Page 12
“Hurry up!” the short goblin man hissed to the larger Fae.
The men successfully incapacitated the princess, but struggled to tie her hands and feet together. The hemp rope was stiff from disuse, and the Fae male’s sweaty hands hindered his ability to grip it properly.
“Maybe if you helped me, this would go faster,” the Fae male spat back and continued to wrap the rope around the princess’ ankles.
She may wake up soon; the men must work faster. The goblin man paced back and forth, looking around for curious eyes. A strong gust of wind flowed through the autumn trees, blowing orange-tinted leaves off their branches and scattering them on the ground around them. The goblin man crunched a few of the leaves under his black boots as his pacing became more erratic.
The Fae male finished tying the princess’ ankles and reached for the second bundle of rope by the pacing goblin’s feet. Even though it was well beyond dusk at this point, the early fall air was still damp, causing the Fae male’s long hair to stick to his forehead. He wiped his hands on his trousers and snatched the bundle of rope, then made quick work of tying the princess’ hands together in front of her body. There was no need to tie them behind her back. The Fae knew for certain she didn’t have the strength to pose a threat to either of them if she woke up.
“There, she’s secured.” The dark-haired Fae rose to his feet once more and strode to the impatient goblin.
“Tarron, fetch the carriage, and be quiet about it.”
Tarron grunted at the Fae male in response, waving a dismissive hand as he headed to the carriage hidden in the trees outside of the palace gates. The Fae looked down at the princess and sighed. How much longer would he have to do these jobs? How long would Erebus continue to extort him?
The threats of killing his mother become more and more realistic over the years. Erebus has become insatiably hungry for power, and anyone standing in his way is nothing but a nuisance to him. He would not hesitate to eradicate even the only person left who loved him.
The Fae reached up to trace the thick scar that lined his jaw and continued to the back of his neck. Memories from the night of his attack played in his mind—all the screaming, the blood…the lifeless bodies that haunted his nightmares.
The male did not have time for distractions. He needed to make sure the princess got into the carriage for Daqet. He closed his eyes and prayed to the Gods that once she was delivered, Erebus would leave him alone.
He hoped no one saw him leave the palace. He’d already had to manipulate one mind tonight, his friend and coworker who’d insisted they had to go out drinking. The male was able to convince his friend he was participating in their night of drinking, but would instead pour the contents of his mug directly into his friend’s across the table when he wasn’t paying attention. The Fae male didn’t enjoy manipulating his friend’s memories, but this job had to be done. He did not want to manipulate anyone else tonight.
His friend just so happened to be in love with this princess in particular, but the Fae male couldn’t fathom why. She was too cheery, and her hair too red, qualities the Fae male did not find attractive. One princess did occupy his thoughts, though. Silver hair and deep emerald eyes filled his vision for a split second, and he found himself wondering what she was doing at this very moment. He hoped it was nothing worse than what he was doing to her sister now.
He couldn’t wait to go back to his bedroom in the palace and stare at the emerald-colored curtains covering his windows, or the two constellations painted on the ceiling above his bed that seemed to flicker greetings before he went to sleep and after he woke up.
The wind began to pick up its pace, and it was the Fae’s turn to start pacing.
“Where is that wretched goblin?” he whispered to himself as his boots scraped against the gravel.
Puffs of dirt clouds rose as his pacing quickened, and his eyes darted around the path with paranoia.
After what felt like a lifetime, the unmarked carriage emerged from the woods and traveled to where the princess was lying, still unconscious, on the ground.
“Gods, what took you so long?” He had meant to whisper, but his voice was slightly raised with his urgency to get this over with.
“Don’t get all worked up, boy. I came as quickly as I could. The damn horses had to take a shit.”
Tarron hit the ground with a thump as he slid off the driver’s seat and began to lift the princess off the ground. The male grabbed her legs as Tarron struggled to lift her by the shoulders.
“You should really work out more.”
The male set the princess back on the ground and shoved Tarron aside. He lifted the princess into his arms as if she weighed no more than a feather and carried her to the carriage door himself.
“Would you mind?” The male bounced his eyes back and forth between the door handle and Tarron.
Gods, must I do everything myself? he thought.
Tarron shuffled his way over and opened the door, “Just put her in already.”
A loud, crunching sound emerged from the direction that Tarron had just come, and both men froze. They looked at each other, asking a silent question— “What the fuck was that?”
The male’s hands began to sweat again, and he quickly moved to put the princess in the carriage. Tarron ran over to the ladder and climbed up to the driver’s seat. The male gave the carriage roof a light tap to indicate she was safely inside and Tarron could leave.
Once in his seat, Tarron turned to the male. “We appreciate your efforts. Your stepfather will be very pleased.”
The male recoiled at the useless title of stepfather. Erebus may have been married to his mother, but he would never see him as any sort of father figure. Not when his actual father still visited him in his dreams.
“It’s not like I had a choice, and you know that, Tarron.”
Another loud crunch sounded from the woods, but this time, it was much closer. The men shot their gaze to the direction the noise came from, and at the tree line, they could see two glowing, white eyes staring back at them.
“Go!” the male shouted at Tarron. Tarron cracked the whip, and the horses took off.
The male turned his gaze back to the tree line, only to find the milky white orbs were no longer watching. They’d seemed to vanish in a matter of seconds.
So, he did the only sensible thing he could think of and vanished as well.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12 (Reading here)
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39