Princess of Darkness Read online

  Valerius unwillingly shook his head. He didn’t want to be part of the conversation, however to sit in silence wouldn’t have looked good. “He had two fraternal twins, Adelaide and Serendipity.”

  Baleon reached over again and took his own slice of meat, crispy chicken that dripped with fat, and took a bite. “Is she here now, can I see her?”

  Aderico nodded again.

  “She is to give you a son, I should think. You do know what this means, don’t you, boy?”

  Aderico silently prepared himself for the lecture he had been loathing to hear.

  “No more sleeping around with women of your choosing. This is not just some girl you’re engaged to but, a Princess of Iradas. You will treat her with the utmost respect and you will do not do anything to bring shame upon her, do you hear me?” Baleon said. “Don’t forget that her reputation will always affect yours too. I’d hate for you to be the couple worthy of gossip.”

  Valerius had grown uncomfortable with the topic of the Princess, yet his cousin and uncle were so deep in conversation that they hadn’t even realised. No doubt the young Lord’s father would eventually join in too and continue to encourage the engagement.

  “Yes, she can bear children now. It's a perfect age, no?” Marcus replied.

  “Ah.” Baleon said slowly. Turning his attention to the servant who still lingered in the corner of the room, he spoke to him. “Fetch me Princess Serendipity. I must see her for myself.”

  The servant boy bowed down low and rushed out of the room, only to return moments later with the young girl. The Princess took a step into the room and the door closed behind her.

  Baleon's eyes widened at the sight of her. “My boy, you've found a beauty. She looks strikingly similar to Viktor.” he rose from his seat and made his way towards Serendipity.

  Unaware of what to do, Serendipity backed away slightly.

  “Baleon Valenti, your Majesty.” Marcus’ brother said with a smile and he took her hand and kissed it gently. “It's a great honour, you marrying my son. Do your brothers and sister know of this?” he asked.

  Serendipity shook her head slowly. “I've never met them, my Lord.” she replied in a quiet voice.

  Baleon tipped his head back gently and laughed. “There is no need to, I can assure you when your sister marries Valerius you will meet her then. For now, my wife Rosalae would love to meet you, unfortunately she was unable to arrive with me. She will eventually.”

  Serendipity didn’t smile at this. “And I'm to meet her?” she asked.

  Baleon nodded and went to take his seat. “Of course, a man's mother must lay her eyes on his bride to be, surely?”

  Serendipity remained frozen, her head not tempted the slightest to nod in agreement and she eventually cleared her throat. Her fingers trembled by her sides but she dismissed them entirely. “May I be excused?” she asked quietly.

  Baleon smiled at her again. “You’ve only just arrived, please, take a seat.” he offered kindly.

  “It’s not my place to interfere with men’s business, surely? I’d rather not hear anything that isn’t for my ears.” Serendipity replied flatly.

  Clever woman, playing him well, Valerius thought.

  Serendipity, remembering her manners, gave the men a curtsey. “I should be off. I won’t be of any use here.” with that said, the Princess left the room before she could get sucked into another conversation.

  Baleon wiped his mouth with the corner of a napkin he had been given earlier on. He tossed it down onto his plate once done. “So she’s the lost Princess of Iradas I’ve been hearing whispers of. If the Redbanes don’t know she exists, what lands does she hold to her name? Any other titles, besides Princess of course?” he asked.

  Marcus let out a tremendous laugh. “And who says she needs any lands under her name. If Aderico marries her and Valerius marries her sister, we will have ties to the Redbane family. We can work from within those ties to just get rid of both of the damned Princes and then we will have all the lands under the Redbane name,”

  “Under ours instead.” Baleon finished off.

  Marcus tapped his hands against the table in excitement. “Exactly. Now you’re thinking this through, little brother.”

  Both Lords lifted their cups high and clinked them against each other's. They spoke as though they were the only ones in the room and their sons, who were vital parts of their plans, ceased to exist for a moment.

  “To a future without the Redbanes.” Marcus said as a toast.

  “To a future without the Redbanes.” his brother replied, and together they drank, all whilst both Valerius and Aderico only sat in silence and exchanged dubious glances about whether they really wanted any of this at all.

  Adelaide

  The Mouridieus family wanted to question their royal guests further but, Adelaide and Saff insisted that it was time for them to go.

  They urged their horse’s forward and left the Castle grounds swiftly with the small group of men they had taken to escort them.

  Adelaide looked over her shoulder and found that the gate to the castle had already been closed, giving her reason to forget about the people she had met within. For now, until she had to return to Bordennia as Nicademius Mouridieus’ wife. It had been a while since the Princess had been to Bloodwell Covenant and she wondered what Master Oslo's reaction would be when she returned.

  The old man would most definitely think she had suddenly become fond of the place, even though Adelaide wasn't really. Both she and the Prince had decided that, with their father dead and Viktor busy trying to clean up the mess which had been left behind after the Emperor’s murder, they could lend a hand in strengthening the bonds with their allies. By helping out the Mouridieus family with the murders in the lands, they would be helping build up a strong feeling of trust between both the families. The hideout wasn't supposed to be that far off from the Bordennian Castle. During that time, Adelaide made little conversation with her brother. She still felt flushed from having met the young man she was supposed to call her fiancé.

  Saff didn't bother saying anything either, he seemed far too busy pondering in his own thoughts. So his sister let him be. As they neared the hideout, following the Princess’ directions, a cloud of black smoke caught their attention and it only urged them to rise faster.

  It was only until they neared the source that Adelaide realised the meaning of the smoke. Her jaw dropped and she covered her eyes in horror.

  The assassins’ hideout had been completely burned to the ground, there were no bodies on the floor and Adelaide could only pray that the members within the hideout had escaped. Burnt bits of debris littered the ground and the top of most of the grass had long been singed off. What would her guardians back at Faradwyn think when they heard about this?

  Saff coughed loudly as the thick black smoke smothered him.

  Jumping off her horse, the Princess held her breath and began to wander further amongst the ruins of what was once the hideout.

  Saff got off his own horse and followed behind closely, stumbling occasionally over crumbled rocks and broken furniture. He also held his breath, sickened already by the ashy taste of the black cloud which hung thick and heavy in the air. The heat from the fire caused the group to sweat furiously and Adelaide shuddered every time she felt a bead of sweat trail down her back.

  At first, Adelaide kept her gaze on the ground, searching amongst the ash and kicking away debris with her foot. Yet, when she lifted her gaze up from the ground, she let out a horrified scream and placed her hands over her mouth. There, tied up on a thick branch of a willow tree, was Master Oslo – leader of the Night Blade Assassins – his burnt body swaying lightly in the wind. Around his neck, a sign had been placed and it read:

  A future without the Redbanes, begins without the Mouridieus’.

  Vestus

  The inhalation treatment which the King’s healers had tried before hadn’t worked. Vestus wasn’t stupid enough to believe them when they had tried to convinc
e him it had helped; that breathing in a simple concoction of tea tree and rosemary infused steam had somehow gotten rid of whatever it was that was eating him up from the inside. Vestus knew he could be a fool but, at least he didn’t hope like one. “Are you sure this is going to work?” he asked for perhaps the hundredth time. He blamed his nerves for his repetitive questions. As soon as he had heard from the healers that he was to be treated with leeches, his face had paled and he would have fainted; had he not been laying down already. As a boy, Vestus had earned a few cuts, bruises and broken bones like any other child of his age. However, the thought of having leeches sticking to his skin and supposedly sucking out whatever humors were intoxicating his body – Vestus wanted to be sick.

  One of the healers turned to face Vestus. He didn’t bother smiling, as the herb mask covering his face would have hidden it anyhow. Instead, he held his gloved hands to his side and asked with muffled words, “Are you ready, your Majesty?”

  Vestus slid his gaze to the side. The sight of at least a dozen leeches squirming around in a glass bowl had him swallowing hard. He forced himself to nod.

  A second healer approached him with the bowl. He seemed unfazed by the annelids sliding around the glass in his hands, after all, he was the one putting them on Vestus’ body – not the other way around. “If you want, you can close your eyes. Most patients find that helps ease the fear. Now, some bites you may not feel at all but, others may make up for the lack of pain. I don’t mean to worry you, that’s just the way it is.” the second healer explained.

  Vestus caught sight of the first leech being lifted from the bowl by a pair of tongs. He was ready to be sick. With his concentration solely on the leeches, he hadn’t even noticed his hands and legs had been strapped to his bed so that he couldn’t start squirming to a point that he’d go jumping off; pulling at the leeches whilst he did.

  From then on, the healers gave no warning as to when they placed each leech onto the King’s body. They left him to squirm, or get caught on his breath as the annelids stuck to his skin and began their work. Their teeth pierced into his skin and they sucked at the blood coursing through his body. The little bastards held onto Vestus’ skin with a grip so tight, even the storm still raging outside would have trouble washing them away.

  Was it ever going to stop raining? Vestus asked himself, in a pathetic attempt to take his mind off the pain which the leeches were inflicting on him. I’ll go and see Seb’s fleet after this once I’m better. I’m sure it’s magnificent, it didn’t take long for Vestus to start squirming. It didn’t take long at all for the true extent of the pain to take over.

  “Shit! What the?” he cursed violently. He panted out a few breaths. His hands clutched the bedsheets beneath him and he arched his head back as he pressed his body hard against the mattress. Any minute now he was certain he’d start convulsing.

  The healers placed the last of the leeches onto Vestus’ body and then stepped back. All they had to do now was wait and observe as the leeches did their work – if they actually even worked at all. “We’d come to a conclusion that, your constant coughing of blood must be an obvious sign that either your body is producing too much of it to maintain or, some of your blood is what is called ‘bad blood’. By that we mean, your body must be rejecting blood for some reason and the leeches will help suck out any excess or toxic blood within your body.”

  Vestus couldn’t speak. He knew every attempt at a word would only come out as a squeal of pain or another curse word. It was better he kept his mouth shut and his teeth clenched together. All he could really do was nod to show some sort of understanding.

  Time crawled by on broken knees – slowly; painfully slowly. The intensity of each passing minute; it felt like hours more than anything. Still, the healers said nothing, they did nothing to ease the pain, for fear of jeopardising the treatment.

  Vestus all the while squeezed his eyes shut. The taste and smell of salt from his own tears filled his mouth and nostrils; they came rolling down in fat drops all whilst he kept his silence and focused on his jagged breathing. He wanted to keep calm. He wanted to think of something – anything – to keep his mind off the pain.

  The storm outside continued to rage on. It did well to conceal the sound of the leeches as they sucked at Vestus’ skin and cleansed him.

  A cloth pressed against Vestus’ cheeks, wiping away the tears staining his face. “Your Majesty? It’s done.” one of the healers said. His voice was clear, suggesting his mask had been removed, and the treatment was a success.

  Was he free of any disease now? Was his sickness dealt with; not to come back and bother him anymore?

  Somehow, Vestus himself doubted that. He opened his eyes and let loose a choked sigh of relief. “Water?” he asked through a dry throat and parched lips.

  The healers gave him a glass without a moments delay and once he had satisfied his thirst, they insisted Vestus eat something now whilst he was trying to regain his strength. “I’ll have the kitchen prepare some food for you. You may eat solids now, you’ll need it more than anything. Only time will tell now if the treatment has worked. You should be able to find your feet again within a few days – three or four at least. Even if you can manage to get out of bed earlier, we wouldn’t recommend straining yourself too soon.”

  Vestus could only listen to what his healers were telling him. With his hands clasped together in his lap, he stared down at his frighteningly pale skin and at that moment, he didn’t doubt his face was hollow, sunken in and purple underneath his eyes. He probably looked like a frightening mess. He certainly felt it.

  The healers cleaned up their workspace quickly. It was obvious they didn’t want to stay any longer than was necessary and when it was time for them to leave, they wished their King luck with his recovery and reminded him again that plenty of rest was key to a quick and easy process of healing from the treatment.

  Vestus waited until they were gone and he heard the click of his door closing shut. That was when he knew he was well and truly alone. No one else was here but him. He brought his clasped hands to his chest and began to cry. “Have I have offended you, Gods of Iradas? Have I offended each one of you so much so, that I deserve to be cursed like this? What have I done to displease you?” he paused to wipe his runny nose. “Please! Please, I need to know? Why have you cursed me like this?” knowing he wasn’t going to get a response any time soon, Vestus pressed himself back against his mattress and closed his eyes. Now free from his bounds, he was able to wrap himself in his arms and cry himself to sleep, as the pain of his treatment slowly began to ease away.

  Serendipity

  It felt strange for Serendipity to be sleeping in Aderico’s chambers now, rather than her own. She hadn’t enjoyed having to share a bed with him, the feeling of not having her own personal space was uncomfortable but, as a hostage she had very little say in where she was placed. Serendipity was nothing more than a pawn in this war and the Valentis were playing her well; betrothing her to Aderico and keeping her exactly where they can see her.

  A knock on the bedroom door had her turning away from the mirror she sat in front of, trying to remove the many clips which had been added into her hair; it was Gisa’s weak attempt to tame her hair. Serendipity knew her serving maid hated her curls but, she couldn’t care less. “Yes?” she called out and then went back to trying to remove the rest of the clips.

  Alexandria slipped into the room. Her red silk nightgown trailed after her as she walked, her own black curls out and free as they swung all the way down to her waist. She was a vision of loveliness. The Grand Lady of Valkenn smiled at Serendipity as she approached.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d come to see me, I-I haven’t even changed into my own nightgown.” the Princess began.

  Alexandria shook her head and beckoned for her to find her seat again, after the young girl had scrambled to her feet to greet her. She turned Serendipity around to face the mirror and began taking out the clips from her curls. He
r pale fingers worked so carefully, her touch far gentler than Gisa’s ever was. Alexandria even smiled as she worked. “Are you excited about marrying Aderico?” she asked the Princess.

  Serendipity was surprised by her question. The Grand Lady had been kind to her so far during her captivity but, she had never found the time to sit down and just talk to her. Marcus hardly allowed it. Serendipity swallowed silently. “I,” she didn’t know what she wanted to say; what she was allowed to say.

  Alexandria removed the last of the clips from the Princesses hair and went to brush out her curls next. She retrieved a splendid silver brush and began running it gently through her curls. “You can tell me anything that’s on your mind, Serendipity. It must be hard for you, I’m sure, to have lost your parents and been taken from your home all at the same time. I myself was horrified to hear that my husband had killed your parents like that but, I’m afraid Marcus will be Marcus.”

  At the mention of her mother and father, the first of many tears fell from Serendipity’s face. When she finally started sobbing, that was when the Grand Lady placed the brush down and wrapped her arms around the young Princess. “Oh, forgive me, Serendipity. How cruel of me to mention them here!” she cried.

  The Princess found comfort in Alexandria and she placed her hands over the Lady’s arms, keeping her where she was as more tears poured down her cheeks.

  “What’s going on?” Aderico asked from behind both the women, taking them by surprise.

  They turned around and found the young Lord by the door, staring at them during their embrace, and he was quick to notice the tears staining his fiance's cheeks.

  “There is no shame in mourning your parents, Serendipity.” the Grand Lady said to her after a moment. Kissing her tenderly on the forehead, she left them both to be and found her own way out of the room.

  Aderico waited until his aunt had left the room to take a step closer to the Princess. He blinked hard at her when she rose from her seat and retreated a single step of her own.