Come Love A Stranger

Forty two

It’s been a fortnight since the wedding and coronation but Mariah was still finding it hard to adapt to her marriage and to her life as queen. It wasn’t helping if she had been feeling uneasy for the past five days and has been unable to sleep. Every night she wakes up to an unbearable stinging pain on her neck and she would stay up all night, tossing and turning on her bed, waiting for the pain to finally stop. She didn’t know the reason but her heart always tell her that it has to be because of Alador and thus, she spends her day worrying about him and what he might be doing to himself.
Ever since the night she left him in the forest, he had shown himself to her only thrice and not even in his true form but that of the panther. He often stays in the garden under her balcony and she always sees him for she felt his presence every time he came. He would just sit there, watching her and when she could not take watching him again, she would turn and enter her room and after a while, she would sense him leaving and do nothing but sigh. But after coming to her on the night of her wedding day, he has not come to her again and it was what bothers her the most.
The sound of the door opening called her out of her thought and seeing Lugar, she sighed and closed her eyes. “My queen, is it just me or are you not happy seeing your king?” He asked as he walked up to her and sat beside her on the bed, his hand reached up and caressed her cheek and it took all the power in her not to shrug away from his touch. She often wonders when it would be that she would start accepting his touch. “Are you finally ready for me tonight, my dear?”
“I’m sorry my king but, I am seeing my blood,” she replied.
“What nonsense,” he shouted, making her tremble, “ever since our wedding night, you keep coming up with excuses, you are my wife, when will you fulfill your duties?”
“You told me you would wait for me, you told me you would give me time, are you going against your word?” she asked in a trembling voice.
“No, but I have tried, it has been a fortnight since our royal wedding, how much time do you want still, have you not heard of the whispering go around in the palace?”
Mariah sighed, she have heard that, the palace maids are thinking that she didn’t marry a virgin, after all, there was no blood stain on her sheets after her wedding night. In as much as a lady should be worried about that, and worse a queen, she was not at least bothered and not in the mood of rushing to her husband to prove them wrong.
“Please, I know what is going on and I will end it, I promise you. Once after seeing my blood, I shall fulfill my duties, you have my word as your queen.”
“Fine, and it better be so, I do not marry you to go over this every night.”
“I understand,” she whispered and heard him sigh.
“Alright then, sleep well,” he reached forward to kiss her and she shut her eyes tightly and clenched her fists together to stop herself from pushing him away. “Good night my queen,” he smiled and stood up, then glancing at her once more, he left the room.
Mariah let out the breath she was holding and opened her eyes, she reminded herself once more that she shouldn’t be feeling like this, he is her husband and he owns her. She asked herself why she was denying him his duties but she couldn’t think of an answer, she just feels like it was not right and she wondered why. Lying down on the bed, she wished she could see Sheila, ever since her wedding day, the beautiful white fox had left and haven’t returned. She knew Alador must have taken her away or maybe, she had decided to leave on her own, after all, she had broken up with her master.
Sighing, she curled herself on the bed and began to sob softly, she doesn’t understand anymore, why was fate cruel to her? Why give her such a life, a life with no happiness, no happy ending? Is this how she was going to live for the rest of her life? Is this what would become of her? She wants to sleep but she knew that she would be awaken again by that unbearable pain, when would it stop? When would the mark disappear from her neck? When will it finally be over? She kept going over it all and the pain she was going through until she fell asleep.
***
In the god’s kingdom, everyone was gathered in the throne room for their usual meeting when the door was blown open by a strong wind, they all turned to the door, wondering which god would dare to do that but seeing who was standing by the door, they were all surprised.
“Alador,” Azura stood up from her seat and watched him but when the man who was standing by the door glanced at her, the pitch black eyes that stared back at her made her tremble. That was not her son, everyone knows Alador has a touch of fire in his eyes, why was it all black? “What happened to you?” she asked but he ignored her and stepped into the hall.
Glancing at the faces of everyone in the room, he smiled dangerously and took his gaze to Ilayas seated upon the throne, “I have come to take what belongs to me,” he said.
“Nonsense,” a white haired god stood up, from the place of his seat, it was understood that he was one of the elders, “you have abandoned this throne for eight hundred and fifty years, you can’t just show up and demand it to be returned to you.”
Alador chuckled, “I do not care whether you like it or not, I am the son of Zachery and t’s by right I succeed him. Now, step down and let me take my place.”
“Alador,” Bamushka called, worried for him, “what are you talking about, what happened to you?”
Alador didn’t glance at her neither did he reply, his gaze remained only on Ilayas, “will you do it nicely or do I have to fight my way for it?” he titled his head to the side, “I will like you to know, I would gladly do it,” he smiled.
“What is wrong your highness, you do not speak like yourself,” one of them said.
“T’s because he is not himself,” Ilayas finally spoke, “Alador has become a beast,” he revealed and everyone gasped. Everyone knows the rule, a god must never fall for a human and if they do, they have a terrible price to pay if the love was not reciprocated and it was why none of them like to mingle with humans, for the fear of falling for them. Gods who had broken the rule before Alador had learnt the hard way and they were used as example to the new gods and it was why nobody was in support of Alador breaking the rule.
“Oh God, no,” Azura sobbed and rushed to hold her son immediately.
“Azura, no,” everyone shouted but it was too late for Alador with a wave of his hand, slammed her brutally on a wall and cared not if she survived or not.
Glancing at Ilayas, he repeated, “I have come to take my place and I do not care if I have to fight my way.”
All finally sensing the danger of what was happening, no one answered rashly at him again. Bamushka rushed to Azura to check up on her but she had lost consciousness. “Alador, your mother…” she said to him but he didn’t let her finish and wave his hand again, repeating the same attack on her.
“Enough,” Ilayas shouted and stood up, “fine, I accept your challenge, if you win me in a fight, I will give the throne to you but if you do not…”
“Fine,” he interrupted before he could finish, “I will see you tomorrow morning on the battle ground,” then he turned and left.