Chương 14: 14. Unworthy
As soon as Ariana had entered her chamber, a maid locked the door from outside. Not that she noticed as she had her head buried in a pillow, which muffled her cry, for the whole night.
Only in the morning, people decided to check on her. She lifted her gaze when she heard the door click open to find Christopher, Emma and Ivory standing at the door.
"We are letting ourselves inside." said Ivory while entering.
"How are you?" asked Emma softly before sitting on the bed beside her. "We heard what happened in front of the Prince's chamber." She continued.
"Correction Emma. In front of the King's Chamber." said Christopher. His tone was unusually sharp.
Ariana turned her face towards Christopher. He rose his left eyebrow in response.
"I'm fine." Ariana lowered her face.
They sat in silence before Christopher asked, "What is all this act for?"
"Christopher!" Ivory snapped.
"So you don't believe me as well?" asked Ariana in response. Her voice was hoarse and shaky.
"It's your word versus word of the King. What do you think?" Christopher folded his arms.
Ariana scoffed. "Well, what are you here for then?"
Christopher narrowed his eyes and left the room. Even Emma left as her wolf couldn't tolerate the disrespect towards her Alpha. That's what was happening to everyone else. Their wolf chose to believe words of their Alpha King over anybody else's.
Ivory stayed.
"I do not know my brother for lying, you know." She broke the silence. "And I know my brother very well."
Ariana hesitated before asking, "What about me?"
"I think that not only are you the least favorite child of Alpha Edward, you are the least favorite child of Moon Goddess too."
Ariana gave her a sad smile.
"Be strong, Ari. That's what I said to Nate."
Ariana closed her eyes as Ivory gave a kiss on her forehead and opened them to watch her leave.
Her eyes widened when she saw Narcisse, the Seer enter. A guard closed the door behind him.
"You have come to lecture me about what I did yesterday, haven't you?". Ariana sniffled.
The seer gave her a sympathetic smile.
"No, my dear. I have come here to guide you through your dark time."
"Guide me?" Ariana let out a bitter scoff.
She was about to turn her body to the other side but stopped when she heard him say, "I know that he is your mate."
She looked at him, dumbfounded by his words. "W- what?"
"Oh my sweet child, I see your eyes. They're blood red. I see your nose. They're puffy and red too. Look what he did to you!"
Ariana wiped her face with her hands. She sniffled once again. "So you know the truth?"
Narcisse stared at her face for a while.
"How vulnerable you have become."
"Answer me!" cried Ariana.
"Yes, I do know the truth." answered the Seer. "So does your sister and so does your mate."
Ariana gulped. "Why is he doing this then? Pretending as if I'm not his mate but somebody else is."
"You do not wish to hear it, my child. Trust me." Narcisse shook his head.
"Tell me."
"It will not make anything better."
"For better or worse, I have the right to know."
The Seer waited a second before answering. "The King believes that you do not have what it takes to be the Queen." Ouch!
"I can't help that I was born without my wolf." Ariana shouted in her defense.
"It isn't about your wolf." Narcisse worded his next sentence carefully. "The King believes you are unfit as a person."
Seeing Ariana is denial, he continued, "The Queen does not need to go a war. She is protected by her guards all the time. Even our former Queen, the King's mother, was wolfless. A human."
Ariana had her mouth hung open after the revelation.
"Yes. People do not know but the Queen was a human. King Victor accepted her as his mate anyway."
Ariana looked at the Seer with hope. "If me being wolfless isn't a problem, then I could groom myself to be worthy enough to hold the title of Queen."
Narcisse pitied her. "The King found your sister perfect for the role and decided not to wait any longer."
Ariana took a seat on her bed and began sobbing. People made her feel unworthy all the time. That's what her mate thought about her too. It hurt more to know that it wasn't because of something that was out of her control. It was because of her own shortcomings as a human.
There were no questions left to be answered. It was confirmed. He had given up on her. On them. To be with someone else. Her sister, of all.
"I hope you find happiness in someone else too. I'll pray to the Goddess for you." Saying that, the Seer left.
**~~~**
Ariana hadn't eaten anything since the day before. Her nose managed to catch the enticing smell of food amid all her sufferings. Her mother and brother had come to her with a tray of food in their hands. Unlike before, her mother was looking at her with love and an emotion she couldn't decipher yet.
"Come here, my child. Have something."
Luna Barbara called.
Ariana wiped her tears and gave into the request of her mother. As she was about to put a spoon full of rice in her mouth, she heard her brother say, "We came here to talk about something."
"Anwar! Let her eat first." Luna Barbara scolded.
Ariana put the spoon down. "No. Tell me."
Luna Barbara sighed. "Fine. Listen to me carefully. Me, your father and brother love and care about you very much, my baby."
"Just tell me already." Ariana interrupted.
Luna Barbara and Anwar shared a look. "Ari, we have decided to send you to the human world."
Ariana stopped moving. She didn't even blink. After that, she burst into laughter like a maniac. "Send me to the human world? What am I? A parcel?"
"This is not a joke, Ari." said Anwar. Sadness evident in his eyes.
Ariana's whole demeanor changed immediately. She looked furious. "Neither am I, Anwar!" She shouted.
"You've always wanted to go there. To pursue your dreams. You are getting what you wanted." Though Anwar was trying to reason with her, his own voice was failing him.
Ariana stared at him in disbelief before breaking down into tears. She had been doing that a lot lately.
"Please! Don't do this to me." She begged her mother.
Luna Barabara rushed to her side and cupped her face. "It destroys me to this too, my baby. But it's for your own good. You'll understand this later."
"Please..." Ariana repeated.
Luna Barbara couldn't listen to the pleas of her daughter anymore. She knew she would give in if she stayed any longer. So, she left. Anwar too. People have been doing that to Ariana a lot lately.
**~~~**
Luna Barbara and Anwar returned to Ariana's chamber at night. A maid was called to clean the broken pieces of plates and mirror. Another maid had a tray full of Ariana's favorite food in her hands. Luna Barbara took the tray from her hand and placed it on the bed.
"Come on, Ari. You haven't eaten anything." She tried to caress Ariana's cheek but Ariana backed away.
Anwar cleared his throat. "We have decided not to send you anywhere."
Listening to this, Ariana looked at her mother. Luna Barbara nodded in confirmation. There was a genuine smile on Ariana's face after a long time.
Luna Barbara smiled too. "Now come on. We have brought your favorite food."
**~~~**
The three of them had their dinner together and chatted heartily like they used to do in Ravernia.
"I'm sorry for my behavior earlier." said Ariana with teary eyes. "I don't say this often but you two mean the world to..."
She couldn't complete what she wanted to say as she closed her eyes and dozed off.
Luna Barbara wiped the tears off her face. So did Anwar. Just then, Alpha Edward entered along with Beta Richard. "It seems the potions has started to show it's effect. Richard! Take her away before she wakes up."
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