The next morning, Valerie woke up feeling fresh and with a beautiful smile on her face. The chirping of the birds, the soft breeze kissing her, the soft rays of the sun gifting her a new day. She looked around the forest feeling so relaxed and peaceful. She use to carry the weight of what happened that night in her heart. The guilt and the sadness refused to leave her, no matter wherever she is. But now, she is finally free of her guilt as the queen recovered and she is finally free from the heavy shackles of her past.
Valerie doesn't have a penny to her name, nor does she have a plan of action to survive. She also knows that she might not get a job or a place to stay until she has that pendant around her neck.
She touched that pendant with her fingers. An image of Raphael popped into her mind, which made her shudder with fear. She took a choppy breath.
"I am glad that her highness queen Irina recovered Prince Raven. I am not angry about how you treated me. Because I can understand that your anger came from the love that you have for your mother. I am partly responsible for what happened that night. If she was not so kind and sweet, she wouldn't have suffered so much. I am sorry for that. I brought my curse upon her highness. I just hope and wish that you could forgive me for causing your family so much grief" she whispered sadly. She wiped away a lone tear that slipped past her thick black lashes.
Raphael, who is still watching her from afar heard her confession which confused him.
'What is she talking about? Is she under the impression that my mother recovered and that's why I sent her away? Or is this an act? Is she suspecting that she is being watched? ' he wondered.
Valerie found a nearby pond and washed up a little. She snapped a small twig from the neem tree and began to brush her teeth with it. It is said that neem has antibacterial and antibiotic natures. But it tastes sour.
After she is done washing, she plucked some more fruits and ate them all up.
Raphael is watching her every move, except when she is washing up. He saw how she made a small hut using thick logs and leaves that she collected. She used thin branches with thick leaves as a door to her small hut. She used flat wooden pieces to cover the top, on top of which she placed inch-high leaves to cover the gaps. It took her almost all day to finish building her shack. But by the time she is done, she is visibly tired and sweaty.
She ate some more fruits before walking towards the pond. She looked around the woods, and when she is sure she is alone, she began to get undressed. Raphael turned away from the view. He is angry and frustrated. She is doing things that he least expected her to do. But he wanted to find the cure to heal his mother.
'Damn it, what should I do?' he thought with frustration.
That's when he sensed that someone is coming. He swiftly turned to alert Valerie who is taking a bath. But she is now fully dressed in the same clothes that she was wearing before.
"Valerie?" Tyson called out louder this time. That morning he did not find Valarie anywhere in the school. He began to suspect that the Raven prince might have done something to hurt her. But then, Tasha told him happily about how the Raven prince threw Valarie out of the palace and how she is begging on the streets. That's when he and his friends started searching for her. Someone told him that they saw her going this way. He is praying that she should be safe.
Valerie's ears perked up when she caught Tyson's voice.
'Prince Tyson? Here? What is he doing here?' she wondered. Her heart skipped a beat and ran in the direction from where she heard his voice.
Tyson is looking around for Valerie. When his gaze landed on the girl who is running towards him, he stopped dead in his tracks. She secured her hair into a loose bun which is sitting at the nape of her neck. Her smooth and angelic features are visible to him for the first time. He knows her for over a year now, but he never got a chance to look at her face clearly. Her curls are always in the way. But now, her full pink lips are stretched into a smile, showing her visible straight white teeth. Her unique grey eyes are twinkling with delight at the sight of him. He never saw how true happiness looks, until that moment. He understood that she is happy to see him.
'My goodness, this is the reason why that Raven prince tied her to him. She is looking like an angel who descended from heaven' he thought.
He is so transfixed, that he didn't respond even after she came and stood in front of him for over a couple of minutes.
Raphael is watching Tyson with anger and jealousy. The way he is looking at Valerie is making him feel territorial over his slave.
'Hmm, someone is jealous' Hydra teased him.
'Shut up Hydra. Why would I be jealous of a criminal and my slave? ' he snapped.
Hydra smiled knowingly, before going to the back of his mind.
"Ahh? Prince Tyson?" Valerie waved her palm in front of his face to gain his attention. She can not read and understand the adoration shining in his eyes for her.
Tyson blinked once and twice before he realized that she is waiting for him to speak.
"Thank God you are safe. What happened? What are you doing here?" he asked her with concern.
"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 h
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