Disclaimer on first chapter

Questioned Truth"

Chapter 2

'The floor surely will be worn out by the time he stops pacing this madly,' Aurora thought, as she watched her father quickly pace in his throne room. 'What is he so anxious about?'

Her knees began to hurt beneath her from standing motionless, while staring at her father through a small crack of the opened door. She was here because of a rumor she had heard of her father and his meetings with bounty hunters. What drove him to do such a thing was what she really wanted to know.

Just then the front doors burst open and in walked a battered and bleeding soldier barely alive. Her father immediately went to his side to find the information he desired.

"Where is your commander?" he asked half anxious and half worried.

"S-swallowed whole, m-my lord. E-every one gone. She l-let me go, t-to give you m-message." Out of his bloody pockets came a parchment with the seal of the Black Dragon.

The king's hands shook as he reached for the letter. He slowly broke the seal and opened it. Once he opened it fully he took a deep breath and read it. When he read the last word he instantly paled. The letter read:

Pain and torment are only two parts of death. I am the third part. Beware of the secrets the dark hides, for the past is hidden there, and in that darkness is where I shall bring my vengeance.

BLACK DRAGONESS

He crumpled up the parchment and threw it aside.

"Impossible. After 16 years of living in the wilderness and she still lives?!? Impossible I say!" He looked at the soldier in front of him as if it was the first time he noticed him there. "Take him to the infirmary." Several soldiers carefully took the wounded man away, leaving the king alone with his advisors.

"Do not panic, my lord. There are others who may be able to kill this girl, but it may come with a high price. Even if the bounty hunters fail to kill her, we still have the other princess at hand. We could use her power to save us from eternal darkness." the eldest advisor said.

"Yes, but that would cost her life."

"That is true, but wasn't that the only reason you kept her alive, to use her powers to threaten all the other nations and gain control over them? You do know that because we have her in our hands we now are the most feared kingdoms in Atlantis?"

"Increase the bounty on her head, but from this note, we can tell that she is planning an attack. This war soon to come may be too big for Gaea alone to handle. Contact all of our allies and ask for their aid. There is no time to send soldiers out and repair the wall. And remember, if anyone finds out that that spawn of the demons is my daughter then my reputation as a king would be ruined. They would no longer respect me. Understand?"

"Yes your majesty." the advisors left without another word, leaving the king alone.

'I have a sister?' Aurora thought. 'How can that be? Why didn't father tell me about her? Why does he want her killed? Does he even love me? Or am I just another tool in his quest for power?

The king sighed, "Luceria, I am sorry. I've ruined your legacy. The prophecy was partly fulfilled, but I didn't want the rest of it to occur. I had to be on the top and now my past crimes has caught up with me." He sighed once more and left down the hall to his left. The opposite direction from where she stood. She turned and leaned against the wall next to her.

Thousands of questions formed in her mind, but only one of them was what she really needed to know. What was she to do now?

~*~*~*~*~

"I can't believe you never told me that my father was that stupid good for nothing king of Gaea. Ugh, it makes me sick even thinking about it," she shuddered and turned to her guardian. "Why did you take me in? Why not kill the child of the king?"

He slightly chuckled by her sarcastic tone as he answered, "As much as I wanted to, I was ordered not to, because, you see I answer to a higher power. As powerful as I am, there are those who are even more powerful. Something tells me that your part in the future of this world has only begun. This war soon to come is only the start of the battle that will decide the fate of all who inhabit this world."

"Hmm, will I have to meet them, I mean the higher rank demons, later on in my life? Will fate lead me into the dark depths of the dead and tormented? The very thought of it shakes my soul." she held her pendent which is a black stone that came from the very depths of the Netherworld where she never wished to be.

"Where you shall reach will not be decided by me or any prophecy, but by you and only you. You create your own fate, not some legacy your mother began. Remember, there is no place in this world that I will not follow you to." he said as he rested on of his clawed hands on her shoulder very softly making certain that he didn't hurt her.

"When will I find out the meaning of my existence, Taharka? When will I discover the true meaning of the war that I will create?" Selena demanded.

"The answer will come, but only when it is time."

"Humph, even though you are king of dragons, you seem not to know much of the big events to happen."

"Well no human, dragon or demon is perfect!" he said laughing. "Well, enough dawdling, we need to go to the Valley of the Dead where your army awaits your command." Selena sighed and stood.

"These bounty hunters are becoming ruthless. I am amazed by the numbers that have crossed into this dark part of the world."

"The bounty on your head must be a great deal. Your father himself is beginning to become restless. Desperate actually, to keep his reputation clean."

"Once we reach the Valley of the Dead, we move forward towards Gaea and attack tomorrow at sunset. I want to see this coward that claims to be the honorable king of Gaea face to face, and see him cower in fear."

"Once we attack, you will probably reach him only by nightfall, why at night?" Taharka asked puzzled.

"Cowards are always afraid of the dark."