The Exposed Witch

"Argh...! Where the fuck did she even come from?"

She loved to think she knew King Ambrose better than anyone in Rakhbar. After all, she was the one responsible for bringing up that tormented child. She watched Ambrose change with a purpose in life. It was him, who gave her a purpose in this world.

The moment he became her savior, her fate was sealed to him. In frustration, she sat down, untying the bundle of another set of letters.

With her one hand, she flipped the table, clattering everything in the room. She breathed hard, trying to reign in her rage.

Scoffing, she picked the letters from the floor and threw them against the wall. All the intel was mundane and nothing that would faze King Ambrose.

Though she had just laid the foretold as an excuse, there was something amiss about the foreign Princess. She was sure there was a secret this Ehanian Princess carried.

It just wasn't possible for her to survive a mad lycan as strong as the King. Maybe if she’d see the Princess herself, she would come to any conclusion.

"It can't be! A wench can't ruin my plans. Everything was going perfectly but this..." Her hands trembled as she tried to hold it together. She had worked to build this Empire as it was, for years. Everything was finally within her reach. She could finally return to her world but an insignificant bitch has come to ruin her plans!

She had thought about it before when she first heard of the Princess who had survived the night with the King's beast. She couldn't be human... but what else could she be? 

Unlike the opulent life she lived now, she had her lows in life so she had seen several unspeakable things and unfathomable horrors. Her experience told her there was something about the Princess.

Ambrose had placed that Princess in the Main Palace. What if... he was planning on crowning her or, worse, giving her his heir? She snatched her hair in hysteria.

"Why? Why isn't she dead?! What the hell went wrong!" Her prediction can't be wrong, the setup wasn't to be interrupted. He can't have another lady now when her destiny is within her reach!

If the King had an heir, the heir would inherit the power to control the 'gate' to her world! It was hard to trick this King, how will she wait another lifetime for his heir to grow up?!

She had assumed the woman would eventually die in Hazi's or Scarlet's hand but somehow the cunning woman was using them to her convenience with terrifying ease.

If Hazi took his hand off the matter and Scarlet constantly kept guarding her, this Laylin would have the King! With how young and beautiful she was known to be, the King might give her his heir...

She covered her face with her hands, shaking it off, "No, No! I can't let it be!" The woman had to die for her to survive...

With her mind made up, Sayon got up from the trashed floor and exited her suite, locking her room as she left. She neared the palace, still dressed in her nightgown.

Even though she was still barely dressed it wouldn't matter unless the King was to see her. She went toward the Main Palace, owned by the King. As soon as she entered, she saw a familiar face.

"Huh?"

It was Laylin's servant. She went past her without courtesy or call. Sayon stopped in her tracks.

"How dare you ignore me..." Sayon felt insulted but ended up rolling her eyes. 

The servant girl was stumbling about in a daze and was shivering. Now what kind of trance is she in? 

“You, stop there!” she called out to her as the servant crouched down on a nearby flower bed and plucked out several thorny flowers. 

Unaware of her surroundings, the servant chanted something wordlessly and plucked from other bushes too. Her hands were bleeding at this point. 

Confused, Sayon waved at her, giving the roughed-up bushes a once over. The servant collected arms full of weeds and flowers before getting up and heading in the direction of the West Tower.

Furrowing her brows at the scene, she recalled having seen the girl snooping on her several times. The King's mistress approached her.

“You fool! The direction you are heading to is the West Tower Forest, it is haunted by the Royal's Ancestory's spirits. I wouldn't dare step in there if I was you.” she informed her but the girl went on in a trance as if she couldn't see her. It made Sayon frown. Grumbling about it, she followed her.

She came here to confront the Princess and even though she knew a weak-minded servant couldn't become a disgrace for a woman in the King's Palace but somehow she felt it was similar to a... Witch's trance.

Particularly one who had been confined for a long time. If she was a witch then kicking out the Foreign Princess would be a piece of cake!

After contemplating for a while, Sayon decided to follow her anyway, “Damn me! I'll kill you for wasting my time if you are just an ordinary lunatic.” She spat, sighing as she looked around at the isolated dark forest.

'SEeAk!!! WHOOSH! '

She walked behind the young woman, keeping a safe distance, before being greeted with loud whirring sounds. She winced, the sound was making the ground vibrate but it only made her more excited at what she might see. 

The direction this day was heading to was thrilling to her. Sayon might not be able to persecute the Ehanian Princess for a mad maid but she certainly can for bringing a witch into the palace under disguise!

And if things work well she can even make up something about that night! If she claimed a witch was there who had attacked the King on the Princess's command it would be a certain death sentence for the foreign Princess!

The Lycan Beasts hated witches!

She gleefully jumped on her feet but stumbled back several steps. She cursed under her breath, complaining about how loud it was then suddenly the wind took a drastic turn. She shot the whirling wind a glare. It was becoming physically impossible for her to pass by.

"Ahh!" She gasped as a twig scratched her cheek. "Shit! Things were so much easier before, and a lot less of a nuisance when that darned Princess wasn't here! Now my face is ruined!"

Hardly reaching past the heavy winds, she screamed in horror at what she saw. The servants had her face turned to the sky. Everything in the forest revolved around her fragile young body.

Perhaps her aura was making a physical barrier between her and her environment. Sayon shook her head and tightly held onto the tree trunk that was close to her.

Now the girl was illuminating a heated white light. Scared out of her wits, the Sayon tried to move away from the scene but the winds were too strong.

Silence suddenly fell, everything stilled, floating in the air. Just when Sayon thought things had calmed down, a loud deafening noise resonated and everything darkened fo her.

…...  

It was after the dreadful blast that she took a stroll and came into the biggest library on the continent.

The King’s words from that night in the library echoed in her ears as she scourged through books in the Main Palace. Though there didn't seem to be any readers here, this library was the oldest and biggest collection. Wandering around, Laylin reached a bizarre area.

A book at the far end caught her eye. It was embedded in a golden wall with spiky vines around it. In a trance, she walked toward it and observed.

Her mind was somewhere else.

The more she recalled his words, the more she found it incredulous that such a thing was possible. He didn't seem like the type of man to be throwing such tricks to play with a witch.

But how could he not remember how she had tossed him in the air? She smiled a little at the thought. If it is up to her she will take the secrets of that night to her grave.

Fortunately or unfortunately, because of this, everyone became obsessed with what happened. Now all eyes were on her every move. An escape in such a situation will be impossible but soon when this obsession will fade, she will have her chance.

Lost tn thought, she extended her hand to touch the visible spine of the book when suddenly the vines receded. With a gasp, she sprang away before her curiosity had her take a look. She touched the book and it fell on the floor.

"Did I break it...?"

Looking around, she pursed her lips. 'Thank God No one saw me!'

Cautiously, she grabbed the old decayed book with a wooden cover. It had no label, just creepy old intricate engravings. She flipped open a page randomly and read.

"End is bleak and the rise close, The crimson Rukh and the guardian of the flame, One who bleeds blue holds the fate of those, Beware, every cheat has a price. Curse is on the name. Huh!"

She furrowed her brows not understanding a word. Repeating the words over and over she tried to remember where she had heard them before but nothing came to mind. She turned the pages but every other page was blank.

"Now what is this?"

A loud thunderous noise startled her, she dropped the book and turned to see the source. The front window was crashed with something. She took a step in that direction only to feel something move behind her. She turned and gasped in horror. 

The dropped book was embedded back in the golden vines!

"What...! How...?"

With ragged breaths, she ran from there. Pushing doors open she ran through the corridor. Despite the cold air, her fear provided her with enough adrenaline. She sped up as the skies turned orange, giving the afternoon a golden glow as the sun began to set.

Who knows what kind of sorcery this was?! For the first time in years, she regretted sending her attendants away. She frantically looked for someone. 

“Princess Laylin! Princess!” a shrill voice called out to her, making Laylin halt, just in time for several armed knights to pass by her, and march toward the direction of the King’s Palace.

"Princess!”