Dedicated to Marykhah77

Have an amazing birthday!!!

And this is where the "interview" has purpose. So, I took your characters and put them into a tiny short story. I would have loved to deliver weird stuff to you at your doorstep but haha...I don't know how to. SO I went with something easier that I can access: wattpad.

That "interview" stuff was just me trying to get an idea on what to write and how to go about it. I'll explain this later but enjoy!

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Darkness...

It was dark. Night had fallen and the wolves were howling. No stars, no moon, just eternal darkness...

Fear

I became scared. Although I hate to admit it, I was afraid of what was to come, the scriptures were to be fulfilled...but I fear for the future...What is to come? It's eyes, boring into my soul, taking it and playing it as a puppet. I was his subject...Fear's subject...

Fire.

There was fire everywhere. In the schools, hospitals, markets, houses. Everywhere. I looked at a store window, seeing my reflection...I was the fire.

Screams.

I could hear them. Piercing, agonizing screams. The kind that resounds. The kind that haunts you.

And then Silence.

Noiseless, painful silence...The kind that settles after a fight, the mocking kind, the painful kind...

And once again Darkness

Its sharp claws, taking me around my waist, slowly pulling me back till I saw nothing, heard nothing...felt nothing...

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In a world where Lancon was never king, Manea and Nicholyn never died, Thaeleck was dying and the scriptures were to be fulfilled, Kace was the result of one of King Luis' affairs and Henneh, Rysdan, Nylas, Kace and Valeria were friends.

°•°

"And today, we are gathered to mourn the death of our Queen. She was a loyal leader-"

Henneh snickered, along with a few other villagers.

The announcer continued, "She loved her people and did everything she could to feed them. But death has taken her away from us. As we all know, the queen never had an heir or a king. Our queen believed the throne should be passed on to someone worthy, as written in her will."

The announcer cleared his throat and brought out an envelope, carefully peeling it open. He cleared his throat. "And the Queen's last word to her people on her sick bed: 'The land of Thaeleck is withering, no flowers, no grass and no green. The crops are not growing and our animals are sick and lean. Our people are starving and we need help. For the scriptures must be fulfilled, the chosen one must get Persphone's Scepter from a very dangerous cave...Aglaope's Cave."

The crown gasped and soon furious whispers turned into yelling. Amongst the noise, some comments were lounder and gained more attention.

After the commotion died down, the announcer continued. " ' Whoever gets Peresphone's Scepter from the forbidden cave, becomes the crowned ruler of Thaeleck and his companions will be gravely rewarded; one of the queens houses, a treasure box of gold and unlimited water supply alongside bags of money for each of the brave adventurers. The Scepter will return life back to our soil and growth shall commence. Brave adventurers are recommended to sign up for the search at the castle with Lord Prodos' leading. This shall not be a competition but you must work together. only The Chosen One shall return with the scepter in hand, as the scriptures say'. Long live the Queen."

"Long live the Queen." The crowd echoed.

I glanced at Henneh who had the widest grin on her face. "We better find the rest and head to the castle. I'm for sure participating and you're coming with."

I shook my head and stared at her. "No."

"You're coming with. You don't have an option. It's either you come with us or stay with your annoying parents. And the reward... think about it. It could be really useful with you and your current family situation"

"Shut up and find everyone. Let's head to that god forsaken palace."

"That's the spirit!"

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The birds weren't chirping, no insects were flying, the air (coming from my 17cm by 17cm window) smelt horrible, flowers weren't growing and spring did not feel good.

I tried my black boots and stood up from my squeaky bed. I took a hair tie and secured my blonde hair in a tight ponytail. Quietly, I snuck out of my room and grabbed my bag.

They'll see you.

I tip-toed to the kitchen and gently placed my hand on the round door knob. I carefully turned it and pushed it open.

"And where do you think you're going?" His deep voice echoed in the quiet house.

I cracked my knuckles and turned around, a death glare on my face.

"You don't care so don't ask."

"You're my daughter."

Irritation flickered in my eyes. "Am I?"

"Yes. And so are Irene, Whila, Diana and Manea-"

"Don't. If you considered us as your daughters, you wouldn't arrange our marriages to men twice our age for your own benefit!" I spun around and slammed the door shut, shards of wood flying from the impact.

I marched to the palace, my boots leaving a trail of marks as I walked. We, the "brave adventurers", were asked to meet at the palace for the final instructions. I had always been a part of my country's young adventurers club and that's how we met; Kace, Henneh, Rysdan, Nylas and I. We've been on different missions. Most of the missions weren't so risky but one can never be sure of what happens the next minute.

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"Amongst all the volunteers yesterday, only a few have been chosen. We selected the volunteers with the most experience. When your name is called, I ask that you wait behind after everyone is dismissed." Lord Prodos raised his eyes and slowly scanned the crowd. He stood atop the stairs leading to the entrance of the palace. A slip of paper was handed to him. He scanned the words written and nodded. "Kace of Entorre; Illias, son of the cartographer; Henneh, daughter of the Head Knight; Kailla, daughter of the Franstop and finally, Valarya, daughter of the local blacksmith have been chosen to go on this dangerous mission. Everyone is dismissed and we appreciate your bravery."

I stayed rooted in my spot. A small part of me was hoping not to be chosen. We have all heard the horrors of Agalope's cave and its trail. It was far away and no adventurer ever returned alive. A journey of three days. It shouldn't be a problem to travel. We wouldn't encounter any animals, even if we did, they would be too weak to attack. I felt a tap on my shoulder and spun around, a hard look on my face. It immediately softened when I saw who it was.

"Excited?" He slipped his hands into his brown pants. He smiled, his meadow eyes gleaming. He had pointed ears and icy blonde hair.

I shrugged. "Not really-" I felt a sharp pain in my ribs. Without turning around, I knew who did it. With wasting time to attack, I swept my feet and delivered a perfect sweep, knocking Henneh off her feet.

"Ow!"

I laughed at her and offered a hand up. After she got up and dusted herself, she glanced at Kace.

"You heard Kallia is part of this mission right?" She whispered.

"Unfortunately, Ilias too," Kace added.

I rolled my eyes.

We were given a basic survival kit ( food, water, medication, bandages, tents, daggers etc) and a map alongside a book that explained the horrors and mysteries of the forbidden cave. Lord Prodos had ordered us to travel today. He led us to the castle's stable and gave each of us a horse. And with that, the five of us departed.

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We had stopped a couple of times to drink water from the shallow rivers and to rest. It was getting dark and the sun was setting.

"We need to find somewhere to rest!" Illias yelled. We slowly came to a stop and stared at him.

"It's not full dark yet." Kallia said.

"Yes, but we need a place to rest for the night."

Henneh frowned. "We can still continue for about an hour before searching for a place to rest." She pointed to the sun. "It's not fully set."

Illias waved his hands. "If we should continue for an hour, we'd be met with just thick forest and nowhere to rest. While this area is the perfect spot to rest. He pointed to a spot a few thousand meters away.

"There is no 'thick forest' anymore. All that is left is just the bark of trees," I said

Kace shook his head. "Illias is right. Beyond this area is nothing but thick forest. I travelled to Kandose a few weeks ago with my uncle. The Outlands are still like before."

"How...? The land of Thaeleck is withering how-"

"I rode here a few days ago. Everything beyond here is just as it was a few months ago." Ilias stared into the distance.

"What?!" Everyone but Kaillia exclaimed.

"It was rumored that the Queen sent a couple of her soldiers to the Sacred Temple a few months ago to steal the crown of her forefathers and since then, the queen and her land have been cursed but not the Outlands." Kallia whispered, like she was telling a secret.

My assumption of safe travels was wrong.

"We don't have tools to fight the animals." I said, massaging my temples.

Everyone shrugged and sighed. "I guess Lord Prontos assumed the whole of thaeleck was cursed." Henneh muttered.

"It's Lord Prodos." Kallia quipped.

I got down from my horse and tied it to one of the trees, the rest of the team following suite.

Underneath my foot were heaps and heaps of dead leaves. Most of them were almost decayed while others were in the process. As we walked further , the heaps of leaves reached a bit above our ankles and as we went deeper into the once green forest, it reached a bit above our ankles. It was awfully silent. No birds. No crickets. No foreign sounds. No conversation either. Each leaf crunch made me flinch. It was too silent but counting on me to make a conversation was like a snail moving faster than a cheetah: impossible.

"So..." Henneh cleared her throat. "Are we staying like this till the end of this mission or we not going to try and talk because this silence is uncomfortable."

"Yes. You're right. But we tend to talk with people freely when we are comfortable with them." Kailla said, throwing a discreet glance at Henneh.

"Don't worry, I don't like you either." She said, not even glancing at her.

Illias slapped both of his both hands together trying to kill a mosquito. "Look, to succeed in this mission, we should get to know each other. What do you say?"

Kace and Henneh shrugged, Kallia nodded but I remained unresponsive. We reached our resting place; a flat piece of land with 3 trees huddled together and this was no exception. There were heaps of leaves.

"We better get rid of all these and start a fire. It's getting chilly." Kace stated, already swimming through the leaves, on his way to look for firewood. Kallia joined him and we were left to clear our sleeping area and set up our tents. I busied myself with clearing the leaves and stacking them in one corner while Ilias and Henneh set up the tents.

Apart from forest noise, it was awfully quiet. Kace and Kallia were back with firewood and Henneh and Ilias were done setting up the tents. There were only two...

"Just two tents?" Kace asked.

"Did you expect five?" Ilias retorted.

"I'm staying with Henneh," I announced.

"Well, I'm not staying with two strangers," Kace muttered.

"We wouldn't be strangers if we knew each other." Kallias sighed. "I'm making a fire."

In one swift move, she got the fire crackling. I nodded my head at her in thanks and sat around it to make myself warm. Kace settled beside me, his shoulders brushing mine. A small smile crept onto my face.

"You look pretty."

I rolled my eyes and gently shoved him away, keeping my smile at bay. I would be lying if I said I didn't like his once in a blue moon compliments-

Henneh sat beside me and gave me a jab to my ribs, breaking me out of my thoughts. I glared at her while she simply stared at the crackling fire.

"I don't trust him," she muttered.

"Who?"

She jerked her head in the opposite direction.

Ilias.

I sighed and stared at the fire. "I thought it was Kailla you didn't like?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't like her but I trust her. But him...there's a weird aura around him. I can't just shake off that feeling that he has ulterior motives. And you know this trail...no one takes it. So why did he? It's the trail to Agalope's cave. No one willfully agrees to go down this path."

The name of that cave alone would make you shiver but who in their right mind would want to take this trail and for nothing in return?

"I'm going to my tent." Henneh announced, giving Ilias - who was smirking at the ground- a wary look.

"Don't go! We need to get to know each other if we continue this mission, no?" Ilias questioned.

"No." Henneh replied, turning around and entering the tent.

I turned to look at Kace who was drawing on the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh...Arya, I..." He took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something. You and Henneh. And when we get back, I'll tell the rest too."

"Tell us what?"

His eyes darted to the two strangers who were trying to subtly eavesdrop. He pushed himself up from the ground, dusted his trousers and stretched his hands towards me. I ignored his hands but stood up anyway. He followed me into the tent where Henneh stayed, sharpening a knife.

Gently, I sat down, thinking about what Kace could possibly want to tell me-us. Kace was a nice, introverted boy who made his way into our lives about two years ago. We knew we came from Entorre and currently, he lives with one of his relatives, a knight. That's all we know about his personal life. He was a quiet boy...

He cleared his throat. "So, uh...I'm Fae."

"Damn, shocking discovery."

"Shut up, Val." Henneh mumbled.

"So-"

We heard a high-pitched scream from outside.

We rushed out to see blood splattered around the fire. Not far away, Ilias was tied to a tree, blood oozing out from his stomach while his lifeless head bobbed.

I screamed as Kallia's lifeless body dropped at my feet, blood splattering on my clothes.

"What...wh-"

And then the screams. Piercing screams. From my right. From my left. Behind me. Around me.

I found myself screaming, standing still, watching as my two friends turned lifeless.

"Run."

I obeyed whoever-whatever said that. And as I ran, ran for my life, I never looked back. I ran until there was nowhere to run to. I ran until I was in darkness. Black. Endless. I couldn't hear my own voice. I couldn't scream. But in that darkness, I could make out a figure.

And then, nothing.

Absolute silence.

But that figure... it advanced towards me at a frustrating slow pace...it started to sing. It was so melodious, so smooth, that I found myself forgetting about everything and moving towards the figure. Not until I was toe-to-toe with that figure did I make notice the scepter.

Peresphone's scepter.

Not until I was toe-to-toe did I smell the figure. It smelt like the sea. Salty and sandy. No time to process this, the figure raised the scepter and plunged it through my stomach.

"Unworthy." The voice said. As opposed to the melodious voice, this one was raspy and unclear. Very painful to listen to.

This was the point where I should've died of pain but I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. I watched as the figure pulled the scepter out of my stomach, having no trace of blood.

"Impossible!" The figure let out an unusual scream, breaking the darkness. I watched as beams of lights shone at the figure, causing it to melt and disappear, leaving the scepter behind.

I wasn't feeling, wasn't moving, wasn't thinking. But the scepter appeared in my hand and in the blink of an eye, I was in the castle. I *appeared* in the castle. But the castle wasn't the same anymore. The lifeless bodies of Henneh, Kace, Ilias and Kallias floated toward me with red eyes, solely trained on the scepter. But not only them. There were hundreds of thousands of living beings floating towards me with red eyes; cattles, goats, infants, women, men, plants...

I don't know how it happened but fire erupted from beneath the castle, swallowing and devouring everything that crosses her path. But she multiplied, eating the castle, its objects, everything outside the castle; the schools, the shops, the hospitals...Everything in Thaeleck.

But She called me, whispering my name.

Valeria de Matyre...

come closer...

Princess...

I wasn't in control of my body - or my mind - as I inched towards the fire, in the middle of the room. It was like a huge magnet and I was the tiny piece of iron; I had no choice but to go to it. As I moved closer and closer, the tip of my gown began to burn. Soon, the whole of my ripped gown was on fire...

The flames engulfed me, their hot hands taking control of my body. I screamed with all my might as pain erupted through me. I began to shake. My vision became blurry and my name was being called in the distance.

Valeria!

Princess!

Valeria!

I opened my eyes to meet ocean eyes. I felt drained. I looked around. I was on the ground, in a tent, with Ashe Knightley's face mere inches away from mine.

"Get away from my face!"

THE END.

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No, did story was not meant to end that way😂 but my hands had different plans so here we are. I originally planned everything to go smoothly and all. She would return with the stupid scepter and no one was meant to die except Ilias. He wasn't even supposed to die the way he did. Kallia was meant to kill him because he would trust to kill Val. Anyway, at the end, Val was going to become queen and Kace would rule by her side. (This is just the main stuff)

No, it wouldn't have been a dream.

SO YES. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAY THE YAMMYYAM!! ENJOY YOUR 15TH BIRTHDAY AND I HOPE YOUR NEW AGE BRINGS LOTS AND LOTS OF HAPPINESS!!!!

(I'm taking this down once you read it😂 they're not my characters so yep!)

If you're someone else that isn't Maryam, do check out the original book she published! It's titled "The Royal Kingdom" (it's a fantasy book) Please Please Please check it out! You won't regret it :)♡

The book link below:
https://my.w.tt/EVtBREwPp4

Enjoyyyy and thanks for checking this out!!

~Nelly💜