Chương 9: The Vow, The Promise, and The Curse

"Viella!" Gideon yelled, fighting off a pair of arms holding him in place.

Viella fell to her knees, the emerging smoke encircling her body was like an angry whirlwind.

Flickers of small stars, like shining diamonds, filled the black mass as its rotation grew larger and larger.

The burn on her wrist had spread up her arm, and the pain was excruciating. She screamed in agony, the cold sandy ground grazed her knees when he body fell on the ground. Horrified, Viella kicked herself back.

Black, crooked branches were growing from the ground, angrily hugging her body with long, sharp thorns sprouting out. It was imprisoning her, holding her still like hands.

And then, once again, a vision took over her sight. Intense blue eyes stared into hers—those of a dragon of massive proportions. Its mouth breathed blue fire, and then, as if knowing what she was trying to do, it screamed.

The sound was so loud that Viella covered her ears in a vain attempt to block it.

Suddenly, she heard Gideon again, the vision falling away as the warehouse came into view. The captain was wrestling him, stopping Gideon from taking another step forward.

"I have to help her!" Gideon screamed.

"Help her how!? Don't you know, boy, the girl is not for you!" the captain shouted, his eyes meeting hers angrily from across the distance.

Viella swallowed hard, tears falling from her eyes as the frustration of not being able to make her own decisions, once again weighed her down.

"Gideon!" Viella cried out, tears streaming. "I didn't know!" she said.

"What didn't you know!?" he yelled back.

Viella knew the answer, but it felt bitter on her tongue.

The air in her lungs seemed to vanish slowly, her vision suddenly blurry.

The black smoke was so thick that Gideon was gradually concealed from her view.

"She's engaged, boy!" the captain answered for her. "Bound by magic! She is meant to marry someone else! She's not for you!" he screamed, as their bodies were carried off by the wind. They fell to one side, ducking for cover as debris flew around them.

"You need to let her go! Tell her she is no longer your wife! It was a mistake!" the captain yelled. Gideon looked at Viella, hurt.

His words were loud and clear as he yelled out, "Viella, you are no longer my wife! You're promised to someone else!"

And it was as if his words held magic in them.

The brewing storm started to die down just as the double doors to the warehouse slammed open and a dozen soldiers came running in.

At the front, Raden appeared in the familiar black smoke, his eyes no longer human but glowing green light, a stark contrast against the darkness that followed him.

"Viella Ivelle. I have bestowed upon you a great honor in exchange for saving your home—your kingdom! And this is how you repay my kindness!?" Raden's voice was no longer human.

It was low, horrible, and echoing as if it came from all directions.

The hue of the room turned to darkness, the candles blown out one by one.

"I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, Raden! I love him—I love Gideon." Viella's words were like shattered glass, tearing through her throat in sharp and deep sobs. "Please, let me go."

"You insolent woman. You are your father's to give away, and given away you were! I've done my part, and so will you. Title-less as you are, your blood is royalty, and that binds you to your responsibility—to your people!" Raden's voice thundered.

Even the guards who came in with him knelt close to the walls in fear. His eyes were two green flames in the darkness, his face contorted in anger, smoke spilling out of his mouth.

Raden pointed at her, his nails turning black and long like claws, his tongue split in two like that of a snake's.

"Since you know no honor and will not tend to your responsibilities willingly, forced you shall be for all the days of your life until Alastor Kavish comes to claim you and, out of his will, frees you. Viella Ivelle, your body, and eyes will seek him—and him only!"

Viella felt her body tense, the image of a man coming into view. Piercing black eyes looked into hers, his high cheekbones graceful, his lips full and inviting. No. How could she feel something like this for a man she had never met? Longing? A desperate need for a touch she had never known?

Golden chains slithered around her body like snakes until they encircled her neck.

For the first time, Viella finally felt the layers of magic resting in her body, weighing her down like heavy, drenched blankets.

Defeated, she looked at Gideon, her heart aching for him to hold her and tell her everything was all right. But all she saw in his eyes was heartbreak—someone disillusioned, wounded, and betrayed.

"Get him! Get those sailors! They were all going to have the princess marry a commoner without the king's permission! They are all traitors to the crown!" Raden continued, his voice still thundering.

Like shadowy figures, the soldiers emerged from Raden's black smoke, their bodies strong against sailors who fought back almost instinctively.

The captain, however, threw Gideon to one side and demanded they all surrender.

To fight a soldier during arrest was treason in itself, he said, then let one of the soldiers take him. His gaze was full of venom as he threw a dirty look at Viella.

Ashamed and defeated, Viella lowered her head to the ground, kneeling before Raden, whose eyes no longer showed any warmth.

"I can almost taste the regret on my tongue for having been given you by fate, Viella Ivelle," he said her name like a curse.

"It was fitting all along that you were discarded—a disgraced princess. Rejected. Now, what you are is nothing more than a plaything for my nephew. He could never fall for filth like you."

Raden's steps echoed in the warehouse, accompanied by the sound of rolling waves as he walked away.

Viella thought she would be left there alone in her ruined wedding dress, dirty and hated. But Raden looked over his shoulder, his voice sharp.

"What are you doing there on the floor, you stupid girl? Get up and move! What should I do? Put a collar on your neck so you won't run again?" he asked.

That was the last straw.

Viella felt tears fall down her cheeks as she helped herself up.

In the depths of her heart, she felt a sense of pain and hatred she had never known before—not just towards the world but towards herself.

She wanted vengeance. She wanted to burn the world, even if it meant burning herself along with it.

"I would prepare myself if I were you," Raden said suddenly. "I can imagine the king will not be happy with this news."

"He can do whatever. I don't care anymore," Viella answered a great sadness setting in her chest. Like the feeling of a sulking child, she didn't want to do anything anymore.

Raden chuckled, mocking and full of disdain.

The two of them walked down the cobblestone path towards the main street, where the soldiers had gone ahead, leaving the two of them behind. Viella dreaded the way back.

"I see. Then you were never a good wife to begin with, even to the poor boy. What do you think the king will do to him and his fellow crewmen when he finds out?" Raden asked with joyful malice.

"Do you think he will care regardless of what you say? They will all die, and it's all your fault. Congratulations. That's what people say to a newlywed couple, right?" he asked, ignoring Viella's sobs and tears. His figure was cold and dark, hidden in the shadows of the night.

Viella knew he was right. She knew they, he, was in great danger. But she was so selfish that she didn't care enough to tell him.

Now, everything was too late. If she pleaded with her father, would he listen to her?

At that, Viella felt her heart sink deeper in remorse and dread, fearing for the man she did not love enough.

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