Beauty and the Damned

29 | Under the Shade

Much to her relief, the forest was easy to maneuver unlike the forest around her castle. There weren’t oversized roots of trees and she could actually step on land as she walked. The wind was cool and she couldn’t help but feel relaxed even as her feet were hurting.

“We’re almost there,” Rowan said when he looked at her. He must have noticed how tired she looks even though she did not complain. She wouldn’t complain. Not when she knows she’s going to get the answer about what the Dragon’s Heart is.

Ariadne doesn’t know how long they’ve been walking but since Rowan said they’re almost there, she’s relieved. The entire walk was quiet. After what they talked about earlier while they were resting, Rowan and her did not talk about it again. It was as if they came up with a silent agreement that it was enough for the day.

She saw Rowan stopped walking and she did too. When she looked in front of him, she saw a small shack with smoke coming out of it. The walls are moldy and some parts of it are covered with vines and other plants. She couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of snakes lurking in one of those branches. Rowan looked at her and nudged his chin, urging her to come with him.

Ariadne was now walking beside Rowan as they walked closer to the shack. It was quiet but then as she listened more carefully, she could hear soft thuds inside the shack. The door was closed and so are the windows. It was hard to hear clearly what’s going on inside. But then Rowan raised his fist and slammed it on the door.

The soft thuds inside died and she could hear the faint sound of footsteps coming to the door. Before she knew it, the door opened and they were greeted by a bald man. Instead of hair, there were dark inks on his head making detailed whorls and intricate patterns. His scrawny body was exposed as he wasn’t wearing anything on top. He was, thankfully, wearing some pants made of expensive silk. Other than that, he also has this ornament on his ears and around his neck. They look like beads. Colorful beads of different sizes as if he just picked them up around his house and painted them before he made it into a necklace. It was stylish and it looked good on him.

However, when she looked at his face, it was gloomy. As if he had just earned bad luck for the whole year. Very opposite to the colorful and cheerful ambiance of his ornaments. 

“Prince,” the seer greeted and eyed Rowan and her. Then his eyes settled to Rowan. “Or should I say, King?”

Rowan did not bother correcting him. He bowed his head slightly before he said, “Old seer.”

The seer groaned. “I don’t appreciate you calling me that even after so many times I asked you not to,” the seer said and looked at her. She couldn’t help but notice how his gaze became hostile.

“And I also warned you about bringing strangers in here.”

She looked at Rowan. With what the seer said, this isn’t the first time that Rowan came here. And with the way the seer talked, she could say that Rowan and the seer are quite close to each other. Ariadne realized she should pay respects too just like Rowan so she bowed her head slightly and greeted the seer.

The old seer did not say anything and just looked at her before he looked at Rowan. “What brings you here?”

“It’s better we talk about it inside your house,” Rowan said. The old seer looked behind them and then around as if searching for something. Rowan did say that his brothers might have someone follow them so it is better to talk about it inside where the eavesdroppers won’t hear a word.

“Very well.” The seer opened the door and let them in.

Unlike its appearance from the outside, the inside of the seer’s house was totally opposite to what she was expecting. The interior was spacious. Where the outside looked gloomy and unappealing, the inside was colorful. The walls are painted with different colors draped with colored curtains. She could also hear the soft jangle of beads made into a curtain. Expensive silk was draped in one corner and a table lay beside it. On top of the table is a stack of cards, a cube made of crystal, and several coins on the side. Next to the table is a cushion where the seer went and sat.

He looked at them before he gestured his hand for them to sit down on the opposite side of the table. She sat down and Rowan did the same beside her. He looked at her and she shrugged before she looked at the seer who placed his hand on top of the crystal cube.

“I could sense something heavy inside the both of you,” the seer said as he eyed Rowan and her. Then his stopped to stare at her.

“You,” he said. “You have wickedness die inside you. But something inside you is lurking. Flowers. Yes, flowers. You like flowers and despise them at the same time. Thorns. You’re prone to prick your fingers on thorns. You have touched a thorn once and it cost you everything. You lost everything that’s important to you.” Then his brows furrowed and gasped. “The wicked queen,” he rasped. “You’re the wicked queen!” Then his face went blank and then it was filled with fear. "You are going to prick your finger to another thorn, wicked Queen." 

She looked at the seer with his eyes still filled with horror. “I sense the witch. I sense her magic in you.”

Ariadne looked at Rowan. Rowan was also looking at her with wide eyes. “How do I remove her magic?” she asked, leaning on the table. “How do I cure this curse?”

The seer was still wide-eyed as he looked at her. Then he shook her head. She furrowed her brows. “There’s nothing that can remove the curse of the witch once it is put there. But there is a condition. The witch has a condition. Once you fulfill that condition, the curse will be lifted.”

“Dragon’s heart,” Rowan said and they both looked at him. “The witch told her to get the Dragon’s heart.”

The seer eyed both of them before he slumped back on the cushion. “I can’t help you with that,” the seer said and she could tell he wasn’t telling them the truth. Rowan noticed it too.

“Please,” she said. “Please I need to remove this curse. I…I am Queen of Vale. My kingdom is dying. My people are dying. I…can’t be Queen if my own people fear me.”

The seer was quiet. And so was Rowan. But then the seer said, “Then you should think about whose fault is that.”

She closed her eyes firmly. “What is the Dragon’s heart and where can I find it?” she asked. Her voice was stern, telling the seer she won’t take no for an answer. But the seer shook his head.

“This land is once called the land of Dragons. Start with that,” the seer said and stood. She looked at the seer with so much disappointment. But the seer said, “Telling you the answer to that witch’s riddle means I am forfeiting my life. I apologize but I can’t say anything more.”

It was his way of telling them to go. Rowan looked at her and she stood. The seer did not look at them and was making himself occupied with something.

She bowed her head slightly before she muttered her thanks she was about to walk away when Rowan did not move. When she looked at her, he was looking at the seer.

“Please,” Rowan said. “Could at least tell us something more than that?”

The seer looked at them. “If I tell you something more, then you would figure it out. If you figure it out because of me, the witch will come for me and take my life. I will not let that happen.” He faced the both of them fully and he went on, “I come to know that you both have tangled yourself in a messy arrangement. The wicked Queen shall decide who to trust and who not to trust. Start with that too. Now please, leave my house.”

They couldn’t do anything but make something out with what the seer had told them. It would be selfish of her to force the seer to do something in exchange for his life. She is not wicked anymore and she would never be wicked again.

She must have had her hopes too high. Of course, the witch would never let her do it. Ariadne would have to figure out alone what the Dragon’s heart is.

Walking their way home was faster and by the time they reached the entrance of the forest where they came in, it was already almost sundown. Rowan set the tent up. It was big enough that her beast form could fit in. By the time it was done, she went inside and transformed. They didn’t talk about it while walking their way home. And she figured she doesn’t want to talk about it too. It gave her time to ponder even in her beast form, she was thinking about it. She couldn’t bring herself to sleep even as Rowan got inside the tent and slept beside her.

She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep when she felt Rowan’s hand on her head. Caressing it gently. Ariadne couldn’t help but sigh at the relief of his hand on her head. She heard Rowan chuckle and if she was capable of blushing in her beast form, she would have blushed.

“Listen,” he said. “What the seer said today was enough. There should be a clue somewhere along with those words he said. We’ll have to figure it out just like I promised.”

Ariadne huffed as if in approval and scooted closer to him. She let her mind rest and did not think about what just happened today. Before she knew it, she was falling asleep.

She dreamed of her castle burning. She dreamed of several soldiers firing arrows of fire towards the forest trapping her and Delilah inside. Ariadne couldn’t move. Her claws are chained, her mouth is too. She couldn’t run. She tried to growl and get away from the chains but she couldn’t and she watched Delilah was getting dragged by soldiers and getting chained too. She looked at the soldiers and saw the mark on their armors. But she was more occupied with the fact that Delilah is about to get burned alive. Delilah’s scream echoed in her head as the fire touched her skin.

“No!”

Ariadne jolted awake. She looked around. The surrounding wasn’t dark. There wasn’t fire or anything she saw in her dream.

“What happened?” Rowan asked beside her. The moment she saw him, she couldn’t help the tears falling down her cheeks. But she took a deep breath and convinced herself it was all a dream. That it wasn’t real.

“Ariadne?” Rowan called and she looked at him. She saw how his eyes soften and pulled her to a hug. She felt his hands caressing her bare back as she let herself cry on his shirt.

“Bad dream?” Rowan asked. She did not answer and tried to bury the memory of her dream on the back of her mind.

When she finally calmed down, Rowan looked at her. “It’s fine,” he said in an attempt to calm her down. “It was just a dream. Besides, I already have a clue on where to look about the Dragon’s heart.”

She looked at him. “Really?”

He nodded. “I was thinking about it last night and I have played his words in my mind many times. Cern was indeed called the land of Dragons. The Kingdom’s sigil is a dragon. If we take it literally, Dragon’s heart could mean the heart of Cern.”

She furrowed her brows, slightly calming down with the news. “And that is?”

“We’re going to have to look at the palace’s core to find out about it.” He smiled at her. She closed her eyes and wiped the almost dry tears on her cheeks. She smiled at Rowan for giving her hope once more. But then she remembered the mark on the armors of the soldiers she saw in her dream. They were dragon sigils.

But she shook her head and buried it in her mind. It’s just a dream. It is not true. She heaved a deep breath and looked at Rowan who was already staring at her.

“Thank you,” she muttered and smiled at him.

Rowan just shrugged and said, “It’s nothing compared to what you have to do to me, Ariadne. Marrying me and becoming the key for me to have the throne and having you as a new subject of the annoyance of my brothers—it’s too much.”

She shook her head. “By doing so, it means I would be doing something to my kingdom too. I am doing this not only for you but also for me.”

Rowan nodded and reached to wipe the tears on her face. She looked at him. At his lips that have been on every inch of her body, at his turn-up nose, and his hazel eyes that are staring at her lips. Kissing him sounded like a good idea but she stopped herself.

Ariadne cleared her throat and was about to turn away when Rowan suddenly cupped her face and before she knew it, they were kissing.

Rowan kissed her with so much passion as if it was the last kiss they would ever share. She felt his tongue explore the inside of her mouth and she let him. She moaned when Rowan shifted and pushed her back to the cushion. She felt his hand slowly caressing her arm until he reached her wrists. With one swift motion, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them on top of her head. His mouth never left hers and when he did to trace her jaw, a moan escaped her lips.

Ariadne closed her eyes and felt his lips on her jaw, trailing small kisses down her neckline. She turned her head to the side to give him more access.

Then Rowan pulled away and looked at her. She doesn’t remember when he removed his shirt but he was already shirtless on top of her. His hand went down to grab her knee and with one swift motion, he spread her legs, exposing her naked body.

“Rowan,” she said, breathing hard. Rowan’s stare became dark and he, too, was panting. She liked seeing him panting in front of her. His mouth was slightly ajar and she could feel his grip on her wrist tighten. His eyes roam in her naked body and she couldn’t help the heat creeping into her cheeks.

“Let me make you feel good,” he said and before she could even say anything, his mouth once again found hers.

* * *