Spellbinders Secret

The King of Darkness

The throne room was dark, its only light was the cold, blue fire that crackled away in a fireplace to the side of the room. A man sat in the throne, which was made of pure onyx, the black stone reflecting the cold light the fire gave off. The man held a hood over his head, the cloak hiding most of his body, but, to many people's surprise, he was young, very young in fact. As he sat on the throne he was lost in thought, and wondered if he should use the scrying ball in front of him. Not for long, he promised himself, just so he could see...

The large double doors of the room opened with a bang. A little creature, barely knee high, scuttled into the room. It had light blue scaly skin, and big black eyes. Some would have said that it resembled a lizard, as it stood upright on its hind legs with a tail trailing behind it on the ground. It's arms were small, and even when they were by its side, they barely reached its middle.

"Trent, what have you come to report? I was expecting Stephan," the man on the throne said, reminding himself to keep his voice cold and clear, never let them think your soft. No, let them fear you instead.

"Master... Sir Stephan is dead," the lizard like creature said hesitantly. The man sat back in his chair and processed this information. Stephan was dead, now he no longer had any eyes and ears in the castle, or anyway to assassinate the Prince.

"How did he die?" he asked, noting how uncomfortable Trent looked, and the Man knew he wasn't going to like this.

"As you know, Master, since our failed attempt at killing the young Prince, the King and Queen have been looking for a protector... well, in the last week, they found one," Trent paused, not wanting to go further.

"And?"

"And um, well, the Protector killed Stephan after he tried to kill Prince Callum again. She also discovered he was the assassin," the Lizard blurted out quickly. The man inhaled sharply, he didn't like where this was going.

"She?" he asked, implying that he wanted to know who the Protector was. Trent gulped, fearing for his life. He knew his Master had a bad temper.

"Yes, Master. The Protector is Miss Ella."

The man, sat back in his throne. Ella, sweet Ella. The girl with the black hair like night and eyes greener than emeralds. The girl he was hopelessly, madly in love with, and she didn't even know who he was.

It had started two years ago, when he was just a novice, taken under the wing of the previous leader of the Cursed, the King of Darkness. He was on a covert mission to find the location of a secret, Resistance camp. He'd been walking through the woods when he'd found her, lying on the grass, staring at the sky. He remembered how he'd stopped in his tracks to stare at this beautiful creature. He'd wanted to know who she was, what made her laugh and what made her cry. So he'd, done something rash.

He'd placed a sleeping spell on her, and held her in his arms, marvelling at her soft skin and hair. As she slept, he looked into her mind, he saw her fears, her happy memories, her hearts desire, and... her gift. Her gift was both beautiful and terrifying, and he knew how he could convince the Cursed to use her again, but not like they had before. No, they should never have beaten her.

As he held her, night had begun to fall, and the sleeping spell was wearing off. Ella, much to his dismay, had started to stir. Before he'd left, he'd placed a little kiss on her cheek, promising himself that he'd find a way for her to be his, no matter what it was or how long it took. Every now and then, he'd use the scrying ball to see her, to watch her, to get to know her better, and now she was Prince Callum's Protector. Anger made the man's blood boil. He clenched his fists in an attempt to contain his rage, but it didn't really work. Already, he heard the clang of glass landing on the floor from the shattered windows. In his rage, he'd done that, and he didn't even have to lift a finger.

"Why did Stephan try to kill the Prince again? I didn't give the order!" he bellowed, as though that was the reason for his outburst. Trent visibly trembled, his heart thumped in his chest and his fingers twitched nervously.

"Stephan... threatened Ella. He h- had a little crush on her, I- I think. He said that if she didn't do what he wanted, he'd kill Callum. Naturally, she didn't refuse, but Callum walked in on them, and Stephan tried to kill him," the Lizard stuttered. His master listened attentively, and Trent could almost feel his fury from across the room.

"Did Stephan succeed in getting what he wanted?" the man asked, barely keeping his voice even. How dare Stephan take what rightfully belonged to him!

"No. He was interrupted," Trent said, feeling slightly more confident. The worst news was over, and he was still alive. His Master relaxed in his throne, and, miraculously the windows fixed themselves.

"Good," was all he muttered before dismissing Trent. When the doors closed, the King of Darkness waved a hand over the scrying ball. It pulsed with white light and revealed Ella, sitting in Prince Callum's room. They were talking, and... she was laughing. The King wondered when this had happened. His last report from Stephan had been two weeks ago, and he'd last watched Ella at least a week and a half ago, so she hadn't been there for long. As he listened, he heard Callum talking to her, and, he was strangely... friendly? By the sounds of things, Callum and Ella were fast friends.

That's why she sacrificed herself to save him. He wasn't just her job, he was her friend, her only friend.

And the King of Darkness had a problem with that.