The Princess of Light and Dark

3. Awakened powers

“Again witch.” The warrior shouted as he threw his daggers towards me. I threw a spell at them and they froze mid-air, I turned my hands, my palms facing me as the daggers turned toward him, his eyes widened for a second in fear and then he smirked. I flicked my wrists, making the daggers zoom towards him. He dodged every single one and raced towards me, I let him come as close to me as he could before he would try to tackle me to the floor before I pushed my power into his mind. He stopped abruptly and fell to his knees in front of me, clutching his head in his hands. He wailed in pain as I forced my voice into his mind.

‘shhhh’ I echoed in his head. ‘I will stop the pain if you beg.’ my voice took on a darker tone in his head, I felt him try and push me out, he wouldn’t be able to, Thuria was an expert at this and he had no idea what he was up against now that I had given her control. ‘Beg!’ she growled in his head...

“PLEASE!” He shouted, his voice strained, his breaths came in rasping pants and I could just about see the slim trail of tears running down his dusty cheeks. In his head, Thuria made him feel the pain of every one he ever hurt, every bone he ever broke, every heart he ever stopped. She made him feel like he was dying a thousand times over, and she gave me a front row seat to his pain. “Please, let me go.” He whispered it now. The pain too much for him. She released him and he collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath, humiliated by a teenager. I walked past him with my head held high. 3 years it took me to reach this point. He always asked me to beg him, when he would hold his daggers to my neck, or when his heavy body pinned mine underneath him in combat. He never showed me half the mercy I just did. I would beg him, just like he would demand of me and he would gloat and demean me. Parade me around as his latest hunting trophy. The other warriors would cheer and jeer as he carried me around by my wrists and ankles, like a pig on a stick ready for the roast. Now, they were silent as I walked the space where I would normally be dragged around. 3 years of humiliation had ended in seconds. Idril was right. These warriors had thought me weak and simple, yet I had just brought their fiercest to his knees without moving. Their eyes followed me cautiously, the fear clear in their faces.

The dynamic changed the minute he stepped out onto the training grounds. Sarnarel. He would come at the end, dressed in his finest clothes, mostly to watch the degradation, but today Sarnarel approached the training grounds in simple black cotton trousers, a double-edged spear and his toned muscles on show. With no top on I could see every single powerful muscle in his chest, abdomen and arms. The black ink that covered his arms and chest was intricate and my fingers ached to be tracing them. He stopped in front of me and smiled, it was a cold smile but it wasn’t the warmest either.

“So,” He drawled, his deep voice intoxicating my mind, making my heart rate pick up,” The princess finally showed her true colours.” He chuckled when I quirked my brow at him. “Elvira, you can’t tell me you thought we didn’t know your true worth?” His derogative tone was all the information I needed. “3 years is a long time for you to try and trick us. Father is not pleased with you.” He shook his head and took a step towards me. He inhaled deeply and sighed. “You smell so pure.” his hand reached out to touch my cheek but he stopped as the sound of the warriors kneeling sounded through the grounds. He turned abruptly and bowed his head.

“Father.” He greeted. I stood my ground. I had never once bowed for Lord Lupus. He had never demanded it from me, he had called it my fierce spirit. Said he had admired it.

“I see my little butterfly has left the cocoon...” He walked around Sarnarel and stood in front of me, “I’m so proud of you, now we can finally start.”

****

After my little display of power against the top warrior, Lord Lupus realised I had always had what he wanted, the power to possess and consume another's mind and body. And so, he ordered the warriors to attack the Elk Forest Clan and when his army had all but decimated the kingdom, he walked me proudly to their king and demanded I possess him. King Feno of the Elk Clan was a gentle man, he was the picture of calm and kind, his warm brown eyes showed no fear or anger as my powers consumed his thoughts and altered his nature. After we were done with him, King Feno was nothing more than a slave to Lord Lupus. Taking over someone’s mind in that way  had been a shock to me, at first I struggled to push my powers, but then to ease my guilt and make sure I didn’t end up back in the cells, Thuria took control of my conscious mind pushing me back into the depths of my mind so I wouldn’t be tainted by the evil we were being forced to commit.

Thuria continued to take over my conscious mind while we committed these atrocious crimes for Lord Lupus. He had long given up the ruse that I was his ‘guest’ it was more than clear that I was his slave. I was just as trapped as these poor souls I took over.

Months and months of doing his dirty work were starting to take their toll on me and Thuria. And while I had an escape, she did not. Thuria had manipulated my uncle for centuries; she had told me the story, she had been consumed by darkness, before she found my uncle she had taken hold of a kind elf called Aladan, he was but a simple farmer when she came across his kindness, her darkness had consumed him too, removing his morals, his fibre and his kindness. Aladan had a twin brother, Elladan, ElRey’s true father. Tharia had offered her powers to him, to help him battle the blackness in his brother's heart. But what they had all failed to see, was Thuria’s true pain. When she took my uncle, she learned he was just as hurt as her. She took that pain and moulded his mind to her whims. Even though my uncle had forgiven her with my mother’s help, Thuria had confessed to me that she would never ever forgive herself for what she did to him and Aladan. The fact that my mother, a simple human girl had been powerful enough to wake her up to her true feelings, had left Thuria a broken mess. A broken mess that was once again, using her darkness to hurt people; every night I could feel the remnants of her anguish, in my mind. One night, while I lay in my bed, watching the dark night sky above me, I vowed that I would do anything in power to grant her happiness and freedom. And so I began plotting my escape.