Cursed Destiny

Chapter 1: Episode 3: Bad Decision (part 1)

As the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, casting the sky in hues of amber and violet, the people of Thornveil retreated into the comfort of their beds. But Lara remained, wide awake in the quiet council room, seated in a rough-hewn chair. The soft glow of a single torch flickered in the dim room, shadows dancing across her face. Her mind was restless, weighed down by the mission looming ahead-a result of her full time job as a warrior.

Her thoughts swirled around a certain man, the same one who had been on her mind for hours. He was out there somewhere, scouting for the entrance the outsiders had used to slip into the valley. She had been convinced that the best way to strike was when they tried to enter again, but their path into Thornveil remained a mystery.

Her mind buzzed with questions.

How had they gotten in? The valley was covered by the towering Thorn Wall, a near-impenetrable barrier, both thick and tall. Was there a hidden passage no one knew about? Or had they somehow found a weakness they hadn't noticed?

Lara sighed, her brow furrowed, exhausted from the relentless worry. She leaned forward and rested her head on the rough wooden table in front of her.

Her body ached for rest, her mind wanted to resist, but her eyes grew heavier with each passing second. She couldn't fight it any longer. The warmth of sleep began to pull her under.

Finally, Lara gave in, her eyes fluttering shut as she drifted off into a deep, quiet slumber. There, in the stillness of the night, the weight of her worries seemed to melt away, if only for a little while.

The sun was almost gone. More than a day has passed by since the training in the yard.

Aeyden was led to a room after the training. His room was on the floor level, as the rooms upstairs were not cleaned. He was close to the room where Lara fell into deep sleep.

From a young age, Aeyden loved to draw, though he could never afford paints. There was one time, though, when he finally had them. His father, before he passed, was a renowned sailor-known for bringing back treasures lost to the sea. He'd return home with items crafted from pure gold, silver, or jewels. His father was famous in their home for these finds. People admired him, but the king didn't allow him to keep any of his treasures. Instead, the king paid him a set fee, leaving Aeyden's father with little choice: either hand over the goods or face the king's wrath, which likely meant death.

For a while, his father's fame grew, catching the attention of nobles who would seek him out to buy treasures before the king could claim them. For the first time, his father was earning enough to provide more than just the essentials, and during this short period of prosperity, Aeyden's family could afford to buy him paints.

Aeyden loved his parents, but he rarely saw them. His father was always at sea, feeling more at home there than on land, and his mother was constantly busy with work herself. Despite this, that brief time of having paint felt like a small luxury to Aeyden. He got a necklace from his father. He said it was too beautiful for him to sell it. Unfortunately the king didn't like what his father had been doing behind his back...

Aeyden had always loved painting, and Zoey, recognizing his talent, quickly put it to use. Over time, he became an exceptional mapmaker, mastering every detail and technique. He earned enough from his freelancing work to finally buy the paints he craved, allowing him to paint whenever he had the time.

Map drawing became so much a part of him that he couldn't help but mentally sketch his surroundings wherever he went. His skills in navigation and coordination became sharp-something Zoey lacked. She saw his value in that, pushing him to focus more on maps than his art. But Aeyden never really minded. As long as it kept him close to her, it didn't matter. She had a way of pulling him in, and his love for her made it easy to put his own passions aside.