Dreadful Twist and Turns

Daemon had almost killed his daughter, but in the end he let her go.

For the first time in the eyes of everyone, Daemon was able to stop himself and apply mercy. But the anger in him could still be seen.

"Captain Frey!" He called.

"Yes, your majesty."

"Go and retrieve those human slaves. Get them back as fast as you can, I shall look for the rest of the claws myself."

Frey bowed. He was glad that Daemon had finally listened and he was now taking the situation serious.

At once, he commanded his men. And they moved out to accomplish the objective.

"Where is the slave boy?" Daemon faced Shereena again, who was now trying to regain back her breathe.

"The slave boy..."

"Clingy! Where is he?"

"He... He..."

She could not say a word yet. Or rather she did not want to. Whatever the situation was, Daemon had decided to get to the root of her betrayal. He was determined to find the rest of the claws and more importantly, he was ready to get rid of Nathan.

"Summon the prince of the rising sun!!" He commanded.

"He is not here." Someone answered.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"The prince Scorpio has returned home already! Did he not inform your majesty?"

Daemon felt another surge of rage from his soul. It felt like everybody was bent on disrespecting him recently, and it made him more and more annoyed.

"Send out a search party!!" He commanded. "I want Clingy here by my feet before the sun sets today!!"

"Yes, your majesty!" They quivered and bowed, and all the soldiers set out in search of the slave boy who had connived to kill the king.

After that, Daemon dismissed the ministers. It was as though he wanted to be alone with Shereena who was still on the floor, facing the ground.

As everyone left the palace, leaving just father and daughter in the entirety of the large palace hall, Daemon faced his daughter.

"You grew the balls to deceive. You plot to kill me. Why did I underestimate my own daughter?" He laughed with evil.

"Forgive me, father." She tried to touch his feet, but he did not give her a chance.

"Those games don't work on me, Shereena. Remember I know you more than you know yourself. Remorse and regret are not your thing. Do not try to deceive whom cannot be deceived."

She halted her progression. He had analyzed her intentions in the way she could not imagine. Indeed, he was truly her father.

"Is this because of your mother?" Daemon asked, trying to find a reason for his daughter's impatience.

Some years ago, Daemon's wife had died. Daemon told the world that she was attacked by enemy pack wolves, but Shereena was the only who knew what really happened.

"You killed my mother just because she found out of your plans to kill the former alpha... Then you plan to send me off with some random prince from an unknown land... What father would do that to his daughter?"

"Me!" Daemon responded. "I am that father!!"

"And I am that daughter." She retorted. "I am that daughter who would take what belonged to her no matter who stands in the way. Even if it is you!"

Daemon smirked. "You are just like your mother, Shereena. Don't end up just like her."

As he attempted to leave her, someone entered through the door. There was only one person who could do that.

Daemon turned back in suprise. "You came back..."

Demeatris sighed. "I knew that finally, you would come back to your senses. So I waited patiently for you to realize your mistakes."

"What do you want now?" Daemon sneered.

"The man who was destined to kill you. He has now been reawakened." Demeatris declared, walking towards the throne.

"What do you mean?" Daemon demanded.

"A part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. The boy, Nathan. He can now remember his past life. He has broken free from your daughter's spell. And it will be a matter of time before he comes for you. Unless you find him first."

Daemon glared back at Demeatris. "Then I shall find him first."

**********************

Nathan opened his eyes slowly. All his memories had returned. Also, he could no longer feel the impulsive urge to always satisfy Shereena and her desires. It felt as though he had awoken into a new world.

Beside him was Alorea, somewhat asleep.

He could recognize her from his recent memories. He could remember the things he did to her in that other reality. He could also remember himself betraying her under the influence of Shereena's spell. All that was in the past now and all he wanted to do now was to atone for all his sins to her.

"Alorea..." He called, gently.

She opened her eyes. She was truly the most beautiful thing he would ever see. How in the world would he ever mistreat someone as glorious as this? How in the world would he ever choose someone else over her?

"You are awake..." She said. "Do you remember me? Do you remember why you are here?"

"I came here to get some claw of power... For princess Shereena. But I don't want to do that anymore..." He whispered. "I remember you... I remember our marriage. You were wearing the most beautiful white dress I have ever seen..."

Alorea could see in his eyes that he was not the same again. Something had changed, just like Cloris said it would.

Now that he was back as himself, Alorea felt the need to ask him the questions she had long wanted to ask. Even before she died in her former life.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you treat me so bad?" She found herself cracking. Just the mere memories brought tears to her eyes. Seeing her in tears, he felt broken for his own deeds.

"You rejected me... On the night of your birthday... During that ball... I had asked her for a dance and she said, 'find a maid servant to dance with you'. I vowed to become powerful enough to marry her. Then I would take my revenge on her."

Alorea could remember faintly. It was in her first life when she had no idea of what would happen in the future. He had come to her in his weak and frail form and asked for a dance, just like most of the other men, she rejected him. And while she accepted to dance with the princes before rejected them, she did not give him a chance at all.

"When I found the box of claws, it was by accident. My mother found it instead. And she kept it away from me. When I stumbled upon it, she told me about my true birth story. And then I knew I was a prince. I was able to harness the power of the claws, and I became the Nathan you know. Back then, I was filled with revenge that I could not even control myself. I thought I was controlling the power of the claws, but the box of power was controlling me instead, harnessing my deep anger and supressing the love I felt for you..."

His words stabbed her heart. And she could not believe it. The reason she suffered for three years was because she refused him a dance.

Now when she fell in love with him as a slave, he was the one who rejected her.

Their life was nothing but a story with dreadful twists and turns.