Eurydice's eyes were blazing and furious, her heart itching to dismember her assassins. They were very weak, yes, but what fouled her mood was that she couldn't get to enjoy her company with Ares because she had considered them. The hooded men scampered on the wet ground, slowly scooting their buttocks back from the approaching Queen. Eurydice's hands were dying to blast them to smithereens, leaving not a speck of dust behind. Their eyes trembled, and their joints refused to move. Dread loomed them as they realized there was no chance for sparing. They dropped their rusty knives to the ground while screaming at her to forgive them, but Eurydice was slowly becoming blinded by darkness. Her eyes were filled with malice and destruction the idea resonated with her body. She aimed her palms at one of their skulls. The man closed his eyes as sweat dropped his forehead. "I suppose you're the first to die.""Eurydice," a firm voice called. Ares grabbed her palm and aimed it at his own ches
Eurydice watched as the orchid-coloured fishes swarmed around her, nibbling her silky legs. She brushed her fingers through the water as if trying to touch the moon reflected. The pond was not very shallow. Sometimes, she would jump into the waters below, trying to drown herself when no one was around. She would close her eyes and allow the darkness to consume her, but then, as always, her servants would find and pull her.One time, there was absolutely no one who came. She had expected that, finally, the time had come for her to die. She waited until she was out of breath, but it never happened. She couldn't die. Not even nature could kill her now. Even Death was doubtful about taking her. Neither heaven nor hell awaits her. She remembered her responsibilities and her little brother when she rose from the water. After that, she never attempted again.She felt like a fool. Though her demons whispered in her ear to jump and join the fishes, her body refused. Not yet, she said. 'It's
The four princes who completed the Trials happened to find each other in the Palace's vast front yards. The maids sparingly glanced at them and squealed as the dashing nobles walked under the bright sun. They were so astoundingly charming that even the married women gawked over the walking men.The princes had woken up early to stretch and jog. Some of them took this as an opportunity to go around the Palace, which they have been unable to do for the past few days. Poor royalties had to review paperwork and attend to business matters even if they were away from their countries.The castle grounds were endless; for some unknown reason- they all found themselves intersecting at one place simultaneously. Prince Yue, Prince Herbert, Prince Kael, and Prince Xavier all looked at one another with awkward faces.Prince Yue, who came all the way from the East, turned right as if he had not seen a single shadow of any of the princes. Between the four of them, Prince Yue was most passive and obs
Tension quelled between the Queen and Ares. The commoner does not back down on the Queen's low sight of him."You really do have a sharp tongue, don't you?""You say that, but you helped me get away with it anyway. Why did you do that?" Ares asked Eurydice as they walked towards the dining hall in the long, empty corridors. Eurydice boredly swung her head to him while she curled the tips of her hair with her fingers. She shrugged her shoulders and took a deep breath before replying."You looked like you were about to burst. You seemed speechless. Is this always what happens when someone asks for your surname?" Ares lowered his head and watched his feet stroll while he followed behind her. The Queen noticed the passiveness of the commoner when they talked about him. It's as if he tries to speak less to hide his identity. Eurydice continued walking- her haunting, mighty heels echoing in the long hallway. She kept her eyes on the path ahead while ruminating about Ares's background.She
Gasping, sprinting, and parkouring- Ares had made it that far from the Palace with just his two feet. He would see the Palace guards being mobilized at the minute of his first step to escape. They loitered on the ground while asking the civilians if they saw him. Ares listened carefully and almost burst into a giggle when he heard how they described him."Have you seen a man that goes swish and swoosh!""Hey, by any chance, did you see a peasant with dark hair?" to which a villager replied, "Almost everyone here has black hair."They were hopeless, and Ares took this opportunity to change his outfit. He removed his first vest and then blended with the people until he could exit the capital. The farther he went, the fewer soldiers looked for him. But even so, Ares knew he was going to be found eventually, especially since he was dealing with the most powerful person inland, Eurydice.Ares slipped his hands into his pockets and drew out his pocket watch."I still have time."─━━━━━━⊱✿⊰━
Eurydice waited patiently behind a pillar while playing with her ornaments when Icarai and Ares approached her. The Queen lifted her gaze at them while slowly crossing her arms. With a stern expression, she asked, "How is he doing now?"The farmer was thankfully saved when the Queen graced generosity to lend her infirmary to him. She wasn't supposed to care, but upon seeing the horrified look of losing someone in Ares's eyes, she decided that she wouldn't want to look at it again as it reminded her of the past. Icarai removed his spectacles and rubbed his temples, "He isn't very good. He is extremely overfatigued, and he has tuberculosis. If you were paying attention to other nations recently, this infectious disease has been rampant, Radiance. We have no medicine in the Palace to cure him."Ares's face became even more depressed. Though he hid it perfectly with a serene, calm face- the Queen could clearly distinguish the loss of spark in his eyes, as if all he felt were nothing but
The Queen froze despite his warm hug. Ares's huge palms covered the back of her head; he, too, couldn't believe that he had just pulled her into a hug. When he found her crying for no reason, his body moved. He just couldn't just stand seeing someone cry.They stayed in that position for a minute before the male slowly pulled away. Eurydice was glaring at him. Ares averted his gaze, "Sorry. It was a reflex.""A reflex? Had you been someone else, I would've cut your head the moment you closed in."Ares pouted. What a way to ruin the mood, "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention.""Clearly. Quite bold of you to touch me like that."Ares tried to find the tears in her face, but she was back to her sassy expression. Did he just imagine it? He could've sworn he saw her being melancholic. He had been in the courtroom for a few minutes and saw how she paced in the empty room. She was sad."Once the farmer opens his eyes, tell him to meet me in the Doctor's lounge. I'll be waiting for him there.
Ares overheard their conversation. He hid behind the corner while his master and the Queen conversed under the moonlight. He listened to Eurydice's tone as she mellowed and became vulnerable around his father. It seemed like the two had shared some memories at some point in time. Eurydice spoke very cryptically, as if she was aware that Ares was listening to her the entire time. The male thought his disguise was great. He slept the entire time Eurydice was making sounds and pretended, only to be given this moment to listen to them both. He was worried that Eurydice would do something to his father. They spoke about a disease to which they referred as the wyvern living inside her. Rumors from all around Fontana suggest that by the time Eurydice's mother had given birth to her, a wyvern terrorized Fontana. They sealed the monster into their firstborn child in order to suppress it. And that child was Eurydice. But Ares didn't know if any of those were true. They also spoke about hi
Icarai, Desalogia, and the Queen returned home at midnight. Eurydice was still on her carriage. Her eyes were drooping, as she had lacked sleep and a hearty dinner. She had also used a great amount of magic power at the last minute, which caused her body to be even more fatigued. The navigator in charge of maneuvering the carriage was hesitant to wake the Queen up. The navigator decided to visit the other carriage, where Prince Desalogia was transported. When he peered into his window, the prince was still awake and about to light a cigar. "What?" the cold, stoic male asked him with an irritated look."My prince, could I please trouble you to wake up Her Radiance? She's sleeping, and it is cold outside."Desalogia huffed and rolled his eyes before exiting his carriage. He headed towards the Queen's transport and peeked to find Her Radiance's vulnerable status. Her head rested on the cushion, her lips agape, and her hair was a bushy mess. "Where is her room?""S-Shall I have Icarai
"T-The Queen!"Morale was boosted just by the presence of Her Radiance. For a second back there, they thought they were doomed, as they were in no way getting the upper hand without an offensive magic unit. Only the Queen was capable of casting such high spells that could cause the retreatment of the enemy. Eurydice was only a mere split second away from having Fontana's Gates destroyed.If that were to happen, the Tiberyans' invasion would surely become a reality.King Tiberyon was careful to not move. He would have Eurydice's claw lodged in his throat if he did. And that would lead him to poisoning. It would be a lame way to die before the eyes of his soldiers. This was King Tiberyon's greatest deployed army yet. And now, it still came to a stop, just as always. He expected this to happen. Eurydice was a tough royal to fight.She was unlike the former king. King Maxmillian was more focused on maintaining peace and trade. But after the
Desalogia was waiting at the entrance when Eurydice's caravan arrived. They finally reached the end of the gates and hopped down from their stallions, Lumiere and Noir. Ares's eyes caught Desalogia's. The prince was smoking with his servants. A maid from the Palace was behind them, convincing the prince to avoid smoking as the Queen did not like the smell of it, but Desalogia didn't pay attention. When the Queen composed herself and stretched her slender limbs into the air, she sniffed the smoke from Desalogia's cigarette and coughed. Her spiral eyes focused on the prince, who only smirked at her and looked back at the sky, ignoring her. "That rascal," she grumbled and covered her little nose with her palms before rolling her eyes. Icarai, who was beside the Queen, took a deep breath. He didn't really want to talk to the prince."What are you waiting for?" Eurydice's brows ascended for a bit. "Go tell him." Ares stopped Icarai from going. He smiled, "I'll go if you're too nervous.
The Queen entered the young prince's cozy bedroom. She had noticed that Siv's treehouse now had a glass ceiling that allowed him to see the stars beyond. The young prince was cuddling his pillows when his sister arrived inside. He turned his head to the side and gave her a sleepy smile."Do you want me to read you a story?" she asked him while sitting on the mattress and stroking his pale, blonde hair. The young prince shook his head."I'm too old for that."Eurydice chuckled daintily, "You're never old for a story."Eurydice stared at her little brother and realized how big he had gotten. Ares and Siv were correct about him. She didn't have to protect Erron so crazily like that. But Eurydice was afraid she'd break her promise to th
When Ares discovered the Queen's illness, he was left with many questions that he knew would never find answers to in the near future. The male played with the young prince despite being distracted. While the two were splashing water in the river, Ares pretended to smile and laugh, but deep inside, he felt rather melancholic about Eurydice's hidden illness. Shortly during their playtime, Eurydice joins them on the river in her bare feet. Eurydice is used to being barefoot. After all, she hates wearing shoes and prefers feeling the roughness of stone on her soles. She likes how it feels. For her, it is the closest thing to pain. "Yay!" the young prince ran towards her sister. "You're here! Are you finally playing with us?""Siv told me to wash my ankles with the water," she told him with a gentle smile and poked the young prince's nose. "Are you having fun with Rockman?"Ares looked away, blushing. Why did he have to adapt to that silly nickname? "Yes, yes! Rockman agreed to train m
While the girls were having their heart-to-heart conversation, Ares spent his time with the young prince in a nearby river. The two sat on a boulder while holding an odd, grimy creature that the prince had somehow caught. Ares inspected what it was, but he couldn't really tell its race. The only thing he realized about the prince's pet was that it was adorable."Here!" Erron stretched his arms to him. "Hold her for me!" Ares offered his huge palms and carried the creature, which almost slipped from his fingers. The creature closed its eyes, savoring the male's warm palms, and slept."Hehe!" the young prince giggled. "She likes you!" "It's just sleeping," Ares replied while looking at it."Not this one," The prince goofily grinned at the commoner. "My big sister, I mean."Ares lowered his eyes, a little embarrassed, "She would be upset if she heard you say that." "Eh?" Erron pouted. "My big sister never gets mad at me. The only time I saw her get mad was..." the prince closed his mo
The treehouse was the largest tree in the Enchanted Forest. It was the possession of the Faerie King before he handed it over to the Moon Witch for purification after he found discrepancies in the tree's purity. The Faerie King told her to keep it as her reward and she has since lived in the tree and cultivated it to be her very own safe spot.The young prince was with Ares on a small river while Siv treated the poison on Eurydice's wound. The Queen did not feel any of it which made her condition even worse than it is. How would she know there was poison if no one told her?"You look horrible. Have you not slept?" Eurydice saw the dark circles appearing in the Witch's eyes."I was worried that you took the other entrance," the Witch told her. "I was wondering what took you so long. Turns out you were jus
The Queen's whining brought different creatures to peek. As she continued hitting Ares with her small fists in the back, the male ventured deeper into the jungle where he would see a smoke rising above. Ares paced his eyes around and found the dwellers of the Enchanted Forest peeking from behind the tree trunks or bushes, just looking.Faeries giggled as they concealed themselves behind leaves. Eurydice narrowed her crimson eyes to them and they immediately stopped laughing. They knew who Eurydice was but they didn't recognize her as Queen. The Faeries have their own leader, and they belong to the Fae's court. Therefore, Eurydice had no control over them.However, despite their lack of social relationship, the faeries still fear the Queen of Fontana, for she was a wyvern. A creature so powerful it deserved to be feared. Draconic Ascendance: The King Selection
The Enchanted Forest, a specific chain of mountains that surround the terrain of Fontana, protecting it from hurricanes and making it harder for enemies to attack the kingdom. The Enchanted Forest is a haven for mysterious beings that reside in Fontana and beasts that no one would dare challenge. These said beasts are the very reason why most enemies do not engage in fights or infiltrate Fontana.Legends tell that once you get lost in the Enchanted Forest, you'll never leave without a story. You'll be sure to meet faes, dwarves, and tree nymphs along the way. Many treasures lie in the deep jungle areas of the Enchanted Forest. There rest thousands of invaluable trinkets that offer great power to those who wield them and faunas that may be used as herbs that could heal any sort of injury.This part of Fontana is in the care of the Queen's childhood friend,Enchanted Forest