~RUNE
Sounds echoed within my ears.
Images, visions… they all danced before my eyes as I tried to make sense of any of them.
The sounds were distant, echoing over and over again with words that I could not place.
Then the images were nonstop, rushing through my eyes, making it impossible to catch sight of any of them.
Until, one suddenly froze before me.
I saw the large tree from earlier come into view again.
A tree covered with thousands of veils hanging from its branches.
I didn’t touch it this time because I feared that I would destroy it again.
I began to step away, retreating as far away as possible when my legs entered the water.
I looked down and realised that it was black water.
Once again, I had somehow found myself here.
“Whatever you do, don’t enter the Black river for you will be lost within it forever…” Gwen’s warnings reached my ears once again.
I panicked and tried to leave when Uriel suddenly emerged from the water— or at least what used to be him.
He was strange, just like last night, consumed by darkness as he grabbed my wrist.
That was when the scene before me began to glitch into the dark reflection of myself and back into Uriel.
My eyes went wide with shock and I started struggling against their hold at this point, fighting to be set free.
“The Fallen Veil has surfaced…” they both said.
At that moment, I felt goosebumps scatter across my core.
The fear was too much to bear and it dragged me back violently awake with a scream.
“Your majesty!” Someone cried immediately after.
But the world still felt dark.
I could still see whatever that was in the water.
I could still hear the dark words that made no sense.
Someone touched me at this point.
I jumped and began to scream as I struggled against whoever it was.
My entire body trembled violently in the process and I refused to stop.
“Queen Sayla! It’s me, Anna,” she cried and her familiar voice brought me back to her
The dark scenes before me faded away and I was able to see her face again.
She looked beyond worried as she stared back at me.
I didn’t know it when I began to cry and I ran into her arms.
“It’s okay. You are safe now. I won’t let them hurt you,” she whispered as she patted my back gently.
I held her tight like my life depended on it as I tried to slowly clear my mind.
What just happened to me?
What was that thing— that demon that possessed Uriel last night?
What was the Fallen Veil?
What did any of it even mean?
I didn’t speak for long as the questions ran through my mind for eternity.
It was when I finally pulled away, all the tears gone— that the door to my room finally came open.
“Your Majesty, you are awake,” Sofia said as she smiled brightly.
I nodded slowly.
“What’s happening outside?”
“They are arranging and decorating the entire kingdom for the Calling Festival,” Belle explained.
I swallowed hard as it dawned on me.
If the festival was starting today instead, then it meant I would be walking the Path of the Veil sooner than I thought.
Great, another suicide mission.
Which I could not afford to fail by the way or the Queen’s Court would never accept me and if they didn’t, then Uriel would be disappointed in me and probably kill me sooner than planned.
“I can always sneak them in for you so you don’t go hungry while at the festival.”
This snapped me out of my thoughts and I raised my eyes to look at her first.
I shook my head at her.
“I’m not hungry.”
I had no zeal to eat.
I was too deep in this trouble to think about food.
Walking the path of the Veil could even happen today!
What did I have to survive with?
“Queen Sayla, it’s going to be a long day. You should eat while you still can,” Belle insisted.
But I sighed and rose to my feet.
“I need to get ready. Help me.”
When the women realised that I was not going to change my mind, they got to work.
They helped run my bath and soak me in a sweet scented milk water.
The whole time, my mind went back to the festival.
Was this where my journey would end?
I was almost chewing my finger nails when they finally put me in a dress.
A rather dramatic dress that complimented my silhouette.
It hugged my body all the way to my hips before falling freely into a full skirt.
“I think you are ready,” Sofia announced.
I released a heavy breath as I stared at my fake reflection— Sayla’s reflection in the mirror.
“She always looks so beautiful,” Belle said as she watched me in awe.
A knock sounded on the door and we all jumped.
“Who could it be?” Sofia whispered.
They barely finished before the door came open and Uriel stood there.
Tall and beautiful, dark and mysterious in his loose regal uniform.
His crimson eyes seemed to cut into the room as they scanned the space before he finally stopped on me.
That was when I remembered the injury on his shoulder.
He had gotten hurt because of me.
“Your Majesty,” The girls said as they dropped to their knees immediately.
He ignored them and slowly walked towards me instead.
My heart was raging now even if I tried hard to keep it in check.
He finally reached me and stopped.
Then he continued to look into my eyes, almost as if he was searching for the answers to something.
“Let’s go,” he finally said before turning and leading the way.
I frowned as I watched him go.
What had been the point of what he just did?
Why didn’t he just ask me to go to him while he was still at the door?
I went after Uriel immediately.
As usual, he was walking so fast that I had to practically run to catch up.
Then he stopped abruptly.
Thankfully, this time I didn’t bump into his back.
He offered me in hand and I inhaled sharply before giving it to him.
From there, he began to lead me out to wherever the festival was taking place.
“H— how is your arm?” I dared to ask.
He threw a short glance at me before facing the corridor again.
I guess he just chose to ignore me.
Rude.
Eventually, we soon emerged from the building where the royal carriages were waiting.
Furry dark horses with bird heads and large curved beaks.
He held the door for me and I quietly got inside.
The last time we had ridden together, he had still been believing the lie that I was my sister.
Now, this ride was more than awkward and I started praying for it to end immediately.
As if the goddess heard my pleas, we arrived at the arena immediately.
The moment we stepped out though, the entire space went silent and they slowly parted the way for us.
“Undefeated is the King and Queen of Oraena!” Someone roared.
“He is Favored!” They answered.
I noticed how the people deliberately chose not to acknowledge me.
It meant they also felt that I had to earn their respect.
That they would not let me just swoop in to lead them.
The place was filled with a sea of people dressed in black.
There was a large pile of logs in the center where some priestesses, just like the woman who had blessed my marriage with Uriel, stood.
The entire crowd was arranged in one large circular form toward the logs of wood.
There were some strange women dressed in robes dancing and ululating around the log of wood as eerie drums echoed through the space.
At that point, it started to feel less than a festival and more like a ritual to resurrect or summon a dark entity.
Uriel didn’t try to act as he usually did.
Which also made the whole thing more strange.
By now, he would have warned me not to make any mistake, promised a punishment or he would have been playing the perfect lovestruck King.
But he was doing none of that.
It was almost as if he was shaken by something.
Which low-key made no sense because how could the terrifying Mad Orin King be shaken by something?
I looked away from Uriel and finally spotted the women from the Queen’s court.
They all stood together on the other side of the logs, watching me with daring eyes.
Darya’s was the fiercest and she moved like she was the Queen.
The three Lords of Oraena stood not so far from them.
I spotted some elders and chiefs.
The entire kingdom was here.
If I failed here, I would surely die.
There was no way out of this.
“Your Majesty…” A priestess called.
She seemed to be the one in charge.
“We were only waiting for you. Now that you are here, I would like you and the Queen to light the sacred fire.”
Uriel nodded once and he took the bow and arrow handed to him.
Another priestess came forward with a bowl of burning blue flames.
I stared at all these things cluelessly.
Perhaps I really should have done more research and educated myself on their customs.
“We need to do it together,” Uriel stated when he saw me still watching.
I nodded immediately, as it snapped me out of my thoughts.
I held the arrow with him and we both put it in the bowl.
When it caught fire, we held the bow together in place.
I wasn’t really doing much since I had no idea how to shoot a mere arrow.
We pointed the arrow at the logs of wood as we pulled the arrow back.
Uriel’s entire essence surrounded me and I felt both dominated and warm at the same time.
I could swear I even felt his breath against my neck.
“Now,” Uriel said.
We released the arrow and it went flying into the logs.
The moment it did, a small fire ignited on one of the logs and it began to spread when suddenly—
The fire went out.
The entire crowd gasped.