Chapter 68 Sixty-Eight
As Danica worked to collect herself, Marie moved towards her once more. The look of bloodlust was obvious on her face as she eyed Danica while licking her lips.
"Why come after me if your problem is with everyone?" Danica asked, desperate to distract Marie.
"Didn't I tell you?" Marie asked, seeming amused. "I hated your parents; they were traitors."
"You keep saying that, but what does that even mean?"
"Since you're going to die, I might as well tell you about it." Marie said, grabbing Danica by the hair and lifting her off the ground. "I can grant you this last kindness."
"Should I say thank you?" Danica asked with a chuckle.
Dropping Danica back onto the ground, Marie strolled back to her throne, taking a seat and throwing one leg over the other.
"Ladies, bring her forward so I can tell her the story of the two biggest traitors that I've ever had the misfortune of meeting." Marie commanded.
Danica let out a yelp of pain as the two harpies lifted her up off the ground and moved her forward towards Marie.
"Is dragging me around like a ragdoll necessary?" Danica demanded as the two harpies stopped directly before Marie. "I can move myself."
"Can you, though?" Marie asked, cocking her head to the side. "Ladies, if she insists that she can move herself, then allow her to move herself."
Letting go, the two harpies allowed Danica to drop to the ground before turning and taking their places on either side of Marie's throne.
"Move." Marie ordered as a pleased smile played on her lips. "I don't think you can."
Biting down hard on her lip, Danica began to try to stand as Marie watched on with interest. Even if it hurt so badly that it took her breath away, she wasn't about to let Marie get the pleasure of seeing her fail.
"Happy?" Danica asked, standing upright. "Seems the wolfs bane and all your torture weren't enough."
"We still have time." Marie said, simply shrugging. "As for now, you wanted to know the story of your parents, correct?"
"Yes."
Danica wasn't sure what she was about to be told, but she wanted to know why her parents were killed and what part Marie had in it all.
"Let's see, where shall I start?" Marie murmured, tapping her chin with a taloned finger. "From the very beginning, or where they betrayed me?"
"Beginning." Danica responded instantly.
"Alright then..." Marie responded, seeming to get lost in thought. "Your father and I had been friends since childhood. We grew up in the same village; after all, rogues that reside in the darklands aren't necessarily wild like those that reside in your world. I suppose you could say that we were childhood sweethearts, since young your father had always sworn to me that he would marry me one day, even if species weren't supposed to intermingle."
Sucking in a breath, Danica couldn't help but feel a pang at the mention of her father being in love with this cruel harpie that was in front of her.
"We were both 16 when we met your mother." Marie continued, oblivious to Danica's reaction to the beginning of her story. "At that age, wolves are not old enough to realize who their mate is yet, so your mother became close friends with your father and me."
"How did my mother get involved if the two of you lived in the darklands?" Danica asked, interrupting Marie's story.
Glaring Marie rolled her eyes and said, "That goody two shoes was there on a mission from the elders. She was the youngest aide to ever be assigned to them."
"My mother was an aide?" Danica asked in confusion. What even was an aide?
"Yes, she was an irritating aide that did the bidding of the council when asked." Marie spat. "It was your father who met her first, and then he introduced her to me. At the time, I didn't think much of it, but all that changed when they both turned 18."
That meant that when they turned 18, they realized that they were mates, and Marie got pushed aside, her promise with Danica's father forgotten entirely. From what Danica was seeing, all of this was an act of jealousy on Marie's part.
"You killed them due to jealousy." Danica said, quietly fixing her gaze on Marie's. "You're just a bitter hag."
"I am not bitter." Marie corrected Danica. "I just hate for someone to break a promise; after all, promises are binding."
"Sometimes people can't fulfill promises; does that mean you have the right to kill them?" Danica demanded, her anger beginning to flare again. "And what does what my parents did have to do with you and the rest of your kind turning against everyone?"
"How do you know this wasn't a long time coming before your parents betrayal?" Marie asked proudly. "Those damn light-dwellers don't deserve a peaceful life while we are stuck here in the dark."
Despite Marie saying that none of her actions had anything to do with jealousy, the more she talked, the more Danica saw that jealousy was the root of it all.
"From what I see..." Danica began smirking. "All of this has to do with your jealousy. Your killing my parents stemmed from jealousy, and now taking out those who live in the light is also from jealousy. It is all because you don't have what others do."
"What do you know?"
Sitting up in her seat, Marie clutched the arms of her throne, causing the material beneath her hands to groan and crack.
"You know nothing!"
"Right, I know nothing." Danica laughed. "I may know nothing, but I understand bitterness and jealousy when I see it."
"You can try to provoke me, but I won't grant you a quick death." Marie said, seeming to compose herself again. "I will make sure your death is long and painful."
Seeming to be finished with her conversation, Marie sat back once more, closing her eyes as her two lackies moved forward, grabbing hold of Danica once more. As they held her still, another aid moved forward, producing a syringe filled with a glowing blue liquid.
Shoving the needle into Danica's neck, the aid injected the liquid into Danica's system, causing a line of fire to run through her veins as the other two aids began to drag her away.
Unable to remain coherent, Danica allowed herself to get sucked into a world of agony as she was led towards where she would be held captive.