The princess stood in front of his cell, not saying a word as she watched him lay on his marble bed. Watching him shiver and curl into a ball to attempt to stay warm was not what she wanted; she felt awful for doing this to him but…true Varinian or not, he was under the same guidelines as her people. No matter how she felt, she knew that she had made the right decision.
She cleared her throat and said, “I would not have expected this from you. Being able to glance in your eyes and see what you’ve been doing is my essential power. Why? Why did you do it Daniel?”
Daniel jumped out of his cot and made his way slowly toward her. “If you can read my mind, you know why.”
“Desperation gets you killed. I understand why you did it, I really do. But going to the enemy for answers was an idiotic choice. What did he tell you?”
Daniel scoffed, his hands on the bars. “A whole lot of nothing. Couldn’t even tell me why my parents didn’t want me.”
The Princess looked down, not wanting him to see her pity aimed at him. Maybe it was really time for him to know where he came from, what he was. After a minute of breaking eye contact with him, she looked at him again and replied, “You deserve to know.” Her hand appeared from her cloak that she had worn to avoid detection and in it was the skeleton key to his cell.
Once he had been unlocked, he stepped out of the cell and made his way out of the dungeon with the Princess, moving with her step for step through the shroud of darkness of night.
When Daniel had made it to his room, Princess Anya said, “Meet me in the throne room in half an hour.”
Daniel nodded, then proceeded to shut the door.
Exactly thirty minutes later, Daniel was in the throne room with the King, Queen, and Princess, doing his best to avoid eye contact with Balisnor.
Despite what he had done, King Erek greeted him with a smile. “Sit. We have much to discuss.”
Daniel followed the King and sat across from him, the Princess and Queen sitting on either side of him. He did his best to not act nervous as he saw the bodyguard slowly come up and stand behind him. His mindset was telling him that he wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to behead him right then and there.
The King was the first to speak. “So, what would you like to know first?”
Daniel reached for his cup of water and took a sip before replying. “Why am I so important? Where did I come from?”
“My, my, you are filled with questions,” Queen Guinevere said, laughing as she too reached for her water.
“Your parents were born here,” the King started. “Ferocious fighters, loyal to the Crown…wherever they went, they made friends everywhere. Before we knew it, they had made unsuspecting alliances with the elves, dwarves, and the Sucrkai, Dragon People.”
“What happened?”
This time, the Queen was the one who spoke. “When your mom got pregnant with you, Mortezan had sent assassins to kill you. Mortezan saw you as a threat simply for the fact that he was almost killed by your mother. Her having you would definitely finish the job she started.”
“Who’s Mortezan?”
“Mortezan—” the King was about to speak until his wife held up her hand slowly, eyeing him.
“One thing at a time, love. We don’t want to overwhelm him”
The King nodded and looked down at the floor. The Queen smiled at Daniel as she continued. “You see, every generation of Varinian is more powerful than the last; which means you would have been stronger than your mom and dad combined. Your mother was terrified and asked if she could hide in the castle walls until the threat passed, but your dad thought better of it.”
The King interrupted her. “Mortezan is the one who sent the assassins after your family.
He talked her out of it and told her they would be safer among the Dragons. They ventured out to a nearby village, gave birth to you, and we never saw them again.”
The King cleared his throat, looking down as if ashamed at what he was about to say next. “With your parents gone, it wasn’t long until the bonds to the elves and other species severed. I, uh, forbade everyone to make contact with them ever again; I realize now how terrible of a decision that was. Forming a bond with the Sucrkai is challenging. We might never get the opportunity to do it again.”
The Queen outstretched her hand to hold her husband’s, looking into his eyes as she said, “We might have a chance to do right if you fulfill the prophecy.”
“What does it say?”
The Queen looked at him and smiled in reply. “The prophecy states that there is but one who can unite the people and take down the Darkness of the World once and for all. You are the link to make the chains strong again. That’s why Mortezan fears you…”
“What is the Darkness of the World, and what does it entail?”
The King shifted uneasily in his seat, looking at his daughter as if she was supplying his words. “The Darkness of the World is a cataclysmic event that will affect all realms, not just within the Five Kingdoms. When Anya was a baby, Mortezan promised that she would fulfill his mission by making her his Dark Queen. If he does that, Mortezan will succeed in conquering everything we know. We cannot allow that to happen.”
“He didn’t seem like he feared me when I went to go see him.” Daniel took another sip before turning his gaze to the King. “You told me that my parents were here in some nearby village. Where exactly is it?”
The King turned his wedding ring on his finger nervously, pacing up and down the room. “I haven’t been entirely truthful since your arrival. I said that in order for you to stay. Your parents used to stay at the nearby village of Shinguard but, like my wife said, once your mother got pregnant, they decided to live elsewhere.”
Princess Anya shifted her seat to face Daniel, her piercing emerald green eyes gripping his intently. “We’re desperate. People here are starting to lose hope. Even though it’s been hundreds of years since the Great War, people still hear about the prophecy. We need them to have faith in us, or we’re going to lose what we’ve been fighting for soon.”
Daniel had put his drink down. “The Great War?”
“The Great War was between the armies of the Five Kingdoms and Mortezan’s colossal army. It was fought about a hundred or so years ago; your parents and I fought side by side right outside this wall. Your mother was so fantastic. She almost killed Mortezan on the spot until he broke away and ran.”
“Where is Mortezan from?”
The King closed his eyes and breathed in a shaky breath, waited a moment, then slowly released it. “He used to be a Varinian until my father found out he was plotting against the Crown. He was banished, but he told everyone—man, woman, and child alike that he would one day rise from the Darkness and take the throne. You see, Varin is a part of the Five Kingdoms. It’s a stronghold; if we fall, the other Kingdoms fall as well. We can’t allow that to happen.”
“What was it that made him want to say that?” There has to be a reason. “It doesn’t make sense. If my mother could almost kill Mortezan and end this thing before it even started, then clearly there’s something that I’m still missing. On top of that, he mentioned how your daughter would serve as his Dark Queen when the time came. I got all these puzzle pieces intact but I’m missing just one more piece to put it all together. Is he your dad’s son? Did your dad do something that he didn’t agree with? What’s his motive?”
The King instantly replied, “There’s no need to overwhelm you. I understand you have a lot more questions, but there’s too many to continue going. The next time I’m not busy and up to my eyeballs in what is going on among my people, you can ask me more questions.”
Now that he asked all of the questions that were bogging him down, all Daniel could do was nod. He cleared his throat before continuing. “I’m sorry for what I did, to both you and the people of Varin. I won’t ever do something as rash like this again.” He still had a few more questions, but he realized that their personal time was constricted. He reached out his hand to shake the King’s. “Thank you for helping me out. Whenever you get more down time, I would like to talk to you more about it.” His guilt was eating him whole. Deep down he knew he should not have gone, but his naivety got the better of him to the point where he didn’t care how it affected him or the royal family. I need to think of something to make it right…in some way.
King Erek stood up, a big smile on his face. “And I am sorry for my inactions for not telling you everything that you deserved to know. Had I not kept what you wanted to know away from you, none of this would’ve happened. Are you ready to get back into training?”
Daniel stood up and said confidently. “I’m ready.”
Back in his room surrounded by some newfound knowledge, Daniel processed the information. Now that he knew the truth about where he came from, he could focus more on training. However, the very thought of the village of Shinguard being so close to Varin stirred some other ideas in him as well. Should he go there, even though he knew that his parents weren’t there? It had happened so long ago; they could be anywhere now. However, if they weren’t in Shinguard, he would have to go back to square one and start all over. He had to put it to rest. I just as well might, he thought. No harm in trying. As he lay down for the night, he couldn’t help but to see his parents as ferocious warriors that fought for the same crown he was under. If they did it, then did that mean he had to as well, to live in their legacy? He wanted to think about it but for now, the answer was obvious. He would do it. As his eyes grew heavy and would eventually win the battle of closing, Daniel pictured his parents side by side fighting Mortezan. That in itself put a smile on his face.