Bound to the dark king

*Serena*

I had always imagined that I would get married to a gentle man, a farmer or a preacher and live in a nice little cottage with two kids, maybe three. I had no idea that all that was just a silly dream that would never come to pass. Not in a million years, not in another life.

My fate was well and truly sealed. I don't know how it happened, but one day, a dark cloud was cast upon our skies, and it was said that the god of the skies was the cause of it. Every once in a hundred years or so, there are 5 maidens scattered all over the earth. One of pure, royal blood with a rare ability that only appeared in the maidens once in hundreds of years.

I was not the only one born of this royal blood with that special ability I didn't even know of. There were several royal families scattered across the earth, over 200 of them in fact, so even though I had been trained and taught about my bloodline, my mama had assured me that it was unlikely that I would be picked as we were not one of the most influential royal families on the land. I had foolishly believed her words and lived my teenage years freely, happy and fantasizing about getting married to my childhood best friend, Julian.

Now, after my father had dropped the bombshell on me, that I had been chosen as one of the 6 maidens that would be taken to the sky kingdom and might end up marrying the prince of the sky Kingdom, Prince Malcom. For the sake of peace and unity.

Of course, that was a big fat lie, and we all knew it. Why else would my father have trained me to be skilled at hunting monsters and protecting myself? Because they knew they were practically signing my death warrant. My father had never been the type to show emotions but as he spoke to me now, I could see the fear in his eyes., it made me wonder why he was so terrified. Although I knew that there was no one alive who wasn't terrified of the king of the Sky. He wasn't called the dark king for nothing, after all.

Tales of his ruthlessness and heartlessness were known throughout every corner of the earth. They said he had a beef with human leaders, something about who was fighting for power over the spirits. I had been brought up and taught to tear the dark king, but I was not afraid of him. All I had was late for him. The wish to humble him and take away all his so-called amazing power was so potent in me that I could taste it. I knew that was what my father wanted as well, even though he couldn't say it properly. He wanted me to find the king's weakness and use it to end his life once and for all. And there was nothing I wanted more than that.

"Serena, my Jewel." I heard my father's voice and snapped out of my dangerous thoughts. I focused on him and In that moment, I wanted nothing more than my father's approval. I wanted to make him proud, and I wanted so badly for him to believe in me.

"Papa... You needn't say more... I will do all I can to make you proud. I will make us victorious."

"There's that warrior I trained for years. I know that this decision will be hard on you, even though you are not showing it. I.... I am sorry daughter. But there is nothing I can do against the king of the sky. He had stated that the next maiden would belong to his younger brother, and we had no choice but to obey his commands. He is the most powerful being, and he could destroy us in an instant if he so wished." The fear in my father's voice brought a chill to my bones that I didn't want there. I didn't want to feel fear of the dark king. I wasn't scared of anything. When I was 13, I had singlehandedly killed a huge serpent in the woods. I had also climbed the highest mountains where they said no one could survive the wind there. And then I had dived into the ice-cold sea without a single fear in me. I was always confident that nothing or no one could scare me.

But right now, watching my father swallow the lump in his throat, his eyes red-rimmed and his knuckles white and shaking, I felt genuine fear for myself. I was scared of the dark king. I was terrified of him and I didn't want to have the misfortune of ever coming across him. I closed my eyes tightly and took in a deep breath, willing the fear and trepidation to disappear.

"I know this is not the life you wanted. But I want you to know that there is a reason for everything." He went on. "Your mother and i never expected that you would be one of the 12 chosen maidens. I wish there was a way to make this easier for you, but I want you to be strong my jewel. I have always known that are special. That you will change everything for the better. It's up to you now amore." I felt a warmth in my chest at the name he called me. He hadn't called me his love in a long while.

A dull ache settled in my chest as I realized that very soon, I would be away from my home and family. Forever. it was like I was signing my life away. I rapidly blinked away the tears that rushed into my eyes. "l promise, I'll make you proud. I will not forget all that you have taught me."

As I sat along side my father and mother on the iron throne, waiting for Prince Malcom of the skies to come for me, my mind went back to the conversation I had with my father last night. I knew what I had to do with the silver feather my father had given me. I took a deep breath and stared ahead. The crowd gathered were just my extended family and some other royal families my father was friends with. Our kingdom was a small one and my father tried to protect his people as much as he could even though he couldn't protect them from the Sky king's exit monsters that plagued our lands.

We had lost so many innocent lives to this monster and this was one of the things that fueled my hatred and determination to destroy the evil king.

Suddenly, a loud thrum shook the grounds and everyone in the throne room gasped in fear. The atmosphere changed in the twinkle of an eye and it was suddenly dark. A terrible shiver ran down my spine as I realized what was happening right now.

They were here for me. The gods of the sky. The most powerful beings to exist. The sheer energy of their power filled the whole place, it was alive and potent. I could feel it deep in my bones as I took a deep, shaky breath in.

I turned to look at my mother. My beautiful mama who had tears strolling down her face now as she gazed at me with so much pain in her eyes. I'm sorry.... She mouthed silently, her hand grabbing mine tightly. I nodded with a tight smile, hoping that was enough to make her stop crying for me. We both knew I was going to a place of no return. The fact that I was the only child made it harder. I felt so sorry for mama and papa. They were about to lose their 20-year-old daughter to an ancient monarchy.

I turned to my papa and saw that he was looking around as if he was searching for something. Anywhere but me. I placed my hand on his just as my mama had placed hers on mine. He stiffened at the contact but kept his hand there. I held them tightly, hoping they could feel my love for them through it. I realized I wanted to spend more time with them. 1 didn't want this precious moment to come to an end. I was smiling at my mum when she suddenly looked up with a gasp. All the hairs on my neck stood on alert.

It was time.

"I am Lord Presley of the sky kingdom, and I am here for the 5th maiden."

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