Her Kingdom

In the Shadows of Ladus

Chapter 2 - Past - Anwyn

"Who would have thought that the two of you are old enough to participate in the tournament already?" Receiving the young women in his house, the third son of the noble family, Leos, welcomed his younger sister and cousin, besides his father's general, who came along with them and his son.

"Stop that, brother. You are only a few years older than me, Leo."

"I don't think you can say that ten years is just a few years, Wyn." Following the girls inside, he didn't waste a second to ruffle the light-colored hair of the youngest member of his family while the servants brought up their things from downstairs.

"STOP THAT, LEOS!" All the work from hours, easily destroyed by him as some flowers and petals fell to the floor, and the perfect braid of a few minutes ago was now completely untidy on the girl's head.

And even though she couldn't see the disaster that her hair was now, Anwyn could feel her face turning red when Brion and her father flew into the house with the last of their luggage.

... Making her face even redder before she went to the room that she always used with Arabella when visiting her brother in the capital...

Such behavior from the young Anwyn wasn't uncommon when her brothers treated her like a child, but her hair was tidier with more ornaments than usual, just like her cousin's, was.

Leos was no fool, and he knew it was only a matter of time for the two young women to be interested in romances too, even if they were Eos.

And as much as he and his older brothers liked the idea that they just stay the rest of their lives training and becoming better warriors, that wouldn't happen... After all, every young person at some point would fall in love.  

... However, he didn't like to think that Anwyn and Arabella's strange behavior should be Brion's fault as he didn't like the young man even before he moved to the capital...

"Don't worry, my love." Putting her hand on his shoulder, his wife mentioned, laying her head on him. "They are just excited about the festivities and fights. I felt in the same way when I had their age, don't think too much about it, ok?"  

Clarissa, Leos' wife, was a few years older than him and a Helias like his older brother.

She had strawberry blonde hair with light pink tips that were different from Anwyn's hair, more similar to a burnt pink type of color.

Among the Helias, she had a very high position being the third place among them for years now, and it was how she met her husband after his brother, Kanffre became the second among the six a few years ago.

"You're right. I must be thinking too much." Running a hand through his dark blue hair almost like the night, Leos decided to agree with his wife...  

*

*

*

Looking at the tips of my fingers that were starting to turn black, I wanted them to just kill me soon, instead of keeping me in that agonizing pain every single day that didn't end no matter what I did.

Breathing was painful, and it always gave me cold chills with this simple action that was support to be something hard to do like everything else inside the prison of my cell.

... Yet... 

I knew why she would never kill me.

... She couldn't even if she wanted...

Arabella wasn't the true queen of Aura-ladus, and my sword, the sword sent by the gods, would never accept her as their master since it knew that her victory hadn't been honest.

Their cheats could be hidden from the Helias, the Aurae, and all other kingdoms, but they would never be a secret from the eyes of the Divinities that ruled our world.

... And it was my biggest ruin...

If she wanted to keep her title, Arabella needed to keep me alive, or she would lose her beloved title as our Queen, after all...

The moment I finally die, the truth will come out as my feather that is forged along the royal blade will disappear, making the sword return to its resting place behind the throne of Aura-ladus, attracting the six others that were gifted to the Helias.

... And so, everyone will know...

Such an event only occurs when the sovereign of the Eos was dead, and a new one needed to be chosen, so it couldn't happen if Arabella was perfectly healthy before them.

And things like a tournament after a month of mourning, which should be announced by the first Helias along with the festivities of thanks to the previous King, in my case Queen, for everything they had done for us until the end would be lost amid all the chaos created by my cousin.

... So unlike the year that I won the Crown...

"Food Time!" Mixing with the creaking of the metal was the unfamiliar voice of who should be my new guard.

Like Brion, his hair seemed to have red streaks in the middle of the dark strands that I couldn't define what color they were in the darkness of this mausoleum that I called some home for so long now.

"They didn't lie, you really are the former Queen Anwyn," Failing to whisper miserably, he ended up expounding his thoughts out loud as he approached the cage, which didn't allow me to even walk freely inside my cell. "... You are so beautiful..."

Like everyone else, he stated, kneeling beside me while my weak body remained vulnerable on the floor while I supported my head on the metal bars.

"Wa... Wa-water ..." My voice sounded hoarse and lifeless while asking for the liquid that hadn't touched my lips in a long time.

"Wa-Water? Water?" Lost at hearing my voice, the young guard didn't seem to know what to do when instead of serving me the liquid that came with my food, he offered me his canteen. "Here! Water!"

And although it was just water, the liquid that touched my lips was sweeter than the honey, better than any juice or alcohol I had ever tasted or drunk before.

... The taste of the water that I drunk for the first in years was nothing I could explain in my unending thirst...

"Be careful. You will choke in that way." He carefully spoke to me, placing his hand on my dirty face, allowing my eyes to meet his green ones while I held the canteen as if my life depended on it.  

... But no one knew how it really did...

Something that could seem so simple, and silly, was like a divine gift to me after years of being drinking and eating only poisoned foods, that no longer tasted like anything in my mouth.  

... Who knew if it wasn't the last time, I would be enjoying something as simple as the freshwater in my lifetime?