The Wolf-prince's stolen bride

I smell blood...

It was quiet…

Dead quiet…

So quiet that I could count every beat of my heart as I approached the massive doors that led to the throne room.

It took as many as 4 strong hands to open the massive doors that locked the outside world from the palace and the rest of the world, but they were not shut as they should have been. The doors to the throne room were swung wide open in front of me and I could see the faint light from the fire of a lit torch that shone through the darkness.

I took a deep breath while I offered a silent and quick prayer in my mind, I prayed that beyond those doors was nothing worth the worry.

Something was wrong and something bad had happened in the throne room. I understood that as soon as I stepped in through the doors and was greeted by a certain smell that had I gotten familiar with while with the healers in the royal doctor’s part of the palace.

I was greeted by the strong, metallic smell of blood....

I recognized the smell of fresh blood and the fear that flooded through my body got my heart to race even more now than when I climbed up the flight of stairs some seconds ago. My mind had already begun to wander through many thoughts and imagine the worst possible scenarios.

“Is anyone in here?” I asked and called out into the massive room that remained very dimly lit by a single torch on the wall at the far edge of the room. My words bounced off the walls and echoed back to me but I heard no replies.

Then I heard it, a familiar voice that called out weakly from the vast darkness ahead of me. I stopped and strained to listen, not too sure if I had imagined the voice.

I waited

Waited

Waited some more...

I heard nothing and just when I decided to move forward, I heard something I did not expect to hear.

”Rayaaa!” the voice called out weakly and slowly. He called my name and I recognized his voice, the voice of a man I loved with all my heart.

I did not spare a second and began to run in the direction he had called to me from. I ran towards his voice without a second thought and continued to run till I tripped over something on the floor that was shrouded in the darkness that covered the entire room. I had landed softly with my fall cushioned by my outstretched hands that got to the floor before my body and slowed the fall.

I could feel something wet on the fingers and palms of both my hands and took it to my face in the hope that my sense of smell would be more useful than my sight which was still poor in the darkness.

I took in a long whiff of my fingers and was petrified as that strong metallic smell rushed into my nose and left me seated on the floor petrified, it was blood.

There was blood on my hands and there was blood on the floor, I turned quickly then to look at what I had tripped over and could now make out the figure of a man in armor that just lay there on his face in the middle of the throne room, in a puddle of blood, completely motionless and clearly dead. I was scared but more worried that afraid as I crawled on my knees quickly to the body and turned his large head so I could see the face. I was still scared but relieved when I looked closely at the face and became sure he wasn’t someone dear to me.

I recognized the man; captain Daron was one of my father’s personal guards and the largest man of all the knights in the royal guard. He was dead in the throne room and as I looked closer it became clear he had been murdered.

A dagger stuck out from his back that should not have been there. He had been stabbed in the back and lay there dead. It was now even more evident that something was wrong and the life of one or more of the three men I cared about was in danger.

“R-a-y-a, are you really there my dear?” he said now more clearly than before but just as weakly. More worried and scared than I had ever been in my life, I got up to my feet, probably covered in blood but too focused on where the voice had come from to care about that. I ran towards the voice and continued to run even as my legs got sore.

I noticed now that I ran in the direction of the torch that continued to burn faintly by a little distance away. I was close to the edge of the throne room now and realized that I had completely misjudged my positioning earlier when I had run into the darkness in a search for answers to the questions in my head. I got closer to the torch now and got an answer to one of my questions almost immediately.

There was no mistake, I recognized the man who sat propped up against the wall as he bled with a dagger through his heart. How could I not recognize him, the grey-haired man was my father.

The King of the great kingdom of Mari sat there as he bled out with his back to the wall of his own throne room and in his own palace.

“Is that really you Raya? My dear child” he asked when he noticed me.

I ran over to his side without hesitation as the fear gripped at my throat and for a second took away my ability to speak.

“Father, you are hurt.” Was all I could say as my hands that still trembled went straight to the dagger still lodged in his chest.

I felt the blood drain from my face when I saw the dark red blood flow down his chest. I had learnt a thing or two while with the healers so I tried to stop the blood flow with my hands. I knew to apply pressure on the wound but I could not with the knife still in him. I also knew the knife had gone through his heart and that any attempt to pull it out would bleed him out even faster and he would die.

My father sat there before my eyes, he slowly took his last breaths as the warm blood seeped through my fingers and there was absolutely nothing I could do to help.

I had no control over the sobs that now escaped my lips or the tears that streamed down my face.

Everything after that was a blur, everything after I concluded he would die there in my arms seemed like a dream.

“Please don’t die now father.” I said “Do not leave me now, I am not ready for you to go yet. Please father.” I said as I leaned into him and buried my face in his chest. “What happened to you? What happened here? Where are the guards and how could they let this happen? Who¬………...”

“shhhhhhhh” he said softly with a weak hand on my face now and his eyes locked with mine.

His powerful gaze now reduced to a weak one as death knocked slowly but surely on the door of his life.

His reply was short and he cut me off before I could lose my senses further in an endless ramble. The shock, fear, strange emotion and some guilt clawed at my heart but his eyes calmed me down and restored some reason to me even if only temporary.

“Do not be worried my dear, this was the only way to achieve peace and to protect you and our people.”

“What happened Father?” I asked my voice still shaky and barely audible.

“Shhhhh Raya, be calm now my dear. Whatever happened has already happened so pay attention to what I have to say to you. It is very important that you listen to me now” he said with a finality in his tone that calmed me and assured me with his hand still placed softly on my cheek. I nodded quickly to assure him I was there and could hear him. “You will have to protect this kingdom and all the people; the people are innocent and have to be protected no matter what happens and no matter the sacrifice you have to make. That it what it means to be royalty in this beautiful kingdom. I need you to protect your brother if he survives this night and do the right thing.” He paused to wipe the tears that still streamed down my face. “You are a strong girl, just like your mother. You have her eyes and her courage and I know you will survive this.” He said with a smile on his face that was always present whenever he spoke about my late mother.

“I will protect the people; you know I will do that. So please tell me what happened here. I need to know who did this to you.” I asked quickly in a bid to not waste any more time.

“No one did this to me my dear child. I did this to myself and I am finally at peace after so many years of regret. I will not have you follow the path of revenge and if your brother survives the night, I will not have him waste his life either. Revenge is never worth it.” He said with an even more determined look now. “Do you hear me Raya? Promise me you will heed my final advice to you” he asked with a weak smile spread across his lips. “Promise me dear child.”

“I promise Father, I promise you and swear to you. I will remember every word you say and I will protect the people. I will protect my brother as well and make sure he becomes a king as great and kind as you are.” I said as my emotions took control of my words.

“She will be loyal to you now. She is a good girl that listens to her father.” He said but with his eyes no longer fixed on me, but to the side into the shadows besides us. “Take care of her and she will take care of you. My kingdom will be yours and you might enjoy a life now that I am finally dead. Be a kind king and you will have peace.” he added as he smiled into the darkness then smiled back at me and let out a deep breath. In that moment he looked happy and more at peace than I had ever seen him.

His hand fell from my face after that, he was gone. My father no longer had life in his eyes and my mind went blank.

DEATH HAD SNUCK IN AND TAKEN HIS LIFE WITH THE HOLE IN HIS HEART AS THE DOOR THAT HAD BEEN PUT THERE BY THE DAGGER....

“I hope you actually accept his final wishes and keep to the promises you just made. For now, we need to leave this place.” A low voice said from the darkness and suddenly stunned me back to reality as my head turned quickly, instinctively I tried to look for the face of the man who just spoke to me.

Someone had been there with us while camouflaged in the darkness that entire time.