Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Chapter 2
The silence was too much and Aurora was worried. “What are you thinking my love?” she asked softly and sat on the bed too close to Artemis. These two were so used to each other, being naked and vulnerable was their way of showing love towards one another. At first Artemis was having problems being fully bare in front of Aurora, but with time he got used to that and it was his safe place.
“It’s the letter, it got into my head”
Aurora kissed his right shoulder and placed her head on his neck “We will be alright, the last thing we need right now is to send our men to war after we just fought the elves not a while back. Let the Prophisians fight their wars, let’s not indulge them” she advised and pulled Artemis slowly back to bed and sat on his lap.
Aurora’s waist was full of tiny small waist beards made of different colors of precious stones, this was a way of tradition and customs for many girls in Maldonia. She took Artemis’s hands and placed them on her waist, Artemis held on to the chains and smiled.
“I always adored these... ”
Aurora smiled and leaned on to him “I know” she told him and kissed his lips. The kiss was brief, sweet and tender it almost turned Artemis on. “Promise me you’ll come back”
“I promise”
.....
“Promise me no matter what happens you will never leave me, and certainly not die”
At this point Artemis was alarmed, the kisses which were all over his neck faded and he pulled Aurora’s hair and looked into her eyes. “Why are you worried? You said in your visions you saw us, getting married”
“I did” replied Aurora and then she reached out for Artemis’s manhood and started to stroke it softly. It wasn’t hard yet and she intended to make it hard, her nails were soft and the weak spot of Artemis who suddenly forgot what he wanted to say.
“Hmm...” Artemis just moaned at the touch.
“What were you saying my king?” Aurora teased him, she giggled softly at how hard Artemis’s manhood was getting inside her hand, and it was big.
She increased the magnitude and Artemis feared he may burst out right there on Aurora’s hand as he moaned. Aurora inserted Artemis’s manhood inside her and then she rode him like a stallion. This was the perfect moment and she knew Artemis won’t last for long and he will spill his seeds all over her – he never lasts in occasions like that.
The moaning continued and grew into a groan, Aurora made sure to ask him things like “How do you feel? Is this alright? Should I keep going?” and those questions were met with “Yes, yes” without objection from Artemis.
All this time Lord Balon, the hand of the king was outside the king’s chamber requesting to go inside. The two king’s guards whose faces were completely covered by their head armors had stopped him, but later on he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get inside after what he was hearing from where he stood.
“Is he -?” asked Lord Balon but the guards seemed to be way serious and not in the mood to indulge in gossip. “Alright, I’ll come back later or I’ll just wait for him in the council” he added and walked away.
The sudden death of his father who was very dear to her, made Princess Thelma so sad and depressed. She didn’t have a taste on anything or anyone, all she did was cry all day and night. The kingdom was in a state of mourning, House Taelin fell down and with any hopes maybe it will rise again when Prince Castellan Taelin take the throne.
During the night when the cold got worse and it snowed even more than during the day Princess Thelma felt as if she was suffocated. She got up from the bed, put on her dress and covered herself with a cloak, then she walked outside of her chambers holding a candle.
It was too silent and dark with an exception of few movements possibly from the servants and guards who were moving from one point to the next. The only place she thought she will be safe was the temple where her father’s body was placed inside a tomb fully dressed in his golden robe and black cloak.
The princess walked inside the temple discreetly hoping she was the only one inside there, however she realized she wasn’t alone when she saw a male figure lighting candles around the tomb which had King Taelin’s body inside.
It only took a minute for Princess Thelma to notice that the figure lighting candles late at that night was Father Henry, the High Septon.
“Oh, you scared me for a moment Father” said princess Thelma and proceeded inside the temple. She blew off wind on her candle and it went off, after all the temple had too much candles she didn’t need one anymore.
“I couldn’t sleep my princess, these days the winter seem to have last through a lifetime. It’s getting colder each day”
“I couldn’t agree more Father”
Father Henry finished lighting up the temple and walked to where princess Thelma was standing, these two have been friends ever since Thelma was a toddler. They had a mutual understanding and that father – daughter sort of relationship.
“What’s keeping you late at night?” asked Father Henry.
Princess Thelma sighed “My father...” she cried. “I keep having dreams, nightmares to be exact” she wiped her nose and sat down on a chair.
Father Henry followed her and sat close “Nightmares? What are they about?”
“I don’t know... they all come in pieces. I don’t understand them, I don’t want to understand them...” Princess Thelma placed her face inside her arms and cried hysterically. It was as if the temple had reminded her all over again that her father was gone.
“I fear the worst too princess, perhaps your brother was right”
This caught the princess’s attention and she rose her face and looked at Father Henry “What do you mean he was right?” she asked.
“He said I should speed up the coronation ceremony and crown him king right now instead of waiting for six moons”
“He asked you for that?”
Father Henry nodded “And he seemed to be displeased when I told him that we have to wait for the lords confirmation and the moon to crescent and give us the date, just like the usual Prophisian way. He said Lucian is out there recruiting men and he’s marching to Prophis as we speak”
“Lucian? Lucian Mithandir?” asked Princess Thelma and even though King Taelin tried everything on his power to make sure his children weren’t aware of the dark history that followed him like a shadow, yet the Prophisians never forgot.
The rumors that he wasn’t the true king of Prophis were spoken all over the capital. People were hanged, beheaded and worse burned alive but still they kept talking and that’s how Princess Thelma and her brothers came to know of their father’s false claim to the throne.
“I used to hear about the great house of Mithandir. Their power, their gold and coins, and some said they were closer to the gods than men. My father never wanted me to speak about them saying they were old news, things of the past...” said Princess Thelma.
Then as if she was in spiral of what to say next, she stood up and walked straight to her father’s tomb. “Princess! You cannot...” Father Henry warned and rushed to stop her.
“I just want to see him...” And then she opened the tomb and saw her father laying down dead fully dressed. Princess Thelma cried even more and Father Henry was alarmed what if someone barged into the temple.
Thelma touched her father’s face “He is really dead” she kept crying, now even way more than before. She kept touching his face and then her hand fell on Taelin’s neck, and that’s when Princess Thelma saw a cut.
But it was dark, could it really be a cut? Without even knowing what she was really doing princess Thelma reached out for a candle nearby and looked into King Taelin’s neck. “There’s a cut on his neck Father” she said.
‘What?”
“Come on my side and look” The princess pulled Father Henry close to her side and they both looked at Taelin’s neck.
“Someone slit my father’s throat and threw him over the balcony”
“My princess let’s not jump to conclusion. I suggest we leave right now”
“But -”
Princess Thelma was suspicious and she wanted to know more, however Father Henry knew better that if she stayed behind and insisted into wanting to know more, then she will end up dead. “Whoever murdered the king is still inside the palace, we have to be careful” he insisted and closed the temple.
That whole night it was like a bizarre swam of bees inside the princess’s head. She had no idea who could really slit the king’s throat and got away with it. However, not even once did she suspect her brother Prince Castellan could ever do that, hence she promised to tell her brother the moment he wakes up.