Emptiness

Chapter 14

Avarius Country:

Nibea City

Hazel Mandana watched the way her son Alan Mandana interacted with Knight Anon Bradiga from the corner of her eyes.

The two persons Hazel hated the most and wanted to erase their very existence.

She hated Anon Bradiga because of the loyal dog he was.

Sometimes she envied that none were this loyal to her, for Anon Bradiga was a loyal person.

Still loyal to the person who was long gone, dissolved into water drops, and disappeared in the air.

This loyal Knight was nothing but a guard dog, though.

But the way her husband favored him just because Anon was her husband’s childhood friend had always irritated her.

She had once ordered to have Knight Anon to be whipped with whiplash a hundred times when she was the Queen of Veron, not liking the way he had stopped her from entering her husband’s room, saying it was the King’s order.

How dare him!

Hazel’s blood boiled even now when she thought about it. He had the audacity to deny her when she had been the Queen of not only Veron but also to Anon too.

Every one of her husband Rayden Mandana’s Knights didn’t have the courage to look up at her, let alone refuse her orders.

But, when she had tried to enter her husband’s quarters, the Knights had been hesitant, yet they had let her inside the Quarters, knowing she was their Queen.

She, the Queen of Veron, was stopped when she had walked past one of the many rooms in her husband’s quarters.

Knight Anon Bradiga had appeared that day in front of her, saying he could not let her in, for it was the King’s orders not to let anyone in while he was resting.

He had dared to look her in the eye and deny his Queen.

She had ordered him to move aside, but he had stood there in front of her like a rock.

She had known that she was wrong to barge into the King’s quarters, as no one, not even the Queen of Veron, could enter here without his permission.

But he was her husband too.

Granted, they didn’t have any kind of love between them, and only mutual respect and understanding to the King, Rayden Mandana, as he had already informed Hazel of how he could not love her.

Hazel had been ecstatic that time, thinking she would become a Queen one day by marrying him, so she didn’t care about love and had agreed to his proposal, saying that he could not take another woman as his wife. Rayden Mandana had agreed to it, and they both got married.

And as his wife, she had every right to him. None can stop her from entering his quarters.

The situation had worsened when she noticed how the Knights around his chambers were watching the way her authority was being denied by a mere Knight.

She felt humiliated beyond words…

To be insulted like this by a mere Knight

That was why she had been angered and ordered the other soldiers and guards nearby to make Knight Anon kneel in front of her and have his back whipped till his blood soaked her feet for daring to deny her.

Her Egav was nothing in comparison to Anon Bradiga’s Egav, as he was the youngest person to become a Knight and also to become a head Knight in very few years.

Anon Bradiga was a legend among many and admired a lot by even some of the Kings. Rumor has it he was a distant relative to the royal family of Bradiga who ruled a small country named Bradi for centuries. Bradi country was allied for Veron, just like how Zeta and Vabaaga were allied countries. Yet, he had become the Knight of Rayden Mandana because of his friendship. And, the King, in return, values his Knight, Anon, even now.

That must have gone over Anon’s head, for he had the audacity to defy her direct orders, his Queen’s orders.

The Knights around her hesitated to reach Anon that day but her yelling and her glare forced them to obey her. Anon Bradiga remained silent despite everything, as if he wasn’t bothered by her at all. This only fueled her anger more.

The Knights had moved towards Anon and were going to force Anon to kneel, but her husband, Rayden Mandana, had arrived.

Hazel knew that despite being a Queen, the King had authority even over her. King Rayden Mandana had been a gentleman, and despite theirs being an arranged marriage, he had only ever been kind to her.

But, there were times that he hated her when she was cruel to other people.

And, she hated that in Rayden Mandana.

If you’re in the highest authority, you will have to rule by power, not by being kind to even the beggars. What respect will you have by then?

She hadn’t bothered to get to know him well when they were in the courting session, as he was too only interested in becoming allies with Avarius, and she was busy dreaming of being a Queen of Veron one day.

But as she got married, his kindness and goodness didn’t irritate her and, in fact, attracted her to him. The way he was gentle with her, made her to have feelings in her heart.

Hazel wasn’t an innocent lamb. She used men as she pleased to get what she wanted and killed a few even before marriage. She used power and Egav to make her way, but if needed, she seduced people and had her share of flings.

Rayden Mandana was the first man to treat her like a woman and not an object. Even though Hazel had fooled people, they had used her in return for their ambitions too.

He was kind to her and didn’t jump into the bed as soon as possible. He had touched her only when Hazel insisted. He only touches her when Hazel compels him and was starved for him.

She felt ugly inside the way she was getting dependent on him.

He had touched her for four or five times and had s*x with her for two times or something, only because she manipulated him into thinking his father was asking about heirs.

So, she had been frustrated when he didn’t come to meet with her, and she was the one who always went to meet him.

That day was like that too; she had barged into his quarters, wanting to spend some time with him.

But she was stopped by Anon Bradiga.

And when she had ordered Knight Anon to be whipped that day, she had come to know how a kind man like Rayden Mandana had the power to rule a vast country like Veron.

The blazing blue aura around him when he arrived in front of her, glaring at his Knights, who all took a step back in fear, for they had never seen their King like that.

Even Hazel had been scared of Rayden Mandana that day.

He had dismissed the Knights of their duties permanently even though they pleaded to the King; he didn’t show them any kindness, saying it was a punishment for not listening to the King and for listening to someone else, even if it was a Queen, going against the direct orders of their King.

He had given her a warning in an authorized voice, which she can still remember clearly.

Don’t go against my authority, Hazel.

He had uttered her name that day without honorifics, all for a simple Knight. After that, the incident spread all throughout the castle, and no servant had disobeyed their King’s orders on her behalf from that day.

It was the first big crack in their marriage. And, she had started to lose her respect for him.

Hazel had hated their friendship, for her husband was a King, who should have friends like Kings of other countries, but to be a friend to a mere Knight, was not suitable for his title.

But, she let that matter go as she knew that Knight Anon would protect her husband’s life with his even though the insult and shame remained in her heart.

Because the rumor of that incident spread all over the castle of how the Knights were dismissed from their duties. After that, none would obey her if she was going against the King’s orders.

Anon Bradiga…..

A loyal dog that was meant to be sacrificed.

And, another person she hated, Alan Mandana.

For a year, her married life had been perfect, with how much attention he paid to her comforts, from arranging separate quarters for her according to her choice, to the way he didn’t restrict her on many things, like what clothes she chose to wear, to travel anywhere she wanted, unlike in other countries where the females weren’t even allowed to venture out of the Harem.

Unlike other Princes, he didn’t insist she stayed near his room and was treated as a s*x object. He gave her separate quarters and the space she needed.

To top it all, Rayden Mandana didn’t have any concubines and mistresses like that shameless Hagen Raaga.

He had respected Hazel’s wish of how he should not take any wife in his life other than her. That was the reason she had fallen for him.

After a year into their marriage, he became a King and has gotten very busy with his life and duties, having to manage the navy and travel in the ships to maintain the order of the navy and protect their harbours.

He barely ever touched her after he became a King, frustrating her to no end.

And, one day, she had taken advantage by giving him too much alcohol, mixed with herbs she got from one of the healers she knew well.

She had gotten to the point of not being able to take it without being touched by a man for so long.

So, she had quite enjoyed the feeling of being under the attention of Rayden Mandana’s eyes even though it was under the influence of alcohol and herbs.

He had been livid beyond words the next day….

But everything changed after that day….

She got pregnant….

After three years into their marriage, she got pregnant.

She thought he would come to love her….

Yet, things changed when this wretched boy began to grow in her womb, Alan Mandana, but not the way she wanted.

Everything changed with his birth. She didn’t know why her husband became so distant over the weeks and hadn’t entered her room for months, always carrying Alan and being happy with him by playing together.

After that, Hazel began to hate both Alan and her husband, Rayden.

The twins were an accident too.

She hated him….

She hated Alan the most for taking her husband away from her.

That was why she didn’t stand up for her son in the courtroom. Yet, Alan managed to escape again.

Her son, the one who resembled his father, Rayden Mandana.

Alan’s cheekbones, the glare he had, the eyes, everything was very similar to how his father was.

Alan reminded her of Rayden Mandana sometimes that she hated to see it.

Now he was being tutored by Anon Bradiga since Hazel’s father, Neo Zuri, didn’t give Alan permission to have royal tutors.

They were both standing on a training field and were doing their routine exercises before they started their Egav practice.

The nerve of Knight Anon to live even after her husband’s death, and even enduring all the taunts, belittling, and humiliation, just to protect her son, Alan.

She knew that her husband must have ordered Anon to protect Alan after his death, not Hazel, just his firstborn, Alan Mandana.

Not many can take this life, enduring the shame and taunts, but she guessed Knight Anon was a rare kind of loyal dog.

Hazel hated them both, and she hoped that she could get rid of them some way, so she could at least not feel this ever-boiling hate whenever she saw them inside her father’s castle.

She turned away from that sight and moved in the path that would lead Hazel to her chambers.

The morning walk didn’t do her any good….

She decided to do another one of her dark rituals, and it seemed the onyx ring on her finger pulsed at the mere thought of dark rituals.

Hazel chuckled silently and walked towards her room.

She didn’t have to worry about anyone or things not going her way anymore.

After all, she was the Queen of Forbidden Egav.