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
In the Raven palace, Irina's condition is so bleak. Her vitals are all dropping and the healers seem to lose hope of her survival. "Your highness King Cadmus, she might not live past this night. We should be prepared to live without our queen. We are so sad that we will lose our queen like this" the senior healer who seems to have developed an unhealthy dislike towards Valerie told the king. His name is Sanador. He has been serving the Raven clan for over two decades now. He is experienced and very popular for his skills in healing people whom no other healer can. Cadmus is feeling frustrated and helpless. He is believing that Valerie holds the information that helps Irina, but still, she refused to help them. "That slave, this is all because of that slave. I will kill her" he announced with anger. Sanador is feeling the same. "Your highness, that slave girl seems to indulge in some black magic. Look how she turned our prince against us. I am sure she has her eyes set on this t
In the Raven Palace, Valerie is looking at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Even though Raphael told her to stay in his room, she went to her new room, which is beside his. The guards and the maids whom she came across in the corridor are giving her death glares. Even though none of them dared to say anything, it is clear that they don't like her. As quickly as she could, she slipped inside her room and locked the door after. After what happened to her just now, she is not feeling safe in the palace. When the Raven prince used to treat her as his slave, everyone used to ignore her at best. But now, the man who vowed to torment her is shielding her from everyone.Her clothes are torn and bloody. Her body is bruised everywhere, and it is becoming hard to ignore the pain anymore. When she used to be with him, she used to slip into her mind until she is forced to come back. The thought of never coming back was so tempting, but she wanted to know who she is and where she came from.
Raphael made sure not to look at Valerie's body. He wanted to help her, not humiliate her more. So he averted his gaze from her and opened the vial in his hands. Black smoke began to seep out of the vial. Immediately he placed the vial closer to Valerie so that it is touching her skin. He moved a step away from her. The black smoke began to crawl up her body until it engulfed her. Now only smoke is seen in her place. Valerie on the other hand is now scared for an entirely different reason. Even though the smoke is not heavy, she can still feel it crawling and meddling with her body. There is a kind of strange feeling, which is making her feel strange. "P..p..prince Raven" she cried with panic.Raphael is startled when he heard her distressed cry. He turned to see black smoke in her place. He already noticed that this smoke works differently than the other potions when he saw it healing his mother. So he is not shocked now."Valerie, relax. This is a medicine. I bought it from the he
"I want to leave" Valerie waited for him to respond to her words. But all she received is silence from his end. She frowned before lifting her gaze from his bare feet to his face. She quickly averted her eyes when she realized that he is looking at her. "Please, I don't want to become a reason behind the disagreements between your royal highness and his highness" she elaborated further.Even though she knows that everyone in the palace hates her, she realized that this is going to cause tension between the king and the prince, which she doesn't want to happen.Raphael snorted sarcastically."The entire Raven clan knows that I hate Cadmus. Your presence will not make it any worse. If you are only worried about that, then you can relax. If something else is bothering you, then feel free to share" he offered.Valerie is flexing her fingers nervously. She never spoke more than a sentence in his presence. Their relationship is strange. She used to be afraid of him when he made her his sl
When the dragon guards rushed towards Valerie, she belatedly realized her mistake. She begins to panic. In the meanwhile, Irina looks at Cadmus with displeasure. "Cadmus.." she opens her mouth to reprimand him but is forced to stop when guards are almost upon Valerie. When one of them tried to touch Valerie, a loud angry growl echoed around the huge dining hall, which made everyone scared. Raphael came and stood in front of Valerie and shielded her from everyone. "Try to touch her again, and I will rip your limbs off your body" he threatened angrily. All the guards moved back in fear. "Y..y..your royal highness, we are just following the orders given by our king" one of the voices out. None of them wanted to anger Raphael. His wrath is something that they all know is dangerous. Raphael glared at them. "I already told you that Valerie is under my protection. Try to Touch something that belongs to me again, and you will not like what I would do to you" he growled. Now the situ