Chapter 6

"You must be blinded by vengeance, Jayden," Kayla said with the sword placed on his neck, "But was it ever my fault if I was born as a witch?"

The boy clenched his jaw. Blind.

"You should know who you're fighting for: your father who was hunting down an innocent witch for money, or me, an innocent witch born from the so-called filthy Queen of the Bounds."

"My father wanted to earn that money for me and my mother. Just like me, he wanted to gain the King's trust to have him as his puppet, and for that he agreed to kill you. And now, since he's gone, I'm willing to continue that legacy." he replied.

"Your vengeance," she started, "It's so blind that you don't even know who your target is,"

"I'm here to kill you so I can get the throne, to make the Bounds a better place. To take the King's trust and then use him as my puppet."

"Then we're not so different, aren't we, Jayden?" she narrowed her eyes, pressing the blade closer.

"Sure, you're innocent," he said, "But like I said: I'm here for the throne,"

"Are you here for the throne because you're power-hungry or are you here for the throne because you want to make the Bounds a better place?"

"Surely if I answer that question, it wouldn't make you my ally,"

"Who knows," she said, "But all I want is for the King to die as I make the Bounds a far better place not only for me, but for all the people. All of them. It's not just about vengeance, Jayden,"

"Then we have the same objective." he stated, "The throne is mine and mine only. I certainly do not care if you are a witch, but killing you to get to the throne is something I must do."

"The future Queen is right in front of your eyes," she scoffed.

"And you think I will trust you to rule over the Bounds? An assassin who kills nobles and soldiers because of their greed, but your greed to kill is much more larger." he couldn't trust her. Not for one second, he couldn't.

"You're feeling guilty," she started to get annoyed, "You blame yourself on your father's death and now you're taking it out on someone, who you, deep in your heart, knows, is innocent," she gritted her teeth, "I didn't do anything wrong. I fight and I survive. That's all I did."

He clenched his jaw. His actions of wanting to kill the girl in front of him were both driven by the blind thought of his father's death and getting the throne.

"You know what the Royal Army did?" she asked, some pain inflicted over her as her hands shook. "Do you know what the army did to Pendagline? Do you know what the nobles did to all the cities? All of them were supported by the King and now, you're going to take out your anger on me?" she scoffed, flipping the sword to the top and flicking her hand, breaking it in half.

He flinched at her words and what she had done. She held the sharp blade in her hand as the other part fell to the ground. She squeezed it tight, as blood began to drip.

Jayden was about to take out his handkerchief when she used her other hand to take him by his neck and pushed him onto a wall.

With a stroke of her hand in the air, her magic collected all the weapons there. From her knives, to her dagger, to his knives, and the other piece of his broken sword. She held all of them in sorcery right in front of him, and with just a flick, they could stab him on all parts of his body.

But he surprisingly stayed calm, while Kayla was boiling up with anger and pain and madness.

He knew that his words were wrong. All of it hurt her feelings and her judgment, but he wasn't the type of person to say sorry. All he wanted was to be the ruler to bring justice to his father's name and a better ruler for all who have suffered by Garland's reign. And now, he was creating little sentences to mentally take her down.

They were both fighting for the throne.

"My mother's dead, my adoptive parents are dead, my father is a maniac King, I'm hunted for being something I didn't choose to be, the midwife who helped my mother put her life at stake to help me, and now, I killed your father." she squeezed the blade deeper into her skin, "I wake up everyday and just think about one thing: Why am I not dead yet?"

She let go of the blade and showed him her bleeding hand. The blood stained and she used her cloak to wipe it off.

"I'm immortal and I can feel pain. And I wonder every single night, how much mental and physical pain it takes to kill me, and I never found an answer." Kayla felt herself lighting on fire, and Jayden saw all her edges and curves were glowing in blue and purple flames. "I tried to kill myself three times. All of them didn't go well."

Jayden couldn't feel sad. But he did.

She was triggered by his words, just like he wanted her to. Usually she'd cry herself to sleep, surrounded by the delusions of the happy life she wished for, and now, she was going to let all her fury out.

"Then I had a thought to try and burn myself or decapitate my own head, but then I thought about all the people who had sacrificed for me. The least I could do for them was restore their good name, like what you're doing for your father," she clenched her jaw as her eyes turned into an illuminating hollow glow. "BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO SAY THAT TAKING OUT YOUR VENGEANCE ON ME WILL SATISFY YOU BECAUSE YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT IT WILL NOT."

With those last few sentences, Jayden kept a poker face as Kayla transported the people and animals of Santelle with her witchcraft to outside the city, behind her army which protected them.

Soon after, she glared at Jayden, hoping upcoming actions would kill him but he looked steadily calm, "No one stands between me and the throne."

And in another grasp, her magic circulated the entire city, building a dome around it to muffle the sound that would be created, and separating the Royal Army and the citizens.

With all her anger and guilt piled up inside of her, the indigo flame shot out through the entire city.

The knives, that cornered Jayden, fell down, and he kneeled down against the wall, covering his head as the sorcery brought down every single soldier and house, filling it all up with ash and dust.

The dust swept through the entire city and blurred both their vision.

Her enchantment killed all the soldiers, as their blood stained the streets and all of House Tulaine, whose bodies were now on the ground, covered by rocks.

And although it was supposed to kill everyone, it didn't kill Jayden. Because he came prepared.

The ring, his father had given to him, granted him being immune to any witch's attacks. He had gotten it from the King, to protect him as he did his hunting. And now, as the grime covered their sights, he fled, one of the streets, far from the girl.

Kayla fell to the ground, as her hands squeezed the dusty sand that settled down at the demolished city.

Letting it all out felt satisfying, and now, it would be clear that everyone knew she was a witch. If people feared her for what she had done, it would be understandable, but if people discriminated against her because she was what she is, it wouldn't be understandable.

Her heart fell ill all these years. Her heart fell ill whenever she looked at Adrian, reminding her of what happened to his parents, to their parents. Everytime she saw someone who had risked their life for her, her heart fell ill like never before.

She had tried to kill herself three times, and other minor tries before and after that. But she had to keep going.

She had to take the throne.

~~~

Jayden waited until the dome disappeared and bolted out of the city, and went to Rennie, taking the back path of Everwood Forest, to go back to Coranius. But before he did, he saw a glimpse of Ed in the crowd, knowing the plan would go on as usual.

He and his horse sprinted through the forest, because they would need to get to Coranius quickly.

He would tell the King that the Assassin was the felon witch his father searched for, and when they would try and find Joalarkin's money stash, he would kill her.

All for the throne as all was vengeant.

~~~

"Is that normal?" Reagan asked the two boys.

"She has completely lost her mind, don't you think?" Adrian muttered to Alex.

"Everyone knows she's a witch now. There's no coming back," Alex replied back, gulping.

The dome around Santelle disappeared, and both the boys rushed into the fallen city, ignoring Reagan and everyone else.

The people started hissing and whispering in the crowd. They were staggered, definitely, with the fact that their Lady was a witch, but what staggered them more, was that she hid it from them.

"Kayla!" Adrian yelled, hoping to find her. "Try to find her near the Tulaines' residence," he told Alex.

He nodded, and took the now-destroyed street to get to Tulaines' residence. And sure, there she was, picking up the money and expensive stuff from the dismantled vault.

"Kay!" he yelled. She turned around as she was putting jewelry in her pockets, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied hastily, turning back, "Just get the money here," she said, "I'll make the wall, take care of the bodies and the clear the land, while you and Adrian bring the people back to Pendagline,"

"Something happened, right?" Adrian broke in from the other side.

"I exploded Santelle and killed all the Royal Army," she replied calmly, "That's all that happened,"

Adrian was about to say something when Alex prevented him by pinching his hand, "What are we going to tell the people? They know you're a witch,"

"That's the least of my concern right now." she said.

"What if they don't accept you?"

"If the people of the kingdom I will rule on don't accept me, then I'll stop my plans. But I'll still kill Garland." Kayla said.

"After all that we've fought for?" Alex asked.

"What's the point of ruling a kingdom if you're not accepted by the people?" she asked back, "I don't deserve the people who've died and risked their lives for my survival and right."

"Kayla, but-"

"I'll pass the throne to Jeanette, or someone else," she looked dull.

"Jeanette barely shows up to the people. Do you think she'll rule the kingdom well?" Adrian asked.

"Then I'll think about it later," she started to walk to make the wall, but Adrian grabbed her hand.

"Are you giving up?" he asked.

"No." she replied, "A true leader accepts the decisions of their subjects, and if the majority of their subjects deny, then so shall the leader."

"Are you not telling us something?" he queried, "You've never really talked about how you felt all these years,"

The two boys didn't know that she had tried to kill herself, or of how much guilt she had carried all those years. She didn't want to burden them.

"I'm fine, Ryan," she teased, "Now, go and take the people to Pendagline,"

~~~

Jayden arrived back at Coranius safely, with just dust and dirt on his face.

Kayla had no knowledge of him being alive. She thought he had died. But no, she was wrong.

"King Garland," he walked into the throne room immediately and found Garland slouching on the throne, drunk and his crown tipping off his hair, "Your Majesty." he called louder one more time and he choked in shock.

The man on the throne fixed his position and looked at Jayden, "Oh, you're back. Where's the rest?"

"Dead."

"Oh, but you're back, so anyways, what happened?" he asked, sipping from his cup again.

"The Assassin of the North. I found her." Jayden replied.

"It's a girl?" Garland gasped, "That's surprising,"

"She's not only a girl, Your Majesty. She's a witch."

The King tensed, "What do you mean? A witch? What joke is this?"

"The witch that my father hunted for 10 years. The felon witch. And through his last letter, he told me who that witch was," Jayden stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Garland asked, "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ON MY NERVES? A WITCH? IMPOSSIBLE."

The boy clicked his tongue, "The Assassin of the North is the Princess of the Bounds, Your Majesty. She's your daughter."

"What is this stupid trick?" he asked, throwing the goblet of wine towards Jayden, and his armor was stained with red syrup now, "Have you lost your mind? She is from House Allensilf?"

"She exploded Santelle, and her magic color is indigo, of blue and purple." he explained, "She confessed herself."

"And what's her name?" he asked.

"I don't know about that, but I know her face." he replied, "And she's blonde. Then, there's also an assumption that the two blonde kids that my father saw 10 years ago, could be her, and her partner, who was also present. One of the two people who invaded Santelle to find the money stash," Jayden explained.

"You need to kill her. No, you must kill her." he stated, "I don't care about anything else. I want her dead."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he thinly smiled. "She will go to Joalarkin next to find the money stash there. I'll place soldiers all around to make sure she gets caught,"

"And if that doesn't work, I'll make plan B," Garland muttered.

"Plan B?"

"She's a witch. She will be much faster. If she doesn't get caught by the soldiers, then make sure she gets caught on the day Joalarkin is invaded. Or, you come with her to the North and become a prisoner. Destroy it from the inside."

"Yes, Your Majesty. You can trust me," Jayden bowed, "Ed Wrighton is already with the North. He will inform us daily about the North."

"Don't tell anyone about this witch, or that Faye Allensilf was a witch. They both are filthy, and I will not have my reputation stained because I got fooled by her pretty face, when she just wanted to steal my throne. Kill that witch, or I will kill you."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he grinned, "You can trust me,"

~~~

"Is the Lady a witch?" one of the people asked Adrian.

He kept quiet.

"Is she really a witch? A sorceress?" another one asked.

"Are you not going to give us answers?"

"There will be answers," Alex stopped them all, "But it is not our right to tell."

The people hissed, as Ed hid in the middle of them. Now, he was not so sure if he could make it back to Summer in a week.

But this Lady they were talking about, it was definitely the Assassin.

Above him, Adelaide's eagle followed him. He didn't know what the eagle was named, but he knew it would help deliver his message back to her.

He needed to send a letter immediately back to Duchess Adelaide, about the Assassin who's a witch, as quickly as possible, for the South to prepare their defenses on Joalarkin and the fight against the North.

~~~

Kayla kept herself from stumbling down her feelings, and continued to bury the dead soldiers and House Tulaine.

She felt her energy wash away with the blast she had taken out onto Santelle, and she was weak and sick. Ill.

Because of Jayden Cartensen, her past scars opened again and again, and haunted her for most of that time.

Up on the hill, she buried them all. There were more than forty soldiers, most of them killed by her own hand, and five others were of House Tulaine.

But as she buried the bodies deep in the ground, she realized that one body was missing. And she knew there were no more bodies in the city.

There was no soldier with a star on his armor. There was no Jayden Cartensen.

"Now where the hell did that boy go?" she muttered. "Wherever you are, Jayden Cartensen, there must be a good explanation on why you keep surviving my spells."

~~~

She went back to the North on Cyl, and it was already crowded when she arrived inside. She clenched her jaw, knowing she had to face a lot of questions.

She stepped down Cyl and kept her head down as she walked, when a man stepped in front of her.

"We don't hate you, Lady Nellister," the man said, "Even if you're a witch, a goblin, a fairy or anything, you still saved us from the hell gates of King Garland. And we'll support you to take over the Bounds, no matter what."

"That's true," a woman said from beside her.

And a whole bunch of other people started to gather around her.

"We want you as our Queen, above all. And plus if you're a witch, we feel that's cooler than the old grandpa on the throne," a young boy said.

"We'll support you all the way until you bring down Garland," another one said.

The crowd started to gather around her, cheering her up.

There was some sort of sad and happy feeling that went over Kayla. She didn't know how she felt, but there was this small hint of light in the middle of this entire rise of guilt. And her subjects through her birthright, they loved her; something she least expected from them.

The fear of her being open as a witch was not because of the people, but it was because of the King, her very own father.

"She isn't Lady Nellister," Adrian announced behind the crowd, with Alex as they wore happy expressions, "She's Lady Kayla Allensilf,"

"Allensilf?" someone asked, "Like House Allensilf? The former noble family of Pendagline?"

She smiled thinly back, and shot a small smile to the two boys on the edge.

"She doesn't have anything to be ashamed of," Alex continued, "As the daughter of Faye Allensilf, who was also a witch, and the shameless King of the Bounds, her birthright has been clear enough that she's the rightful Queen of the Bounds,"

"House Allensilf were the best noble family, until Garland burned them down 20 years ago," a woman said.

"There's a bunch of surprises today," another one remarked.

"And even if she's the daughter of the King, we all know that when she saved us..."

"...her heart was as pure as House Allensilf's."

"Your Majesty," Adrian chuckled as he bowed down.

Kayla gave a small snort as the people gathered around her, hugging her tightly, just appreciating her.

She used to be afraid, fearing that she'd be killed for something she didn't choose to be, but little did she know, good-hearted people still existed.

On the other end of the crowd, Ed wrote his letter about the Assassin of the North, that her name was Kayla Allensilf, and she was the witch and the daughter of the former Queen and King Garland. He drew a sketch of her quick enough, and rolled it.

With a small ribbon, he tied it onto the eagle's leg, and it drifted off into the sky, sending the letter to Adelaide.

Kayla, on the other hand, saw an eagle flying in the air, heading out of the North's territory. And that was strange as eagles were not common in the Bounds, and only some people had it. But she kept herself optimistic, with the thought that it was just a wild eagle, flying around to kill their prey and survive.

Like how she was.

~~~

She sat on the floor as she sharpened her daggers and knives that she had picked up from the dirt. She stopped herself from overthinking, as she drank wine from the bottle beside her.

It was a diversion to stop herself from having another feeling of guilt stabbing her heart.

"It seems you're having a little party in here," a voice interrupted from behind her. Adrian stood there with a contented expression.

"You do know that entering people's houses without their permission is a violation of privacy right?" she furrowed.

"Well you're my sister," he said, sitting down next to her.

"You redefined that as adopted,"

"And then I broke into your house and stole a bottle of wine," his eyes glistened at the bottle of wine she was drinking.

He reached out his hand to take it, and she swiped it away, "You didn't even clean up the glass pieces,"

He scowled, "Are you going to tell me what happened today?"

She drank from the bottle, gulping it down and then sighing, looking into the unknown as she continued sharpening her dagger.

"Remember the Guard that chased us as kids?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I met his son. Twice."

"What?"

"He's the Seventh Guard. His name is Jayden Cartensen," she said, "He has a pretty face, and yet a very annoying attitude,"

"Where and when did you meet him?" Adrian asked.

"He was also assigned to kill Eros Falecith and I have no idea why, and I met him there. I erased his memory and stabbed him, but he met me again today in Santelle and he remembered everything. Every. Single. Thing. Turns out he's been searching for me for years, because according to him, I'm the cause of his father's death,"

"His father died?"

"Yeah. Decapitated in public because he killed two innocent citizens," she bitterly frowned.

"So you blew up Santelle to kill him?"

"Yes, but I couldn't find his body," Kayla explained, "But I feel he's dead anyways, maybe he got thrown into the ocean or maybe I couldn't find his body or something," she hesitated, "If he isn't dead, there's something special about him,"

"Is there anything else than that?" he raised a brow in curiosity.

"He wants the throne." she stated.

"What?" he gasped in offense.

"He wants to kill me to earn the King's trust, then I guess he'll betray him, and possibly kill him, and when Titus gets crowned as King, he can make him his puppet. His actions are quite predictable,"

"Will he be in Joalarkin?" he asked.

"I don't know if he's dead or alive,"

"That's also true. Also, if I remember correctly, around this time of month, the marchioness of House Harrivandik is going to celebrate her birthday. Maybe we can go to Joalarkin at that time?"

"Mhm, I think it's in six days or something," she shrugged. "You, me and Alex can go to the party and find the money stash and all,"

"Yeah," he said, "But, on the other hand, you and I both know that that's not the only reason why you blew up Santelle,"

She sighed, leaning her head against the wall, "Guilt."

"For?"

"Everything and everyone who's risked everything for me,"

"You don't have to feel guilt." Adrian held her hand, "Because all those people who've sacrificed for you just means they love you and they care about you. The throne is yours only, for you are the only one who has the right and capability to rule over the Bounds." he chuckled, "You'd be one hell of a Queen,"

She thinly smiled and held his hand back, "Thank you, for everything, Ryan,"

"Thank you, for everything too, Grape,"