Chapter 14
The sleep filled night I was hoping for escaped me completely. I sat awake on my bed, clutching the pillow into me as I looked out of the balcony doors.
The morning sun was rising, bright red and orange rays shot through my room and danced across my bed sheets.
The maid had came and told me that the Prince requested my presence on the training grounds but I had ignored the request.
For the past hour I was contemplating on how I was suppose to get close to the Prince and finish the plan when Jasmine sat in the way.
But was it all about the plan?
That.. that was a really good question. A question that I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to. Last night when he came so close to kissing me I didn’t expect myself to want him to, I expected myself to coil up and be repulsed by the mere thought.
I pushed myself off of the bed and headed towards the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth when an urgent knock occurred at the door.
Rolling my eyes I called, “Listen I’ve told you already, tell the Prince I’m not feeling well-,” my words were cut off by the door creaking open to an earthy brown eyed guy.
“Elijah?” My eyebrows furrowed together and he sent me a smile.
“In the flesh.”
He fully emerged into my room and closed the door behind him carefully.
“I was hoping to get the chance to talk to you for a moment, if that’s alright?” He questioned and I nodded while walking back to the bed.
“I, well uh.. I don’t really know where to start.” He scratched the back of his neck and I could tell he was nervous just by how tense his body was.
“How do I have memories of you, but I don’t really remember you?” I started and he looked thankful for that.
He walked near a chair and pointed towards it as if he were asking for permission to take a seat, I just nodded. He took it and eased down in the spot.
“Well, that’s a tricky one. Uh, when your kingdo-,”
“Not mine, it was never mine.” My tone was a little more tensed than I’d hoped it would be.
“Sorry, sorry. Right so um the kingdom that you grew up in was at war. It wasn’t some little dispute that two kingdoms usually had, this was something more severe. A kingdom from across the seas wanted to take the land along with the people, and your father was not going to allow that to happen.”
I sat up, more confused that before he started.
“What does this have to do with us?”
“Everything. Just listen.” He stated with a slight movement of his hand.
“The kingdom had forced everyone to fear for their lives, almost similar to how the King rules here. But the kingdom had put out targets on every royal affiliated to your family, that’s how my father was killed.” I gasped and his chocolate eyes fell the the floor.
“Me and my mother both ran, not only to save ourselves but to also keep a promise she had made to your mother right before the peak of the war.”
I felt the air around me thicken as he continued the story.
“What promise?”
A rather gentle knock erupted on the door and we both jumped, I hesitantly stepped off the bed and walked towards the door.
I pulled it open slightly to find vibrant purple eyes staring back at me.
“Rhyland?” I sputtered out, slightly shocked.
He looked up towards me with a bright smile, but that smile quickly fell when his eyes caught something behind me.
“I’ll catch up with you later, Raven.” Elijah cleared his throat before stepping out of my room and I seen Rhyland’s eyes flash a dark violet color.
After Elijah had completely disappeared from the hall, Rhyland finally cleared the silence with his voice.
“You didn’t show up to training today.” He stated, his eyes still the darkest shade possible.
“I wasn’t feeling up to it this morning.”
His brows furrowed and he lifted his hand to my forehead, then flipped it from front to back.
“You don’t feel warm, what’s hurting?”
I tensed slightly at the touch and he slowly dropped his hand.
“It’s nothing, just nauseated that’s all.” I lied, my plan was to lay in bed all day and clear my head.
That didn’t happen though, did it?
“I’ll ask a maid to go grab you something for that,” he turned towards the hallway and a few doorways down I spotted Eladia, my eyes lit up me I felt a childish excitement explode inside of me.
He called her over but she never looked up from the ground.
“Would you be so kind as to go ask Mrs Norva for some nausea medicine?” He asked and she nodded, with the movement of her hair, I could see the skin of her neck and what looked like a dark colored bruise.
“Eladia, are you okay?” I asked and she nodded again, her usual happy aura was now dimmed and more sickly.
“Eladia. Look at me.” I said more strongly this time, her fragile body trembled as her head slowly rose. When her face fully came into view I felt my heartbeat accelerate, blue as purple marking covered her face and red slit in her lip told me it had been busted.
My skin lit up with the burning urge to kill the person capable to do this to such an innocent being such as Eladia.
“Who did this to you?” Rhyland tensed beside me and I seen his knuckle tighten as he balled his fist up at his sides.
“I- It’s nothing, I deserved it Your Highness.”
“The hell you did Eladia, I know damn well you didn’t deserved this. What happened?” I asked again and a single stray tear dropped from her eyes, sliding down her purple cheek.
I moved forward and wrapped her into a hug and as soon as I did she winced. I immediately pulled back and inspected her a little more.
“Here, come on.” Rhyland said as he pushed my bedroom door open and guided Eladia in, when the door was closed I lifted her shirt up enough to see her stomach and lower back only, finding welps and markings there too.
“If you want to get justice for the person who did this , you have to tell us who did it okay?”
Rhyland’s voice was soft but that did nothing but make my blood boil even more.
“Isn’t it obvious who did this!? It’s your little precious Jasmine! She’s the one who got Eladia’s mother killed and yet your father deliberately put her as Jasmine’s maid to torture her further more.” I seethed through gritted teeth and I seen Rhyland’s eyes flash a dangerous stormy lavender color.
“My father is a cruel man but he would see to it that justice is served in this case.”
I scoffed at his words.
“Justice? Like when Eladia got justice for her mother’s murder!?” My tone was harsh and cold.
“We don’t know if it was Jasmine yet, Raven.”
I felt myself stiffen up at his words and I turn towards him. Flickers of fire burst through my fingertips and he instantly backed up away from me.
His eyes shot towards my hands before he looked back up to me.
“You’re r-right R-Raven..” Eladia’s soft voice spoke up and I saw red.