TREACHEROUS LAUGHTER reached the ears of His Majesty the King, echoing off the stone walls of the dungeon that had been his home for the last three weeks.

He was dangerously weak.

Time had become irrelevant; the days and nights blended. He was dangling from his swollen wrists, which were wrapped in thick cotton rope. His torso was splattered with bruises. The purple discoloration bled together and ran like paint up and down his body. During the three weeks of abuse, his face had taken a lot of damage. His left eye was swollen shut, his lip was bloody and dry, and his nose was broken. His face as a whole was so swollen it was almost beyond recognition.

He spent these trying nights by himself, drowning in his sobs. He longed to see his wife, his children, and, most of all, Aislin.

When that man told him the news, he couldn't believe it. It was unfathomable to him. He would have known. June would have told him, and despite their differences, they would have dealt with it... together.

He took a deep breath and braced himself to face the person whose laughter sent shivers down his spine. He despised being down here in this dimly lit basement. He wished to return home.

The clicking of familiar heels echoed through the basement, but it wasn't that that drew his attention. The sound of the second pair of footsteps made him even more concerned.

It was always the same two people who came to see him. There was only the scar-faced man who wore heeled boots and the long blonde-haired woman. He was curious as to who they had brought to inflict pain on him this time. Despite the physical discomfort, he knew he had to survive. He would have to be strong and not give up if he wanted to see his family again. Physical pain no longer had any meaning for him. He'd become numb to it. It was the mental anguish of being away from home that hurt the most. He'd take all the physical abuse in the world to be able to see his family again.

Their footsteps ceased in front of him. He struggled to open his one good eye, but when he did, his entire body was paralyzed by shock.

The two of them stood before him. One was the blonde woman. Her gown was pure black, as black as night, and hugged her slim figure before flaring out just below her hips. The sleeves, though slightly puffed at the shoulder, were long and loose around and below her arms and slit down the front once they passed her deltoids. The neckline sat lower than was proper for Kavan, but perhaps it was acceptable where they were now.

Her pale green-blue eyes held a mischievous glint. She stood tall and full of confidence. She was smirking, and it was clear why.

The man next to her looked at the king with disappointment and fake pity. His ebony skin glistened in the candlelight. He didn't appear to have the nerve to wear his royal uniform, but his clothes screamed royalty regardless.

His inky jacket matched the shade of his companion's gown. Gold epaulets with short chains serving as tassels decorated each shoulder and a faded gold chain were strung from his left shoulder to the middle button on his front. Gold embroidered rows of gold buttons ran down both sides of the front of the jacket. A black breast piece ornamented with gold embroidered straps was strung between the two rows of buttons, filling the gap. The white collar of a shirt and a ruffled neckerchief peeked out from behind the breast piece. Gold embroidery, identical to the rows on the jacket, ran down the side of his legs and disappeared into his black leather boots.

The King felt his eyes tear up and the world around him seemed to sink away as he looked into the eyes of a face he had seen every day for the last twenty-seven years.

He barely heard himself mutter his name, "Koa."

He shook his head and advanced towards him, "Hello, father." Koa spits out the title father out like it was poison on his tongue.

The King's vision was blurred by the salty tears that stung the wounds on his face. He quickly tried to blink them away. He struggled to wrap his mind around the situation at hand. His oldest son stood before him, with everything but love in his eyes.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Koa cooed. Koa dragged his fingers along his father's bloody, busied face and couldn't help but snicker as the king flinched away from his touch.

The King struggled to find his words but managed to speak, "Why?"

That single word meant so much at that very moment. The King wasn't just asking one "Why?" he was asking hundreds of them. Why are you here? Why did you turn your back on your Kingdom? Why did you betray our family? Why would you hurt your mother like this? Why did you do this to me? How did it come to this?

Koa's lips raised at this father's question. He knew the question was simple but had a deeper meaning. A scoff escaped his lips, "Oh my dear father, you are so very naive."

"E-Excuse me?" The King stuttered.

Koa placed his hand beneath the King's chin and raised his face to look at him. "You're wondering why? I'll explain why." Koa shoved the king's face away from him with great force "Because you are pitiful slime. You're a liar who has no right to be called King or to sit on the throne of Kavan."

The King's eyes widened as he heard the words. Each one, like a knife, stabbed him in the back. Before the King could form a complete thought, Koa began speaking again "I, not you, deserve to sit on the throne. Take a look at yourself; you can't even protect yourself from a kidnapping. You know, I expected more from you as an Aislin student."

The King stared at Koa who responded with a chuckle, "What? Do you think I didn't know? Know that Aislin trained you to be a fierce warrior so you could protect your kingdom? It's an interesting case. Your daughter taught you to be strong, yet here you are. Weak. Bleeding out on the basement floor of my hideout."

As Koa threw a swift punch to his father's stomach, the King choked on his blood. Koa took a step back and watched his father struggle to breathe. "Why don't we have a storytime?" he muttered under his breath. The blonde woman handed Koa a chair, which he sat in front of the king.

"The story of Aislin Amulet." Koa began crossing his arms over his chest, "The Kingdom of Calflalm is where she was born. A warrior-filled Kingdom with a caring heart. It was forbidden for any outsider to reach the Kingdom's gates because it would be dangerous. She had a loving mother, father, and three siblings when she was growing up. Unlike her older sister, Aislin felt compelled to shield her younger siblings from the dangers of the world."

He paused for a breath, then continued, "From then on she set out to be a warrior like her father. She began training at the age of seven and never stopped. When the war broke out, she fought alongside her father against the most formidable foes. Every wound and broken bone she received in the war only fueled her desire to protect those she loved. She grew up to be the most powerful female warrior, even more, powerful than her father. She taught others she thought had the potential to become as strong as she was. But she had no idea that with each foe she defeated, a greater enemy was created."

Koa continued, "In one battle she took the life of the Duke of Carsley. His daughter pleaded with her not to, to save him, but she went ahead and killed him anyway. The daughter craved Aislin's blood but knew she'd never been able to get it, so she settled for the next best thing. When the opportunity arose, years later, she and a group of her best men broke into Aislin's home one night and killed her entire family."

He chuckled evilly, "She sat and waited for Aislin to return home and admire her lovely artwork. Aislin broke when she did. She shut herself off from the rest of the world from that day forward, hidden away on an island with the only person in the world she still trusted and cared about. Then one of her star pupils was abducted, forcing her to abandon her boring, comfortable life and return to the war. She should thank your weakness for bringing her back to reality. Thanks to you, she left her secluded little island, met new people, and is getting to go on adventures to places new and old."

The King was moved to tears as he listened to Aislin's life story. He was proud of how strong she had become despite having been through so much.

Koa stood and reached for the King's chin again, "Do you know who the daughter of the Duke of Carsley is?" Koa questioned. He then pointed to the blonde woman behind him, "Why don't you introduce yourself, my love?"

The blonde woman stepped forward and placed her hand on Koa's shoulder. She stretched up and planted a kiss on his cheek. When she pulled back, she smiled, "Sure thing." She looked at the King. He felt himself losing consciousness, but he was forcing himself to stay awake, just to hear her name.

"Elowen." She stuck out her hand, "Nice to meet you."

×××××××××××××

Author Note!

Hi everyone, Mickey here!

WHO CALLED IT!? I KNOW YALL DID! ELOWEN THAT SNAKE!

IM BACK BABY! WHOSE READYYYYYYY FOR PART TWOOOOO?! I hope y'all having forgotten about lil old me! *que the doughy eyes*

I would like to thank Grammarly. Yes, you sexy <3 because without you, this book would be a hot mess. That's all.

Um excuse me..? y'all got this dang book to over 10k in the last MONTH!? I-I...speechless..i just can't...

Thoughts >

Feelings >

Predictions >

Random >

How is your day today? Was it bad? Good? In between?

QOTD: Skirts or pants?

I like jeans. Jeans are my babe lol

These are the outfits our lovey characters are wearing >





Thank you for the beautiful cover prettymaknae37



- Mickey ✨