Fated - Book 2

Chapter 4

The view I was given was splendid. Unaffected by my presence in the garden courtyard, the crowd gathered around me. Elves filled around me, whispering and stuttering their opinions at today's event.King Novus had a seat across from the circle opening, and he had an elevated view of the executing circle. He had reserved a seat for me right across from him, allowing me the perfect sight.The chatter around me grew as more onlookers filled the seats and surrounding spaces; they all seemed excited for today's event. I could see gold and red filling the borders of the crowd as the dragon's knights kept their distance from the circle.I twisted in my seat as I felt a warm breath down my neck. I looked over my shoulder to see one of the king's guards leaning over to whisper in my ear."High priestess, King Novus welcomes you, and he is pleased that you have found your seat."With a wave of my hand, the man vanished. With a shaking hand, I twisted the green amulet dangling down my neck to assure myself that my magic was still filling the air around me and holding up my illusion.The low hum of drums filled the air, pulling the crowd down to a hushed whisper around me. My eyes darted towards the line of drummers that created a passageway between the bustling crowd.Down the opening marched King Novus, dressed proudly in his green, white, and golden uniform. He was beaming with joy at the scene following right behind him. The dragon king held a scowl in his red and golden uniform as he marched behind the elven king.Slowly behind the younger men followed the King of the East; he was wrapped in his silky clothing that was littered with bright colours, and on his arm in a blue and silver gown was the princess.I felt sick at the sight of the young woman. Her hair was silky under the natural light that danced down the canopy of trees above us, her skin was pale from years living in the land of snow, and her lips were a bright pink that balanced out her bright green eyes.I had to fight down my nausea as I watched her dance down to the seats, waiting for the four kings. The woman was the spitting image of her mother when she was younger, a truly horrifying sight.The four took their seats, and the only one riddled with joy was the king of the West. I felt a pang of pride wash over me at the sight of the gleaming king. Once they were all seated and placed under their proud banners, the elven king raised his hand to the air, which stopped the low hum of the drums.I watched eagerly as he slowly rose from his seat. He locked his fingers as his brown eyes danced over the quieting crowd. I turned to some movement to the right of me; there in black and smirking were the vampire lords, and to the left of me, the other kings slowly filled their seats.I turned my eyes back to the king as he cleared his throat to silence the few chattering couples around the circle."We are gathered here today, under a sombre note."His radiant smile contradicted what he had just said."We lost a grand lord weeks ago, along with two of his guards and a young dragon warrior."He turned his eyes lazily over the crowd, repeating the words discussed in their meeting yesterday."As by the laws of Endora, the elven kingdom holds the duty of seeing to the punishment of the Dragons from the South as a balance to their power."He eyed the king to his right before turning back to the crowd once again."The laws of the elves are simple: when a life is taken, a whipping occurs for every year that the taken life has lived."He cleared his throat as his eyes landed on me."Princess Apollo was supposed to receive this punishment."Whispers filled the air at the king's words."After a vote of the royal council, it was agreed on that Prince Artemis will take the place of his younger sister and take on the punishment of over forty thousand lashes."Both of us smiled with joy and excitement. The prince was stubborn, but he couldn't fend off blood loss from those whippings, especially since the whip being used was created by my sisters, who had woven in the ichneumon's ground teeth and copper strands."I invite you all to witness today's punishment, to assure that a fine judgement is dolled out today and not stopped under any circumstances, even death."The king turned to face the passage where he had marched through, and with a slight nod of his head, the drums began again with their low hum. Instead of kings and lords marching down, it was now the executioner who was carrying his leather whip towards his stage.The elf was shorter compared to the guards following him, and unlike them, he wore a white and gold uniform while the rest wore the usual green, white, and golden warrior uniform. They were all staring at the empty circle with the elves' smiling faces all around.Between the guards was the prince, and my heart pounded heavily in my chest at the sight of the man. The little boy had turned into a beast of a man; his once childlike blue eyes were hard and cold. The scar I had given him was visible and was a permanent marker on his body.I felt another tinge of pride at the sight of the prince's exposed chest. His scar made me feel excited once again at what I was about to witness, but what I was most excited about was the fresh heart I was about to receive from King Novus.