"So you are not his slave anymore?" Tyson asked with shock. After looking at how beautiful she is, he couldn't believe that Raphael let her go easily.
They are sitting in front of the small but that she built for herself. She is looking at the small fire in front of her. As the sun has gone down, the cold breeze began to blow, which made her shiver. Tyson easily lit a fire using his dragon breath. The dried twigs began to burn, slowly spreading warmth and chasing away the coldness.
Valerie sighed heavily and shook her head. Oddly she is feeling an uncomfortable twitch in her heart knowing that she might never see Prince Raven again.
Tyson on the other hand is happy. He is meddling with the bonfire in the middle. His back is facing her, so she missed the smile on his face. But Raphael didn't.
"I am glad that you got rid of him" he muttered.
Valarie smiled.
"It's more like the other way around. He got rid of me" she whispered sadly.
Her statement shocked both men. Tyson turned his head and looked at her with confusion. Raphael cocked his head and looked at her with surprise.
'This girl is a mystery ' he thought to himself. They failed to find out who she is and where she came from. Raphael found her that night, and she stayed with him and shared his bed for one year. But still, he doesn't know anything about her. Her name is the only thing she shared with them willingly. Her silence was her answer to every other question they asked.
'Indeed ' his dragon agreed.
"What do you mean? You are the most soft-hearted person I have ever met. You are pure and beautiful. Why would anyone want to get rid of you? He got the lucky chance of being with you for one year. I am shocked to find out that the Raven prince allowed you to leave at all. If I ever get a chance, then I would never let you go again" he confessed.
To any other girl, his words would have made them feel ecstatic. They would have squealed with happiness and they would have even jumped into his arms. But to her, a fragment of her past flashed in her mind.
'I will never let you go ' those same words from her past made her feel unsettled and scared.
'No, please goddess, save me from them ' she wished.
Raphael noticed the small frown and a flicker of terror in her eyes for a split second before it vanished. He learned to observe every little thing she does in this one year. She was always under his scrutiny even though she is not in front of him. He wanted to unravel this mystery named Valerie.
"That's what I am worried about" she whispered absently. Tyson is preoccupied with the bonfire, so he didn't seem to hear her words.
The more Valarie shares, the more mysterious she makes Raphael feel.
'Is she scared of going back home?' he realized by what she shared until now.
Tyson fixed the flame so that the fire is not too vigorous or not too little. After he is done, he moved back and sat beside her.
"You know Valerie, you remind me of a beautiful red rose," Tyson shared with a soft smile.
Suddenly she moved away from him as if his proximity is hurting her. Her breathing picked up and she began to gasp for breath. The dusky green pastures around her began to disappear and stone walls appeared around her. She found herself in a box which is filled with rose stems that have thorns on them. She is bleeding from everywhere, as the thorns are pricking her everywhere. Even a slight moment is agonizing.
"No, no, please" she began to beg when they dumped more thorny stems in the box.
Tyson is shocked to see Valerie lying on the ground and begging him to stop. She became pale and she began to cry. She was fine one second and the other second she is not.
"Valerie, Valerie" he tried to help her. But the moment he touched her, she began to fight with him and crawled out of his reach.
"What is wrong with her?" he thought with panic.
"Water, I think she might need some water," he thought and ran to fetch some water.
As soon as he ran away, Raphael hurried towards Valerie and roughly pulled her into a sitting position. She is fighting against his hold with everything she got. She managed to Scratch his arms, but he twisted her arms behind her back and held them firmly with one hand. He caught her face by firmly holding her cheeks and growled angrily. At once she stopped struggling. Her teary eyes snapped open with shock. But her gaze is unfocused as if she is inside her head.
"Please" she begged him. Fear, pain, misery, helplessness, her gaze holds a myriad of emotions.
Raphael's protective instinct came back ten folds. He never saw someone in so much pain. For the first time, he couldn't stop himself from helping her pull out of where ever she is in her head.
"Look into my eyes Valerie" he commanded. Like every other time, she instantly looked into his eyes and obeyed his command. He saw how vulnerable she is.
'What is this? Who are you?' he thought to himself.
'He will come for me. He said he will never let me go. He will throw me in that box with thorns again. It will hurt so much ' to his shock, she replied to him by connecting her mind with his.
For a moment everything stilled. He couldn't understand if she really spoke or if he imagined it. Because connecting to a royal dragon so deeply is impossible. She connected with him easily and even replied with her mind.
'Hydra, did you hear that?' he asked his dragon.
'Impossible, this is impossible. How did she connect with us? The power to connect like this is lost in time. Who is she?' he asked with awe.
'He will come for me. Her highness got hurt because of him ' Valerie spoke again.
This time she got his full attention.
'Who? Who is he? Why did he hurt her highness?' he questioned Valerie.
His familiar demanding voice and his scent brought her back to the present.
Her eyes came back to focus again. She looked straight into his eyes.
"Because she tried..." she whispered out loud before losing her conscience. She sagged on to Raphael, who caught her on instinct.
His mind is whirling with shock and confusion. He always prided himself that he will not being fazed by anything or anyone. From childhood, he is not a very emotional person. He was taught to rein in his emotions to become a successful king. He loves his mother and respects his father. A rare smile at his mother is the only thing that he remembers doing. But from the moment Valerie came into his life, she never fails to bring out his every emotion to life. Starting with anger, frustration, lust, protective instinct, jealousy, and now shock. You name it she did it. She is like a twisted pretzel without a beginning or end. Once she came into your life, she is everywhere.
By the time Tyson came back with water, he did not find Valerie anywhere. But he did not search for her, because he could feel the raw power still pulsing in the air, which made the fine hair on his body raise. He understood where she has gone. "Why did he send her away and now why did he take her back? This Raven prince is a mystery. Princess Tasha is vying for his attention for as long as i began to notice girls. But he barely looks at her. So many other women who are beautiful and who come from rich and powerful backgrounds are ready to jump into his bed if he snaps his finger at them. But here he is, running after a nobody like Valerie. He is her tormentor and her protector. I wish that she is safe" he thought out loud. Tyson is jealous of Raphael, who has what he wants. In the Raven Palace, "What happened to her?" Raphael asked the healer who is checking Valerie. The royal healer is one among the very few people who know why Valerie is taken as a slave by the Raven prince.
In the Raven palace, Raphael pricked queen Irina's index finger with a needle which is dipped in Valerie's blood. Quietly Irina looked at her son. She doesn't know what he is doing, but she is sure whatever it is, he is doing something to help her recover. But she is a little surprised at his act. It is the dead of the night and there is no one in the room except for them. He sent the maids out of the room, claiming that he wanted to be alone with his mother for a while.Raphael on the other hand waited anxiously for something to happen. He looked at his mother's finger, eagerly waiting. But nothing happened. It remained as still as it was before.He became depressed. He met his mother's curious gaze."That needle is bathed in Valerie's blood. She said that her blood has some kind of magic. I thought of trying it " he confessed.He saw the shock in her eyes, which made him smile sadly."I know mother. I am not someone who would believe in all this. But I can not lose you too. I alread
"Do you know anything about him?" Raphael inquired Valerie.She shook her head gently."He always used to hide in the shadows. He made me call him as 'Master '. For as long as I can remember, he is the only person I have spoken with. I heard a few voices but never saw anyone. I am sorry" she whispered softly feeling sad that she couldn't help him.Raphael closed his eyes tightly. The small glimpse of the life she has been living until she escaped is making him angry. He wanted to catch whoever this man is and kill him for trying to kill his mother and kidnapping Valerie."Is Valerie your real name?" he asked her softly.She never thought about that."I don't know. He always called me as Valerie" she confessed.Raphael is feeling like an asshole. He let his anger rule his actions. He wanted to punish her for hurting the only person he loves. "Come and sleep now," he told her offhandedly. So many things are running through his mind, and he is feeling restless. He is snapped out of his
"Go" Raphael parked his car in front of Valerie's school. He has some work in school, so he decided to drop her off in person. Valerie tried to open the car door, but she couldn't find what to pull. Raphael leaned over her and opened the door for her. "If you pull that, doors will open" he showed her. She nodded her head, understanding what he showed. This is the first time she sat inside a car. So she doesn't know how to open the car door and close it. Just when she is about to get out of the car, he stopped her. "Valerie" she paused in her tracks but did not look at him. "I am going out of Windsor for a couple of days. I found someone who can cure my mother. I will come back as soon as I can. Someone will come and pick you up from school. Feel free to ask the maids if you need anything. Ok?" he told her. Valerie became tensed. Everyone in the palace made it a point to show her their anger this morning when she was passing by them. She saw hatred aimed at her. But she did not t
That evening, no one came to pick up Valerie after school as Raphael said. She waited for an hour before walking back to the palace on foot. The palace guards gave her a once-over when she was passing by the gates. "I would love to tap that ass" they joked among themselves and began to laugh. Their crude remarks made her feel jittery and unsafe. She never thought a change of dressing would make her feel so scared and unsafe. She kept her head down and swiftly walked towards the room given to her that morning. Once she locked herself in the safety of the room she took a deep breath. On the other hand, Cadmus is angry. "Your highness king Raven, it looks like that slave girl has cast some spell over our prince. I heard that he commanded everyone to treat her nicely and cater to her needs this morning. If this goes on like this, then we might lose our Queen for good" a healer shared with Cadmus. He is the same healer whom Raphael called to treat Valerie the previous night. Cadmus
In the Raven Palace, Cadmus made the guards drag Valerie out of the safety of her new room. He made sure that everyone watch how she is being treated. The guards dragged her out of the palace and tied her to a pole outside so that everyone can watch how she is humiliated. Valerie is scared. The guards roughly dragged her out of the palace and tightly tie her arms and legs to a pole. This brought a piece of her past to the forefront of her mind. 'Stand there under the mercy of the elements until I come back a week later. This will teach you never to talk back with me ' her captor left her tied to a pole for a week without food or water. She was only twelve years old then. Valerie is brought back to the present when a crowd began to gather around her. As more people began to gather around, the more scared she became. "Your highness, please stop this before it's too late. I think his royal highness prince Raven wouldn't have forgiven her if she is really at fault" Roman urged agai
Valerie gasped with shock when she realized what happened. No one said a word. The two guards who came to whip her are now standing there in fear. "Prince Raven" Valerie whispered. Raphael is standing in front of her, with his front facing her. The blows which were meant to land on her body and tear her skin and make her bleed landed on him. But unlike her, he healed immediately, as if nothing has happened. Valerie is in shock. She couldn't believe her eyes. He is the same man who tormented her and treated her like a slave for one year. And now he is the same man who is protecting her from the wrath of so many people. In the short life she lived, all she faced is suffering. She didn't realize that she is looking into his eyes with her own filled with tears. "Are you alright?" he asked softly. She gave him a jerky nod. Her clothes are torn and she is bleeding and bruised. Raphael is fuming with anger when he saw how they all hurt Valerie. She suffered enough and he refused t
In the Raven palace, Irina's condition is so bleak. Her vitals are all dropping and the healers seem to lose hope of her survival. "Your highness King Cadmus, she might not live past this night. We should be prepared to live without our queen. We are so sad that we will lose our queen like this" the senior healer who seems to have developed an unhealthy dislike towards Valerie told the king. His name is Sanador. He has been serving the Raven clan for over two decades now. He is experienced and very popular for his skills in healing people whom no other healer can. Cadmus is feeling frustrated and helpless. He is believing that Valerie holds the information that helps Irina, but still, she refused to help them. "That slave, this is all because of that slave. I will kill her" he announced with anger. Sanador is feeling the same. "Your highness, that slave girl seems to indulge in some black magic. Look how she turned our prince against us. I am sure she has her eyes set on this t