The Broken Princess

The missing princess

Panic rose in Derrick as yet another guard returned without Eliora. It wasn't like her to wander off for so long like this. Where was she?

The banquet was still on going, They were supposed to have their father daughter dance and yet she was no where to be seen. When the new guard that had been assigned to her approached him without her in tow, he’d gotten a dangerous sense of foreboding. And it wasn't just because of the panicked look on the guard's face.

"Where is she?" He bellowed and the man flinched.

"I lost sight of her for a few minutes and now I can't find her." The guard shook as he stared at the grass under his feet, his voice had been close to inaudible.

What a useless piece of s**t! Caelum would never have made a mistake like this. Derrick paused. It bothered him how close Caelum was to his daughter but he knew Caelum did his job well.

Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he groaned. f**k the banquet, he had to find his daughter. He went back into the hall and announced that the banquet would be cancelled for reasons he did not disclose. It was a bad look on him but it couldn't be helped.

The last time something like this had happened in the palace, his wife had wound up dead.

He also ordered to restrict people from coming in and out of the palace until the princess was found.

He thought of the likely places Eliora would have wondered too and the garden was his first thought. Eliora enjoyed staring at flowers, he had a garden made for her for that very reason.

He ran in the direction of the palace's main garden as it was the closest one to the banquet hall. What he scented in the air caused his panic to rise even more.

Her blood.

In the area where the scent was strongest, he saw a little splash of blood on the grass. He also caught the slight scent of another person. His mind ran in a million directions at once. Someone had his daughter and she was hurt.

"Nora!" He called out.

"You don't need to tell me, I'm on it." She hadn't even bothered materialising this time. His wife could reach areas Derrick could not.

Could it be that the Vermon bastards thought to kidnap the Driskula princess? That would be low even for them.

It seemed most likely that the kingdom they currently warred with would be responsible for Eliora's capture but how could they have made their way into the castle grounds? Their security was top notch.

Derrick couldn't think straight with the constant fear he felt for his daughter. She must be frightened out of her mind right now.

His orders had been carried out and no one could leave or enter the palace. Day broke and they still hadn't found her. The delegates that had come to visit for the banquet were growing impatient. They were annoyed at being trapped. If he kept them here any longer, it could result in conflict with their respective kingdoms so he had to lift the lockdown.

Instead a thorough search was to be conducted before the delegates were allowed to leave. Nora materialised at that moment.

"Still no sign of her?" She asked, her voice laced with worry. Of course she would be worried, Eliora was her daughter after all.

"Nothing." He clenched his fists.

Because of his negligence his wife had died and now his daughter had been taken right under his nose. What if they didn't find her fast enough? What if they were already too late?

"We'll find her." Nora placed her hands on the sides of his face, forcing him to look at her. "She'll be fine."

"What if we're too late by then. Nora I let you down once before, I can't let this happen again."

A similar situation happened years ago. Nora was captured by some enemies of his and killed in the process. Too pained to let her go, he sought the power of a powerful fae named Lilith to bring her back to life. However by the time he reached the fae, Nora had been dead for too long so Lilith was unable to bring her back as she was. She did manage to bend the laws and resurrect Nora, just not as the Fae she once was. Nora came back as a phantom; a creature that existed between the lines of life and death. The condition to her life was that no one else but Derrick was allowed to see her corporeal body lest she vanishes for good.

"She won't die." Nora said confidently but her eyes were glassy betraying how she really felt.

"No, I won't let it happen." Never.

Months went by and they still hadn't found her. The castle had never been this deary before. To outsiders the castle was peaceful, but for it's residents it was depressing. Many had begun to assume to worst, saying the princess was probably dead.

They received no notice from the Vermons asking for a something in exchange for the princess so everyone knew they weren't responsible.

The folks around the palace openly showed their pity for Derrick. He lost his mate first and now his only daughter.

The king was especially tense that day. Nora had been gone for about a week, trying to search for clues on Eliora's whereabouts. No one was more committed to finding the princess than Nora. At some point even Derrick started to believe his daughter truly was dead.

"I found her!" Nora exclaimed as she materialized in the room.

"What?" Derrick couldn't contain his excitement. "How?"

"I remembered she wore a blue necklace on the day of the banquet. A trace stone. I don't know where she got it from but they're extremely rare. Only five exist in the world. Two belong to the Plaxus race. I only had to track the remaining three down."

"Where is she?" He asked eagerly and her smile faded.

"Kale."

Derrick froze at the name. The most powerful kingdom in their realm. The home of an immortal council member. What reason did they have to take his daughter? Their first prince and his servants had been present at the banquet but they'd been clean when they were searched. How did they do it?

"You can locate her if we're on their land?" When Nora nodded he made up his mind. Even if it meant risking war with them, he would get his daughter back.

He arranged the remaining men he had left in the kingdom and set out. They were short staffed because of the ongoing war but he'd be damned if he let that stop him. Leaving just a few soldiers would have to do till he returned.

There was no time to waste.

Once things were sorted out within the castle walls he set out for Kale with Nora by his side.