The Fall of Vequera

Chapter fourteen | Valia

LOCATION: EASTCLIFF, ELER

YEAR: 620 C.E

VALIA'S EYES WANDERED TO THE FIREPLACE BEFORE TEARING THEM AWAY BUT SHE COULD HEAR THE FLAMES WHISPERING TO HER, CALLING TO HER. WANTING HER TO RELEASE THEM.

She placed a hand on the table, her fingers reaching toward the fire. The fire reached out to her. "Valia, are you listening?" The woman, whom she now knew as Malvolia spoke to her from the head of the table. Valia's hand closed into a fist as she met Malvolia's eyes and nodded. She wanted to go home.

What was home anyway? A place where no one accepted her? Or was it her father? Her heart ached as she thought of him. She pushed her emotions away and tried to listen to what Malvolia had to say to her.

Malvolia sighed deeply. "The elders' demands are the following: If we assist you with claiming your throne: you will marry someone of Litinae blood and have at least two children. A spare and an heir. You must train until I believe you are ready. You will abide by all of our rules and traditions while you are here. But you don't need to be concerned about the first one right now. The only things you need to be concerned about are learning how to use your gift and becoming a queen. Do you understand?"

Valia only stared at her, blankly before looking at the wall behind her. She blinked. No one spoke for a long time before Koa broke the silence with a clear of his throat. They wanted her to be a Queen. She could barely act like a princess. Then a thought wandered into her mind, so she said it out loud with a flat tone. "And if I don't agree with their demands?"

The fire crackled in the background of their conversation. Koa stared blankly at his mother and Mary smiled gently at her before going back to looking at Malvolia. She still wondered who this woman was. They all seemed to respect her. Her presence demanded respect even from Valia.

But she reminded her too much of her mother and that scared her. She didn't want to help them. She wanted to go home. Her heart ached for it even though it did not ache for her. But she did miss her father's kind eyes even though she treated him poorly on the day of Midori's execution. He was just trying to comfort her. And she pushed him away like she always did. They used to be close, but she rarely remembered what had distanced them from each other.

"Then you will die," Malvolia said sharply as her head tilted, studying Valia. Her golden eyes darkened, proving her point about killing Valia but could Valia rule? Was she capable of being a queen? Would she end up being just like her mother? Was death the better option than ruling? So, many questions were without answers, and that made her heart beat faster.

"Then I would rather die than be a part of your suicide mission. You can't win a war against Vequera. Eler is too small. You barely have an army. Vequera has never lost a war. Ever. No one has dared to challenge them since Caidal. And even before that. You say you want me to be queen but the realm would never accept me. They hate me for this eye. They rallied to have me killed when I was a babe and what makes you think in your delusional mind that they would accept me now. Nikolai is the crowned heir and he will be king. He won't be a great king, but he will be king and I will remain as nothing as I always was meant to be. Nothing."

"Valia..." Mary intervened with a pained eyes like she could feel her emotions, hear her thoughts.

Valia's face fell into a glare as she turned to Mary who flinched away from her. They were nothing like the stories she would hear as a child. They were much worse. Their gold eyes pierced into her soul and crushed her from the inside. Koa's intense eyes moved from his mother to her before turning into a glare. Mary laughed awkwardly before moving to seat next to Valia. She placed at hand on top of Valia's as she met her mismatched eyes. "Don't be so hasty. Just think about it for a moment. Okay?" Mary nodded, as Valia's eyes wandered to Malvolia who stared at them with a confused expression.