Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress

Van Merikh was the most unusual occurrence amongst those who could wield magical power.

He was the only man who bore two devilish markings that even the king of Caelthywn feared.

He wore the Crimson Brand on the left of his neck, a sigil that was burnt into his flesh at his birth rather than appearing without pain like with other children.

Flames had burst from his own body to brand the mark as a baby.

As for the black frost flake mark on the right side of his neck? None knew how he had come to bear a second mark.

But Lady Karina did not want to be on the receiving end of either of them.

"My Lord," the enemy knight said evenly, lifting his head just as Van Merikh approached. "This is Sir Gerald Alaric Reinhardt, garrison commander of Moonveil, and his daughter, the Lady Karina Hyacinth Reinhardt. They claim that they are the only two members of the ruling house."

Van Merikh, who stood at the entrance of the great hall, was covered in mail, plate protection, and the evidence of battle. He still wore his iron helm, which seemed crusted with blood, a massive accessory with horns that jutted out of the crown. 

He was easily a head taller than even the tallest man in the room and his hands were large enough to easily snap a log in half. 

The man's enormity was an understatement; he was colossal.

Van Merikh radiated everything evil that had ever walked upon the surface of the world, perhaps even the darklings that lingered beneath the surface too.

Maybe it was from them that he received the second magical mark.

Lady Karina could feel it where she stood and her heart began to pound painfully.

She fought back the urge to run to her father for protection as she had always done in childhood, for she knew that no mortal could give protection against this.

The very air of the great hall had changed the moment the enormous man entered it.

His presence pressed against Lady Karina like an iron weight.

The great, helmed head of Van Merikh turned in the direction of the knight who had been carrying out the interrogation, now standing before him. 

Then he loosened the gauntlet on his right arm enough to pull it off, raising his visor with an uncovered hand.

The hand was rough and riddled with scars from years before.

"I was informed of it," Van Merikh replied, his voice bottomless. "We counted only four knights in total, including Reinhardt, so this is the only lot of them."

"Are you going to proceed with the interrogations, my Lord?"

For the first time, the helmed head turned in the father and daughter duo's direction.

Lady Karina felt a physical impact as his eyes, the only thing visible through the helm, focused on her.

Did the man possess unholy magic in his eyes too?

Then she noticed the strangest occurrence; the left eye was a splash of sky blue mixed with oceanic shades, while the right eye, with most of it being a hazel brown, seemed to have a spark of silver in it.

The man had two different-coloured eyes.

It unnerved her to no end and to the point of panic again.

"I caught most of your words upon my arrival," Van Merikh said, still focused on Lady Karina. Then he looked at Sir Gerald. "Your explanation was correct and you understand the rules of engagement and warfare so there will be no further misunderstanding."

Sir Gerald didn't reply; he didn't have to.

He knew exactly who the man was without explanation and his heart sank.

Van Merikh continued into the room, rubbing his forehead through his raised visor.

Lady Karina's eyes followed him, noticing how he passed closely next to her.

She barely came up to his chest.

"I am Van Merikh," he introduced, returning his attention to both Lady Karina and her father. "Moonveil Keep is now mine and you are my prisoners. If you think to plead for your lives, now would be the time."

"You would have us plead for our lives in our own keep?" Lady Karina blurted. "But why?" She tilted her head to the side, her emerald green eyes reflecting her question clearly.

Van Merikh looked at her but did not speak. 

The second knight, the one in charge of the interrogation, answered, "You are the enemy, my lady. What else are we to do with you?"

"You do not have to kill us," Lady Karina insisted, looking between the men.

"Rina," Sir Gerald hissed sharply, shaking his head with a tense glint in his old eyes.

"Nay, Father," she waved him off, returning her emerald green focus to Van Merikh.

"Please, my Lord, explain to me why you are not sparing our lives. If you were the commander of Moonveil, would you not have defended it too? That does not make us the enemy. It simply makes us besieged. We were protecting ourselves, as is our right."

Van Merikh's gaze lingered on her for a moment, then he flicked his eyes to the knight at his side.

"Take Gerald away."

"No!" Lady Karina screamed, throwing herself forward. She tripped on her own feet and ended up crashing into Van Merikh and it was then that all the colour in her father's face had drained. 

With small, soft hands, Lady Karina clutched Van Merikh's grisly mail.

She could feel an otherworldly iciness release from his body, chilling her to the bone.

"Please, my Lord, do not kill my father. I beg of you. I will do anything you ask; only do not kill my father. Please."

Van Merikh gazed down at her impassively. When he spoke, it was to his men.

"Do as I say. Remove the father," he commanded.

The hot tears welled up in Lady Karina's eyes quickly.

"Please, my Lord," she begged softly again with desperation. "I have heard tales that you are an unkind beast with no mercy to show and it would be easy to believe that if I accepted the rumours of your cruelty. But I believe there is mercy in every man, my Lord, even you."

Van Merikh's gaze narrowed.

"Please show us your mercy," Lady Karina rambled on. "My father is an honourable man and he was only defending his keep."

"Rina," Sir Gerald hissed at her again, determined to stop his daughter's foolishness before it became the death of her. "Enough, lamb chop. Let me leave this hall seeing your kind and brave face as the last thing with life still in you."

Lady Karina was as stubborn as she had always been, ignoring her father as she focused her pleas on Van Merikh.

"If there is any punishment to be dealt, I will bear it without complaint," Lady Karina volunteered without hesitation. 

"If it will spare my father and his vassals, I will gladly submit. Do what you will with me, but spare the others. I beseech you, my Lord."

Van Merikh's face remained hard like stone.

And seeing that the enormous knight was paying no heed to her pleas, Lady Karina broke free and raced to her father, throwing herself against him as Van Merikh's men dragged him from the hall.

Sir Gerald tried to dislodge his daughter, but his hands were bound and the men were hauling him away, making it difficult.

"No, Father," Lady Karina wept, her arms around his left leg. "I refuse to let you face their swords alone. They will have to kill me too."

"No," Sir Gerald commanded softly, his eyes softening as he hoped the knights dragging him out would be considerate enough to at least give him a moment with his only daughter.

He lifted his bound arms and looped them around her, pulling her into an awkward embrace.

"You are young and death is not yet on your path," Sir Gerald said sternly. "You will live and be brave as I know you to be. Know that I love you very much, little lamb. You have always made me proud."

Lady Karina wept uncontrollably.

Her father kissed her forehead as their brief time together ended harshly, knowing very well that it might have been the last time she would ever see him.

The last thing she heard from her father as he whispered in her ear was, "Do not tell them of our secrets, my child. Do not tell them of the power we hold. Moonveil's magical nature is but a myth as it always has been."

Lady Karina's body ran cold and Van Merikh seemed to be eyeing her vigilantly, curious of what message Sir Gerald had passed to her.

He made certain he would learn what it was.

There were many men attempting to separate Sir Gerald from his daughter and someone grabbed Lady Karina around her tiny waist, pulling her free from her father.

It was Van Merikh.

"Lock the girl in the vault," he ordered. "Take the father to the bailey and wait for me there."