The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 302: Regal Darkness

Chapter 302: Regal Darkness

It was another regular day of unfathomable longing, boredom and the feeling of emptiness in the void of her soul. The air was clear and it was a nice sunny day.

Regularly she took strolls alone in the woods just to pass away time, sometimes she would read till her eyes would fall out of their sockets, but recently, she just stayed in the confines of her chamber, either sleeping off or simply watching the skies from her window.

The grasp of emptiness was an overwhelming force she couldn’t deny, it brought her even more farther away from entirely adapting to her new hom.

As usual, she was lying face down on the bed with her chin resting lazily on her palm as her eyes screened the words inked on the pages of the book unfurled in front of her.

Fully engrossed in the book, a strange occurrence abruptly disrupted her attention from it. The brightly lit room was slowly turning dim as darkness seeped into it, crawling through the floor as it drifted close to her and before she could comprehend the situation, the once brightly lit room was plunged into perpetual darkness.

She froze for a second before regaining her rational state of mind as she impulsively scrambles out of the bed. Gasping in suppressed fear, her eyes scoured around the dark room before her legs moved toward the window, only to see an inky darkness seeping into the clouds while the ground below mirrored the dark skies as they fell awash in regal darkness.

The perceptible chill mixing itself with the shadows raised the hair at the nape of her neck and goosebumps manifested on her skin.

Puzzlement and a hint of fear reflected in her eyes as she pondered on the strange occurrence, but she was way too spooked by the unnerving darkness to linger around in the darkness and ponder, so she immediately dashed out of her room in a haste.

Emerging out of the room, she stepped into the dim corridors which were lit with hanging torches. Confused about what path to take, she stood around until she saw two distant figures coming her way.

As they approached her, their faces became recognizable in close view. Dalen and Aurora. While Aurora had an optimistic gleam in her eyes, Dalen was rather indifferent as his countenance turned sour.

"Aurora!" Rama called out in relief, while her gaze flickered over to Dalen with a small smile brushing her lips as she said "Dalen, it’s good to see you."

Without giving her any reply, he simply nodded as he avoided making eye contact with her. Her face turned glum for a second before it went back to a concerned one as she faced Aurora.

"One minute it was sunny and the next, everywhere suddenly turned dark, what happened?" She queried, a slight whisk of fear could be discerned in her voice.

"Draco has awakened..." Aurora muttered under her breath as a faint smile brushed her lips as if she had won some sort of trophy.

"What? Who’s Draco?" Rama questioned, her curious eyes searching hers for answers.

"It’s best if you don’t ask any questions, it’s best to let everything that would transpire from now on to flow as naturally as possible." Aurora said, leaving Rama confused.

"What on earth are you talking about Aurora? I need to know what’s going on, you’re scaring me." Rama whimpered, her heart pounding erratically against her ribcage.

She hated the suspense and the feeling of being lost in obliviousness.

"There’s nothing for you to be afraid of, trust me. Everything will be fine, I promise." Aurora said assuringly as she takes her hand in hers.

But Rama was already fed up with all the secrets and lies, her insides suddenly burned with anger as she pulls away from Aurora’s hold, shoving her hand away.

"I have had enough of all the secrets and lies, knowing about my past won’t cost me anything yet you choose to keep it from me like I’m some sort of prisoner in your captive, I deserve to know the truth and if you won’t tell me, then I want to leave right now." Rama lashed out at her with a defiant look in her eyes.

"Rama, it’s not as easy as it seems, your mind is similar to that of a newborn’s, knowing the truth of your past will only escalate the void you feel, its best to let nature take lead. It’s very complicated and it will only leave you unsettled with yourself, taking it from the first step and reliving your memories again will bring you closer to retrieving them and today is the day you will finally be able to work into regaining them." Aurora explained.

"And what do you mean by that? What is happening today?" Rama shot at her with a serious gaze.

"You will find out soon enough, telling you will only leave you more agitated." Aurora adviced.

Rama scoffed in disbelief at her reluctance "Is it related to this Draco in any way? Does that have anything to also do with the sudden darkness?"

"Yes, that is all I can say." Aurora replied stiffly.

Rama’s breath hitched as she realized how vital the situation was. It was even more crucial than she had expected it to be. Whoever this mysterious Draco was, he already terrified her in inexplicable ways with just a mention of his name.

"So, who is this Draco in my life? What is my connection to him?" Rama queried in a commanding tone.

"He’s an important figure in your life, it’s all I can reveal, its not in my position to lead you to the truth, you’ll have to discover it yourself while you navigate through your lost paths. The quickest way to obtain your memories is by reliving it." Aurora remarked.

"Whoever this Draco is, his name gives me the chill, I’m not sure I want to relive anything, all I want to do is leave." Rama blatantly spouted out.

"Rama, you have no idea what you’re talking about, you’re just as confused because you don’t remember anything, also it’s dangerous out there." Aurora persuaded softly.

"I’m tired of the lies and confusion, just let me go." Rama pleaded with an exasperated sigh.

"I can’t, letting you go equals risking everyone in the castle, you have to stay here to protect the others and also for your safety." Aurora implied.

"You’re holding me captive, yet you told me you wouldn’t. How am I to trust you when everything you’ve spewed to me is a lie?" Rama pointed out.

"It’s to keep you safe and the others, there’s no need to be agitated, just sit still and relax." Aurora said with a comforting voice.

"No!" Rama snapped, but then her eyes widened when she realized something else, something profound that made every ounce of trust she retained for them to dissipate into thin air.

Her breath hitched as the words rolled out of her lips "Are you preparing me for Draco? Is that why you kept me alive all this time?! So you could get rid of me and toss me out to him?"

For the first time, she saw a flicker of guilt flit across her crystal, silvery eyes. "It’s not the way it seems Rama, it’s a complicated situation." Her voice toned low with palpable guilt as she spoke.

No one needed to tell Rama that she was right, but the thought of Aurora lying to her in such a manner left her with a shattered heart full of doubt, she was right but she didn’t want to believe it.

"Did you save me because of him? You kept me alive all this time just to push me back into his arms after he was awakened from wherever he had been, you filled my head with lies and acted like you cared, when all you ever cared about was preserving my life until he was ready to rise again." Rama’s voice choked with hot tears that she swallowed back.

"We care about you Rama, we would never harm you or push you into harms way, you’re a part of our family and you always will be." Aurora said softly, her silvery eyes gleaming like shimmering stars, but she couldn’t comprehend if they were tears or she was merely in an emotional state.

"You’re good with spewing lies Aurora. I trusted you, I trusted the both of you." Rama snapped as her eyes darted between the both of them. Dalen looked away with a mixture of remorse and concealed pain brewing in his eyes, but his gaze on her never lingered more than a second before he averted them.

Without giving them the chance to speak, she continued "How powerful is this Draco that you have to abandon me to him? What did he offer you? Most importantly, what does he want from me?" Her voice croaked, her throat constricted painfully everytime she spoke, unable to endure the betrayal from them.

"Rama, no one is abandoning you." Aurora sighed as she paused. "You speak of Draco as though he is a monster." She added in.

"The mere mention of his name frightens me and according to you, the land is plunged into darkness because he has awakened, so if he’s not a monster then what is he?!" Rama shrieked, her eyes brimming with tears of fear.

"He’s your husband, Rama." Aurora replied with a calm look.