บท 15: Lycan History

Naiari watched as Kael was pushed out of the library on his chair and noted that even in such a helpless state he still managed to look very regal and powerful, almost as if he could just stand up and tower over every person in the room the next minute.

She wondered at the tension between himself and his cousin, the fact that she could sense some possessiveness had her curious about their relationship. She wondered what the history was and felt at a disadvantage that there was no one that she could speak to.

With a shrug she decided to get to her task and abandon the thoughts of Kael's confusing attitude and instead focus on the freedom of being able to pick whatever book she liked. She had learned how to read without the king and queen's knowledge and would sneakily read books when ever she could. The fact that she was not restricted and could read whatever she wanted made her giddy and she walked around the library just enjoying the sight of books stacked neatly.

After she had gotten her fill of the books and reminded herself that she was not reading for leisure or entertainment, she searched in the historical section and found an ancient looking tome which was titled, "Lycan History" and another less impressive looking one which had its title as "cursed creatures and their origins."

Picking both of the heavy books she found a book in the corner of the library and sat, becoming engrossed in the book as she read. The only thing that interrupted her was the arrival of Marie with some cakes and wine then she was gone.

She marveled at the contents of the book on the history of the Lycans. It was said that Lycans had a healing power and depending on the injuries suffered, it could be completely healed in a short time.

Naiari stopped reading for a moment, wondering what could have been responsible for King's Kael's injury. If he was crippled it must have been a near fatal injury.

As she read further, she learned that the Lycans had some weaknesses such as silver, fire, beheading, removal of their hearts and the use of magic.

Apparently, the Lycans were an ancient race which predated the humans and had ruled the entire continent until humans with the help of witches had revolted. It had been a bloody struggle which ended with the witches turning on both the humans, Lycans and vampires.

They had all come together to fight the common enemy the witches and after their defeat, witches and magic users were hunted and declared persona non grata while the humans were allowed to form their own kingdoms. Some of those humans chose to remain under the rule of the Lycans.

After their revolt, a council of rulers was formed to protect the sovereignty of kingdoms and to act as a form of checks and balances. This was particularly important for weaker races who feared that they would be overrun by stronger races like Lycans and werewolves.

Naiari also learned that Lycans who were born of Royal parents had golden eyes when they were transformed into their wolves and that made her startled.

She had feared that the massive wolf had been there to harm her but after she woke up she realized they had protected her. Since it had golden eyes that must mean that it was a royal Lycan. Naiari had no doubt that besides the fact that he was crippled, King Kael would not even bother with her so she figured it was Prince Ara.

The realization made her feel warm inside and she hugged herself as she mused on how protected she had felt in Prince Ara's presence when he saved her from getting mauled by his sister but apparently he had been saving her ever since.

After leaving through the book, she decided to check the other book and found the creature she had encountered in the forest. It's dead black eyes stared at her from the page of the book and she felt a despair at the pit of her belly. She did not even want to imagine what would have happened if prince Ara had not been there to save her.

She blushed as he realized that he was the one who carried her all the way back to her bedroom. She wanted to thank him but he had not said a word about her escapade so it was probably best if she just kept quiet about it too.

She wished once more that he was the one she was to get married to, not his grumpy cousin who walked around like he had a grudge with the whole world. So yeah he had a terrible ailment but whose life was perfect? She knew for a fact that people had awful lives they were living.

She was so lost in the books before her that she failed to realize how late it had gotten thanks to the fact that the library was illuminated by gas powered lights while the sky outside had turned black. And when she heard footsteps she assumed it was Marie coming to inform her of dinner.

Her belly growled and she thought, 'right on time.' She was so ravenous, more hungry than usual and it felt like she could eat an entire horse.

She looked up at Marie and her face creased into a frown.