20 He loves me a lot...

Celestia's POV:

It took me a while to finish the task. All the crowns that I felt were devoid of life. They felt like stones. But I didn't give up. I continued searching through the coffer. 

The spirit was puzzled by my actions. " Just give up, young lady. You are never going to find it."

But I didn't listen to him. I continued my search. After a while, I felt the wave of energy increase in me when I touched a particular crown. This must be the one.

I took the crown from the chest and jumped back to my feet. Finally, I found the crown. Theo will be happy to see this. 

The Druid was glaring at me in disbelief. " You are wise. But you are not smart enough to understand that you should not conspire against your father."

I am trying hard to hide my guilt, and this spirit is not helping me with it.

" You know why I am wandering here in the form of a Druid? It is because of King Oberon. When I was a Fae, I betrayed him and joined the dark side. He later defeated me in a battle and cursed me to be a Druid and guard his concealed throne room for a thousand years."

I shuddered after listening to his story. Father Oberon is a kind and straightforward man by nature. But he doesn't take it well when someone betrays or disobeys him. 

" I am warning you, young lady," the spirit continued its speech. " The whole Celestial realm could forgive your sins. But King Oberon will never forgive you for breaking your oath and siding with the Silver Shadow. It is for the best if you leave this crown here and walk away."

The spirit made me think. I can't go against my father's wish. He is right. Then I remembered that I had pledged my allegiance to the Silver Shadow for eternity. 

So no matter what I do now, I will be breaking an oath. It is best to follow what my heart says. I clutched the crown in my hand and walked to the exit. 

" Don't tell me that I didn't warn you when King Oberon curses you brutally," the Druid said. 

I chuckled to myself. Like that is ever going to happen. Father Oberon might curse anyone in this realm. But he would never curse me. I am his favorite and only daughter. 

He might not be my birth father, but he loves me more than his son Darius. He would never hurt me. I will be fine. And he will acknowledge Theo one day after I confess to him how important he is to me. 

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I hid the crown carefully with my white gown. I made the right decision by wearing a white dress today. 

Just when I was about to get inside my room, I ran into Darius. He stared at me oddly. He was not in his usual robes. He was wearing his warrior clothes. 

"Celestia, where were you this morning? I had to train the Fathomless warriors by myself," he said. 

Oh my! How could I forget about my warriors? I have never missed training with them, no matter what happens.

"I am sorry, I forgot," I apologized to him. 

"What? You just forgot? What happened to you, Celestia? Are you alright?" 

"I am fine."

"No, you are not. I think you are hiding something." He tried to touch my hand to read my thoughts, but he wasn't able to do it. An invisible shield made him fall ten feet away from me. How did this happen? 

"Celestia, why did you push me away?" Darius yelled at me, and he got up from the floor. 

"I didn't do it on purpose. I don't know what is happening here," I cried out. 

He frowned at me. " For Aiden's sake, you are an angel! And you are lying to me now? You know what, I have more important things to do than overlooking you."

And then he was gone. But I really didn't do anything. Why would he think that I pushed him away? I would never hurt the people I love!

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I was in the forest of light. I went to our spot under the oak tree. 

"Theo, where are you," I called out. After a while, he appeared in front of me through white smoke. 

I didn't have to tell him that I succeeded in completing my task. He knows it just by reading my thoughts. I gave him the Ivory crown. 

"I am so proud of you, my love," Theo said and pecked on my cheek. He looked at the crown in complete awe. " I have been trying to get this crown for twenty years, and you fulfilled my wish today. I should reward you for this. Tell me, my sweetness. What do you need?"

I couldn't come up with what I could possibly ask him because all I needed was to be with him. 

Theo grinned at me. " You will get that soon, my love. But what else do you need?"

I didn't reply to that. Instead, I was gazing down at the ground. Theo placed his hand on my face and made me look him in his eyes. 

"If that is your only desire, then you will get your reward soon. But for now, I need you to make a promise to me."

"What is it, Theo?" I thought that when I made the oath yesterday, I would not have to make any more promises. It is not that I dislike promising, but it is getting tougher to keep them up. 

"Don't worry about that, my love. You are making this promise for yourself."

I blinked at him in confusion. He took my hand in his and said, " Promise me that you will never confess to King Oberon."

"But why?"

Theo let out a sigh. " Listen to me, Celestia. Oberon will notice that his crown is missing. He will do everything to find out the sinner who stole from him. At that time, you should not step in and confess your crime."

"But I don't want to lie to my father."

"You have to do that for me, Celestia. If he comes to know that you are conspiring against him, then he will never forgive you for that. He might even curse you. So promise me that you will never confess to your father."

"I promise," I said out. 

"That is my girl," he said and kissed my lips this time. 

"And if the worst situation comes, you are going to say that I did it. Tell him that I enchanted you into doing this. Do you understand?"

I nodded. It took me a while to realize why he is instructing me like this. He loves me a lot, that he doesn't want me to get hurt.