TWO

ALANNA

My heart starts to beat faster, my stomach churning uneasily. The king sits up, his burning gaze intense. I swallow hard, my gaze rooted to the floor. I have just committed a crime. What's my punishment? What if they decide to whip me a hundred times? What if I'm going to be thrown into a furnace? "I'm s-so s-s sorry, I shouldn't have c-come h-here. P-please don't be mad at me. I'll be g-good from now on" I stutter, tears blurring my vision. I'm panicking too much to even notice that the king has gotten out of bed and is now standing right in front of me with his robe untied. I don't notice his presence until I perceive the sweet smell of roses and lavenders. Oh my God. What smells so good? Someone touches my chin, caressing it a little. Slowly, my head is tipped back and my gaze locks with the king's heated gaze. I shiver, biting my lower lip."Curious, are we?" He smirks. His voice is like velvet. His voice is so smooth, I could listen to him speak forever.

He's beautiful. Overwhelmingly beautiful. And he smells so damn good. His long eyelashes are nothing like those of humans. They are long, thick and so dark. His skin glows beautifully and he reeks of dominance and power. Everyone in the room watches silently, perhaps waiting for his verdict on my punishment."Cat got your tongue, love?" He says, raising one elegant brow. "N-no, I- I d-didnt mean t-to c-come h-here. I-I j-just wanna go home" I say, my voice hoarse. He squints his eyes, looking thoughtful. In a split second, he's vanished from my side and in the next second, he's sitting on the bed, legs crossed at the ankles. "Valdrin" he says, not taking his eyes off me. "Sire"

"Take her back to her Chambers" he orders and there's immediately an outburst of whispering and grumblings among the maids and guards. "Silence!" The king orders, his eyes narrowed into thin slits. "She is human but she is my responsibility. She must be treated rightly or I'll feed you to the dragons" "We're s-sorry, sire" they chorus, trembling in his presence. "You're dismissed" he says and they nod quickly, walking away. Valdrin suddenly appears right beside me, leading me out of the king's chamber. "I knew you would come to the king's chamber" he says, amused. Wait, a minute. He knew. He had planned it. He'd wanted me to come there, but why? "It was you. You sent the guards away and allowed me to get to the king's chamber" I say and he smirks. "Aha, we've got a winner" he says, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Why did you do that?" I ask when we get to my chamber. He remains silent, watching me carefully. "I can't stay here. I have to go home. I don't belong here, Valdrin. Why am I even here? I'm tired of not knowing what's actually going on" I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Are you even listening to me? I need to leave!" I yell, moving towards the door. He grabs my arm, spinning me around to face him. His eyes have turned cold. He's furious, I can tell.

"You saw him, didn't you? He's dying, you know. He knows it. We all know it. You are here for a reason. Stop being stubborn! Stay here! He needs you. If anything happens to my best friend, I'll hold you responsible because you didn't do what you were supposed to do. If he dies, I'll kill you myself. Just so you know, his life is in your hands" with that said, he storms out of the room, his eyes burning with fury. What's going on?

It's not like I'm a cure to the king's sickness. What am I missing here? I need answers!

Exhausted, I collapse on the bed. With several thoughts clouding my mind, I doze off.

....

ZERON

  "Zeron, I can't continue to watch you suffer. You need to find the cure before it's too late. You don't even have a heir. Who would take over if you die? I can't loose you. I'm terrified" my mother says to me, tears freely flowing down her cheeks. I close my eyes, ignoring the intense pain in my bones. I want to tell her that I've finally found my cure. I want to tell her that I'll be fine but I know her so well. She'll go too hard on the human and force her to do whatever it takes to make me feel better."You aren't saying anything. Should I get the healers?" She asks, brushing my hair away from my face."N-no, I'm fine" I respond, wincing slightly. Brows creased, she reaches out to place a hand on my forehead. "Your fever is rising" she rasps.

"Come to think of it, I've had this fever for centuries" I comment flatly.

"It doesn't mean you should get used to it" she snaps. "I want to be alone" I say.

"Ze-"I grimace, clutching my chest.

"I said, I want to be alone" I snap.

"Okay, if that's what you want" she sighs and leaves my room. I cough, grimacing at the taste of blood in my mouth. The witch. She's responsible for this. That heartless old hag.

....

A few hours after my mom has left the room, I decide to go to the gardens and perhaps, know the human better. Valdrin walks into my room. "You called me, sire" "Get the girl. Take her to the garden. I'll be there soon" "Okay" he says and leaves my chamber. Slowly but steadily, I walk out of my chambers. Zylon, one of my personal guards joins me as I approach the hallway.

"The human girl seems terrified" he comments.

"Of course, she should be. She's in a completely different world. A world she hadn't known exists" The human is pacing back and forth in the garden when I get there. She looks very nervous. I can't help but stare at her. She's such a beauty. She notices my presence and stiffens, her gaze rooted to the ground. I lower myself onto the chair in the garden. Then, she stares at me, shifting her weight to her right leg. When our gazes meet, her cheeks turn pink and she drops her gaze. "You called me" she says, avoiding my gaze. "Sit" I say. Hesitantly, she sits down beside me. "I know you have plenty of questions, you can ask away" I say, rolling my royal signet around my finger."Why am I here? Are you really dying? Am I a cure or something? When can I go home?-" "Slow down. I can't answer your questions at the same time. What's your name?" I say. "Alanna... what's yours?" She says, cautiously. "Zeron"

"I guess, that would be King Zeron" she says slowly. I stare at her, amused. "First of all, you're here for a very crucial reason" I say and she frowns, eyes wide. "Am I some sort of sacrificial object for some sort of ritual?" She asks and I give her a blank stare.

"Centuries ago, I was cursed" I say and she freezes, her eyes going wide.

"Who...cursed you?" she breathes and I clench my fist.

"I was just a child. My father had a visitor that night. Her name was Lady Rohanne. She was the only surviving witch of the Nazyr Clan; the ancient bloodline of powerful witches. She came to the palace claiming that she was pregnant. She claimed that her child was my father's because she wanted to be a queen at all cost. A heated argument then ensured between her and my father" I tell her as I turn to look at her.

"What happened next?" Alanna asks with a frown on her face.

"I came into my dad's chamber and she placed a hex on me" her eyes widen, her face turning pale.