The Blood King's Bride

The journey back to the Red Queen's restaurant was a bit lively as it was comfortable. Svetlana made sure to keep the discussion going, and even though Darukï hardly made any comment, Elena felt comfortable with him. When they finally reached the restaurant, they could see Mac and Forest, who both stood outside and were contemplating. While Forest still sat outside where Svetlana had found him earlier, Mac slowly paced by the entrance. Overcome with happiness at seeing them again, Elena called out to them, tears running down her face.

"Forest! Mac!"

They turned to face who had called them, and Forest jumped up from his seat immediately he saw her.

"Elena!" He shouted, his voice choked with grief. He ran towards her and enveloped her

in a big hug. Soon after, Mac joined in the reunion, swallowing them both with his arms as tears poured from his eyes. Svetlana and Daruki stood quietly behind, allowing them their private moment.

There they all stood, weeping tears of joy. They never once gave in to the thought of

defeat, but that didn't stop all sorts of things from running through their head. They were so happy that they could finally be together again.

Pulling apart, Mac wiped his eyes, and Forest sniffed. They both took her hands,

dragging their eyes across her frame to convince themselves that she was really there. Elena, noticing their reaction, couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm really here." She said, grinning widely.

"Oh, Elena," Forest said, enveloping her in a hug. "You had no idea how scared we were.

Oh, I'm so grateful that you are alright."

Patting his back to comfort him, Elena closed her eyes and smiled.

"Let's all go inside." Mac finally said, smiling as he led them all into the restaurant.

Svetlana and Darukï followed them from behind.

As it was still night-time, the restaurant was dark, so Mac went into the kitchen to get light. A little while later, Mac came out with a lit candle placed in a wax pot, and he settled it atop a table where they had all gathered around, already seated. Dragging out a seat for himself, Mac made himself comfortable and finally asked the question plaguing him ever since she had been kidnapped.

"Are you okay?"

Elena looked up and gave him a soft smile, although that did little to soothe the seriousness etched on his face.

"I'm okay, really."

"Ugh! I wish I could rip out Joustin's eyes." Forest said, his face filled with hatred.

"Where is he by the way?"

Elena noted that they didn't know that her main kidnapper was Daruki, sharing the table

with them. Sending him a silent look, she decided not to tell her friends the truth.

"I do not know. He left me in a shed and only visits me once in a while. Today, when I

was rescued by Svetlana and this man, I also didn't see him around."

Mac looked up at Darukï, noticing him for the first time. If he was surprised at his scarred

face, he didn't show it.

"Thank you, for helping our girl." He said.

Darukï faced Elena, and seeing her smile in return, he turned back to Mac and replied with a nod.

"Well, let's get you rested," Mac said, standing up. You have had a long day. I'm sure that your grandfather is expecting you.

Elena's heart stopped as she turned to look at them

"You know?"

Mac smiled at her gently. "When Svetlana came, she told us your real identity. Don't

worry though, that doesn't change anything. You are still our Elena."

Elena couldn't stop the tears that poured from her eyes. Wiping it, she stood up and walked over to where her friends sat, hugging them once more.

"Thank you!"

"You must have had your reasons," Mac comforted her while Forest nodded his response. Then they pulled apart, Mac turned to face Svetlana and Daruki.

"You both are also welcome here. Svetlana can share a room with Elena, and you," he said, pointing to Daruki, "with Forest."

Scrunching her brows, Elena remembered something.

"Where is Wazir? Isn't he here?"

"No." Forest said. "He volunteered to help look for you. Said that he would feel more at ease if he looked for you rather than sit down and wait. Don't worry, he would return." Elena nodded and wished them all goodnight, taking Svetlana with her to her room. Immediately she reached her bed, she crashed and fell asleep almost instantly.

*****

The next day came almost immediately, and Elena woke up, smiling that she could finally wake up without being surrounded by darkness. She stepped out of her room and went to the serving area of the restaurant, where everyone had gathered. Seeing Svetlana and Daruki, she remembered that Svetlana had slept in her room. She didn't even feel her presence. She was that tired.

"Over here Elena," Forest called out once he noticed her.

"Come and have your breakfast."

Elena walked over to the table and sat down. Greeting everyone, she looked at the food

set for her. Mac had really gone all out, serving them all his most prized dish. She turned to face him, a question etched on her face. Noticing her dilemma, Mac shrugged nervously. "You have been gone for a long while. Eat this to replenish your strength." He said, not making eye contact with her. Elena was extremely grateful, but noticing his discomfort, she just thanked him and did as he had asked.

They all ate their breakfast in comfortable silence, except for Forest, who kept trying to make jokes. Elena studied him, wondering how he was after their incident. As if feeling her eyes on him, Forest turned to face her and gave her a huge grin.

"If you can't finish that dish, I'm always here you know." He said teasingly.

"Who said I can't finish it?" She replied, digging back into her food. Forest laughed at her reaction.

Half an hour later, they were all done, and Svetlana suggested that they head straight to the king's castle. Mac and Forest waved at them, wishing them goodbyes as they made their way out of the restaurant.

None of them made small talk through the long walk to the castle. Elena didn't even

notice, as she was busy thinking random thoughts. She wondered why the king's castle was in a town and not the capital city, just like other kingdoms. She reminded herself to ask her grandfather if he would let her one day.

Finally becoming aware of her surroundings, she noted the thick silence amongst the three. Not able to take it anymore, she brought up a topic for discussion.

"You haven't told me your name." She said politely, facing Daruki. He had covered his face with a veiled hat to avoid drawing attention.

"I apologize." He bowed his head slightly. "My name is Daruki."

"How did you guys meet?" She questioned, gesturing to the both of them.

"Darukï is my father." Svetlana started. "I came to this Kingdom to search for him. He

had been missing for many years."

"What happened?"

"There was an internal strife in our clan." Darukï suddenly spoke up. As my daughter and

I escaped, a huge incident caused us to be separated from one another."

"Oh my, I am so sorry for that." She said sincerely. They merely nodded their head and resumed their silence.

"How did you meet my father?" She asked. She had been wondering about that ever since her kidnap. She had never heard of any formidable man working for her father before. Svetlana and Daruki turned to look before Daruki started, facing her.

"Your father was the one who found me after that incident. I was gravely injured and was on the road when your father took me in and cared for me. So I owe him my life."

Elena's heart thudded heavily in her chest. She had never for once thought of her father as

a good man. To hear it from someone else was weird and a little bit annoying. "Why do you help me then?" She couldn't stop the quivering in her voice. Noticing her discomfort, Darukï softened his tone.

"My daughter. When Lana told me what you had gone through, I had no choice but to release you. Yes, I owe him my life, but I cannot imagine doing what he did to you to my daughter."

"Y-You released me just for that?"

Daruki nodded his head. "Though I would have to send him a message about my betrayal,

it's nothing that I couldn't fix."

Elena remained silent for a while, deep in thought.

"Where you the only one he sent for me?"

Daruki shook his head. "There were some men he ordered to go with me, but I didn't

work with them as they were too rowdy, and they didn't feel comfortable around me. I wonder

why." He said drily. Svetlana snickered by his side.

"I would also have to send them back though." He continued. "They would be the ones

who would pass across the message to the king."

Elena smiled at him. "Thank you so much." She said. He just nodded.

Finally, they reached the castle gates. Elena had only ever seen the gate where the king's birthday took place. As she got closer to it, she took notice of the things she hadn't noticed before. The gates were grander than they looked from where she had stood at the event, and the balcony was much higher. When they reached the gates, two guards stood blocking their way. Immediately Svetlana introduced herself and showed them a wooden label. They bowed to her and quickly made way for her, opening the gates. Svetlana must surely be her grandfather's right- hand man for her to receive that sort of attention.

Once they entered the castle grounds, Elena sucked in a gasp. The compound was huge, and there were so many flowers lining up a path that led straight to the inner part of the castle. By the extreme side of the compound was a lake, and a beautiful bridge was built on it. She wondered how the view of the palace would look from there. They made their way through the path towards the castle. When she entered, she was struck again by its grandeur. They had entered a huge hall, and right in its middle was a huge chandelier. Two grand staircases ran from both the left and right sides of it. There were pictures drawn on its ceiling, and it was extremely high. She had to crane her neck to study it properly.

The hall floors were tiled, and they shone like glass. The walls were painted beige, and Elena thought it helped bring out its elegance. Whoever had designed the place had a wonderful gift of interior decor. She felt that they might get along nicely.

Svetlana led them down the hall to a passage by the middle of both staircases. Along the route were paintings of the previous kings and their families. Elena slowed down as she walked through the path, taking it all in.

Her mother's ancestors were powerful people. She felt intimidated just looking at the pictures. She walked down, studying picture to picture, trying to see if she had any resemblance

to any of them. Finally, she came to the painting of her grandfather. She wouldn't have recognized him had she not seen the person with him in the photo.

His wife. Her grandmother.

Her grandmother, when younger, was the exact copy of her mother. Although her mother

had her father's hair, her whole feature was her mother. She swallowed a sob as she recognized

that she probably also looked like her grandmother, and probably the exact copy of her as both of

them shared the same hair, the colour of snow, and the same facial features.

Finally, Svetlana reached a door and knocked on it. A loud voice boomed for them to

enter, and Elena felt her heart racing.

She was about to meet her grandfather.

Svetlana slowly walked inside the room, with Elena right behind her. Daruki was the last.

Elena didn't have the time to take in the surroundings as the object of her visit was standing, looking at them.

And a very guilty-looking Wazir standing next to him.