The Fae Princess' Hidden Fate

6.

I fell into step behind father, whose heavy footsteps echoed across the hallway as he led me to his study. He wasn't saying anything, and I feared that when he finally opened his mouth, it would be to chastise me in the most terrifying way he could manage.

All the servants darted out of the way as soon as we got close, clearly seeing the infuriated look on father's face. Even though I couldn't see it, I could just imagine how it would look. I had been on the receiving end of that look so many times that it was probably the most familiar look on his face.

"Your Majesty," the guards stationed outside the door of the study bowed as we approached.

"Make sure we are not disturbed," he said gruffly, stepping into the room. "Not even the queen is allowed to disturb us."

"As you wish, your majesty," they both replied in unison. I stepped into the room, while father proceeded to walk towards his desk. I hesitated by the door, feeling as small as I always did whenever I entered the study. It was the second largest room in the palace, with the largest being father's bedchamber. The sheer size of it was terrifying, and it dwarfed everything I could think of. Enormous shelves of dark mahogany lined each wall, with several ancient looking tomes arranged neatly on it. There were at least a thousand books in the study, and if someone told me that father had read all of them, I would have believed them.

He walked around his desk, and he only looked up at me once he was on the other side of the table. I folded my arms across my chest, and I tried to look at everything else but him. His gaze was too penetrating, and too intense so I couldn't look at him directly in the eye.

"Are you going to sit?" he said bluntly.

I held my breath as I walked across the cold tiled floor and sat on the seat directly in front of him. He turned his back then, and made his way to one of the cabinets where he kept his assorted bottles of wine. He poured himself a glass, considered pouring me one, then changed his mind and dropped the second glass back into the cupboard.

"Firstly," he said, "I want you to explain to me how you were able to sneak out of a room which your mother stationed guards in front of, and you made it all the way to the dungeon without them ever knowing you had left the room."

He didn't sit just yet, and when he fixed his gaze on me, I realised that he wasn't as furious as I thought he was. There was anger in his eyes, of course, but not the kind that would scorch the earth if he directed his gaze at it. Instead, it was mixed with a mild curiosity which I found quite strange.

Since when did he stop seeing my mistakes as world-ending crises?

"I snuck out onto the ledge," I said. "Then I made my way around the tower, and I dropped down to the balcony of the downstairs study. They never suspected anything. From there, I simply walked to the dungeons since no one would be curious as to why I was roaming about the palace. None of the servants knew that mother had confined me to her bedroom."

"Hm," he simply said, chuckling as he took a sip of his drink. "You were always too clever for such a young age."

"I learned it all from you," I said with a hidden smirk, trying to soften him up for what was to come next. But even I knew that I wouldn't get away with it, and when his eyebrows curved sternly, I knew I hadn't fooled him at all.

"Your flattery will not work on me today, young lady," he said. "Now, tell me why you did it."

"Did what, father?" I asked innocently.

"We're not here to play games, Layla," he said. "Why did you go to see the prisoner? I gave specific instructions that no one should be allowed to see him. And yet, you deliberately disobeyed me. Why?"

I swallowed hard, and tried to concentrate on looking as faultless as I possibly could. With father, it was always good to look remorseful whenever a crime had been committed, as he had pardoned a lot of my mistakes because I looked like I regretted them.

"I'm truly sorry for breaking a rule you'd put in place, father," I said, keeping my voice level as I twisted my fingers. "I was just curious about the human boy, and I couldn't contain myself. I had some questions which needed to be answered, and I felt like he was the only one who could explain them to me the way I wanted."

He sighed then, and he sank into the seat with a groan. For a very long time, he simply looked at me and said nothing. I was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the silence, and I could feel his eyes watching me closely, trying to detect a lie in my statement. Every sip of the wine was slow and methodical, as though it was meant to agonise me even more. But I kept my peace, and I continued to look at him.

Finally, he sighed and shook his head. After downing the last contents of the glass, he slid it across the table before he looked at me, then leaned forward and folded his arms on the table.

"Your great grandfather," he began, "was just like this the first time he met your grandmother. When he first found the beautiful human roaming around on the edge of their campsite, he was intrigued by her. He saw something that day which he had never seen before. And it captivated him, and robbed him of his senses so much that he became obsessed with her. When the guards found her, they tried to kill her, but he invoked the Law of First Sight just like you did. By doing so, he sealed their fates for the rest of eternity, and that law is the reason why you and I were born, and we're now sitting here facing each other. If he never invoked that law, then she would have been dead, and who knows whether we would even be existing now."

I leaned in closer. I’d heard this story several times already, but still, I listened with a different perspective this time around. Now, I was listening with the ears of someone who had just invoked the Law of First Sight. I needed to know more about it, and how my life was going to change from now on.

"It's a well known tale," he continued. "Many have celebrated it as a tale of true love, and how two souls destined for one another were able to find love in the strangest way possible. But what they never told you was the true repercussions of it, and the burden which both your grandparents had to bear throughout their lives.

"They became obsessed with each other. Wherever your great grandfather went, he needed to be with his wife. If he left her behind, then he would never know peace until he returned to her. And when it was the time for war, he would have to decide whether she would come with them, or he would be forced to stay behind. Nothing made sense for him anymore if she wasn't there. And so great was this obsession that he began to lose himself. Her memories became his memories overtime, and he began to see things that weren't there, just because she was seeing them. The Law of First Sight was created to settle disputes over anything which two people had laid claim to. It was the easiest way to ensure that justice was served to whoever had claimed it first. But when you use it on a living, breathing thing, you are invoking an ancient and powerful magic which will bind your soul for the rest of eternity.

"It is not an easy burden to bear. By invoking this law, you have sealed your fate with that human boy. And now, you will never know rest unless you are with or around him. I can understand why you would want to sneak out and see him. But you must understand that the only way the spell will be broken is if one of you dies."

I gasped at the revelation, and father leaned back with a very worn-out and tired look in his eyes. I could see how he was bothered by everything that had happened, but nothing could match the fear which had gripped my own heart.

How stupid was I to invoke a law which I didn't even understand fully? I had merely assumed that it would be a means of saving his life, which was why I used it. If I had known the secret about the law, I would never have gone anywhere near it.

But now, my fate was sealed. I had foolishly gotten myself in a horrible mess, with no way out except death. How could I have been so foolish?

"What's done is done," father said. "Now, we must work to find a decent solution. I understand how hard it will be, and I truly sympathise with you. But this is something that you will have to face, and you must conquer it if you wish to live the life you've always wanted."

He stood up then, and walked over to the cabinet so he could pour himself another glass. But I couldn't breath. I felt like someone had tied a thick rope over my chest, and I couldn't draw in a single breath. I stared down at the table, trying to figure out a loophole which would break the spell which I had unwittingly placed over Sebastian and I.

"It will be alright," father said. He poured another glass, and this time he poured me a glass as well. As he passed me the glass, I took a small sip and couldn't even taste the sweetness of the wine. There was an acrid taste building on the tip of my tongue, and it was spreading quickly.

"Layla," he said in a gentle but firm voice, "look at me."

I did as he asked, even though my lower lip was trembling.

"It will be alright," he repeated. "You will not succumb to the same problems your great grandfather faced. I will make sure of it."

I downed the contents of the glass in one gulp, and I blinked at him. My thoughts were becoming fuzzy, and nothing made sense to me anymore. All I could see was darkness spreading out in front of me, and a bleak hopelessness because I knew that there was no way out of this mess I had created.

Except of course, killing him. Which I’m sure, according to what I had just learned about the Law, would break me.

"You will still travel to Cornia, won't you?" he asked.

"Sebastian is in no condition to travel," I said in a flat tone, and father's eyebrow shot up immediately.

"Oh, you know his name already?"

"Yes. He told me."

"Very well," he sighed. "You may postpone the trip until he is fit. But you must understand, Layla, that even though he is bound to you for the rest of eternity, this doesn't change the fact that you are still betrothed to Prince Blaze. You should know that their family are descendants of the High Faes, and the reason why I proposed this marriage in the first place is because you must marry a High Fae before you will be able to ascend the throne. Because your grandfather married a human, he broke the ancient royal bloodline, which has forced us both to have to marry from other royal families. Your mother, as you know, was a princess in her youth before I married her. You must do the same, otherwise the throne will not become yours. It will reject your blood as it had been tainted. And until the throne accepts you, you can never rule the kingdom.”

This was turning out to be the shittiest birthday I'd ever had, even counting the one where I fell from the pony which father had gotten for me and broke my arm. It seemed all my problems were only just beginning.

"Will that be all, father?" I asked, standing up.

"Of course," he replied, seeing the state I was in. "You may leave, Layla. We'll talk about this some more later."

I curtsied before I left the study, and then I hurried back to my room. The wind had dulled some of the pain I was feeling, but I could still feel this weight on my heart. I didn't stop until I reached my bedroom, where Abigail was waiting for me.

"Are you alright?" she asked hysterically, seeing the expression on my face. I said nothing as I walked over and threw my arms around her, fresh tears bubbling up in my eyes. I couldn't find the right words to describe how I was feeling, and all I knew was that I was a hot mess.

And somehow, even though I couldn't be sure, I could tell Sebastian also felt a part of my pain and fear.

It is what I had foolishly gotten us into.

***

A/N

Hi! Thank you all for your patience. Starting from the 1st of January 2022, this book would be daily updated. Do share your thoughts on the chapter.