Briar was beginning to start warming up to the castle, at least a little bit. The were lit torches along the hall, bathing Briar's face in a warm light. It made his face appear less pale than it actually was. Back in Eurus, he looked more like he came from the clouds.

He was about to say more to the King, oddly feeling no hesitation when speaking to him. However, he soon heard steps echoing closer and closer from the other end of the hall, and his smile broadened when he saw that it was Yaena.

How much did you miss me?

"How much? Very much, sali." he grinned. He would have hugged her, however he still did not forget about Tristan's presence and he wasn't aiming to make him uncomfortable. However, Yaena beat him to it and she kissed him. Briar smiled into the kiss, closing his eyes while it lasted.

He took a deep breath, trying to relax his shoulders before they entered the room.

______

Somehow he felt even more wary of her than he was when she embraced him at the harbour. Here, there were no prying eyes watching them, and if there were Briar didn't know about them.

He didn't bother with hiding his annoyance at what Selantheia said to him. Their eyes met, and all he could see was Yaena staring right back at him. He didn't realise until now just how much resemblance Yaena shared with her mother.

If he didn't know that Selantheia was her mother, his first guess would have been that she was her sister. For her age, the woman looked surprisingly youthful. He wouldn't be surprised if Selantheia was as obsessed with her youth as many of those other witches in story books. Witches often turned to magic to make themselves appear young and beautiful forever. And Selantheia was probably no exception to this.

"No, Your Grace," he frowned. "I am not having second thoughts at all. We came here because we wanted answers." he said. "She could be a witch and I wouldn't care, however I would care if it was something that tormented her. And this does torment her."

He didn't want to go too far, he didn't want to cross the line. Not with this woman. But it was so difficult. Selantheia should have at least told Yaena of her curse, she should have never allowed Yaena to find out about it the way that she did back at Eurus. "This curse is a danger to herself and to the people around her."

He could feel as if Selantheia's stare was an icicle, a sharp blade of ice piercing through him. Yet he would not allow himself to flinch, not in front of her. He was beginning to understand what kind of woman she was; she was a woman that enjoyed seeing people break under her. He would not give her that satisfaction.

Briar was beginning to doubt that this conversation was going to go anywhere useful, but he would not be willing to back down. They wouldn't just give up, not after just one proper conversation. Selantheia had to know something. Anything at all. He refused to believe that she had no capabilities in helping them.

He took a small, daring step forward. "Tell us everything. You owe your daughter this much."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Despite having no reason to believe that Briar would want to end their marriage, a wave of relief washed over her when she heard Briar confirm it, she reached under the table to squeeze his hand softly.

“Well, you are either very brave, or very in love,” Selanthia said and on the last she glanced at Yaena who kept her expression impassive.

The woman listened patiently as Briar made his case and the more Yaena looked at her, the more she could see through her stare.

It was easy to feel insecure looking at her mother, it was like seeing a reflection of everything she was, everything she’d never be and everything she was afraid of becoming. There was a time she used to worship her mother, she went from the lowest rungs of society to the very top, she gave birth to five healthy children, and she had powers that could make people go on their knees and praise her like a goddess, but the more she looked at her the more she felt resentment. Resentment that she had refused to allow herself to feel for so long having come back.

“This curse…has existed for longer than I could think of ,” Selantheia began and neither Yaena or Briar could interrupt her because she was the one unfortunately who was the closest to having all the answers, “Not every witch has it, but hundreds of years ago back when the Norvosian Islands there was a civil war not between humans and witches, embarrassingly it was between witches and witches.” She paused, and looked down although this history was still hard for her.

“It happens every generation, my older sister had it, and so do you,” The young princess opened her mouth to speak but Selantheia put up her hand to, “Please let me finish, the entire story is important for you to hear.”

Yaena hated having to sit so patiently but she doubted she would be able to find answers in any other source unless she did go to the Norvosi Islands and she had enough nightmares already. She felt like a child being lectured by her parents rather than an adult seeking answers and the worst part was that she had nothing to do about it.

“I worried when you were thirteen that you had it so I crafted an amulet, I even confessed to your father.”

You’re lying, Yaena wanted to accuse her mainly because she had a hard time trusting her mother, but everything her mother said seemed reasonable to her. Yaena didn’t know about magical history the way her mother did, but still why didn’t she tell her?

“You’re probably wondering why I didn’t tell you, I wanted you to have a chance at a normal life, I didn’t want you to grow up terrified of yourself, you deserved all the same things any other child did and I admit I was afraid that you would push me from your life.” Briar was here, but he already knew so much that Selantheia was okay with reveal information about the family dynamic, “Out of all your siblings you had always been the one closest to me, and I didn’t want to lose that.”


“You know your brother, he was so determined to be the king who brought peace, if I had told you or him he would have thought that I was trying to undermine his authority,” She said those three words in a tone that suggested that the two have had this conversation before, “And I just prayed that you would never take it off while I dedicated myself to finding a way to help you.”

So that was the story, Yaena was just victim of inheritance. Her sister had beautiful green eyes and brown hair, her brother had a warm smile, and Yaena ate people unless a little piece of silver. Her mother was just trying to her best to give Yaena a good life.

“Bullshit,” Yaena said, realizing now that she had spent too much time around Briar, “If you wanted me to have a normal life why teach me blood magic at all?” She demanded to know looking at her own hands.

This was the closest we say to Selantheia getting defensive, “I never taught you magic I helped you control it, would you rather that I simply let you out in the world and leave you with no knowledge of your strength? What if you harmed someone?”

“I killed two people mother,” Yaena said and the weight of revealing that made her tear up despite herself, she had no problem getting emotional in front of Briar, but in front of her mother it was embarrassing. She had a way of turning Yaena into a child again.

“And that was not my fault, you can either lambast me for not making perfect decisions or I can tell you both what I have learned, you two can decide.” And there it was, the Mother Gothel, of course, came out, the castle suddenly got cold.

Selantheia looked at both her daughter and her future-son-in-law before continuing, “You’re going to have to remain here for at least a few weeks, everything that I have read suggests the best way is to starve out the monster without of course harming you…”

A pale skinny servant who up until now has been guarding the door walked over to Selantheia and whispered something in her ear causing the woman to nod silently.

“Meet me in the forest at noon, all cleansing spells are easier in the light of day.”





_______

After two weeks where they were together at practically all times, it was hard to sleep in a bed alone. However, while they simply risked being scandalous at Briar’s family palace, neither of them wanted to risk offending King Tristan. Besides, it was probably best that she could be alone because all she could think of was how there was a chance that she could be cured tomorrow. Her mother was many things, but incapable was never one of them, if there was a way to remove the curse, she thought her mother would be able to do it.

There was also another reason why it was good to be alone.

A slim envelope was slid through her door and Yaena got out of bed to read it. She had asked an old friend of hers to perform a certain test on her. It was hard to tell now, as it was still so early, but Yaena was not just a woman, she was a witch she knew her own body, and..well, she was late.

Meanwhile, Briar would also get a letter left on his bed, though unfortunately not about the same thing Yaena was reading about.

If you wish to find out the truth about the princess’ condition, meet me in my quarters before the sun rises. Alone, there are things I simply could not bear to share to my daughter.

You will know when you’re going the right direction.

And he would Selantheia could use her powers to subtly urge people to come to her.

 

[Average.]

For Briar it was also difficult to be sleeping alone, however he understood the reasoning behind it. He respected Tristan, and even if he wouldn't have, he still wouldn't want to offend him.

But he couldn't help but keep thinking about tomorrow, specifically what would happen. If everything went according to plan, Yaena will be cured. The thought of that happening excited him. While yes, he would be happy for Yaena; if Yaena will be cured that will mean that they can finally leave. He hated to admit it, but he wanted to go back home. These people made him nervous, and he wanted to return to a place where he could feel like himself again.

He has gotten ready for bed and went in to bed, until he felt something under the sheets. He blinked, and reached under the sheets to notice that it was a letter, now appearing slightly crumpled. Better hope it wasn't a letter he had to keep or something.

He opened it and frowned at the contents.

If you wish to find out the truth about the princess' condition, meet me in my quarters before the sun rises.

He didn't need to read the signature at the end of the letter to be able to tell from who this is from. He glared slightly at the letter, unable to help but feel annoyance.

So. Her mother didn't tell them everything like they asked her to then. Did she honestly think that whatever she was planning on telling him he was going to keep it from Yaena? Whatever extra piece of information it was, he would tell Yaena about it. He already made up his mind about that.

But he was also curious. He could just rip up the letter and toss the shreds of paper out the window to let the wind carry it away. He could just forget about it and simply await for tomorrow, where Yaena will be cured and then nothing else about the curse would even matter anymore.

But what if this was crucial information? What if she wouldn't be cured after all? Selantheia told them that this curse went back generations and generations of women in their family. While from what Yaena told him, he could tell that Selantheia was a capable woman... however he still couldn't help but doubt that even she could erase a curse that lasted this long throughout their family line.

So many questions, so little answers. He stood up from the bed, unsure on what he should do. He felt hesitant, pacing back and forth in his room, reading the letter over and over again as if he was trying to find a clue that simply wasn't there.

______

The prince has made his decision.

He has gotten dressed again and left his room, holding the folded up letter tightly in his hand as he headed down the hall.

Now, the only issue was that he was never actually told where Selantheia's quarters would be. He could guess that it wasn't anywhere close to his room, as if it was he would have been seeing her a lot more often. Unless of course the woman rarely left her room, which also seemed likely. Selantheia had this constant aura of mystery surrounding her. Yaena had one too when he first met her, however her aura was different. Yaena's mysterious aura was alluring. Selantheia's on the other hand was... detering.

Briar didn't feel comfortable with asking any of the servants, and it wasn't like there were many servants to ask anyway. It was still night, and the castle was quiet. All he could hear were the sounds of his own footsteps against the soft carpet. He passed arched window after window, with the moon keeping a watchful eye on him. It followed him, bathing his pale face in it's silver light.

He didn't know where he was going at all, yet somehow every time he would make a turn, it was the correct one. There were no signs that he was getting closer.. he just had this feeling within him. He felt like a string was tied to his finger, and whenever he needed to change direction, Selantheia would give it a gentle tug to let him know which way to go.

He came upon a spiral staircase. His assumptions were correct. Selantheia's room was very far from his, practically on the opposite end of the castle. It also felt very isolated from everyone else - like in the fairytales about princesses being locked up in the tallest towers. Perhaps it was because Selantheia enjoyed the isolation and privacy, he would expect that from a woman like her. Or.. perhaps it was because no one wanted her near them, so they gave her a room as far away from everyone else as possible.

He couldn't explain it, but the closer he approached her door, the more he felt like he was hearing... whispers. They were getting louder, more intense after each step he took, as if they were trying to steer him away. As if they were trying to warn him off.

Briar gingerly knocked on the door, awaiting for permission to enter. Once he heard her voice inviting him in, he opened the door and entered.

Briar felt almost surprised at how.. ordinary the room looked. There were no cauldrons, no jars filled with creepy things in them, no broomstick, no black cat that stuck to Selantheia like her own shadow does. Nothing of the sort.
Yaena was technically a witch too, so on one hand he didn't know what he was expecting. But on the other hand, he supposed that he expected something a little less ordinary than this.

He had to admit that it kind of soothed him, even if it wasn't by a whole lot. How ordinary the room was. Of course, he still remembered Yaena's words to him from when they were still on the ship.

I can't trust her and neither should you.

He wanted to believe that even if he was so far away from home.. the lake was still protecting him somehow. That thought also soothed him, even if it most likely wasn't true. The lake only protected him from his illness, it wasn't some personal bodyguard. If he was standing by the lake right now and an assassin jumped out and slit his throat, the lake would do nothing, and whatever entity existed inside it would just remain asleep like always.

But still, any thought that soothed him right now was a good one.
Or so he assumed.

"Selantheia," he was able to find his words at last, and he looked at her. She was sitting on a chair in the corner, reading some book that he couldn't recognise. For now, she looked fairly harmless.

"So... tell me then." he frowned slightly. "Tell me more about Yaena's condition."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

"So... tell me then…Tell me more about Yaena's condition.”

“Sit with me please,” Selantheia did not even look up from her book but she gestured to the soft chair in front of her, “I’m afraid I have not been entirely honest with the both of you. As old as I am you would think I would be strong enough for difficult conversations.”

There was a cup of tea in front of him, Selantheia was not an idiot, she knew that if her daughter had spoken to him about her at all that Briar wouldn’t drink it. However, if Briar didn’t partake in the drink she didn’t seem offended she simply chucked to herself, “You don’t trust me, do you? It’s a shame, most people do not, including my children. Doesn’t that sound horrible? To bring five people into this world only for them to grow up to resent you, to feel ashamed of you? There was a time when Yaena had been the exception but I fear she’s growing apart from me, you’ll understand if you two ever have children.”

He was probably impatient, and while Selantheia seemed to only ever do things at her speed, she did say something that may pique his interest, “I’m not a witch, Yaena is not either,” She stated putting her cup of tea to her for another sip feeling the warmth spread through her throat, “What I am is something much, much greater.” With a subtle grip of her hand, Briar should feel something that couldn’t be described as anything other than his blood tightening as though he was being turned into a statue. “Unfortunately, every sin I have done is not paid by me, but my Yaena so the monster that you saw isn’t her, it’s me.”

“Please don’t interrupt me until I’m done, I tend to become rather explosive when I am irritated and I had just gotten this carpet and I don’t want to get it cleaned.”

The skinny blonde servant with wide hungry eyes appeared behind Briar, putting his skinny hands on his shoulder. Even without saying anything, every breath he had was with depravity.

Truthfully, being around pain was enthralling for her, she could not lie and say she didn’t enjoy the luxuries afforded to her new lifestyle. Selantheia had lived many lives over the year, but this one was the most fulfilling by far. She had a husband whose ear she could whisper in, a son who could be manipulated, and for the first time in her centuries of existence she finally had a child who inherited her ancient power. However, being a queen was boring, in war-time people came to her, asking her to place protection spells on their loved ones, and to tilt the balance in their favors. But now, in peace time, she was just an old crone. Tristan only kept her around because the fool was dutiful to a fault and she was his mother, and she could see that she had lost Yaena the moment she stepped off that boat.

“If it makes you feel better, this is not personal,” Selantheia put her cup down and put her graceful hand out, feeling each of his organs, slowly making her way to his heart, just for him to know what she was capable of. “To be completely honest, I had hoped that Yaena would be so miserable that she would kill you. Could you imagine the scandal? Human princess kills the elven heir, how soon do you think it would have taken for war to started?” She asked, “Alas, I did what I could and she seems to have been taken for you, nonetheless we d o with what we are given.”

She leaned in and kissed his forehead, hoping to make him drowsy in a few seconds, “Don’t worry this will all make sense to you in the end.”
—

Where do you make your lair, the dungeon? No, servants whispered and they were the ones who created rumors? No, people rarely came over to Selantheia’s room, the only servants she had were those whose tongues would be cut off..and Camden who was practically her puppy. It made it the perfect place, to truly get her work done and so convenient as well.

In the haze glow of morning, it appeared she was ready for her day, after all she had a daughter to help at noon. A daughter who was probably going to grow disillusioned with her husband after he had acted so coldly to her. She would probably be wondering if she was naive to think that this could have ever been her life, to think that there was a future where she and Briar lived as a royal couple and were completely and utterly happy for eachother. Selantheia would offer her nothing but a warm embrace and comforting words.

Her bedroom was fairly normal, but they were not in her bedroom, every room of the royal family had some secret room just in case they had to escape an assassination attempt and they had to hide. Even servants were not aware of the rooms, that was just how important they were.

Hers was filled with various potions, some ed and bubbling, some looking more like sludge found in only the worst crevices of hell. She was not usually a torturer, never having the time in a castle like this, Camden were. On the floor in a neat line were sharp metal devices that had no other purpose other than to case as much harm as possible

What Briar would see was well…himself, granted dressed in much different closes, but a clone of him was looking down on him. Empty in a way that even in his coldest states he had never been. It was Camden who had the pleasure of tying him up to a wooden slab. He had asked his mistress to do it.

“Oh you’re awake,” Selantheia’s face brightened as she slipped on some satin gloves, “Good, he was worried he wouldn’t get to talk to you before he had to go. He lost so much in the war that I was honored to be able allow him to take just a bit back. Don’t worry, I’ve given him strict orders to not kill you, that’s for my pleasure only. He just needs to bring me some elvish blood.”

Camden reached for one of the red potion bottles before dipping his knife in it, liquid fire Selantheia called it, beginning on Briar’s abdomen.

“Have fun you two!” Selantheia cooed before leaving

 

[Average.]

Upon feeling Selantheia beginning to use her powers on him, he felt nothing but pure agony. Wherever the pain was worst, he felt the need to just claw out every vein and artery that was in his body. He could barely speak, any time he tried to he sounded like was being strangled. He could barely hear, yet Selantheia's voice.. it echoed inside his head.

When she reached his heart however, he gripped his chest. He was panicking, suffocating. He wanted to scream, yet nothing came out. His heart was beating hard, like it was trying to burst it's way out of his chest.

Soon, he flinched upon feeling a cold hand against his shoulder, and he looked up. His eyes widened, and at first he was convinced that he was beginning to hallucinate. The face that was staring back at him was his own. It was.. him. An exact replica of him, was touching him, standing right behind him.
Briar has always been proud. He was never ashamed of his looks, in fact he was often more than satisfied with them. Yet staring back at his own self now... it terrified him. The way that bastard was staring into him, like some bloodthirsty maniac, like some rabid dog.

He barely felt Selantheia kissing his forehead, his attention mostly focused on searing pain that was spreading through his veins like wildfire. Yet soon.. the pain started to gradually fade. He almost let out a sigh of relief, that it was finally over... yet his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. He began thinking of Yaena, and soon when he managed to look up at Selantheia's face, it wasn't her face that he was seeing. No, it was Yaena's. He felt like reaching out to her, wanting to say her name, wanting to call her to him.. but he just felt so sleepy.

Soon, he lost consciousness, and sleep took hold of him, dragging him into it's warm darkness.

_____

Oh you're awake.

Briar's eyes burst open, and he immediately wanted to run. His body had this sudden burst of energy to it, this burst of awareness, yet when he tried to move... he could not. It was then that he noticed the chains around his wrists, around his ankles. He couldn't move if he tried.

If he could only get out of these chains, if he could only move then he would-

He heard Selantheia leaving, and it was only then when he had a chance to look around the room. Now this.. this was more what he was imagining when he first thought what Selantheia's room was going to look like. Vials filled with all sorts of diabolical liquids, yet those were the least of his worries. He was about to find out soon enough.

He felt sick to his stomach upon witnessing the collection of tools on the floor, and his body was reacting on it's own at this point. He was trying to escape again, to break free, to do anything... he never felt more helpless in his entire life. His lungs felt like they were shrinking in on themselves, and his throat tightened with panic. When an elf was absolutely terrified, it was often easy to tell from their eyes. Their pupils would often expand, so much so that barely any of the iris would be visible. Their irises would also begin to glow a tiny bit, which was especially visible when it was dark.

His breathing was getting quicker each time Camden took a step closer to him. The knife he had in his hand was wet with this strange red liquid. He didn't want to know what it would do, he didn't want any of this, he doesn't deserve this, he-

"Look at me," Briar was able to get out before Camden was able to get started. He stopped, the sharp edge of the blade just inches away from the skin of Briar's abdomen. Briar could barely look himself- could barely look him in the face. "Look at my face." Briar hissed. "I promise you.. I swear to you... that is the last thing you're ever going to see before you die." he could throw as many threats at him as he wanted. All it did was make Camden's insane grin widen.

"Oh?" Camden purred. "I already have to stare at your face every time I look into the mirror. Now... keep that little mouth of yours shut or I'll rip out your tongue." Briar could already tell that Camden was not joking. "Though feel free to scream. I want to go deaf from your screams." he smirked broadly at Briar before getting started.

Camden's eyes widened with eagerness as he sank the blade into Briar's abdomen. It tore through skin, muscle, flesh. And the red potion... if Briar thought that the pain he felt from Selantheia was bad.. that was nothing compared to this. It was worse than throwing salt onto a fresh wound, worse than sticking your hand into a fireplace and letting it burn away your flesh. It could only be described as hell.

That was when the deafening screams of agony started. Deep down, he was praying to any Gods that would listen that maybe someone would hear him.

Yaena.. if she could hear him...

_______

Precisely like his mistress has instructed him, Camden was currently on his way to Yaena's room. It was well into the afternoon by now, approaching close to evening.

He remembered everything she told him, reciting her words like they were sacred in his mind over and over again.

He was to act cold towards her, yet not to the point where she would immediately think that something was terribly off about him. He needed to make sure that she would still believe that it is Briar, yet be upset with him. This was going to be Camden's least favourite part of his task. His hands were shaking with eagerness at the thought of heading back up there into that tower right now and having a little bit of fun with the elvish prince.

But for now, he had to be the elvish prince. And he better do a damn good job at it if he knew what was good for him. He has witnessed his mistress' abilities before she even used them on Briar, and he had to admit that he was deeply fascinated by them.

Oh, he could only imagine how proud his family must be of him. Everyone that he ever knew and held dear... those elvish bastards have taken them from him. He was the only survivor of his village. They lived outside of Zhicra, yet it was still a Zhicran village. The elvish soldiers and their hippogriffs took great pleasure in ripping apart and cutting down any man, woman and child that was unfortunate enough to end up within their reach.

He remembered the rivers going red with blood, carrying dozens of corpses down with them, only to be forgotten. His mother was one of those corpses. He would never forget her..

Clearing his throat and snapping out of his thoughts, Camden knocked on the princess' door and waited for her to answer and let him in.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

As far as days went, Yaena was having a fairly decent one.

Perhaps she had been too harsh towards her mother, during their cleansing ritual, a ritual that required Yaena to be um....completely nude (her mother told her that the reason why Briar wasn't able to go was that she didn't want to cause any scandal that she could avoid. She had never seen a cleansing ritual before but she did feel clear for one she didn't feel the aching hunger that so often followed her. She wanted to see Briar right away but the ritual had left her so drowsy that Yaena ended up resting the second she went to her room to clean herself up. She hoped that someone would wake her, how was Briar even faring? Tristan seemed to approve of him but surely he would rather hang out with her than her brother.

However, to her she learned more important news: she was pregnant.

Yaena was pregnant.

She and Briar were going to have a baby and to her that itself was incredible, the baby could be a boy or a girl, take after her or him and it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that the baby would be all theirs. Both of their own parents loved them in their way but there was a distance between them. It would be different for them, Yaena knew that they were going to give the child so much love that they would never once doubt how important they were to their parents. She was floating, yes it may possibly too early. At most, she was only two weeks along but Yaena felt in her bones that she would see this all the way through, nine months from now they would be cradling a little bundle of joy.

And while she would never be able to get rid of her magic, she would no longer be a monster. Whatever her mother did to her, she would do that and more to make sure the curse stayed away from their child (if she happened to be a girl). There were worries of course, there were no modern records on half elf half human children, Yaena had no doubt that they existed but in the modern climate, those children were probably secrets, bastards. Would the elven court accept them? Yaena had no shame over being human or her physical appearance but she hoped their child took after Briar, simply because life would be easier for them that way. Conflict and struggles built character but she did not want their son or daughter to feel isolated, to feel less than.

That was what her mother said, as she cleaned her up. That she was happy that Yaena had found someone she loved but that she should only be with someone who treated her like the treasure she was. Slowly, she found herself going back into her mothers orbit there was a reason why they had been so close.It wasn’t just because Yaena was the only one of her siblings who inherited blood magic but because she was the only one of her siblings to have listened to her.

When she heard a knock on her door she jumped to her feet, she revered back to the clothes she wore in Zhicra, simple pieces of velvet and silks, in dark colors that would probably be seen as morbid for a queen to wear in the elven kingdom.

Opening the door, she was, at the moment too filled with love to notice “Briar’s” expression, she reached out and pulled him into the room, subconsciously noticed that he followed her lead like a zombie. “I’m sorry that I didn’t seek you out today,” She immediately professed, taking his other hand, searching his face. Was he upset with her? “I have big news.”

She glanced at the door to make sure it was closed. While she and Briar were to be married, it would still be scandalous if someone found out she was pregnant. For some reason, their wedding would have the all powerful gift of turning her from a whore into a perfect dutiful wife. Her mother had ears everywhere and while she was beginning to warm back up to her she didn’t want Selantheia to know that she and Briar have well..

“I’m pregnant.”

If she had found out yesterday, she would have been nervous, they loved each other but having children was different.. It meant that he didn’t just love her meant he loved her enough that he was okay with seeing her traits in others. He wanted this, he imagined a perfect little girl who shared their features and already was the center of her parents words.


However, when she saw his face, her joy wilted like a flower to frost, he didn’t seem excited, or happy, at best he seemed…stunned like her news had simply brought him complications. Her face fell as she waited for him to respond, she reminded herself that people reacted to news in different ways. Yaena herself sometimes had trouble reacting too situations properly either taking light situations too seriously or taking seriously situations too lightly. And dreaming about children was very different than actually having one of them. He was a worrywart, just like her was, maybe he was thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

Yaena gently let one of his hands go and then put it on her stomach, tears pricking in her eyes, “I asked the palace doctor, I was apprentice, he can keep it a secret, and he was sure of it.” She whispered, her eyes searching his face, just hoping that he would say something.

 

[Average.]

Camden- or.. Briar.. felt so overwhelmed. He has expected many things to be thrown at him. He was expecting her to kiss him, hug him, anything else. He was prepared for it, has already mentally armoured himself for it. But for this woman to just suddenly blurt out that she is pregnant?

He stood there like a complete fool, unable to move, unable to say or do anything. He needed to say something, anything at all. Oh, imagine what his mistress would think if he was to run and tell her right now about this? He would have to remain patient and tell her of this later. For now, he needed to act like Briar would... and he was already failing. Though he didn't need to act just like him. He needed to act like him to the point of Yaena not assuming that he may not be really him, yet at the same time he needed to mould her into thinking that Briar isn't the kind of man she took him to be.

However, neither Selantheia nor Camden knew of how emotional Briar has gotten near the blood tree, where they have witnessed their desires of having a child together one day. They didn't know how much he wanted this. They knew that Yaena and Briar were in love, yet they didn't know just how deep rooted their love truly was.

"Oh.. that's great to hear, hun." Camden forced a smile, and he gently pulled Yaena into a hug. The hug felt stiff, as if he wasn't even alive. Just some enchanted doll who happened to know how to talk, move and think by itself.

That's great to hear.

Great to hear. That was all he gave her. His happiness... it felt false. A falsehood. It reeked of it. It was empty, a glass that wasn't even half full. His eyes, they showed nothing for it. The lack of emotion in them just felt wrong for someone like Briar. Not many people were able to just show their emotions, even to their loved ones. However Briar was, and especially to Yaena. He would never be afraid to just start bawling his eyes out in front of her if he felt the need to. But no matter how Briar felt, there was always some hint of emotion in Briar's eyes.

Was he just not happy about having a child after all? Did he think that he wanted one when they were back at the blood tree and suddenly decided that he no longer did?
Well for one... it was a little fucking late to decide that all of a sudden.

Another thing what was wrong with what he said. He called her... hun. Hun. That was it.
While many did call their lovers hun or hunny, Briar wouldn't ever call her that. He either called her his sali or simply by name.

He was quick to pull away after the hug. His smile was still there, plastered over his face, yet the corner of his lip quivered a tiny bit once he looked at her again. The smile didn't reach his eyes at all. If someone drew a line across his face, separating his mouth from his eyes, they would never be able to tell by looking at his eyes that he was smiling or happy in any way at all.

"I've heard that everything went well with the cleansing, yes?" he sounded so formal with her too, and like he has forgotten already that she even told him that she was pregnant with their baby. By now, Briar would have probably been laughing, crying, swearing all at once from her telling him the news. But he wasn't. Did he even care?

"We'll be able to go home soon." he said. "In the meantime.. why don't we go take a stroll in the forest? We could walk around for a little bit, take in the fresh air and then come back before dinner?" he offered, tilting his head slightly.

He felt so... detached from her. Perhaps he felt drained from being in Zhicra for so long. It was true that he couldn't act entirely like himself while being here. However, he wasn't even acting like himself while they were alone.
What if he was still afraid despite them being within the privacy of her quarters that there were people eavesdropping on them? That the walls had eyes?

Maybe that was the case, but if it was... then he better return to normal when they go back to the boat, which hopefully would be soon enough.

"Come," he tried to make his smile appear a little warmer, yet all it looked like now was that he was just trying to force it. He took her by the hand and practically started to pull her along with him down the hall.

As they walked, his mind was filled with wonder. He could already picture that wonderful little room at the back of one of the bookshelves in Selantheia's room. What tool would he use next? He had to admit; Camden felt jealous of Briar's eyes. They were fine, their iris looking like molten gold whenever they were bathed in the correct light. He could have a chance to enjoy them for now, since he took on Briar's appearance. Yet he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold on to it forever.

His mistress will one day take this from him. He was fine with that, he missed his own face. His own body. However, what he would always miss were those eyes.

Though... who said he couldn't have them?

Maybe Briar should stop being so selfish and share one of them with him.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena had never felt so confused and stunned in her life. She felt as though Briar reached out his hand and slapped her.

Good to hear…hun

That word sounded fake coming out of his mouth, not only was it not anything he had ever called her, it simply didn’t seem to be a word any elf would use. Even she, a human wouldn’t use it, it was a word that older servants told her, it was a word that husbands used when they wanted to brush off their wives like they were a fly. It was not a word you used with someone that you loved someone who told you news that you both had hard proof that you truly wanted it.

She loved how emotional Briar was, it was one of the things that made him, she often had trouble being emotional, but when she was with him she found that she could speak and express herself freely. He had seemed so genuine at the blood tree, he loved their baby girl just as much as she did.


Maybe he didn’t want it? She had always thought that the Blood Tree only showed one’s true desires; it was rather embarrassing when married couples did a ritual like she ands Briar did only to see that one or the both of them desired something else. The tree saw through lies, it only saw one’s soul. But this didn’t make any sense, he wasn’t just aloof with her he was frigid. When they first met and they were at each other’s throats he wasn’t cold, he was cocky and annoying, calling her a brat and lecturing her on how she shouldn’t care about Reina’s opinions.

Whenever she felt in distress, she tried to think of logical outcomes. Maybe he didn’t want children but he thought that she wanted kids, ergo his desire was simply to have a life that she thought she wanted. But that still wouldn’t make sense, in her dream they were caring for a little boy, he imagined a little girl. If he just wanted children for the sake of pleasing her wouldn’t he had just thought of a boy as well?

She didn’t hide her frown and she let go of her hand, lowering it to her side. “You’re right, we should go to the forest.” She agreed, plastering on a strained smile, now both of them were faking their emotions. Even if the blood tree wasn’t what she once thought it was, she hoped that being alone in such a sacred location may warm him back up again. She loved her come country but even she could admit it could be intimidating, especially to an elf who was so used to being the prince of his domain.

As they walked side by side, by instinct she wanted to hold his hand or have him wrap an arm around her, but she felt like she was walking with a cold breeze. Occasionally she would read h her hand out and such his own but she went back to her wrist. “Yes, the cleansing went well,” She said softly as though that wasn’t also a piece of news that would make them relieved, “I feel better already.”

She couldn’t help but ask, she could feel something wasn’t right and she was trying to check off every possible reason.

“How was your day I forgot to ask you, did you talk to anyone?” Perhaps someone scared him, told him how they would never work out? She didn’t think that Tristan or Inka would be the type and after her cleansing her mother had seemed so happy for her. Even if they hated elves, she didn’t think that any of the various royal advisors would be brave enough to openly taunt the heir of an opposing nation.

It soon seemed clear that they were not just strolling through the woods, they were going straight to the blood tree. She could still feel herself humbled by the energy but she was so determined to get answers that it wasn’t as effective. Yaena was trying to come up with reasons but perhaps the simplest explanation was true: Briar simply didn’t love her anymore.

Yaena had always thought of herself as unlovable, but that was why she never wanted to engage in any romantic relationship. Even when she was betrothed she had hoped that if she didn’t kill her husband, that they would at most be coworkers who slept in the same bed. But she opened herself up to loving someone and she was loved in returned, if that was taken away from her she didn’t even know how to recover.

Once they got to the tree, she placed her hand on it. She could feel her emotions go from her and into the bark, despite everything, the most prominent emotion was her love for him, though for once it was clouded. Of course she had been nervous before but it was never about Briar’s feelings it was about how the external world was going to treat them, this was the first time since they became romantic that he was the cause of her stress.

“Put your hand on the bark,” She said simply. Briar would have recognized that tone, it was the same tone that she used at the lake, when she had told him that he had no right to speak to her like she was a pet. She was calm and soft spoken by every word she spoke was made out of iron.

Instead of thinking of their hypothetical son, she tried to think of a future that she didn’t want but that maybe would be good for the nation. Instead of holding a baby, she thought of herself as being the picture perfect queen, having a court of ladies, and being nothing but a pretty face besides her husband. She never wanted that future in the past and she never wanted it now, but she did want to be a good queen and she tried to see if the tree would depict that.

However her voice changed, it was subtle but the desperation finally showed its nose. “Please, I would like to be able to connect to you again.

 

[Average.]

Put your hand on the bark.

The entire way here, Camden remained quiet like a stone. Even after she told him to touch the bark, he was still being so quiet, so tense around her. He couldn't help but take a slight step back when he saw the tree. It bathed him in it's shadow, and the deeper he stared into it's bark.. the more he started to recognise.. facial features. A face- no.. faces.. they were staring down at him, all angry, all judgmental.

His mistress has told him of this tree and it's importance. He understood how it worked, he understood that it could reach into someone's emotions, memories and deepest desires and then project it right back at whoever else was touching the tree.
He couldn't allow her to reach into him like that. If he would.. all would be lost. He made a grave error bringing her here, he realised that now.

But.. no.. maybe he didn't. Maybe finally this would be the perfect opportunity for him to show her how horrible Briar is. How he isn't the man she viewed him as at all.

If he put his hand on the bark right now, he would have been able to truly see how strong Yaena's love for Briar was. He... wouldn't know if he would be able to bear it. The last time he ever felt anyone feel love for him was from his mother. She loved him and his siblings beyond everything, and even if the love he would have been feeling from Yaena wouldn't be meant for him... he doubted if he would be able to hold any tears back then.

Maybe he would have willingly placed his hand on the bark if the blood tree wasn't known for reaching in deeper than just emotions.

So he recoiled, brows furrowing at Yaena. "I already connected with you once. I don't need to again." he... snapped at her.

He ensured his body language would be as arrogant as possible. He folded his arms to his chest, raising his chin a little bit as if he was looking down at her. He wanted to show her that infamous elvish pride, how they thought that everyone who isn't them is less than dirt. Because that is how elves were. They were scum that deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth and smited.

"The blood tree doesn't need to prove to you that I want this child." he continued on. He would make sure that the words he was about to say would hurt. They would hurt like a spiked whip, like a hot iron, like a million bee stings. "I want it because I need an heir. What kind of a King would I be if I didn't have one?" he huffed, raising a brow at her. "At least it happened while you were in the mood for it."

Deep down, the Camden that was hiding in Briar's body was delighted. He felt such satisfaction at the venom he was spitting at her. And seeing her shocked expression.. it satisfied him more than anything. He couldn't wait to head back up to Selantheia's quarters and let Briar know of this.
To let him know that Yaena didn't love him anymore.

"You just perform your duties like you were meant to since the beginning. And that is all. I don't care about anything else." he said.

Slap after slap, lash after lash. These words were just coming so easily to him... it was as if his feelings for her this entire time have been fake this entire time. It was as if all he wanted since the very beginning was not her love.. but her consent to make an heir with him. And after he got what he wanted, he just tossed her aside like she was worth nothing.
Like the garbage that littered the streets.
No, less than that.

Now there was no doubt; Yaena hated him. For certain. There was no chance that she had any love left for that fool.

And he would be sure to let him know that, once he returned to the tower tonight. He would take pleasure watching the prince's heart shatter into a million pieces, and then he would take pleasure in breaking him. Briar was probably still thinking that there is a slight chance for him to get rescued, but Camden would ensure that never happens.

Briar deserved it. Every bit of hurt he was suffering and will suffer, he deserved every little bit. Every damn bit of it.
Briar was the heir of monsters, and even if to Yaena's eyes he wasn't a monster right now... he would have became a monster sooner or later anyway. Innocence is a beautiful flower, yet useless. Sometimes the best thing a flower can do for the world is die.

Briar deserves this.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

It was less like her world shattered and more that it unfurled in front of her.

Everything he told her was like a hammier hitting her over and over again, it was amazing she was still standing as she wanted to fall right on the floor. She wasn’t doing anything strenuous but her heart was beating as though she was having to run for the life. If she were in more medically modern times she would know she was having a panic attack, but at the moment she just felt as though she was going to die, he was literally killing her.

What was the worst thing that he said? Was it that he only wanted a child for an heir? Was it the fact that he had stated that she had no reason to be upset because hey, at least he didn’t rape her? Or is that it was all a lie? She wasn’t just angry at him (believe her, she was furious), she was angry at everyone. She didn’t just want to wrap her hands around Briar’s throat, she was angry at Tristan for agreeing to this, and most of all, she was angry at herself. No other rage that she felt could be compared.

She was so stupid, this had bene the thing she most feared. The reason why she was so terrified of marriage was because she knew what it was like to be someone’s wife and she didn’t want that. Yaena wanted a child not because she thought it was her wifely duty to produce one, but because she wanted nothing more than to make a life with the man she thought her husband was, and here she was, an idiot. That was her future, her duty was to produce heirs and not embarrass him in public. She better hope that her child was a boy, because by no means she was ever going to let that man in her bed again.

Her mother was right, she had warned her. Telling her that she may get enamored by her husband and the kingdom and who wouldn’t? Yaena was a human, she wanted affection and acceptance like any other person and she had sought to find it here and she thought she achieved. Her mother always told her that she was special, special in a way that meant not many people would be able to fulfill her. And she always pushed back against it, but her mother was right, in the end Yaena was alone in this world and the person who deserved to feel ashamed was her for knowing better and still making the wrong decision.

She stared at the man, and she was shocked speechless, her eyes watering before she stelled. She would not let him see her cry, she wasn’t going to let anyone see her cry. Not Inka, not Tristan and not even her mother,. Yaena was not a weak-willed little girl who got her heart broken she was a powerful, magical woman who would make him pay one day.

So Yaena slapped him as hard as she could, using every strength in her bones, channeling all she felt in that before turning and storming off.


However, for a second she had a crazy thought. Maybe it was her being delusional, despite her having always thought of herself as incapable of being loved, she somehow couldn’t understand it when it was being laid out for her. But it was so sudden, he had never pressured her before, and while she could understand people have lied,lied, l the tree always told the truth. Briar didn’t imagine their daughter taking etiquette lessons or sitting on a throne one day, he imagined holding her, appreciating her, loving her no matter what.

She stopped in her tracks and stared at him, her eyes watery but a rueful smile on her face, “Do you remember what you told me? Our first afternoon together, you had taken me on a stroll though the garden?” It was a test, she was phrasing it as romantically as she could. Truthfully, that day she had accused him of treating her like a dog and he had explained to her that she wasn’t entitled to any information.

After getting her answer, she just smiled before walking to her room, he could get eaten by bears for all she cared.

_______​

Meanwhile, Selantheia had been surprisingly sparse for most of the day, having only come back to see Briar after she had spoken to her daughter after the cleansing ritual and Camden had to present his performance for the first time.

She watched him with a violet-eyed glee at first, taking off her gloves so she could have her turn, the best thing about her powers was how blood affected everything. Sometimes she would make it as hot as an elf could bear it before suddenly chilling it, and right when she thought Briar might be on the verge of death she continued. If there was one “bright side” it was that Camden seemed more adamant on using tools than she did. Selantheia loved her powers, they put her above other people in her mind so those were the only tools that truly gave her pleasure.

“I’m having so much fun, thank you for this,” She said her voice warm and smooth as she trailed a blade down his neck, “Truly, you should be grateful, with you dead, the elves will probably be so furious they’ll win this war, and then perhaps I will have to become an elf next, and reach the top again and this time I will probably do to my grandchild what I’m doing to you.”

Unlike Camden she didn't seem to care much about the history of elves vs humans but she would never say that in front of him, nos he needed to be sympathetic, and she was whispering in his ear about just how horrible it was that the elves were seemingly being rewarded after being so cruel.

When Camden walked in, she greeted him with a radiant grin, extending her hand to beckon him over, “Tell me, is the princess terribly distraught?” She asked in faux concern, “I warned her before she left for that horrible country but apparently she didn’t listen.”

 

[Average.]

Camden felt excited to be returning up to Selantheia's quarters, however as he returned up there, his mind was constantly on Yaena. Before she stormed off.. she smiled at him. Smiled. He didn't expect for a girl to smile at him once she had her heart broken. It felt so out of place. However, perhaps this was her way of dealing with heart break. Perhaps she attempted to use her smile as armour, to show him that she didn't need him, and that she wouldn't remain broken because of what he said to her. What he admitted to her.

He didn't care how Yaena dealt with it. His deed was done, and now he could finally forget about her and instead focus on what he would do next to Briar.

Upon entering Selantheia's quarters, he ensured to bow respectfully before his mistress before approaching Briar. His smile broadened into a delighted grin upon witnessing just how broken Briar looked. The prince didn't know true pain until now, he would have been surprised if it took longer than three days to break him.

Briar's head hung low, and he remained silent. He would only react of course whenever one of them hurt him, screaming louder depending on how much pain he felt. He felt as if he been here for years. Without Yaena.. without anyone. Nobody has heard his screams. His throat was sore from how much he was screaming last time, and he bet that if he tried to speak now his voice would come out sounding more like a croak than anything else. He would go insane here. He would go insane and start begging for death if he didn't die before then.

Camden saw this as terribly boring. While he loved the sight of the prince appearing so broken.. he also wanted to see the fear within him once more. The true terror. The panic. He wanted to see it all.

"Yes, Your Grace." Camden nodded at his mistress' question. "She has stormed off from the forest. I doubt that she thinks so highly of her prince as she once did."

Upon recieving what appeared to be a content nod from his mistress, Camden suddenly stepped closer, as if he was hoping for her to say something else. He was like an eager child, waiting for their parent to give them permission, that yes, he was allowed to play.

"My lady, please, allow me to take over." he almost begged her, meeting her violet eyes. His own brown eyes held desperation as well as urgeny, it was odd to see that in Briar's eyes. "I will put on a good show for you, I promise."

Once he gotten the nod he needed from his mistress, Camden's grin returned to his face and he excitedly rushed over to grab his tools.

Briar then had the will to look up. He started to feel ill again, his stomach feeling like it was twisting from the rising fear. He felt nauseous, and his skin paled - as if that was even possible with his complexion. He heard the clanking of the metal tooks against each other, and that was enough to send waves of shivers down his spine.

There were these blackened patches that have also appeared on certain areas of his skin. Some of his veins as well.. they have blackened. It was especially noticeable around the veins near his eye sockets. The first signs of his illness slowly beginning to take hold of his body. Selantheia has taken his amulet after all. It was still somewhere in the vicinity, as the illness would have taken over him much faster if it was nowhere nearby. But he didn't know where she hid it.

Selantheia was one thing; she reached into his depths and set him on fire on the inside, later freezing him to the point where every time he was certain that he was going to die any second but never did. He could sense the amusement in her silky voice each time she spoke to him. She was enjoying this, that was no surprise. She was a monster, she has always been a monster. She was no human, he was certain of this now. It was in her nature to enjoy inflicting pain.

And there there was this man.. boy... whatever he was. A replica of himself, taking pleasure in torturing him. It terrified Briar to look him in the eye... and every time he came.. it was like he was indulging in some sort of sick fantasy. What terrified him wasn't the fact that he found this entertaining. Selantheia took the same pleasure in torturing him just like Camden. What terrified him was that this man was human. He was human, and yet he was taking pleasure in doing this to him the same exact way as Selantheia was.

Suddenly, Camden gripping him by the chin and forced him to look up higher, to look him in the eye. "You have very nice eyes, you know." he purred, to the point where if Briar could have he would have recoiled. He held up what looked like a tiny blade, the sharp tip of it very close to his eye. A scalpel. "You wouldn't mind sharing one with my, would you?"

That was when Briar started to shake again. His pupils dilated, and he stared up at himself with nothing but terror. Now there was desperation in his eyes, and if he had the voice, he would have been begging him not to by now. He could take anything, he could take his blood getting boiled and then frozen and then boiled back up again hundreds and thousands of times all the way down into insanity. However this... with a scalpel.. he-

"I prefer you looking at me like this. You look so much better when you're scared." Camden grinned. "Elves are proud creatures, aren't they? No wonder Yaena no longer loves you."

"She does love me." Briar spoke for the first time in what felt like decades to him. His voice.. he hated the sound of it. It came out so pathetic and raspy, like the croak of some toad.

"Oh? Does she now." Camden rose a brow. "Idiot. Why do you think I even look like you in the first place, huh? I went to see her."

This time, Briar was certain that it wasn't Selantheia that was making his blood feel like it was boiling. "You better not have-"

"Oh no. None of that, I assure you." Camden chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "No. But.. let's just say that she now knows that you don't really love her. Oh.. you should have seen it. The poor girl was absolutely heart broken. Yet let's try and stare truth in the face; you would have broken her heart anyway. You elves are just monsters by nature. So really.. you should be thanking me, thanking my lady for liberating you of having to be the one to see her like that."

Briar said nothing then. He couldn't believe what he was hearing... this had to be some sort of nightmare. He wanted to wake up from it, he wanted to wake up and see Yaena sleeping next to him.
Zhicra... coming here was a mistake. He should have known better, he should have been smarter. He should have been...

"Now, try not to bite your tongue off." Camden said as he brought the tip of the scalpel closer to Briar's eye again. "This'll only take a few seconds."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena had made a decision, it was possibly stupid, but it still made sense. Briar had kept her at arm’s length and only at arms length since that horrible afternoon In the forests, he made it a habit to visit her as much as would be socially acceptable but no more. Occasionally they would eat together, but she made the excuse that she wanted to spend as much time with Inka and Tristan before they would go back on the boat together and Briar had almost seemed relieved.

Her mother would never change, that was one thing she tried to hold onto, the one thing she could count on in this world was that her mother would never change, she would always be the same narcissistic, abusive maniac who would watch the world burn simply so people would beg her to extinguish the flames. She had come here with a soft heart, Briar had changed her, she had fallen in love with him so quickly that it made her believe anything is possible. However, now she had two people acting strangely, her mother had been acting overly warm and supportive of her meanwhile Briar was acting cold. She approached this the same way she would approach a medical paradox.

So she went back to the basics, what if her mother hadn’t changed what if she was narcissistic what does that mean?

And everything made sense, her mother loved nothing more than when Yaena was reliant on her. In fact, the warmest memories she had were when she was sick. Yaena had come down with the summer fever after playing in a field and her mother better tended to her needs than any of the servants. When Tristan announced Yaena’s betrothal and she felt devastated at the prospect of having to leave her home, her mother hugged her, stroked her hair, and then whispered a plan into her ear.

When Briar had so callously had broken her heart, Yaena had went to her mother in tears, asking for advice. Of all the rumors of her mother, the one that would surprise the most people to be untrue was this: her mother did nothing magical to bewitch her father. The king simply enjoyed a challenge and a beautiful alluring foreign woman who refused to let herself be one of his mistresses held his attention. Because of this, Yaena wanted advice. Her father and Briar were very different people, she was hoping that if Selantheia explained how her being a witch impacted her relationship that Yaena would be able to apply it to her own.

If she and Briar were happy together, she would be out of her mother’s grasp forever. She would have a new family, she would be a queen in a new country, no longer would she have to rely on her mother for warmth and that was inexcusable. Even from a young age, Yaena felt more like her mother’s prized possession than a daughter…noh that was unfair, she felt more like a piece of clay that her mother was crafting. When Selantheia saw Yaena, she saw the one person she loved most in the world, herself.

So she invited “Briar” to her room, hoping that he would find it rude to decline a direct invitation. She had no doubt if this version of Briar was in the kingdom that he would have no problem using meetings to justify leaving her alone but no such excuses existed in Zhicra.

The second he opened the door she pulled him in and closed the door behind her. Outside of “stinging” Briar when they first met she had not used her powers on another person since she left Zhicra, but now she was sending all her anger into him. It should feel as though his veins were on fire, as though his heart was going to melt due to her pressure. Her eyes remained unblinking, not worried about the pain. Maybe there was more Selantheia inside of her than she would like to admit.

“You will tell me absolutely everything, I am and will forever be my mother’s daughter and you should know how she reacts when she feels her time is wasted, and if you don’t..”

When was the last time she used her powers to so viscerally hurt some. She found a spot in his stomach and pulled on it until an open wound appeared on his stomach, the blood bleeding out. But that wasn’t all, she took off her amulet and threw it on the bed as though it was trash. She didn’t believe her mother for a second that the cleansing ritual worked, and if it did, she was hoping that her bluff would work.

It felt like an ugly, cruel thing, even in this situation, she wasn’t just threatening someone with murder she was threatening someone with beating eaten with being torn from limb to limb, to be nothing but sinew tissue and an open throat. However, she just knew in her heart that she was not looking at her Briar. She could believe that someone faked their emotions, but in a few weeks they already had so many intimate moments. The hippogriff ride, their kiss at the lake, the boat ride, and most importantly him finding about her curse. Maybe the first three things were just him trying to seduce a young naive girl, but she refused to believe that any man who was obsessed with having an heir would be willing to have a child with the woman who ate not one but two people alive. No, that man would have requested a different bride, one who didn’t cause such problems.


“If you don’t tell me, sooner or later you will never be able to and it will get much, much worse for you.”


Would her mother be proud of her? Yes she was going against her but this was the first time she felt powerful, cruel and in control, she was exactly what her mother always wanted.

____


She wasn’t sure how much time passed, and honestly, she was ready to move on. She had her fun with Briar, but Selantheia had bigger things to move onto. Briar would be dead, poor Camden would be dead, and she could take Yaena to wherever she wanted. Maybe she would have to rid all thoughts of Briar from her mind, she was still young, every man she loved was the first. Selantheia’s experiences slid off of her like water off a duck’s back but she was young once too.


She walked into the room, blood stinking, “Today’s you’re lucky day.” She coaxed, kneeling down, “All of this will finally be over, why don’t you smile for me?”