The Elven King's Consort

Chapter 8: Eyes Upon Me

Thankfully, lycans enjoyed their nightlife, many shops still remained open, and in no time, I was able to purchase a one-use magic stone. These stones were made specifically for people who could not wield magic because normally, these stones only worked for those who held magic, but a few years ago, when I first met Kaiden, he explained that they received help from traveling elven merchants who would sell them these stones in secret until they formed an Alliance with the mysterious unnamed king of the elves. Until now, that mysterious king has not reached out to the Vampire Kingdom, nor have they answered our letters requesting an audience so that the topic could be discussed.

Suddenly, those sun-kissed eyes I saw earlier appeared in my head, and I shook it away. No, it couldn't have been him. Word had spread that King Reon was murdered on the way back from our kingdom and that Cesteil had left to take matters into his own hands. Later, there were reports that the new king had taken over and that Cesteil went into hiding, never to be heard from again.

This new king if I ever meet him, I would want to know what his purpose was in doing all this. Because we are so closed off, the only way I get my information about the Elven Kingdom is through Kaiden, who enjoys bragging about all the meetings King Demetri goes which helps Kaiden become well-informed, thus gaining him popularity.

I do have to admit his strong, obsessive, and overprotective personality is a bit much, but he truly loved me for me. I've always felt protected and appreciated by him. That was until this whole engagement thing. Once he had asked and I accepted, his personality started to change little by little. He became firmer, stubborn, and aggressive. Maybe it's the stress on both of us? Even his drunk habits have intensified. But if I mentioned anything, he'd resort to calling me immature and nagging, and just thinking about it gave me a headache.

I brushed away the negative thoughts and continued on my way until I was no longer in the city but now entering the forest. This is where I'd come to each time I teleported out and back into my room. Oddly, they say when you use the stone, you would appear near the object you thought of. Each time, I thought of my room, I'd find myself in it in seconds rather than outside like I'd heard others say. At one point, I wanted to ask someone about my differences in dealing with the stones and how it worked for me, but I decided against it. If someone with malicious intent were nearby listening, I'd have to face them, and I didn't want to resurface my past bad reputation again.

When I was younger, I was engaged to Cesteil, and I was only twenty-three years old and very hot-headed. Ever since that day when he'd left me for good, I rebuilt my personality and the person I wanted to be for the future. Soon, I was no longer called the hot-headed princess or sickly princess but the pristine princess of the Vampire Kingdom. A princess my father and mother could be proud of before they left Maylyn to rule. I didn't want to worry them anymore. And after having my heart broken, I told myself I'd never fall so easily for someone again.

The attacks had long stopped, and I was only left with a slight fatigue and a small fever, never entering into a coma state. Thankfully, I didn't need to use only but twenty elixirs in the past eight years. Once, I had become bed-bound for a week. Maylyn cried every day until I awoke. I remembered the red swollen eyes and giggled, rubbing her head and thanking her for worrying. But deep down, I prayed I'd never have to go through something like that again, not only for my sake but for my sisters, too.

The forest was wet with dew from the dropping temperatures, and a light semi-translucent fog weaved itself a few feet above the ground through the trees. This was a normal sight for this forest. The trees were thick and closely knitted. Thankfully, the moon was out, giving me enough light to make out objects for what they really were and not random hallucinations. Those nights weren't fun. I couldn't tell what was a person and what was a tree until I was only inches from it, and if it were someone with malicious intent, I'd be at a disadvantage since I wasn't too familiar with the forest layout nor could I see well enough not to come out unscathed.