I was awakened by the faint sound of water drops near me. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a church-like shelter. The paintings on the wall were already faded, and there were large cracks as well. Broken pews were disassembled, and some glass pieces from the stained window were scattered on the dirty tile floor. “Where am I?” My hands were aching, and my feet felt strained like I had already been standing for a few hours.When I looked up, I saw my hands tied with a thick rope on a horizontal wood, supported by two vertical panels. I remembered I lost consciousness earlier. How long have I been sleeping? Where am I? Where’s that stupid vampire? What happened to the queen, Caius, and Vivar?I panicked and struggled to loosen up the knot, but they were too tight. It started to rain outside, and the thunder was deafening. I only realized it was too dark because of the rain clouds. If the movies are right, vampires cannot survive under the sunlight. But since it’s covered with thick cloud

“I need to change my clothes,” I told Caius. He was almost done wiping off the blood stains on my arms.“I’ll help you,” he offered.My eyes widened seeing how calm he was to say that. “I can do it on my own,” I told him.“You can barely move.” He scowled as he stared at me from head to toe.“I can,” I demanded and tried to get up but I lost my balance, and fell into his arms. I thought I had already regained my energy but my knees were still shaking. That cruel vampire had really beat me well. “I-I’ll ask help from the queen instead,” I muttered. “Why not me?” Caius insisted. I was starting to feel embarrassed and I was giving him the look but he couldn’t seem to get it. “What? You’re my fiance, so there’s nothing wrong if I’ll help you change your clothes. I’ll close my eyes if you’re uncomfortable.”“What?? I thought we already talked about this. Why still call me your fiance?” I was frustrated why he was suddenly bringing up the fake status. A crazy thought hit my mind and I acci

“Why are you still here?” Caius annoyingly asked Amaris who was sitting at the crumbling table in front of him.“I’m the one supposed to ask you that,” Amaris responded. He was playfully twirling the dagger in his hand. The queen had just finished cooking scrambled eggs and laid the platter on the table where Amaris and Caius were sitting. “Can you please put that down? It’s dangerous to play with your dagger,” she scolded Amaris.“And who are you to say that?” Amaris retorted, making Caius grits his teeth. The prince was about to stand but the queen gave him a sharp look.“It’s obvious that your mother didn’t raise you well. I feel bad for you,” Queen Morrigan gave Amaris a pitying look to purposely annoy him.“What?! Well same with your son. It’s obvious that you didn’t raise him well either.” Amaris smirked at Caius.Caius raised again with his closed fist. Badly wanting to strike Amaris in the face.“Enough!” The queen scolded. She grabbed Amaris’ arm to stop him from spinning the

The purple garment of her cloak gracefully draped on the marble floor. Her right leg was exposed as she crossed her feet on her throne. She sluggishly leaned on her seat and gently massaged her temples with her velvety fingertips. She’s been drinking wine since morning, brooding about how to capture the chosen one. Before she loses consciousness, the gigantic metallic door creaks open. She irritatedly opened her eyes to see who the intruder was.“Your highness,” Druji bowed as soon as the queen saw her.“I thought you were enjoying your reign in your mother's castle. What suddenly brings you here?” Dubheasa asked in a blunt tone.“I found a bait to capture Nemiah,” she confidently informed the queen.Dubheasa’s pale skin suddenly bloomed as soon as she heard her. She stood from her seat and paced towards her to hear her more clearly. “Did you just say you found a bait to capture that girl? Are you sure about this?” She wanted to be assured.“You heard it right, my queen. I have jailed

I felt responsible for Vivar’s death. It wouldn't have happened if I was really the chosen one and had defeated Dubheasa just from the very start. But I’m useless. I wanted to blame the queen for imposing on me that I am their savior. I turned to her, trying to calm myself. “How can I help? You’re telling me I’m the chosen one but I don’t have any power to defeat the evil queen. I think you made a mistake. I am not the chosen one.” I complained as I wiped my tears using the back of my hands. Queen Morigan cleared up her tears and approached me. She gently sat beside me and took my trembling hands and gently pressed it. “The scroll.” She uttered. My brows furrowed to that statement. “What scroll?” I asked. “The last piece of the scroll hidden in the forbidden fortress. The answer is there.” She answered. That’s when I remembered about the scroll I once found in an abandoned castle. It was located in the deep woods when I was trying to escape. But I can’t remember where I left it after