Princess of Darkness

by Adrianna J Tetnowski

  Arann returned her embrace, and he squeezed her tightly, going so far as to lift her off the floor enough to sway her from side to side.

  “What are you doing here? How did you convince Marcus to let you guard me?” Serendipity asked him.

  Dagdus approached the Princess again. “Actually, it wasn’t Lord Marcus who had assigned us to you but, Lord Valerius.” he explained with a smile; genuine and warm.

  Serendipity smiled back at him. Perhaps she had judged him too quickly and now she felt bad about having done so. She raised her chin a little higher. “Very well then, I think there’s room for all of you as my newest friends.” that had the guards laughing, not at her but, with her. It felt nice to not be the butt of every joke in this castle.

  Dagdus tucked his arms behind him and looked to the staircase nearby. “Lord Valerius has told us you’re fond of frequent walks in the garden. Would you like to go for one now?” he asked her.

  Serendipity felt the heat rise to her cheeks, and she lowered her gaze to the floor. She thought it embarrassing to admit that Marcus had forbidden her from going outside anymore, not unless he went with her; his arm wrapped around so tightly she would not be able to breathe. That was the point; if he was not around to make any pleasant experience painful for her, Serendipity could just forget about it. “Marcus has banned me from going to the gardens, I’m afraid. I’d hate to get you all in trouble for having broken the rules.” it was the only time Serendipity was willing not to be rebellious, if it got others in trouble when they did not deserve it.

  Dagdus shrugged. “With a dozen guards trailing after you, it’ll be like you’d never left the castle. We’ll just pretend we weren’t aware of Lord Marcus’ new rule. Shall we, Princess?”

  Serendipity smiled at him wryly. “Oh, I like you.” she replied and together, with her entire escort of guards, they headed off to the forbidden gardens of Valkenn Castle. The thought of bending Marcus’ rules somehow made Serendipity giddy with excitement, so much so that she nearly began skipping towards the doors leading outside. She gladly would have done so, if it didn’t mean risking any other guards within the castle growing suspicious of her overly happy behaviour. Gods knew they would go running off to Marcus to tell him something was off about the Princess.

  The fresh air was delicious and Serendipity could not get enough of it as she stepped outside. She took the steps leading down the garden two at a time and every once in a while, she stopped to check if Dagdus and the other guards were keeping up well.

  Arann smiled as he watched the Princess’ face light up and he urged her to carry on, to go further before they got caught. The others joined in with Arann’s light laughter and they followed after Serendipity with him, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that the castle gardens were supposed to be off limits. For today, they did not have to be.

  Serendipity stroked the bushes of flowers as she passed by, listened intently to the rhythm of her shoes tapping against the stone pathway, and if she listened hard enough, she could hear the sound of a fountain spitting out water further away. Serendipity drew another breath and let it out with great exaggeration.

  A pair of hands wrapping around her waist nearly had her screaming, had a soothing young voice not spoken first. “You’re not supposed to be out here.” Valerius whispered in her ear. As his hand trailed further down Serendipity, both their backs facing the others, he felt the Princess slip her hand over his as he rested it against her stomach.

  Serendipity looked over her shoulder at his face and she smiled. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” she purred.

  Valerius’ toes curled at her tone and he laughed. Pressing a kiss against Serendipity’s neck, he let her go and took hold of her hand instead. He led her deeper into the garden, keeping their pace slow and relaxed.

  “Thank you, by the way,” Serendipity said to him as they walked. It felt wonderful to be able to bask in the sunlight again, not just admire it from behind a glass window. She let the warmth of the sun sink into her skin and it made her shudder.

  “For what?” Valerius asked her.

  “The new guards.” she replied. “They’re a lot nicer than the ones Marcus had assigned me.”

  Valerius said nothing for a moment. He was wondering if it was safe enough to mention the secret gate within the garden so openly. His father was not around and he trusted the guards following after them with his life, so he was not too sure if it would be a problem. Then again, his father had eyes and ears everywhere – even in his own home. “I know we’re due to be married soon but, have you given any more thought about escaping? Using the gate I had shown you before?” Valerius spoke to his fiancée in a whisper.

  Serendipity gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and it had Valerius looking down at her in response.

  “Take Evard with you. I know the two of you are fond of each other and I’d rather not have you wandering alone. Please, tell me you’ll do it.” Valerius begged her. “The rest of your family must have heard about you by now and news of a Redbane being held hostage by a Valenti is not bound to die down so quickly.”

  Serendipity let out a scoff at that thought. She did not look at Valerius as she replied, “Why would I want to go back to a family who had shunned me in the first place?”

  “Because you may surprise yourself.” Valerius replied. “You may return home and find that not every Redbane wanted you gone. Imagine how Adelaide must be feeling, to have heard what had happened to her twin sister at birth. She’s probably distraught by it. Just give it some more thought before you make a decision.” he looked around the garden as soon as he finished speaking, to check if one of Marcus’ guards or his father himself had followed after them. Pressing a kiss against Serendipity’s mouth, he urged her to rethink the opportunity he was presenting her and then excused himself to go and finish off some work.

  Serendipity watched him go in silence. When he was well and truly gone, she began fiddling with the end of her sleeve in thought. She wanted nothing more than to escape this damned place, Marcus’ clutches even more so. But what scared her the most was what she would find outside the walls of Valkenn Castle – a long lost family greeting her with open arms, or a group of strangers who wanted nothing to do with her and did not care what became of her, even now?

  Dominika

  The time had come for Viktor and Saff to decide what was to be done with both Anderaith and Aarengoth, after obviously concluding that Axel Rossum was no longer fit to act as Chief of Staff and serve the cities on their behalf. It was a belated decision but, with how much the Emperor and Prince had to manage, all the mess they had to clean up, it was a miracle they had had the time to make plans about this now, sooner rather than later.

  “As the Emperor of Iradas, it would make sense for you to stay in Aarengoth, seeing as it’s larger and more vital than Anderaith. It’ll need the strength of the Emperor present.” Saff suggested. He stood smoking a pipe in Viktor’s office; an arm crossed over whilst the other held the wooden pipe.

  Tohji and Dominika were also present, and they had decided they would allow both brothers to make the first decisions, before offering their input. After all, they had only recently moved past the title of newcomers. Now they needed to know how the Redbanes handled things before joining in with any plans.

  “If I’m to stay in Aarengoth, and with both Dedric and Boros dead, you’ll need to go and oversee the running of Anderaith, Saff.” Viktor replied. “Do you think you’ll manage without me, little brother?” he teased.

  Saff sent a light punch against Viktor’s arm and then perched himself on the edge of the desk. The new Emperor had redecorated the office a little. A magnificent painting of Hathor and Damea Redbane had been hung on the wall above the fireplace, just behind Viktor’s desk. It was supposed to be a gift Hathor had planned to give Damea before her death, to celebrate the many years of their marriage at the time. But after Damea had died, from what the Redbanes knew was poisoning from the hands of a Valenti, Hathor had called
for the painting to be left unfinished, and after some time he himself had forgotten about it. But Viktor had not. After his father’s death, Viktor had had the painting redone and finished as best as possible, it was still fresh and it looked truly beautiful as the light of the fireplace glowed beneath the painting.

  “How are the figures regarding our armies looking?” Viktor asked. The young Emperor had felt the stress of ruling getting to him already but, he had refused to show it. He relied on those who served him to feed him the information he needed in order to make sensible decisions about what could be done, and more importantly what plans of action were to be avoided. “And I hate having to sound like a father but, we’ll need to find you a wife and soon, Saff.” Viktor said. He paused to look at his own wife. “Do you happen to have any distant cousins as pretty as you?”

  Dominika smiled from where she sat on a plump chair, just behind Viktor’s, and she nudged him with her foot. A playful warning not to get cheeky. “What were you asking about before, regarding the royal armies?” she replied, changing the topic of conversation. She earned a laugh from Viktor.

  Saff leant forward and began scribbling numbers on a piece if paper, stopping on occasions to look up in thought. A few lines later, he dropped the pencil in his hand and picked the paper up instead. “According to the census I’d carried out when I was last in Anderaith, and having looked at the latest census for Aarengoth, our armies stands at ten thousand light infantry in Anderaith, twenty thousand in Aarengoth. We have three thousand heavy cavalry in Anderaith, Aarengoth I’m not too sure,” he began.

  Viktor asked him to hold his thoughts for a moment as he rummaged through his own work. He was still learning how to organise himself better, like their father had. He dragged his finger down the page of a notebook he had pulled out from his desk drawer. “One thousand heavy cavalry. We’ll need to work on increasing that figure, if we’re to stand a chance in any open field battles.” he replied.

  Saff scribbled the figure down for his own notes and then continued on. “Five thousand crossbow men and archers combined in Anderaith, seven thousand together in Aarengoth. With any luck those figures will change drastically by the time I return to Anderaith. If I happen to meet Axel Rossum whilst I’m there, do I have full permission to murder him on sight?”

  Viktor laughed. “If only. It would be better to take him prisoner and torture some answers out of him; see how he likes a taste of his own brutality. At least now that he’s gone the people of Anderaith don’t live in fear beneath his boot.”

  Tohji stood scratching the corner of his mouth with a dark thumb. “I can’t fully speak on behalf of Yhannisan nor his general but, I’m sure the Emperor of Illia will be happy to send you aid in this war.” he said and looked to Dominika for any sign of confirmation.

  Viktor let out a nervous laugh. “Yes, I’m aware of that. The only thing is, Yhannisan’s promise to send an army is tied in with news of a pregnancy. He’ll expect Dominika to be with child before he even sends so much as a messenger in our direction.”

  Dominika slung her thick black hair over her shoulder and shrugged. “Well then I suppose it’s a good thing I’m already with child. That should set things into motion a little faster.”

  All eyes fell onto the Empress.

  “You’re pregnant? So soon?” Viktor asked. He could hardly contain his excitement and it took every ounce of strength within him not to pick his young wife up into his arms and swing her around.

  “That’s splendid news, congratulations!” Saff cheered.

  Dominika looked to her husband and smiled. “Oh, Viktor, don’t appear so surprised. We’ve tried near enough every other night since our wedding day. I was bound to be blessed with a child in my womb sooner than later.” she spoke softly to him and was delighted when he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her over and over again. When he pulled away, she asked, “How quickly can we get another letter sent to my father?”

  Adelaide

  Nicademius had been delighted to show Adelaide the library, even if it was for the purpose of finding the copy of The Awakening hidden away in the Bordennian Castle.

  All the while, Adelaide looked around in awe as she passed by all the shelves, yet she could still feel Nicademius' eyes on her every so often. She could not help look his way on occasions and she was fortunate enough not to have been caught staring by the Prince. They both ventured deeper into the library, yet Adelaide could not pick up any clues as to where the book could have been and Nicademius himself seemed lost about where to start looking. He sighed as they came to a dead end. But Adelaide kept going. She made her way over to the bookcase and began pulling books out and putting them back in at random, attempting to find out which one opened the case.

  “What are you doing?” Nicademius asked, watching as she continued with great determination

  “The bookcase in Faradwyn Castle opened when I pulled a book out. The second book of The Awakening should tell us where to find the third one - if there is a third one.” Adelaide replied. The bottom of the bookcase swung open, revealing a dark and uninviting tunnel. She took a step back and turned to look at the Prince and the imp. “Found the secret passage way,” Adelaide began, only to be cut off by a hand grabbing onto her ankle. A short scream managed to escape her as she fell to the floor and moments later she was being dragged into the opening. “Nick!” Adelaide cried out, before the darkness swallowed her whole and only her screams could be heard echoing back up.

  *****

  “Adelaide!” the Prince called back, having dropped to his knees with his hands perched against the bookcase. He looked at the imp with wide eyes. “Let's go, Daegar.” he said, wasting no time in crawling into the opening, with the imp following closely behind. The rock was cold and wet in the tunnel and it made Nicademius wonder what the smooth substance was. He crawled as quickly as the narrow space allowed him to, cursing and hissing as his body struggled to reach through to the end. By the time he made it through all the way, his body ached and his clothes were tattered in certain places; hiding away the cuts and grazes he had earned himself.

  Daegar was still close behind and he clenched his teeth nervously as his eyes adjusted to the dark, and he could see exactly what they had gotten themselves into. Unlike the Prince, his tiny body had escaped any injuries whilst venturing through the tunnel. The Prince crawled out of the tunnel and blinked hard at his surroundings. It was a cave, much smaller than he had expected, and with a torch or two burning in a corner of their own. There was still not enough light to explore the area well. Nicademius flicked his gaze to the far end of the cave, at the sound of something hissing and lapping its tongue.

  It was disgusting! A bony creature with taut grey skin and no eyes stood hunched over in the corner, either ignoring the smell of both the Prince and Imp or simply not caring about his new guests. Its mouth was lined with crooked yellow fangs and it stood with bent knees, claws extended. It bore a strikingly similar figure to that of a person but, quite clearly it was not one. Perhaps it had been, once; a long time ago. The creature opened its mouth further and looked down at the ground beneath it. “Red…bane.” it hissed.

  Adelaide sat huddled in the corner, eyes wide, and trying desperately to create some reasonable distance between herself and the creature. As though she hoped to melt through the wall and escape like that. Adelaide clamped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming as the creature drew its face closer to her.

  The creature pressed a clawed hand on the princess’ chest and spoke to her again. “Red…bane.” it spat.

  Nicademius could not hold himself back any longer, not whilst the life of the Princess of Iradas was in danger. He unsheathed his sword and went for the creature, despite his common sense telling him to turn and run.

  The Thing did not look to Nicademius, as though his presence hardly meant a thing to it. It bared its yellow teeth and brought them down against the Princess.

  Adelaide screamed as the creature’s teeth su
nk into her flesh, not too deep but, enough to send her body spasming. She attempted to push the creature off, only it remained determined and latched onto her with an iron will. Adelaide’s eyes grew heavy and she could see black spots dancing before her eyes. She could make out nothing else.

  Nicademius swung his sword at the creature and the sound of the Thing squealing was enough for Adelaide to know the Prince had struck him somewhere. The creature squealed and jumped at Nicademius - whilst Adelaide succumbed to darkness.

  *****

  Adelaide woke and found herself in bed. Her head still spun from the unexpected attack beneath the castle library and her mind urged her to stay put, to not make any sudden moves. After a moment she went to sit up, despite the warning signals her body was sending. She did not make it far before moaning as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. Adelaide pressed herself back down onto the bed and ran a hand up the whole length of her arm, feeling a soft bandage rather than her own skin. Had she really been injured that badly? Nicademius shuffled in a seat he had placed nearby, his face buried in his hands.

  “Nick.” Adelaide called out quietly.

  The Prince’s head shot up and he let out a sigh of relief. He got up and made his way towards the bed, sitting back down on the edge of it. “You're conscious.” he said and smiled, as though he himself could not believe it to be true. It seemed he had been expecting the worse outcome – as though he would even mention the word!

  “What happened?” Adelaide asked. She made another stubborn attempt to sit up again, swearing under her breath and grabbing on to Nicademius’ tunic when she found she could only go halfway.

  The Prince fixed up his top and smiled again. “That creature which had dragged you down the tunnel in the library, I found out its name – the Keeper. He’d bitten you on your shoulder. You were unconscious for nearly two whole days. I dragged you out just in time but, you were still bleeding quite a fair amount so I,” Nicademius paused and looked down at his hands.