Disclaimer: I do not own Howl's Moving Castle
A/N: Here it is, the second to last chapter. The next one is an epilogue so if you want to be picky then technically this is the last chapter ever. I hope none of you are crying. That includes you anymousse, Tek Sonay
(then again I can't imagine anyone crying over my story to be particularly honest, but then again this is coming from someone who has a heart of stone where movies have made her cry, a book hasn't...yet. In fact, I am interested to see which one prevails to that end, the only ones that have come close is the last Harry Potter and The Kite Runner.)
Anyway, the thank you's aren't coming until the next chapter, which is the one that I am going to dedicate to Tek Sonay, but she had to ruin the surprise I had in store for her. Anyway, let us get on since I think I've left you waiting for long enough.
Chapter Thirty-Five
For RavenSterling
The next time Daniella woke up she thought she was still unconscious since it was so dark. She couldn't see a single thing. Along with being stone cold and eerily quiet she wasn't sure where she was or whether she was still dreaming, hoping to wake up in her warm bed. She hoped all of this was some prophetic dream to warn her of going to see her lover's sister. She reached out and felt a cold wall against her fingertips. She began to panic, her face felt hot and she thought that she had lost the ability to breath. She gripped the walls and tried to find some light. The air in wherever she was was thin and suffocating. She looked around frantically and in vain to see if there was a trick of the light or some movement to signify that she was somewhere and not trapped in a nightmare or worse was dead. She was scared that she was going to go crazy. Or that she had already gone mad. She couldn't imagine not dying without her love, the idea of being separated from him or going into death alone was something that she feared more than imprisonment. She had never been afraid of the dark before but after remembering what happened before she fell unconscious she knew that there would be a good reason to be when she was alone and blind.
She waved a hand in front of her face and felt it fanning her skin, so that she knew she still wasn't dreaming. She had nightmares like this before, even when she wasn't in a deep slumber. There was no light shining into the cursed place. A prison, with no way of escape. After all those years of waiting and preparing and it was all for nothing in the end. All her efforts and hopes were in vain. Lady Belladonna had won and now Daniella could be used as leverage to blackmail Kain to do goodness know what. She hated herself more than she ever had done before, now that she was going to bring pain onto her love as well as being forced to give up something he probably held most dear. Before she allowed herself to be engulfed by these dark thought she heard Kain telling her not give up. He could even be there for her in his absence. She smiled sadly. She knew he would come for her, he hadn't forsaken her up to this point. But she certainly wasn't the type of woman to wait on a man to save her. She wasn't going to let Lady Belladonna or Oranda as she should say. She got to her feet steadily and whispered the spell which would bring light to her fingertips. The sudden burst of light shone brightly throughout her cell. The small ball of light felt warm and soft against the palm of her hand.
Her cell was in a circular shape with tall walls which reached far above her head and was made of stone. She craned her head back to see if there was a way out at the top, but alas there was no way out. She shook her head at her folly, of course Oranda wouldn't make it easy for her. Her body shook all over, her lip quivered and she was on the brink of tears. She fell to her knees, feeling like she was back to where she started. At the bottom of nothingness. In a prison. She leaned against the wall and sighed. How had it come to this? After all those years of preparation, it had come to this. She didn't want to accept this as the end, there had to be a way. Why didn't she see it coming? She had been so foolish, she should've foreseen this. She should've been more careful, or listened to Kain. Why did Enya betray her and her brother like this? Was her hate or hatred of what he was so great that it brought her to this? Enya was a princess, is this how princesses acted? The thought of Kain as a Prince or better yet a King was something that shocked Daniella. Yet at the same time she could now see that majestic honour and cool that he always had. It was in the way he walked into a room or the way he talked about something. She almost laughed at herself out loud. Why didn't she see this before? It was always there. Although something troubled her. If this was all resolved and everything had been revealed to the world would she take him as his Queen?
Surly this couldn't be, she was a commoner or if not an illegitimate child of a nobleman and a foreign sorceress. How was that good candidacy for a future Queen? She could never imagine herself in that world but still she couldn't bring herself to pull away from his fate. She remembered those last moments of the deepest of intimacies she had had with anyone and she saw it even then. He was kind, gentle but there was some trouble in his face. After the deed was done he realised the seriousness of the act but he didn't regret it and neither did she. But he knew that this would bring more troubles into the future. Was he afraid that the same would happen to her as did with his first love? It troubled her more that he had doubts in the endurance of their love. She could love him and no other for as long as she would live, even if it was only for a few more days or for another thousand years. He simply wasn't replaceable to her. She loved him and nothing like that was something that she could never bring herself to regret. It brought them together like two lost souls waiting to return home. What she would regret is letting him down now, betraying him would be like ripping out her own heart. And she would never dare even think of wishing that she had never met him after all the pain and suffering it brought by him just telling her the truth.
He was the miracle in her life, she was wandering blindly looking for that great something to fill that void and he came along and since she was so young she didn't realise that he was it. She felt for a moment that he may have been here. She was sure that she could feel his breath upon her skin for just a moment. Although it may have been the effects and desires of their intimacies which still remained inside her. He wasn't that horizon at the end of her road that seemed so far and out of her reach. He was that warm breeze encircling around her like a blanket, accompanying her for the whole way. Despite all this she couldn't be the reason why Fermia remained a ruleless state. She had heard news over the years of it becoming increasingly unruly and she knew if it was left for any longer she knew it was going to plunge into chaos and eventually there would be nothing left. She couldn't be the reason for all those deaths and losses. She couldn't be the reason why he would back away from such a choice. She would settle for being his mistress or someone he would see once in a while. After all, she had always felt uneasy about the idea of being someone's wife, even if she was willing to make an exception for him, but if push came to shove she was willing to sacrifice that much for him. Even though he wasn't with her now, she could feel him them, sitting next to her holding her hand.
~ (***) ~
She couldn't believe she was doing this. Her reason told her that she shouldn't be getting involved with this and that the woman that she saw in her apartment was a good woman caring for her ward. A ward who was foolish enough to involve herself with someone like her brother. She should turn her back on the whole business and move on with her life. She had been able to do so for many years, she could've returned to her country and take her rightful place if her brother wasn't prepared to do so, but she had accepted her life as an ordinary woman who sacrificed her comforts for the poor. She knew that in the state that her old country was in that she wouldn't even be able to take control of the country, let alone of the court when a country was in that kind of state. There would be corruption, bribery and lies. She couldn't deal with that. But there was something inside Enya telling her that there was something wrong with the whole situation. She remembered the fear that was plastered on the girl's face. She had never seen so much fear in someone's eyes. Also, when she looked into her eyes she reminded her a lot of the sorceress that was training with her mother, which was no surprise since it turned out that she was her mother. She could remember Felicity Silvestri being a bright, charming woman. She would sometimes come into her bedroom while she dressed and braided her hair. She had almost filled the space of the older sister she never had.
Her mother certainly doted on her like a second daughter. She seemed a lot more happier than her daughter but she surely got her solemness from her father. Enya had not met Onin Locke very often as his business was more concerned with her father, considering that he was his Head Advisor but she remembered him as a serious faced man. She couldn't understand why they loved one another. She couldn't imagine what he would be like as a father. It was as if the light had married the darkness. They were polar opposites, like Kain and Daniella. She shook her head knowing that wasn't even her real name. Why Kain had not told her this was something she couldn't fathom. She was sure that he loved her so why was she keeping so much from her? She had seen the dark side of him so why was he so hesitate to show his lighter side? Why did he want to hide so much from her? She could see in the girl's eyes that she was craving for the truth like a waif begged for water in a desert. She had finally come to one of his portal doors in the town and knocked on it before hesitating. The door opened abruptly and there was Kain. He looked tired, restless and unshaven. She almost gasped at the pain she had caused him. He looked at for a moment, not registering who she was for a moment. When it dawned on him he look a step back and blinked.
"Well I am certainly going to congratulate you for your bravery." He growled.
She inhaled deeply, trying to maintain her posture. "I only came here because I took pity on her not you." She replied curtly.
He smirked grimly. "That's so kind of you, sister. Honestly, that is the first ounce of kindness that you have shown anyone in years." He almost cried.
"I help with the poor." She snapped. "And what do you do? You indulge in the Dark Arts. It's worse than indulging in drink or women."
Her voice was shaking with fury. "Anyway, I came here to give you information on her whereabouts."
He looked up and saw that there was a spark of something in his eyes. Hope? Surprise? "Where? Where is she?" He demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders.
Enya stepped back slightly. "I don't know her exact whereabouts but I know she is not at the residency here. I also saw her fly west. If that is any help."
He shook his head. "Not really. So, now if you're done, you can leave." He paused, Enya knew her elder brother wasn't done. "I have no idea why she wanted to get to know you. She had such a kind heart and you had to just stamp on it and throw it away."
"Which is exactly what you are doing!" She cried. "You drew her into your world and you made her think you could love her? Look around you. I know her to be the good young woman she is even though I only spent a few moments with her but I know she-"
"Don't you dare think you can know her!" He roared. "Don't even dare attempt to make any presumptions about her! I know her better than anyone on this earth." He hissed.
His eyes were wild, he was a man in torment. A primitive creature that was engulfed in complete and utter despair.
"I know her heart and soul and I know she is not of my world. She is the light that I need, the light I have always been searching for and now you've taken that from me and so if you don't mind I would really like you to leave."
Hot tears were running down his face as he was telling her this. She could see from this reaction that he was actually being genuine and now she was beginning to doubt whether she should have informed Lady Belladonna of all this. If Daniella Lockhart had stayed around for longer she may have had a good influence over him. Perhaps he would have been able to be dissuaded from this life he had decided to follow. She knew this was something she could have stopped. A sight that Enya had never seen before. Not from her brother. It was almost frightening, she knew now that this love was sincere now that had invoked these emotions. He didn't wipe them away roughly like a man should. He let them fall, he didn't seem to care about anything any more. Not social conduct. Not his appearance. His thoughts were filled with her. She nodded and stepped back so that he could close the door. She stood there for a few minutes before making her way back home. She felt utterly drained of all her energy. She felt useless now that she had made that one choice which turned out to be the wrong one hidden behind a sunny face. She knew she was responsible for all the anguish that had been brought upon her brother which may have even been able to save him from the darkness he was plunging himself into. She prayed every night for his deliverance from it and now she had worsened his condition.
Just when she was about to banish the whole episode from her mind something occurred to her. Something which made her re-evaluate whether she could actually do something to make this all better. She knew she could probably never talk to her brother and his lover or what she was to him again but at least she could make up for the possible mistake she had made, without crossing Lady Belladonna. She still respected the woman and supported her in the sense of seeing her brother's practices as evil. She remembered reading that Ananea Blackfall had been taken in by Lady Belladonna as a student. She knew that she would be able to make a harmless enquiry to her. She knew that if Lady Belladonna would read the letter she would still see nothing threatening from it. All it took was a harmless letter from someone completely trustworthy or without a hint of suspicion and their whereabouts could be found. Just to ask her whether she would wish to volunteer and if it was possible to have an audience with her. However this person couldn't be her. She had already been involved with this. The only person she could now turn to was Elara. She sighed and shook her head.
I don't know why I'm getting myself more involved with this...
~ (***) ~
She didn't know how many days it had been. She had ceased counting the days. There was no point when you didn't know when the sun rose and fell from the sky. She couldn't even see any form of a superficial light over than the one which she could make in her hands and even then it got tiring after a while. She had gone without food or drink for as long as she could remember. Soon she was unable to move or had given up on moving or functioning altogether. The light in her hand which lasted longer than she thought it would eventually dimmed and then immersed itself into the darkness. That was when she began to feel utterly alone. Why had Kain not come? How could he not find her? She could feel gentle tears falling down her cheeks.
Thoughts of abandonment began to pollute her mind. Now that a future together was unimaginable he completely discarded her. She wiped away her tears along with these poisonous thoughts. She clenched her fist and gave out a cry of anger. She cried up to the heavens to bring down those destructive stars onto Lady Belladonna. She wanted to rip of her heart through her throat. She wanted the mountains to move so that she could shake the earth. How dare Lady Belladonna do this to her. What had she done or her parents for that matter done to deserve this? She wanted to tear her apart. Set her up in flames. She wanted to throw her into an abyss, forever falling, forever trapped, forever tormented. She heard footsteps echo from outside her prison. In panic and anticipation she rolled onto her front and looked around impatiently, wondering if it was Kain coming to her aid or Lady Belladonna bringing her execution. The door opened, welcoming a blinding light onto her eyes. She heard a chuckle.
"My, my she does look terrible. I suppose a few days in a cell has done a bit of good." The female voice chuckled.
Daniella looked away from the doorway. She knew the voice from anywhere. She didn't need a bright and blaring light to know who it was. She had never locked her away in a cell before she knew that she was going to come to this place sooner or later. It would have only been a matter of time if she spent any longer in that home of hers to have to resort to these measures. She was always like that. If that was what the light was going to bring she would rather that refuge in the eternal darkness, with her dark prince. She knew that after that night when she first met that she would always prefer to dwell in the darkness with her fallen angel than the one who tried to seemed to have a broken halo hovering over her head. She hated Lady Belladonna. She hated the light that she had tainted. She didn't want to look upon her. It wasn't Kain that had broken her innocence but her. He just made her aware of it when Lady Belladonna blinded her from it. Her footsteps came closer and closer to her until she could feel her skirts brushing against her arm. Lady Belladonna sat down on the floor and sighed.
"Enjoying your accommodation?" She asked conversationally.
"Yes, its much better than the rooms you gave me as a child.' Daniella replied spitefully. 'I can at least be locked away from you."
"Now Daniella, I didn't raise you to speak-"
"You never raised me!" She snapped in a husky voice.
She sat up so suddenly, like a cat hissing at an intruder. Her hair was disarrayed and wild. Her eyes were ablaze with fury.
"You took me as your slave and tried to make me into an instrument of your will. So don't you dare try to come across as the mother with good intention being forced to use harsh measures."
Oranda raised an eyebrow and shiftly slightly until she grabbed Daniella by the hair roughly.
"Listen to me, you little brat. I'm going to tell you something. I'm presuming you know all about the whole War thing, the murder of your parents and so on. But I bet you've been asking yourself why is she so hung up about everything?"
"Well yes but I didn't really need to ask you did I?" Daniella retorted. "You relish in telling people those sorts of things, since you're so much of a cliché."
Oranda gave her a sharp, stinging slap around the face and continued. "Well, the reason why I did it in the first place was because that Queen Lissa was my sister. Or my half-sister. We shared the same father but not the same privileges. He cast out my mother like a dog and left us to beg for money. Then I met Prince Gore, under interesting circumstances. Anyhow I decided to help him so I could take from her which I deserved. I finally found my equal in him."
"Tell me again how my mother and father come into this?" Daniella asked in a testing voice. Oranda waved this off.
"I'm coming to that. Patience. Never your virtue, Daniella. Anyway, everything was going fine. I killed my sister but then as an act of revenge your mother decided to do this."
Suddenly Oranda's face changed into her true form. Daniella wanted to back away from her in horror because of how terrible and horrible it was. Her grey hair turned white. A snowy white which was almost so beautiful than she wanted to stroke it. Her ivory skin became a pale yellow and across her now wrinkled face was the most horrifying scar Daniella had ever seen. She was intrigued but also disgusted by it at the same time. She wanted to back away from her as if she had come across a leper. At the same time she wanted to reach out and touch it out of curiousity. To just see what it felt like under her touch. She wanted to heal the scar. She wanted to see if there could be some way that this could be ended peacefully. From the look in her eyes though, she knew she was beyond that now. Revenge and dark thoughts had warped her mind to the point of no return. It went across her left eyes down to her right cheek, disfiguring her nose and really her face altogether. She could see puss growing inside the wound and was crinkled up like a bruised and cut apple that had been left out for too long. Daniella resisted from leaning back in disgust but she couldn't hide it in her eyes.
Oranda tilted her head. "It's pretty horrible isn't it? Now you see why I was so...aggravated with your mother?"
Daniella tilted her head and considered this. "Hm. No, no this just shows me how petty and pathetic you are. I mean seriously? You murder my mother and father just because she scarred you which you can easily hide with an illusion? Are you mad?" She screamed.
Oranda didn't seemed too bothered by this. "Not really. I'm just eccentric."
Daniella shook her head. "You need help. You need blood help."
Oranda shook her head. "No poor people need that kind of help, Daniella. Or should I say...?" She hesitated, her words flying into silence. Daniella sat up wondering what it was she was going to say. Oranda glanced at her from the corner of her eye then shook her head when she came to the conclusion.
"No. I don't think you need to know that. Not really. I mean you've gone long enough without knowing your real name." She said as she got to her feet.
Daniella shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't matter. Kain or Enya will eventually tell me."
Oranda looked down at her and then looked around mockingly. "And where are they? Oh no, they can't find you. Or maybe they don't want to? And if they did really care about you don't you think they would've told you by now?"
Daniella looked away trying not to listen. She wasn't going to let her manipulate her emotions but she couldn't help but feel that pang of doubt.
"You don't know what you're talking about." She snapped, looking away from her. "You've never had anyone show an ounce of compassion towards you you can't even feel it yourself, let alone show it to anyone else."
"Do you know what the tragic thing is Daniella?" She asked, ignoring the previous statement. "Is that I'm all you have."
Oranda lingered there for a few moments before leaving her cell closing the door behind her so that once again Daniella was left alone in the dark.
~ (***) ~
It had been weeks since her disappearance and Kain had almost given up altogether. He had never persevered with something like this before. Something that was even less hopeless than this he would have already given up thinking it was a lost case. He never wanted to refer to her as a case. She was more than that. She meant more than that. He was hunched over his desk, now exhausted with trying to find Daniella. There was dark rings under his eyes and his hair was in a disarray. Even Nyx felt distant from him and she was almost the second closest to his heart, even though she had been closer for longer than Daniella. He had gotten her into this mess now he was going to get her out of it, but with every direction that he went in there was a dead end. Wherever he looked there was a dead end. No one was there. No sign of Daniella. He had never felt so lost and never felt so much despair. Even with his first fiancée he never reacted like this. Just when he was about to go out to drink his worries away Morgan came flying through the door.
"She's in Fermia!" He screeched.
Kain took a few steps back and blinked. Nyx who was lying by the fire opened an eye to see who had intruded the threshold.
I'd never thought I'd say this but thank God he's here, she murmured.
Kain paid no mind to this and just stared at Morgan. He heard the words but it took him a few moments to string them together. Then it took him a few minutes to understand how it had any meaning to him. He took Morgan by the shoulders.
"Where? Where in Fermia?" He demanded, shaking them.
Morgan held up his hands. "At her household in Fermia. Honestly, Kain-"
"Don't honestly Kain me!" He roared. "This is Daniella we're-"
Morgan leaned forward and gave him a look. "Now we're certainly not letting you fly into battle lie this. You need to rest."
Kain shook his head. "No, you need to give me directions to this household. We can't delay a second more."
Just as he was about to make his way out the door Morgan took him by the shoulders and gripped him tightly. "Just a few hours sleep, Kain. That's all I'm asking. You're emotional and you're tired if you're going to go in there being both of those things you're going to get yourself killed and Daniella."
Kain looked away, not wanting to admit that his brother was right. He was going to mess it up and he was going to get himself and Daniella killed in the process. He could bear sacrificing his own life for her but thinking of her dead was something that he dreaded. He walked away from the door and turned back to the fire.
"I'm so afraid Morgan." He murmured.
Morgan cocked his head to the side. "I know."
"No, I mean. Not just about this but about what will happen after we succeed. Once everyone knows the truth they're going to ask me to be King. And I don't know if I can be-"
Morgan shook his head. "What has this to do with Daniella?"
"Well, what if she doesn't want that life? I want to be with her but I don't want to force her into a role she is unwilling to take."
"Do you want to be King?"
"I don't know! I mean, my father was always telling us that it was our duty to be examples to our people, that it was our destiny, our purpose to be born to the roles we were given. Then this happened and know I am now first in line to a throne which is left empty and needs to be filled. I more frightened of her choice than mine because I can't bear to be without her."
"Say she doesn't want to be Queen, what will you do?"
Kain shrugged his shoulders. "Then I won't be King. I will always be her servant first before being Fermia's King."
~ (***) ~
Daniella started to get pains in her stomach. She cried out a few times but knew that no help was going to come for her. If anything she knew that Lady Belladonna was enjoying this. She enjoyed the fact that she was suffering. At first she thought it was lack of nutrition and fluids. Lady Belladonna would probably be thinking that too. Soon they started to give her food and what she meant by they was the guards. They would give her some water and leftovers from their own meals. But then she began to have cramps between her legs and her headaches were becoming increasingly worse as the days passed her by. She knew headaches would be a result of lack of food but the cramps, she wasn't so sure. Especially with where she was feeling them. A week after this she vomited for a while and her breasts felt heavy. She knew now it had nothing to do with her lack of food. She began to feel sensations that she had never felt before. She had been ill in the past but this was an illness she had never experienced before. Suddenly something occurred to her, since she had laid with Kain she hadn't had her period. As this theory soon became an evident reality she was unable to breathe. She was carrying Kain's child. She placed a hand on her stomach and stared up at the invisible ceiling. She wished at that moment that she was laid by the fire with Nyx and Kain when she discovered that she was in her condition. Safe and warm in Kain's arms. Celebrating with strawberries and sweetmeats.
Instead she was lying alone in this hellish dungeon. She didn't know whether she would ever taste those things ever again. It was Kain who was the first to feed her such things. He remembered the first time she tasted a strawberry. It was so sweet. So soft in her mouth. No she was just eating the dirt. Her idea of Hell, which she believed to be something of the mind was when you were away from something you held most dear and for her it was Kain. But now that she had a small part of him growing in her belly she didn't feel so alone. Tears streamed out her eyes. Sad from the absence of Kain in such a horrible place and from this moment. Overjoyed with the fact that she was carrying his child. She couldn't believe it. Before, the idea of having a child was something she didn't want to consider but now, that it was Kain's child, it was different. She thought that by now it would have died due to her lack of proper care. For all she knew it probably was. Or maybe it was stronger than that. And she also knew she had to get out. She got to feet weakly and made her way to the door, which took her a while considering how dark it was and the lack of medical attention she had for the past few weeks. When she found it she sighed and bent her head down, still leaning a hand against the door. She chanted some incarnations under her breath, whispering them into the darkness.
Nothing happened, knowing that she wasn't mustering enough power from within her. She sighed and tried again. She knew that she had some in there, she just wasn't drawing it out. She inhaled deeply, chanting the words strongly, with precise consideration for each syllable and word. She used the last of her power to check if it was alive. It was. She could hear its little premature heart beating. She then gave as much power as she had left to give it enough strength to keep going until she would be able to get out of here. Soon when more time passed by she knew that they were never going to find her. She had to get out of here herself. She imagined taking a handful of the light from within her and pushing it against the door. The next second the door flew from her touch down the corridor, hitting some guards in the process. She leant against the open door looking round to see if there was anyone else on watch. The coast was clear for now so she moved as quickly as she could. She wandered around the maze of doors for a while with the threatening sound of approaching voices from behind her. She rushed to a door which looked like it headed to outside the household. She burst through the door only to find it lead to the main part of the house. She looked around frantically hid in the shadows allowing the guards to pass her by.
She saw them go past her and rush to Oranda, now in her guise as Lady Belladonna. "Lady Belladonna the prisoner has escaped."
"Yes, Captain, I'm quite aware of that." She replied coolly.
He nodded nervously. "We'll find her immediately, Ma'am." And went off the opposite direction.
"That's why I hired you." She muttered.
She glanced over her shoulder in the direction Daniella was hidden and sauntered over the spot slowly. Daniella muttered another incarnation as quietly as she could filling her palm with a pure white ball of energy. When Oranda was about to peer down at her she threw it into her face causing her to scream out in pain. She fell back onto the floor and screamed.
"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! YOU AND YOUR WRETCHED FAMILY!"
Daniella didn't bother retorting as she was more concerned with trying to find an exit, knowing that her energy was slowly beginning to wane. Especially with the fact that she was with child she needed to preserve the rest her strength to fly back to Kain's castle. She clutched her stomach and whispered something reassuring to her unborn child's deaf ears that she was going to make sure that they both would get out of here alive. She looked around and found a door which was however locked. She rushed through the corridors, trying to avoid the guards. She glanced around the corridors and sent a little illusion to distract them so that she could test another door if it was open. She sighed, almost wanting to give up but knew that wasn't going to be the least bit productive and kept on going. She had to keep going. She had come this far, she remembered what Kain had told her. She couldn't give up just because things were becoming difficult. She had to keep going. She tried another door which then led her to a dining room. She gave a sigh of frustration, holding onto her stomach.
"You. Are. Really. Going. To. Pay. For. That." A cruel, angered voice from behind her hissed. Her blood turned to ice, not daring to look behind her.
"Oranda. Let me go. You can come kill me one day but not now." She replied desperately.
"After, what you did, I don't think I'm going to hesitate in killing you. Like mother, like daughter eh? Now that's a cliché." She sneered.
She spun round to see Oranda with a bloodied face. Her face more disfigured than before. "Oranda. I can heal you if you'll let me. I'm undone the wrong my mother has done to you if that is really what you care about."
Oranda shook her head with an evil smile on her face. "No, Daniella. I don't think that is really going to make up for it. You know I was willing to give you another chance, but now you've blown that chance away."
"I'm with child!" She cried. Oranda stopped, eyes slowly moving from her face to the hand on her stomach. "And if you have any compassion even a slither of it you will let me go. You may punish me but don't punish my child. Please."
However, Oranda chuckled with diabolical malice and moved closer to Daniella. "Oh no. Now knowing that...I'm going to take more pleasure in making you suffer. First, I'm going to kill your child. Then you and that will be enough to exact my revenge on what is left of my damned sister!"
"Do you not even care even in the slightest for your nephew's child?" She questioned with breathless disbelief.
"Half-nephew." Oranda snapped.
"He's still your nephew. He's still of your blood, as is this child. So I'm begging you, if you won't show compassion at least take some pity or are you even less human than that?"
Oranda took in a deep breath and scrutinized the young woman before her. She had to admit she was impressed with this woman's strength but what she was aiming to achieve was so small, so pathetic. There was a part of her which wanted to listen to her. If she couldn't use her then she could use this unborn child. But what would happen if this child would discover the truth. What would she be able to do against a child who had not just Kain's but also Daniella's blood running through its veins. Even she would admit that she would be a fearful foe to have even in it's premature years. Why would she care for his child anyway? It would be perfect way to carry out her revenge even if the old plan had failed. All thanks to its mother...She hated everything that was connected with Lissa, she even hated the parts of herself that was connected to her, which was why she relentlessly destroyed every trace of her. So it was as if she had never existed. So that she could truly be their fathers one and only daughter.
"I'm sorry, Daniella." She sharply threw out her hand, sending the younger woman to the ground.
"I really did have faith in your potential to be a great sorceress. You just had to ruin it all."
Daniella struggled against her will, feeling all the strength from within her slowly begin to leave her. All her senses were becoming distorted. Sounded began to fade, her vision was becoming blurred. So when Kain and Morgan came storming in she wasn't sure what it was. Everything around her began to shake before the world began to actually shake. Something inside her just wanted to bring the walls down. All she could see and hear was chaos. The struggle of two colliding, powerful forces tied together in battle. She lifted her head slightly, with the support of Morgan who ran to her side she saw that unless she intervened Kain may not survive this. So with the one, small ounce of strength that she had left she threw back her head and let out such a fierce, desperate cry which even made the earth shake beneath their feet. The walls collapse around them and the sky fall down on their heads...
~ (***) ~
The next time Daniella woke up she was in her room at Kain's castle. She looked around her and found herself in Kain's arms sleeping soundlessly. One arm wrapped around her thin body and his free hand on her stomach. She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. She thought she was dreaming until he awoke and he also blinked not believing that he had returned to reality.
"My love." He breath, reaching out to her cheek. She took it and kissed it.
"You came." She whispered.
He tilted his head, tears collecting in his eyes. "Of course, I did. You are my whole existence. Before I was born, after I die. I have always loved you and I always will beyond my last breath."
She didn't reply to this. He already spoke the words she needed to say. Nothing more was necessary. She looked down in panic and turned back to him. His eyes were calm.
"Is the child alright?"
He nodded. "It's unharmed. Miraculously, looks like it will be a strong one." He added looking down at it with early paternal affection.
"Kain," She began. "What is going to happen to us now. Now that everything has passed. Now that everyone knows the truth."
He was silent for a while. The birds outside continued to sing their Spring tunes. The sunlight blessing them with its rays. "Whatever you chose I will follow."
She shook her head. "I can't take you from that Kain. I can't make that choice for you."
"My choice is to be with you. Wherever you are is where I want to be. I will only be King if you want to be Queen."
"Will they even accept me." She began with a quivering voice.
"Who cares? My question to you is do you want to be?" He asked desperately.
She thought upon this for endless minutes which would determine the rest of her days. She thought of all the responsibilities as Queen. Could she really carry those out at the young age that she was? She hadn't even finished her studies and she was already expecting a child. She licked her lips, her heart was thudded in her chest as she finally made her verdict.
"You don't have to decided now."
"I already have." She answered quickly. "I already have."