THE LORD AND HIS RAVEN

The beast and the prince

And with no escape, no strength, even with my struggle, he took pleasure from my lips and the feel of my body. I whimpered and tried to push him away, but he was strong and nothing I did helped. He didn’t stop till he had enough, then he pulled away. His eyes flashed red almost immediately and I thought I saw the shadows of a wolf. I jumped and scurried away, to the furthest corner of the bathroom. I didn’t think I was seeing things anymore.

He smiled, licked his lips and walked away.

I remained in that bathroom for what looked to be hours, too scared to go outside or anywhere close to Logan. And fortunately, no one came in. Not even the prince.

I don’t know how long I sat there for, when I heard a sound from the door. A tapping sound. Then a familiar croak and I groaned. It didn’t stop till I got up and opened the door and the bird flew in.

“You really are persistent, aren’t you?” I asked and it croaked and settled on my shoulders. I shut the door and went back to sitting on the floor, then it sat on my legs and stared at me, like he was waiting for something.

“I want to die, but I don’t have the boldness to take my own life.” Tears fell down my eyes.

“I want to speak out but I have never been this scared in my entire life, not even when a gun was pointed at me. I think I am beginning to see things. To see wolves, red eyes, beast-like looks that might not even be there.”

“Then again, I am in a place that shouldn’t exist and I have a bird that won’t stay away from me. Tell me, were you there that night? You saw the men trying to kill me, didn’t you?”

“I should have just signed everything, shouldn’t I? If I didn’t run, I wouldn’t have fallen into that ditch. But I don’t think they would have let me go after I gave them what they wanted.”

It croaked in response. And I smiled.

“Do you know where we are?” He croaked again and I chuckled.

“I am losing my mind talking to a bird, aren’t I?”

It said nothing this time. And I chuckled again. Going insane was definitely closer to death.

Immediately, someone banged on the door and I stiffened.

“Raven…” a familiar voice roared out my name.

“Prince Logan wants you, now.” Phineas roared.

“Give me a second, please…” I entered before he broke the door open.

I quickly put on the gown that had been kept there for me. I dressed up quickly and arranged my hair as much as I could.

“Let’s go…” Phineas pushed the door open the same time I finished. And I stiffened. He glared at me, his hatred of me right in his eyes. I followed nervously, with the bird on my shoulder, while keeping my distance and adjusting my gown. For some reasons, it revealed way too much.

But I noticed, we didn’t walk around the usual paths of the castle I knew. And it made me nervous. When we arrived at a huge door, guarded by two mighty guards, I wondered if I was going to be publicly executed. They opened the door and a bright light pierced my eyes. And for the first time since I was brought to that cell, I saw the sun and felt the cool breeze of the day on my skin.

“Am I allowed to leave?” I asked, knowing I had not been allowed to step out of the castle. Phineas said nothing to me and kept his face straight.

I noticed the eyes on me. Men, women, guards, maids. They were all saying something, with their eyes, with their mouths, with their thoughts. And everything revolved around me.

We arrived at a carriage and there I met Ren. He was dressed in the same uniform and armour as Phineas and they both had a serious look on their faces. Without being told, I got into the carriage with them and we started moving, at a slow pace at first. But that was only till we were out of the castle.

I got to see the city for the first time and my mouth dropped to my stomach at the magnificence of it. Structured houses of small, big and tall. Streets of cobbled stones and large houses lined up against each other in quite an orderly and transcendental manner. I noticed guards moving up and down the street like some cops on patrol.

“Maybe, they were cops on patrol.”

Our carriage quickened its pace into a run and I stopped ogling the city and suddenly became nervous.

“Where are we going?” I asked, hoping that someone would respond even if I knew that they wouldn’t.

“Prince Logan asked that we get you.” Ren answered.

“Why?” I asked, nervously. He had said that the day wouldn’t be complete without me. Yet, I was sure I never wanted to see him again, not after what happened. This time, no one said anything and I had no option but to keep quiet and hope that my thoughts were simply thoughts.

The carriage finally came to a halt and I couldn’t help but hold my breath when we arrived in front of a rather big building. With pillars mounted at each side and a long step to take before we got to the top.

“Here…” Phineas handed me something. A mask.

“Put that on,” He ordered. I wanted to ask him why, but his eyes told me that was a wrong idea, so I did just as he asked.

Without waiting, he dragged me up the steps and I had no option but to follow. It wasn’t like I could outrun both of them. Plus, each time I looked at Phineas I still saw that wolf.

When we arrived at the top, I saw guards lined up in a horizontal form, all geared up and in armour. They looked different from what Phineas and Ren wore. They stared at us, no…me, specifically but let us through. Then we made our way through the gate and saw more guards lined up vertically on our left and right side, till we arrived at the door.

“They like really large doors, don’t they?” I whispered to the bird on my shoulder and it croaked in response. Phineas glared at me in response, right when the door was pulled open and Ren walked in. Phineas let go of me and the raven flew away.

My nerves were everywhere, but I took a deep breath and followed behind Ren. Down some steps we went, till we arrived at a large hall and my heart skipped.

The hall was uselessly huge, and hundreds of people were seated and all their eyes were on us.

“Hmm hmm hmmm….” Someone entered and everywhere turned quiet almost immediately. I turned to the direction the voice came from and found the king and prince seated on what looked like a mini throne at the far corner of the hall. Beside them, were some men, all dressed elegantly, but none of them outshining the prince and King.

Prince Logan’s eyes met mine and a smile came on his lips. I noted he wore what I picked out for him, but instantly lowered my gaze, hating the way my heart picked up.

“Let the mating ceremony begin…” the king entered loudly.