Reigns & Ruins: The Love for Death

The Prince and the Mage

When the Gods tore our sky apart and the Powers faded from the heavens, heroes rose as the world around them fell.

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With all the bravery he can get, he walked to the throne room and spoke to his father, The King.

"Father, may I speak with you? he looked around the room "In private, please?" he said it as if telling everyone to leave.

The King signaled his hands that made everyone leave the room.

Once they are alone, the king said, "What is it that you want to talk about, Quila?"

"I want to go somewhere, I still don't know where but I want to, I need to, Father."

"Are you trying to escape from your marriage and coronation?" Quila almost cowers in fear with the King's piercing voice.

He wants to say yes but controls himself and just shakes his head.

"Then what is it?! Speak my son, I need you to speak! I don't have powers like your sister to know what you're thinking."

"I wanted to get out of this castle, out of this kingdom, go somewhere no one here has ever gone to." he paused but continues, "For once, I wanted to be free, a time that I would feel I am in control of my life!" Quila finally said what he wanted to say to his father ever since he announced his son's marriage and succession to the throne.

                                                                                                   

Ydolem asks Quasarie to bring Kiama to the prayer room.

"Kiama, the head priestess is looking for you, she wanted to meet you in the prayer room at the second tower."

She turned her head in Quasarie's direction then walked to where she was standing in her doorway, took her hands and looked at her friend intently.

"Your brother has not talked to me, ever since he came back from that ominous journey the King gave his consent with."

"My brother adored you since we were young. Remember how he begged the priestess not to appoint you as her apprentice because he wanted you to be his queen?"

"Quasarie, that was years ago, we were too young to even realize but we really desired to be."

"Are you implying that my brother fancies another maiden and not you anymore?"

She stayed silent for a while but resolved on asking another question, "Did your mother ever have any necklace that Quila might've inherited?"

The young princess shook her head. "Quila was only 5 when our mother passed away. It was too sudden that even my Father had a hard time accepting it. Our father wouldn't allow anyone to touch her things for at least a year then it was all given to me on my 10th birthday, so I can reassure you that he didn't inherit any jewelry from our mother."

She answered her friend's question but didn't ask why

"I saw him holding a necklace that looks like it belongs to a woman, it has a greenish-blue stone on it. He holds the stone as if it was some man's heart he intends to protect with all his might."

Kiama continues, "I ask him whose necklace it is, he said it was a gift from your mother, and now I know he is lying." She left with her insecure heart.

"Head Priestess, I was told you are looking for me?"

"Yes. I heard that the King has already ordered for everyone to prepare for your union with the young prince."

"Indeed."

"Do you have any inhibitions or regrets about this? For the past couple of moons, I noticed you have been sadder which is a peculiar sight for everyone."

Kiama didn't bother to answer and just kept on staring on the old stone floor.

"You are a powerful mage, much more powerful than everyone combined. If you are half-hearted then I propound that you don't carry on to this marriage."

"I beg your pardon but I already promised my hand to the prince and I will not renounce unless the King or my beloved tell me to." She didn't know where she got that courage but once thing for sure, she loved the Prince too much to back down from the marriage.

Eventually, they got married and ever since the marriage, the Prince and his wife have been trying to produce an heir to the throne but all efforts seem futile.

Kiama opted to pray alone instead of doing it with another priestess. For years they have been trying to bear an offspring but all their efforts fall short.

"Did I ever do you wrong? Why do you have to punish me like this? All I want is a child I can take care of, a child I can give all my love to, it doesn't matter whether it will be a son or daughter as long as she came from me."

She then saw herself walking in a straight line and entered a cave. She doesn't have anything to light up her way through the dark like an endless cave of darkness. Shen then suddenly felt as if the cave was getting narrow that she had to walk sideways. She did so while minding her steps because of the gentle but constant downward slope until the cavity widened and she could advance normally. It felt like they lasted forever, burrowing deep into the bowels of the mountain then a door opened up into a vast space throne room.

There in the middle of it stood a dark tall figure. She was pale as the first snowfall during a long winter and her veil is as black as a starless night. She then walked up to her and started mumbling.

Kiama was left standing, mortified with how evil the creature she is facing, it seems like she is in a nightmare from which she couldn't escape. The noises around her were muffled but terrifying, screams of bravado quickly making way for cries of terror. Her legs nailed to the ground, she stood, gaping at where the creature was.

"It was all his fault. He turned me into a monster. He took the only thing I needed to live. And now, I will take everything away from him, all he ever knew and wanted to protect until he gave back what he stole from me."

She woke up shivering with droplets of sweats visible on her forehead, unaware that she fell asleep for crying too much and was brought back to her room by her husband. She then tried to reach the space beside her but found only sheer emptiness. She looked around the spacious room looking for her spouse when she suddenly heard a scratching sound, like a quill on paper. She looked around once again, trying to locate where the sound was coming from but found nothing.

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This is the backstory of why the Evil queen is revengeful over Quila's Kingdom.

Hope ya'll enjoy it the same way that you did with Cai and Dao's brief story. By the way, this might be just 3-5 chapters only.. Quarantine days it is.. Please stay safe :)