Bride To His Darkness-Chapter 299: An Orb Or A Fae?

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"It happened three months ago." Brian coolly began his narrative under the soft glow of the moon, "I was traversing through the grand Hall to inform Carmela about the progress of the Kingdom’s attack when I... stumbled upon a secret that shook the very foundation of my clan," he revealed heavily, his voice attune to the whispering wind, as if he carried the weight of a forbidden truth.

This only piqued Samantha’s interest as she shifted closer to listen.

"Queen Carmela, the sovereign we revered, was not the benevolent ruler she appeared to be, at least not the type of benevolent ruler I wanted her to be. The same goes to our unfamiliar King, whom she married for political reasons... if that is even correct. Dark arts, which were highly forbidden for the Southerners, tainted her intentions; it was a corruption that threatened to consume our entire clan, and I had seen it myself." Brian’s eyes were distant as he gazed ahead, as if he could picture everything that happened three months ago, on that specific night in the Palace.

He had returned early from his duties, holding a bundle of important files that had the progression of the Northerners in his grasp. Queen Carmela had not expected him on that fateful night, and he too, had not made her aware of his presence. The guards who normally stood guard at the top of the staircase had been dismissed, and that should have been a cue to trigger his caution, but he never pondered on their absence until he saw a wall split sideways before his very eyes, whilst it revealed a darkness that seemed to have no end.

From inside, he could hear the devastating sound of crying children;

The sobs.

The wails.

The constant sniffles.

When he tried to steal a peek into the darkness, out came Carmela, whose face paled at the sight of him, and she immediately halted at the entrance, whilst the walls closed behind her. The documents he held in his hands dropped to the ground, and the panicked look in Carmela’s eyes were still etched in his head.

"I heard it. " He was snapped out of his traumatizing trance, "I heard children crying, I couldn’t have imagined it and I knew there was something fishy going on behind that wall. In my pursuit for justice, I confronted her, as a loyal commander to his Queen. I knew the methods of dark magic, so I had a clue of why she had those children. I wanted to expose the darkness festering within our sacred Palace, but..." he exhaled with a disappointed shake of his head, "my advice fell on deaf ears. Instead, she accused me of treachery in front of my people, of aligning with the Northerners and fabricating lies about her."

A somber pause lingered in the night air, and the elf’s gaze met Samantha’s comprehending ones.

"As punishment for my perceived betrayal, she casted my kin and me aside." There was an understanding bitterness in his voice as Samantha listened with concentration, "our exile, however, is not a distant one. We linger in the outskirts, but me and my clan have built a happiness within the home we created, we’re no longer haunted by the memories of the kingdom that turned their back on us. No one was willing to believe me, they trusted their Queen, and to keep an eye and make sure I haven’t been up to any sort of mischief, she threatens to hurt my clan if I spill further information about what I have seen. She has kept me quiet with this threat, she knows the bond between elves is unbreakable, and is using it to her advantage."

His eyes bore the weight of her betrayal, but he sighed heavily and quietly shook his head. "I only want peace for my people. When I saw you in the forest, I never would have helped you if you didn’t make mention of fleeing from the Palace. I knew eventually, they were bound to make a slip, and that has led us to you, the last Forest Fae to have survived the extinction of her clan." He dropped, to Samantha’s bewilderment. "There’s a saying that the only ones who can match up to a witch like Carmela, is a forest fae, but I never imagined the key to our freedom would be the wife of a Northern King."

Samantha’s lashes fluttered frantically at his last statement, "extinction? Forest Fae?" Her brows pulled together, painting a subtle frown on her face. She vividly recalled her pet plant saying something about her soul trapped inside an orb, and that stopped her from denying Brian’s conclusion. She couldn’t even choose between denying or accepting, because she no longer understood her existence.

What is she? An orb or a Fae? Was she even real? Or is she scripted?

"How can you tell?" Samantha decided to twist her question to gain further information, and Brian shrugged as though claiming it was obvious.

"I haven’t interacted with a forest fae, but from the scrolls in the library, the pictures I’ve seen and the description of a Forest Fae all points to you being one."

"Can you take me to this library?"

"Right now?" He shook his head, "it’s already late. You’re not leaving anytime soon so we can check the library tomorrow. For a moment, It sounded like you have no idea what your clan’s nature is, but the prophecy points to only one existing forest Fae. You finding this place might not be a stroke of luck, from how I see it, you were destined to be here."

He rose from his seat, "I shall take my leave now, I don’t know what discussion they’re having but informed the elderly elf of my departure. I’ll come get you tomorrow so we can leave for the library."

Samantha rose from her seat, her emerald green eyes gleaming with gratitude, "you have been most kind. Thank you."

When she smiled at him, Brian felt an odd, yet pleasant thump in his chest. He returned her smile with a wry one and turned to take his leave. Samantha watched him go, and her pet plant immediately came out of its hiding place, settling itself on her shoulder.

’How clueless can Master really be?’ her pet plant folded its tendrils, its tone making her feel like a regular dummy it was forced to put up with, and Samantha could do nothing more but roll her eyes at his exasperating question.

"You’re not helping matters for me, you seem to know more about me than you coherently let out. You have a lot to tell me everything concerning how you knew of my origin."

"When?"

"Now." Reaching for her steamy mug, she took a sip of it and went into Elara’s cottage.

—-

At the fortress, Carmela had stepped into her secret chamber with Marius following behind, and as expected, he had little Alain in his clutches. The little boy stopped struggling when Marius set him down, and unlike how he cried before his Mother to save him, that frightful child who had been in tears seemed to have vanished in mere seconds.

Marius couldn’t deny that the sudden change had stunned him, and that piqued his interest since not many children could stand before him and not cower in fright. To his dismay, Alain’s big brown eyes scanned the room instead, and he noticed the many cages at each side– each cage consisting of at least four children. Some appeared to be of his age, and most of them appeared to be older than his age.

"Come, stand here." Turning around to look at Alain, Carmela strictly ordered the little boy to stand in the center of the room. The fear from other children was palpable in the suffocating air, considering how the kids reacted to Carmela’s hardened tone, however, Alain remained unflinching, and his small mouth lazily moved.

"No." He refused.

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