'You know nothing about me '
Raphael kept thinking about what Valerie has said to Tyson Nester. Not only Tyson, no one knows anything about her. She is a mystery. She appeared out of thin air and he found her pulling a poisoned saber out of his mother's stomach. He can never forget that day, which changed everything for him. He was supposed to take the Raven crown. But after what happened to his mother, he refused to sit on that throne until she recovers. But as the days passed by and Valerie refused to tell about what happened that night, his anger and resentment towards her increased to the point where he began to hate her. Despite what his mind thinking against her, he became obsessed with her. What she does, whom she talks to, what she eats, what she wears, he took control of everything.
'I deserve everything '
He rubbed his face feeling frustrated.
"What do you mean by that? Did you hurt my mother intentionally and regret it now? But what about when you refused my claims when i accused you of hurting my mother? What is right and what is wrong? What games are you playing now Valerie?" he asked himself.
An idea popped into his mind.
'Yes, this should work. Her drama has gone too far now. Now it's time to end this' he thought.
Raphael dialed his commander Roman.
"Good evening Prince Raven, what can I help you with?" Roman asked respectfully.
Raphael knows that this is the best plan.
"Roman, I am releasing Valerie. She is no longer my slave. She can go where ever she wants. Turn her away from the palace gates" he instructed.
If Roman said that he is not shocked, then that would be a lie. He is confused at the sudden decision the prince made. He is not courageous enough to question the prince, no one is.
"Please forgive my curiosity, Prince Raven. May I know if you found out about how to cure the Queen?" he asked with fear and a hint of interest.
Raphael cannot fault Roman for his question. Queen Irina is loved by everyone. Roman is loyal to the Ravens and he has been extending his services for over ten years now.
"No, but I am sure we will find it soon. Did you find out anything about her family or where she came from?" Raphael inquired.
Roman's shoulders sagged with regret.
"Apologies prince Raven, I failed to find details about her," he said with shame.
Raphael knows that, but he asked if Roman could find out anything in these last couple of days.
"I know you are trying your best Roman. I hope my plan yields us the results which we all are searching for" he murmured.
That's when the commander, Roman realized that their prince is baiting Valarie.
"I will immediately instruct the security near the gates to send Valarie away," he said.
Near the gates, Valerie is feeling sad about everything that happened with Tyson. The young prince truly cares for her and she has to a tiny little crush on the handsome prince. But her situation is not at all ideal to have a crush on anyone, let alone a dragon prince.
"Stop, you are not allowed inside the palace" the guard's gruff and rude voice snapped Valerie out of her thoughts.
Valarie looked up with shock. She looked around thinking that the guards must be speaking with someone else. But she is alone. She understood that the guards are speaking with her. A heavy weight settled over her shoulders.
"You must be mistaken. I belong to the Raven Prince" she said softly.
The guards gave her a once-over.
"Look at you? It's a miracle that the prince was interested in you for this long. He must have gotten bored of you. We were instructed not to allow you inside the palace. You can go back to your home" he said rudely.
Valerie is shocked.
'What? Prince Raven is sending me away? Does that mean the queen recovered? Isn't it why he wanted me to stay here? To find out about the kind of poison they used on that saber?' she thought.
She is happy that the queen recovered.
"May I visit the queen once? Please?" she begged.
She wanted to apologize for what happened that night. The queen suffered a lot because of the incidents that happened that night.
The guards gave her dirty looks.
"Don't forget that you are a slave. How dare you forget your status and ask us about our queen? You don't even have the status to speak about her with that mouth of yours. Now get going before you anger the prince" they berated her.
Valerie became stiff at their words.
'I am not a slave. My circumstances forced me to become one ' she wanted to shout and announce it to them. But instead, she turned away from the palace gates and walked away from there.
She never liked the Raven palace when she was forced to stay there. But now, when they are sending her away, she is oddly feeling sad. Her heart is heavy and Raphael's face popped into her mind.
'No, don't think about him. Just think about where to go. You were running from the only house you know after you turned eighteen that night. You cannot go back there. She shuddered when a glimpse of her past flashed in front of her mind.
'No, not there. Never there ' she thought as fear began to grip her in its iron hold.
"I should find a place to stay for the night. It will become dark soon" she thought and began to search for a safe place to stay.
The Raven palace is situated in a place named Windsor.
Windsor is a quiet place where almost all the rich people live. There is a small area at one end of Winsor where the poor people live. This place is unofficially called Rural Windsor, and the other part is called Urban Windsor.
Windsor is a posh place with more than a couple of malls where you can find all the branded stuff. Posh Saloons, Restaurants, boutiques, you name it they have it in Winsor.
Windsor is like the capital of the Dragon nation, where all four Dragon clans reside. No one knows what's outside the Dragon nation. Humans and Dragons reside in the Dragon nation. Humans are treated as weak and are given low-level cleaning jobs.
Dragons rule this world.
Valerie is feeling helpless. No one is allowing her inside. She tried every small establishment, and she begged for jobs. Forget about listening to what she was saying, they took one look at her and the opal pendant hanging around her neck and literally pushed her away from their premises. They all know that she belongs to the Raven Prince, so no one is interested to take her in. Taking her in is equal to insulting the prince, which no one would do. As the slave of the Raven prince, her place is inside the palace or death. She cannot go anywhere else with that pendant still hanging around her neck. As the darkness descends, she was left alone on the streets without food or water. No one in Windsor is even allowed to sleep on the streets. Slowly she moved out of Windsor and decided to rest in the nearby woods for the night. She cannot do anything but that. As she is so tired, she took a closer path. This patch of woods cuts across the urban and rural parts of the place. 'What is she
The next morning, Valerie woke up feeling fresh and with a beautiful smile on her face. The chirping of the birds, the soft breeze kissing her, the soft rays of the sun gifting her a new day. She looked around the forest feeling so relaxed and peaceful. She use to carry the weight of what happened that night in her heart. The guilt and the sadness refused to leave her, no matter wherever she is. But now, she is finally free of her guilt as the queen recovered and she is finally free from the heavy shackles of her past. Valerie doesn't have a penny to her name, nor does she have a plan of action to survive. She also knows that she might not get a job or a place to stay until she has that pendant around her neck. She touched that pendant with her fingers. An image of Raphael popped into her mind, which made her shudder with fear. She took a choppy breath. "I am glad that her highness queen Irina recovered Prince Raven. I am not angry about how you treated me. Because I can understand
"So you are not his slave anymore?" Tyson asked with shock. After looking at how beautiful she is, he couldn't believe that Raphael let her go easily. They are sitting in front of the small but that she built for herself. She is looking at the small fire in front of her. As the sun has gone down, the cold breeze began to blow, which made her shiver. Tyson easily lit a fire using his dragon breath. The dried twigs began to burn, slowly spreading warmth and chasing away the coldness. Valerie sighed heavily and shook her head. Oddly she is feeling an uncomfortable twitch in her heart knowing that she might never see Prince Raven again. Tyson on the other hand is happy. He is meddling with the bonfire in the middle. His back is facing her, so she missed the smile on his face. But Raphael didn't. "I am glad that you got rid of him" he muttered. Valarie smiled. "It's more like the other way around. He got rid of me" she whispered sadly. Her statement shocked both men. Tyson turned h
By the time Tyson came back with water, he did not find Valerie anywhere. But he did not search for her, because he could feel the raw power still pulsing in the air, which made the fine hair on his body raise. He understood where she has gone. "Why did he send her away and now why did he take her back? This Raven prince is a mystery. Princess Tasha is vying for his attention for as long as i began to notice girls. But he barely looks at her. So many other women who are beautiful and who come from rich and powerful backgrounds are ready to jump into his bed if he snaps his finger at them. But here he is, running after a nobody like Valerie. He is her tormentor and her protector. I wish that she is safe" he thought out loud. Tyson is jealous of Raphael, who has what he wants. In the Raven Palace, "What happened to her?" Raphael asked the healer who is checking Valerie. The royal healer is one among the very few people who know why Valerie is taken as a slave by the Raven prince.
In the Raven palace, Raphael pricked queen Irina's index finger with a needle which is dipped in Valerie's blood. Quietly Irina looked at her son. She doesn't know what he is doing, but she is sure whatever it is, he is doing something to help her recover. But she is a little surprised at his act. It is the dead of the night and there is no one in the room except for them. He sent the maids out of the room, claiming that he wanted to be alone with his mother for a while.Raphael on the other hand waited anxiously for something to happen. He looked at his mother's finger, eagerly waiting. But nothing happened. It remained as still as it was before.He became depressed. He met his mother's curious gaze."That needle is bathed in Valerie's blood. She said that her blood has some kind of magic. I thought of trying it " he confessed.He saw the shock in her eyes, which made him smile sadly."I know mother. I am not someone who would believe in all this. But I can not lose you too. I alread
"Do you know anything about him?" Raphael inquired Valerie.She shook her head gently."He always used to hide in the shadows. He made me call him as 'Master '. For as long as I can remember, he is the only person I have spoken with. I heard a few voices but never saw anyone. I am sorry" she whispered softly feeling sad that she couldn't help him.Raphael closed his eyes tightly. The small glimpse of the life she has been living until she escaped is making him angry. He wanted to catch whoever this man is and kill him for trying to kill his mother and kidnapping Valerie."Is Valerie your real name?" he asked her softly.She never thought about that."I don't know. He always called me as Valerie" she confessed.Raphael is feeling like an asshole. He let his anger rule his actions. He wanted to punish her for hurting the only person he loves. "Come and sleep now," he told her offhandedly. So many things are running through his mind, and he is feeling restless. He is snapped out of his
"Go" Raphael parked his car in front of Valerie's school. He has some work in school, so he decided to drop her off in person. Valerie tried to open the car door, but she couldn't find what to pull. Raphael leaned over her and opened the door for her. "If you pull that, doors will open" he showed her. She nodded her head, understanding what he showed. This is the first time she sat inside a car. So she doesn't know how to open the car door and close it. Just when she is about to get out of the car, he stopped her. "Valerie" she paused in her tracks but did not look at him. "I am going out of Windsor for a couple of days. I found someone who can cure my mother. I will come back as soon as I can. Someone will come and pick you up from school. Feel free to ask the maids if you need anything. Ok?" he told her. Valerie became tensed. Everyone in the palace made it a point to show her their anger this morning when she was passing by them. She saw hatred aimed at her. But she did not t
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